Re: Wow Castro

[sneakypower]

The youngest player in the majors is currently leading the league in hits.

on pace for 303, which would beat the old record by 41.

[UMFan83]

The youngest player in the majors is currently leading the league in hits.

on pace for 303, which would beat the old record by 41.

 

eat your heart out Ichiro!

[UMFan83]

Speaking of Ichiro:

 

http://cutfour.com/2011/04/the-new-ichiro/

 

Although their processes are different, young Castro’s and Ichiro’s results compare favorably. Castro has gone hitless 38 times since arriving in the big leagues last May. That stretch includes 137 games, only 72.3% chance of extending your streak. But again, Castro is only 21 years old. There is ample room for improvement. The similarities really hit home when you look at their contact rates and batted ball numbers. Ichiro makes slightly more contact overall (89.2% to 86.4%), but outside the strikezone their rates are identical (both 75.9%). While we shouldn’t expect Castro’s infield hit percentage to match Ichiro’s — no one’s does — observe their batted ball profiles:

 

Ichiro: 20.2% LD, 55.8% GB, 24.0% FB, 9.8% IFFB

Castro: 20.3% LD, 51.4% GB, 28.4% FB, 6.3% IFFB

 

Eerily similar. In fact, through the first twelve games of this season, Castro is on pace to break the hit record Ichiro set in 2004. His .420 early season BABiP is nearly impossible to sustain, but a 200 hit season from the Cubs shortstop is almost guaranteed.

 

[bukie]

Castro is currently on pace to hit over .400, who cares about a hit record at that point? :P

[Backtobanks]

It's unlikely that Castro will ever hit 30+ HRs a season or steal 35+ bases, which is why Derek Jeter has been a more acceptable comparison.

 

Although I will say that Hanley played his first season in the majors when he was 22, hitting 17 HRs that year. Castro will be 22 next season, and I don't think it's THAT far-fetched if he was hitting 15-20 HRs by then. But 10-12 is probably more likely.

 

 

Unless he leads the league in hitting, it's going to be hard to make an ALL Star team with Tulo and HRam in the same league.

 

you underestimated the vance factor

 

Don't say his name... he needs his rest before the ballot opens.

 

Then the beast awakens.

 

Justafiable or not, I wouldnt be shocked if Castro beats those 2 in the ballots. As we learned in 2008, when Cubs fans are excited about a player(s), they tend to go nuts on the ballots. If nothing esle,, hed probably be the Cubs pity all star if it comes down to that.

 

 

Castro might beat out HRam because the Marlins barely draw 10,000 fans to home games.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Please tell me people don't call him "HRam".

[imb]

Please tell me people don't call him "HRam".

 

duh, it's hanram

[TruffleShuffle]

I don't even know how to feel about a position prospect actually panning out into what looks like a potential superstar. Soto is good, but even he is the only decent one we've had turn up since Grace, which is ridiculously pathetic. Am I missing someone obvious?

 

Hee Seop did his best Adam Dunn (very) lite impression at the plate for a little while... Patterson had 1.5 good years, but nothing excitingly great.... and uhhhhhhhh....

 

i remember reading in baseball prospectus that brett jackson might become the first homegrown outfielder to put up a .270 equivalent average (now i think they're calling it true average) and 15 home runs since - billy williams! that's not exactly a high bar to clear; 15 home runs is mediocre for an outfielder and .270 is just a shade above average. to have not developed an outfielder like that in 35 or 40 years is just appalling.

[javy knows my name]

I don't even know how to feel about a position prospect actually panning out into what looks like a potential superstar. Soto is good, but even he is the only decent one we've had turn up since Grace, which is ridiculously pathetic. Am I missing someone obvious?

 

Hee Seop did his best Adam Dunn (very) lite impression at the plate for a little while... Patterson had 1.5 good years, but nothing excitingly great.... and uhhhhhhhh....

 

i remember reading in baseball prospectus that brett jackson might become the first homegrown outfielder to put up a .270 equivalent average (now i think they're calling it true average) and 15 home runs since - billy williams! that's not exactly a high bar to clear; 15 home runs is mediocre for an outfielder and .270 is just a shade above average. to have not developed an outfielder like that in 35 or 40 years is just appalling.

 

Wow, that's incredible. And inexcusable.

[UMFan83]

I don't even know how to feel about a position prospect actually panning out into what looks like a potential superstar. Soto is good, but even he is the only decent one we've had turn up since Grace, which is ridiculously pathetic. Am I missing someone obvious?

 

Hee Seop did his best Adam Dunn (very) lite impression at the plate for a little while... Patterson had 1.5 good years, but nothing excitingly great.... and uhhhhhhhh....

 

i remember reading in baseball prospectus that brett jackson might become the first homegrown outfielder to put up a .270 equivalent average (now i think they're calling it true average) and 15 home runs since - billy williams! that's not exactly a high bar to clear; 15 home runs is mediocre for an outfielder and .270 is just a shade above average. to have not developed an outfielder like that in 35 or 40 years is just appalling.

