Could we trade Hollandsworth?

[Brian]

With the emergence of Matt Murton, and his proving he's more than likely ready for the big leagues. I think Hollandsworth has to be removed from Dusty's hands. I know he's great off the bench, buth just like earlier this year if he gets hot Dusty will ride him to long, and let Murton rot (see Dubois). I'd say if someone really needs an outfielder/PH we could get a pretty decent mid level prospect for Holla, think anybody would be interested?

[rickrolled]

We could probably find a team in the playoff race that wouldn't mind acquiring a decent lefty bench bat. I don't think we'd get too much in return, but like you said, the point is to remove him from Dusty's hands so Murton gets the playing time.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

If the Cubs were to have a fire sale, I'd definitely say Hollandsworth would go. He would be an ideal bat off the bench for a contender. As long as the Cubs have hopes of a play-off spot, we need Hollandsworth. (I hold out no such hopes, so I'd trade him today...but I get the feeling the Cubs do have such hopes.)

 

I firmly believe that a GM cannot get rid of good players just because he doesn't like the way a manager uses them. If that becomes the case, the manager needs to go.

[umpunk]

With the emergence of Matt Murton, and his proving he's more than likely ready for the big leagues. I think Hollandsworth has to be removed from Dusty's hands

 

Murton has had exactly 1 decent game so far, let's not proclaim him an All-Star quite yet. As for trading a lefty, Burnitz or Walker would net us a lot more than Hollandsworth would. Todd H. would probably net a low level prospect (or two), but not much else.

[AAApittsburgh]

With the emergence of Matt Murton, and his proving he's more than likely ready for the big leagues. I think Hollandsworth has to be removed from Dusty's hands

 

Murton has had exactly 1 decent game so far, let's not proclaim him an All-Star quite yet. As for trading a lefty, Burnitz or Walker would net us a lot more than Hollandsworth would. Todd H. would probably net a low level prospect (or two), but not much else.

Decent? Please. He had a great game. Is it really that difficult for you to say that a rookie had a great game?

[umpunk]

Decent? Please. He had a great game. Is it really that difficult for you to say that a rookie had a great game?

:roll: All right, he had the best game that I have ever seen a baseball player have. Let me ask you this, if Hollandsworth had played and did the exact same thing, would you (or anybody else) be demanding that he starts the rest of the season? A better question, if the Cards brought up some rookie and he went 2 for 2 with a walk, would you be quick to pass judgment on him? Of course not, everybody would be screaming that it is only one game. I have nothing against Murton, I hope he becomes an HOFer, but this board is acting like we just witnessed the dawning of another Barry Bonds. I'm not sold Murton yet, just like I'm not sold that Dubois will never be worth anything just because he was struggling before the demotion. Time will tell....

[Geech]

The important thing about Murton's game, at least in my opinion, is that it proved he isn't totally overmatched at the big league level. He won't give you that performance every time, but he can probably provide at least average production, which is also about as much as you could expect from Hollandsworth.

[Wendy City]

Can anyone tell me how scouts or others have ramked Murton as a prospect? How does he compare to Dubois and others?

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Can anyone tell me how scouts or others have ramked Murton as a prospect? How does he compare to Dubois and others?

 

Murton has excellent discipline at the plate and great bat control. He lacks the power a lot of teams desire for a corner outfielder, though.

[burnt out cubbie fan]

Can anyone tell me how scouts or others have ramked Murton as a prospect? How does he compare to Dubois and others?

 

Murton has excellent discipline at the plate and great bat control. He lacks the power a lot of teams desire for a corner outfielder, though.

Just to add, in his prime you can probably expect a 25ish homer a year hitter.

[JC]

Can anyone tell me how scouts or others have ramked Murton as a prospect? How does he compare to Dubois and others?

 

Murton has excellent discipline at the plate and great bat control. He lacks the power a lot of teams desire for a corner outfielder, though.

Just to add, in his prime you can probably expect a 25ish homer a year hitter.

