Bruce Miles on Starlin Castro

[Garwilly]

the way truffle described Castro in his post reminded me of a certain noodle arm the Cubs had in 2006, hit for average but low OBP. I can only hope he develops some power..

 

huh?

 

Pierre.

[TruffleShuffle]

the way truffle described Castro in his post reminded me of a certain noodle arm the Cubs had in 2006, hit for average but low OBP. I can only hope he develops some power..

 

huh?

 

Pierre.

 

pierre wasn't a bad player early in his career and, more importantly, castro's swing really isn't like noodle arm. pierre slaps at the ball so it's impossible for him to generate any power; castro's swing isn't really like that at all.

[Guest]

Even bad Juan Pierre with good SS defense is something like a 2-3 win player. Also, while Castro has never been big on walks, it's almost difficult to draw them when you're getting hits 43% of the time.

[17 Seconds]

the way truffle described Castro in his post reminded me of a certain noodle arm the Cubs had in 2006, hit for average but low OBP. I can only hope he develops some power..

 

huh?

 

Pierre.

 

oh i was thinking shortstops so i thought he was talking about cedeno, which is why the noodle arm part confused me.

[Productive Outs]

Even bad Juan Pierre with good SS defense is something like a 2-3 win player. Also, while Castro has never been big on walks, it's almost difficult to draw them when you're getting hits 43% of the time.

 

yeah, i was going to post about this. if memory serves, players who are in the midst of a ridiculous hitting extravaganza tend to walk very little. Castro will never be the second coming of Barry Bonds at the plate, but i wouldn't be extremely concerned about his IsoD right now.

[Guest]

He should have been in the big leagues April 1

 

He most certainly should not have.

[RedFlash]

He should have been in the big leagues April 1

 

He most certainly should not have.

 

Agree. No need to rush a 20 year old SS, just because some people think it would be "cool" to see.

[sneakypower]

nice IsoD.

 

Yeah, that jumped out at me too. That slugging is all kinds of nice, though.

 

he didn't walk much last year, but if he can make consistent hard contact (which seems to be his greatest asset at the plate) and keep the ball in play, he projects as a .300+ hitter in the big leagues and the lack of walks won't kill him. the biggest concern with guys who have a poor walk rate is that they can't make enough contact.

he actually improved his patience considerably during the season last year (even as he was graduating levels), so he's at least shown he's not incapable of it

 

Split	PA	 BB%	 K%	
April	68	2.9%	 11.8%
May	  91	2.2%	 9.9%	
June	 112	6.3%	9.8%	
July	 85	5.9%	 7.1%

[Wilson A2000]

He should have been in the big leagues April 1

 

He most certainly should not have.

 

Agree. No need to rush a 20 year old SS, just because some people think it would be "cool" to see.

 

It wasn't rushing. It wasn't "cool" to see. Castro was ready and he would have provided the best SS/2B combo the team could have put out there (Castro/Theriot). Fontenot has shown he isn't fundamentally sound enough to be an everyday 2B. Theriot barely is too.

[Eric Clipperton]

He should have been in the big leagues April 1

 

He most certainly should not have.

 

Agree. No need to rush a 20 year old SS, just because some people think it would be "cool" to see.

 

It wasn't rushing. It wasn't "cool" to see. Castro was ready and he would have provided the best SS/2B combo the team could have put out there (Castro/Theriot). Fontenot has shown he isn't fundamentally sound enough to be an everyday 2B. Theriot barely is too.

 

losing a year of Castro's pre-FA and pre-arb eligibility for this is almost certainly NOT worth it

[Wilson A2000]

He should have been in the big leagues April 1

 

He most certainly should not have.

 

Agree. No need to rush a 20 year old SS, just because some people think it would be "cool" to see.

 

It wasn't rushing. It wasn't "cool" to see. Castro was ready and he would have provided the best SS/2B combo the team could have put out there (Castro/Theriot). Fontenot has shown he isn't fundamentally sound enough to be an everyday 2B. Theriot barely is too.

 

losing a year of Castro's pre-FA and pre-arb eligibility for this is almost certainly NOT worth it

 

Tell that to the Braves last year who held back Tommy Hanson and were close to getting in the playoffs. They didn't make the same mistake with Heyward this year.

