Minor League Discussion & Boxes 7-21-2009

[Outshined_One]

Box Scores

 

Iowa won 4-3 Box Score

 

CF S. Fuld 1/4

2B A. Miles 0/4, 3 K, E (2, fielding)

1B M. Craig 1/3, BB, K

LF B. Scales 0/4, 2 K

C C. Robinson 2/4, 2 R, 2B (15), K

3B N. Spears 1/4, R, 2 E (9, throw x 2)

RF M. Camp 2/3, BB, R, RBI, Assist (1B)

SS D. Barney 2/4

SP E. Caridad 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 7/2 K/BB, 1-9 GO-FO

RP J. Waddell 1 perfect, 2-1 GO-FO

RP V. Perkins 2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1/0 K/BB, 5-0 GO-FO

 

Tennessee won 3-2 in the 10th Box Score

 

SS J. Mota 2/5, R, RBI, 3B (1)

CF J. Adduci 1/5, R, K

3B M. Smith 1/3, RBI, 2B (25), K

RF T. Colvin 2/5, K

LF T. Wright 0/4

1B R. Canzler 0/3, BB

2B T. Thomas 0/3, K

C W. Castillo 1/2, 2 BB, R

PH D. Deeds 0/1

SP A. Cashner 6 scoreless, 1 H, 5/0 K/BB, 11-2 GO-FO

RP C. Lambert 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2-1 GO-FO

RP M. Carrillo 1 perfect, 1-2 GO-FO

RP A. Maestri 1 scoreless, 0 H, 0/1 K/BB, 2-1 GO-FO

 

Daytona lost 8-2 Box Score

 

CF T. Campana 2/5, RBI, PO (1B), Assist (3B)

SS S. Castro 1/4, RBI, 2B (16)

RF B. Guyer 3/4, K, SB (14)

C R. Chirinos 0/3, E (6, throw), PB (6)

3B J. Vitters 1/4, 2 K

1B J. Opitz 0/4

LF J. Harrison 2/3, BB, R, 2B (3)

2B M. Gonzalez 1/4, R

DH J. Jones 0/3, K

SP H. Williamson 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3/3 K/BB, WP, 2-4 GO-FO

RP D. McDaniel 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3/2 K/BB, 1-1 GO-FO

 

Peoria with an off day.

 

Boise lost 8-6 Box Score

 

SS HJ Lee 1/2, BB, RBI

DH L. Watkins 1/5, R, K

CF B. Jackson 3/5, 2 R, 2B (1), 2 K

1B J. Bour 1/3, BB, R, 2 RBI

RF JH Ha 2/5, R, RBI, K, SB (3), PO (2B)

3B G. Rohan 1/4, BB, R, K

C M. Williams 1/3, BB, RBI, K

PH R. Jones 0/1, K

2B G. Matheus 1/4, RBI, K

LF J. Valdez 3/4, K, E (5, throw)

SP J. Whitlock 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 5/1 K/BB, HR, WP, 2-2 GO-FO

SP L. Suarez 2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0/1 K/BB, HR, 2 WP, 2-3 GO-FO

RP J. Lansford 2 scoreless, 1 H, 2/0 K/BB, 2-2 GO-FO

RP R. Sontag 1.1 scoreless, 0 H, 2/3 K/BB, 1-1 GO-FO

 

AZL Cubs won 2-1 (11 innings) Box Score

 

CF F. Guzman 0/3, BB, K, Assist (Home)

SS W. Darvill 0/4, 2 K

1B/LF R. Wagner 1/4, K

3B J. Petraitis 0/4, K, E (2, fielding)

RF J. Morelli 0/4, 2 K

DH B. Springfield 0/3, BB, R, 2 K, SB (4)

PH/1B C. Thomas 2/2, RBI, 2B (4)

2B R. Buatista 0/3, 3 K

SP SM Jung 1 scoreless, 1 H, 1/1 K/BB, 1-1 GO-FO

RP C. Rusin 3 scoreless, 1 H, 1/1 K/BB, 7-1 GO-FO

RP T. Matchulat 2.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 4/1 K/BB, 2 WP, 2-0 GO-FO

 

DSL Cubs 1 PPD: Rain

 

DSL Cubs 2 lost 11-8 Box Score

 

OVERALL: 4-2

[THE RIOT]

I-Cubs Win 4-3

 

Caridad 6IP 5H 2R 0ER 2BB 7SO 96 Pitches 68 Strikes

 

Chris Robinson 2 for 4 with 2B(15) and lone RBI(32)

 

Aaron Miles 0 for 4 with 3SO and 1E .194/.219/.290/.509 in 31 AB's 9 Total Bases to 8 SO's :-#

[CyHawk_Cub]

I-Cubs Win 4-3

 

Caridad 6IP 5H 2R 0ER 2BB 7SO 96 Pitches 68 Strikes

 

Chris Robinson 2 for 4 with 2B(15) and lone RBI(32)

 

Aaron Miles 0 for 4 with 3SO and 1E .194/.219/.290/.509 in 31 AB's 9 Total Bases to 8 SO's :-#

 

This Miles kid is clearly major league-ready....call him up!!!

