Splendid Splinter

Leiber/Harper/Soriano got nothing on this guy.... Well Leiber is close... http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Everyone-look-at-Joe-Johnson-8217-s-giant-truck;_ylt=AnUlaczOfhx7kTeghxEKITg5nYcB?urn=nba-wp5970

Is he the youngest player to make the All Star Game since Junior Griffey in 1990? A Rod in 1996... Can anybody tell me if anyone else was younger than Castro in their first All Star game? So far I found Griffey Jr, A Rod, and Mantle... Pretty impressive company right there.

We have Geo for 2 more years. I was gonna say... "Wasn't this year Soto's first arb year?" Just curious... Soto is making $3 mil this year. What you guys think he's going to make the next 2 years? (assuming he gets up to .800 OPS or so at the end of this season and also finish close to his career OPS next year as well) I mean is it possible that he'll get $4.5 and $6 mil the next 2 arb years? Will be it more? Less? I'm willing to give him that, but let him walk as a FA (as he will be 31 during that offseason). I was in the same camp that Soto can be traded, but I realized that the trade offer better be pretty good as you would still have him for 2 more years after this and in his prime years. Don't get me wrong... I would listen to any offer for anybody, but the offers better be worthwhile even consider it and even then, still might not accept the offer. Then there's some I wouldn't care if we traded them for a bag of balls or release them and call up some AAA arms (Lopez/Grabow) or some that are tradeable and should bring back some value (Baker/Johnson/Pena). I mean it got to make sense somehow. Can't trade for the sake of trading or wanting to blow the team up cuz they suck.

There's a glitch in the .gif. Watch the guy the whole time. You can see it skips a few frames.

If Texas was throwing in like Mike Olt or Robert Erlin along with Borbon/Davis, then I would consider that trade... I probably would do it if Erlin was thrown in the deal. The dude is LEGIT.

Are you a righty??? If so, throw lefty... or vice versa. I'm waiting for someone to do that still.

I'd gladly take that line over the next 3 years. I doubt Pujols/Fielder will be worth 12-15 million more than that. 3/30 for Pena vs. 5/100 for Fielder. Discuss. Both contracts seem too low. 6/150 for Fielder and 4/50 for Pena seem more realistic. In any event, Fielder is exactly twice the annual price of Pena. I'd probably take Fielder. He's younger, more productive, and a more legitimate impact bat. And I'm not a huge Fielder fan... I'm concerned he'll turn into Mo Vaughn II. That's not really a bad thing though. Vaughn played til he was 35 and only sucked in his very last year. I don't know (well... can't remember) why he missed the whole season in 2001. Vaughn was really good until he was 30 then the next 3 years he declined, but he was still good enough (119/115/113 OPS+) in those years. Then he suck his last year and retired. Fielder is a more complete hitter and probably more athletic (not that it's saying something though) than Vaughn. Fielder has a better BB% rate and K% (this year he cutting it down A LOT) and has more power. As long as you can sign Fielder to a 5-6 year deal, I think you're going to be fine. If it's more than 6 years though, that's where it gets tricky. I would be ok with more than 6 years if the extra years were like club/mutual options and/or he has an opt out clause before his last year or something along that line. I hope Boras will want a shorter contract so Fielder will be able to get another big contract when he's like 32 or 33. Another thing will be... how much per year is it going to take to land Fielder??? I wish Ryan Howard didn't get that STUPID 5/125 extension because I imagine that's the contract Boras is looking at for Fielder (which is too much IMO, but if I had to pick Howard or Fielder at that price... it would be Fielder easily).

The footprint is entirely adequate when you consider the underutilized corners, the implementation of more efficient internal layouts and the potential for a basement level from foul pole to foul pole, as well as facilities under the playing field. If they can do the basement and facilities under the playing field, it would be enough... But my question is though, weren't they concerned with the water table there? Like they wouldn't be able to build anything underneath cuz the water table is too high there? I thought I remember something about that...

