2010 BA Hot Sheet / BP Monday Ten Pack

[CaliforniaRaisin]

BA's 2010 Hot Sheet debuted today. Andrew Cashner made the cut:

 

April 16, 2010:

 

No. 5 ANDREW CASHNER, RHP CUBS

Team: Double-A Tennessee (Southern)

Age: 23

Why He's Here: 1-0, 4.35, 10 1/3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 20 SO

The Scoop: Not long ago, Jeff Samardzija was a Cubs' pitching prospect with a power arm and a low strikeout rate. Cashner fit that description last year, when he struck out just 6.7 batters per nine innings between high Class A Daytona and Double-A Tennessee. Well, the stats are starting to match the stuff. Now we'll wait to see if he can keep it up all season.

[CubsWin]

Not even a team photo mention for Starlin. :(

 

But it is nice to have Castro raging in AA and have a different player make the Hot Sheet. I'll take that.

[Outshined_One]

Three Cubs made this week's Hot Sheet

 

No. 7 JOSH VITTERS, 3B CUBS

Team: High Class A Daytona (Florida State)

Age: 20

Why He's Here: .417/.542/.792 (10-for-24), 3 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBIs, 3 BB, 4 SO, 1-for-1 SB

The Scoop: The Florida State League isn't an easy circuit to hit home runs in. Just ask Vitters, who hit just three in 50 games after being promoted to Daytona last year, and he had been homerless in his first 14 games of this year. Vitters was already having a pretty good week, having gone 7-for-20 with three doubles through six games, but he went out and earned his place on this week's Hot Sheet by slugging his first two home runs of the year and going 3-for-4 Thursday night against Tampa. His four walks on the season might not sound like a lot either, but it doesn't look too bad when you consider he only drew five in his FSL stint last year.

 

No. 8 STARLIN CASTRO, SS CUBS

Team: Double-A Tennessee (Southern)

Age: 20

Why He's Here: .500/.560/.875 (12-for-24), 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 5 R, 3 RBIs, 2 BB, 3 SO, 0-for-3 SB

The Scoop: Castro made a case for making the Cubs' Opening Day roster. A .404/.426/.649 start to his Double-A season isn't going to slow down the calls for Castro to be promoted to the big leagues. He is a very complete player whose glove is just as good as his bat. It's even more impressive when you consider that he just turned 20 in March. The jury is still out on whether Tyler Colvin has made significant improvement or is playing over his head, but Castro is one prospect Cubs' fans can dream on.

 

No. 11 JAY JACKSON, RHP CUBS

Team: Triple-A Iowa (Pacific Coast)

Age: 22

Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 12/2 G/F

The Scoop: It's only April, but we probably won't see many pitching performances this year better than Jackson's last outing at Nashville, where he two-hit the Sounds over eight scoreless innings. Jackson didn't put up big strikeout numbers, but he was remarkably efficient, throwing just 86 pitches and 74 percent for strikes. Jackson kept the ball down and relied on the Cubs' infield defense, getting 12 groundouts compared to just two fly outs. That hasn't been Jackson's typical M.O., as his low- to mid-90s fastball and two above-average breaking balls usually have him missing more bats. Either way, he's one of the best pitching prospects in the minors and not far away from being big league ready.

[KingCubsFan]

Either way, he's one of the best pitching prospects in the minors and not far away from being big league ready.

I figured Jim Callis would have written that one, but he wasn't listed as one of the contributors.

[Guest]

On the day Starlin got called up to the bigs - May 7, 2010:

 

No. 13 STARLIN CASTRO, SS, CUBS

Starlin CastroTeam: Double-A Tennessee (Southern)

Age: 20

Why He's Here: .458/.560/.583 (11-for-24), 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBIs, 5 R, 3 BB, 1 SO, 0-for-1 SB

The Scoop: The word going around is that Castro could get his call to the big leagues today, and if it's true, he certainly left the Southern League in style, hitting .376/.421/.569 with nine walks and 11 strikeouts in 26 games. So what should we expect from Castro if he is headed to the majors? He's not going to hit for any power and he probably isn't going to work too many deep counts. He should in time, but remember, he's still the age of most college sophomores. What should work to Castro's advantage is his outstanding hand-eye coordination, which will give him a chance to have some success off the bat because of his ability to handle all types of pitches and put the ball in play.

 

Chat:

 

Henry (Chicago): What do you think of the Cubs decision to call up Starlin Castro? Do you think he will be successful right away?

 

J.J. Cooper: Figured we would get plenty of Castro questions today. If you're wondering if this is good for the long term you can debate whether that, but the Cubs clearly aren't looking at the long-term ramifications—they're 13-16 and coming off an awful series against the Pirates. So right now long-term success is much less important to the front office than the chance that Castro can help them win one or two more games this month. Castro has the hitting ability to make an impact, but the list of 20-year-olds who don't need a while to adjust to the major leagues is a pretty short one.

