Minor League Discussion & Boxes 8-19-2008

[Outshined_One]

Box Scores

 

Iowa lost 9-5 Box Score

 

CF F. Pie 1/5

LF M. Hoffpauir 2/5, 2 RBI, 2B (31)

3B C. McGehee 0/4, BB, R, K

1B M. Craig 2/4, 2B (5)

PH J. Kroeger 0/1

SP M. Atkins 2 IP, 3 H, 6 ER, 2/4 K/BB, HR, 1-3 GO-FO

RP J. Ascanio 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2/0 K/BB, 0-1 GO-FO

RP K. Hart 1 perfect, 1/0 K/BB, 1-1 GO-FO

 

Tennessee won 4-2 Box Score

 

CF S. Fuld 1/3, BB, SB (5), CS (7)

RF M. Camp 0/4

2B N. Spears 2/4, 2 R, 3B (5), K

DH J. Fox 3/4, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR (24), K

LF T. Colvin 1/4, RBI, 3B (10), K

C W. Castillo 1/4, 3 K

3B J. Lansford 0/4, 2 K

SP E. Caridad 7 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3/1 K/BB, HR, 11-7 GO-FO

RP J. Ceda 2 scoreless, 2 H, 4/0 K/BB, 1-1 GO-FO

 

Daytona with an off day.

 

Peoria lost 5-4 in 10 innings Box Score

 

RF J. Wyatt 2/4, R, RBI, 2 K, 3 SB (15), HBP

SS N. Samson 0/3, BB, E (27, fielding)

3B J. Rosa 0/5, K

CF B. Guyer 2/5, 2B (26)

LF R. Ridling 0/3, BB, K

PR/2B J. Harrison 0/1, R, SB (6)

DH D. Johnston 1/4, R

C L. Flores 2/3, R, 2 RBI, 2B (1), SB (1)

SP A. Santana 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3/1 K/BB, 8-6 GO-FO

 

Boise won 16-9 Box Score

 

CF K. Calvert 4/7, R, 2B (6), RBI, PO

LF D. Rundle 1/4, 3 R, 2B (15), 2 BB, K, SB (3)

3B J. Vitters 3/5, 2 R, 2 2B (20), 2 RBI, K, HBP, E (8, fielding) - 25 game hitting streak

SS R. Flaherty 1/6, 2B (13), RBI, 2 K

1B R. Keedy 3/4, 3 R, 2B (15), K, HBP - left game after HBP

DH S. Hoorelbeke 1/6, 2B (7), 2 RBI, 2 K

C C. Perez 2/6, 3 R, 2 2B (11), RBI, K

LF D. Macias 4/6, 2 R, 2B (7), 3 RBI

2B M. Gonzalez 4/5, 3 RBI, BB, K

SP C. Carpenter 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP, 7 GO-4 FO

RP A. Cashner 2.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 GO-4 FO

 

AZL Cubs with an off day.

 

DSL Cubs 1 lost 6-3 Box Score

 

SP Ma. Perez 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 3 GO-3 FO

 

DSL Cubs 2 lost 11-4 Box Score

 

DH J. Morelli 3/4, 2 R, 2B (10), 2 SB (13) - 18 years old

LF G. Robles 2/3, 2B (5), RBI, BB - 17 years old

SP R. Garcia 5 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 7 GO-5 FO - turn 17 years old earlier this month

 

Overall: 2-4

[rawaction]

Colvin o'meter up to: .256/.315/.421/.736.

 

Not great by any means, but has only played 16 games in his only month above a .700 OPS. He has a legit shot to finish over .750.

 

Second half numbers: .305/.333/.539/.872. Better than his FSL numbers from last year. If he can combine the 1st half's .070 ISOD with the 2nd half's .234 ISOP next year, he'll be a pretty good prospect again.

[TruffleShuffle]

probably a good thing that daytona is off, because they sure weren't going to play today.

[Guest]

Probable Starters:

 

Iowa: RHP Mitch Atkins (16-6, 3.72 ERA, 152.1 IP, 124 K/44 BB)

Tennessee: RHP Esmailin Caridad (11-7, 4.03 ERA, 134 IP, 78 K/35 BB)

Peoria: RHP Audy Santana (1-6, 4.00 ERA, 74.1 IP, 53 K/28 BB)

Boise: RHP Chris Carpenter (3-0, 6.35 ERA, 17 IP, 12 K/14 BB) & RHP Andrew Cashner (0-1, 6.75 ERA, 10.2 IP, 11 K/14 BB)

DSL Cubs 1: RHP Marcos Perez (6-2, 1.30 ERA, 62.1 IP, 49 K/8 BB)

DSL Cubs 2: RHP Ramon Garcia (2-5, 5.93 ERA, 44 IP, 40 K/11 BB)

[craig]

Atkins and Caridad aren't real important prospects, to my knowledge, but they lead the farm in innings, with 152 and 134. Last year Hart and Holliman were the only minor leaguers to reach 150. Not sure it means anything. Most likely just a function of guys who throw strikes and are reasonably consistent. Getting knocked out in the 2nd or 3rd innings hurts your innings, as does using a lot of pitches to get guys out, as often happens with Veal and happened a lot with Gallagher last year. For some reason i thought that was interesting that these guys are on top, and Atkins by so many innings.

