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toonsterwu

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Everything posted by toonsterwu

  1. toonsterwu
    I remember watching him at LSU last year and thinking that he could probably be a real solid 2nd baseman, despite the size. He, IIRC, fell this year to the late 2nd due to expectations that he'd go back to college since his power never developed. I'm just a casual fan, but watching his swing, I feel like this might be akin to Matt Murton in that, for more power to come, he'd really have to rework his swing and his approach. Good thing is, Murton type offense at 2nd base would be fine.
  2. toonsterwu
    With Lee and Castro in our system, I think that makes the most sense. Might as well let LeMahieu get comfortable playing 2nd base in the minors instead of being switched later on in his career because of Lee or Castro(hopefully). Also, my understanding is that Lemahieu in terms of size speed is probably not going to handle SS. I think he's supposed to be in the Derosa kind of mold, where as a big leaguer he'll be ideal at 3b, acceptable at 2b, and "only in emergencies" at SS. LeMahieu will only be ideal at 3rd if he could develop some power. While young, it just hasn't happened, but he has such a solid swing that messing with that may not make much sense. Short of it is, I think his ideal spot is at 2nd, where the power isn't as significant an issue and he can be a solid defensive asset. When we drafted him, I thought he was similar to Flaherty, but I think he's a better contact hitter while Ryan has a bit more pop than I expected. If AzPhil is right and LeMahieu is fast tracked for 2nd base, maybe to Tennessee with Castro, that really puts Flaherty in a tough spot to impress. Ryan's very similar to DeRosa, and I could see a similar career path of sorts, former shortstop that becomes a supersub player that offers some pop early in his career, before maybe getting a chance to be a regular with a club later in his career.
  3. toonsterwu
    Castro and Vitters are probably the only locks we have, and we have a few guys on the fringe that probably 1-2 will get in. Those being both Jackson's (Jay obviously has a better chance), Carpenter, Lee, Cashner and possibly Burke. After the huge plaudits that Callis gave on Brett Jackson, I'm not so sure that Jay has a better chance. I prefer Jay over Brett right now, if we were ranking them, but the way Callis made Brett sound, I'm not so sure that he feels that way. As much as they goofed on some of the comments they made on Burke, I don't think he has a real shot at cracking the top 100, which isn't anything negative about him, as he had a superb season and really put himself back on the map.
  4. toonsterwu
    He's a future WHIFF (white hustling infielder fan favorite) in the making. I'd probably go HIFF, although I can't be certain right now, but I'm pretty sure he has some non-Caucasian blood in him.
  5. toonsterwu
    side note, but is Jackson's "peak velocity" all that different from Cashner's. IIRC, reports this year had Jackson being able to touch upper 90's, although he's more comfortable in the low-mid 90's. May be an issue of semantics here, so whatever. anyhow, great way to start the chat off raisin. Get that question out of the way. Guess I'll be hoping for questions on Carpenter's performance in the SL and perhaps where Castro might've ranked.
  6. toonsterwu
    It might be more of indication that his inconsistent secondary pitches caught up with him in the SL with the more advanced hitters, whereas he could dominate the FSL with the fastball. I'll be very curious where they slap Jay Jackson, though. I remember one comment from a BA writer that seemed to imply that not that many folks there loved BA that much, but that Badler was high on him. (I think it was Badler) Could explain why Jay made it 11th, with Badler making the list. But still ... 11th in the SL this year ... makes me think there's a good chance he gets in the top 100.
  7. toonsterwu
    Very ... ... oh well.
  8. toonsterwu
    Didn't get around to seeing the chat comments until now. It'll make the top 100 interesting ... Cashner seems like he would've ranked really high in the FSL, and Jackson's 11th ranking in a loaded Southern League was surprising. Makes me think we might actually have 6 in the top 100 ... which would be a bit surprising, but that said, we'll have to see how they end up sorting it out when they meet to hammer out the lists as a group. As for the FSL rankings, I guess I was mildly surprised Vitters got in at 14th. I was thinking he would get on the back end as an upside nod. The back 10 for the FSL looks ... interesting. Gutierrez at 11 surprised me. I prefer Tyler Robertson and David Bromberg over him. Gindl surprised me, as well as Peterson. That said, with the way the lists are shaking out, I'm more confident that our team ranking may be in the teens. Granted, doesn't mean much unless they develop.