[CubsWin]

On the day Starlin got called up to the bigs - May 7, 2010:

 

No. 13 STARLIN CASTRO, SS, CUBS

Starlin CastroTeam: Double-A Tennessee (Southern)

Age: 20

Why He's Here: .458/.560/.583 (11-for-24), 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBIs, 5 R, 3 BB, 1 SO, 0-for-1 SB

The Scoop: The word going around is that Castro could get his call to the big leagues today, and if it's true, he certainly left the Southern League in style, hitting .376/.421/.569 with nine walks and 11 strikeouts in 26 games. So what should we expect from Castro if he is headed to the majors? He's not going to hit for any power and he probably isn't going to work too many deep counts. He should in time, but remember, he's still the age of most college sophomores. What should work to Castro's advantage is his outstanding hand-eye coordination, which will give him a chance to have some success off the bat because of his ability to handle all types of pitches and put the ball in play.

Oops.

 

A HR, a triple, 6 RBI, plenty of deep counts, and a SLG% of 1.400 after the first game. I'm going to take a wait and see approach...

[Sammy Sofa]

A couple of deep counts and a couple of AB swinging at the first pitch.

[CubsWin]

A couple of deep counts and a couple of AB swinging at the first pitch.

So long as those first pitches were good ones to hit that's not a bad strategy. The whole reason to establish that you won't swing at a bad pitch and that you're willing to wait and work the count is to get pitchers to come over the plate. If they give you a good pitch to hit on that first one, you'd better swing at it because you may not see it again.

 

IIRC, in his second AB, Starlin swung at the first pitch and he lined hard to CF. The CFer had to make a diving/sliding catch to get him.

[Cubs Fan Dan]

A couple of deep counts and a couple of AB swinging at the first pitch.

 

See Nomar, not saying thats who Castro will turn out to be but sometimes good contact hitters make a living off swinging at a first pitch fastball 2-3 times a game.

[Sammy Sofa]

There's nothing wrong with someone being a good first pitch hitter if they have a talent for recognizing a good one to hit.

[sandbergcubs]

There's nothing wrong with someone being a good first pitch hitter if they have a talent for recognizing a good one to hit.

 

 

what is your problem? ive read around and your a bit of a hater on this kid.

 

Did he deny you an autograph or something?

[Guest]

There's nothing wrong with someone being a good first pitch hitter if they have a talent for recognizing a good one to hit.

 

 

what is your problem? ive read around and your a bit of a hater on this kid.

 

Did he deny you an autograph or something?

I wouldn't say N&G is a hater at all. He's actually pretty grounded in what are realistic expectations for year one for Starlin. I can't recall him suggesting that Castro's potential isn't there at all.

[toonsterwu]

Either way, he's one of the best pitching prospects in the minors and not far away from being big league ready.

I figured Jim Callis would have written that one, but he wasn't listed as one of the contributors.

 

meant to respond to this awhile back, but forgot, but Ben Badler, IIRC, is perhaps the biggest Jay Jackson guy over at BA, so I wouldn't be surprised if that line was Badler's.

[Outshined_One]

Hak-Ju Lee made it onto The Hot Sheet this week

 

No. 9 HAK-JU LEE, SS

CUBS

Low Class A Peoria (Midwest)

Age: 19

Why He's Here: .375/.464/.542 (9-for-24), 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBIs, 7 R, 4 BB, 5 SO, 3-for-3 SB

The Scoop: Lee endured a cold stretch in late April and early May that saw his average dip as low as .234, but his bat's been warming up since. He has hits in eight of his last 10 games and has been considerably more patient in recent weeks than he was in the first month of the season. He's already drawn 10 walks in 17 games in May after drawing just five in all of April. Lee is still having his ups-and-downs in the field, with 15 errors through 36 games at shortstop, but the fact that he's holding his own in a tough hitter's league as a teenager is encouraging enough.

[Guest]

May 28, 2010:

 

No. 9 ANDREW CASHNER, RHP CUBS

 

Team: Triple-A Iowa (Pacific Coast)

Age: 23

Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 8 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 SO

The Scoop: We may not have much longer to honor Cashner. The Cubs' 2008 first-round pick moved to the bullpen this week after his third consecutive dominating start for Iowa while Jay Jackson moved back into the rotation. The move could be the precursor to a promotion to the Cubs' bullpen. Carlos Zambrano is moving back into the rotation, which means Chicago needs another solid arm in the pen. Cashner has given every indication he's ready to fill that role, what with his 58-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio and all.