[THE RIOT]

Interesting matchup tonight in the Southern League as top prospect Jason Heyward faces off against Andrew Cashner

 

Heyward .319/.388/.547/.935 with 11HR 41RBI 4/4 SB between A+/AA

 

Cashner 0-1 1.62 ERA 55.2IP 41H 14R 10ER 20BB 46SO 1HR 1.26GO/AO .203 AVG between A+/AA

 

Heyward coming into 09 was a top prospect in MILB and will remain a top prospect, while Cashner flew under the radar of most and is putting together a very solid 09. Interesting to see how this plays out tonight

[squally1313]

Would anyone who knows more about this than I do be able to shed some light on the Cubs plans for Cashner in the near future? Are they completely set on trying to make him a starter, or could he see some time in the Cubs bullpen sometime soon, a la Shark last year, mainly because I know college relievers have gotten to the majors very quickly in the past. I'm very impressed by his numbers so far, and his arm is obviously getting stronger, but I'd be interested to see if the Cubs would send him back to a bullpen role for a few months if they thought he could help them get to the playoffs.

[RyneSandberg]

Interesting matchup tonight in the Southern League as top prospect Jason Heyward faces off against Andrew Cashner

 

Heyward .319/.388/.547/.935 with 11HR 41RBI 4/4 SB between A+/AA

 

Cashner 0-1 1.62 ERA 55.2IP 41H 14R 10ER 20BB 46SO 1HR 1.26GO/AO .203 AVG between A+/AA

 

Heyward coming into 09 was a top prospect in MILB and will remain a top prospect, while Cashner flew under the radar of most and is putting together a very solid 09. Interesting to see how this plays out tonight

And he proceeds to strike him out both times up so far

 

6IP -- 1 H -- 0 ER -- 0 BB -- 5 K

[Guest]

Interesting matchup tonight in the Southern League as top prospect Jason Heyward faces off against Andrew Cashner

 

Heyward .319/.388/.547/.935 with 11HR 41RBI 4/4 SB between A+/AA

 

Cashner 0-1 1.62 ERA 55.2IP 41H 14R 10ER 20BB 46SO 1HR 1.26GO/AO .203 AVG between A+/AA

 

Heyward coming into 09 was a top prospect in MILB and will remain a top prospect, while Cashner flew under the radar of most and is putting together a very solid 09. Interesting to see how this plays out tonight

And he proceeds to strike him out both times up so far

 

6IP -- 1 H -- 0 ER -- 0 BB -- 5 K

 

Wow. Cashner is dominating AA right now - 19.2 IP, 11 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 17 K, 1.37 ERA.

[Outshined_One]

Would anyone who knows more about this than I do be able to shed some light on the Cubs plans for Cashner in the near future? Are they completely set on trying to make him a starter, or could he see some time in the Cubs bullpen sometime soon, a la Shark last year, mainly because I know college relievers have gotten to the majors very quickly in the past. I'm very impressed by his numbers so far, and his arm is obviously getting stronger, but I'd be interested to see if the Cubs would send him back to a bullpen role for a few months if they thought he could help them get to the playoffs.

 

From the looks of it, the Cubs are trying him out at starter for the time being. He's been working hard on a third pitch (changeup) in part because his slider has been inconsistent this season. Since the Cubs are being careful with him after his oblique strain, his pitch counts and inning counts are down since I think he's still around the 80-85 pitch mark for his outings.

 

I don't know if he's advanced enough to help the Cubs this year out of the pen, though. If his slider's inconsistent and his change is still developing, he'd pretty much be a one trick pony at this point.

[TruffleShuffle]

Interesting matchup tonight in the Southern League as top prospect Jason Heyward faces off against Andrew Cashner

 

Heyward .319/.388/.547/.935 with 11HR 41RBI 4/4 SB between A+/AA

 

Cashner 0-1 1.62 ERA 55.2IP 41H 14R 10ER 20BB 46SO 1HR 1.26GO/AO .203 AVG between A+/AA

 

Heyward coming into 09 was a top prospect in MILB and will remain a top prospect, while Cashner flew under the radar of most and is putting together a very solid 09. Interesting to see how this plays out tonight

And he proceeds to strike him out both times up so far

 

6IP -- 1 H -- 0 ER -- 0 BB -- 5 K

 

11 GO/2 FO also... he's dealing. probably done for the night with 82 pitches.

[RyneSandberg]

