Cub prospects in the news

[CUBZ99]

Gotta love the hype that Castro has generated this year. I doubt there was anyone, except maybe Wilken, that could have envisioned Castro being the teams #1 prospect at this point. And the best part is that it isn't at all a slight on the rest of the prospects in the system.

 

Between Castro, Vitters, B. Jackson, J. Jackson, Cashner, Carpenter, LeMahieu, Flaherty, etc. there is a lot to be excited about.

[bubblesdachimp]

from Keith laws AFL report

 

Starlin Castro is a future star. He won't turn 20 until March, but was one of the best and most impressive hitters I saw in Arizona. He has excellent hand-eye coordination and the ability to keep his hands inside the ball even when pitchers tried to work him inside. His swing can get long on balls away, and he wraps his bat, but he makes a ton of contact and squares up a lot of pitches out of the zone. He showed he can stay with sliders from right-handers -- this is good, because I saw way too many guys last week who could hit fastballs but not same-side breaking balls -- and showed signs of future power even to the opposite field. At shortstop he has good lateral range, especially to his right, and a 65-70 arm. There's still a significant amount of projection here; he slugged .392 (.093 ISO) this year between high-A and double-A. He is, though, one of the best shortstops in the minors. (I heard a few comparisons of Castro to Alfonso Soriano, and while there's some physical resemblance, Soriano has a longer swing and has always been a bit of a hacker, while Castro has better bat control and ability to adjust to changing speeds.)

 

WOW.. I am really intrigued by this kid... Han Ram the second if he fills out maybe?

[TruffleShuffle]

WOW.. I am really intrigued by this kid... Han Ram the second if he fills out maybe?

 

that seems a little overboard; hanley showed better batting averages and power through the minors, gets deeper into counts and has a bigger/taller frame.

[toonsterwu]

on top of that, Han Ram's defense was never expected to be good, and Castro's is. That said, yeah, seems like Castro is rocketing up and should rank rather highly on most top 100 lists.

[Sever82]

WOW.. I am really intrigued by this kid... Han Ram the second if he fills out maybe?

 

that seems a little overboard; hanley showed better batting averages and power through the minors, gets deeper into counts and has a bigger/taller frame.

 

But Han Ram didn't play this well at this age did he? I'm pretty sure at the end of the day Han Ram will display more power than Castro but if Castro develops his supposed potential, i would expect to steal more and hit for better average than Han Ram.

[TruffleShuffle]

WOW.. I am really intrigued by this kid... Han Ram the second if he fills out maybe?

 

that seems a little overboard; hanley showed better batting averages and power through the minors, gets deeper into counts and has a bigger/taller frame.

 

But Han Ram didn't play this well at this age did he? I'm pretty sure at the end of the day Han Ram will display more power than Castro but if Castro develops his supposed potential, i would expect to steal more and hit for better average than Han Ram.

 

i don't know why you'd expect that, hanley has a BA of .316 in the majors and won a batting title this year, and stole 51 bases his first two years. hanley has better speed and power potential and will probably hit for better average overall. saying that castro won't be as good offensively as the best-hitting shortstop in baseball is not really a huge slight.

[Sever82]

WOW.. I am really intrigued by this kid... Han Ram the second if he fills out maybe?

 

that seems a little overboard; hanley showed better batting averages and power through the minors, gets deeper into counts and has a bigger/taller frame.

 

But Han Ram didn't play this well at this age did he? I'm pretty sure at the end of the day Han Ram will display more power than Castro but if Castro develops his supposed potential, i would expect to steal more and hit for better average than Han Ram.

 

i don't know why you'd expect that, hanley has a BA of .316 in the majors and won a batting title this year, and stole 51 bases his first two years. hanley has better speed and power potential and will probably hit for better average overall. saying that castro won't be as good offensively as the best-hitting shortstop in baseball is not really a huge slight.

