The Cubs would score runs in more innings, and thus do better in low-scoring games, if they had hitters who were better adapted to the top of the order. Obviously, Byrd is not a leadoff hitter, nor does Baker belong anywhere other than six through eight. Can either of them bunt, or hit [...]
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Posted 20 April 2010
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Tagged: bobby scales, brad snyder, brandon guyer, brett jackson, hak-ju lee, james adduci, jose valdez, josh vitters, kyler burke, logan watkins, matt camp, starlin castro, tony campana
The Cub team that I’m excited about is a couple years away, but 2010 is shaping up as a solid season, largely because Jim Hendry has been demonstrating the same patience and shrewdness in selecting players that new owner Tom Ricketts has applied to the choice of a spring-training site. Hendry corrected a few [...]
Here is a list of Cub prospects ranked according to stolen bases per game, also showing games, steals, caught stealing and success rate. I include only regular-season games played at Boise or above, no higher than Iowa.
I would isolate two important groups here, those with SB/game ratios higher than .30–I’ll call them rabbits–and those below [...]
Along with Colvin and Castro and others, Brandon Guyer will be in the spotlight for five games beginning Thursday night, when the Tennessee Smokies travel to Jackson, TN, for a season-ending series with the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx. The Smokies begin the series alone atop the Southern League’s Northern Division for the second half, with [...]
The story of the Cubs’ minor-league affiliates this year is that while pitching has been good across the board, only the team with dynamic players at the top of the order has won consistently. Peoria began the season with Campana and Harrison hitting one-two. First Campana and then Harrison were promoted to Daytona, but [...]
Sixteen runs on sixteen hits Friday night was the latest offensive explosion by the Daytona Cubs. Their lineup is potent in the first four slots: Tony Campana, .296, with 40 stolen bases at Daytona and 51 overall, on his way to 70+ SBs in his first full season as a pro; Josh Harrison, .352, with [...]
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Posted 25 July 2009
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Tagged: brandon guyer, chris carpenter, craig muschko, dustin sasser, henry williamson, josh harrison, josh vitters, luke sommer, rafael dolis, ryan searle, starlin castro, tony campana
The Cubs have seven stolen bases out of the leadoff position, all by Soriano, as we approach the final two months of the season. The two players who bat leadoff in the current configuration, Fukudome and Johnson, share seven SBs between them, but none batting leadoff. As Lou points out not infrequently, the team lacks [...]
If a prospect is someone who has a good chance of making the major-league team in the not-too-distant future, I like the chances of these four unheralded players.
1) Steve Clevenger. A converted shortstop, Clevenger is a good defensive catcher who throws out over thirty percent of runners attempting to steal. He swings a good lefty [...]
Theriot, Fontenot and Miles are often described as scrappy. I think the word is overused and misused.
Scrappiness is an attribute possessed by some smallish players with limited skills; but being smallish and having limited skills does not make you scrappy.
A scrappy player is aggressive on the bases. He crowds the plate to maximize [...]
It’s been a great spring for filling scarce roster spots, not so great for showcasing legitimate major-league prospects.
This is going to be an excellent Cub team, the best I’ve seen, good to the last roster spot. All of the battles for positions and roster spots have broken the right way. Fontenot has replaced DeRosa at [...]