R.I.P. Felix Pie's Career (2001-April 20, 2008)

[javy knows my name]

If his swing was good enough to put up a monster season in AAA, it'll be good enough to be adequate for a CFer in the majors.

 

Not necessarily true.

 

 

Respectfully disagree. Major-league pitchers are better, but they aren't 120 points of batting average better. If Pie tanks completely this season, it'll be because he tanked, not the jump from AAA to the majors.

 

I disagree with you. ML pitchers are miles better. Ever hear of Roosevelt Brown? Julio Zuleta? Trenidad Hubbard? Those are all guys who at completely ripped AAA pitching for multiple years. None of them amounted to anything in the majors.

 

Triple A is full of journeymen who will never be major league pitchers. Though, ML pitching is watered down, most of the league isn't Les Walrond. There is a huge difference in being able to hit an average ML pitcher and being able to hit a AAA pitcher. We all hate Jason Marquis, but he is so much better than your run of the mill AAA pitcher that it's not funny.

 

What's really not funny, though, is that he makes like 20 times more money than those guys

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Ever hear of Roosevelt Brown? Julio Zuleta? Trenidad Hubbard? Those are all guys who at completely ripped AAA pitching for multiple years. None of them amounted to anything in the majors.

 

Brown

Career majors: .251 .311 .407

Career minors: .300 .354 .501

 

Zuleta

Career majors: .247 .309 .466

Career minors: .294 .348 .484

 

Hubbard

Career majors: .257 .333 .382

Career minors: .320 .400 .471

 

If we apply the same average drop to Pie (career minors .300 .355 .469), he ends up somewhere in the 260/310/400 range. Which would make him the equivalent of... Reed Johnson vs. righties.

Edited April 21, 2008 by Hairyducked Idiot

[CoolHandLuke]

Julio Zuleta did drive in runs with his mysticism though, and that doesn't show up in the stats.

[Guest]

What circumstances do I think changed to alter the plan?

 

1) Reed Johnson playing out of his mind

2) Pie pressing badly

 

I'm very certain of #1 as it is inherently evident. I believe #2 is a contributing factor, though. I think Pie was pressing quite a bit and "trying too hard" or thinking too much at the plate instead of reading & reacting. That's guesswork on my part, but if I saw a young guy like Pie struggling with that while I had another guy that was playing lights out at the same position, I'd probably do much the same as Lou has so far (again - while being a bit more aggressive about getting Felix ab's).

[Fred Hornkohl]

These numbers are far too small to draw any kind of a statistical inference, but never the less, I find it interesting that Reed has done significantly better against righties than lefties. Worth keeping an eye on, I guess.

 

Johnson            AB    R    H   2b   3b   HR  RBI   BB   SO     BA    OBP    SLG    OPS  BABIP  P/PA     RC   RBI%
vs Right           30    3   12    2    0    0    5    1    2  0.400  0.406  0.467  0.873  0.429  4.00    5.7  0.500
vs Left            18    5    5    1    0    0    2    3    2  0.278  0.435  0.333  0.768  0.313  3.87    2.6  0.182

overall            48    8   17    3    0    0    7    4    4  0.354  0.418  0.417  0.835  0.386  3.95    8.4  0.333

Pie                AB    R    H   2b   3b   HR  RBI   BB   SO     BA    OBP    SLG    OPS  BABIP  P/PA     RC   RBI%
vs Right           22    1    3    0    0    0    0    1    8  0.136  0.208  0.136  0.345  0.214  3.58    0.6  0.000
vs Left             6    0    1    0    0    0    2    0    3  0.167  0.167  0.167  0.333  0.333  4.50    0.2  0.286

overall            28    1    4    0    0    0    2    1   11  0.143  0.200  0.143  0.343  0.235  3.77    0.8  0.083

[Tracer Bullet]

What circumstances do I think changed to alter the plan?

 

1) Reed Johnson playing out of his mind

2) Pie pressing badly

 

I'm very certain of #1 as it is inherently evident. I believe #2 is a contributing factor, though. I think Pie was pressing quite a bit and "trying too hard" or thinking too much at the plate instead of reading & reacting. That's guesswork on my part, but if I saw a young guy like Pie struggling with that while I had another guy that was playing lights out at the same position, I'd probably do much the same as Lou has so far (again - while being a bit more aggressive about getting Felix ab's).

