2008 Iowa, Tenn, Daytona & Peoria Rosters Announced

[badnews]

The best point I think I can make without much work is to look at the Cubs' ages at each level compared to most organizations. We are one of the few teams that are still close to 24 at AAA, 23 at AA, 22 at High-A, and 21 at Low-A. The last two years have been a little higher than usual due to the large number of college players drafted vs. high schoolers, but we are still doing well age-wise.

 

The problem is I don't think that's true. I think most teams are pretty much age-appropriate.

 

If Clevenger is going to be 1B/DH, then is making him go a full season in Daytona after he put up a .045 IsoD and a .098 IsoP that bad an idea?

 

It's better than having him back in Daytona pretending that he can catch, I think. A .789 OPS and the most incredible strikeout rate I can remember seeing means he should be rewarded rather than penalized, I think.

 

This Vitters business just shows a lack of confidence it seems. Mike Moustakas is already in A. Chris Marrero is in High A. Now that is promoting. If the Cubs had Marrero maybe he'd be in Peoria this year. I don't see why your best talent can't move fast if you had the confidence to draft them, like pretty much every team does.

 

For the record my biggest complaint is having Hernandez at Peoria again.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

If Clevenger is going to be 1B/DH, then is making him go a full season in Daytona after he put up a .045 IsoD and a .098 IsoP that bad an idea?

 

It's better than having him back in Daytona pretending that he can catch, I think. A .789 OPS and the most incredible strikeout rate I can remember seeing means he should be rewarded rather than penalized, I think.

 

I dunno. That strikeout rate is pretty incredible, but when you combine it with those rates it paints a picture of a guy who's hacking at a lot of pitches, fearing the K and winding up with a bunch of singles. That's not the type of approach I'd want from a guy whose chief benefit to a team is offense at a position where there needs to be a big bat, and a .789 OPS(with a .323 AVG no less) from that type of player doesn't do too much for me either.

[Guest]

Mike Moustakas is also a full year older than Josh Vitters (well, 350 days older). We'll see about Vitters...if he's not ready, he's not ready. I can't get worked up about the Cubs holding him back when they've been pretty aggressive with HS hitting prospects in the past and none of them have panned out.

 

I'm disappointed in Hernandez not being at Daytona but I don't see the reason to compare him with Scott Taylor. Taylor was 20 last year while Hernandez is 19 this season. And Taylor was a spectacular bust at Daytona.

 

I also don't see the point in speculating where guys who aren't in the Cubs system would be if they were in the Cubs system. The Cubs have been super aggressive in the past decade with their best talent (Kerry Wood, Corey Patterson, Carlos Zambrano). If they had a guy like Marrero, they probably wouldn't be holding him back.

[Guest]

Baseball America people on Vitters:

 

Carl (Chicago): Any updates on Josh Vitters? When do you see him getting called up?

 

Jim Callis: (2:08 PM ET ) He's going to begin the year in extended spring training, which stuns me considering how good a hitter he's supposed to be. We'll probably see him at low Class A Peoria by May.

 

Q: Joe from Easton, MD asks:

Any word on why Josh Vitters is in extended spring training and not yet assigned? It's early in his career, but given his struggles last year and now this, any reason for concern?

 

A: J.J. Cooper: The official word from the Cubs is that they have a glut of third basemen. I believe the official word when Mark Pawelek didn't break camp with a full season club a couple of years ago was that there was a glut of pitching and he needed to work on his conditioning. Two years later Pawelek still hasn't stuck in full season ball. Yes, it is a concern. It's definitely not time to start panicking about Vitters. He was a pretty consensus top talent for last year's draft, and he should get things figured out. But not making it to Peoria to start the season is a disappointment.

[Jon]

Is "glut of third basemen" really the best the Cubs could come up with?

[Guest]

Per AZ Phil, Huseby looks healthy at extended. AZ Phil theorized that Huseby and Hempy probably needed major mechanics overhauls and that's why they're back in extended despite seemingly making full season teams a few weeks ago.

[badnews]

Glut of 3b? One guy everyone on here treats like a meaningful player but I don't see it at all is Josh Lansford. Is he part of this "glut?"

 

I noticed Jarrod Parker was on the Diamondbacks' Low A roster. I have more faith in the way Byrnes runs things than Hendry.

[UK1679666180]

Glut of 3b? One guy everyone on here treats like a meaningful player but I don't see it at all is Josh Lansford. Is he part of this "glut?"

 

I noticed Jarrod Parker was on the Diamondbacks' Low A roster. I have more faith in the way Byrnes runs things than Hendry.

 

They're going to regret that one.

[Guest]

Glut of 3b? One guy everyone on here treats like a meaningful player but I don't see it at all is Josh Lansford.

We do?

 

You should stick to criticizing the Cubs. When you mischaracterize the position of the community here, your biases show astonishingly clear.

[Guest]

Glut of 3b? One guy everyone on here treats like a meaningful player but I don't see it at all is Josh Lansford. Is he part of this "glut?"

 

I noticed Jarrod Parker was on the Diamondbacks' Low A roster. I have more faith in the way Byrnes runs things than Hendry.

 

They're going to regret that one.

 

Yeah, Parker and Porcello looked so good last summer. And don't look at what Wieters did in his debut yesterday. :(

[Outshined_One]

Glut of 3b? One guy everyone on here treats like a meaningful player but I don't see it at all is Josh Lansford. Is he part of this "glut?"

 

I noticed Jarrod Parker was on the Diamondbacks' Low A roster. I have more faith in the way Byrnes runs things than Hendry.

 

They're going to regret that one.

 

The Cubs for not picking him or the D-backs for putting him at Low A?

[badnews]

I just noticed Tim Alderson is already with the Giants' High A affiliate.

