Matt Craig at catcher?

[UBlink]

Now that Matt Craig has answered the question none of us were asking - after 2 years at AA can he hit at A+ (he currently leads the FSL in OPS and is 2nd in both OBP and SLG) - when will we start to get an answer to the question we thought he was working on when he was sent back to Daytona? Anyone got any information on his progress at adding catcher to his defensive repertoire?

[texascub]

With the way Fox has been playing, Craig hasn't got much playing time a C. I think he's primarily starting at 1B right now.

[craig]

Alan Rick catches half the games, more or less. I think basically Fox alternates between catching and DH, wth Alan Rick catching the days Fox DH's.

 

Craig is 25. If the Cubs were serious about him catching, I think he'd be doing some.

 

If an Alan Rick roster-filler blocks Craig from catching, I think we can pretty much take it for granted that the Cubs are not the least bit serious about converting Craig into a catcher.

 

O well.

[Neuby]

thats a shame I would like to see the Cubs take some guys with decent bats and try them behind the plate because catcher that can hit are a rare commodity.

[UBlink]

My thinking is that he either needs to get some exposure at catcher or else he needs to be playing 1B or 3B at an appropriate level. I know that learning a new position takes time, just curious if anyone had any information on how the catcher experiment is progressing.

[SouthSideRyan]

The Craig situation really reflects poorly on the Cubs handling of minor leaguers. You bump a guy down a level to convert him to catcher, that's fine. But why do you put him on a roster with other catchers who need the work? It makes no sense.

[craig]

Actually, I'm not sure I follow. I think the Cubs have made some judgments on Craig:

 

1. That he's not a major-league prospect. He's an organizational player.

2. That he's not defensively qualified to play 3B, or anyplace other than 1B/DH

3. That he wasn't qualified to play much for Iowa. Brandon Sing made more sense to play for Iowa than did Craig. With Sing as the starter, Craig would have been just a bench/DH type at Iowa.

4. That Craig wasn't qualified to play much for WTenn either. Dopirak made more sense to play 1B there, because he is still viewed as a possible major-league prospect. So again, Craig would be a DH/bench guy there.

 

Basically, if the premise is that Craig couldn't play anywhere other than 1B/DH, and that Sing and Dopirak were better prospects to get the AAA/AA 1B jobs, Craig was left out with Daytona being a place where he could play.