Minor League Discussion & Boxes 4-15-13

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Box Scores

 

Iowa lost 11-5 Box Score

 

SS L. Watkins 0/5, 2 K

2B D. Barney 4/5, 2 R, 2B (1) - rehab

3B I. Stewart 0/4, 2 K - rehab

CF B. Jackson 1/3, R, BB, 2 K, SB (3)

LF R. Sweeney 2/4, R, HR (3), 3 RBI

C L. Flores 0/3, RBI, K, HBP, E (1, throw)

SP D. Carpenter 4.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR, 4-5 GO-FO, 85-49 pitches-strikes; batting: 1/2

RP E. Caridad 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2-2 GO-FO

 

Tennessee lost 8-7 Box Score

 

RF-LF M. Szczur 1/4, 2 R, BB, 2 K, CS (1), PO

SS A. Alcantara 0/5, 4 K

LF-CF JH Ha 2/3, R, 2B (3), RBI, 2 BB, CS (1)

3B C. Villanueva 0/1, R, 3 BB, K, CS (1)

CF R. Silva 3/4, 2 R, 2B (3), 4 RBI, K, outfield assist at home

SP D. Beeler 6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 10-0 GO-FO, 90-56 pitches-strikes; batting: 0/3, RBI, BB

RP T. Zych 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 3-0 GO-FO

RP T. McNutt 1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K,2-2 GO-FO

 

Daytona won 8-1 Box Score

 

CF Z. DeVoss 2/4, 3B, 3 RBI, BB, SB (5)

LF T. Easterling 0/5, K

SS Ja. Baez 0/5, 2 K

RF J. Andreoli 2/5, 2 R

2B S. Bruno 2/4, R, 2B (5)

1B D. Geiger 1/4, R, RBI

DH B. Carhart 3/4, 2 R, 2B (3), RBI

3B D. Bote 2/3, 2 R, 2B (1), 2 RBI, BB, K

SP B. Wells 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, WP, 6-3 GO-FO

 

Kane County PPD - Rain

 

OVERALL: 1-3

[Guest]

Probable Starters

 

Iowa: RHP Drew Carpenter (9 IP, 5.20 FIP, 5 K, 5 BB)

Tennessee: RHP Dallas Beeler (11.1 IP, 7.08 FIP, 8 K, 2 BB)

Daytona: RHP Ben Wells (8 IP, 6.03 FIP, 4 K, 4 BB)

Kane County: RHP Jose Arias (1.2 IP, 8.60 FIP, 2 K, 0 BB)

[ctcf]

Today may well feature the most intriguing Iowa Cubs lineup we'll see all year, featuring Watkins, Barney, Stewart, and BJax. Most notably, BJax is batting 5th today.

[Brickhouse]

Today may well feature the most intriguing Iowa Cubs lineup we'll see all year, featuring Watkins, Barney, Stewart, and BJax. Most notably, BJax is batting 5th today.

Barney looks like he's ready going 4-for-5 with a 2B and 2 runs scored. Sweeney continues to mash AAA pitching hitting his 3rd HR and adding a single while driving in 3. His line in 9 games is now .387/.441/.742 with 3 walks against 5 Ks.

 

Watkins and Stewart were held hitless with 2 Ks each. Jackson also struck out twice going 1-for-3 with a walk, stolen base and run scored.

 

I-Cubs pitching once again was terrible with all 4 pitchers allowing earned runs.

[davell]

Peralta to the 7 day DL today, no clue yet as to why.

[toonsterwu]

The sample is too ridiculously small to draw any conclusions off of, but I would really love to see Bruno's bat at a higher level. That said, there really isn't a spot for him as of now in AA, as Villanueva needs time at 3rd, Torreyes just moved up, and moving him up as a utility man makes no sense.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

What sort of season would it take for Ha to get back onto people's "could be a starter" radar?

[davell]

What sort of season would it take for Ha to get back onto people's "could be a starter" radar?

A quick move up to Iowa, followed by success including one or both of newfound power or plate discipline.

[Guest]

Daytona, err, Kane County rained out today. Doubleheader tomorrow.

[Guest]

Daytona, err, Kane County rained out today. Doubleheader tomorrow.

 

I was about to get more bummed out than I am by this...not that I don't care about KC.

[Guest]

What sort of season would it take for Ha to get back onto people's "could be a starter" radar?

A quick move up to Iowa, followed by success including one or both of newfound power or plate discipline.

 

I just need one of those and he doesn't need to move up that quickly. He is repeating AA but is age appropriate.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Seeing Daytona had 6 runs and 9 hits already and then seeing Baez had no part in it was a real buzz kill.

[Guest]

Seeing Daytona had 6 runs and 9 hits already and then seeing Baez had no part in it was a real buzz kill.

 

Exactly this.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

What kind of sucks is that we're getting to the point where it's unsurprising.

 

Between Daytona and AFL, that's about 200 PAs of suck since poking his head above the Midwest League.

[Guest]

I wonder how long they plan on Stewart playing at Iowa before bringing him up.

[Guest]

What kind of sucks is that we're getting to the point where it's unsurprising.

 

Between Daytona and AFL, that's about 200 PAs of suck since poking his head above the Midwest League.

 

I'd be getting real cranky right now if I didn't realize your history with these things.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

What kind of sucks is that we're getting to the point where it's unsurprising.

 

Between Daytona and AFL, that's about 200 PAs of suck since poking his head above the Midwest League.

 

I'd be getting real cranky right now if I didn't realize your history with these things.

 

Maybe I'm trying to help?

[Guest]

Is today the last day of Soler's suspension or was there an off day in there?

