can we talk about Starlin Castro?

[Guest]

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.

 

A 22 year old good defensive SS with a plus bat and room for growth doesn't fit the Theo mold, eh?

[Rex Buckingham]

Phil (SF)

 

 

SF Giants - big move, little move, stand pat? Would love to see Starlin Castro at SS

 

David Schoenfield (1:15 PM)

 

 

Or a second baseman. Maybe a stopgap there would be smarter/easier. Dan Szymborski had an interesting idea -- Kelly Johnson from the Jays.

 

From an ESPN.com chat this afternoon... Just from a random fan i know, but I found it odd to see Castro's name casually thrown out there like that. I don't even know that SF could put together a package worth dealing him

[bukie]

Phil (SF)

 

 

SF Giants - big move, little move, stand pat? Would love to see Starlin Castro at SS

 

David Schoenfield (1:15 PM)

 

 

Or a second baseman. Maybe a stopgap there would be smarter/easier. Dan Szymborski had an interesting idea -- Kelly Johnson from the Jays.

 

From an ESPN.com chat this afternoon... Just from a random fan i know, but I found it odd to see Castro's name casually thrown out there like that. I don't even know that SF could put together a package worth dealing him

Oh, they could, but they never would.

 

I mean, I'd sell on a Bumgarner/Posey package, most likely. Which would totally defeat the purpose of the Giants trying to obtain him.

[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.

 

A 22 year old good defensive SS with a plus bat and room for growth doesn't fit the Theo mold, eh?

It's more along the lines that he doesn't walk a lot. He only relies on his ability to hit to get on base, which he has been successful at thus far.

 

I'm in no way saying we should actively seek to trade him (and neither is my boss), but saying if someone offered a hell of a package... it would be worth a look.

[Rex Buckingham]

Phil (SF)

 

 

SF Giants - big move, little move, stand pat? Would love to see Starlin Castro at SS

 

David Schoenfield (1:15 PM)

 

 

Or a second baseman. Maybe a stopgap there would be smarter/easier. Dan Szymborski had an interesting idea -- Kelly Johnson from the Jays.

 

From an ESPN.com chat this afternoon... Just from a random fan i know, but I found it odd to see Castro's name casually thrown out there like that. I don't even know that SF could put together a package worth dealing him

Oh, they could, but they never would.

 

I mean, I'd sell on a Bumgarner/Posey package, most likely. Which would totally defeat the purpose of the Giants trying to obtain him.

 

I agree with that... I suppose I should have said a package that would truly make sesnse for both teams. I think for SF bringing up either of Posey or Bumgarner would be a non-starter

[bukie]

Plus, the Giants as an organization criminally undervalue youth and farm system, so for any deal to work favorably for the Cubs they'd have to be able to exploit that somehow.

[Guest]

I knew I shouldn't have read the next article in the trade value series, knowing that all of those guys were rated higher than Castro. Spoiler alert: it includes both a 5th year pitcher who has yet to crack 4 WAR in a season, and a hitter who has never had an MLB plate appearance.

[SouthSideRyan]

I knew I shouldn't have read the next article in the trade value series, knowing that all of those guys were rated higher than Castro. Spoiler alert: it includes both a 5th year pitcher who has yet to crack 4 WAR in a season, and a hitter who has never had an MLB plate appearance.

 

The [expletive] is Alex Gordon doing there??

[Guest]

Oh, also Alex Gordon.

[Guest]

Pablo Sandoval, who has been on average a 3-4 win player through his career and is 2.5 years from FA, is #35. I really hate that these are coming across my RSS reader.

[sneakypower]

There are a lot of discussions about what Starlin Castro isn’t — he isn’t a great fielder ... and there is some legitimacy to all of those complaints. As for his next four years, the possible outcomes are more diverse for Castro than other players...He could learn to play shortstop.

wouldn't that be nice, for him to improve upon his league-leading UZR score amongst qualifying shortstops

[El Duderino]

if starlin castro cured cancer, someone would say "yeah, but he kind of spaces out sometimes"

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I'm beginning to think maybe it's just that he was never going to be able to maintain a .345 BABIP long-term. You can have two positive variance seasons back-to-back in that area.

