Cub prospects in the news

[CUBZ99]

Aaron Miles is the only left handed 2B in baseball? Signing Miles was the mistake.

 

Fontenot was the left handed 2B, Miles was brought in as a backup.

[Guest]

Mitch Atkins was the PCL Pitcher of the Week and Tyler Colvin was the SL Player of the Week last week.

 

Pacific Coast League

Mitch Atkins, Iowa

2-0, 1.38 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 13 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 13 SO

Cubs prospect Mitch Atkins began to turn around a tough season this week, allowing two runs over his two wins. He tossed seven innings, striking out five and surrendering four hits -- one of which was a home run -- in Monday's victory against New Orleans, and then he struck out eight over seven shutout innings to beat Oklahoma City on Sunday. Although his outstanding starts only dropped his 2009 Triple-A ERA to 6.56, Atkins put himself in fourth place on the PCL leaderboard with his 121st strikeout.

 

Southern League

Tyler Colvin, Tennessee

.407 (11-27), 6 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 0 BB, 6 SO, 0 SB, .778 SLG

Former first-rounder Tyler Colvin worked his average above the .300 mark for the first time since July 2. The Cubs prospect rides a 15-game hitting streak into the last day of August, and he enjoyed three multiple-hit games this week. Colvin tripled and swatted a home run during Saturday's four-RBI performance, and he left the park again on Sunday. His hot week couldn't have come at a better time for Tennessee -- the Smokies heading into September neck-and-neck with the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx for the second-half Southern League North Division title.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

He sacrificed a great deal of 2009 production for bullpen prospects.

 

Because Fontenot and Miles both tanked hard. If Fontenot had OPSed .750-.800 against RHP and Miles .600-.650 against LHP they would've been the same or better as DeRosa this year when you include defense. That's far from an unrealistic expectation in December.

 

And the bullpen prospects that you're trying to talk down in value stand a good chance of making up 1/3 of the pen next year, and will provide a lot of value for cheap. And Archer isn't a reliever, he's more of a right handed Rich Hill in the low minors at this point.

[Guest]

It's so freaking obvious, I don't understand the need to try and pretend it's not what happened. Bradley replaced Edmonds. Miles replaced DeRosa. The goal was to get more left handed and only one of those things got the team more left handed.

It's even more obvious that while the intended roles don't exactly line up, it would be far more accurate to portray the teams hopes like this:

 

Edmonds -> Bradley

DeRosa -> Fontenot

Cedeno -> Miles

 

But again, the mapping is not that clean and it isn't accurate to imply any one to one mapping in intended roles between the two teams.

[CubColtPacer]

I thought that DeRosa was traded to allow Hendry to have money to sign Bradley and/or trade for Peavy? Wasn't Miles brought in to take Fontenot/Cedeno's place on the bench?

 

The Cubs saved $2.5m in the DeRosa to Miles shift, that did not make or break the Bradley acquisition.

 

3.3 million actually (5.5 for DeRosa, 2.2 for Miles) and depending on how you charge the signing bonus for Bradley, that could be as little as 1/3 of his contract for this year or more than 1/2 of his contract. But I tend to agree with you that getting more money for the Bradley deal was a concern but not a significant one.

 

However, I don't agree at all that they signed Miles to get more left-handed. They signed Miles to replace the versatility of DeRosa and as a platoon partner for Fontenot. The fact that he switch hits was a distant third in the reasons for signing him. In fact, if Miles batted only from the left side, the Cubs probably wouldn't have signed him.

 

You can not agree if you choose, but you'd be wrong.

 

It's so freaking obvious, I don't understand the need to try and pretend it's not what happened. Bradley replaced Edmonds. Miles replaced DeRosa. The goal was to get more left handed and only one of those things got the team more left handed.

 

The goal was to get more left-handed in order to build a better playoff lineup against right handed pitching. Fontenot would have replaced DeRosa in those situations, not Miles. The goal was to have 3 left-handers playing in the playoff lineup instead of just 2. That was why they traded DeRosa in the first place.

