Random Cubs Musings: Minor League Edition

[jumbo]

yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. except andreoli walks more and is actually a competent base stealer. i don't even know why I posted that, I think I felt compelled to give some sort of justice to andreoli for not being ranked in the top 50 when szczur was 37.

 

You're right on to post it. Following the daily box scores it's easy to see that the guy is consistently taking walks, stealing, hitting for average. Maybe he's had a bit of a hot start, but he has some room to regress if that was the case and still show better overall than Szczur

The hype machine lies

[PackLandVA]

Generally speaking, is there an age a minor leaguer hits that he's considered "past his mark" as far as being a viable major leaguer?

 

Is it different for a player drafted out go college versus HS or Internationally?

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Generally speaking, is there an age a minor leaguer hits that he's considered "past his mark" as far as being a viable major leaguer?

 

Is it different for a player drafted out go college versus HS or Internationally?

 

in general, once you're past 25 and aren't ready to contribute in the major leagues, you're not considered a prospect.

[Guest]

Shadows Of Wrigley ‏@ShadowofWrigley 55m

Kris Bryant's southern league ranks: Hits (2nd) 2b (6th) HRs(1st) RBI (4th) TB (1st) BB(9th) OBP (3rd) SLG(1st) AVG(3rd) OPS(1st). *faints*

[Guest]

Some North goodness on Hendricks

 

So Kyle Hendricks is improving.

 

Sometimes K% can be misleading because of a spike in K looking %. That has a low correlation to the following year, which is the reason why you will see pitchers see a decline in K%. So when we see that the significant rise in K% is a result of hitters striking out swinging, it's much more comfortable to assume it isn't a fluke.

 

We don't have any PitchFX data on Hendricks; it will be impossible to see *why* his performance has improved. Nevertheless, the data says he has improved. Hendricks overall swinging strike % is up above PCL average this year and his whiff/swing % is up above PCL average this year. That defends the K% rise as being a reflection of his skill set.

 

Doogolas brought this up, but mid-season last year, Hendricks GB% rose about 10% on average for the rest of the year. Being that groundballs stabilize fairly fast, that's interesting because of the potential of a significant adjustment.

 

So now this year, Hendricks has gotten more whiffs, his control is still strong, and he is getting very high grounders. I do not care about ERA at all in MiLB. So I don't care that his ERA is 4ish. All I care about is pitchers missing bats, not walking people, and getting favorable hit types. Hendricks is getting all of those.

 

I wish we had the PitchFX data, but he's someone to watch for. He can be a sub 4 FIP pitcher (3.5-3.9) with skill sets like that. Pitchers can survive off of low velocity if and only if they make up for it with significantly good breaking or off speed stuff. Hopefully Hendricks is that guy. I don't really see how anyone can make a valid argument that Hendricks can't be productive at the MLB level right now. It's actually impossible.

[sneakypower]

i had just assumed his nasty ERA was the result of repeated Vitters [expletive] ups

[SouthSideRyan]

i had just assumed his nasty ERA was the result of repeated Vitters [expletive] ups

 

I can't wait til Vitters hits a walk off to win the World Series off of Rick Porcello

[Guest]

i had just assumed his nasty ERA was the result of repeated Vitters [expletive] ups

 

I can't wait til Vitters hits a walk off to win the World Series off of Rick Porcello

 

 

can we get cargo 2.0 and arrieta in on this?

[SouthSideRyan]

i had just assumed his nasty ERA was the result of repeated Vitters [expletive] ups

 

I can't wait til Vitters hits a walk off to win the World Series off of Rick Porcello

 

 

can we get cargo 2.0 and arrieta in on this?

 

I don't get the cargo 2.0 reference but Arrieta will be an out of work Gary tailcoats pitching coach by this point having been replaced by rob zasrtyszny

[SouthSideRyan]

Lol is that Junior Lake? Yeah he'll be plummeting through the mystery spot with Ozzie Smith for all eternity

[Guest]

Carlos Gomez

[sneakypower]

it's pretty insulting to Carlos Gomez to compare him to Carlos Gonzalez

[imb]

lmao Parks will reply to any tweet with the word baez in it within 4 seconds.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

If you wiped your mind of the draft status of Almora and Bruno, how far apart would they really be? Would Bruno be a better prospect?