 

Given how many LHP we've faced, I think it makes sense to run Pie out there against the RHP. I hate the idea of giving Pie a handful of PH at-bats every week, like that's going to help him get better or stop pressing. To improve, I think he needs to see regular ABs, at least against RHP. I don't think we would have a worse record if Pie had started against the RHP we've faced so far. And I think it will make the team better for the rest of the season to help Pie improve quicker than to get more ABs from Reed Johnson.

 

The only start he's had in the past week was against Aaron Harang. Really, Lou, what's best for this team and his development is sitting against Snell, Fogg, Volquez, hell, even Jamie Moyer and Gorzelanny, but facing Aaron Harang?

[dew1679666265]

Ever hear of Roosevelt Brown? Julio Zuleta? Trenidad Hubbard? Those are all guys who at completely ripped AAA pitching for multiple years. None of them amounted to anything in the majors.

 

Brown

Career majors: .251 .311 .407

Career minors: .300 .354 .501

 

Zuleta

Career majors: .247 .309 .466

Career minors: .294 .348 .484

 

Hubbard

Career majors: .257 .333 .382

Career minors: .320 .400 .471

 

If we apply the same average drop to Pie (career minors .300 .355 .469), he ends up somewhere in the 260/310/400 range. Which would make him the equivalent of... Reed Johnson vs. righties.

 

At 23, Rosey put up these numbers: .219/.239/.391 in the majors.

 

Zuleta debuted at 25, two years older than Pie.

 

Hubbard debuted at 28 - though he did put up a .280/.357/.520 line at 5 years older than Felix.

 

Mechanics are most definitely part of determing a major league baseball player's potential for success. And the jump from AAA to the majors is one of the biggest an athlete will ever make.

 

Most AAAA players are just that because they can't make the needed adjustments from what was successful in AAA that won't work in the majors (i.e. an extremely long swing for hitters or a shallow pitch repertoire for a pitcher).

 

I like Pie a lot, but I have no problem with Lou and Gerald Perry (both of whom have shown to have some idea of how to be good offensively) working with him to shorten his swing.

[Guest]

Given how many LHP we've faced, I think it makes sense to run Pie out there against the RHP. I hate the idea of giving Pie a handful of PH at-bats every week, like that's going to help him get better or stop pressing. To improve, I think he needs to see regular ABs, at least against RHP. I don't think we would have a worse record if Pie had started against the RHP we've faced so far. And I think it will make the team better for the rest of the season to help Pie improve quicker than to get more ABs from Reed Johnson.

I think whether the AB's will help or not depends on Lou's read of the entirety of what is wrong with Felix right now, where he stands in his progression, whether Lou thinks Pie would actually regress into previous habits with regular AB's, his read of Felix's psychology on how the struggling would affect him with more or less AB's, etc.

[dew1679666265]

What circumstances do I think changed to alter the plan?

 

1) Reed Johnson playing out of his mind

2) Pie pressing badly

 

I'm very certain of #1 as it is inherently evident. I believe #2 is a contributing factor, though. I think Pie was pressing quite a bit and "trying too hard" or thinking too much at the plate instead of reading & reacting. That's guesswork on my part, but if I saw a young guy like Pie struggling with that while I had another guy that was playing lights out at the same position, I'd probably do much the same as Lou has so far (again - while being a bit more aggressive about getting Felix ab's).

 

Given how many LHP we've faced, I think it makes sense to run Pie out there against the RHP. I hate the idea of giving Pie a handful of PH at-bats every week, like that's going to help him get better or stop pressing. To improve, I think he needs to see regular ABs, at least against RHP. I don't think we would have a worse record if Pie had started against the RHP we've faced so far. And I think it will make the team better for the rest of the season to help Pie improve quicker than to get more ABs from Reed Johnson.

 

The only start he's had in the past week was against Aaron Harang. Really, Lou, what's best for this team and his development is sitting against Snell, Fogg, Volquez, hell, even Jamie Moyer and Gorzelanny, but facing Aaron Harang?

 

To me, what Lou is doing with Pie is the slowest possible way of developing a young player. So long as Pie has the assurance of Lou that he is the unquestioned future in CF, this type of development gives him the ability to see major league pitching without the pressure of holding down a starting job.

 

Now, the problem really occurs if Lou told him his performance in the highly scattered pinch hitting duties was what would determine his future.

 

I don't have a problem with this so long as Lou isn't putting pressure on Pie to produce every at-bat.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

At 23, Rosey put up these numbers: .219/.239/.391 in the majors.