 

Nothing more than a hunch, but I think Murton is getting short changed on the power. He is 6'1", 215 right now. From what I have seen, I honestly believe his stroke and his build can lend itself to quite a bit more power.

 

I'm not a big fan of guys like Ryan Harvey. Sure, he puts on shows during HR Derbys and he has projectable size, but I'd rather have a guy with nice swing first, and let the power develop. Rafael Palmeiro comes to mind.

 

I know its mostly a hunch, but I think the kid has the potential for +30 HR power.

[dalgreen]

Can anyone tell me how scouts or others have ramked Murton as a prospect? How does he compare to Dubois and others?

 

Murton has excellent discipline at the plate and great bat control. He lacks the power a lot of teams desire for a corner outfielder, though.

Just to add, in his prime you can probably expect a 25ish homer a year hitter.

 

Nothing more than a hunch, but I think Murton is getting short changed on the power. He is 6'1", 215 right now. From what I have seen, I honestly believe his stroke and his build can lend itself to quite a bit more power.

 

I'm not a big fan of guys like Ryan Harvey. Sure, he puts on shows during HR Derbys and he has projectable size, but I'd rather have a guy with nice swing first, and let the power develop. Rafael Palmeiro comes to mind.

 

I know its mostly a hunch, but I think the kid has the potential for +30 HR power.

 

I agree with you, JC.

 

But to umpunk's point, I agree with him. Murton had a great game, but looking at it objectively and not looking through the "I love kids" glasses that many seem to do, he showed me that he's able to hit ML fastballs. Now I want to see him hit ML breaking pitches. I think too many fans forget that prospects are brought up with their team already suspecting they can hit fastballs, but it's the breaking pitches that will make or break you.

[dalgreen]

With the emergence of Matt Murton, and his proving he's more than likely ready for the big leagues. I think Hollandsworth has to be removed from Dusty's hands. I know he's great off the bench, buth just like earlier this year if he gets hot Dusty will ride him to long, and let Murton rot (see Dubois). I'd say if someone really needs an outfielder/PH we could get a pretty decent mid level prospect for Holla, think anybody would be interested?

 

Why do you want to trade from weakness? Even if you keep Holla on the bench, he'd be the best option off the bench. If you trade him, you've just made our already suspect bench even weaker.

[sporrer17]

Can anyone tell me how scouts or others have ramked Murton as a prospect? How does he compare to Dubois and others?

 

Murton has excellent discipline at the plate and great bat control. He lacks the power a lot of teams desire for a corner outfielder, though.

 

He does lack the HR numbers right now, but he's always been tabbed as having a lot of untapped power too. He's won a few HR derbies and he has the build to hit more longballs. He just tries to do what he can with the pitches he's given. (ie go to right field)

 

I think he's got a solid .300/.370, 20 HR, 20 SB type of upside.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Can anyone tell me how scouts or others have ramked Murton as a prospect? How does he compare to Dubois and others?

 

Murton has excellent discipline at the plate and great bat control. He lacks the power a lot of teams desire for a corner outfielder, though.

Just to add, in his prime you can probably expect a 25ish homer a year hitter.

 

Gee, remember when hitting 25 dongs meant you were a power hitter? :-k

[NorthsideAvenger]

I'm not a big fan of guys like Ryan Harvey. Sure, he puts on shows during HR Derbys and he has projectable size, but I'd rather have a guy with nice swing first, and let the power develop. Rafael Palmeiro comes to mind.

 

I am a fan of Harvey, not because of his "power", but because he isn't strictly a "power" guy. Alot of scouts raves about his athelthicism, and while his "strike zone judgement" needs to be improved, I can't see why Harvey can't be a Adam Dunn type hitter, with a better average. And I am talking about a FEARED MIDDLE OF THE ORDER type hitter for Harvey.

Harvey, IMO, has a better chance at succeeding then Dopirak, and I am a fan of Dopirak.

 

I know its mostly a hunch, but I think the kid has the potential for +30 HR power.

