Geovany Soto

[TruffleShuffle]

Off to a real strong start this year... 297/374/495/869. Each of the last three years he's had an OBP over .350.

 

Now, we all know Jim Hendry was dumb enough to throw a large two-year contract at the incredibly mediocre Henry Blanco. Soto's weighted mean PECOTA is an unimpressive 240/313/346. Henry Blanco's is a similiarly sad 255/303/408. Adding up their projected WARP over the next two years, Soto projects to be worth about 0.1 win less than Soto... so Jim apparently thinks a tenth of a win in two years is worth roughly $5 million.

 

The question I have are two-fold:

 

1. Is Soto a good receiver/game-caller?

2. If so, and his bat and glove prove to be ready to hold down a big league backup job, what do you do with Blanco? Or will the Cubs just let Soto languish in the minors?

 

 

Obviously I'm hoping Soto gets a shot. He's got pretty good patience and is a home-grown product at a position that the Cubs have not developed well in the past 20 years.

[mg420]

Off to a real strong start this year... 297/374/495/869. Each of the last three years he's had an OBP over .350.

 

Now, we all know Jim Hendry was dumb enough to throw a large two-year contract at the incredibly mediocre Henry Blanco. Soto's weighted mean PECOTA is an unimpressive 240/313/346. Henry Blanco's is a similiarly sad 255/303/408. Adding up their projected WARP over the next two years, Soto projects to be worth about 0.1 win less than Soto... so Jim apparently thinks a tenth of a win in two years is worth roughly $5 million.

 

The question I have are two-fold:

 

1. Is Soto a good receiver/game-caller?

2. If so, and his bat and glove prove to be ready to hold down a big league backup job, what do you do with Blanco? Or will the Cubs just let Soto languish in the minors?

 

 

Obviously I'm hoping Soto gets a shot. He's got pretty good patience and is a home-grown product at a position that the Cubs have not developed well in the past 20 years.

 

huh?

 

actually i think both soto & k hill would make a nice platoon next year in place of barrett. even if they hit #8 they would hopefully be much better on defense than michael who will probably want big $ for 4+ years.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

My recollection has always been that Soto was a very strong defensive catcher.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

My recollection has always been that Soto was a very strong defensive catcher.

 

same here

[TruffleShuffle]

305/378/505/883. No doubt playing a little over his head right now, but couldn't he be as good if not better than Blanco? Come on.

[Guest]

My recollection has always been that Soto was a very strong defensive catcher.

 

same here

 

You guys have good recollections, Soto is a good defensive catcher.

[SouthSideRyan]

He'll be Blanco's backup next year. I'll light myself on fire.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

My recollection has always been that Soto was a very strong defensive catcher.

 

same here

 

You guys have good recollections, Soto is a good defensive catcher.

 

I was basing that off of my eyewitness accounts more than anything, and that's scary because I'm rarely ever sober when at an I-Cubs game for some reason.

[CoolHandLuke]

I saw him in Daytona in 2003. Scott Kazmir pitched for the St. Lucie Mets and David Wright manned the hot corner. Our best current prospects were Soto and Hoffpauir.

 

I like him. If I were GM he would definitely be the backup backstop.

[jersey cubs fan]

305/378/505/883. No doubt playing a little over his head right now, but couldn't he be as good if not better than Blanco? Come on.

 

He should be the backup right now.

 

At this point I'm thinking they should go with Soto and Blanco in 2008 (but I'd love to see Blanco leave).

 

Make your order like this:

 

9 Soriano 13.00

3 Lee 13.00

6 Rodriguez 25.00

5 Ramirez 14.00

7 Murton 0.75

8 Pie 0.35

4 Patterson 0.35

2 Soto 0.35

 

 

Give ARod 5/125 to get out of the Bronx. (very favorable compared to his 3/81 remaining that he can opt out of)

[biittner77]

305/378/505/883. No doubt playing a little over his head right now, but couldn't he be as good if not better than Blanco? Come on.

 

He should be the backup right now.

 

At this point I'm thinking they should go with Soto and Blanco in 2008 (but I'd love to see Blanco leave).

 

Make your order like this:

 

9 Soriano 13.00

3 Lee 13.00

6 Rodriguez 25.00

5 Ramirez 14.00

7 Murton 0.75

8 Pie 0.35

4 Patterson 0.35

2 Soto 0.35

 

 

Give ARod 5/125 to get out of the Bronx. (very favorable compared to his 3/81 remaining that he can opt out of)

 

So what you're saying is by not paying Zambrano $18 mil, Izturis $4 mil and Blanco $2 mil you have already paid for Arod.

 

The only problem is convincing Arod not to follow the ring to somewhere like Boston where he could really stick it to the Yankees or the Angels where he could labor in obscurity, make his money and still have a shot at a ring.

[Exile on Waveland]

305/378/505/883. No doubt playing a little over his head right now, but couldn't he be as good if not better than Blanco? Come on.

 

He should be the backup right now.

 

At this point I'm thinking they should go with Soto and Blanco in 2008 (but I'd love to see Blanco leave).

