Cub prospects in the news

[Little Slide Rooter]

2. Kyle Schwarber, c, Cubs

Team: Double-A Tennessee (Southern)

Age: 22

Why He’s Here: .381/.400/.857 (8-for-21), 4 R, 4 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBIs, 2 BB, 5 SO

 

The Scoop: It would be great if Schwarber can stick behind the plate, but if that doesn’t work out, his bat should play anywhere. The fourth overall pick in last year’s draft, Schwarber has a short, compact stroke, projecting as a plus hitter with the plate discipline to get on base at a high clip, along with plus power. We would call him a future middle-of-the-order hitter, but with Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler and Addison Russell, there are only so many spots to go around.

 

Forgetting the 25 year old, 3 time all star approaching 1,000 hits. :yahoo:

I'm going to be really happy when Castro isn't considered a middle of the order hitter anymore.

 

Basically, we'll have Rizzo, Bryant, and Schwarber holding down the heart of the lineup, and poor Joe's going to have to figure out how to stack Soler, Castro, and Russell around them. And lord help him if any of Baez, Alcantara, Almora, and eventually Torres start to pan out. Perennial contender problems.

[Guest]

Soler is as much a middle of the order hitter as Schwarber. Or more.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Soler is as much a middle of the order hitter as Schwarber. Or more.

 

Soler is making me nervous.

[Sammy Sofa]

Soler is as much a middle of the order hitter as Schwarber. Or more.

 

Soler is making me nervous.

 

Again: [expletive] Baez.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Soler is as much a middle of the order hitter as Schwarber. Or more.

 

Soler is making me nervous.

 

Again: [expletive] Baez.

 

Baez didn't invent brettjacksoning your way out of the league.

[ctcf]

Soler is as much a middle of the order hitter as Schwarber. Or more.

 

Soler is making me nervous.

 

Again: [expletive] Baez.

 

Baez didn't invent brettjacksoning your way out of the league.

 

In a lot of ways, Brett was the original Jaxon

[Sammy Sofa]

Soler is as much a middle of the order hitter as Schwarber. Or more.

 

Soler is making me nervous.

 

Again: [expletive] Baez.

 

Baez didn't invent brettjacksoning your way out of the league.

 

Where's the previous stretches where Soler was striking out like this?

 

These guys are going to have to make adjustments. Unlike previous busts (Baez included), we can at least look to periods of success already and hope that they're a sign of what they'll develop into. Nobody should ignore these things, but the amount of flop sweating hand wringing already is one of the worst aspects of Cubs fans.

[XZero771679666304]

I'm not that worried about Soler. His recent struggles are frustrating, but we have seen him control the zone to great effect. It's not as if pitchers just figured out that they don't have to throw him strikes. I think that Jorge is probably just trying to do too much right now, and I expect that he will dial back the aggression at some point.

 

As opposed to Baez, who has never displayed any real plate discipline.

[Guest]

I'm not that worried about Soler. His recent struggles are frustrating, but we have seen him control the zone to great effect. It's not as if pitchers just figured out that they don't have to throw him strikes. I think that Jorge is probably just trying to do too much right now, and I expect that he will dial back the aggression at some point.

 

As opposed to Baez, who has never displayed any real plate discipline.

One of the things that gave me hope about Javy was how his plate discipline improved throughout the minors.

 

2012 A 3.8%

2012 A+ 5.8%

2013 A+ 6.2%

2013 AA 7.9%

2014 AAA 7.8%

 

In short, I wouldn't say that he never showed any real plate discipline.

[imb]

he improved all the way from terrible to simply bad.

[Guest]

he improved all the way from terrible to simply bad.

7.9% isn't really bad. If he ended up with that in the bigs he'd be exactly league average.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I'm not that worried about Soler. His recent struggles are frustrating, but we have seen him control the zone to great effect. It's not as if pitchers just figured out that they don't have to throw him strikes. I think that Jorge is probably just trying to do too much right now, and I expect that he will dial back the aggression at some point.

 

As opposed to Baez, who has never displayed any real plate discipline.

 

Is whiffing on strikes better than whiffing on unhittable pitches? Is it better to be Brett Jackson/Junior Lake/Mike Olt or Javier Baez/Corey Patterson? What is the sound of one hand clapping?