 

Miles doesn't factor into that equation whatsoever. His signing was simply this..Hendry's quote when he signed:

 

We expect Aaron to provide significant versatility and flexibility to our roster,"

 

3 questions:

 

1) Is Miles the choice if he only plays second base? Probably not, no. The Cubs were looking to find a player who was versatile so they could go with 12 pitchers and also keep Hoffpauir on the bench.

2) Is Miles the choice if he only bats left-handed? Probably not, no. The Cubs would have to find another second baseman who can hit left-handers since Fontenot clearly can't.

3) If Miles the choice if he only bats right-handed? Probably yes. The Cubs would have been disappointed, but Miles is still the best free agent option because he still can platoon with Fontenot and still allows freedom for building the rest of the bench.

 

It just doesn't fit that Miles being left-handed was anything more than a side benefit. If DeRosa made a small amount of money and Hendry didn't feel that it was wrong to bench him, they probably would have kept him instead as a supersub and just let Fontenot start. Instead, DeRosa was traded and Miles was signed to try to replicate what DeRosa would have brought to the team in a bench role.

[Guest]

snip

Hendry can say whatever the hell he wants. Miles was brought here to replace DeRosa. I would hardly call DeRosa a bench player.

[Guest]

lol

[SouthSideRyan]

Mark DeRosa was the starting 2B. Aaron Miles was not brought in to be the starting 2B.

[Guest]

Mark DeRosa was the starting 2B. Aaron Miles was not brought in to be the starting 2B.

Logic is not going to work here. I've beaten my head against this wall before.

[CubColtPacer]

snip

Hendry can say whatever the hell he wants. Miles was brought here to replace DeRosa. I would hardly call DeRosa a bench player.

 

Sort of. Essentially, they tried to replace 1 complete player (DeRosa) with 2 flawed players (Fontenot+Miles).

 

Fontenot was supposed to replace DeRosa as the starter at 2B and be the left-handed bat in the starting lineup against right-handers.

 

Miles was supposed to replace DeRosa's versatility and ability to hit left-handers.

[Little Slide Rooter]

The gamble when trading DeRosa was whether or not Fontenot was capable of playing 2B everyday. Hendry rolled the dice and it came up snake eyes. As for Miles, he should have been long gone as soon as they reilized that Andres Blanco was a slight upgrade offensively and a significant upgrade defensively. I really cant remember the last time Miles hit a ball out of the infield. Its a disgrace that hes still on the team.

[CUBZ99]

Mitch Atkins was the PCL Pitcher of the Week and Tyler Colvin was the SL Player of the Week last week.

 

Pacific Coast League

Mitch Atkins, Iowa

2-0, 1.38 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 13 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 13 SO

Cubs prospect Mitch Atkins began to turn around a tough season this week, allowing two runs over his two wins. He tossed seven innings, striking out five and surrendering four hits -- one of which was a home run -- in Monday's victory against New Orleans, and then he struck out eight over seven shutout innings to beat Oklahoma City on Sunday. Although his outstanding starts only dropped his 2009 Triple-A ERA to 6.56, Atkins put himself in fourth place on the PCL leaderboard with his 121st strikeout.

 

Southern League

Tyler Colvin, Tennessee

.407 (11-27), 6 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 0 BB, 6 SO, 0 SB, .778 SLG

Former first-rounder Tyler Colvin worked his average above the .300 mark for the first time since July 2. The Cubs prospect rides a 15-game hitting streak into the last day of August, and he enjoyed three multiple-hit games this week. Colvin tripled and swatted a home run during Saturday's four-RBI performance, and he left the park again on Sunday. His hot week couldn't have come at a better time for Tennessee -- the Smokies heading into September neck-and-neck with the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx for the second-half Southern League North Division title.

 

What is the consensus on Colvin? I know he had one ridiculously hot stretch, but his numbers since the All Star break are pretty good, including an OPS of .944. His K rate has been down around 1 out of every 5 AB. It has to make you wonder if the guy is starting to figure things out.

[Outshined_One]

What is the consensus on Colvin? I know he had one ridiculously hot stretch, but his numbers since the All Star break are pretty good, including an OPS of .944. His K rate has been down around 1 out of every 5 AB. It has to make you wonder if the guy is starting to figure things out.

 

4th OF on a good team. He doesn't play CF well enough to play there every day and it seems like he'll be relegated to a corner in the majors. Moreover, because he doesn't exhibit very good patience or power at the plate, he likely won't hit enough to be better than average as a corner OF.

