Cub prospects in the news

[CubsWin]

Kris Bryant was the MLB.com hitting prospect of the week: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/kris-bryant-robbie-ray-named-pipeline-prospects-of-week?ymd=20140512&content_id=75218078&vkey=news_mlb

 

Pipeline Hitting Prospect of the Week: Kris Bryant, Tennessee Smokies

Cubs' No. 2 prospect, 7 G, 13-for-28 (.464/.516/.929), 1.445 OPS, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 12 R

 

Bryant, who is ranked No. 8 on MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects list, was still playing for the University of San Diego this time last year and has played just 72 professional games. But Bryant has easily made the transition to the Minor Leagues, and he continued the incredible start to his career last week.

 

Bryant's week was highlighted by what might have been the best game of his young career. He went 3-for-4 with two home runs and six RBIs during the Smokies' 12-1 victory on Wednesday. It was Bryant's first multihomer game, and the six RBIs were a career high.

 

After hitting four home runs last week, Bryant leads the Southern League with 10 this season. He also leads the circuit in batting average (.331), slugging percentage (.624), OPS (1.061) and runs (33).

And even with that, Jason Parks would still rank Javy Baez higher in a prospect list due to his ceiling. On the flipside, he does think Baez's floor is of an up/down AAAA guy.

 

https://twitter.com/ProfessorParks/status/465912385623302144

[imb]

Kris Bryant was the MLB.com hitting prospect of the week: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/kris-bryant-robbie-ray-named-pipeline-prospects-of-week?ymd=20140512&content_id=75218078&vkey=news_mlb

 

Pipeline Hitting Prospect of the Week: Kris Bryant, Tennessee Smokies

Cubs' No. 2 prospect, 7 G, 13-for-28 (.464/.516/.929), 1.445 OPS, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 12 R

 

Bryant, who is ranked No. 8 on MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects list, was still playing for the University of San Diego this time last year and has played just 72 professional games. But Bryant has easily made the transition to the Minor Leagues, and he continued the incredible start to his career last week.

 

Bryant's week was highlighted by what might have been the best game of his young career. He went 3-for-4 with two home runs and six RBIs during the Smokies' 12-1 victory on Wednesday. It was Bryant's first multihomer game, and the six RBIs were a career high.

 

After hitting four home runs last week, Bryant leads the Southern League with 10 this season. He also leads the circuit in batting average (.331), slugging percentage (.624), OPS (1.061) and runs (33).

And even with that, Jason Parks would still rank Javy Baez higher in a prospect list due to his ceiling. On the flipside, he does think Baez's floor is of an up/down AAAA guy.

 

https://twitter.com/ProfessorParks/status/465912385623302144

 

Give Parks 7 months and Baez will have a Mark Reynolds ceiling.

[CubsWin]

Kris Bryant was the MLB.com hitting prospect of the week: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/kris-bryant-robbie-ray-named-pipeline-prospects-of-week?ymd=20140512&content_id=75218078&vkey=news_mlb

 

Pipeline Hitting Prospect of the Week: Kris Bryant, Tennessee Smokies

Cubs' No. 2 prospect, 7 G, 13-for-28 (.464/.516/.929), 1.445 OPS, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 12 R

 

Bryant, who is ranked No. 8 on MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects list, was still playing for the University of San Diego this time last year and has played just 72 professional games. But Bryant has easily made the transition to the Minor Leagues, and he continued the incredible start to his career last week.

 

Bryant's week was highlighted by what might have been the best game of his young career. He went 3-for-4 with two home runs and six RBIs during the Smokies' 12-1 victory on Wednesday. It was Bryant's first multihomer game, and the six RBIs were a career high.

 

After hitting four home runs last week, Bryant leads the Southern League with 10 this season. He also leads the circuit in batting average (.331), slugging percentage (.624), OPS (1.061) and runs (33).

And even with that, Jason Parks would still rank Javy Baez higher in a prospect list due to his ceiling. On the flipside, he does think Baez's floor is of an up/down AAAA guy.

 

https://twitter.com/ProfessorParks/status/465912385623302144

 

Give Parks 7 months and Baez will have a Mark Reynolds ceiling.

Ha! wasn't he down on him before last year, too?

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Before last year everyone refused to rank him above Lindor. Lindor is OPSing .825 in AA right now and is still 20, so that opinion is looking prettay good right now.

[Guest]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/27417098-419/cubs-javy-baez-showing-major-deficiencies.html#.U3N2PvldXyR

 

“The biggest thing is he’s pressing a little bit, trying to do too much,” said Cubs farm director Jaron Madison who just took a trip to see AAA Iowa and the slugging shortstop.