Enjoy the game! Take an oppiturnity to walk around the stadium, especially out by the oufield. Thanks, will do. The game starts at 1:10 PM. What time should I be at the K? Is the traffic a mess at the K or is it an easy place to get to for parking? Just wondering when I should leave here in the morning (live in Fayetteville so I'm thinking it's probably going to take me 3 1/2 hrs to get to KC???) cuz I wanna take pics/be in my seats for BP as I could catch a ball/etc.... Also any food to try out there at the stadium as well? My birthday is the next day (6/27) so this game is basically my bday gift to myself. I also got 2 tickets (Section 250 Row EE) to the Royals/Red Sox series in August... 8/19 Friday night and I'm gonna get a hotel room somewhere in KC close to clubs/bars so me and my buddy can go party after the game. Then Sat during the day, we wanted to go to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and a BBQ place to eat at and maybe somewhere else to visit before heading back. Any suggestions or recommendations?

Well Elvis Andrus had his 14th error tonight... I'm thinking he should be moved from SS eventually as well.. HAHAHAHAHA Also to 9YRPLAN... From the games I've been watching (only on WGN or like ESPN/FOX cuz I live in Arkansas), I think Castro is improving. It's not by a lot or anything, but he is getting better. In Fansgraph, he's on same pace for balls in zone as last year while he's on pace to have more total plays made this year. He isn't getting as many plays out of the zone or double plays this year compared to last year. His UZR is worse this year than last year by a bit (-5.9 to -2.1). The only thing... there's really no good defensive stats out there yet to really rely. Also in Fansgraph... he made 27 errors in 1073.2 innings last year (16 were fielding and 11 were throwing)... this year in 614.2 innings, he has 15 errors so far with 7 fielding and 8 throwing. If Castro keep that pace for 1073.2 innings, he's up to 26 errors with 12 fielding and 14 throwing.

I'm going to the 6/26 game.... I'll be at Section 102 Row D. It's my first time going to the K so it should be interesting.

What was 10th in terms of $$$? Didn't know $6 mil was 16th. They need to spend at least that this year and more towards like top 10 in $$ given out to sign a bunch of those overslot players...

That $4.73 mil included the Sczcur bonus and whatnot??? I thought the draft $$ last year was a little misleading cuz they spent just as much in IFA, if not more (when you include the Cubans)... Also the MLB payroll is less this year than last so this is where Ricketts gonna be accountable for his words where he said the money is gonna go more towards for draft/international/development/etc when the MLB payroll is less, but the budget overall stays the same (he said something similar to that)... So if he goes like $4.5 mil on this draft, I'll be disappointed and start thinking he's not true to his words entirely unless he goes big on international signings, but if he goes like $6+ mil, then I'll start believing that he REALLY wants to build from within... Looking at how he drafted like 16 of the first 20 players were high schoolers, it's not gonna be cheap to sign most of those guys. Heck I'll be surprised if he can get Baez and Vogelbach signed for less than $3 mil combined.

Another few weeks of this and maybe the Cubs will give him a 4-year extension and bow out of the Pujols/Fielder madness. I rather have Prince at $18-20 mil/yr than Pena at $14 mil or so/yr (you know he's not taking less than $10 mil/yr and in the past 2 months, he's hitting like 2007-2009 version)... Plus he's 33 now so hopefully they won't give him that extension.

LOL I've been sitting here for like 10 minutes trying to figure that one out.... Jerry Garcia??? Sergio Garcia???

Just curious to know from everyone.... If you had to pick a player for their highest upside/comparsion and then another for low side, who would it be??? Like for example: Bryce Harper = Ken Griffey, Jr./Adam Dunn Mike Trout = Rickey Henderson- Oakland years/Johnny Damon Just wondering how everyone are viewing these 2 guys... in terms of their potential and what they're most likely going to be....

If Ryan Theriot (heck even Derek Jeter) can be a starting SS, then Castro SHOULD be a SS (regardless of his errors- which is a stupid stat to go by cuz of his range and the balls he gets to)... Theriot can only imagine getting to some of the balls that Castro gets to. Castro just needs more coaching at SS (this is where I wish Trammell was still here to give him advice/coaching) and another thing I see with Castro's errors.... he does them in bunches instead of spreading them out over a whole season. It seems like when he gets an error in a game- he'll have 3 more in the next 4 games and then nothing for awhile. So his errors is misleading that way as well.

Makes me wonder who's the anti- Pedro Cerrano this year. Be weird to see someone who can hit breaking balls, but suck at fastballs...

Trout taking a lead at 1B...