 

That was in 64 at-bats, you can't possibly tell anything from that. Just a year older, he hit .352/.378/.538 in 91 at-bats. Did he magically improve that much in one season, or was sample-size at play?

 

"Mechanics are most definitely part of determing a major league baseball player's potential for success. And the jump from AAA to the majors is one of the biggest an athlete will ever make."

 

The real-life numbers don't bear that out, though. We can all cherry-pick individual players that did or did not translate AAA success into the majors, but the average player jumping from AAA to the majors has a very clear trend in how much of their production they lose. And it isn't as much as some seem to think.

 

There's a huge difference between the top half of the majors leaguers and AAA, but I see very little difference between the bottom half of the bigs and the top half off AAA.

[dew1679666265]

Given how many LHP we've faced, I think it makes sense to run Pie out there against the RHP. I hate the idea of giving Pie a handful of PH at-bats every week, like that's going to help him get better or stop pressing. To improve, I think he needs to see regular ABs, at least against RHP. I don't think we would have a worse record if Pie had started against the RHP we've faced so far. And I think it will make the team better for the rest of the season to help Pie improve quicker than to get more ABs from Reed Johnson.

I think whether the AB's will help or not depends on Lou's read of the entirety of what is wrong with Felix right now, where he stands in his progression, whether Lou thinks Pie would actually regress into previous habits with regular AB's, his read of Felix's psychology on how the struggling would affect him with more or less AB's, etc.

 

Exactly.

 

When you're starting full time, the player tends to put more pressure on himself to produce (to keep starting) even if the manager isn't applying pressure.

 

Also, sending Pie in on pinch hitting duties allows Lou to control the situations Pie hits in. Lou then has the ability to put Pie in particular situations he wants Felix to work on and can perhaps find some situations where it's not crucial he perform (pinch hit him to leadoff an inning instead of in the middle of a rally with runners on second and third).

[dew1679666265]

At 23, Rosey put up these numbers: .219/.239/.391 in the majors.

 

That was in 64 at-bats, you can't possibly tell anything from that. Just a year older, he hit .352/.378/.538 in 91 at-bats. Did he magically improve that much in one season, or was sample-size at play?

 

We'll never know that for sure, will we? The very high likelihood is, though, that a very good sample size of at-bats will give us worse numbers than his career averages since he was 23 and fresh in the majors.

 

Personally, I think Pie would do better than Rosey's line at 23. How much so is highly debatable, though. And if fixing the swing will aid him in putting up better numbers, than why not try it? Lou and Perry have shown at least a decent ability to instill positive traits in hitters (hence the offense's ability to walk this year, thus far). If Lou honestly thinks shortening Pie's swing will help him improve, I'm comfortable with seeing what happens. Were it Dusty, I'd be much more apprehensive about trusting him.

 

"Mechanics are most definitely part of determing a major league baseball player's potential for success. And the jump from AAA to the majors is one of the biggest an athlete will ever make."

 

The real-life numbers don't bear that out, though. We can all cherry-pick individual players that did or did not translate AAA success into the majors, but the average player jumping from AAA to the majors has a very clear trend in how much of their production they lose. And it isn't as much as some seem to think.

 

There's a huge difference between the top half of the majors leaguers and AAA, but I see very little difference between the bottom half of the bigs and the top half off AAA.

 

The very bottom of the majors and the absolute best of AAA are similar, yes. But, most major league starters are not the bottom of the barrel in the majors. I'm not comfortable saying we've faced anywhere near the worst starting pitcher in the majors yet (save, perhaps, for Matt Morris - though that's doubtful).

 

I also wonder how well Pie did against the best of the best in AAA. Were his numbers against them in line with his overall numbers? Or did he utter demolish the truly terrible AAA pitchers and struggle some with the Homer Bailey's of the world?

[carolinacubbie]

From August 4-9 last season, Derrek Lee had a stretch of 3-for-25 with no extra-base hits and 7 strikeouts.

 

Had that been the first time Cubs fans had been exposed to him, might they have decided he was overmatched in the bigs and wanted Daryle Ward?

 

 

 

 

That is insane to try to compare. Lee was a proven player. I'm sorry, but Felix Pie at the Major League level is nowhere near proven. He, honestly is bad. He had a big hit against the Pirates on a bloop single, but outside of that anytime he comes up with RISP he strikes out. In all honesty I don't think Pie is that great of a prospect. The only reason any of us think he is is because we have such a lack of prospects that are any good that he is our best. Around baseball though, I don't think Pie is that HIGHLY thought of. I feel like people think he can be a good player, but not an all star.