 

Still, the hot streak has been very nice.

[craig]

What is the consensus on Colvin? I know he had one ridiculously hot stretch, but his numbers since the All Star break are pretty good, including an OPS of .944. His K rate has been down around 1 out of every 5 AB. It has to make you wonder if the guy is starting to figure things out.

 

4th OF on a good team. ....because he doesn't exhibit very good patience or power at the plate, he likely won't hit enough to be better than average as a corner OF....

 

I don't disagree with most of those thoughts. The "consensus" is probably 4th OF on a good team, and he likely won't hit enough to be an above average starter. Two points: First, we can underestimate the value of average. There are a lot of good corner OF's, so it's a lot easier to end up with an below-average awful situation in a corner (for example, Soriano/LF this year) than it is to be better than average there. Average for low pay, often teams wish they had that.

 

I do question the statement that he doesn't exhibit very good power. His Tenn slugging is .528, which would make him the league leader if he had enough PA's to qualify for the list. Slugging .528 in AA at age 23 is not power-deficient, I don't think. Neither is 13HR/284 AB. Project that to the number of AB's a big-league regular gets and you've got a HR-hitter. He's not a big guy and he's never been scouted as a power hitter. But actually power hitting has been his best virtue as a pro.

 

Often guys as slender as Colvin get stronger and more skilled at driving HR's. So one could optimistically hope that perhaps he will sustain and improve his power. And with the kind of power he's shown, combined with his this-year-solid K-rate, he'll hit for average too.

 

The pessimistic side: scouts don't often miss out on potential power. If in fact his power output is fluke and not sustainable, then he's going to have a hard time.

 

But I think he's got a chance to be a good player.

[CUBZ99]

What is the consensus on Colvin? I know he had one ridiculously hot stretch, but his numbers since the All Star break are pretty good, including an OPS of .944. His K rate has been down around 1 out of every 5 AB. It has to make you wonder if the guy is starting to figure things out.

 

4th OF on a good team. ....because he doesn't exhibit very good patience or power at the plate, he likely won't hit enough to be better than average as a corner OF....

 

I don't disagree with most of those thoughts. The "consensus" is probably 4th OF on a good team, and he likely won't hit enough to be an above average starter. Two points: First, we can underestimate the value of average. There are a lot of good corner OF's, so it's a lot easier to end up with an below-average awful situation in a corner (for example, Soriano/LF this year) than it is to be better than average there. Average for low pay, often teams wish they had that.

 

I do question the statement that he doesn't exhibit very good power. His Tenn slugging is .528, which would make him the league leader if he had enough PA's to qualify for the list. Slugging .528 in AA at age 23 is not power-deficient, I don't think. Neither is 13HR/284 AB. Project that to the number of AB's a big-league regular gets and you've got a HR-hitter. He's not a big guy and he's never been scouted as a power hitter. But actually power hitting has been his best virtue as a pro.

 

Often guys as slender as Colvin get stronger and more skilled at driving HR's. So one could optimistically hope that perhaps he will sustain and improve his power. And with the kind of power he's shown, combined with his this-year-solid K-rate, he'll hit for average too.

 

The pessimistic side: scouts don't often miss out on potential power. If in fact his power output is fluke and not sustainable, then he's going to have a hard time.

 

But I think he's got a chance to be a good player.

 

I wonder how much the scouts take into consideration that he was suffering from an arm injury last year, and recovering from surgery to start this year.

[soonercub]

Castro getting some love on BaseballAmerica.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/

[Guest]

Castro getting some love on BaseballAmerica.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/

 

Thanks.

 

A few interesting notes:

 

listed 6-foot-1 and 160 pounds but looking heavier than that

 

In the field, Castro flashes a strong arm and above-average range to go along with his steady hands. He projects as a shortstop in the future, but his path to the big leagues might go faster as a second baseman. Chicago has gotten little production from a revolving door at the position.

 

At the plate, he uses control and discipline to his advantage. Through 20 Double-A games, Castro has walked eight times and struck out just four times. He works the count to his advantage, and gets pitches to hit.

