Minor League Discussion & Boxes 8-10-11

[Guest]

Welp, that was not the best Peoria game to attend. Observations:

 

 

Kirk is thicker than I remembered, and maybe not as tall. He comes pretty over the top for a LHP. He sat 84-87 and hit 88 a couple times. I sat next to Roderik Pichardo (I think), and was going off his gun instead of the stadium.

 

Sosa sat 90 and touched 92, and Levitt could not crack 90 and doesn't have any deception in his motion.

 

Easterling is well built but not super tall. He had a nice opposite field single for his hit, and couldn't pick up Billo's slider for a swinging K in the first. He looks the part in CF, and made a couple nice throws, including a one hopper to 3rd to get a runner on a single to left center.

 

Geiger is not very big for a 3B, and I would've guessed he could move to 2B before watching him play 3B. He had an error, could have been charged for another, and showed he wasn't very comfortable at 3B on a couple more occasions. He did make some decent contact and took Billo to the warning track in CF in the 1st.

 

Eibner was the best player on the field, making a couple running catches, lacing a 2B past Geiger and adding another single.

 

All in all, not much good news. Kirk's velocity was bad and he got tagged, and Geiger looked like a LF playing 3B.

[TruffleShuffle]

i think there's a big difference between joining an organization at 16 versus joining it at 21 after 3 years in the pac 10, so we'll have to agree to disagree.

[sandbergcubs]

Anyone else besides me think that Clevenger NEEDS to be our MLB backup next year?

 

I mean all this guy has done i HIT. HIT HIT and HIT.

 

.300 Every year since 2006, Would be a great LH bat to compliment Soto.

 

He has a low K rating, (99 games this year 35 K 34 BB) And seems to have decent doubles power

[Guest]

And a little bit of video. Please excuse the noise and shakiness.

 

Easterling AB: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndhCOTTQWu8

 

Geiger AB: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnu9sYyPfJs

 

Kirk v. Eibner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvredfXK40g

[toonsterwu]

TT, nice stuff. The thought was that Geiger would eventually have to move to a corner OF or 1st base role if he managed to slowly work his way up the ladder.

 

Easterling's probably somewhere from 5'8" to 5'10". His NFL prospects would've been as a slot receiver. He's not tall, but he's physically built. Of course, that brings into question if his body is maxed out. That said, there's also the counter-discussion point that football bodies are different than the needs for baseball, so what he may need to do is re-adjust his workouts more for baseball. Just speculating.

 

Kirk at 84-87, topping 88 is about as bad as I've heard him at all year. Wonder if he's wearing down?

[toonsterwu]

Anyone else besides me think that Clevenger NEEDS to be our MLB backup next year?

 

I mean all this guy has done i HIT. HIT HIT and HIT.

 

.300 Every year since 2006, Would be a great LH bat to compliment Soto.

 

He has a low K rating, (99 games this year 35 K 34 BB) And seems to have decent doubles power

 

I'd let Clevenger and Castillo battle it out (and Clevenger might have a shot to win that, as he's just ... steadier, but it feels like certain key organizational guys are high on Welington). I think the thing that has really moved Clevenger forward, in my opinion, is the fact that this year, his defensive work has largely been viewed as above average, whereas before, he was viewed more as a steady catcher behind the plate. There's catchers that are getting regular time in the bigs that have a far worse profile than Clevenger (above average receiving work, average arm, solid contact ability), and I am starting to wonder, if the right opportunity presented itself, if Clevenger would be a passable-decent starter in the bigs.

 

I'd send the loser of Clevenger/Castillo to AAA, and perhaps bring back Chris Robinson. I'd let Flores/Brenly act as the duo in Tennessee.

[CubsWin]

Anyone else besides me think that Clevenger NEEDS to be our MLB backup next year?

 

I mean all this guy has done i HIT. HIT HIT and HIT.

 

.300 Every year since 2006, Would be a great LH bat to compliment Soto.

 

He has a low K rating, (99 games this year 35 K 34 BB) And seems to have decent doubles power

 

I'd let Clevenger and Castillo battle it out (and Clevenger might have a shot to win that, as he's just ... steadier, but it feels like certain key organizational guys are high on Welington). I think the thing that has really moved Clevenger forward, in my opinion, is the fact that this year, his defensive work has largely been viewed as above average, whereas before, he was viewed more as a steady catcher behind the plate. There's catchers that are getting regular time in the bigs that have a far worse profile than Clevenger (above average receiving work, average arm, solid contact ability), and I am starting to wonder, if the right opportunity presented itself, if Clevenger would be a passable-decent starter in the bigs.

 

I'd send the loser of Clevenger/Castillo to AAA, and perhaps bring back Chris Robinson. I'd let Flores/Brenly act as the duo in Tennessee.

What's the value of trading Soto during the off season. Of course, it depends on what the Cubs get back, but, assuming it was a good return and no catchers came back, would the Cubs be okay with what they have between those two?

[Outshined_One]

What's the value of trading Soto during the off season. Of course, it depends on what the Cubs get back, but, assuming it was a good return and no catchers came back, would the Cubs be okay with what they have between those two?