[TruffleShuffle]

Atkins and Caridad aren't real important prospects, to my knowledge, but they lead the farm in innings, with 152 and 134. Last year Hart and Holliman were the only minor leaguers to reach 150. Not sure it means anything. Most likely just a function of guys who throw strikes and are reasonably consistent. Getting knocked out in the 2nd or 3rd innings hurts your innings, as does using a lot of pitches to get guys out, as often happens with Veal and happened a lot with Gallagher last year. For some reason i thought that was interesting that these guys are on top, and Atkins by so many innings.

 

i don't know if i'd pooh-pooh atkins' status as a prospect. he's been able to cut his walk rate down a little bit while maintaining a solid k-rate. it seems like he's been a little lucky on balls in play, but he's maintained solid numbers at AA/AAA and is only 22. he could be a pretty good back of the rotation guy, i think.

[SouthSideRyan]

Atkins and Caridad aren't real important prospects, to my knowledge, but they lead the farm in innings, with 152 and 134. Last year Hart and Holliman were the only minor leaguers to reach 150. Not sure it means anything. Most likely just a function of guys who throw strikes and are reasonably consistent. Getting knocked out in the 2nd or 3rd innings hurts your innings, as does using a lot of pitches to get guys out, as often happens with Veal and happened a lot with Gallagher last year. For some reason i thought that was interesting that these guys are on top, and Atkins by so many innings.

 

i don't know if i'd pooh-pooh atkins' status as a prospect. he's been able to cut his walk rate down a little bit while maintaining a solid k-rate. it seems like he's been a little lucky on balls in play, but he's maintained solid numbers at AA/AAA and is only 22. he could be a pretty good back of the rotation guy, i think.

 

Yeah, Atkins has grown on me. He's the type of guy you keep expecting to bottom out with his next promotion, and he keeps proving me wrong.

[rawaction]

I've never seen Atkins. But for some reason he reminds me of Frank Castillo. I think he can have a solid ML career (6-8 years). And he'll likely be a guy that hovers around a 90-105 ERA+. It probably won't be with the Cubs, however.

[Guest]

I wouldn't dismiss Atkins' prospect status but I have doubts about a righty who tops out around 90 mph. Looks like the cut has been a really welcome addition to his arsenal, though.

 

Inside The Ivy[/url]"]“My curveball is usually 75 (mph), my cutter is 82, my fastball is 90 and my changeup is probably around 78.”

 

Lewallyn said the key for Atkins is he can now throw all four pitches for strikes, and the cutter is the one that could put him in a Chicago Cubs uniform.

 

“He’s got an average major league fastball, and he’s got a two-seam fastball as well, which he uses when he needs a ground ball,” Lewallyn said. “He’s got much better command of it this year than when he came up last year. He throws it to both sides of the plate fairly consistently.

 

“The cutter has been the pitch that has probably gotten him over the hump as far as probably going to pitch in the big leagues. He throws it in just about any count. He gets a lot of outs off of it. He’s always had a good curveball. I think in the past he overexposed his curveball. Now he uses it in the right situations, and it’s a real quality pitch for him.”

[Little Slide Rooter]

Atkins and Caridad aren't real important prospects, to my knowledge, but they lead the farm in innings, with 152 and 134. Last year Hart and Holliman were the only minor leaguers to reach 150. Not sure it means anything. Most likely just a function of guys who throw strikes and are reasonably consistent. Getting knocked out in the 2nd or 3rd innings hurts your innings, as does using a lot of pitches to get guys out, as often happens with Veal and happened a lot with Gallagher last year. For some reason i thought that was interesting that these guys are on top, and Atkins by so many innings.

 

i don't know if i'd pooh-pooh atkins' status as a prospect. he's been able to cut his walk rate down a little bit while maintaining a solid k-rate. it seems like he's been a little lucky on balls in play, but he's maintained solid numbers at AA/AAA and is only 22. he could be a pretty good back of the rotation guy, i think.

 

Yeah, Atkins has grown on me. He's the type of guy you keep expecting to bottom out with his next promotion, and he keeps proving me wrong.

 

At only 22, at the AAA level he definitely has promise, especially considering that most of the I Cubs are pushing 30.