 

Ha ha very true. But it also not out of the realm of possibility that Castro can develop to be just as good as Hanley. I find this similar to the Derrick Rose and Chris Paul Comparison. If you ask an NBA fan if there is any possibility that Rose will be as good, they'll tell you NO way but if the player has the tools, why isn't it a possibility. This is all hype at this point but i sure hope the scouts and analysts are right on this kid. And I sure hope Hendry isn't dumb enough to trade him or Vitters for a player on the wrong side of 30.

[Outshined_One]

But Han Ram didn't play this well at this age did he? I'm pretty sure at the end of the day Han Ram will display more power than Castro but if Castro develops his supposed potential, i would expect to steal more and hit for better average than Han Ram.

 

As a 19 year old, Hanley Ramirez played a full season at Low Class A Augusta, where he posted a .275/.327/.403 line with a 73/32 K/BB ratio, a 36/13 SB/CS ratio, and 8 HRs in 464 ABs. He had disciplinary issues during the season, which resulted in him being demoted to extended spring training for a period of time. BA named Ramirez the #6 prospect in the SAL league behind BJ Upton, Scott Kazmir, Cole Hamels, Jeff Francoeur, and Jeremy Hermida. He was also named the #1 prospect for the Red Sox in 2003, although their farm system was rather weak at the time.

 

He played pretty well at that age.

[Little Slide Rooter]

from Keith laws AFL report

 

Starlin Castro is a future star. He won't turn 20 until March, but was one of the best and most impressive hitters I saw in Arizona. He has excellent hand-eye coordination and the ability to keep his hands inside the ball even when pitchers tried to work him inside. His swing can get long on balls away, and he wraps his bat, but he makes a ton of contact and squares up a lot of pitches out of the zone. He showed he can stay with sliders from right-handers -- this is good, because I saw way too many guys last week who could hit fastballs but not same-side breaking balls -- and showed signs of future power even to the opposite field. At shortstop he has good lateral range, especially to his right, and a 65-70 arm. There's still a significant amount of projection here; he slugged .392 (.093 ISO) this year between high-A and double-A. He is, though, one of the best shortstops in the minors. (I heard a few comparisons of Castro to Alfonso Soriano, and while there's some physical resemblance, Soriano has a longer swing and has always been a bit of a hacker, while Castro has better bat control and ability to adjust to changing speeds.)

 

WOW.. I am really intrigued by this kid... Han Ram the second if he fills out maybe?

 

Which will make it all the more maddening when hes traded for a middle reliever in his mid 30's or a Steve Traschle-esque 5th starter at the 2010 deadline.

[Guest]

from Keith laws AFL report

 

Starlin Castro is a future star. He won't turn 20 until March, but was one of the best and most impressive hitters I saw in Arizona. He has excellent hand-eye coordination and the ability to keep his hands inside the ball even when pitchers tried to work him inside. His swing can get long on balls away, and he wraps his bat, but he makes a ton of contact and squares up a lot of pitches out of the zone. He showed he can stay with sliders from right-handers -- this is good, because I saw way too many guys last week who could hit fastballs but not same-side breaking balls -- and showed signs of future power even to the opposite field. At shortstop he has good lateral range, especially to his right, and a 65-70 arm. There's still a significant amount of projection here; he slugged .392 (.093 ISO) this year between high-A and double-A. He is, though, one of the best shortstops in the minors. (I heard a few comparisons of Castro to Alfonso Soriano, and while there's some physical resemblance, Soriano has a longer swing and has always been a bit of a hacker, while Castro has better bat control and ability to adjust to changing speeds.)

 

WOW.. I am really intrigued by this kid... Han Ram the second if he fills out maybe?

 

Which will make it all the more maddening when hes traded for a middle reliever in his mid 30's or a Steve Traschle-esque 5th starter at the 2010 deadline.

 

The Cubs as an organization value Starlin Castro more than any other prospect in the system so that's not happening.