Interesting matchup tonight in the Southern League as top prospect Jason Heyward faces off against Andrew Cashner

 

Heyward .319/.388/.547/.935 with 11HR 41RBI 4/4 SB between A+/AA

 

Cashner 0-1 1.62 ERA 55.2IP 41H 14R 10ER 20BB 46SO 1HR 1.26GO/AO .203 AVG between A+/AA

 

Heyward coming into 09 was a top prospect in MILB and will remain a top prospect, while Cashner flew under the radar of most and is putting together a very solid 09. Interesting to see how this plays out tonight

And he proceeds to strike him out both times up so far

 

6IP -- 1 H -- 0 ER -- 0 BB -- 5 K

 

11 GO/2 FO also... he's dealing. probably done for the night with 82 pitches.

You would be correct, Cashner's final line right there. Another stellar start.

[Keener98]

Cashner has me officially intrigued.

[THISisTHEyear09]

This guy Perkins has been really good! I read we got him from some independant leaduge team and he should be up in Sept.!!(pretty good story, not even playing minor league baseball then to the pros next year)

[manbearcub]

Cashner has me officially intrigued.

yeah, im starting to follow this pujols guy also. he's pretty intriguing.

[TruffleShuffle]

This guy Perkins has been really good! I read we got him from some independant leaduge team and he should be up in Sept.!!(pretty good story, not even playing minor league baseball then to the pros next year)

 

he looks pretty hittable, but he's been really tough on RHP and has a great GO/FO ratio. it'd be nice to see what he can do against big league hitters.

[Guest]

This guy Perkins has been really good! I read we got him from some independant leaduge team and he should be up in Sept.!!(pretty good story, not even playing minor league baseball then to the pros next year)

 

he looks pretty hittable, but he's been really tough on RHP and has a great GO/FO ratio. it'd be nice to see what he can do against big league hitters.

 

Has good stuff too.

[davearm2]

Would anyone who knows more about this than I do be able to shed some light on the Cubs plans for Cashner in the near future? Are they completely set on trying to make him a starter, or could he see some time in the Cubs bullpen sometime soon, a la Shark last year, mainly because I know college relievers have gotten to the majors very quickly in the past. I'm very impressed by his numbers so far, and his arm is obviously getting stronger, but I'd be interested to see if the Cubs would send him back to a bullpen role for a few months if they thought he could help them get to the playoffs.

I doubt the Cubs would commit a spot on the 40-man roster to Cashner at this point. That'd be one more guy they'd have to leave exposed in the Rule 5 draft come December. From what little I've read on it, it sounds like they'll already have some tough choices to make.

[Wrigley Rat]

Su-Min Jung pitched at Mesa today - he was the starter.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_21_angrok_cubrok_1

[craig]

Perkins gets well into the 90's. cal, do you know if he's got any breaking pitch? Or is he pretty much all fastball?

 

Obviously his control isn't good.

 

Cashner has sure been good.

[Wrigley Rat]

High ranking Dominican League prospects (over the past 10 games)/Overall AVG:

RH 3B Joel Altagracia (.310 AVG with 2 HR's)/.200.

LH SS Carlos Henry (.258 AVG)/.171.

RH C/3B Wilson Contreras (.182 AVG)/.182.

Today, six players stole bases against two of our catchers (no one caught stealing).

[TruffleShuffle]

the DSL cubs had the rare line of 8 runs on 4 hits and 6 errors today. they drew 15 walks in a 9 inning game.

 

still, their defense is HORRENDOUS. 145 errors in 45 games or 3.22 per game. they've allowed 351 runs, which is by far the worst in the league (and there are a hell of a lot of teams in that league), and 117 unearned runs. their pitching is also horrible, with a WHIP of 1.66 and 67 hit batsmen.

 

like i said they're the bad news bears of the DSL.

[Outshined_One]

High ranking Dominican League prospects (over the past 10 games)/Overall AVG:

RH 3B Joel Altagracia (.310 AVG with 2 HR's)/.200.

LH SS Carlos Henry (.258 AVG)/.171.

RH C/3B Wilson Contreras (.182 AVG)/.182.

Today, six players stole bases against two of our catchers (no one caught stealing).

 

The DSL is so hard to evaluate in terms of who has talent and who doesn't, especially when based on stats. You'd think that posting a .324/.405/.459 line as a 19 year old would get someone like Albert Hernandez on the map, but he's back in the DSL this season. OF Jesus Morelli, who put up very good numbers last season, hasn't done much with the AZL Cubs. Starlin Castro and Junior Lake put up decent, but not particularly noteworthy numbers in the DSL.

 

It's disappointing to see those three not do well, but, at the same time, it's hard to get worked up over it when you're talking about different strike zones and the like that can be found in the DSL.

