Minor League Discussion & Boxes 5-20-13

[davell]

Javy with a 2 run triple.

Kyle is like magic.

Well, still good, but now boxscore shows a double and only one RBI. Soler K'd.

[Guest]

They should start giving Geiger as much time at 3rd as humanly possible. The more time he spends at first, the closer he gets to becoming Greg Rohan.

 

Geiger should not be playing any spot in the infield that is not first base. For his own safety.

[davell]

Iowa is postponed and Daytona is delayed in the 6th.

[Guest]

big days for alcantara and villanueva

[Cubswin11]

Iowa is postponed and Daytona is delayed in the 6th.

And so it begins...

[Guest]

Iowa is postponed and Daytona is delayed in the 6th.

And so it begins...

 

Daytona finished their game...

[Guest]

http://www.thecubreporter.com/05202013/cubs-celebrate-almora-departure-laugher-diablo-park

 

Almora got a BB in his last rehab game before being promoted to Kane County. Sadly, the Cougars have the day off tomorrow.

 

Carlos Rodriguez with a really strong game.

[Guest]

John Arguello's on Baez' struggles: http://www.chicagonow.com/cubs-den/2013/05/its-too-early-to-panic-about-javier-baez/

[FloridaCubbie]

As a native North Floridian, this is a terrible place to play a mid afternoon sport that requires dry weather. This has been a fairly dry may, and yet...Well, June, July, and August will be awful.

 

It tends to rain here a lot in the summer afternoons. Back in my college days I worked at the ball park in Jax. It sure seemed like afternoon games delayed at 15%+ and got postponed nearly 10% of the time. As much as I hate it, we need to relocate from Daytona.

[CubsWin]

I'll feel better about Baez's struggles when someone gives me a dozen or so comps that struggled similarly at A+.

Good work, Kyle. Keep it coming. You're working wonders so far.

 

Since your May 14th comment on Baez: 6 games, 10-25 (.400), 6 runs, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 2 K/2 BB.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Javy with a 2 run triple.

Kyle is like magic.

 

But all magic comes with a price.

 

RF J. Soler 1/4, R, 3 K

:(

[Little Slide Rooter]

John Arguello's on Baez' struggles: http://www.chicagonow.com/cubs-den/2013/05/its-too-early-to-panic-about-javier-baez/

 

I actually found that ridiculously comforting.

[GammonsPocketTweets]

I still think Baez is dealt this offseason.

[sneakypower]

John Arguello's on Baez' struggles: http://www.chicagonow.com/cubs-den/2013/05/its-too-early-to-panic-about-javier-baez/

 

I actually found that ridiculously comforting.

i can't for the life of me see why

 

"Secondly, there's been some concern about his low walk rate, but if we take a closer look, he's actually improved that rate since his performance in Peoria -- the performance, by the way, that created all the buzz and essentially launched him into top prospect status with the Cubs. His walk rate has gone from 3.8% to 4.6% since his promotion to Daytona."

 

yippee! no, he's really just given more evidence that patience is a huge problem for him

 

"His strikeouts have also gone up, from 20.4% to 25.8% but there's no inherent flaw in Baez's swing that makes you believe strikeouts are a fundamental problem for him."

oh, well in that case

 

at A+:

.248/.290/.432, 4.9% BB, 24.7% K in 507 PA

.258/.294/.381, 4.1% BB, 14.2% K in 316 PA

.238/.280/.459, 4.5% BB, 25.8% K in 264 PA

 

that's Harvey, Vitters & Baez, respectively

[Guest]

Harvey never hit anywhere, so he's not much use in a comparison.

 

Vitters is more useful, and it'll be interesting to see if their differences end up mattering. People said all along that Vitters was too good at making contact, which combined with his poor pitch recognition might have let him limp along without making necessary adjustments. It's also worth noting that Vitters' Daytona numbers in particular would look a lot better if he hadn't been promoted to Tennessee so early in 2010. Baez, in contrast, seems to have similar recognition issues, but has more swing and miss to go along with more pop in his bat. He also has more room to grow mechanically.

 

That said, I'm hoping he figures things out from a superficial perspective at least. I would think at this point he's got to be the first trade chip that would be used as a prospect centerpiece for someone of importance this July or offseason

[sneakypower]

Harvey never hit anywhere, so he's not much use in a comparison.

if i could find anybody who had a 500 PA stretch with 6:1 strikeouts-to-walks in the early minors who actually went on to be an impactful hitter in the bigs, believe me i'd bring it up as an example

 

i'll even try to come up with the most impatient, hackiest hitters who've carved out a niche in the bigs

 

age 19-20

Corey Patterson: 70 BB, 200 K in 1015 PA at A+, AA

Carlos Gomez: 59 BB, 185 K in 1025 PA at A, AA

Delmon Young: 44 BB, 164 K in 974 PA at AA, AAA

Adam Jones: 79 BB, 190 K in 988 PA at A+, AA, AAA

Ian Desmond: 68 BB, 227 K in 1108 PA at A, A+, AA

Jeff Francoeur: 52 BB, 152 K in 1010 PA at A, A+, AA

 

Javy Baez (499 PA) is half-way to 42 BB, 232 K at A, A+

 

that's...alarming

[rawaction]

I'd take Baez turning into an Adam Jones.

[sneakypower]

developmentally, he's pretty far behind the Adam Jones path though

 

recall that Adam Jones came up as a part-time pitcher and moved off SS to the OF; even being that raw, he advanced up the ladder quicker than Baez and showed world's better plate discipline/pitch recognition

 

the way i see it, the only real hope that Baez can be an elite hitter lies in the thought that the current player development team is correcting errors made by the previous regime, but you'd hope that all would have taken place last year; it's been noticeable throughout the season with other hitters but he hasn't seemed to be on board yet (until very recently, maybe)