 

NOT-SO HOT SHEET

 

• Josh Vitters, 3b, Cubs. The Cubs promoted the 20-year-old Vitters from high Class A Daytona to Double-A Tennessee in early May just as he was starting to heat up in the FSL. At the time, he was riding an eight-game hitting streak and had upped his line to .291/.350/.445 in 110 at-bats. Going to the Southern League has cooled Vitters' bat off once again. He's hitting just .246/.259/.368 in 57 at-bats for the Smokies, and he suffered through a tough .048/.091/.048 (1-for-21) week with five strikeouts. Vitters always goes to the plate to hit—he's yet to draw a walk in 17 Double-A games.

[Outshined_One]

Two Cubs made the 6/11 Hot Sheet

 

No. 8 BRETT JACKSON, OF

CUBS

High Class A Daytona (Florida State)

Age: 21

Why He's Here: .333/.429/.567 (10-for-30), 1 HR, 2 2B, 1 3B, 10 RBIs, 10 R, 5 BB, 6 SO, 4-for-5 SB

The Scoop: Jackson's raw power has yet to show through in the heavy air of the Florida State League. The Cubs' 2009 first-round pick out of California has just three home runs, including his grand slam on Wednesday against Brevard County, but he's otherwise been holding his own. Jackson, who's been Daytona's leadoff hitter all year, has had issues making contact (54 strikeouts in 214 at-bats), but that was a known problem for him, and he's been patient enough to already have drawn 39 walks, the most by any FSL hitter. Jackson's biggest obstacle so far might be his home park, where he's hitting just .238/.370/.343 in 105 at-bats compared to .321/.426/.486 in 109 road at-bats.

 

No. 10 CHRIS ARCHER, LHP

CUBS

High Class A Daytona (Florida State)

Age: 21

Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 Ks

The Scoop: From 2006-2008, Archer's seasons with the Indians were chock-full of mediocrity and wildness. After Cleveland included Archer in the Mark DeRosa trade following the '08 season, Archer put together a solid season for low Class A Peoria, though his control was still a work in progress. This year, Archer has taken the next step, holding down a 3.09 ERA in 55 1/3 innings while averaging 10.3 strikeouts and 3.7 walks per nine, and at 21 he's plenty age-appropriate for the Florida State League. Archer hasn't allowed a run in four of his last seven starts, and in two of those other seven starts he's limited his opponents to only one run. With Andrew Cashner in the big leagues and Jay Jackson pushing for a promotion in Triple-A, all of a sudden Archer has positioned himself as one of the top arms in the Cubs system.

[Guest]

Archer was also in the team photo for BA last week.

[Guest]

Avery (Walnut Creek): How would you reorder the 3B from '09 Top 100? (Alvarez, Chisenhall, Bell, Vitters, Moustakas)

 

J.J. Cooper: Hmmmmmm....paper-thin difference between the top three, but I'd go Moustakas-Alvarez-Chisenhall at the top, decent drop-off to Vitters then Bell. If you argued Chisenhall or Alvarez No. 1 I could see where you're coming from. Moustakas' bad 2009 has to be factored in there and the concerns about whether he'll stick at the position for the next decade (a similar concern can be raised about Alvarez). But doing what Moustakas is doing in the Texas League as a 21-year-old seems to reinforce what everyone thought about him coming out of high school, the bat can be pretty special.

[Outshined_One]

The 6/18 Hot Sheet talks about two Cubs this go-round.

 

No. 9 TREY McNUTT, RHP

Low Class A Peoria (Cubs)

Age: 20

Why He's Here: 2-0, 0.00, 10 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 17 Ks

The Scoop: Sometimes timing makes the difference between landing a prospect and watching him go unnoticed. As we explained in the 2010 Prospect Handbook, the Cubs got a better look at McNutt than most other teams because they got a later look. Early last season, McNutt was a "nothing to see here" righthander with an 88-89 mph fastball. But at the Junior College World Series, when the Cubs bore down on him, the Shelton State (Ala.) CC freshman was a 90-93 mph fireballer. By the time the Cubs signed him during the summer, he was reaching the mid 90s, and he's maintained his velocity this season. The Cubs weren't the only team to like McNutt—the Twins flirted with drafting him—but the Cubs landed him as a 32nd-round steal, signing him for a very reasonable $115,000. McNutt has allowed more than one earned run only once in 13 starts, which explains why he has a 6-0, 1.51 record.

 

IN THE TEAM PHOTO

 

Cubs CF Brett Jackson had his week truncated by the Florida State League's all-star break, but he still provided one of the minors' highlights of the year, hitting for the cycle Monday against Brevard County. He completed the feat with a walk-off home run to boot. The 21-year-old finished his shortened week at .421/.476/.842 (8-for-19), with a homer, three doubles and a triple.

