Free Tyler Colvin!

[SouthSideRyan]

Would Garret Anderson be a good comp?

 

He's probably the best case scenario. Although that probably also would mean the Cubs would get a couple good years out of him and then vastly overpay him.

 

Garrett Anderson + good defense is pretty damn good

 

For a couple years.

 

Depends on if Colvin can stick in CF.

[CubColtPacer]

There is little evidence that Colvin has changed his approach at the plate. He is hitting the ball well when pitchers throw him strikes thus far this spring, but he still has zero walks in 30 PA.

 

I don't think you're going to see an approach change from Colvin very quickly. He's very likely to be an extreme low walks guy early in his career (although there still is a small possibility for him adding walks as he has shown he can draw walks when he isn't as aggressive but he doesn't hit as well either).

 

So you have to look at the other two areas. Can Colvin add even more power to the good power he already has? And can he cut down on the number of K's? He was successful at Tennessee last year because he showed good power without a huge number of strikeouts. Then he went in the offseason and hopefully added to his power potential. If he can make further improvements in both those areas, he could be a pretty good starter at the major league level even without the walks. And the walks would likely come eventually for him as teams started respecting his power because Colvin has shown that he doesn't have a terrible eye.

 

Colvin's a strange player because he has a huge deficiency without any great areas to complement it. But he's making it up for it by being good in just about every other area. He's good at hitting for average, he's a good power hitter, he has good speed to get those doubles and triples when hitting into the gap, and he plays good defense.

 

The only issue is how he'll translate to the major league level. It is harder to project than it would be for a guy who walks a little more. He's a little more likely than most to get overwhelmed against advanced pitching, but he also might adjust and show his skills like he has done at lower levels.

 

Would Garret Anderson be a good comp?

 

Garrett Anderson would be a good comp (although I think Colvin has a slightly better chance of remaining in center than I remember Anderson having). If Colvin doesn't hit for average quite as well on the major league level than Jacque Jones would be another good comparison (a Jones that presumably would stay in center which is probably what Jones should have done all along). He definitely is along that sort of tracjectory. I'm not sure if he'd ever have the couple big breakout years like Anderson had, but I could definitely see Colvin put up the rest of their careers.

[SABR Gamer]

At least his new avatar is good. Archer is hilarious.

[Guest]

Depends on if Colvin can stick in CF.

 

The only position Colvin's defense is going to approach "good" status is in LF.

 

Colvin's never going to be a .100 IsoD guy. The best hope is that his added muscle allows him to keep mashing the ball and he gets some more walks out of respect.

[davearm2]

I would approach Colvin in a similar manner to Castro, let him start in AAA and if he tears the cover off the ball than work him in as a 4th outfield in favorable situations.

So if Castro tears the cover off the ball in AAA then you'd work him in as a utility IF?

[davearm2]

I would argue that some of his minor league numbers should be thrown out the window. Colvin hasn't exactly had the smoothest minor league career.

 

You'd have to make the argument, but it's completely bogus.

 

He was overdrafted and has played almost exactly as expected for a physically good player with a horrible approach at the plate.

This overdrafted stuff really misses the point. In 2006 the Cubs had picks in the 1st and 5th rounds, but none in the 2nd 3rd or 4th. So what they did was take their "first rounder" in the 5th (Samardzija), and they went with an extremely signable, below-slot pick in the 1st (Colvin) knowing that if they did it the other way, Colvin wouldn't have lasted to the 5th.

 

Now if there was a better player that would've signed for the same $$$ Colvin took, then that's a discussion we can have. But the Cubs didn't necessarily take Colvin thinking he was the #13 player in that draft.

[mul21]

This over drafted stuff really misses the point. In 2006 the Cubs had picks in the 1st and 5th rounds, but none in the 2nd 3rd or 4th. So what they did was take their "first rounder" in the 5th (Samardzija), and they went with an extremely signable, below-slot pick in the 1st (Colvin) knowing that if they did it the other way, Colvin wouldn't have lasted to the 5th.

 

Now if there was a better player that would've signed for the same $$$ Colvin took, then that's a discussion we can have. But the Cubs didn't necessarily take Colvin thinking he was the #13 player in that draft.

 

If that's the way they looked at it, then they're dumber than I thought. You still have 2nd-5th round money to work with to sign that 1st round pick if that's the way you look at it, but more importantly, draft budget should never be something the Cubs worry about. Is this guy the best player? Yes. OK, draft him. End of discussion. They're not the Royals or Pirates.

[davearm2]

This over drafted stuff really misses the point. In 2006 the Cubs had picks in the 1st and 5th rounds, but none in the 2nd 3rd or 4th. So what they did was take their "first rounder" in the 5th (Samardzija), and they went with an extremely signable, below-slot pick in the 1st (Colvin) knowing that if they did it the other way, Colvin wouldn't have lasted to the 5th.

 

Now if there was a better player that would've signed for the same $$$ Colvin took, then that's a discussion we can have. But the Cubs didn't necessarily take Colvin thinking he was the #13 player in that draft.

 

If that's the way they looked at it, then they're dumber than I thought. You still have 2nd-5th round money to work with to sign that 1st round pick if that's the way you look at it, but more importantly, draft budget should never be something the Cubs worry about. Is this guy the best player? Yes. OK, draft him. End of discussion. They're not the Royals or Pirates.