[Guest]

Ryne Sandberg missed Andrew Cashner's gem - not because he was suspended again - but because he was in Dayton to support Julio Castillo during Castillo's trial.

 

Knoxville News-Sentinel[/url]"]What Sandberg missed Tuesday was a fantastic game from Smokies pitcher Andrew Cashner. The 2008 first-round draft pick out of Texas Christian University pitched six scoreless innings and allowed just one hit while notching five strikeouts.

 

"He (Cashner) mixed his pitches," Beyers said. "His ball was heavy and he jammed a lot of guys. The great thing tonight was the tempo. We've had some long games and the tempo and defense was good today. That was all led by Cashner. He's got to feel good about this game."

[TruffleShuffle]

High ranking Dominican League prospects (over the past 10 games)/Overall AVG:

RH 3B Joel Altagracia (.310 AVG with 2 HR's)/.200.

LH SS Carlos Henry (.258 AVG)/.171.

RH C/3B Wilson Contreras (.182 AVG)/.182.

Today, six players stole bases against two of our catchers (no one caught stealing).

 

The DSL is so hard to evaluate in terms of who has talent and who doesn't, especially when based on stats. You'd think that posting a .324/.405/.459 line as a 19 year old would get someone like Albert Hernandez on the map, but he's back in the DSL this season. OF Jesus Morelli, who put up very good numbers last season, hasn't done much with the AZL Cubs. Starlin Castro and Junior Lake put up decent, but not particularly noteworthy numbers in the DSL.

 

It's disappointing to see those three not do well, but, at the same time, it's hard to get worked up over it when you're talking about different strike zones and the like that can be found in the DSL.

 

perhaps the DSL cubs 2 play on a field with a texture similar to the surface of the moon; that could explain their error total.

 

by the way, if you think the cubs' offense is bad, check out these stats from the NY-Penn league. the highest team BA in the league is .258; the highest team SLG is .388 and the highest team OPS is a stellar .703. by the way, my home town team - the state college spikes - have a team line of .211/.284/.301/.585. simply spectacular.

[Guest]

Both DSL Cubs play their home games on the same field at Baseball City.

 

Here's an old read from BA on mining DSL stats and projecting players:

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/international-affairs/2009/267780.html

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/international-affairs/2009/267777.html

 

Do DSL Statistics Mean Anything?

 

I figured we would see some trends, but the success that nearly every player had at a young age in the DSL is remarkable, though keep in mind that the sample is of just 20 player seasons. The only player who showed little signs of life in the DSL was Ramon Hernandez, but even he had an impressive 18-to-10 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Jose Guillen hit just .226, but he also showed serious power by clocking 11 home runs in 63 games. Even at the lowest level of professional baseball, performance seems to matter.

 

The sample size isn't great, but there do appear to be some trends in the performance records. What factors should we consider when forecasting the futures of DSL hitters?

 

• Major league tools
  
• Age
  
• Feel for hitting
  
• Strike-zone judgment
  
• Power

 

At the DSL level, pitchers tend to be extremely raw, in terms of everything from the quality of their stuff to their mechanics to their knowledge of how to attack hitters. Pitchers—especially the ones who have large, projectable frames—are often still growing into their bodies. That growth, which sometimes includes an increase in height, can make it difficult for a pitcher to harness his mechanics, repeat his release point and, in turn, control his pitches. Many of these pitchers haven't maxed out with their peak fastball velocity yet, so as a pitcher fills out and refines his mechanics, he can go from having a mid-80s fastball to throwing in the low-90s.

 

While the improvement of the four-seam fastball helps many pitchers, others at the DSL level benefit from their first taste of professional instruction. Players at that age don't usually have command of their offspeed stuff, and the changeup is rarely even an average pitch in their first season. Introducing a two-seam fastball to a pitcher's repertoire can also help a pitcher take off, as it did for Rockies righthander Jhoulys Chacin.

 

If a pitcher in the DSL has good stuff and is putting up good numbers, then that's great, and it could be a sign of both projectability and some polish. But even if a pitcher's performance in the DSL is either mediocre or even downright dreadful, it doesn't seem to matter all that much, as long as scouts see projection there.

 

It all comes down to projection at that level - you're dealing with primarily 17 and 18-year olds who are being properly coached for the first time in their life.

[craig]

From poster at my other board:

 

"I went to the ballgame last night...

 

Ryno wasnt there and Nate Samson wasnt either because of the Castillo trial.

 

Word was they may miss the next 5 days.

 

Andrew Cashner topped out at 98 but worked 95-96.

 

I saw a good changeup and a decent curveball as well."

 

Good news on the velocity. Not a lot of guys who work at 95-96. Obviously that was an excellent game for him, so most likely he doesn't wok that fast every time. But that's awfully good, for a guy who's mostly throwing strikes and hasn't allowed a HR since his first week.