Starlin Castro to AA

[CaliforniaRaisin]

It was being talked about in yesterday's game thread but this probably deserves its own thread.

 

Robinson Chirinos also promoted to AA. Mark Reed and Nate Samson demoted to Daytona.

[SouthSideRyan]

holy [expletive].

[utkcub]

Sweet jesus this is way to aggressive, however I can't wait to get back to school to watch the Smokies play now.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

It does make some sense considering that Castro's flaws(errors, hitting for extra bases) are such that he probably won't be overwhelmed by AA. On the other hand, he hasn't hit LHP worth anything this year, and most importantly, why? What's there to gain by playing the last month for Tennessee?

[CUBZ99]

Castro had a terrible April, but ever since he has been consistently on fire. This likely does not impact where he starts the year next year, so let's see how he handles AA.

[CubsWin]

Castro had a terrible April, but ever since he has been consistently on fire. This likely does not impact where he starts the year next year, so let's see how he handles AA.

And he stays on fire in his first game at AA going 2-for-4 with a run, 2 batted in and a walk. Welcome to Tennessee, Mr. Castro.

[Rob]

Starlin Castro is really making me pay for saying I preferred Junior Lake in the preseason.

 

Keep it up good sir.

[Guest]

Starlin Castro is really making me pay for saying I preferred Junior Lake in the preseason.

 

Keep it up good sir.

Unfortuntely, Junior Lake is making you pay for that, too.

[sandbergcubs]

they moved him up there because tennesee is vying for a playoff spot, ive heard on the grapevine that chirinos, is around to "look after him" as such

 

although i dont think that it would hurt their playoff chances having him there either.

 

this is not too aggressive, he can handle it, he will be in the bigs in the very near future

[CubsWin]

they moved him up there because tennesee is vying for a playoff spot, ive heard on the grapevine that chirinos, is around to "look after him" as such

 

although i dont think that it would hurt their playoff chances having him there either.

 

this is not too aggressive, he can handle it, he will be in the bigs in the very near future

Yeah, it doesn't seem like it's too aggressive to me either. He had 358 ABs at the A+ level and consistently hit well over .300 for May, June and July. Assuming he doesn't implode next spring, he likely start next season at AA. So what's the diff if he gets a taste now at the end of the season and sees a little playoff time to boot.

 

BTW, he got two more hits tonight making him 4-for-9 with a walk and an RBI in his first two games. We'll see how he holds up, but so far so good.

 

As far as him being in the bigs in "the very near future", that all depends on what you mean by "the very near future" and "in" the bigs. If he continues to hit AA pitching well next season and improves on his throws to first, then I can see him possibly getting a September call up next season. As far as being on the 25-man regularly, that may not happen until 2012. He's very young, and we see players revert after having break through seasons all the time. I'm a little more cautious, I guess, when it comes to seeing him in Cubbie blue.

[toonsterwu]

Starlin Castro is really making me pay for saying I preferred Junior Lake in the preseason.

 

Keep it up good sir.

Unfortuntely, Junior Lake is making you pay for that, too.

 

Junior Lake hasn't had a great year, but I think he's done enough to think "he had a passable enough year in terms of expectations, what if he puts it together at some point ... ". I mean, tools wise, there was a reason why some folks liked Lake as much as Castro. I believe Lake's future is at 2nd or 3rd, although the Cubs may try him at short a bit longer. I think, if he puts it together, Lake's bat can play for 2nd, and perhaps play for 3rd. I wouldn't be surprised to see him start 2010 with Peoria again, though, with LeMahieu and Flaherty perhaps taking the main Daytona slots.

[toonsterwu]

they moved him up there because tennesee is vying for a playoff spot, ive heard on the grapevine that chirinos, is around to "look after him" as such

 

although i dont think that it would hurt their playoff chances having him there either.

 

this is not too aggressive, he can handle it, he will be in the bigs in the very near future

 

The Chirinos part makes a lot of sense, as it seemed fairly clear that he was at Daytona to help the kids in some respect, as there's no doubt, in my mind, that he was more useful than Mark Reed.

[jersey cubs fan]

Starlin Castro is really making me pay for saying I preferred Junior Lake in the preseason.

 

Keep it up good sir.

Unfortuntely, Junior Lake is making you pay for that, too.

 

Junior Lake hasn't had a great year, but I think he's done enough to think "he had a passable enough year in terms of expectations, what if he puts it together at some point ... ".

 

Really? I don't know anything about the guy, but .247/.274/.364 in low A seems really disappointing to me. I guess that's better than what Ronny Cedeno did, and he was always all about promise moreso than production, at least until AAA.

[toonsterwu]

Starlin Castro is really making me pay for saying I preferred Junior Lake in the preseason.

 

Keep it up good sir.

Unfortuntely, Junior Lake is making you pay for that, too.

 

Junior Lake hasn't had a great year, but I think he's done enough to think "he had a passable enough year in terms of expectations, what if he puts it together at some point ... ".

 

Really? I don't know anything about the guy, but .247/.274/.364 in low A seems really disappointing to me. I guess that's better than what Ronny Cedeno did, and he was always all about promise moreso than production, at least until AAA.

 

ah been busy of late so didn't notice his average slipped a bit. The last time I had checked, he was hitting near .260, so it must have dived a bit of late. As long as he finishes near .250, I think that's a passable enough year for a kid that was

 

a) Sorta pushed

b) Even before Castro's emergence last fall, he was considered ahead of Lake, as Lake was considered toolsy and hadn't put it together yet.