Perhaps. I think the thought process going in was that they were going to spend first-round money on Samardzija, but not have to draft him until the 5th.

 

Say what you will about what their budget should be, but that plan had ramifications for what they could spend on their actual first-rounder. That, in turn, of course limited who they could select with the pick.

[TruffleShuffle]

he went 0-4 today; should probably just release him

[Cubs Fan Dan]

Colvin has a chance to make the team....

 

http://muskat.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/03/324_colvin_could_be_on_team.html

 

If anybody here really thinks Tyler will be much more than a spot start or 4th outfielder in the future is it worth a shot to give him a start in CF and LF once a week while Nady recovers?

[jersey cubs fan]

Colvin has a chance to make the team....

 

http://muskat.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/03/324_colvin_could_be_on_team.html

 

If anybody here really thinks Tyler will be much more than a spot start or 4th outfielder in the future is it worth a shot to give him a start in CF and LF once a week while Nady recovers?

 

A while ago I would have thought why not just give him the bench role he seems destined to fill. However, if he really has developed some actual power and still has a chance to be a little more than that, then you have to let him play everyday in the minors.

[dew1679666265]

Colvin has a chance to make the team....

 

http://muskat.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/03/324_colvin_could_be_on_team.html

 

If anybody here really thinks Tyler will be much more than a spot start or 4th outfielder in the future is it worth a shot to give him a start in CF and LF once a week while Nady recovers?

 

A while ago I would have thought why not just give him the bench role he seems destined to fill. However, if he really has developed some actual power and still has a chance to be a little more than that, then you have to let him play everyday in the minors.

 

This is my thinking. If you need to fill a bench spot, do it with a player like Fuld whose upside is as a 4th/5th outfielder type and not with a guy who could potentially develop into more.

 

I think Fuld would actually be more valuable than Colvin in a bench role because of his baserunning ability and superior fielding.

[Hall7810]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-0325-cubs-chicago-spring-training-20100324,0,5652982.story

 

Not sure if Sullivan just dovetailed on Muskat's story, but he writes, it appears as if--due to the poor hitting of Fuld, Hoffpauir, et. al., that Colvin has locked up the 5th OF spot.

[Cubs Fan Dan]

The only thing I can think of is that Piniella plans to ease Soriano and Nady into the lineup and may want Colvin as the starter. Also Byrd has never been an every game starter so Colvin's ability to start some games in center could be helpful as well.

 

IF he can be fairly productive and get at bats without hurting the team working with Rudy all season and learning from the veterans around him it should not hurt his development. Though if Colvin's career takes off (not really likely) the Cubs may be glad Byrd was signed so reasonably so they can eventually trade him or use him as 4th outfielder(i know thinking too far ahead).

[jersey cubs fan]

IF he can be fairly productive and get at bats without hurting the team working with Rudy all season and learning from the veterans around him it should not hurt his development.

 

If he is going to develop, he has to be in the minors. There is no way he will get enough regular work in the majors. That being said, I still have severe doubts that he will develop any further than he has, and we'll just have to hope they get something out of the ridiculous overreach they made in the draft with him. If he turns into a usable 4th OF, it won't be a total loss.

[mhuber92211]

But if his ceiling is a 4th OF, why not get him used to the role now?

[Sammy Sofa]

Because it's not clear if that is his ceiling. He's only recently showed he can be the hitter we're seeing now, so the smart thing is to let him get regular playing time to see if he can keep it up.

[Guest]

But if his ceiling is a 4th OF, why not get him used to the role now?

Because that's not his ceiling.

[jersey cubs fan]

But if his ceiling is a 4th OF, why not get him used to the role now?

Because that's not his ceiling.

 

He would have to change significantly for that to no longer be his ceiling.

[Old Style]

But if his ceiling is a 4th OF, why not get him used to the role now?

Because that's not his ceiling.

 

He would have to change significantly for that to no longer be his ceiling.

So I take it you haven't kept up much with this offseason?

[jersey cubs fan]

But if his ceiling is a 4th OF, why not get him used to the role now?

Because that's not his ceiling.

 

He would have to change significantly for that to no longer be his ceiling.

So I take it you haven't kept up much with this offseason?

 

Putting on muscle doesn't change the fact that he's done crap in the minors and hasn't come close to showing any patience.

 

I don't really care about media reports about what everybody does in the offseason to finally turn things around. 9 times out of 10 those efforst are meaningless. Prove it on the diamond.

[TruffleShuffle]

he's hitting almost .500 this spring but he has 0 BB and 9 K, and his BABIP is .535. i'm pretty sure that last figure is not sustainable.

[jersey cubs fan]

he's hitting almost .500 this spring but he has 0 BB and 9 K, and his BABIP is .535. i'm pretty sure that last figure is not sustainable.

 

He also leads the team in AB and has only 1 HR. So the assumption that gaining weight gave him a bunch of power hasn't showed itself yet.

[Guest]

But if his ceiling is a 4th OF, why not get him used to the role now?

Because that's not his ceiling.

 

He would have to change significantly for that to no longer be his ceiling.

I said nothing about his likely outcome. His ceiling is still higher, though.

[C.C.]

2 more hits and 2 more RBI's today.