The Curious Case of Jake Fox

[THISisTHEyear09]

In case you don’t follow minor league baseball. There is a guy down in Iowa (triple A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs), who is hitting the ball like crazy. The thing is, it’s nothing new for Jake Fox, he was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2003 draft outof the University of Michigan. All he has done since he has been in the minors is hit the long ball, to the tune of 122 dingers as of yesterday, including 17 so far this season. So far this year in 149 at bats, he is hitting 0.423/17 HR/50 RBI/.886 SLG/ 1.389 OPS, those numbers are just ridiculous.

 

So here is the question I was asking myself, he is in triple A, a skip away from the majors and he is obviously killing the ball in the minors. Why isn’t he in the majors? So I did some snooping and aparently he is a very bad fielder. The only position they trust him at is first base. Although he has played in the outfield. Why in the world has no American League team inquired about him as a DH? I mean what team wouldn’t want a 0.275 Avg/25 HR/80 RBI DH hitter in the middleof their lineup?

 

I understand why he hasn’t been called up to the majors as there is no room for him in Chicago, but this guy deserves a shot in the majors. He had a small taste in 2007 and did horrible, but it’s now almost 2 years since then and he is entering his prime at 26 years old. He is ready for the pros and what ever team lands him (since he probably won’t stay with the Cubbies),is going to be awfully happy he is their DH. Like I said he is capable of 0.280/25/80 easy, there isn’t one team in the AL that couldn’t use him. What is the most you have to give up? A single prospect? Probably not even a top 10 in the organization prospect.

 

So that brings us to his current value as a baseball card. After a search of eBay I came away with 2 of his autographs. Both will run you around $10 – $15, but for a guy that is absolutely exploding in the minors, I would consider this the buy low. I could see it just skyrocketing to $100 or so if he gets promoted and continues to hit like he is in the minors. I am curious if anyone else has seen himplay and what your opinion of him is.

http://badwax.net/2009/04/29/the-curious-case-of-jake-fox/

Edited May 25, 2009 by THISisTHEyear09

[Little Slide Rooter]

How AL GMs havnt approached Hendry about Fox is beyond me.

[CubbieBum]

How AL GMs havnt approached Hendry about Fox is beyond me.

 

Probably have but they are either trying to lowball or Hendry doesn't want to give away someone who can hit like that. Probably the first one.

[Sammy Sofa]

Or it might be the really obvious reason.

[17 Seconds]

stupid cubs not being able to get the no-dh rule in the nl overturned

[17 Seconds]

How AL GMs havnt approached Hendry about Fox is beyond me.

 

how could you possibly know they havent?

[CubsWin]

Interesting little development for Jake, he was behind the plate for the I-Cubs on Monday. He allowed two passed balls and he was probably filling in due to injury or something, but much like Spock, I raised an eyebrow and said, "fascinating" when I saw that.

[Schwarber Fan]

He shouldn't be starting anywhere but 3B right now, dumb move.

[Little Slide Rooter]

He shouldn't be starting anywhere but 3B right now, dumb move.

 

this.

[Guest]

He shouldn't be starting anywhere but 3B right now, dumb move.

 

Why?

[CubsWin]

He shouldn't be starting anywhere but 3B right now, dumb move.

 

Why?

I think its because of the current injury status of one Aramis Ramirez, but I don't want to put words in AF's mouth.

 

From everything I've read, Jake's defense is just as bad at third as it is behind the plate, so...

[Schwarber Fan]

He shouldn't be starting anywhere but 3B right now, dumb move.

 

Why?

 

It isn't obvious?

 

He's tearing up the PCL with his bat and with Ramirez out, if he could show even average defense at 3B, he could and should be called up. It's not like Fontenot/Freel/Scales is that much better defensively and Fox would surely be an offensive upgrade. He's not gonna get a shot as a catcher in this organization with Soto and Hill already here and Hoffpauir/Lee have 1B blocked up, so playing him at any position other than third is useless as far as I'm concerned.

[Guest]

Clearly the Cubs feel he's not even passable because otherwise he'd have gotten much more time at third base after the Ramirez injury. He hasn't gotten much time there in years past either when he was playing all over the diamond and Iowa and Tennessee had mediocre third basemen. And it's not like he isn't getting a 1000 ground balls at third every day.

 

It seems strange to call it a dumb move.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Playing even passable Major League defense is not easy. It's not something you can work on for a couple weeks and be comfortable with. Fox has been with the Cubs organization for 7 years, and everything from them(aka how they've used and promoted him) and everything from third parties suggests he is a horrible, horrible fielder. He's not going to become passable. If that's something that can be overlooked by an individual or Hendry, that's fine. But please understand that "if he could only be passable at 3B" is akin to asking Rich Harden to play 3B when he's not pitching "if he could just be passable or even mediocre with the bat for 3B".

[Little Slide Rooter]

We might just have to petition a move to the AL. Wed own the AL Central, although I dont like the idea of facing Greinke that often.

[TruffleShuffle]

if he could show even average defense at 3B

 

he can't.

[Little Slide Rooter]

if he could show even average defense at 3B

 

he can't.

 

is slightly below average a possibility?

[Little Slide Rooter]

In all seriousness, if his defense is really that horrible and unsalvageable, now is the time to shop him around to some AL teams. Hes 26, and has been with us for 7 years. When does he become a minor league free agent? If we could get a respectable reliever or maybe a back up middle infielder who can hit the ball a bit, its better than nothing. Even a Ty Wiggington or Russ Branyan would be acceptable.

[TruffleShuffle]

if he could show even average defense at 3B

 

he can't.

 

is slightly below average a possibility?

 

from everything i've read, no. he'll be bad defensively and has to either DH or hit enough to overcome the runs he gives away with his glove.

[wvcbxl]

When does he become a minor league free agent?

 

He doesn't - he's on the 40-man roster.

After 2009, he's also out of options.

[Little Slide Rooter]

When does he become a minor league free agent?

 

He doesn't - he's on the 40-man roster.

After 2009, he's also out of options.

 

That being the case, we need to call him up or trade him. If what you're saying is we lose him after this year, we have to at least see if we can get something like Ty Wiggington or Russel Branyan for him.

[dew1679666265]

When does he become a minor league free agent?

 

He doesn't - he's on the 40-man roster.

After 2009, he's also out of options.

 

That being the case, we need to call him up or trade him. If what you're saying is we lose him after this year, we have to at least see if we can get something like Ty Wiggington or Russel Branyan for him.

 

You don't think Hendry might have tried?

[Guest]

if he could show even average defense at 3B

 

he can't.

 

is slightly below average a possibility?

 

from everything i've read, no. he'll be bad defensively and has to either DH or hit enough to overcome the runs he gives away with his glove.

They could hide him in one of the corners of the outfield but he's blocked everywhere. For what it's worth, he made some nice picks at first when I saw him play in Memphis. Baseball is a funny business, this year defense is all the rage so GMs probably aren't going to be to keen on Fox. He will make a very useful throw-in to get a big name player come July.

 

Also for what it's worth, Fox looks like he's put on a lot of weight from years past. He wears a baggy uniform so it's hard to tell if it's muscle or just weight.

[Little Slide Rooter]

whatever Fox is or isnt capable of, having Freel, Miles, and Scales on the same team is like having Neifi, Jose Macias, and rookie Ryan Theriot on the same team.

[16greenhuskies]

No bad mouthing Miles..... Tony LaLoser stills cries for him each night (just a rumor)....