Cub prospects in the news

[davell]

Sickels' Pre-Season Cubs Top 20 Prospects in Review

 

 

Man, I was looking forward to seeing his comments on Archer and McNutt, then realized he didn't have them in his top 20. Oh well, guess he pretty much has the same take on Vitters as most of us do anyway.

[toonsterwu]

 

what stood out to me about the hitters is that many of them have good walk rates, which is nice to see (rather than the nelson perez types)

 

What stands out about that is that the strike zones in DSL are generally considered bigger than what it is stateside, so if the guys are taking walks, then that's showing some discipline and laying off some pitches.

[javy knows my name]

 

what stood out to me about the hitters is that many of them have good walk rates, which is nice to see (rather than the nelson perez types)

 

What stands out about that is that the strike zones in DSL are generally considered bigger than what it is stateside, so if the guys are taking walks, then that's showing some discipline and laying off some pitches.

I would think the opposite; that the larger strike zones would give those walks less merit, as the pitches would be missing more than they'd need to in the US

[toonsterwu]

actually you are right. i'm not sure what i was thinking when i typed that. it sounded right in my head, but it definitely doesn't make sense as i look at it now.

[videographer]

Jim Calls chat at BA

 

Bo (Elmhurst, NY): You mentioned in your '09 Handbook that Hak Ju Lee is more athletic than Starlin Castro and may push Castro to 2B eventually. A year later, do you still think that's the case?

 

 

Jim Callis: I do think he's more athletic. He hasn't had a great year, though he's young for the Midwest League, and he certainly doesn't have Castro's ceiling. But if you have them in the same infield, I think you'd want Lee at shortstop.

[muntjack]

I hope Castro never moves to 2nd. He is infinitely more valuable at SS.

[SouthSideRyan]

I hope Castro never moves to 2nd. He is infinitely more valuable at SS.

 

It's not about maximizing an individual's value. If the Cubs are better off with Lee (or whomever) at SS and Castro at 2B rather than vice-versa, you go with it.

[Rob]

It is and it isn't.

 

Personally, I'd leave Castro at SS until Lee comes up and proves he's going to be a ML caliber hitter, and then I evaluate whether a switch would do us much good. There's no reason to immediately push Castro off SS like he pushed Theriot off when he came up. Let it work itself out a bit.

[CubsWin]

It is and it isn't.

 

Personally, I'd leave Castro at SS until Lee comes up and proves he's going to be a ML caliber hitter, and then I evaluate whether a switch would do us much good. There's no reason to immediately push Castro off SS like he pushed Theriot off when he came up. Let it work itself out a bit.

If it's clear that Lee is the better defensive SS and Castro's offense wouldn't be adversely affected by a move to 2B, then having Lee play SS would clearly be the best move for the team. If Lee struggles offensively after being called up, there's no reason why they couldn't just move Castro back to SS and send Lee to AAA.

[davearm2]

I hope Castro never moves to 2nd. He is infinitely more valuable at SS.

Castro is not infinitely more valuable at SS when the premise is that both he and Lee are in the Cubs' lineup at the same time.

 

At that point the only consideration is what defensive positioning is most effective. (Unless you want to venture into a highly nebulous area involving how each guy's hitting is impacted by the position he's playing.)

[muntjack]

I hope Castro never moves to 2nd. He is infinitely more valuable at SS.

 

It's not about maximizing an individual's value. If the Cubs are better off with Lee (or whomever) at SS and Castro at 2B rather than vice-versa, you go with it.

 

 

I disagree. I think trading Castro for a king's ransom is better than making him a slightly above average 2nd baseman.

[jersey cubs fan]

I hope Castro never moves to 2nd. He is infinitely more valuable at SS.

 

It's not about maximizing an individual's value. If the Cubs are better off with Lee (or whomever) at SS and Castro at 2B rather than vice-versa, you go with it.

 

 

I disagree. I think trading Castro for a king's ransom is better than making him a slightly above average 2nd baseman.

 

A good hitting 2nd baseman can be a huge advantage to a team. Not the same as a SS, but still big.

[Rob]

It is and it isn't.

 

Personally, I'd leave Castro at SS until Lee comes up and proves he's going to be a ML caliber hitter, and then I evaluate whether a switch would do us much good. There's no reason to immediately push Castro off SS like he pushed Theriot off when he came up. Let it work itself out a bit.

If it's clear that Lee is the better defensive SS and Castro's offense wouldn't be adversely affected by a move to 2B, then having Lee play SS would clearly be the best move for the team. If Lee struggles offensively after being called up, there's no reason why they couldn't just move Castro back to SS and send Lee to AAA.

Changing positions does carry with it a heightened injury risk. So if you're gonna make a move, you only want to make it once. There is no reason to move castro off short, move him back when Lee struggles, move him off again when Lee gets another shot, and so on and so forth until we know whether Lee will be a ML caliber hitter.