[CoolHandLuke]

From August 4-9 last season, Derrek Lee had a stretch of 3-for-25 with no extra-base hits and 7 strikeouts.

 

Had that been the first time Cubs fans had been exposed to him, might they have decided he was overmatched in the bigs and wanted Daryle Ward?

 

 

 

 

That is insane to try to compare. Lee was a proven player. I'm sorry, but Felix Pie at the Major League level is nowhere near proven. He, honestly is bad. He had a big hit against the Pirates on a bloop single, but outside of that anytime he comes up with RISP he strikes out. In all honesty I don't think Pie is that great of a prospect. The only reason any of us think he is is because we have such a lack of prospects that are any good that he is our best. Around baseball though, I don't think Pie is that HIGHLY thought of. I feel like people think he can be a good player, but not an all star.

 

If he didn't lose his rookie eligibility, he would have made Baseball America's top 100 for 6 years in a row, so he is fairly highly thought of throughout baseball and has been for quite some time. Does that mean he is guaranteed to do anything? Of course not, however its pretty foolish to feel that he is overrated as a prospect when your only evidence is a handful of major league at bats at such a young age. He could very well be a bust, but its way too soon to give up on him.

 

And good players are valuable, especially when they come from your farm and you have them under control for 6 years at low salaries.

[carolinacubbie]

I find it to be crazy. Their are certain players on this team that no matter what they do, they suck. (Ryan Theriot, Ryan Dempster, Reed Johnson, Jason Marquis) Then their are certain players on this team that no matter what they do, they are awesome. (Matt Murton, Felix Pie, Ronny Cedeno) Why can't we just find a medium.

 

Theriot- He is a pretty decent ballplayer who at times finds a way to get on base, I don't care what any of you say he isn't bad. As much as I hate the old gives it his all, he does.

Johnson- He is having a great year so far, why bash him for that, atleast give credit where credit is due. He might fall off, but right now he isn't. Don't pull against him.

Dempster- He has had now four good enough outings. Yesterday's outing wasn't that great, but it was good enough.

Marquis- He is our number five starter, it isn't like we need him to go out their and pitch gems. If he can produce like he did last year, that will be fine for a number five starter.

 

Murton- I love Murton to death. But he needs to stop hitting so many weak groundballs and swinging bunts. He had a solid 06 season, but honestly we have no place for him right now. Would any of you really rather him start over Fukudome or Soriano??

Pie- As of right now, he can't hit MLB pitching. He has a career average of .205. That is in 205 at bats, so it isn't like it is that small of a sample size. His OPS is .568. That doesn't cut it. In Reed Johnson's first year in the MLB, he put up a .780 OPS. I don't think we need to give up on Pie. We all forget he is only 23. He needs another year in the minors. He has to work on being able to hit a breaking ball. 24 isn't that old to start playing everday in the majors.

Cedeno- I like Ronny a lot too, and I wouldn't mind seeing him get a couple starts a week, but it isn't like he didn't get any chances. He started the whole year in 06 and was very unproductive. A lot less productive then Theriot was last year.

 

It just really pisses me off when it seems like some of you pull against the current cubs starters because you like other guys better. Like someone said before yall aren't Cubs fans first, yall are Cedeno, Murton, and Pie fans.

[dew1679666265]

From August 4-9 last season, Derrek Lee had a stretch of 3-for-25 with no extra-base hits and 7 strikeouts.

 

Had that been the first time Cubs fans had been exposed to him, might they have decided he was overmatched in the bigs and wanted Daryle Ward?

 

 

 

 

That is insane to try to compare. Lee was a proven player. I'm sorry, but Felix Pie at the Major League level is nowhere near proven. He, honestly is bad. He had a big hit against the Pirates on a bloop single, but outside of that anytime he comes up with RISP he strikes out. In all honesty I don't think Pie is that great of a prospect. The only reason any of us think he is is because we have such a lack of prospects that are any good that he is our best. Around baseball though, I don't think Pie is that HIGHLY thought of. I feel like people think he can be a good player, but not an all star.

 

Depending on how you classify Soto, Pie is our top position prospect. Now, in all of baseball, he's probably just a good prospect. Most of what I've heard projecting him is a borderline all-star. He'll be good to very good, but probably not great.