 

“It’s really important for his development because now he’s got to [have] patience,” Renteria said. “Believe it or not, those are positive things for us at this point. Patience is one of the things he’s going to have to have [in the big leagues].”

 

Patience from the paying public is another matter when it comes to the Cubs’ long rebuilding process built on the backs – and bats – of players such as Baez, a No. 9 overall draft pick ranked as the fifth-best overall prospect by Baseball America heading into this season.

 

“He started off slow, started getting hot, and then got hurt. So he’s still trying to find his rhythm and understand how these guys are going to pitch him at that level,” said Madison, who added that he saw signs that Baez’s work on his approach and reigning in some early over-aggressiveness was paying off with better at-bats and more consistent hard contact.

 

“It looks like a breakout’s right around the corner,” Madison said.

 

Not that anyone anticipated Baez would get off to such a miserable start, but Baez’s strikeout-prone aggressiveness (as well as work left to do in the field) were big reasons the organization didn’t rush him.

 

That aggressiveness was also a clear precursor to the extended struggles he suddenly has faced at AAA – where more polished pitchers, often with major-league experience, are better at commanding secondary pitches and expanding young hitters’ strike zones.

 

“When you’re in AA you’re facing a lot of guys who go right after you, who are trying to figure out who they are and blow fastballs past guys,” Madison said. “And he can hit a fastball as well as anyone.”

 

It’s easy to forget sometimes that Baez is the youngest player in AAA, or that despite more than a year of hype as an organizational cornerstone he might not be ready for the big leagues.

 

“He’s an exciting player,” Madison said. “We have a lot of exciting players who are close to the big-league level but still have to prove to themselves and to us they’re ready to face big-league pitchers day in and day out.”

[XZero771679666304]

That's pretty much what I figured was going on with him, and I think this was a foreseeable phase. At some point his aggressiveness was going to be turned against him, and either he's going to learn to rein it in or he'll bust. But fortunately he's still quite young, and there's plenty of time. Either way, I doubt we see him in Chicago this year.

 

It's hard to tell sometimes because of the relative lack of information from the minors, but my impression (and somebody correct me if I'm way off base here) is that his strikeout issues and Bryant's are of a different nature. That is to say Bryant seems more disciplined but strikes out on more pitches in the zone (looking or swinging), whereas Baez's are largely a product of a lack of plate discipline.

 

I'm not sure which concerns me more, long term.

[Guest]

 

It's hard to tell sometimes because of the relative lack of information from the minors, but my impression (and somebody correct me if I'm way off base here) is that his strikeout issues and Bryant's are of a different nature. That is to say Bryant seems more disciplined but strikes out on more pitches in the zone (looking or swinging), whereas Baez's are largely a product of a lack of plate discipline.

 

I don't think that is the case. Bryant can hit anything in the zone. He seems to have better strike zone awareness that Baez (faint praise), but he gets way out in front of breaking balls out of the zone.

[wekim81]

 

It's hard to tell sometimes because of the relative lack of information from the minors, but my impression (and somebody correct me if I'm way off base here) is that his strikeout issues and Bryant's are of a different nature. That is to say Bryant seems more disciplined but strikes out on more pitches in the zone (looking or swinging), whereas Baez's are largely a product of a lack of plate discipline.

 

I don't think that is the case. Bryant can hit anything in the zone. He seems to have better strike zone awareness that Baez (faint praise), but he gets way out in front of breaking balls out of the zone.

i saw a 3-game series in Nashville a couple weeks back and i can promise you that Javy expands his zone and gets out in front of breaking balls out of the zone too. In fact, he was doing that a lot, and the AAA pitchers who really know what they're doing (they may or may not have big league stuff but the majority know what they're doing) were eating him alive.

[sneakypower]

 

It's hard to tell sometimes because of the relative lack of information from the minors, but my impression (and somebody correct me if I'm way off base here) is that his strikeout issues and Bryant's are of a different nature. That is to say Bryant seems more disciplined but strikes out on more pitches in the zone (looking or swinging), whereas Baez's are largely a product of a lack of plate discipline.

 

I don't think that is the case. Bryant can hit anything in the zone. He seems to have better strike zone awareness that Baez (faint praise), but he gets way out in front of breaking balls out of the zone.

Bryant's making contact on 78% of pitches in the zone (SL league average is 82%), and he chases at 1 out of 6 balls outside the zone

 

last year at TN, Baez was making contact with 73% of pitches in the zone, and chased at 1 in 5 outside the zone

 

total contact rate favors Bryant, 69.5 vs. last year Baez's 65.5 (league average is 77%)

[Guest]

@harrypav: hey Chicago, save the date: May 24th we're doing @baseballpro Pizza & Prospects: Pre-Draft w/ special guests @BruceMiles2112 and @daynperry

 

Some more info:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=23587

 

Anybody here going?