[jersey cubs fan]

ah been busy of late so didn't notice his average slipped a bit. The last time I had checked, he was hitting near .260, so it must have dived a bit of late. As long as he finishes near .250, I think that's a passable enough year for a kid that was

 

a) Sorta pushed

b) Even before Castro's emergence last fall, he was considered ahead of Lake, as Lake was considered toolsy and hadn't put it together yet.

 

I get that he was kind of young. But he was 18 in rookie ball, and all he skipped was short season. A low 600 OPS just seems more disappointing than passable in terms of expectations. And Castro's emergence doesn't really make Lake's numbers more or less acceptable.

[Guest]

Starlin Castro is really making me pay for saying I preferred Junior Lake in the preseason.

 

Keep it up good sir.

Unfortuntely, Junior Lake is making you pay for that, too.

 

Junior Lake hasn't had a great year, but I think he's done enough to think "he had a passable enough year in terms of expectations, what if he puts it together at some point ... ". I mean, tools wise, there was a reason why some folks liked Lake as much as Castro. I believe Lake's future is at 2nd or 3rd, although the Cubs may try him at short a bit longer. I think, if he puts it together, Lake's bat can play for 2nd, and perhaps play for 3rd. I wouldn't be surprised to see him start 2010 with Peoria again, though, with LeMahieu and Flaherty perhaps taking the main Daytona slots.

I understand and agree with what you're saying to an extent. But if you came into the year thinking that Lake was the better prospect, then each of those two players has contributed to changing those evaluations. Castro's star has gone through the roof while Lake's has dimmed a bit. I am nowhere near writing him off at this point (Ronny was a good example of why not to do so), but his performance this year has dropped him down the list a bit. While his ceiling remains unchanged, his probability of reaching his ceiling has diminished this season.

[JeffH]

Lake is striking out in 31% of his at-bats.

 

While you can't really say that any prospect has "no chance", Junior Lake is about as close as it gets.

 

Move on and focus on legitimate prospects.

[Guest]

It'll be interesting to see how the middle infielders get broken down next year at Peoria and Daytona.

 

AAA - Thomas/Barney

AA - Samson/Castro

A+ - Flaherty/LeMahieu

A - Watkins/Lee + Lake?

[Guest]

Here's my guess:

 

AAA - Thomas/Barney

AA - Samson/Castro

A+ - Flaherty (3B)/LeMahieu (2B)/Lee (SS)

A - Watkins/Lake

[CubColtPacer]

Here's my guess:

 

AAA - Thomas/Barney

AA - Samson/Castro

A+ - Flaherty (3B)/LeMahieu (2B)/Lee (SS)

A - Watkins/Lake

 

Are you thinking Vitters is going to get promoted to AA Tim even after his struggles at Daytona and now the injury? I would be a little surprised by that.

[JeffH]

Here's my guess:

 

AAA - Thomas/Barney

AA - Samson/Castro

A+ - Flaherty (3B)/LeMahieu (2B)/Lee (SS)

A - Watkins/Lake

 

Are you thinking Vitters is going to get promoted to AA Tim even after his struggles at Daytona and now the injury? I would be a little surprised by that.

 

I hope they don't have Lee skip a level. Let him play SS at Peoria. Fit the other guys in around him.

[Guest]

Here's my guess:

 

AAA - Thomas/Barney

AA - Samson/Castro

A+ - Flaherty (3B)/LeMahieu (2B)/Lee (SS)

A - Watkins/Lake

 

Are you thinking Vitters is going to get promoted to AA Tim even after his struggles at Daytona and now the injury? I would be a little surprised by that.

Yeah, I think they have that kind of confidence in him. And I think he'll look that good in instructs & camp, so I guess I have that kind of confidence in him.

 

Hendry's words from the other night of wanting to keep everyone challenged keep ringing through my head as I see how they're pushing the kids through the system these days. I think that is a key part of the org philosophy these days. That's part of why I think they'll push Lee to Daytona and Vitters to Tenn.

 

Now, it's quite possible that Vitters doesn't look as good as I'm hoping and he gets left at Daytona. In which case, I have no idea what happens if Lee looks good as I think that they'd slot Vitters at 3B, Lee at SS and work Flaherty and LeMahieu around them.

[Guest]

Here's my guess:

 

AAA - Thomas/Barney

AA - Samson/Castro

A+ - Flaherty (3B)/LeMahieu (2B)/Lee (SS)

A - Watkins/Lake

 

Are you thinking Vitters is going to get promoted to AA Tim even after his struggles at Daytona and now the injury? I would be a little surprised by that.

 

I hope they don't have Lee skip a level. Let him play SS at Peoria. Fit the other guys in around him.

I hope they let his play determine where he should be. If he is ready for Daytona this spring, play him in Daytona. If not, play him in Peoria.

[Tyrant]

As someone who doesn't follow the minors all that closely, what's the scouting report on Castro?

 

Looking at the numbers, I'm not terribly impressed. What's so special about a .731 OPS at Daytona?

[jersey cubs fan]

As someone who doesn't follow the minors all that closely, what's the scouting report on Castro?

 

Looking at the numbers, I'm not terribly impressed. What's so special about a .731 OPS at Daytona?

 

It's not really special, but it's kind of impressive from a 19 year old who has also begun his time in AA with even better numbers. For comparison's sake, Hanley Ramirez posted a .310/.364/.389 line in A+ at age 20. Jimmy Rollins was a 19 year old in A+ and he hit .244/.306/.354. Jason Bartlett put up lesser numbers in A+ and was 22 when he got there.

 

It's not numbers that make you think he's definitely star quality, but it's not bad numbers, and they are good enough to make you think he's got a good chance of a bright future.