[craig]

i don't know if i'd pooh-pooh atkins' status as a prospect. he's been able to cut his walk rate down a little bit while maintaining a solid k-rate. it seems like he's been a little lucky on balls in play, but he's maintained solid numbers at AA/AAA and is only 22. he could be a pretty good back of the rotation guy, i think.

 

I agree he's got some interest, for reasons that you and others have mentioned.

 

But nobody has mentioned his biggest statistical problem: he's a HR guy. 22 HR's in 152 IP this year, 19HR/141 innings last year. That's pretty high.

 

But he's got a chance to see some major-league time, certainly. And he's young enough that he might get somewhat better still. Not sure he's got enough prospect zing to be much of a trade chip at present, though.

[Guest]

First time through the lineup:

 

Drew Rundle walked.

Josh Vitters singled - the hit streak is up to 25 games and he'll try to tie the NWL record of 26 tomorrow.

Ryan Flaherty struck out.

 

And Chris Carpenter starts the bottom of the 1st with 2 straight walks, ends up correcting his control problems a bit and limits his damage: 1 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

 

Boise is up 4-1 after one inning.

[Guest]

Second time through, with 2 outs in the 2nd inning:

 

Drew Rundle doubles on a full count. 1 for 1, BB, 2B (15).

Josh Vitters doubles (misses a home run by 5 feet or less). 2 for 2, 2B (19).

Ryan Flaherty grounds out 3-1. 0 for 2, K.

 

Boise up 5-1 in the middle of the 2nd.

[rawaction]

Aren't the NWL parks pretty big? Vitters seems to have an abnormally high numbers of almost HRs. The kid's going to be a big time power hitter.

[Guest]

Boise is up 6-1 after 3. They're trying to play through some stready light rain in Vancouver.

 

Chris Carpenter's control has been much better since the first: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, HBP.

[Guest]

Aren't the NWL parks pretty big? Vitters seems to have an abnormally high numbers of almost HRs. The kid's going to be a big time power hitter.

 

It's an interesting question. There's a lot of good hitting and power but it's mostly power that stays inside the ballpark. The weather's pretty cool and wet in Vancouver today, so I would think home runs would be hard to come by. I don't know what the ballpark dimensions are like, though.

 

Third time through the lineup:

 

Drew Rundle walks. 1 for 1, 2B (15), 2 BB.

Josh Vitters pops out. 2 for 3, 2B (19).

Ryan Flaherty doubles to the opposite field. 1 for 3, 2B (13), K.

[Guest]

Carpenter's final line: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP, 7 GO-4 FO.

 

Andrew Cashner now in. Boise up 8-1.

[Guest]

Cashner's first pitch in at 95 mph.

 

Single.

Single that should have been an error on Flaherty.

Foul out to Vitters. 1 out.

Ground out for the 2nd out.

Base runner thrown out at home on a WP that came right back to the catcher.

 

1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 GO-1 FO.

[Guest]

Fourth time through the lineup:

 

Drew Rundle grounds out. 1 for 2, 2B (15), 2 BB.

Josh Vitters strikes out looking on a full count. 2 for 4, 2B (19), K.

Ryan Flaherty flies out. 1 for 4, 2B (13), K.

[Guest]

Cashner's 2nd inning:

 

Flyout

Single.

Error on Vitters (bobbled ball).

K swinging.

2-RBI double.

Fly out.

 

2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 GO-3 FO.

[Guest]

Fifth time through:

 

Drew Rundle strikes out swinging. 1 for 3, 2B (15), 2 BB, K.

Josh Vitters RBI HBP (woo IsoD!). 2 for 4, 2B (19), K, HBP.

Ryan Flaherty strikes out swinging. 1 for 5, 2B (13), 2 K.

[Guest]

Cashner's 3rd inning:

 

Flyout.

Double.

BB on a full count. Still hitting 95 mph consistently.

K swinging.

BB on a full count.

Throws strike 1 and then is pulled because he hit his pitch count.

 

He leaves with the bases loaded. Dan McDaniel is coming in.

 

McDaniel gets a ground out so Cashner's final line: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 GO-4 FO.

[Outshined_One]

Aren't the NWL parks pretty big? Vitters seems to have an abnormally high numbers of almost HRs. The kid's going to be a big time power hitter.

 

It's an interesting question. There's a lot of good hitting and power but it's mostly power that stays inside the ballpark. The weather's pretty cool and wet in Vancouver today, so I would think home runs would be hard to come by. I don't know what the ballpark dimensions are like, though.

 

Wikipedia

[Guest]

Sixth time through:

 

Drew Rundle pops up. 1 for 4, 2B (15), 2 BB, K.

[Cynosure]

Do the Cubs have to call up Hoffpauir for at least one day in August for him to be eligible for the playoff roster?