 

I don't QUITE share your optimism about Matt Murton. Don't get me wrong, I love the "energy" he brings to the club, the "unique" skill set--take pitches, make pitchers frustrated---but I don't see Murton as a 30 homerun guy, unless we are talking career yr. I actually see alot of Paul O'neill in Matt Murton. Quiet, unassuming, ballplayer in every sense of the word. Surprising athelethic, has the grit, that passion for the game. And while, I don't see Murton hitting 30 homeruns---outside of career yr---I could see a yearly #'s of .320/.380/.500 with 20hrs/90rbi, and be considered the "best" pure hitter on the team.

[neely crenshaw]

if he can play good defense and cover some ground out there, then we are better off with him playing as long as he is not overmatched. like it or not this team will win or lose with our pitching. defense goes a long way toward helping that. it does not help much to have 2 corner OFers that are sound but do not have much range out there with a centerfielder who is really learning the position. we have no one who is hitting so well that a very good defender that hit even .240 couldn't replace. if murton can hit hit even .235-.240 and take walks(or at least pitches) he would do more for this particular team.

now if we could trade for some outfield help that might change but no one out there is putting up the type of stats that "have" to be in the lineup everyday!

[sporrer17]

And while, I don't see Murton hitting 30 homeruns---outside of career yr---I could see a yearly #'s of .320/.380/.500 with 20hrs/90rbi, and be considered the "best" pure hitter on the team.

 

I see him as a Mark Grace-type hitter, only more athletic and more power. I could definately see Murton hitting 30 HRs, however, as he's always been tabbed as having pretty good power potential, and has won HR derbies and such in the past. He might not do it many times, but I could certainly see it happening.

 

But hey, if he can "only" put up the line of .320/.380/.500 with 20 HRs....I can probably find a spot to squeeze him in the lineup everyday ;)

[dalgreen]

I am a fan of Harvey, not because of his "power", but because he isn't strictly a "power" guy. Alot of scouts raves about his athelthicism, and while his "strike zone judgement" needs to be improved, I can't see why Harvey can't be a Adam Dunn type hitter, with a better average. And I am talking about a FEARED MIDDLE OF THE ORDER type hitter for Harvey.

 

.

 

But why is Dunn more feared than a Pujols, Berkman, Helton or Lee type of middle of the order hitter? Dunn is feared only because he can jack 460 ft. homers instead of 410ft homers. I'd rather face Dunn than the four names I mentioned above. I like guys who are hitters who happen to be sluggers rather than pure sluggers. I would prefer for Harvey to be more the former than the latter.

[cubweiser03]

What impresses me about Murton is his high bb/k ratio along with his obp. Dude is working the count deep to get his walks yet isnt striking out a whole lot, thats a sign of a good batsmen. Now if he hits .300 .380 with 20 homers whats wrong with that? Not every team in mlb has those types of players even at the corner position. Few teams have 2 of the prototypical power corner outfielders anyway and at least he would have the high obp to offset this lack of prototype power. Dude is an everyday major league outfielder, maybe not in a big market but somewhere.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I am a fan of Harvey, not because of his "power", but because he isn't strictly a "power" guy. Alot of scouts raves about his athelthicism, and while his "strike zone judgement" needs to be improved, I can't see why Harvey can't be a Adam Dunn type hitter, with a better average. And I am talking about a FEARED MIDDLE OF THE ORDER type hitter for Harvey.

 

.

 

But why is Dunn more feared than a Pujols, Berkman, Helton or Lee type of middle of the order hitter? Dunn is feared only because he can jack 460 ft. homers instead of 410ft homers. I'd rather face Dunn than the four names I mentioned above. I like guys who are hitters who happen to be sluggers rather than pure sluggers. I would prefer for Harvey to be more the former than the latter.

 

One of the key differences is the hitters you mentioned except Lee who we already have aren't available and Dunn is. Pujols and Berkman are locked up in long term deals. Helton's deal is too long and ornerous to take on as well as we already have Lee at first. Dunn is a feared hitter who just might be available in a position in which we should be looking to upgrade.