[Guest]

If you wiped your mind of the draft status of Almora and Bruno, how far apart would they really be? Would Bruno be a better prospect?

 

Almora is almost 4 years younger, so no.

[ScrubMD]

If you wiped your mind of the draft status of Almora and Bruno, how far apart would they really be? Would Bruno be a better prospect?

 

Almora is almost 4 years younger, so no.

 

And has put up very good numbers except for 1 month (including the AFL), and plays good defense at a premium position.

 

Unless Kyle is just asking if Bruno would be higher than he is, not higher than Almora.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I'm mostly just being silly, and also taking a bit of a jab at the Bruno bandwagon.

[ScrubMD]

People were jumping on last year until his injury. He's never not hit.

[A New Era]

Kris Bryant, 3B, Cubs (Tennessee, AA): 2-5, 2 R, HR, BB, 2 K. Bryant’s home run on Saturday was his 10th of the season and he followed it up with three more hits on Sunday. It’s only slight hyperbole to suggest that, at this rate, Bryant could justifiably be in the majors before Javier Baez, who had another 0-4, 3 K game over the weekend.

 

nothing Earth shattering.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=23546

[Guest]

It's Arguello, but whatever. Maybe there's something to it.

 

Albert Almora had his second good day at the plate in row. After doubling thrice yesterday, he followed up with his 2nd HR of the year, going 2 for 4 overall. Was talking about Almora recently with a scout and we noted how he was young for the league, but also about how much he has filled out this year. In some ways he's not just adjusting to a new league, but a new body type. With 4 extra base hits in his last 9 ABs, I'd say he's starting to make good use of his new found strength. He's always hit the ball hard but now we were talking confidently that he can be a 15-20 HR guy at the MLB level.

 

http://www.chicagonow.com/cubs-den/2014/05/daily-cubs-minors-recap-almora-hrs-bryant-unbelievable-but-cubs-have-not-talked-about-promoting-him/

[davell]

Arguello is easily the best blogger when it comes to the minors. He just fails badly at the Maths.

[jersey cubs fan]

Kris Bryant, 3B, Cubs (Tennessee, AA): 2-5, 2 R, HR, BB, 2 K. Bryant’s home run on Saturday was his 10th of the season and he followed it up with three more hits on Sunday. It’s only slight hyperbole to suggest that, at this rate, Bryant could justifiably be in the majors before Javier Baez, who had another 0-4, 3 K game over the weekend.

 

nothing Earth shattering.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=23546

 

Why is it considered hyperbole at all that Bryant could justifiably be in the majors before Javy? Javy is ahead of him in line, but not far ahead. The dominant college bat types tend to move very quickly, and Javy has some flaws that could delay his promotion for quite a while.

[Guest]

It's Rogers, but a little insight into what they've been working on with Javy:

 

"He was in pull mode," Iowa manager Marty Pevey said of Baez's struggles. "I'm sure he wanted to impress himself and his teammates. He was swinging uphill. His front side was opening. That's what happens when you try and pull."

 

So Pevey and hitting coach Brian Harper took a pitching machine, set it for the high 80s, and went to work on Baez's swing.

 

"'The Fuzz Machine,'" Pevey said. "You think it's throwing harder than it actually is. It's actually throwing about 87 mph. We took him out there several days in a row. He must have taken 150-200 swings a day, working on staying on the ball and driving the ball to right-center."

 

Pevey was in Arizona in spring training and witnessed Baez going to right field more often than left, but that changed when the regular season started. And opponents saw what he was doing.

 

"They quit throwing him strikes," Pevey said. "He was chasing out of the zone. If you don't have to throw a strike, why would you?"

 

And so Baez struggled, but all that changed recently, and Pevey hopes this hot streak lasts for a while. Baez has three of his six home runs over the last six games. Still, he has 50 strikeouts, and it was only a couple of nights ago he whiffed three times in four plate appearances.

 

"He's been working his butt off," Pevey said. "His attitude has been great."

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/24242/fuzz-machine-helps-baez-get-back-on-track

[Guest]

Matching performance to attitude would be great too. Let's all hope they are on the right track.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Remember C.J. Edwards?