Fox DFA'd by the A's

[Sammy Sofa]

Some of you guys think that a player HAS to hit 35-40 HRs just because of the position he plays. Its a great idea, sure, but not many teams have a 40 HR 1B, 35 HR 3B, 35 HR LF, 35 HR RF, etc...

 

If Colvin hits 20+ and he's cheap... then I consider him useful as a starter for these Cubs.

 

That's still a loooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng shot.

[muntjack]

Some of you guys think that a player HAS to hit 35-40 HRs just because of the position he plays. Its a great idea, sure, but not many teams have a 40 HR 1B, 35 HR 3B, 35 HR LF, 35 HR RF, etc...

 

If Colvin hits 20+ and he's cheap... then I consider him useful as a starter for these Cubs.

 

That's still a loooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng shot.

 

The guy is on pace for 20 in just 280 ABs and it's a loooooooooong shot that he would hit 20 in a full season?

[EhDubya]

7 homeruns in 102 ABs wouldn't project to 20+ish over a full season and starter #'s??

[Sammy Sofa]

Yes, because Colvin's performance thus far this season is an accurate projection as to how he'll perform as a starter with the book out on him.

[EhDubya]

Yeah, okay whatever Gum.

 

You are right, its a looooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnng shot that a former #1 pick with 7 homeruns in 102 ABs will ever reach 20+ over a full season.

 

I guess time will tell.

[Little Slide Rooter]

I dont know what will ultimately become of Tyler Colvin, but I sure hope that hes given the opportunity to succeed, and not sent to the minors and ultimately Baltimore as soon as he starts to struggle. I can understand not wanting to start Pie back when we were contenders when he was doing poorly, but not the trading him away for nothing, however, now that were essentially a non contender, theres no reason not to stick with Colvin through the season.

[Sammy Sofa]

Yeah, okay whatever Gum.

 

You are right, its a looooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnng shot that a former #1 pick with 7 homeruns in 102 ABs will ever reach 20+ over a full season.

 

I guess time will tell.

 

It is a long shot. I have no desire to see him end up a bust, but the simple fact of the matter is that it's a long shot that he would pan out to be a starting OF right now. Just because he was a 1st round pick doesn't make him any kind of lock, especially with the Cubs' drafting history. His performance so far this year also isn't any kind of guarantee of what he'd be as a starter. Fox is a great example of someone who set the world on fire with a relatively limited collection of AB's.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Yeah, okay whatever Gum.

 

You are right, its a looooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnng shot that a former #1 pick with 7 homeruns in 102 ABs will ever reach 20+ over a full season.

 

I guess time will tell.

 

It is a long shot. I have no desire to see him end up a bust, but the simple fact of the matter is that it's a long shot that he would pan out to be a starting OF right now. Just because he was a 1st round pick doesn't make him any kind of lock, especially with the Cubs' drafting history. His performance so far this year also isn't any kind of guarantee of what he'd be as a starter. Fox is a great example of someone who set the world on fire with a relatively limited collection of AB's.

 

They have nothing to do with eachother. Im sure major league baseball has a long history of rookies who got off to a hot start and then were figured out and were out of baseball before long. Theres also a long history of those who got off to hot starts and became stars, those who got off to hot starts and became solid major league players, and those who got off to hot starts and became role players and journeymen. Jake Fox has no bearing on Tyler Colvin. Maybe Jake Fox still can become a Jack Cust or something of the like. Im rooting for the guy.

[Sammy Sofa]

They have nothing to do with eachother. Im sure major league baseball has a long history of rookies who got off to a hot start and then were figured out and were out of baseball before long. Theres also a long history of those who got off to hot starts and became stars, those who got off to hot starts and became solid major league players, and those who got off to hot starts and became role players and journeymen. Jake Fox has no bearing on Tyler Colvin. Maybe Jake Fox still can become a Jack Cust or something of the like. Im rooting for the guy.

