Marshall45 wrote:Hasn't Vitters struggled A TON. Last year and this year?
The Sheik wrote:Yeah, but who else were we going to take? I know a lot of people liked Weiters, but with Soto and Donaldson we are set at catcher for awhile.
). By the way, it's just 14 at-bats for Vitters. You should be really excited about him.
Manocad wrote:I have an engineering degree, an exceptionally high IQ, and can point to the exact location/area of any country on an unlabeled globe.
Bleeding Green wrote:Are you guys really worried about an 18 year old struggling in A-ball? Go back to 2000 and count up all the guys who are even talented enough to have played in A-ball as 18 year olds. We're talking like 10 guys a year. Guys who do well are guys like Fernando Martinez, Justin Upton, Jose Tabata, et al.
I'd be kind of happy that all of his hits are doubles. 18 years old! He should be in high school right now!
Let's play a game. I'm going to name all the 18 year olds who have put up a .700 OPS in A-ball since 2000. Minimum 200 AB.
2000: Chris Snelling, Carl Crawford
2001: Grady Sizemore, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Reyes, Miguel Cabrera
2002: Gregor Blanco, Andy Marte
2003: Felix Pie, B.J. Upton
2004: Adam Jones, Delmon Young, Daric Barton
2005: No one.
2006: Jose Tabata, Fernando Martinez (192 AB), Justin Upton
2007: Carlos Triunfel (17 years old--152 AB), Chris Marrero, Bill Rowell
That's quite a list. Only flops are Marte and Blanco and Snelling. And Snelling only because of injuries. And Blanco is still only 24 and fast as hell so he's not done yet. Marte, well, he's done. Almost universally these guys are All-Stars and several of them look like Hall of Famers.
This year there are 11 18 year olds (or younger) in A-ball (3 of them were drafted or signed by the Red Sox
http://minors.baseball-reference.com/ba ... =&sort=age
Bleeding Green wrote:Are you guys really worried about an 18 year old struggling in A-ball? Go back to 2000 and count up all the guys who are even talented enough to have played in A-ball as 18 year olds. We're talking like 10 guys a year. Guys who do well are guys like Fernando Martinez, Justin Upton, Jose Tabata, et al.
I'd be kind of happy that all of his hits are doubles. 18 years old! He should be in high school right now!
Let's play a game. I'm going to name all the 18 year olds who have put up a .700 OPS in A-ball since 2000. Minimum 200 AB.
2000: Chris Snelling, Carl Crawford
2001: Grady Sizemore, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Reyes, Miguel Cabrera
2002: Gregor Blanco, Andy Marte
2003: Felix Pie, B.J. Upton
2004: Adam Jones, Delmon Young, Daric Barton
2005: No one.
2006: Jose Tabata, Fernando Martinez (192 AB), Justin Upton
2007: Carlos Triunfel (17 years old--152 AB), Chris Marrero, Bill Rowell
That's quite a list. Only flops are Marte and Blanco and Snelling. And Snelling only because of injuries. And Blanco is still only 24 and fast as hell so he's not done yet. Marte, well, he's done. Almost universally these guys are All-Stars and several of them look like Hall of Famers.
This year there are 11 18 year olds (or younger) in A-ball (3 of them were drafted or signed by the Red Sox
http://minors.baseball-reference.com/ba ... =&sort=age
The list of players with poor plate discipline and average contact skills that become successful major leaguers is a short one. Ask yourself how many players we have seen that have gone on to have successful major league careers with K:BB ratios of 10:1, especially ones that don't have any one particular plus skill.
However, we see breakout performances from athletes that come out of nowhere because they finally "put it together". The same could be said about Colvin, but for now he looks like a potential fourth OF with the upside of a possible left handed side of a platoon.
First baseman Micah Hoffpauir has begun playing right field at Triple-A Iowa so the Cubs can bring him up this summer as a reserve outfielder. Hoffpauir, who led the Cubs with a .419 average in spring training, went 2-for-4 Tuesday with a home run and five RBIs. He missed the first five weeks with an oblique strain.
"We're playing him at first and the outfield," general manager Jim Hendry said. "We're just giving him his best chance to be versatile in case we need a left-handed bat. He has hit the ground running. It just makes sense. If you're going to pencil yourself in as a first baseman, you're probably not going to get too much playing time [behind Derrek Lee]."
Kevin Hart continues to pitch well at Class AAA Iowa as one of three starters-in-reserve. The right-hander worked 6 1/3 innings in his last start Thursday against Memphis, giving up two runs and four hits with three walks and striking out nine. Hart has a 3.81 ERA.