 

Make your order like this:

 

9 Soriano 13.00

3 Lee 13.00

6 Rodriguez 25.00

5 Ramirez 14.00

7 Murton 0.75

8 Pie 0.35

4 Patterson 0.35

2 Soto 0.35

 

 

Give ARod 5/125 to get out of the Bronx. (very favorable compared to his 3/81 remaining that he can opt out of)

 

So what you're saying is by not paying Zambrano $18 mil, Izturis $4 mil and Blanco $2 mil you have already paid for Arod.

 

The only problem is convincing Arod not to follow the ring to somewhere like Boston where he could really stick it to the Yankees or the Angels where he could labor in obscurity, make his money and still have a shot at a ring.

 

First, I love that lineup.

 

Second, if/when ARod opts out, I think the Cubs would certainly be a team of interest to him. (Especially if Lou is still here).

[TruffleShuffle]

322/395/537/932 now... i'd really like to see him on the big club next year. If he continues to languish in the minors with nothing left to prove, it'll be yet another failure of the jim hendry era.

[Soriano12]

I'd really like to see him on the big club this year.

[jersey cubs fan]

322/395/537/932 now... i'd really like to see him on the big club next year. If he continues to languish in the minors with nothing left to prove, it'll be yet another failure of the jim hendry era.

 

You have to wonder if that's going to be possible (making the big club next year).

 

There's still a chance Jim Hendry is the GM next season. If the sale doesn't go through, or if it stalls until early 2008, there may be no time for the new owner to hire everybody he wants. If Jim is the GM, is he likely to let Barrett walk or try and extend his little pet project?

 

Blanco is going to be here, unless the injury somehow forces him to retire. Even if Barrett does walk, will Jim or any other GM be comfortable with a bad backup (Blanco) being backed up by a rookie (Soto)?

 

There is a good chance they go after a Damian Miller type to fill the void.

 

I'd go with Soto/Blanco (unless I could get rid of Blanco) and spend the savings on solidifying the other 7 positions. Let the catcher bat 8th in a solid lineup and I'll live with a sub 100 OPS+.

[TruffleShuffle]

I'd go with Soto/Blanco (unless I could get rid of Blanco) and spend the savings on solidifying the other 7 positions. Let the catcher bat 8th in a solid lineup and I'll live with a sub 100 OPS+.

 

I could see Soto putting up a line like 265/325/375 (700 OPS), which would be just fine for a more defensive-minded catcher who hits eighth every night.

[TruffleShuffle]

after tonight i'm an even bigger fan of this guy :D

[CubsWin]

after tonight i'm an even bigger fan of this guy :D

I know. Pretty outstanding night for Geovany.

 

I've been a fan of his for 3 years now, but I never expected to see numbers like this. Him doing this well actually gives a silver lining to Barrett's sucky performance so far this season. If Barrett and Soto keep up their current trends, the chances of Soto being rightfully considered as a major league starting catcher increase greatly.

 

Come on, Jim. What's the deal? Give Geo a shot.

[Amazing_Grace]

NCCubfan mentioned in the Barrett thread that Soto had a shoulder injury and has been playing 1b/DH instead of catching, which would explain why Koyie Hill got called up.

[Guest]

NCCubfan mentioned in the Barrett thread that Soto had a shoulder injury and has been playing 1b/DH instead of catching, which would explain why Koyie Hill got called up.

 

Possibly - he started playing 1B/DH after Hill was called up, though.

[NCCubFan]

NCCubfan mentioned in the Barrett thread that Soto had a shoulder injury and has been playing 1b/DH instead of catching, which would explain why Koyie Hill got called up.

Actually Raisin posted it first (in another thread in this forum). That's how I found out about it.

[MSG T]

NCCubfan mentioned in the Barrett thread that Soto had a shoulder injury and has been playing 1b/DH instead of catching, which would explain why Koyie Hill got called up.

Actually Raisin posted it first (in another thread in this forum). That's how I found out about it.

 

Soto started at C last night and moved to first in the 4th-5th inn. Probably a good thing for his shoulder since Richie took a heck of a shot on a play at the plate. How he held the ball I'm not sure, since it sure looked like he got hit as he was catching it.

[TruffleShuffle]

i'd like to take credit for the minor league "geovany soto" thread as well, and for ripping jim hendry bright and early for the blanco signing

[BigSlick]

I'd go with Soto/Blanco (unless I could get rid of Blanco) and spend the savings on solidifying the other 7 positions. Let the catcher bat 8th in a solid lineup and I'll live with a sub 100 OPS+.

 

I could see Soto putting up a line like 265/325/375 (700 OPS), which would be just fine for a more defensive-minded catcher who hits eighth every night.

 

Foolish mortal, Soto wouldn't even put up that line with a blindfold on.

[TruffleShuffle]

I'd go with Soto/Blanco (unless I could get rid of Blanco) and spend the savings on solidifying the other 7 positions. Let the catcher bat 8th in a solid lineup and I'll live with a sub 100 OPS+.

 

I could see Soto putting up a line like 265/325/375 (700 OPS), which would be just fine for a more defensive-minded catcher who hits eighth every night.

 

Foolish mortal, Soto wouldn't even put up that line with a blindfold on.

 

good point... i guess double each figure and that should be in the ballpark.