 

You would think that when a team doesn't win a championship for over 100 years that they would be smarter than this. Little things count.

[imb]

yes, 2 months of starlin castro, who is probably worth 1 win over ryan theriot in that span (maybe not even that, since theriot won us a game with that 2-out single of whatever the other day) is certainly worth calling him up early. Shut up.

[CubbieBum]

Theriot hasn't exactly sucked so far this season.

[Magnetic Curses]

He should have been in the big leagues April 1

 

He most certainly should not have.

 

Agree. No need to rush a 20 year old SS, just because some people think it would be "cool" to see.

 

It wasn't rushing. It wasn't "cool" to see. Castro was ready and he would have provided the best SS/2B combo the team could have put out there (Castro/Theriot). Fontenot has shown he isn't fundamentally sound enough to be an everyday 2B. Theriot barely is too.

 

a straight baker/fontenot platoon is much better than theriot. provided it's a straight platoon and not subject to the whim of our genius manager.

[Wilson A2000]

yes, 2 months of starlin castro, who is probably worth 1 win over ryan theriot in that span (maybe not even that, since theriot won us a game with that 2-out single of whatever the other day) is certainly worth calling him up early. Shut up.

 

When you are dead before the Cubs win a World Series, I'll definitely buy you as t-shirt.

[illiniguy]

yes, 2 months of starlin castro, who is probably worth 1 win over ryan theriot in that span (maybe not even that, since theriot won us a game with that 2-out single of whatever the other day) is certainly worth calling him up early. Shut up.

 

When you are dead before the Cubs win a World Series, I'll definitely buy you as t-shirt.

I don't know about imb!, but I am not planning on dying. Ever.

[E.J.]

yes, 2 months of starlin castro, who is probably worth 1 win over ryan theriot in that span (maybe not even that, since theriot won us a game with that 2-out single of whatever the other day) is certainly worth calling him up early. Shut up.

 

When you are dead before the Cubs win a World Series, I'll definitely buy you as t-shirt.

I don't know about imb!, but I am not planning on dying. Ever.

 

illiniguy, sit down for a minute. I think we need to have a talk.

[Magnetic Curses]

Even bad Juan Pierre with good SS defense is something like a 2-3 win player. Also, while Castro has never been big on walks, it's almost difficult to draw them when you're getting hits 43% of the time.

 

yeah, i was going to post about this. if memory serves, players who are in the midst of a ridiculous hitting extravaganza tend to walk very little. Castro will never be the second coming of Barry Bonds at the plate, but i wouldn't be extremely concerned about his IsoD right now.

 

yeah, but even when he's not in the middle of a hitting extraveganza, he's not patient.

[Guest]

Even bad Juan Pierre with good SS defense is something like a 2-3 win player. Also, while Castro has never been big on walks, it's almost difficult to draw them when you're getting hits 43% of the time.

 

yeah, i was going to post about this. if memory serves, players who are in the midst of a ridiculous hitting extravaganza tend to walk very little. Castro will never be the second coming of Barry Bonds at the plate, but i wouldn't be extremely concerned about his IsoD right now.

 

yeah, but even when he's not in the middle of a hitting extraveganza, he's not patient.

 

He also never K's either, making his high AVG more sustainable. Also, like was said, if he starts hitting more XBH like he has to start the year, I think you'll see the walks climb a bit as pitchers are forced to be more careful with him. Either way, Castro's never going to be a HanRam type offensive monster, but he's a strong defender, and if he's putting up MLE's of something like .300/.330/.450 at age 20, he's going to be plenty valuable while he's under the team's control.

[TruffleShuffle]

Tell that to the Braves last year who held back Tommy Hanson and were close to getting in the playoffs. They didn't make the same mistake with Heyward this year.

 

tommy hanson turned 23 in august last year and had 2 years of full-season ball under his belt, including spending most of the previous year at AA. starlin castro just turned 20 a month ago and has played only 1 year of full-season ball, most of which was spent in A ball. hanson starting the year in AAA was in large part a financial decision; starting castro in AA has a lot more to do with not rushing the player and hurting his development.