[Sammy Sofa]

It's better to be Jorge Soler.

[XZero771679666304]

I'm not that worried about Soler. His recent struggles are frustrating, but we have seen him control the zone to great effect. It's not as if pitchers just figured out that they don't have to throw him strikes. I think that Jorge is probably just trying to do too much right now, and I expect that he will dial back the aggression at some point.

 

As opposed to Baez, who has never displayed any real plate discipline.

 

Is whiffing on strikes better than whiffing on unhittable pitches? Is it better to be Brett Jackson/Junior Lake/Mike Olt or Javier Baez/Corey Patterson? What is the sound of one hand clapping?

 

 

 

It seems to me that Soler is pressing, and if he shores up one particular area of the zone (low and away, where he is making no contact at all), he'll be fine. We're not talking about a guy who is swinging at 40-50% of balls (like Lake or Baez), or who is unable to hit good strikes (he's not a contact machine, but did a pretty good job of it last year in a similar sample size).

 

Right now, I see a guy who usually shows decent-good plate discipline who is mixed up and pressing, putting himself in bad situations. If this doesn't begin to resolve itself over the next few weeks, I'll get more concerned, but as of now I don't see the same cause for terror that I did with the guys you listed.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Right now, I see a guy who usually shows decent-good plate discipline who is mixed up and pressing, putting himself in bad situations. If this doesn't begin to resolve itself over the next few weeks, I'll get more concerned, but as of now I don't see the same cause for terror that I did with the guys you listed.

 

Definitely. I wasn't trying to draw that directly back to Soler. I'm just not sure, as a general rule, which is worse: Being a free-swinger who can't lay off bad pitches, or being a whiff machine who can't hit pitches in the zone. It's not like one is clearly better than the other.

 

For Soler, we're on the same page. What he's been doing for 100 PAs this season would be disastrous if it were a new ability level, but he's got enough track record that I'm not much more than mildly concerned.

[Guest]

@jimcallisMLB: Might be on Starlin Castro express route, though @Cubs have logjam of young infielders. @rianwatt: What's your best guess on Torres' ETA?

 

@jimcallisMLB: I like Jimenez, but correct answer is Torres for both @Swmrdak79: Who has higher ceiling/higher floor: Eloy Jimenez or Gleyber Torres? @cubs

 

@jimcallisMLB: Older guy, more command than stuff. @JammyV: can Ryan Williams of @cubs be a guy? Small sample size but crazy numbers in 50+ innings so far.

[toonsterwu]

I find Callis' comment ... funny ... in that the Starlin Castro express route for Torres would push Castro out soon (since Castro came up at 20). I gotta think that, unless he absolutely forces their hand, the front office will buy time with Torres rather than forcing him up.

 

Will be curious how Torres' plays out. He reminds me a lot of Jurickson Profar.

[Cubswin11]

Just because he's a SS doesn't mean he has to play SS and move our current SS off the team. LF and CF are still open long-term (possibly 3B or 2B depending on Bryant and the trickle down effect) and Torres, apparently, doesn't even profile all that good defensively at SS. Edited May 4, 2015 by Cubswin11

[Guest]

I find Callis' comment ... funny ... in that the Starlin Castro express route for Torres would push Castro out soon (since Castro came up at 20). I gotta think that, unless he absolutely forces their hand, the front office will buy time with Torres rather than forcing him up.

 

Will be curious how Torres' plays out. He reminds me a lot of Jurickson Profar.

 

Not sure why you'd say that.

[KingCubsFan]

I find Callis' comment ... funny ... in that the Starlin Castro express route for Torres would push Castro out soon (since Castro came up at 20). I gotta think that, unless he absolutely forces their hand, the front office will buy time with Torres rather than forcing him up.

 

Will be curious how Torres' plays out. He reminds me a lot of Jurickson Profar.

 

Not sure why you'd say that.

I guess if everybody hits, Torres would go to second and Russell to short.

[Guest]

I find Callis' comment ... funny ... in that the Starlin Castro express route for Torres would push Castro out soon (since Castro came up at 20). I gotta think that, unless he absolutely forces their hand, the front office will buy time with Torres rather than forcing him up.