I've seen Trout several times already. I live in Fayetteville, AR and the Northwest Arkansas Naturals' stadium is like 5 minutes from me so I've seen a lot of AA ball in the Texas League this year. I've seen all 8 games (2 series) that the Travelers (Angels AA team) been here so far. I'm hoping that Trout will still be around the next time they come back (Aug. 5th-8th) so I can watch him some more. I wrote a personal scouting report on Trout after the 2 series. This is my first scouting report ever so bear with me as I haven't started/finished the summary part and it might not be the greatest (as I probably hype him up too much and doesn't critique his weakness enough)... Hopefully if he's still there in August and possibly Sept. as well (last series of the season for Naturals/Travelers) so I can watch him again and either tweak my report or add more to it. Mike Trout Scouting Report Projection: Let me tell you that the guy is LEGIT... Of course anything can happen in the future, but right now, Trout is going to be a superstar. He might not be that HR machine/slugger type superstar, but more along the line of Carlos Beltran/Grady Sizemore 5 tools type superstar. I know some people compare Trout to Johnny Damon. While I can see some of the similarity, Trout is better than that, by a good margin IMO based on his tools. Trout got better arm/speed/eye. I wouldn't complain though if he has a career like Damon's or being compared to him either. For Trout's potential career year (while using Damon as a comparsion), Damon's 2000 season is pretty close, but I would add like 10 HRs and about 20 BBs which would put the OPS at about .980ish I think. That's a career year, not peak. Peak wise (lets say 5 years)... I can see him in the .850-.920 OPS range. The comparsion I like to use (even though the guy is still young and who knows how he'll end up) for Trout is Andrew McCutchen. Build: On Baseball-Reference, they have him as 6'1 200 lbs. He looks like to me he's about 215, maybe 220 IMO and the height is probably right (I'm 6'2-6'3 230-240 and when he signed my card, he was smaller and a tad shorter than me). For comparsion, I saw Brett Jackson in 2009 at Peoria and he's a tad taller, but skinnier than Trout (that could be different now with B Jax). From looking at him, I can't really see him adding that much more weight until he gets older (in the mid 30s) or just quits working out or something. He already got broad shoulders and a running back build. People at the games have said that he's stocky, but I don't see it. He's not like Marlon Byrd. He holds his weight well. Hitting: I'm going to go into more details in the other parts of hitting so this part will be short. He got the tools to be a perennial .300 hitter. He does use the whole field. Swing: I'm going to try to do this part, but I'm not exactly an expert or really knows the mechanics of the swing yet. He does have a wide stance and seems balanced through the whole swing. He just lift the front leg up a little bit and that's it. The swing looks like it's short, quick, and a little compact, but a strong swing though. It's more of a "contact with gap power" type swing. He got some loft in his swing, but not enough to be a slugger. He does drive the ball and come off the bat well so I can see a bunch of doubles/triples coming from him. Bat speed looks good and fast. One thing I did noticed though is that his weakness at the plate looks like to be pitches that are inside. I wanna say Starlin Castro, but I don't know if that's a good comparsion. Power: He got the power. There's no denying that, but will we see his full potential??? I think it depends on if he wants to add more loft to his swing (who knows how that'll end up though) or not. The HR I saw was a line drive that stayed up/rises. It wasn't like a rocket line drive like Albert Pujols or a bomb like Prince Fielder. Trout's going to hit for doubles and triples with his line drives swing and speed. If I had to project his HR range, Cal Ripken, Jr is a good comparsion (mid teens to high 20s) if you mix up his HR years. I think you can safely say that he won't be a slugger or hit 30+ HRs (unless he add loft in his swing or career power year), but above average to great power as a leadoff or 2 hitter and for a CF. Eye: People talk about his hitting or contact skills, but I think his approach/eye is underrated. It might be as great as his speed IMO. He has great feel of the strike zone. Has very good patience and discipline at the plate. He, for the most part, didn't swing at the first pitch. I think I saw him chase like 1 bad pitch so it seems like he doesn't chase them that often or is a bad ball hitter. He does shorten his swing when he has 2 strikes and try to hit opposite field (think Ryan Theriot). Does adjust quickly. Speed: The best tool he has. It's amazing how fast he is. Again it looks naturally fast instead of like Joey Gathright/Dee Gordon speed burner. It's doesnt look like he got gears, but instead he just gradually gets faster and faster (when he's going for a double or triple). Had 2 infield singles that I've seen and being a RH hitter, that's impressive. Also bunted 3 times as well (one he popped up, one was sac bunt and reach safely in the other) and looks REALLY comfortable doing bunts which is rare for a guy his age. I can see him using that bunt as a weapon if the 3B or 1B is playing deep or just isn't paying attention. Rocco Baldelli is a good comparsion cuz he's a RH hitter who was extremely fast from home to 1B. His baserunning seems to be good. Now as for his basestealing (again small sample), it needs some work, but can definately improve on it. His jump isn't the greatest, but his speed makes up for it right now. I still see him as a 30+ SBs guy in the majors, but he might have double digits in caught stealing though to do it. Defense: The guy is great defensively. Runs good routes, get good jumps, and because of those 2 things and his speed, his range is great. While his arm looks to be just average, but accurate (at least the games I've seen him in so far, he only had like 2 chances to show off his arm so super small sample). Which is weird cuz his arm is considered great or plus from some people so I don't know what to think of his arm at the moment. He honestly reminds me of Andruw Jones out there. What I mean by that is he makes everything out there looks easy or natural. He just... glides (tried to think of a different/better word) out there. Overall though, I would compare him again to Rocco Baldelli. Summary: I'm hoping to see Shelby Miller (just been hearing how AWESOME he is from everyone) as well. Springfield Cardinals are playing here for a 4 game series and he's not pitching. There is still 2 more series with Springfield in July so I'm hoping he pitches in both series so I can get to see him and take some notes as well. Is there anybody else that someone want me to look at from the Texas League as I will go to more games this summer??? Positional players will be easier for me to scout as most of them play everyday while I might not see the pitcher at all. Plus I'm still learning how to scout pitchers as well.