[Outshined_One]

6/18 BA Hot Sheet Chat

 

Big Dave (AR): Just want to give a shout out to Jay Jackson. He went 6 no hit innings in Memphis last week. He was making the Redbirds look foolish. Then he came out in the 7th and his velo was down about 5mph based on the stadium radar and his stuff lost it's bite. He gave up a 3 run shot in the 7th and ended up w/ a the lose which was a shame.

 

J.J. Cooper: I know it's not a question, but first-person stuff like this is always enjoyable to read.

 

Why do I get the sneaking suspicion that moving Jackson to the bullpen and then moving him back to the rotation did more harm than good?

 

Nils (Darien, CT): Is McNutt having sucess with smoke and mirrors or does his stuff match his results? What kind of ceiling does he have?

 

J.J. Cooper: It's solid plus stuff, especially his fastball. A lot of people may think he's come out of nowhere, but if you have the Prospect Handbook you'll see he was No. 16 in the Cubs system coming into the year, which is a very high ranking for a 32nd-round pick with 28 pro innings—that right there tells you he's a serious prospect as he ranked ahead of every other Cubs' 2009 draftee except for their first and second-round picks. This isn't some soft-tosser tricking people, he can blow guys away with his stuff.

[Little Slide Rooter]

6/18 BA Hot Sheet Chat

 

Big Dave (AR): Just want to give a shout out to Jay Jackson. He went 6 no hit innings in Memphis last week. He was making the Redbirds look foolish. Then he came out in the 7th and his velo was down about 5mph based on the stadium radar and his stuff lost it's bite. He gave up a 3 run shot in the 7th and ended up w/ a the lose which was a shame.

 

J.J. Cooper: I know it's not a question, but first-person stuff like this is always enjoyable to read.

 

Why do I get the sneaking suspicion that moving Jackson to the bullpen and then moving him back to the rotation did more harm than good?

 

 

I was thinking this same thing too. He was doing great as a starte, then untouchable as a reliever. Since being moved back to the rotation, hes been solid, but not as good aside from his outing the other day which was awful.

[ctcf]

6/18 BA Hot Sheet Chat

 

Big Dave (AR): Just want to give a shout out to Jay Jackson. He went 6 no hit innings in Memphis last week. He was making the Redbirds look foolish. Then he came out in the 7th and his velo was down about 5mph based on the stadium radar and his stuff lost it's bite. He gave up a 3 run shot in the 7th and ended up w/ a the lose which was a shame.

 

J.J. Cooper: I know it's not a question, but first-person stuff like this is always enjoyable to read.

 

Why do I get the sneaking suspicion that moving Jackson to the bullpen and then moving him back to the rotation did more harm than good?

 

Nils (Darien, CT): Is McNutt having sucess with smoke and mirrors or does his stuff match his results? What kind of ceiling does he have?

 

J.J. Cooper: It's solid plus stuff, especially his fastball. A lot of people may think he's come out of nowhere, but if you have the Prospect Handbook you'll see he was No. 16 in the Cubs system coming into the year, which is a very high ranking for a 32nd-round pick with 28 pro innings—that right there tells you he's a serious prospect as he ranked ahead of every other Cubs' 2009 draftee except for their first and second-round picks. This isn't some soft-tosser tricking people, he can blow guys away with his stuff.

 

Shocked that there is someone (let alone with a name like Nils) following the Cubs minor leaguers in a place like Darien.

[Outshined_One]

Brett Jackson is becoming a mainstay on BA's Hot Sheet.

 

No. 7 BRETT JACKSON, CF

CUBS

Team: High Class A Daytona (Florida State)

Age: 21

Why He's Here: .423/.429/.923 (11-for-26), 2 HR, 3 2B, 2 3B, 7 RBIs, 8 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1-for-1 SB

The Scoop: No minor league features offense-suppressing conditions quite like the Florida State League. Sure, the Carolina, International, Midwest and Southern leagues talk tough, but the FSL annually ranks as the toughest minor league circuit in which to hit for average and power. That's what makes Jackson's season so remarkable.

 

Fresh off a monster week, the Cubs' leadoff hitter is batting .305/.407/.498 with an FSL-leading 52 runs scored to go with 30 extra-base hits and 42 walks, totals that each rank second. The center fielder has shown off his speed with eight triples and a 12-for-18 showing on the bases.

[Outshined_One]

BA Chat on 6/24 Hot Sheet

 

nate (wisconsin): how impressive is brett jacksons season in the fsl, also is he too old for high a or is this the usual progression for the year after being drafted?

 

 

Jim Shonerd: Top college draftees starting their first full seasons in high Class A is generally the norm, so he's fine for that league, age-wise. He's should have more power potential than he's shown, but the FSL is a tough place to hit home runs and he's otherwise come as advertised.

[Outshined_One]

Brett Jackson got honorable mention for CF in BA's midseason All Stars list.