[Magnetic Curses]

Even bad Juan Pierre with good SS defense is something like a 2-3 win player. Also, while Castro has never been big on walks, it's almost difficult to draw them when you're getting hits 43% of the time.

 

yeah, i was going to post about this. if memory serves, players who are in the midst of a ridiculous hitting extravaganza tend to walk very little. Castro will never be the second coming of Barry Bonds at the plate, but i wouldn't be extremely concerned about his IsoD right now.

 

yeah, but even when he's not in the middle of a hitting extraveganza, he's not patient.

 

He also never K's either, making his high AVG more sustainable. Also, like was said, if he starts hitting more XBH like he has to start the year, I think you'll see the walks climb a bit as pitchers are forced to be more careful with him. Either way, Castro's never going to be a HanRam type offensive monster, but he's a strong defender, and if he's putting up MLE's of something like .300/.330/.450 at age 20, he's going to be plenty valuable while he's under the team's control.

 

dude, i'll trust you because i respect your opinion, but if he ends up sucking, you will never be forgiven.

[Wilson A2000]

Tell that to the Braves last year who held back Tommy Hanson and were close to getting in the playoffs. They didn't make the same mistake with Heyward this year.

 

tommy hanson turned 23 in august last year and had 2 years of full-season ball under his belt, including spending most of the previous year at AA. starlin castro just turned 20 a month ago and has played only 1 year of full-season ball, most of which was spent in A ball. hanson starting the year in AAA was in large part a financial decision; starting castro in AA has a lot more to do with not rushing the player and hurting his development.

 

Yes but it seems to be that Castro is ready to join the big leagues. He showed it in ST and has shown it in the minors. I don't think he can really develop any more down there. He has maxed out the development he could get in the minors.

[Guest]

Tell that to the Braves last year who held back Tommy Hanson and were close to getting in the playoffs. They didn't make the same mistake with Heyward this year.

 

tommy hanson turned 23 in august last year and had 2 years of full-season ball under his belt, including spending most of the previous year at AA. starlin castro just turned 20 a month ago and has played only 1 year of full-season ball, most of which was spent in A ball. hanson starting the year in AAA was in large part a financial decision; starting castro in AA has a lot more to do with not rushing the player and hurting his development.

 

Yes but it seems to be that Castro is ready to join the big leagues. He showed it in ST and has shown it in the minors. I don't think he can really develop any more down there. He has maxed out the development he could get in the minors.

 

He's 20 years old and has 180 at bats above A ball. He's almost the opposite of maxed out.

[Guest]

Tell that to the Braves last year who held back Tommy Hanson and were close to getting in the playoffs. They didn't make the same mistake with Heyward this year.

 

tommy hanson turned 23 in august last year and had 2 years of full-season ball under his belt, including spending most of the previous year at AA. starlin castro just turned 20 a month ago and has played only 1 year of full-season ball, most of which was spent in A ball. hanson starting the year in AAA was in large part a financial decision; starting castro in AA has a lot more to do with not rushing the player and hurting his development.

 

Yes but it seems to be that Castro is ready to join the big leagues. He showed it in ST and has shown it in the minors. I don't think he can really develop any more down there. He has maxed out the development he could get in the minors.

no, he hasn't. he's not going to continue hitting .426 down there. He needs to learn to manage the strike zone better, he needs to learn to be more consistent in the field, he needs to learn how to deal with the adjustments pitchers are going to make on him, etc. There's a LOT left to learn.

[inari]

Tell that to the Braves last year who held back Tommy Hanson and were close to getting in the playoffs. They didn't make the same mistake with Heyward this year.

 

tommy hanson turned 23 in august last year and had 2 years of full-season ball under his belt, including spending most of the previous year at AA. starlin castro just turned 20 a month ago and has played only 1 year of full-season ball, most of which was spent in A ball. hanson starting the year in AAA was in large part a financial decision; starting castro in AA has a lot more to do with not rushing the player and hurting his development.

 

Yes but it seems to be that Castro is ready to join the big leagues. He showed it in ST and has shown it in the minors. I don't think he can really develop any more down there. He has maxed out the development he could get in the minors.

 

What in the world are you basing that on? It definitely isn't some intricate knowledge of Starlin Castro.