 

Will be curious how Torres' plays out. He reminds me a lot of Jurickson Profar.

 

Not sure why you'd say that.

I guess if everybody hits, Torres would go to second and Russell to short.

 

Who is everybody? And why are we pretending that's a thing?

[Cubswin11]

I find Callis' comment ... funny ... in that the Starlin Castro express route for Torres would push Castro out soon (since Castro came up at 20). I gotta think that, unless he absolutely forces their hand, the front office will buy time with Torres rather than forcing him up.

 

Will be curious how Torres' plays out. He reminds me a lot of Jurickson Profar.

 

Not sure why you'd say that.

I guess if everybody hits, Torres would go to second and Russell to short.

 

Who is everybody? And why are we pretending that's a thing?

It's so dumb

[craig]

Castro may be a good comp for Torres.

*Guy who hit very well as a very young player and was able to hit through the minors and progress very fast.

*Body shape may be similar, not the slender wiry types.

*Neither showed much power as teenagers, or project to be power hitters.

*Both looked good at SS as teenagers, but without either looking great or future-gold-gloveish flash, and with the chance they might outgrow it.

*Both run fine as teenagers, but neither actually fast as teenagers, and may not run well beyond early 20's.

*Both Cubs, both SS's, both undrafted.

 

If Torres moves up through the system, fine. Needs happen, trades happen. We'll just see how good his hitting holds up, just in case his BABIP slips below .430 later in his career. Might even happen this summer!

[toonsterwu]

I find Callis' comment ... funny ... in that the Starlin Castro express route for Torres would push Castro out soon (since Castro came up at 20). I gotta think that, unless he absolutely forces their hand, the front office will buy time with Torres rather than forcing him up.

 

Will be curious how Torres' plays out. He reminds me a lot of Jurickson Profar.

 

Not sure why you'd say that.

 

Actually, I had a specific reason why I said that. Again, it was premised on Callis' comments that he could be pushed to the bigs soon.

 

Gleyber Torres doesn't project as well if he's not in the middle infield. He doesn't have the top power you'd want in a corner role, he doesn't have a huge cannon of an arm. He really doesn't have the great speed for CF. If he came up anytime soon, it's probably middle infield, with an outside option of 3rd. If the front office pushed him up that fast, he's going to play, and thus, a secondary move would in all likelihood happen.

 

I love Castro. I said it before that I think he'll add power as he hits his prime years. This isn't me saying I want Castro gone. It's just that, if Callis' comment of Torres potentially being pushed to the bigs soon actually occurred (as noted, I don't think that happens), I don't see Torres playing anywhere else besides middle infield in that scenario, which would force another move, and the most likely domino would still be packaging Castro, IMO (rather than moving Russell or doing a dramatic shift of 2-4 players defensive homes ... or shifting Castro to a corner OF role).

[toonsterwu]

Castro may be a good comp for Torres.

*Guy who hit very well as a very young player and was able to hit through the minors and progress very fast.

*Body shape may be similar, not the slender wiry types.

*Neither showed much power as teenagers, or project to be power hitters.

*Both looked good at SS as teenagers, but without either looking great or future-gold-gloveish flash, and with the chance they might outgrow it.

*Both run fine as teenagers, but neither actually fast as teenagers, and may not run well beyond early 20's.

*Both Cubs, both SS's, both undrafted.

 

If Torres moves up through the system, fine. Needs happen, trades happen. We'll just see how good his hitting holds up, just in case his BABIP slips below .430 later in his career. Might even happen this summer!

 

It's a decent comp, but Castro's hit tool reports in the low levels, to my recollection, seem far superior to Torres' current reports. Torres could get there. Castro's speed and arm, from the reports I recall of his low levels, seem like it might be a touch above Torres', although those two areas are a bit more debatable.

 

I make the Profar comp because both guys seem similar tools wise - Profar never really had plus tools, but what he had was above average across the board tools, and it feels similar to the report on Torres' tools.

 

As a side note, I still wouldn't rule out Castro adding some pop as he hits his prime years, enough that he might show above average pop at some point. If he moved off shortstop and just bulked up a bit more, I wouldn't be surprised if that would lead to even more pop.