can we talk about Starlin Castro?

[bukie]

After swinging at over 45% of pitches out of the strike zone in May, Castro has cut down to swinging at 33% of pitches out of the zone in June thus far. Still slightly above the league average on the year of 30%, but much better.

[El Duderino]

After swinging at over 45% of pitches out of the strike zone in May, Castro has cut down to swinging at 33% of pitches out of the zone in June thus far. Still slightly above the league average on the year of 30%, but much better.

 

It's a shame that improvement has resulted in a 214/228/357 June line.

[sneakypower]

Castro has the ability to do something this year that's never been done before

 

right now he's on pace for 14 BB and 123 K, and is hitting .303; no player has ever topped .300 in a season with fewer than 30 BB and more than 120 K*

 

Juan Samuel (1984): .272, 28:168

Tony Armas (1980): .279, 29:128

Jim Rice (1976): .282, 28:123

Delmon Young (2007): .288, 26:127

Rocco Baldelli (2003): .290, 30:128

Alfonso Soriano (2002): .300, 23:157

 

loosening the thresholds to 25- BB and 100+ K, three players have reached .300:

 

Alfonso Soriano (2002): .300, 23:157

Benito Santiago (1987): .300, 16:112

Jacque Jones (2003): .304, 21:105

 

 

*reducing K to 110+ includes Ryan Braun's (2007) .324, 29:112 season

[Guest]

Castro has the ability to do something this year that's never been done before

 

right now he's on pace for 14 BB and 123 K, and is hitting .303; no player has ever topped .300 in a season with fewer than 30 BB and more than 120 K*

 

Juan Samuel (1984): .272, 28:168

Tony Armas (1980): .279, 29:128

Jim Rice (1976): .282, 28:123

Delmon Young (2007): .288, 26:127

Rocco Baldelli (2003): .290, 30:128

Alfonso Soriano (2002): .300, 23:157

 

loosening the thresholds to 25- BB and 100+ K, three players have reached .300:

 

Alfonso Soriano (2002): .300, 23:157

Benito Santiago (1987): .300, 16:112

Jacque Jones (2003): .304, 21:105

 

 

*reducing K to 110+ includes Ryan Braun's (2007) .324, 29:112 season

Isn't going from 30 -> 25 BB actually tightening the threshold?

[sneakypower]

i guess so, but i was thinking about K's there

 

leaving BB at 30- instead of 25- adds to that (100+ K) list only these two:

 

Cecil Cooper (1977): .300, 28:110

Ryan Braun (2007), mentioned above

[Warpticon]

Castro has the ability to do something this year that's never been done before

 

right now he's on pace for 14 BB and 123 K, and is hitting .303; no player has ever topped .300 in a season with fewer than 30 BB and more than 120 K*

 

Juan Samuel (1984): .272, 28:168

Tony Armas (1980): .279, 29:128

Jim Rice (1976): .282, 28:123

Delmon Young (2007): .288, 26:127

Rocco Baldelli (2003): .290, 30:128

Alfonso Soriano (2002): .300, 23:157

 

loosening the thresholds to 25- BB and 100+ K, three players have reached .300:

 

Alfonso Soriano (2002): .300, 23:157

Benito Santiago (1987): .300, 16:112

Jacque Jones (2003): .304, 21:105

 

*reducing K to 110+ includes Ryan Braun's (2007) .324, 29:112 season

 

of course it would be all former Cubs.

[TheDude]

I never had to work with a hitting coach, so I can't claim to know just how much influence one has. But in Castro's case I have to ask to the question:

 

To what degree is the new hitting coach responsible for Castro's current patience trend? Since Jaramillo was replaced, Castro looks like a different hitter at the plate. And he is walking again (at least at a pace you can accept for Castro). The bottom line numbers may not be any different, but it should improve his long-term numbers.

[Old Style]

Castro = The Shadow?!

 

http://www.wrigleyvillesports.com/Chicago-Cubs/New-Items/Chicago-Cubs-Starlin-Castro-Starlin-Knows-T-Shirt

[Clem Fandango]

Is that supposed to be a takeoff of "Bo Knows"? That's terrible.

[Brian]

Is that supposed to be a takeoff of "Bo Knows"? That's terrible.

 

Yeah I'm not sure what it's supposed to mean, but Nike has them for pretty much all the big athletes.

[chuckywang]

i guess so, but i was thinking about K's there

 

leaving BB at 30- instead of 25- adds to that (100+ K) list only these two:

 

Cecil Cooper (1977): .300, 28:110

Ryan Braun (2007), mentioned above

 

Batting average has nothing to do with walks, while batting average has a lot to do with strikeouts. I'm not sure what trying to find a player with a certain batting average and a certain number of walks is trying to tell you about that player.

[apete6]

Im officially concerned about Castro right now. He looks like garbage at the plate right now.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Im officially concerned about Castro right now. He looks like garbage at the plate right now.