[Sever82]

from Keith laws AFL report

 

Starlin Castro is a future star. He won't turn 20 until March, but was one of the best and most impressive hitters I saw in Arizona. He has excellent hand-eye coordination and the ability to keep his hands inside the ball even when pitchers tried to work him inside. His swing can get long on balls away, and he wraps his bat, but he makes a ton of contact and squares up a lot of pitches out of the zone. He showed he can stay with sliders from right-handers -- this is good, because I saw way too many guys last week who could hit fastballs but not same-side breaking balls -- and showed signs of future power even to the opposite field. At shortstop he has good lateral range, especially to his right, and a 65-70 arm. There's still a significant amount of projection here; he slugged .392 (.093 ISO) this year between high-A and double-A. He is, though, one of the best shortstops in the minors. (I heard a few comparisons of Castro to Alfonso Soriano, and while there's some physical resemblance, Soriano has a longer swing and has always been a bit of a hacker, while Castro has better bat control and ability to adjust to changing speeds.)

 

WOW.. I am really intrigued by this kid... Han Ram the second if he fills out maybe?

 

Which will make it all the more maddening when hes traded for a middle reliever in his mid 30's or a Steve Traschle-esque 5th starter at the 2010 deadline.

 

The Cubs as an organization value Starlin Castro more than any other prospect in the system so that's not happening.

 

Yeah i doubt they'll trade him, especially if their Scouting Director continued to tell them how special this kid is. Correct me if i'm wrong but wasn't Hendry hesitant in trading Vitters? I mean if Castro was an outfield prospect, i would think he might have more of a chance of being traded but 3B and SS don't come around too often, so i would imagine it would take a lot to pry vitters or castro from the cubs.

[bubblesdachimp]

My answer to all the comments and i like the discussion is the following: we have a potential amazing defensive shortstop on our hand. Arguably the hardest position to play on the diamond. I read every single law chat and every single ba chat. I have never seen law build up a prospect like this except the elite ones. The fact that he squares everything up and shows the potential for solid power is what gets me. From my subjective reading my interpretation is that he can hit any ball square on the nose and can drive it too. I think we are looking at a better prospect than andrus and with the right conditioning and hitting coach we could be looking at an amazing player. I think he has solidified himself as top 30 and maybe best SS prospect in minors. I cant think of anyone else off the top of my head.

 

Discuss.

 

Also my top ten while we are discusiing callis's comments

 

Castro

Vitters

Bjax

Jjax

$

Carpenter

Burke

Flaherty

Lemaeihu

Rhee

[TruffleShuffle]

from Keith laws AFL report

 

Starlin Castro is a future star. He won't turn 20 until March, but was one of the best and most impressive hitters I saw in Arizona. He has excellent hand-eye coordination and the ability to keep his hands inside the ball even when pitchers tried to work him inside. His swing can get long on balls away, and he wraps his bat, but he makes a ton of contact and squares up a lot of pitches out of the zone. He showed he can stay with sliders from right-handers -- this is good, because I saw way too many guys last week who could hit fastballs but not same-side breaking balls -- and showed signs of future power even to the opposite field. At shortstop he has good lateral range, especially to his right, and a 65-70 arm. There's still a significant amount of projection here; he slugged .392 (.093 ISO) this year between high-A and double-A. He is, though, one of the best shortstops in the minors. (I heard a few comparisons of Castro to Alfonso Soriano, and while there's some physical resemblance, Soriano has a longer swing and has always been a bit of a hacker, while Castro has better bat control and ability to adjust to changing speeds.)

 

WOW.. I am really intrigued by this kid... Han Ram the second if he fills out maybe?

 

Which will make it all the more maddening when hes traded for a middle reliever in his mid 30's or a Steve Traschle-esque 5th starter at the 2010 deadline.

 

The Cubs as an organization value Starlin Castro more than any other prospect in the system so that's not happening.

 

yeah but they traded jon garland for matt karchner 10 years ago, and lou brock for ernie broglio like 40 years ago, so that definitely means they're going to trade their best prospect for a mediocre major league player.