[Tryptamine]

@harrypav: hey Chicago, save the date: May 24th we're doing @baseballpro Pizza & Prospects: Pre-Draft w/ special guests @BruceMiles2112 and @daynperry

 

Some more info:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=23587

 

Anybody here going?

 

I was thinking about it, though I can't imagine there's going to be a whole lot that isn't already covered here.

[Tyrant]

anyone think there is something to this?

 

Javier Baez, SS, Cubs (Triple-A Iowa)

After a dominating run across two levels in 2013, Baez was a darling of the offseason prospect hype machine, and when he arrived in camp this spring and continued the onslaught I agreed to name all offspring I might create in the future after him. But 2014 hasn’t gone as planned for the 21-year-old, and we are nearing the point in the season where the sample size is significant enough to validate the concerns about his offensive struggles. As previously documented, Baez is an extremely reactionary, see-ball/hit-ball hitter, the type who looks to attack and drive fastballs out of the park and struggles to make adjustments to off-speed offerings. These approach tendencies have been magnified this year by a larger dose of quality secondary stuff, and when Baez takes the bait and loses the count, his OPS is 500 points lower than it is when he can work himself into more friendly fastball situations.

 

Another twist in this developmental tale is Baez’s extreme day/night splits, as the high-ceiling slugger has a sub-.200 slugging percentage under the artificial lights, with a batting average that has now dropped below the .100 mark. If vision is the culprit, and Baez is struggling to locate and diagnose the ball early out of the pitcher’s hand, this could present a terminal developmental outcome when paired with existing approach concerns. It’s still early in the season, and the realities of the vision issues are still more speculative than anything else, but we are nearing the point where concerns can solidify and realistic outcomes can start to be questioned. I’m still blinded by his bat speed and therefore optimistic that his future will be abnormal and franchise altering. But the neurological aspects of his struggles are trying to pull me off the Baez bus with each passing day. –Jason Parks

 

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=23608

[A New Era]

Get that man some eye drops!

[Sammy Sofa]

Oh God.

 

http://img.pandawhale.com/post-30744-not-like-this-not-like-this-gi-DBvb.gif

[Guest]

Baez has better K and BB rates at night, played more night games at Tennessee when he was killing the ball than he does at Iowa, and is at less than 75 PA for each split(meaning quality of opponent may be far from uniform). It's the sort of lazy stat-scouting that Parks likes to ridicule people for, I'm a bit embarrassed for him that he spent so many words on the topic. Maybe it turns out to be something, but right now Parks is suggesting it only because of his slash line in < 75 PA, so there's no actual reason to think it's a thing.

[sneakypower]

at least he's in the right organization if he can only perform well in the daytime

[Sammy Sofa]

It better not be. Or else I'll eat you.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Baez has better K and BB rates at night, played more night games at Tennessee when he was killing the ball than he does at Iowa, and is at less than 75 PA for each split(meaning quality of opponent may be far from uniform). It's the sort of lazy stat-scouting that Parks likes to ridicule people for, I'm a bit embarrassed for him that he spent so many words on the topic. Maybe it turns out to be something, but right now Parks is suggesting it only because of his slash line in < 75 PA, so there's no actual reason to think it's a thing.

 

He wants to jump off the Baez bandwagon and he's casting about for a reason to justify it.

[imb]

Kyle, I got Parks last week, it's your turn to troll him about Baez.

[Guest]

Baez probably couldn't see the ball at all when he had that 4-HR game last year at night.

 

and we are nearing the point in the season where the sample size is significant enough to validate the concerns about his offensive struggles

 

BUT WE'VE LONG PASSED THE SAMPLE SIZE FOR DAY/NIGHT SPLITS!

 

Parks has become a massive hack. Yikes.

[Guest]

It better not be. Or else I'll eat you.

 

Thanks a lot, now I'm really tempted to abuse my mod powers and make your avatar the Earl of Lemongrab.

[Sammy Sofa]

It better not be. Or else I'll eat you.

 

Thanks a lot, now I'm really tempted to abuse my mod powers and make your avatar the Earl of Lemongrab.

 

I approve.

 

Or: I approooooooOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!!!!

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Kyle, I got Parks last week, it's your turn to troll him about Baez.

 

My heart's just not in it right now. Someone pick up the slack.

[Guest]

YOU DON'T SAY

 

@ProfessorParks Learned from a trusted source that Baez's eyes were both 20/15 this ST. Good news: its not his vision. Bad news: its the approach. #Cubs

 

@ProfessorParks He also scored well on depth perception tests, in addition to the standard eye exam.

[jersey cubs fan]

good work kyle