 

Now Brian Sabean may be on his way to putting us to shame. The horror!

[UK1679666180]

Glut of 3b? One guy everyone on here treats like a meaningful player but I don't see it at all is Josh Lansford. Is he part of this "glut?"

 

I noticed Jarrod Parker was on the Diamondbacks' Low A roster. I have more faith in the way Byrnes runs things than Hendry.

 

They're going to regret that one.

 

The Cubs for not picking him or the D-backs for putting him at Low A?

 

Not taking Parker.

[Brett]

Glut of 3b? One guy everyone on here treats like a meaningful player but I don't see it at all is Josh Lansford. Is he part of this "glut?"

 

I noticed Jarrod Parker was on the Diamondbacks' Low A roster. I have more faith in the way Byrnes runs things than Hendry.

 

They're going to regret that one.

 

The Cubs for not picking him or the D-backs for putting him at Low A?

 

Not taking Parker.

 

At the time, it seemed very hard to argue with the Vitters selection.

[Guest]

It's still too soon.

[illiniguy]

It's still too soon.

I agree it is too soon to label vitters a bust, but we should have picked a pitcher. We have proven that we can develop great young pitchers. Hitters, not so much.

[TruffleShuffle]

Glut of 3b? One guy everyone on here treats like a meaningful player but I don't see it at all is Josh Lansford. Is he part of this "glut?"

 

I noticed Jarrod Parker was on the Diamondbacks' Low A roster. I have more faith in the way Byrnes runs things than Hendry.

 

They're going to regret that one.

 

The Cubs for not picking him or the D-backs for putting him at Low A?

 

Not taking Parker.

 

At the time, it seemed very hard to argue with the Vitters selection.

 

the cubs are terrible at developing hitters, especially hitters who aren't polished. that made it very easy for a lot of people to find fault with the vitters selection.

 

personally, i was on the wieters bandwagon and still think that he should've been the pick.

[illiniguy]

Glut of 3b? One guy everyone on here treats like a meaningful player but I don't see it at all is Josh Lansford. Is he part of this "glut?"

 

I noticed Jarrod Parker was on the Diamondbacks' Low A roster. I have more faith in the way Byrnes runs things than Hendry.

 

They're going to regret that one.

 

The Cubs for not picking him or the D-backs for putting him at Low A?

 

Not taking Parker.

 

At the time, it seemed very hard to argue with the Vitters selection.

 

the cubs are terrible at developing hitters, especially hitters who aren't polished. that made it very easy for a lot of people to find fault with the vitters selection.

 

personally, i was on the wieters bandwagon and still think that he should've been the pick.

There are three guys I wanted. Porcello, Weiters, and Parker. I would have been thrilled with any of the three.

[HendrysBottomFeeders]

My first post and It looks like I am going to sound like a homer, but after watching Tony Thomas recently I see possibly Howie Kendrick v2.0. He needs to improve the defense -- and cut down on the K's, but I see some Howie in him. Kendrick is raking this year for LAA.

 

It's very disappointing to see Vitters still in Extended.. I'm really not sure what to think about that.. I was on the Porcello bandwagon. There is no reason to not draft BPA in the MLB draft which is the biggest crapshoot of them all.

[Outshined_One]

My first post and It looks like I am going to sound like a homer, but after watching Tony Thomas recently I see possibly Howie Kendrick v2.0. He needs to improve the defense -- and cut down on the K's, but I see some Howie in him. Kendrick is raking this year for LAA.

 

It's very disappointing to see Vitters still in Extended.. I'm really not sure what to think about that.. I was on the Porcello bandwagon. There is no reason to not draft BPA in the MLB draft which is the biggest crapshoot of them all.

 

Welcome!

 

Are you a FSU student/grad or did you have the opportunity to catch the D-Cubs recently?

[HendrysBottomFeeders]

I saw him at FSU -- Ignore that last post -- I need sleep bad and just typed Daytona for some unknown reason.

 

I went to FSU, but moved back to Chicago.

[TruffleShuffle]

My first post and It looks like I am going to sound like a homer, but after watching Tony Thomas recently I see possibly Howie Kendrick v2.0. He needs to improve the defense -- and cut down on the K's, but I see some Howie in him. Kendrick is raking this year for LAA.

 

he definitely strikes out at a higher rate than kendrick. probably doesn't have the hand-eye coordination to hit for average like kendrick either, but then again, very few people can hit .359 in their minor league career.

 

thomas is a former ACC middle infielder who hits for a pretty good average and has surprising pop for somebody his size. he strikes out at a little higher rate than you'd like, but makes up for it with a patient approach that result in a good number of walks. his speed is a little bit above average, but combine that with good instincts on the basepaths, and you've got a guy who will pile up a lot of stolen bases with a good percentage of successful attempts. The biggest concern on him is probably his glove, as his arm is average and his range is fringy, and he doesn't get great breaks on balls hit to him.

 

does this sound reaaaaaaaally familiar to anybody?

[Outshined_One]

he definitely strikes out at a higher rate than kendrick. probably doesn't have the hand-eye coordination to hit for average like kendrick either, but then again, very few people can hit .359 in their minor league career.

 

thomas is a former ACC middle infielder who hits for a pretty good average and has surprising pop for somebody his size. he strikes out at a little higher rate than you'd like, but makes up for it with a patient approach that result in a good number of walks. his speed is a little bit above average, but combine that with good instincts on the basepaths, and you've got a guy who will pile up a lot of stolen bases with a good percentage of successful attempts. The biggest concern on him is probably his glove, as his arm is average and his range is fringy, and he doesn't get great breaks on balls hit to him.

 

does this sound reaaaaaaaally familiar to anybody?

 

Eric Patterson!

[UK1679666180]

Everything I had heard about Parker going into the draft was enough to convince me that he should be taken at 3.