 

Agreed. Most of their rather shallow list of successful position players that have been brought up have been infielders (Grace, Palmeiro, Dunston, Soto).

[Northside Blues]

I don't even know how to feel about a position prospect actually panning out into what looks like a potential superstar. Soto is good, but even he is the only decent one we've had turn up since Grace, which is ridiculously pathetic. Am I missing someone obvious?

 

Hee Seop did his best Adam Dunn (very) lite impression at the plate for a little while... Patterson had 1.5 good years, but nothing excitingly great.... and uhhhhhhhh....

 

i remember reading in baseball prospectus that brett jackson might become the first homegrown outfielder to put up a .270 equivalent average (now i think they're calling it true average) and 15 home runs since - billy williams! that's not exactly a high bar to clear; 15 home runs is mediocre for an outfielder and .270 is just a shade above average. to have not developed an outfielder like that in 35 or 40 years is just appalling.

 

Wow, that's incredible. And inexcusable.

 

It's also a bit of a lie. Tyler Colvin was over that last year. I don't think he had enough PA's so it's really not a lie. I guess Kosuke Fukudome doesn't count because he was a Japanese product and is a few homers short.

[Keener98]

I don't even know how to feel about a position prospect actually panning out into what looks like a potential superstar. Soto is good, but even he is the only decent one we've had turn up since Grace, which is ridiculously pathetic. Am I missing someone obvious?

 

Hee Seop did his best Adam Dunn (very) lite impression at the plate for a little while... Patterson had 1.5 good years, but nothing excitingly great.... and uhhhhhhhh....

 

i remember reading in baseball prospectus that brett jackson might become the first homegrown outfielder to put up a .270 equivalent average (now i think they're calling it true average) and 15 home runs since - billy williams! that's not exactly a high bar to clear; 15 home runs is mediocre for an outfielder and .270 is just a shade above average. to have not developed an outfielder like that in 35 or 40 years is just appalling.

 

Wow, that's incredible. And inexcusable.

 

It's also a bit of a lie. Tyler Colvin was over that last year. I don't think he had enough PA's so it's really not a lie. I guess Kosuke Fukudome doesn't count because he was a Japanese product and is a few homers short.

 

Colvin hit .254 last year

[javy knows my name]

I don't even know how to feel about a position prospect actually panning out into what looks like a potential superstar. Soto is good, but even he is the only decent one we've had turn up since Grace, which is ridiculously pathetic. Am I missing someone obvious?

 

Hee Seop did his best Adam Dunn (very) lite impression at the plate for a little while... Patterson had 1.5 good years, but nothing excitingly great.... and uhhhhhhhh....

 

i remember reading in baseball prospectus that brett jackson might become the first homegrown outfielder to put up a .270 equivalent average (now i think they're calling it true average) and 15 home runs since - billy williams! that's not exactly a high bar to clear; 15 home runs is mediocre for an outfielder and .270 is just a shade above average. to have not developed an outfielder like that in 35 or 40 years is just appalling.

 

Wow, that's incredible. And inexcusable.

 

It's also a bit of a lie. Tyler Colvin was over that last year. I don't think he had enough PA's so it's really not a lie. I guess Kosuke Fukudome doesn't count because he was a Japanese product and is a few homers short.

 

Colvin hit .254 last year

 

Read again. He was talking about EqA. I'm sure Colvin had an EqA over .270, but yeah, not enough PAs to count in the case

[TruffleShuffle]

I don't even know how to feel about a position prospect actually panning out into what looks like a potential superstar. Soto is good, but even he is the only decent one we've had turn up since Grace, which is ridiculously pathetic. Am I missing someone obvious?

 

Hee Seop did his best Adam Dunn (very) lite impression at the plate for a little while... Patterson had 1.5 good years, but nothing excitingly great.... and uhhhhhhhh....

 

i remember reading in baseball prospectus that brett jackson might become the first homegrown outfielder to put up a .270 equivalent average (now i think they're calling it true average) and 15 home runs since - billy williams! that's not exactly a high bar to clear; 15 home runs is mediocre for an outfielder and .270 is just a shade above average. to have not developed an outfielder like that in 35 or 40 years is just appalling.

 

Wow, that's incredible. And inexcusable.

 

It's also a bit of a lie. Tyler Colvin was over that last year. I don't think he had enough PA's so it's really not a lie. I guess Kosuke Fukudome doesn't count because he was a Japanese product and is a few homers short.

 

i accidentally left something important out of the statistic, that it was a .270 EqA and 15 home runs in consecutive seasons.

 

that being said, fairly generic outfielders like luke scott and josh willingham don't have much trouble reaching those stats, so it's pathetic that we haven't developed a young outfielder who can hit a few home runs and put up above average offensive production since billy williams.