 

The problem with trading Soto is, even when he's slumping, he's still a better hitter than the average catcher in baseball. Plus, while Soto has his share of defensive hiccups, he's done a very good job of throwing out runners this season (leads the NL with 28 and has a respectable 31% CS%). He's a decent defensive catcher.

 

Putting it bluntly, considering that young players and rookies tend to have a learning curve and catcher is one of the most difficult positions to play in the majors, I have a really hard time seeing Castillo or Clevenger outproduce Soto over the next two years (when Soto's a free agent). Heck, if both were used in a platoon of sorts, I still have a really hard time seeing that.

 

Plus, when was the last time a team played two rookie catchers? If Soto's gone, I could see the Cubs bring in a veteran like Rod Barajas or Jose Molina with one of the rookies as a backup. That's not an appealing option.

 

As for the return, teams will pay a good price to get Soto, but I have a hard time seeing the Cubs get the kind of return that would justify trading him.

[Guest]

Thanks for the report and the video, Tranny!

[CubsWin]

Thanks for the report and the video, Tranny!

Tranny? Seriously? Come on, admit it Raisin, you thanked him just so you could call him that.

[toonsterwu]

Yeah, I don't really see the Cubs shopping Soto this offseason for the reasons that O_O has stated. I get the feeling that the Cubs might be happier just playing out the year by year arbitrations with Soto, rather than signing him down.

[Hrubes20]

TT, nice stuff. The thought was that Geiger would eventually have to move to a corner OF or 1st base role if he managed to slowly work his way up the ladder.

 

Easterling's probably somewhere from 5'8" to 5'10". His NFL prospects would've been as a slot receiver. He's not tall, but he's physically built. Of course, that brings into question if his body is maxed out. That said, there's also the counter-discussion point that football bodies are different than the needs for baseball, so what he may need to do is re-adjust his workouts more for baseball. Just speculating.

 

Kirk at 84-87, topping 88 is about as bad as I've heard him at all year. Wonder if he's wearing down?

 

I was wondering about this as well. His velocity has been down a tick all year compared to what I saw from him in Boise last year (87-88 as opposed to the 89-90 in Boise), but 84-87 is pretty bad. No wonder he got smacked around.

[toonsterwu]

I saw him at roughly 86-89 earlier this year (roughly, I wasn't fixated on the gun near me) and had reports along those lines.

 

I just wonder if the innings load is catching up. I don't recall his XST innings load last year, and am too lazy to search through AzPhil archives to really know.

[kylescubs23]

The start for DSL2 has really good numbers...interesting to follow...

[BearClaw]

Thinking of going to Peoria v. Kane County tonight, Kirk v. Billo should be a fun matchup. Wish there were more position players of note at Peoria though, Easterling and maybe Geiger are the only guys I can get excited about.

 

No Richard Jones love?

 

Not sure why there would be any. He's not a real prospect.

 

What is a Prospect? Can you describe one, and can you tell us what authority you have in those decisions? Do you work in Pro baseball? Do the checkwriters base their decisions on what you tell them?

 

Richard Jones RAKES!!

[Guest]

Thinking of going to Peoria v. Kane County tonight, Kirk v. Billo should be a fun matchup. Wish there were more position players of note at Peoria though, Easterling and maybe Geiger are the only guys I can get excited about.

 

No Richard Jones love?

 

Not sure why there would be any. He's not a real prospect.

 

What is a Prospect? Can you describe one, and can you tell us what authority you have in those decisions? Do you work in Pro baseball? Do the checkwriters base their decisions on what you tell them?

 

Richard Jones RAKES!!

 

The thousands of hours he's spent watching and reading about baseball, and more specifically, "prospects", has armed him with the knowledge that oafish first basemen who turn 24 before next season who need to repeat Low A and have mediocre walk and K rates and a career OPS south of .800 are not prospects.

[SouthSideRyan]

You'd think we'd have learned our lesson after underselling Travis Garcia.

[TruffleShuffle]

i dunno man, a college draftee with a 44 bb/263 k ratio just screams future star to me.

[BearClaw]

3/4 21st bomb

[TruffleShuffle]

WE'VE MADE A HUGE MISTAKE

[Guest]

3/4 21st bomb

 

Yeah, well I saw him go 0/4 w/ a K yesterday!

[BearClaw]

Thinking of going to Peoria v. Kane County tonight, Kirk v. Billo should be a fun matchup. Wish there were more position players of note at Peoria though, Easterling and maybe Geiger are the only guys I can get excited about.

 

No Richard Jones love?

 

Not sure why there would be any. He's not a real prospect.

 

What is a Prospect? Can you describe one, and can you tell us what authority you have in those decisions? Do you work in Pro baseball? Do the checkwriters base their decisions on what you tell them?

 

Richard Jones RAKES!!

 

The thousands of hours(in moms basement) he's spent watching and reading about baseball, and more specifically, "prospects", has armed him with the knowledge that power hitting first basemen who are 23 this season are not prospects.

 

I fully understand the need for a savior for Cub fans, but baseball doesn't work that way, and anyone not in a position of authority is merely expressing an opinion. Nobody knows who a prospect is except the guys in charge.

Edited August 12, 2011 by BearClaw

[SouthSideRyan]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[XZero771679666304]

You tell him slugger.

[TruffleShuffle]

well obviously, i mean what other way is there to watch baseball?