 

The point, that you completely missed, is that what a young player accomplishes in the majors in a relatively small sample size very early in their MLB career often gives little indication as to what kind of player they will turn out to be. If the Cubs seriously want to explore the idea of Colvin as a starting OF then he needs to be back in the minors starting full time. There's no place for him to start regularly with the Cubs right now unless Fukudome is traded, and even then it wouldn't necessarily be better for him to be starting for the Cubs as opposed to playing full time in the minors and consistently having success down there. I know you have a new player that you irrationally crush on nearly every week, but there's really no justification for the Cubs going out of their way to clear up a regular starting slot for him at this point in Colvin's career.

[SweetZombieJesus]

Yes, because Colvin's performance thus far this season is an accurate projection as to how he'll perform as a starter with the book out on him.

 

It's just as accurate as the guys completely writing him off by his career minor league numbers which are a tad skewed by one bad season where we found out he was playing with a bum elbow.

[Sammy Sofa]

Who is completely writing him off?

 

And if his minor league numbers skewed, isn't it a reasonable expectation to actually prove that they were skewed?

[CubColtPacer]

Who is completely writing him off?

 

And if his minor league numbers skewed, isn't it a reasonable expectation to actually prove that they were skewed?

 

It should be noted that PR wise sending down Colvin anytime soon to get at-bats isn't really possible. It's a tough situation. While I also believe some of Colvin's minor league numbers have been skewed, that still leaves him as a huge question market with plenty of tools and some flashes but not much of a track record. That isn't much to fall back on when giving a lot of PT at the major league level . But the minors isn't an option at the moment and I don't know when it will be an option again unless he does get significant PT and struggles.

[Tarver]

Who the hell cares? Give Colvin time, he's Patterson without the legs or the glove.

[Sammy Sofa]

Who is completely writing him off?

 

And if his minor league numbers skewed, isn't it a reasonable expectation to actually prove that they were skewed?

 

It should be noted that PR wise sending down Colvin anytime soon to get at-bats isn't really possible. It's a tough situation. While I also believe some of Colvin's minor league numbers have been skewed, that still leaves him as a huge question market with plenty of tools and some flashes but not much of a track record. That isn't much to fall back on when giving a lot of PT at the major league level . But the minors isn't an option at the moment and I don't know when it will be an option again unless he does get significant PT and struggles.

 

Well, it's certainly possible, but I agree that it's unlikely. Too bad.

[Tarver]

But he's white, maybe that helps

[Irrelevant Dude]

I know you have a new player that you irrationally crush on nearly every week, but there's really no justification for the Cubs going out of their way to clear up a regular starting slot for him at this point in Colvin's career.

With the Cubs going nowhere fast this season, it sure seems to me that they would want to find out what they have in Colvin going into next season. That gives them plenty of justification to start him regularly over someone like Fukudome who only has one more year on his contract and will not be here long term. I'm still leaning toward the opinion that Colvin will eventually prove himself to be nothing more than a solid 4th outfielder, but the possibility of him succeeding as a starter sure appears better than it did prior to this season. I'm not willing to bet on his success based on a relatively small major league sample size, but I'm also not willing to dismiss him based on his minor league numbers. Why not let him start for an extended period of time and see what happens?

[muntjack]

Here's what I'm confused about nuts&gum..... If Colvin hits 13 more homeruns this year is it still a loooooooonnnnnnnnnnng shot that he'll hit 20 HRs in a full season?

[Tarver]

Yes.

[JonJayCutler]

Colvin got ripped and added muscle over the offseason, and he had decent power to begin with. So I don't think 20 HR over a full season is that much of a stretch. A few weeks ago he hit one of the longest homers I've ever seen at Minute Maid Park. The power seems to be there. His strikeout to walk ratio is what should be of more concern.

[muntjack]

Yes.

 

I find your point of view wildly incorrect.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Who is completely writing him off?

