“I think initially it caught us off guard, to be quite honest with you,” said his father, Jay. “Every kid wants to be a major league pitcher, but this all came together in just a matter of weeks.”
There, he settled into a schedule that included a morning workout, midday classes and afternoon throwing, often with members of the university’s baseball team, before he studied into the night. “We couldn’t be more thrilled with the progress he’s already made,” Kantrovitz said. “We’re going to keep being really patient with him and make sure that as the next year unfolds we’re doing what’s best for him and his development. Hopefully, we continue to see the gains we’ve seen up to this point because it’s exciting.”
Cunningham is studying computational and applied mathematics at the University of Chicago, demonstrating an analytical mindset that Callis said could be a good match for the Cubs and their vauntedAfternoon Briefing“There’s more of a scientific process in baseball now than there was 20 years ago,” Callis said. “You’d think a really intelligent player would do well in that environment.”Advertisement