  9. toonsterwu
    that's an interesting report on Jay. Plus curve and average slider? Not that it makes much of a difference overall, but ... I remember reading midseason that his slider was still plus, and when I saw him, the slider looked good to my untrained eye. Agree with Raisin. I prefer Jackson over Cashner, but I am really surprised BA didn't put Cashner anywhere.
  10. toonsterwu
    Jackson's ranking in the Southern League makes me think he might crack the top 100. Cashner not showing up anywhere seems likely to be a sign that he won't make the list, which I can understand.
  11. toonsterwu
    agreed that we have enough options to look towards to in the upper levels to fill a LOOGY role, unless past years, provided Rule 5 doesn't thin it out. Here's hoping he can make it back, as I've always liked him to be a potential LOOGY, which would help us save some money if we could turn internally.
  12. toonsterwu
    I am a huge Jay Jackson fan (still prefer him to Cashner, and still thinking that I'm tempted to rank him ahead of Vitters as the 2nd prospect in the system) ... but I am mildly surprised to see him ranked 11th because BA has never shown an indication to be high on him. I will be curious what they say in the chat. Could someone ask how BA viewed his change and curve this year? I'm mildly curious, as we all know he can run the fastball up there and has the plus slider.
  13. toonsterwu
    Castro between Daytona and Tennessee ,299/.342/.392 with 23 doubles, 6 triples, 3 homers, 49 RBI and 28/39 SB with a birthday of 3/24/90 Gordon at Great Lakes .301/.362/.394 with 17 doubles, 12 triples, 3 homers, 35 RBI, and 73/98 SB with a birthday of 4/22/88 Castro's season was MUCH MORE impressive. They are very high on Castro. Didn't Callis or Manuel recently say that Castro was an A-S potential shortstop when they did a quick blurb on him in an Ask BA? They noted, as many expect, that he should develop more power in time. I wouldn't be all that stunned if Castro cracked top 30 ... although I'm not expecting it.
  14. toonsterwu
    Edit: I missed the question from Raisin above ... so let's remove that Callis comment as it seems that as of now, they are leaning Jackson, including callis.
  15. toonsterwu
    The only "upset" I could POSSIBLY see is Jay Jackson making it over Cashner. Very doubtful, but if they are thinking of Cashner as an 8th inning type, I guess I could see it. In late July or early August, when asked who the Cubs #2 prospect was behind Vitters, Jim Callis responded Andrew Cashner. Also, it seems like most of the BA guys are not as enamored with Jay Jackson as a lot of us are. agreed on that point. IIRC, only 1 BA guy was really high on him, and this was during the stretch in AA when Jay was dominating folks early in the year, before his control collapse, demotion, and what not. I remember trading some emails with them late in the summer and they essentially hinted that they didn't think Jay was important enough for them to follow all that closely. At least, that's the impression I got from their replies.
  16. toonsterwu
    A .291/.359/.402 line isn't hitting left handers? What? Wait ... who is expecting him to stay in CF? He has enough footspeed for a corner role, that's for sure. I feel like they are looking at another player.
  17. toonsterwu
    Even though they shouldn't have, I think they let his struggles at Daytona effect the rankings. No way MWL Vitters is a lesser prospect than Gordon or Hicks. It's the Hicks part that I don't see. To that extent, I could see Jackson ahead of Hicks (or at least, a case for it). Gordon, a lot of people love. I'm not that high on him, but I like him, and if it's an elite shortstop versus an elite 3rd baseman, it's much closer, so comes down to buying Gordon.
  18. toonsterwu
    Jackson over Vitters would be perplexing, to put it mildly. WOW ... Wow ... seriously ... wow ... 3rd?