[Guest]

Is today the last day of Soler's suspension or was there an off day in there?

 

No off days - suspension started Thursday so you're right, it would end today. Of course that doesn't mean the Cubs will bump him back up to Daytona immediately.

[davell]

Not a lot to get excited about today.....Ben Wells went 6, gave up 5 hits, no runs, one walk, and 3 K's. Anyone heard any velo on him this year? If he's sitting in the low 90's again, he could be our best chance at a breakout pitcher this year.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Villanueva with 3 walks. Ha and Silva stay red hot.

[Cubswin11]

Baez struck out in his final ab tonight against a position player, apparently...

 

It's nice to see Sweeney playing so well, if when Dejesus/Soriano get traded or hurt at least we know we have a competent replace waiting for them to call up.

[toonsterwu]

What sort of season would it take for Ha to get back onto people's "could be a starter" radar?

A quick move up to Iowa, followed by success including one or both of newfound power or plate discipline.

 

I just need one of those and he doesn't need to move up that quickly. He is repeating AA but is age appropriate.

 

I'm more in line with Raisin's thinking on this. I don't need Ha in AAA early (although him getting there around mid-season would be nice).

 

What I'd like to see/find out about Ha -

 

a) Well, let's start with the easiest thing - how good is that defense in CF? I'm sort of happy, and yet sort of bothered, with the rotation of guys in CF (why Silva is in that mix, I don't know - I really only care about Ha/Szczur getting CF time). If that defense is towards the high end suggestions (basically, elite defensive CF), then the burden on the bat significantly decreases. If this is more Brandon Guyer (and I'll be honest, that's the type of guy I thought of, defensively, when I saw him a few years back), then well, that's a whole different story.

 

b) Can his discipline show something close to what it did in the 2nd half? So far, it isn't at the same level, but obviously it's too early.

 

c) What kind of power can he show?

 

and I'll tag on one more thing

 

d) Can he be consistent offensively, while maintaining that solid discipline? Too many streaky months in his past that I want to see some consistency (so short of it is, I'm not getting too enthused over one or two months of work).

[dfnowak]

I wonder how long they plan on Stewart playing at Iowa before bringing him up.

Considering he missed pretty much all of ST, I would they would give him as many at bats as possible to make sure he is both ready and healthy.

[craig]

What sort of season would it take for Ha to get back onto people's "could be a starter" radar?

A quick move up to Iowa, followed by success including one or both of newfound power or plate discipline.

 

I just need one of those and he doesn't need to move up that quickly. He is repeating AA but is age appropriate.

 

..What I'd like to see/find out about Ha -

a) Well, let's start with the easiest thing - how good is that defense in CF? ...

b) Can his discipline show something close to what it did in the 2nd half? So far, it isn't at the same level, but obviously it's too early.

c) What kind of power can he show?...

d) Can he be consistent offensively, ....

 

Fringe prospects often have a hot week at some point during a season. If it's during April, when there aren't many other numbers to average, the stats catch the eye. But even with the hot month, he's shown no power and has K'd plenty (8K/0HR). So probably nothing really important happening here.

 

But I think this is the kind of burst that can get him onto the "possible starter" landscape, in the "anti-awful" area. DeJesus and Sappelt aren't long-term answers; Almora is years away at best; and Jackson is a long-shot off to a very poor start. So if Ha could emerge as a .275BA/.330 OBP guy with 5 HR's and .400 slugging, that might qualify for "could be starter" anti-awful role.

 

Agree with each of your Q's, toonster.

a) Is he a good CFer? Or is he more in the DeJesus/Sappelt or even Hairston class?

c) I don't think the power question is that big; because I think it's a given that he'll not hit with power. Obviously there is still the issue of how low it will be, though. Awful, or at least somewhat anti-awful? Last year he slugged .385; year before .413. So I suppose one could go optimistic and wish for a .400-slugger with 5-9 HR's?

b) Since he won't hit for power or many HR's, his offense needs IsoD. He was a very low-walk guy in A, but last year he took quite a few walks, and 5 walks/38 AB is fine so far. We'll see. When he went from A-ball hacker to AA-walk-taker, that came at the typical price in K's, power, and average. It sometimes takes a guy a while to find his equilibrium; it will be interesting to see how he balances the profits versus the costs of taking walks this season.

d) Agree that the consistency is a question. Every hitter has hot and cold periods, but often good ones learn to reduce the length of the slumps, and extending the hot streaks. Hopefully we'll see some of that this year for Ha. Obviously his last week he's been on fire, and his season BABIP is around .500, so whatever he's got going now will flame out soon.

e) I'd add the contact/K question. 96K's in AA is a red flag for contact, and 96K/6HR is hard on BA and OBP. When over 20% of AB's are K-outs, it takes a whole lot of BABIP to maintain a good BA and OBP, especially without HR's. Less than 80% of his AB's were balls in play last year, and he was batting .058 on the 102 AB's that resulted in K's or HR's. (For example, If you bat .058 on 20% of your AB, you need to BABIP over .360 on the other 80% if you want to hit .300 overall....) The K-problem is both an obvious statistical concern, but it's also a scouting red-flag. K's typically go up with level, especially at the AAA and even more so big-league level. So a 20+% whiffer in AA is certainly at risk, especially without projecting a bunch of HR's to lift the BA, OBP, and OPS.

 

To some degree I think a lot of the questions for Ha are similar to what would apply for Szczur. Is the defense anything to help him, or not? How awful will the power be? Can he sustain enough OBP to be anti-awful offensively? Is his K-rate going to kill his average and OBP, in the absence of any compensating HR power? I wonder if either of these guys will still look interesting when the season is done?

Edited April 16, 2013 by craig