Can anybody just write an article for Yahoo!??? Seriously... http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Ans_wuXiA_ISVq.uSXrttUeFCLcF?slug=ycn-8645291 I know Yahoo! sports articles has been just turrible for awhile... but this is just mind-boggling nowadays. Who the heck is Joshua Huffman? I also click on his name and it says that he has a marketing major plus somehow he's a Cubs and Packers fan.

Which can be a good thing as you can have several cost controlled players on the team so you can go after a great player or two. Bad thing is that Cubs don't have that great player (could argue Castro is going to become one) on their team right now. As the contracts ends in the next couple years, I think the outlook for the Cubs organization is going to be great (assuming Ricketts is going to get rid of Hendey/etc../get his guys in by this offseason/etc.). It's just going to take time and a couple 70-80 wins seasons (including this year) before they start to be consistently good. Another way to look at it... Now in the next couple years (because of the depth they have in the system), Wilken can go for high upside/ceiling/overslot players (instead of mostly high floor/low ceiling players) in the draft and international signings to possibly to get those top end talents in their system along with the depth (hopefully Ricketts will actually let him and it looks like he is). I believe Wilkens did that in the draft this year and hopefully they will be able to sign most of these overslot guys. Plus the way this season is going, it looks like the Cubs will get a top 5 picks (possibly top 3) next year in the draft LOL. I'm also one of those guys who like what the Cubs do in the international signings, which is spread their budget over a bunch of guys instead of maybe 1 HUGE signing and a couple other small signings. I agree with the person whoever said that the Cubs can be a powerhouse like the Yankees/Red Sox. Cubs got the $$ and the resources to be able to do that (esp if the Cubs get their own network like the Yankees and the team being good consistently). The only problem with this whole post is... that's a lot of freakin' assumptions and as everyone here knows... assumptions is the mother of all &@#^-ups. So I won't be wont be holding my breath, but I got the patience and the hope that it will happen.

- go about 20 sec in the video to see it all... Then there was this gem... http://media.lawrence.com/img/photos/2005/07/18/ROYALS_4K_color_sports_t440.jpg?9e2a24ba44807f8f9b96aad7c4082bf6ded075dc

has anybody else sign yet??

That's how I felt as well esp. with how deep and how good this draft is... They could've really cash in on this draft and have an AMAZING farm system that could be better than the Royals farm system this year 2 years down the road IMO. I know they had 10 picks and that's a lot of money to go around, but if I was them, I would keep drafting until somewhere round 5-10 and then just quit picking. If there was a year to go big (on drafting BPA and spending) on a draft, this is it. I kept thinking that Rays were going to pick Daniel Norris or a C like Susac or Brett Austin or even take a flier on Josh Bell, but they didn't do that. Red Sox on the other hand.... Barnes/Swihart/Owens/Jackie Bradley is a pretty good way to start a draft.