 

That said, he's still a very solid prospect and producing a borderline all-star is nothing to sneeze at. Up until last year there was little to no reason to put much stock in Soto developing into anything but a good defensive, little to no bat catcher. I, for one, am glad I was wrong and we stuck with him.

 

I'm fairly confident Pie will learn to hit. The primary question is what is the best way to achieve that point.

[carolinacubbie]

From August 4-9 last season, Derrek Lee had a stretch of 3-for-25 with no extra-base hits and 7 strikeouts.

 

Had that been the first time Cubs fans had been exposed to him, might they have decided he was overmatched in the bigs and wanted Daryle Ward?

 

 

 

 

That is insane to try to compare. Lee was a proven player. I'm sorry, but Felix Pie at the Major League level is nowhere near proven. He, honestly is bad. He had a big hit against the Pirates on a bloop single, but outside of that anytime he comes up with RISP he strikes out. In all honesty I don't think Pie is that great of a prospect. The only reason any of us think he is is because we have such a lack of prospects that are any good that he is our best. Around baseball though, I don't think Pie is that HIGHLY thought of. I feel like people think he can be a good player, but not an all star.

 

If he didn't lose his rookie eligibility, he would have made Baseball America's top 100 for 6 years in a row, so he is fairly highly thought of throughout baseball and has been for quite some time. Does that mean he is guaranteed to do anything? Of course not, however its pretty foolish to feel that he is overrated as a prospect when your only evidence is a handful of major league at bats at such a young age. He could very well be a bust, but its way too soon to give up on him.

 

And good players are valuable, especially when they come from your farm and you have them under control for 6 years at low salaries.

 

 

 

I agree with not giving up on him. He is still only 23. I just feel like he isn't ready for the MLB. There is nothing wrong with that. He needs another year in the minors to work on hitting breaking balls. In a year where the cubs can possibly win the world series, I don't want a 23 year old there putting up a .230/.300/.600 line.

[dew1679666265]

From August 4-9 last season, Derrek Lee had a stretch of 3-for-25 with no extra-base hits and 7 strikeouts.

 

Had that been the first time Cubs fans had been exposed to him, might they have decided he was overmatched in the bigs and wanted Daryle Ward?

 

 

 

 

That is insane to try to compare. Lee was a proven player. I'm sorry, but Felix Pie at the Major League level is nowhere near proven. He, honestly is bad. He had a big hit against the Pirates on a bloop single, but outside of that anytime he comes up with RISP he strikes out. In all honesty I don't think Pie is that great of a prospect. The only reason any of us think he is is because we have such a lack of prospects that are any good that he is our best. Around baseball though, I don't think Pie is that HIGHLY thought of. I feel like people think he can be a good player, but not an all star.

 

If he didn't lose his rookie eligibility, he would have made Baseball America's top 100 for 6 years in a row, so he is fairly highly thought of throughout baseball and has been for quite some time. Does that mean he is guaranteed to do anything? Of course not, however its pretty foolish to feel that he is overrated as a prospect when your only evidence is a handful of major league at bats at such a young age. He could very well be a bust, but its way too soon to give up on him.

 

And good players are valuable, especially when they come from your farm and you have them under control for 6 years at low salaries.

 

 

 

I agree with not giving up on him. He is still only 23. I just feel like he isn't ready for the MLB. There is nothing wrong with that. He needs another year in the minors to work on hitting breaking balls. In a year where the cubs can possibly win the world series, I don't want a 23 year old there putting up a .230/.300/.600 line.

 

The main problem with leaving him in the minors is that he won't see major league worthy breaking balls much in AAA. He'll get some serious major leaguers down there, but most of the pitchers he'll face don't have near the ability that he'll need to learn to hit major league pitching.

 

I'm fine with him in the majors getting personal instruction from Lou and Gerald and seeing some pitching through pinch hitting duties. Would I like him to start against righties? Sure, but Lou's earned the benefit of the doubt to this point.

[CoolHandLuke]

 

 

I agree with not giving up on him. He is still only 23. I just feel like he isn't ready for the MLB. There is nothing wrong with that. He needs another year in the minors to work on hitting breaking balls. In a year where the cubs can possibly win the world series, I don't want a 23 year old there putting up a .230/.300/.600 line.

 

He has looked terrible at the plate but more time in Iowa will do absolutely nothing for him. As hot as Reed has been, his career numbers vs RHP just aren't good and he won't cut as a full time cf this year. Unless we bring in a player from outside of the organization, we need Pie to start hitting at the major league level. I don't think we just hang him out their to struggle right now, but it is crucial to work him into the lineup a little more, and get him to take over as the starter vs RHP at some point this year.

