2009 Arizona Fall League

[Ryno12]

Baseball Prospectus[/url]"]Others Of Note

 

Starlin Castro, SS, Cubs (AFL), 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, SB, CS, K: Castro is tied for the league lead with a .423 batting average (22-for-52), but his overall line of .423/.462/.462 shows that there are precious few secondary skills.

 

 

I really don't know what else you could ask for from a 19 year old SS.

 

well identifying his lack of patience/power is fine, but it really is nitpicking. how many 19 year old middle infielders from latin america show good power and patience? he's shown a good glove in the AFL and leads the league in batting average as the second-youngest player in the league. that's fine.

 

Well, Castro just homered! Thanks KG.

[Serge]

And he just tripled. Maybe we should email Goldstein and get him to reverse-jinx Vitters into walking more.

[Ryno12]

Starlin showing some power today with a triple in the sixth which according to gameday was hit to the fence in the left-center gap.

 

That and Vitters is now 3/3, all singles.

[davell]

But, what if it was the first pitch in the at bat? No patience at all....... :roll:

 

 

Seriously, is it ridiculous to think he'll be our major league SS by July?

[TruffleShuffle]

But, what if it was the first pitch in the at bat? No patience at all....... :roll:

 

it was on the 5th pitch of the AB, a 2-2 count. mesa managed to get a leadoff triple and two singles in that inning and not score - the batter after castro singled to left but somehow castro got thrown out at home on that play, then one out later vitters hit a ground ball single (on the first pitch) and the guy who singled after castro was thrown out at home.

 

 

Seriously, is it ridiculous to think he'll be our major league SS by July?

 

it's possible that he's the best shortstop in the organization right now, so now that's not ridiculous. although the cubs already do have an "established" ss and i suspect he'll be playing that position for all of 2010 in a cub uniform.

[CUBZ99]

It would be funny if he misses the cycle by a single.

[davell]

And he just tripled. Maybe we should email Goldstein and get him to reverse-jinx Vitters into walking more.

 

 

A triple and a homer is nice says Goldstein, but where is the double and single he needs with it? :D

 

On a side note(and it's actually very cool in a way that it is just that) but Vitters has hit damn well in his own right this fall. I'm starting to wonder if we see him start at Tennessee instead of repeating Daytona.

[Guest]

Going into today, Vitters was OPSing .789. His BA might be good, but that's not a lot of patience or power, especially considering the league.

[TruffleShuffle]

Going into today, Vitters was OPSing .789. His BA might be good, but that's not a lot of patience or power, especially considering the league.

 

starlin's ops is 1.038 by the way, and his BA is up to .436. he's awesome.

[jersey cubs fan]

And he just tripled. Maybe we should email Goldstein and get him to reverse-jinx Vitters into walking more.

 

 

A triple and a homer is nice says Goldstein, but where is the double and single he needs with it? :D

 

On a side note(and it's actually very cool in a way that it is just that) but Vitters has hit damn well in his own right this fall. I'm starting to wonder if we see him start at Tennessee instead of repeating Daytona.

 

He shouldn't even be considered for AA.

[Guest]

To be fair, Vitters is up to an .861 OPS and a .367 BA with his 3/3 day thus far.

[Guest]

And he just tripled. Maybe we should email Goldstein and get him to reverse-jinx Vitters into walking more.

 

 

A triple and a homer is nice says Goldstein, but where is the double and single he needs with it? :D

 

On a side note(and it's actually very cool in a way that it is just that) but Vitters has hit damn well in his own right this fall. I'm starting to wonder if we see him start at Tennessee instead of repeating Daytona.

 

He shouldn't even be considered for AA.

 

Definitely agree.

[davell]

A guy at TCR just mentioned Cashner was scratched today and is listed as unable to compete in the prospect game on Sunday as well. Any word on if he's hurt or if the Cubs may be shutting him down a little early possibly due to the amount of innings he threw this year?

[Guest]

A guy at TCR just mentioned Cashner was scratched today and is listed as unable to compete in the prospect game on Sunday as well. Any word on if he's hurt or if the Cubs may be shutting him down a little early possibly due to the amount of innings he threw this year?

 

His scheduled start is Thursday, not today according to today's AFL Game Notes.

[Serge]

And he just tripled. Maybe we should email Goldstein and get him to reverse-jinx Vitters into walking more.

 

 

A triple and a homer is nice says Goldstein, but where is the double and single he needs with it? :D

 

On a side note(and it's actually very cool in a way that it is just that) but Vitters has hit damn well in his own right this fall. I'm starting to wonder if we see him start at Tennessee instead of repeating Daytona.

 

I would think and hope he'll do this year similar to what he did last year. Open up at Daytona, and if/when he does well go up to Tenn in June. He still has big patience issues.

[davell]

With the Cubs seemingly wanting to "challenge" younger players at this point, it's what made me think about it......I'm also fairly sure AZ Phil mentioned Vitters as someone who could start at either place next year. I tend to agree that he's not ready, but it's not going to shock me if he's rushed either.