 

When was the last time he had a game off?

[El Duderino]

Im officially concerned about Castro right now. He looks like garbage at the plate right now.

 

When was the last time he had a game off?

 

winter

[Fred Hornkohl]

Im officially concerned about Castro right now. He looks like garbage at the plate right now.

 

When was the last time he had a game off?

 

Gm#    Date          Opponent         Score  Starter         Opp Starter
128  Mon 08/22/11    Atlanta       N   0- 3  Dempster        Jurrjens      

[Sammy Sofa]

Im officially concerned about Castro right now. He looks like garbage at the plate right now.

 

I'm not worried; a player as young as he is with the trajectory he's had is bound to have some rough patches as he develops. The upside is that during this slump he's actually showing more patience than before. Eventually things will even out and he'll ideally take another step towards being the player we hope/expect him to be. This is where having the FO the Cubs have can be so critical; they set the tone and philosophy as to how players are to be developed, and I really think that what we're seeing right now are growing pains as he's coached in the post-Jaramillio era.

[apete6]

Im officially concerned about Castro right now. He looks like garbage at the plate right now.

 

I'm not worried; a player as young as he is with the trajectory he's had is bound to have some rough patches as he develops. The upside is that during this slump he's actually showing more patience than before. Eventually things will even out and he'll ideally take another step towards being the player we hope/expect him to be. This is where having the FO the Cubs have can be so critical; they set the tone and philosophy as to how players are to be developed, and I really think that what we're seeing right now are growing pains as he's coached in the post-Jaramillio era.

 

I hope so. He'll probably have a 10-12 hit week with some walks and XBH thrown in there and right the ship soon enough. I just want to see improvement, which has happened defensively and lately with the patience. If the worst thing that happens is that Starlin has a bad second 2/3rds of the season and comes back with a vengeance next year, I'm OK with that.

[Sammy Sofa]

I mean, is anyone genuinely worried that he's regressing or something? That seems like it would be getting really worked up over nothing. Who seriously expected him to never have stretches like this?

[UMFan83]

I mean, is anyone genuinely worried that he's regressing or something? That seems like it would be getting really worked up over nothing. Who seriously expected him to never have stretches like this?

 

No, not at all. Just sucks to watch. I think people were expecting a big leap this year, and while there's still time, right now his OPS is 30 points below his rookie season. I feel pretty certain he'll bounce back and put up respectable numbers overall though.

[davell]

I know BA doesn't matter whatsoever, but for some reason, I always am hoping Castro hits .300. That said, my guess is this stretch has quite a bit to do with his improved plate discipline. Better to work on it now, than in a season that matters, a step back to take two steps forward kind of thing. That said, I fully expect he'll bounce back and play solidly in the 2nd half.

[Sammy Sofa]

I mean, is anyone genuinely worried that he's regressing or something? That seems like it would be getting really worked up over nothing. Who seriously expected him to never have stretches like this?

 

No, not at all. Just sucks to watch. I think people were expecting a big leap this year, and while there's still time, right now his OPS is 30 points below his rookie season. I feel pretty certain he'll bounce back and put up respectable numbers overall though.

 

Why were people expecting a big leap this year without any kind of bad stretches? He's not inhuman.

[Tracer Bullet]

Liar! LIAR

[treebird]

I mean, is anyone genuinely worried that he's regressing or something? That seems like it would be getting really worked up over nothing. Who seriously expected him to never have stretches like this?

 

No, not at all. Just sucks to watch. I think people were expecting a big leap this year, and while there's still time, right now his OPS is 30 points below his rookie season. I feel pretty certain he'll bounce back and put up respectable numbers overall though.

 

Why were people expecting a big leap this year without any kind of bad stretches? He's not inhuman.

 

people can expect a big leap without also expecting him to avoid having bad stretches.

[Sammy Sofa]

Hey, to me he's already made a big leap in his baserunning and defense. He's got plenty of time going forward to evolve his offensive game (which is probably why he's going through this stretch in the first place), so personally I don't see a reason to stress over this. Does it suck to watch? Sure, but when people say that they're "worried" I'm wondering what the hell they're worried about.

[apete6]

Hey, to me he's already made a big leap in his baserunning and defense. He's got plenty of time going forward to evolve his offensive game (which is probably why he's going through this stretch in the first place), so personally I don't see a reason to stress over this. Does it suck to watch? Sure, but when people say that they're "worried" I'm wondering what the hell they're worried about.

 

Because everyone wants his ceiling to be Derek Jeter, not Edgar Renteria. A few bad weeks has nothing to do with that, but to see limited amount of offensive improvement makes those scenarios go through your head.

 

And its not like Renteria had a terrible career or anything, but, for me, the glimpses of what Castro may be able to do have endless possibilities and I think of a Jeter-like career. I still think that if Castro got 2,300 career hits and a lifetime OPS of .740 (Renteria), we'd be OK with that, but still a bit disappointed.