[Ryno12]

My answer to all the comments and i like the discussion is the following: we have a potential amazing defensive shortstop on our hand. Arguably the hardest position to play on the diamond. I read every single law chat and every single ba chat. I have never seen law build up a prospect like this except the elite ones. The fact that he squares everything up and shows the potential for solid power is what gets me. From my subjective reading my interpretation is that he can hit any ball square on the nose and can drive it too. I think we are looking at a better prospect than andrus and with the right conditioning and hitting coach we could be looking at an amazing player. I think he has solidified himself as top 30 and maybe best SS prospect in minors. I cant think of anyone else off the top of my head.

 

Discuss.

 

Also my top ten while we are discusiing callis's comments

 

Castro

Vitters

Bjax

Jjax

$

Carpenter

Burke

Flaherty

Lemaeihu

Rhee

 

No HJ Lee?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

If Jackson can turn into a solid CFer whp has 20/20 ability with solid OBP as well, he'd be worth a ton though. Maybe that's what Callis is thinking?

 

Jackson's ceiling is nice but he, just like Vitters, has major question marks. And Vitters definitely has a higher ceiling than Jackson. All while Jackson is older and hasn't even taken a stab at high-A.

 

Jackson has had fewer question marks show up thus far though. Vitters has serious concerns about walks, defense, and health, while Jackson's only problem thus far has been K's(and he's still been raking despite them). Vitters has the higher ceiling and is several years younger, but Jackson hasn't had any performance issues thus far. I can see the argument either way.

[Tim M]

With all the positive press regarding many Cubs prospects I don't see how many seem to believe that we're still a bottom 10 system. I'm really excited about the talent in the minors for the first time in forever. Also, when is Wilken going to get a little more credit? Just in the last few years he's brought in guys like Cashner, Vitters, both Jacksons, Flaherty, Lemahieu, Carpenter. Seems like a pretty nice haul for a guy who has taken a lot of criticism.

[toonsterwu]

With all the positive press regarding many Cubs prospects I don't see how many seem to believe that we're still a bottom 10 system. I'm really excited about the talent in the minors for the first time in forever. Also, when is Wilken going to get a little more credit? Just in the last few years he's brought in guys like Cashner, Vitters, both Jacksons, Flaherty, Lemahieu, Carpenter. Seems like a pretty nice haul for a guy who has taken a lot of criticism.

 

I think Wilken's tenure has to be viewed positively right now. That said, a lot of it is based on the 2008 draft, as the 2009 draft is a wait and see, and 2006 and 2007 were okay at best. But the 06 draft could be somewhat excused due to the lack of picks, and the fact that we're going to get our first two picks to the majors in some role, in all likelihood, should be viewed as a positive. Some misses late in 06 on the overslot guys like Rundle and Andersen, but them's the breaks. 07 was hitting heavy, and I viewed that as a year where we drafted partly to fill positional spots in the system. I'm happy enough with the 09 drat in the early stages.

 

I think many Cubs minors followers believe this system to be in the middle of the pack. Is there a chance that some folks put this system in the early 20's? Sure, and it wouldn't be that implausible. The difference between the elite and bad systems are a lot, but the difference between two middle tier systems usually comes down to the eye of the beholder. I think there are some general minor league fans that have a negative view on the system due to recent history. No, this isn't an elite system yet, and I don't think anyone would argue that, but it's headed in the right direction.

[TruffleShuffle]

the cubs draft in 2006 was bad.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

the cubs draft in 2006 was bad.

 

It didn't have supplemental, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th round picks.

[SouthSideRyan]

the cubs draft in 2006 was bad.

 

It didn't have supplemental, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th round picks.

 

And Samardzija's a nice return for a 5th round pick, no matter what they paid.

[TruffleShuffle]

the cubs draft in 2006 was bad.

 

It didn't have supplemental, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th round picks.

 

yeah but then they dropped $10M on samardzija then gave big bonuses to rundle and anderson, who suck, and huseby, who's a closer but came along a little bit. not having high draft picks hurts but the first round pick wasn't good, they overpaid for samardzija and then gave big bonuses to the wrong guys later in the draft.