 

For the mid to long-term success of the franchise Pie is even more crucial unless whoever buys the team is prepared to up the payroll significantly. With all of the salary commitments over the next 5 years, we need as many cheap home grown players we can get to plug in around the Soriano's and Zambrano's.

 

The bottom line is that Reed Johnson is a nice player, but there is no way he should be the full time answer in cf this year.

[Elrhino]

Pie hardly lit up Iowa in 2006. Last year he had a very good half-season in Iowa with 220 at bats. Was that because he clearly outclassed the competition or was it because he's was playing lights out? The sample size is in the gray area that you could make a case either way, but given that when he was called up he continued to hit at a torrid pace at the bigs and then promptly came crashing down to earth I tend to believe it's the later. As I said before, Pie's plate discipline so horrendous that he's going to have to depend on a high BABIP. As such he's going to go through extreme hot and cold streaks, and will have be judged on a large sample size until they balance each other out. I don't see how anyone could conclusively say that any time spent in Iowa would be "meaningless" when given that he's only put up one good half season there and he looks so thoroughly and completely lost on the major league level. Edited April 21, 2008 by Elrhino

[RazzinGTO]

Dare to compare.....if it hasn't already been said.

 

Didn't we once have a fast, above average CF'er that couldn't hit because he swung for the fences everytime he was at the plate?? Can we say CP?

 

Sorry to say, the once promising Pie has lost his luster. We need a better all around center fielder and the Cubs, as usual, stuck to their guns and held on to Pie until he has no trade value. I would love to eat my words, seeing as I followed him a lot while down at Iowa, but I just don't see him turning it around. I know he is only 23, but he has been around quite awhile and he won't make it in the show until he shortens up the swing and concentrates on getting on base, trying to steal his way around, and letting the big boppers hit him in.

 

Heck, we all know where he would go if the Cubs did let him go. He would join the current rehash of the 04 Cubs to the east, with Baker, Bako, Pattersen, and Mercker. Then there is former teammate Hairston that the Red just called up too.

 

JR

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Patterson and Pie are fast, left-handed and strike out a lot. That's as far as the comparison goes.

 

Pie has far superior minor-league numbers and has consistently shown the ability to take a awlk.

[RazzinGTO]

Patterson and Pie are fast, left-handed and strike out a lot. That's as far as the comparison goes.

 

Pie has far superior minor-league numbers and has consistently shown the ability to take a awlk.

 

Ok, i will give you that.....but the Cubs have held on to both thinking they were the next great thing in CF and neither are amounting to it. If we continue to give Pie "time" he will be the 5-6 year player CP was and still be doing the same thing he was when first brought up. Swinging too big for himself.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Pie hardly lit up Iowa in 2006. Last year he had a very good half-season in Iowa with 220 at bats. Was that because he clearly outclassed the competition or was it because he's was playing lights out? The sample size is in the gray area that you could make a case either way, but given that when he was called up he continued to hit at a torrid pace at the bigs and then promptly came crashing down to earth I tend to believe it's the later. As I said before, Pie's plate discipline so horrendous that he's going to have to depend on a high BABIP. As such he's going to go through extreme hot and cold streaks, and will have be judged on a large sample size until they balance each other out. I don't see how anyone could conclusively say that any time spent in Iowa would be "meaningless" when given that he's only put up one good half season there and he looks so thoroughly and completely lost on the major league level.

 

Look at Pie's splits from 2006, by the end of the year he was torching Iowa, and it continued into 2007.

[dew1679666265]

Patterson and Pie are fast, left-handed and strike out a lot. That's as far as the comparison goes.

 

Pie has far superior minor-league numbers and has consistently shown the ability to take a awlk.

 

Ok, i will give you that.....but the Cubs have held on to both thinking they were the next great thing in CF and neither are amounting to it. If we continue to give Pie "time" he will be the 5-6 year player CP was and still be doing the same thing he was when first brought up. Swinging too big for himself.

 

There is no possible way it can be argued that Pie has had enough time to prove himself one way or another. He's 23 years old and hasn't been in the majors a full season yet.

 

Plus, Patterson's bad habits were only encouraged by Dusty, whereas Pie has Lou and Gerald Perry around - two men who are much better at developing positive habits in youngsters.

 

I'm not completely sold on Pie, but there's also no way I'd consider him a bust yet either.