 

Really love the improved defense and increased power this season.

[El Duderino]

he had a bad month LD% wise, 11.9. He's usually above 20

[Have a seat, Neifi]

I still don't see what the issue is. Player development is not strictly linear and never has been. This isn't Baseball Mogul. He might appear to be sliding back in some areas (contact, line drive rate) while improving in others (power, drawing walks). The juggling analogy is pretty apt. It takes each player varying amounts of time to learn how to juggle all of the balls he's capable of, and there's no mathematical equation or age cut-off we can definitively rely on to gauge "development."

 

Starlin will get there. What the 'there' is simply isn't clear yet.

[UMFan83]

From an old-fashioned statistical model, his season is shaping up to look great. On pace for .285 17 HR 82 RBI 13 3B 25 SB from a 22 year old SS. So at least the Joe Morgans of the world will think he's having an awesome season offensively.

[El Duderino]

I still don't see what the issue is. Player development is not strictly linear and never has been. This isn't Baseball Mogul. He might appear to be sliding back in some areas (contact, line drive rate) while improving in others (power, drawing walks). The juggling analogy is pretty apt. It takes each player varying amounts of time to learn how to juggle all of the balls he's capable of, and there's no mathematical equation or age cut-off we can definitively rely on to gauge "development."

 

Starlin will get there. What the 'there' is simply isn't clear yet.

 

I agree 100%

 

i wasn't implying anything negative with the LD%, just showing he had a down month and that's why he couldn't sustain a good babip.

[Guest]

I still don't see what the issue is. Player development is not strictly linear and never has been. This isn't Baseball Mogul. He might appear to be sliding back in some areas (contact, line drive rate) while improving in others (power, drawing walks). The juggling analogy is pretty apt. It takes each player varying amounts of time to learn how to juggle all of the balls he's capable of, and there's no mathematical equation or age cut-off we can definitively rely on to gauge "development."

 

Starlin will get there. What the 'there' is simply isn't clear yet.

It's not necessarily a bad thing. Starlin is having a fine season and he's growing in a lot of ways.

 

The issue some people are having is what this means when you are projecting his value going forward. Is he going to be a HOF level player or merely a really good one? There are no definitive answers possible at this point. But the regression in some of the core areas is a concern (however small) when forecasting what his future looks like.

 

The worst case (barring injury) is that we have a really good player on our hands.

[Rizzo Smash]

Castro has really finished this season strong. Hope he can carry this into next season. He's going to end the season top 7 in OBP among SS's, top 3 in SLG, top 5 in OPS, and top 3 in hits. And you have to remember the guy is 22.

[Guest]

Starlin Castro's Improved Walk Rate in the Second Half

[TheClash]

Starlin Castro's Improved Walk Rate in the Second Half

 

 

yeah......that doesnt really matter. nevermind five of them were IBBs and he forgot how to get hits.

 

someone just trying to make a sad crap of an argument.

[woodchip2153]

Starlin Castro's Improved Walk Rate in the Second Half

 

 

yeah......that doesnt really matter. nevermind five of them were IBBs and he forgot how to get hits.

 

someone just trying to make a sad crap of an argument.

 

Is that someone TheClash?

[Cubswin11]

Starlin Castro's Improved Walk Rate in the Second Half

 

 

yeah......that doesnt really matter. nevermind five of them were IBBs and he forgot how to get hits.

 

someone just trying to make a sad crap of an argument.

Wait, what?? He had 26 non IBB over the last 3 months and 20 over the last 2. Had a .311/.368/.475/.844 slash line over the last month and only 3 of the 5 IBB were in the 2nd half.

[jersey cubs fan]

Sure he got hits, but he forgot how he did it. That's the key takeaway.

[Sammy Sofa]

Oh, look, it's that guy, who is still here for some reason.