Pie in CF

[cbbryan]

I've read alot of articles throughout the years about different minor leaguers that have come up and been successful. Even guys that weren't preceived to have alot of plate discipline. And I find alot of peoples opinions on this interesting.

 

I'm sorry I don't have a link, but I read an opinion some time ago about Cano w/ the Yankees. I believe they were talking to Torre about why Cano had been so successful in ML. He stated something close to, You have to remember that minor league pitchers aren't always the most accurate because they're working on different issues of there game, but at the ML level you can count on the pitchers being around the plate most of the time.

 

I thought it was a legit point. What do you guys think? My belief with Pie is that if he has baseball instincts, MLB may be better suited for him. I don't really worry about him being "rushed."

 

BTW, a fun stat...........Pie's been w/ the Cubs on 3 different occasions since being drafted in 2001.

 

He's a ML career .636 hitter in those apperances combined.

 

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/felix_pie.shtml

[rocket]

They were in spring training and there's a good chance in those 11 at bats he was actually facing another minor league pitcher.

[Guest]

BTW, a fun stat...........Pie's been w/ the Cubs on 3 different occasions since being drafted in 2001.

 

He's a ML career .636 hitter in those apperances combined.

 

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/felix_pie.shtml

I don't mean to knock Pie, but those ST AB's weren't exactly against major-league competition. Pretty much all of them came as a late-inning replacement after all rostered players had long-since left the game.

[cbbryan]

They were in spring training and there's a good chance in those 11 at bats he was actually facing another minor league pitcher.

 

True, they're spring training AB's, there's a good chance he hit against some ML stuff too.

 

All I'm saying is the guy can hit, no one argues that. The only arguement is his plate discipline. Will he walk, or will he K too much.

 

Would you take Jeff Francoeur? He has 1 BB (Intentional) in 127 PA vs 24 K. Is it possible that Francoeur is patient enough to work himself into a good count, but then swings at good ones..........and can Pie do the same thing?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

They were in spring training and there's a good chance in those 11 at bats he was actually facing another minor league pitcher.

 

True, they're spring training AB's, there's a good chance he hit against some ML stuff too.

 

All I'm saying is the guy can hit, no one argues that. The only arguement is his plate discipline. Will he walk, or will he K too much.

 

Would you take Jeff Francoeur? He has 1 BB (Intentional) in 127 PA vs 24 K. Is it possible that Francoeur is patient enough to work himself into a good count, but then swings at good ones..........and can Pie do the same thing?

 

Not really, in my opinion. Pie's plate discipline is poor at AA (it's worse than Corey Patterson's plate discipline at AA), it would take a bigger hit against pitchers in the big leagues. Also, Felix is still a poor baserunner, and I'm still interested in seeing if he can maintain that power he should for the first 2 months for a full season. Felix needs a full season at AAA, imo. He's not as polished as a guy like Miguel Cabrerra to jump straight from AA at a young age.

[Tracer Bullet]

I've read alot of articles throughout the years about different minor leaguers that have come up and been successful. Even guys that weren't preceived to have alot of plate discipline. And I find alot of peoples opinions on this interesting.

 

I'm sorry I don't have a link, but I read an opinion some time ago about Cano w/ the Yankees. I believe they were talking to Torre about why Cano had been so successful in ML. He stated something close to, You have to remember that minor league pitchers aren't always the most accurate because they're working on different issues of there game, but at the ML level you can count on the pitchers being around the plate most of the time.

 

I thought it was a legit point. What do you guys think? My belief with Pie is that if he has baseball instincts, MLB may be better suited for him. I don't really worry about him being "rushed."

 

BTW, a fun stat...........Pie's been w/ the Cubs on 3 different occasions since being drafted in 2001.

 

He's a ML career .636 hitter in those apperances combined.

 

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/felix_pie.shtml

 

So the argument is: Pie strikes out a lot and doesn't walk much because minor league pitchers throw more pitchers off the plate. Since major league pitchers throw around the plate more, he will still swing a lot, but he'll hit the pitches because they're closer to the plate?

 

If that's the case, I don't think I agree. If you swing and miss at minor league pitches that are a foot outside, you'll swing and miss at major league pitches that are 6" outside. Or maybe you'll swing and dribble them to 2nd or pop out. If you can't tell that a minor league pitch is going to be way off the plate so you swing at it (or worse, you know it's well off the plate but swing anyway), you're not going to be able to tell that a major league pitch is a few inches off the plate, so you're going to swing at that too.

 

I'm not saying that this is what Pie is doing, nor am I saying that Pie won't be a great hitter, I just don't agree with the theory that a guy who strikes out a lot in the minors because guys throw more pitches off the plate will fare better in the majors because more pitches are around the plate. If a guy swings at a lot of pitches off the plate, major league pitchers will learn how to get them out - just ask CPatt.

[Chris]

I'd just like for Felix to get healthy enough to rejoin the Jaxx.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I'm not saying that Pie needs a full season at AAA, but he definitely isn't ready to break camp with the Cubs in April of 2006. I'd prefer the Cubs try to sign a serviceable CF (or keep Patterson) in order to give Pie time to get some AB's in Iowa next season. If my June-July-August he appears ready, then you bring him up. If not, leave him down until he shows he is ready.