[champaignchris]

that being said, fairly generic outfielders like luke scott and josh willingham don't have much trouble reaching those stats, so it's pathetic that we haven't developed a young outfielder who can hit a few home runs and put up above average offensive production since billy williams.

 

It's not just power-hitting outfielders. Between Girardi debuting during the tail end of 1989 and Soto playing a game in 2005, who was the best position player to come up through the Cubs' system to actually play for the Cubs? Doug Glanville? Corey Patterson? Ryan Theriot?

[SouthSideRyan]

Theriot came after Soto. It's probably Patterson.

[CubColtPacer]

Theriot came after Soto. It's probably Patterson.

 

I would probably say Rick Wilkins. The pickings are definitely slim though.

 

The good news is that drought is pretty close to officially over. They now have 2 position player possible All-Stars, 2 more position player role players/possible starters on the team with 1-3 more close to joining them. That's a pretty solid core starting to develop.

[UMFan83]

that being said, fairly generic outfielders like luke scott and josh willingham don't have much trouble reaching those stats, so it's pathetic that we haven't developed a young outfielder who can hit a few home runs and put up above average offensive production since billy williams.

 

It's not just power-hitting outfielders. Between Girardi debuting during the tail end of 1989 and Soto playing a game in 2005, who was the best position player to come up through the Cubs' system to actually play for the Cubs? Doug Glanville? Corey Patterson? Ryan Theriot?

 

Gotta be Kevin Orie!

[Rob]

Poor CPatt. He was so good in 03 and 04. It's a shame people remember him more for how bad he was when he was called up (when he was obviously not ready) and before he left (when dusty was busy trying to turn him into a slap hitter).

[KingCubsFan]

Poor CPatt. He was so good in 03 and 04. It's a shame people remember him more for how bad he was when he was called up (when he was obviously not ready) and before he left (when dusty was busy trying to turn him into a slap hitter).

If Dusty didn't mess with him, I'd like to think he'd still be hitting .260-.275 with 25-30 homers and playing great defense.

[MembersOnlyJacket]

Poor CPatt. He was so good in 03 and 04. It's a shame people remember him more for how bad he was when he was called up (when he was obviously not ready) and before he left (when dusty was busy trying to turn him into a slap hitter).

If Dusty didn't mess with him, I'd like to think he'd still be hitting .260-.275 with 25-30 homers and playing great defense.

 

I saw Corey play this weekend at Fenway. He still has more holes in his swing than a...

 

Well, you get the picture. His pitch recognition is still awful and if you get one strike ahead of him, he's an out. He keeps getting chances because "speed doesn't slump," but he is what he is; a 4th outfielder.

 

Anyway, this is a Starlin Castro thread who's got plate coverage beyond Corey's wildest dreams...

[Tarver]

Corey had impressive tools, especially for a guy that small, but Dusty didn't ruin him. He was never going to have sustained success with that awful swing/approach.

 

And while his '04 was good in aggregate, the writing was on the wall.

[SouthSideRyan]

I wouldn't solely blame Dusty, but the Cubs organization narrow-mindedness concerning black CFs certainly hampered his development from the second he left Lansing.

[treebird]

Poor CPatt. He was so good in 03 and 04. It's a shame people remember him more for how bad he was when he was called up (when he was obviously not ready) and before he left (when dusty was busy trying to turn him into a slap hitter).

If Dusty didn't mess with him, I'd like to think he'd still be hitting .260-.275 with 25-30 homers and playing great defense.

 

I saw Corey play this weekend at Fenway. He still has more holes in his swing than a...

 

Well, you get the picture. His pitch recognition is still awful and if you get one strike ahead of him, he's an out. He keeps getting chances because "speed doesn't slump," but he is what he is; a 4th outfielder.

 

corey patterson has a lifetime 862 ops in at bats where he puts the ball in play on 0-1

 

BOOM

[MembersOnlyJacket]

Poor CPatt. He was so good in 03 and 04. It's a shame people remember him more for how bad he was when he was called up (when he was obviously not ready) and before he left (when dusty was busy trying to turn him into a slap hitter).

If Dusty didn't mess with him, I'd like to think he'd still be hitting .260-.275 with 25-30 homers and playing great defense.

 

I saw Corey play this weekend at Fenway. He still has more holes in his swing than a...

 

Well, you get the picture. His pitch recognition is still awful and if you get one strike ahead of him, he's an out. He keeps getting chances because "speed doesn't slump," but he is what he is; a 4th outfielder.

 

corey patterson has a lifetime 862 ops in at bats where he puts the ball in play on 0-1

 

BOOM

 

Oh yes, you forgot about his .560 OPS and 3:1 AB:K after 0-1.

 

What ?

 

http://www.millerparkdrunk.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/coreypatterson.jpg