 

"He uses the whole field, and he’s not intimidated by the pitching," Beyers said. "Usually young guys want to pull the ball so much, but he’s got a pretty good idea that he wants to work through the middle. He lets the ball come to him, and his at-bats are all competitive.

 

"The one thing I like about him—when he gets the ball in the strike zone, he puts a whack on it. Right now he’s a gap-to-gap hitter, and no one’s even talking about power. If he grows into it, then he does. That may be down the road, but we’re not worried about it."

[jersey cubs fan]

Is there any chance he gets a look for the 2010 team? He's young, but he's already in AA, and it seems that once a guy gets to AA guys get a chance to win a spot.

[Outshined_One]

Is there any chance he gets a look for the 2010 team? He's young, but he's already in AA, and it seems that once a guy gets to AA guys get a chance to win a spot.

 

I can see him getting a cup of coffee towards the end of the season. Out of Spring Training, I don't see it happening. As mentioned in the article, what will matter is whether the Cubs decide to be patient with him at SS or move him to 2B and put him on the fast track.

[RedFlash]

 

In the field, Castro flashes a strong arm and above-average range to go along with his steady hands. He projects as a shortstop in the future, but his path to the big leagues might go faster as a second baseman. Chicago has gotten little production from a revolving door at the position.

 

If Castro projects as a SS, and everybody who sees Theriot knows he isn't a long-term short with his no range and no arm, but wouldn't it make sense tomove Theriot over to 2B and give Castro the shot at SS? It worked (or in the process of working) with the Rangers moving the established but the inferior player of the position to a new position? If Young can move to 3rd, then Theriot should be able to move to 2b.

[jersey cubs fan]

 

In the field, Castro flashes a strong arm and above-average range to go along with his steady hands. He projects as a shortstop in the future, but his path to the big leagues might go faster as a second baseman. Chicago has gotten little production from a revolving door at the position.

 

If Castro projects as a SS, and everybody who sees Theriot knows he isn't a long-term short with his no range and no arm, but wouldn't it make sense tomove Theriot over to 2B and give Castro the shot at SS? It worked (or in the process of working) with the Rangers moving the established but the inferior player of the position to a new position? If Young can move to 3rd, then Theriot should be able to move to 2b.

 

Yeah I don't get this "he projects as a SS but would have to play 2B for a while" theory. He's supposed to somehow get better at short by playing 2nd? The only reason such a player should have to start at 2B is if there is a superior incumbent at the position.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

If Castro projects as a SS, and everybody who sees Theriot knows he isn't a long-term short with his no range and no arm, but wouldn't it make sense tomove Theriot over to 2B and give Castro the shot at SS? It worked (or in the process of working) with the Rangers moving the established but the inferior player of the position to a new position? If Young can move to 3rd, then Theriot should be able to move to 2b.

Castro hasn't exactly had a great time with the defense, committing 50 errors in 157 games at SS

[Guancous]

snip

Hendry can say whatever the hell he wants. Miles was brought here to replace DeRosa. I would hardly call DeRosa a bench player.

 

Fascinating. You rarely see that type of argument outside of a political screaming match.

[SouthSideRyan]

If Castro projects as a SS, and everybody who sees Theriot knows he isn't a long-term short with his no range and no arm, but wouldn't it make sense tomove Theriot over to 2B and give Castro the shot at SS? It worked (or in the process of working) with the Rangers moving the established but the inferior player of the position to a new position? If Young can move to 3rd, then Theriot should be able to move to 2b.

Castro hasn't exactly had a great time with the defense, committing 50 errors in 157 games at SS

 

Error totals at the low minors are pretty unreliable as far as projections go.

[RedFlash]

If Castro projects as a SS, and everybody who sees Theriot knows he isn't a long-term short with his no range and no arm, but wouldn't it make sense tomove Theriot over to 2B and give Castro the shot at SS? It worked (or in the process of working) with the Rangers moving the established but the inferior player of the position to a new position? If Young can move to 3rd, then Theriot should be able to move to 2b.

Castro hasn't exactly had a great time with the defense, committing 50 errors in 157 games at SS

 

Derek Jeter once had 56 errors in 162 games at Greensboro in 1993, and look at how he turned out. Not comparing the two, mind you, just saying.