[TruffleShuffle]

My answer to all the comments and i like the discussion is the following: we have a potential amazing defensive shortstop on our hand. Arguably the hardest position to play on the diamond. I read every single law chat and every single ba chat. I have never seen law build up a prospect like this except the elite ones. The fact that he squares everything up and shows the potential for solid power is what gets me. From my subjective reading my interpretation is that he can hit any ball square on the nose and can drive it too. I think we are looking at a better prospect than andrus and with the right conditioning and hitting coach we could be looking at an amazing player.

 

i don't think that he'sa potential amazing defensive shortstop; from what i've read, he has a good chance to be above average but not necessarily elite defensively.

 

i'm excited about him, though, because he has good defensive tools and also makes excellent contact despite facing pitchers a few years older than him. he's got to be pretty raw, having played only one year of short-season ball coming into 2009, and despite this he shows good ability to make contact and hit breaking pitches. even if that power never comes along, if he can put the ball in play a lot and square it up well, he should hit for a good average, which combined with plus defense will make him a big-time asset. it also seems like he has great drive to improve and confidence in his ability.

 

and on a side note, it's really nice that the cubs are developing some middle infield prospects from latin america. it seems like most other organizations at least have some slick-fielding weak-hitting prospects who project as utility infielders in the big leagues, but the cubs have been terrible at developing latin middle infielders forever.

[bubblesdachimp]

My answer to all the comments and i like the discussion is the following: we have a potential amazing defensive shortstop on our hand. Arguably the hardest position to play on the diamond. I read every single law chat and every single ba chat. I have never seen law build up a prospect like this except the elite ones. The fact that he squares everything up and shows the potential for solid power is what gets me. From my subjective reading my interpretation is that he can hit any ball square on the nose and can drive it too. I think we are looking at a better prospect than andrus and with the right conditioning and hitting coach we could be looking at an amazing player. I think he has solidified himself as top 30 and maybe best SS prospect in minors. I cant think of anyone else off the top of my head.

 

Discuss.

 

Also my top ten while we are discusiing callis's comments

 

Castro

Vitters

Bjax

Jjax

$

Carpenter

Burke

Flaherty

Lemaeihu

Rhee

 

No HJ Lee?

 

i knew i forgot someone.. put Hak after $ and Rhee above DJ

 

to truffle.. I think he will be very good defensively based ont he scouts reports i have seen. I am very excited

[Transmogrified Tiger]

the cubs draft in 2006 was bad.

 

It didn't have supplemental, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th round picks.

 

yeah but then they dropped $10M on samardzija then gave big bonuses to rundle and anderson, who suck, and huseby, who's a closer but came along a little bit. not having high draft picks hurts but the first round pick wasn't good, they overpaid for samardzija and then gave big bonuses to the wrong guys later in the draft.

 

Numbers-wise there's still a huge disadvantage by losing those draft picks, even though they did overslot those guys. Plus they've actually got several guys who will have MLB careers(Samardzija, Clevenger, Parker, Colvin), and Huseby has turned things around as a reliever, so it's not as if they struck out on any value from the class.

[toonsterwu]

the cubs draft in 2006 was bad.

 

It didn't have supplemental, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th round picks.

 

yeah but then they dropped $10M on samardzija then gave big bonuses to rundle and anderson, who suck, and huseby, who's a closer but came along a little bit. not having high draft picks hurts but the first round pick wasn't good, they overpaid for samardzija and then gave big bonuses to the wrong guys later in the draft.

 

Numbers-wise there's still a huge disadvantage by losing those draft picks, even though they did overslot those guys. Plus they've actually got several guys who will have MLB careers(Samardzija, Clevenger, Parker, Colvin), and Huseby has turned things around as a reliever, so it's not as if they struck out on any value from the class.

 

Add in that it's too early to write off Huseby from ever starting again.

 

Certainly not a great draft, but without those picks, to net a few guys who are likely to reach the bigs is passable, considering the circumstances.