 

And if his minor league numbers skewed, isn't it a reasonable expectation to actually prove that they were skewed?

 

It should be noted that PR wise sending down Colvin anytime soon to get at-bats isn't really possible. It's a tough situation. While I also believe some of Colvin's minor league numbers have been skewed, that still leaves him as a huge question market with plenty of tools and some flashes but not much of a track record. That isn't much to fall back on when giving a lot of PT at the major league level . But the minors isn't an option at the moment and I don't know when it will be an option again unless he does get significant PT and struggles.

 

Thats a very good point. As bad as the CUbs have been and fans getting very frustrated, the only thing the Cubs really have going for them to keep people interested are the 3 rookies, Castro, Colvin, and Cashner and Carlos Silvas comeback story.

[treebird]

i honestly wish colvin had gotten off to the bad start we all know he should have. this is entirely predicated on my belief that he's no good, but man is it annoying to listen to people who think he's amazing. if it turns out this is the real guy and i'm wrong, fantastic, but if it's not, we'd all be a lot better off if he wasn't hitting in this waste of a season.

[Tracer Bullet]

Is hitting 20 HRs in a season the only barometer for whether Colvin is a quality starting RF in the bigs? Seems to me he could hit 20 HRs every year in RF and still not be a net positive. Or are we assuming that if he develops the ability to hit 20 HRs, the other aspects (like not striking out every third AB or getting on base more than 30% of the time) will have also been fixed?

 

I'll be honest, I'm surprised at the power he's shown. I'm not sure he'll be able to match it going forward, but I'm less concerned about his ability to have sufficient power to play in the majors than I was before the season (not that I'm convinced). I'm more concerned about his ability to not strike out all the time and play passable defense for a guy that only his 20 HRs.

[SweetZombieJesus]

i honestly wish colvin had gotten off to the bad start we all know he should have. this is entirely predicated on my belief that he's no good, but man is it annoying to listen to people who think he's amazing. if it turns out this is the real guy and i'm wrong, fantastic, but if it's not, we'd all be a lot better off if he wasn't hitting in this waste of a season.

 

I don't think he's amazing. But I do think he's probably a 800-830ish SLG dependent hitter.

 

If the added muscle has helped him develop more power great. But let's not forget a guy who can SLG in the 500-550 range for cheap has value.

 

If anything I'm surprised by his patience it's not as Kevin Menchian as I had previously heard.

[Sammy Sofa]

Is hitting 20 HRs in a season the only barometer for whether Colvin is a quality starting RF in the bigs? Seems to me he could hit 20 HRs every year in RF and still not be a net positive. Or are we assuming that if he develops the ability to hit 20 HRs, the other aspects (like not striking out every third AB or getting on base more than 30% of the time) will have also been fixed?

 

I'll be honest, I'm surprised at the power he's shown. I'm not sure he'll be able to match it going forward, but I'm less concerned about his ability to have sufficient power to play in the majors than I was before the season (not that I'm convinced). I'm more concerned about his ability to not strike out all the time and play passable defense for a guy that only his 20 HRs.

 

Great point. And I don't understand why people would assume that the power he's shown in the limited sample size of his time in the bigs would just carry over to a full season. If that's the case, then is his appallingly high strikeout ratio going to stretch out as well? His relatively limited defense is going to carry out over the whole season? LH pitchers having their way with him completely and totally? Why are some people acting like the power is the only thing that'll stick around? Well, the power would have to stick around and he'd need to have to keep hitting at these ridiculous levels all season to offset the liabilities he displays as a player. That's why his success as a starter is such a long shot despite what he's shown this season. That's why in a sane world it makes much more sense for him to be starting in the minors since he's yet to show down there that he can be a viable option as a starting OF. Production in a limited role as a part time player up here for a couple months doesn't just suddenly prove he's a good option to be starting over the Cubs current starters, especially when they're trying to shop one of them for a trade.