[TruffleShuffle]

And he just tripled. Maybe we should email Goldstein and get him to reverse-jinx Vitters into walking more.

 

 

A triple and a homer is nice says Goldstein, but where is the double and single he needs with it? :D

 

On a side note(and it's actually very cool in a way that it is just that) but Vitters has hit damn well in his own right this fall. I'm starting to wonder if we see him start at Tennessee instead of repeating Daytona.

 

He shouldn't even be considered for AA.

 

i wouldn't say that... it depends how much he does during the offseason and how he looks in the spring. castro hit fairly well at short-season rookie ball in 2008 but i thought that jumping him to daytona was a terrible idea. as it turned out he had improved a lot during the offseason and more than held his own at high-A, and was in AA by september.

[jersey cubs fan]

And he just tripled. Maybe we should email Goldstein and get him to reverse-jinx Vitters into walking more.

 

 

A triple and a homer is nice says Goldstein, but where is the double and single he needs with it? :D

 

On a side note(and it's actually very cool in a way that it is just that) but Vitters has hit damn well in his own right this fall. I'm starting to wonder if we see him start at Tennessee instead of repeating Daytona.

 

He shouldn't even be considered for AA.

 

i wouldn't say that... it depends how much he does during the offseason and how he looks in the spring. castro hit fairly well at short-season rookie ball in 2008 but i thought that jumping him to daytona was a terrible idea. as it turned out he had improved a lot during the offseason and more than held his own at high-A, and was in AA by september.

 

But Vitters has been given a fairly aggressive path already, and there's really no benefit. Once he enters AA, it'll take one good game before the clamoring for his callup, and that's just not going to be a good thing. Let the guy have a year somewhere and actually produce for more than a month.

[CUBZ99]

But Vitters has been given a fairly aggressive path already, and there's really no benefit. Once he enters AA, it'll take one good game before the clamoring for his callup, and that's just not going to be a good thing. Let the guy have a year somewhere and actually produce for more than a month.

 

We don't know how much of his high-A performance was affected by injuries. It appears when Vitters' wrist/hand is healthy he is capable of hitting. Based on the system's previous promotions, I would bet that his AFL performance, has almost guaranteed him a spot in AA to start next year.

[Guest]

11/3: Mesa lost 2-1 Box Score

 

SS S. Castro 2/4, R, 3B (1), HR (1), RBI, K

DH J. Vitters 3/4

RP J. Russell 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 0-1 GO-FO

RP B. Parker 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1-1 GO-FO

 

OVERALL:

 

Welington Castillo 5/14, 1 HR, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 E, 1 PB - .357/.438/.571/1.009

Starlin Castro 24/56, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 HBP, 4/6 SB, 1 E - .429/.467/.554/1.020

Josh Vitters 18/50, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 BB, 7 K, 0/2 SB, 3 E - .360/.385/.460/.845

Andrew Cashner 9.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 1 HR, 11-10 GO-FO, 3.72 ERA

John Gaub 6 IP, 10 H, 8 ER, 1 BB, 10 K, 1 WP, 1 HR, 4-4 GO-FO, 12.00 ERA

Blake Parker 8 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 5 K, 2 HR, 7-11 GO-FO, 3.38 ERA, 2 saves

James Russell 9 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 1 HR, 9-8 GO-FO, 2.00 ERA

[A-Cal]

man, it is so awesome to have young ones to be proud of

[Halman]

Going into today, Vitters was OPSing .789. His BA might be good, but that's not a lot of patience or power, especially considering the league.

 

 

agreed and it's proof Wilken and by proxy Hendry don't know what they heck they are doing. Should've drafted Porcello.

[Guest]

I really don't think Wilken had clearance to drop the coin needed for Porcello or Wieters. Vitters is a good prospect and a good selection at 3 even if he's not the guy most of us wanted at 3. I just feel there's too much credit given to Vitters for his AFL performance when he hasn't been that impressive (especially considering it's a hitter's paradise).

[TruffleShuffle]

I really don't think Wilken had clearance to drop the coin needed for Porcello or Wieters. Vitters is a good prospect and a good selection at 3 even if he's not the guy most of us wanted at 3. I just feel there's too much credit given to Vitters for his AFL performance when he hasn't been that impressive (especially considering it's a hitter's paradise).

 

he hasn't been great but he's been fine, and do keep in mind that he just turned 20 and is probably about 3 years younger than the average participant in the league.

[Rob]

Going into today, Vitters was OPSing .789. His BA might be good, but that's not a lot of patience or power, especially considering the league.

 

 

agreed and it's proof Wilken and by proxy Hendry don't know what they heck they are doing. Should've drafted Porcello.

 

Porcello was about 5th on the list of players I wanted at that spot. If memory serves, my draft board was...

 

Wieters

Price (no chance)

Heyward

LaPorta

Porcello

Vitters

Anybody but Brackman