can we talk about Starlin Castro?

[champaignchris]

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.

 

If you adjust for era, Castro is having a season nearly identical to Jeter's 22 year old season both in the field and at the plate.

[dew1679666265]

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.

 

This is exactly why I'm not particularly worried about this bad stretch. Since they fired Jaramillo, I believe they've been actively overhauling Starlin's approach. As amazing as Starlin is, I wouldn't expect him to produce well while he's going through an overhaul.

 

He'll be fine.

[UMFan83]

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.

 

This is a good point. No one should overlook that because its huge. The fact that this slide coincides with a spike in his walk rate makes me think he's trying to adjust on the fly and be more patient.

[CubmanPi]

This slump started the day I traded to get him onto my fantasy team. Not gonna drop him.

 

/no one cares, etc. As you were.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Since June 24th, Castro's put up a line of .175/.266/.228. This is becoming concerning. For what it's worth, that was roughly 2 weeks after the firing of Rudy Jaramillo.

[Sammy Sofa]

You're becoming concerning.

[Guest]

Since June 24th, Castro's put up a line of .175/.266/.228. This is becoming concerning. For what it's worth, that was roughly 2 weeks after the firing of Rudy Jaramillo.

 

What do you think it's worth?

[Sammy Sofa]

Unless it's injury-based I would recommend not worrying your darling little head about it.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Since June 24th, Castro's put up a line of .175/.266/.228. This is becoming concerning. For what it's worth, that was roughly 2 weeks after the firing of Rudy Jaramillo.

 

What do you think it's worth?

 

The fact that the guy was the hitting coach for Castro's big league career, while he was a .300 hitter with an OPS in the high .700s for nearly 2 and a half seasons? I don't think that hitting coach have a ton of inference on veteran players who have been doing things a certain way for several years, but with younger players, I think that they're more likely to have an impact. I'm not saying that Jaramillo was fully responsible for Castro's success, but I won't say that he didn't have an impact either.

[Sammy Sofa]

Yeah, I wonder if it has anything to do with trying to shift him away from the previous regimes'/old hitting coach's overly aggressive approach. I wonnnnnnnnnnnnderrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

[17 Seconds]

i like how he noted that the slump started 2 weeks after he left.

[Sammy Sofa]

Well, he's one of them, so he's lazy even when it comes to stuff like that.

[UMFan83]

Yeah, I wonder if it has anything to do with trying to shift him away from the previous regimes'/old hitting coach's overly aggressive approach. I wonnnnnnnnnnnnderrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

 

That's completely my thought. His walk totals have improved during this stretch. I don't know if he's flat out overhauling his hitting approach but if there was a season to experiment and not care how productive he currently is, it's this one.

[Little Slide Rooter]

i like how he noted that the slump started 2 weeks after he left.

 

Hypothetically speaking, if it were due to a change in coaching you wouldn't expect the teaching to be erased in an instant. There would be a transition between adjusting from Jaramillo's way to that of...whoever our hitting coach is now.

[Guest]

i like how he noted that the slump started 2 weeks after he left.

 

Hypothetically speaking, if it were due to a change in coaching you wouldn't expect the teaching to be erased in an instant. There would be a transition between adjusting from Jaramillo's way to that of...whoever our hitting coach is now.

You average over 11 posts a day on a Cubs message board (and likely a lot more these days) and you don't know who the Cubs hitting coach is?

[Sammy Sofa]

Yeah, I wonder if it has anything to do with trying to shift him away from the previous regimes'/old hitting coach's overly aggressive approach. I wonnnnnnnnnnnnderrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

 

That's completely my thought. His walk totals have improved during this stretch. I don't know if he's flat out overhauling his hitting approach but if there was a season to experiment and not care how productive he currently is, it's this one.

 

Definitely. Like I said, unless his hitting issues are health-based, I'm not concerned at all. This is a FO looking for the long term, and their dismissal of Jaramillo speaks volumes. Castro is likely always going to be an aggressive hitter because of his hitting ability, but it makes sense that they'd want to see what they can tweak or improve. This is the season to do it. Even if he doesn't have an offensive break out the rest of the year I'll consider it a success with the improved defense and baserunning plus the increased patience. The rest will come.

[Cubswin11]

Yeah, I wonder if it has anything to do with trying to shift him away from the previous regimes'/old hitting coach's overly aggressive approach. I wonnnnnnnnnnnnderrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

 

That's completely my thought. His walk totals have improved during this stretch. I don't know if he's flat out overhauling his hitting approach but if there was a season to experiment and not care how productive he currently is, it's this one.

 

Definitely. Like I said, unless his hitting issues are health-based, I'm not concerned at all. This is a FO looking for the long term, and their dismissal of Jaramillo speaks volumes. Castro is likely always going to be an aggressive hitter because of his hitting ability, but it makes sense that they'd want to see what they can tweak or improve. This is the season to do it. Even if he doesn't have an offensive break out the rest of the year I'll consider it a success with the improved defense and baserunning plus the increased patience. The rest will come.

I hope/think that could be the case as well and am completely on board with that thinking on letting him try something in a "lost season" from a team standpoint. Also I wouldn't mind if he gets a day or three off here in the next few weeks to work on things before/after games. It also wouldn't hurt to play Barney at SS a few games before the deadline to showcase that he can play there to teams interested in him.

[davell]

Fangraphs is counting down the players with the most trade value in baseball. Castro just came in at 41.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/2012-trade-value-45-41/

[17 Seconds]

what the hell

[Guest]

that dave cameron fellow seems to write a lot of stupid stuff

[davell]

He also has never liked Castro. He compared Altuve to him not too long ago, making it sound as if there careers would parallel.

[El Duderino]

what's wrong with altuve?

[Cubswin11]

Fangraphs is counting down the players with the most trade value in baseball. Castro just came in at 41.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/2012-trade-value-45-41/

Not to take the thread in a different direction away from Castro, but Adam Jones at 43 is also questionable IMO. He's signed through 2018 and is owed just under $90mm. If the Orioles made him available I think they could get a very good package and some high level prospects. He's also only 26, so he likely will be at peak/plateau prodution through the duration of his contract.

[Pushfrog98]

My boss said that the Cubs should consider trading Castro. He's young and has a lot of potential but doesn't fit the "Theo mold." He said they'd have to be completely wowed to do it, but it could work.

[davell]

what's wrong with altuve?

 

Nothing's wrong with him, I just expect Castro to be better going forward. More projection left.