[Tyrant]

I hope Castro never moves to 2nd. He is infinitely more valuable at SS.

 

It's not about maximizing an individual's value. If the Cubs are better off with Lee (or whomever) at SS and Castro at 2B rather than vice-versa, you go with it.

 

 

I disagree. I think trading Castro for a king's ransom is better than making him a slightly above average 2nd baseman.

 

Can we stop talking about trading Castro after he's played 80 games for the Cubs? It sounds completely ridiculous.

[jersey cubs fan]

It is and it isn't.

 

Personally, I'd leave Castro at SS until Lee comes up and proves he's going to be a ML caliber hitter, and then I evaluate whether a switch would do us much good. There's no reason to immediately push Castro off SS like he pushed Theriot off when he came up. Let it work itself out a bit.

If it's clear that Lee is the better defensive SS and Castro's offense wouldn't be adversely affected by a move to 2B, then having Lee play SS would clearly be the best move for the team. If Lee struggles offensively after being called up, there's no reason why they couldn't just move Castro back to SS and send Lee to AAA.

Changing positions does carry with it a heightened injury risk. So if you're gonna make a move, you only want to make it once. There is no reason to move castro off short, move him back when Lee struggles, move him off again when Lee gets another shot, and so on and so forth until we know whether Lee will be a ML caliber hitter.

 

I guess I can buy some of what you are saying, but there can't be that much injury risk of having Castro go from short to second and back to short.

[muntjack]

I hope Castro never moves to 2nd. He is infinitely more valuable at SS.

Castro is not infinitely more valuable at SS when the premise is that both he and Lee are in the Cubs' lineup at the same time.

 

At that point the only consideration is what defensive positioning is most effective. (Unless you want to venture into a highly nebulous area involving how each guy's hitting is impacted by the position he's playing.)

 

 

Just seems that a very good defensive SS with x production could net a very good defensive 2nd baseman with x production + more in a trade.

[muntjack]

I hope Castro never moves to 2nd. He is infinitely more valuable at SS.

 

It's not about maximizing an individual's value. If the Cubs are better off with Lee (or whomever) at SS and Castro at 2B rather than vice-versa, you go with it.

 

 

I disagree. I think trading Castro for a king's ransom is better than making him a slightly above average 2nd baseman.

 

Can we stop talking about trading Castro after he's played 80 games for the Cubs? It sounds completely ridiculous.

 

We're talking about player value. Of course I don't want to trade Starlin Castro.

[sneakypower]

all this lunacy aside, Bryan Smith of fangraphs took a few Cubs questions

 

[Comment From JeremyJeremy: ] Thoughts on Chris Archer? How far has he jumped up both the Cubs and national prospect lists?

Bryan Smith: A ton. Check out his numbers since April 30. Insane.

 

[Comment From BrianBrian: ] Shouldn't Andrew Cashner be in the minors as a starter?

Bryan Smith: ABSOLUTELY.

[Guest]

Archer's numbers since April 30: 102 IP, 1.25 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 3 HR, 9.75 K/9, 3.53 BB/9

[Sammy Sofa]

*Drools*

[jersey cubs fan]

That's more impressive than his earlier work.

 

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxw500ooJP1qzatf1o1_500.png

[Guest]

Of course Cashner should be starting in the minors. I wish the Cubs would realize that.

[davearm2]

I hope Castro never moves to 2nd. He is infinitely more valuable at SS.

 

It's not about maximizing an individual's value. If the Cubs are better off with Lee (or whomever) at SS and Castro at 2B rather than vice-versa, you go with it.

 

 

I disagree. I think trading Castro for a king's ransom is better than making him a slightly above average 2nd baseman.

 

Can we stop talking about trading Castro after he's played 80 games for the Cubs? It sounds completely ridiculous.

 

We're talking about player value. Of course I don't want to trade Starlin Castro.

If you don't want to trade Castro, then how is he infinitely more valuable to the Cubs at SS versus 2B (assuming Lee is also playing)?

 

The only way Castro is more valuable at SS is if we're talking trade value. And even then, teams know he can play SS even if he spends time at 2B.

[Guest]

I now have this great image of Archer striking a hitter out, mocking him, getting scolded for it, then saying "What? HE THINKS HE'S PEOPLE"

[jersey cubs fan]

Of course Cashner should be starting in the minors. I wish the Cubs would realize that.

 

If they sent him down today, what sort of schedule do you think he could still get?

 

Start Sunday for 3 innings and then they got 22 more days of games in regular season. Maybe get back to 5 innings per start after 2 starts. Yeah, it's getting late, but it is definitely enough time to make it worth their while. He's thrown 4 inning in August. My guess is they have him pencilled into next year's bullpen for now.