  19. toonsterwu
    I think BA's made a point in the past to ask folks to judge the league lists separately from the top 100. Sure, there are probably things you could read into it, but I wouldn't read too much into it, IMO. I think most expectations on Vitters ranking right now was going to be in that 40-60 range anyways. I think Castro will be potentially in that range. After that, it's a bit up in the air. It's completely possible that no other Cubs make it. If I had to make a new guess on BA right now, I'd guess Castro/Vitters safely in, with Lee in that 70-100 range as an upside nod, with perhaps one arm, either Jackson or Cashner, sneaking in in the 90-100 range. Keep in mind that there was one BA guy, I forget who, who was really high on Jackson, so I think it's still possible Jackson gets into the top 100. Personally, I would rank Jackson ahead of Cashner.
  20. toonsterwu
    NVM ... I misread Nate's post, I thought he was referring to the Cubs prospect list, but reading it again, it's clear it's about the MWL. Dunno what I was reading the first time.
  21. toonsterwu
    I am somewhat floored by the rankings. Archer fairly solidly in, Carpenter on the outskirts? Callis had indicated awhile ago that he was leaning Vitters 1 ... I wonder if this is a change on his part, or the voting didn't go that way. I had been under the impression that BA's folks weren't that high on Archer ... is this a case of other league managers being high on him? Hicks at number 1 also surprises me. Gordon I can sort of understand ... a lot of people seem really, superbly high on him, much higher than I am, but if you buy Gordon as an elite shortstop, fine, I can understand that. Scarpetta and Pollock both seem high to me on first glance. Desme seems fairly low. Castro/Decker could probably make a case to go higher. Just fairly stunned by this list. Not having Burke there also surprises me.
  22. toonsterwu
    I'm not sure what to make of Cerda going to 2nd. Is this a case of getting him back in the swing of things before contemplating catching again? IIRC AzPhil's early season reports, Cerda was inconsistent and spotty behind the plate. At 2nd, Cerda seems likely to be logjammed behind a lot of guys, unless his bat really takes off and forces his way through. Here's hoping Burruel and Rosa provide intriguing guys to follow in the lower levels in regards to catching depth.
  23. toonsterwu
    On the MWL list - I think we'll probably get 3 in with Vitters in the top 2, and Burke/Carpenter getting in there. Burke seems like a guy a lot of the BA folks like, and they are tools-centric anyways. Carpenter ... just tough to see him not make it in, as I think some of the BA folk have lavished praise on him this year. If Flaherty makes it, it'll be more 20th sneaking in. I doubt it, though. MWL seemed pretty solid in terms of prospect value this year, so it wouldn't surprise me if Carpenter came in anywhere from 8-20, and Burke probably in the latter part of the top 20, say, 16-20 area. Quick note on agreeing that Huseby and Archer are probably unlikely - a lot of folks still think the latter is a pen projection, due to inconsistency/mechanics, and so forth, and I think a lot of folks probably think like a majority of Cubs fans on Huseby - nice performance, but what does it mean in the grand spectrum in that, it's a nice push forward, particularly after last year, but is he a dominant pen arm? If not, will the Cubs move him to the rotation. As such, I really don't see either guy making it.
  24. toonsterwu
    I never understood why so few people emphasized, during the draft, that Jackson's K's doubled. Now, I am rightly concerned about how much he struck out in Peoria, so only time will tell, but I thought the K angle was a bit overplayed pre-draft on Jackson. A concern, yes. The end of the world that some draft followers on other sites made it out to be? Never understood that.
  25. toonsterwu
    Nothing too surprising on the list. I thought Watkins might go a few slots higher as he has the potential to develop some pop (and NWL seemed weaker in talent this year than previous), but it's understandable where they put him. The report from Glassey on Antigua sounds about right. I think the reason Cubs fans might think of him a bit better than Glassey made it sound is that he probably has the potential to add a little more zip on the fastball (add in that lefty starting situation, or lack thereof, in our system). Actually, the disappointing thing about that comment was what it means about Robert Hernandez. He was so exciting a couple years ago, but now, he seems buried. If they don't think that much of Antigua right now, and Hernandez is behind him, that doesn't bode well for Robert getting a priority focus in our system.
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