I fancy myself a bit of a scout–a scout of the armchair, box-score persuasion, one who never set eyes on any of the players mentioned in this post unless they happened to be on WGN on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon in March.
The results of my scouting are tabulated, weekly during the season, in the [...]
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Posted 12 March 2010
† Phil
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prospect
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Also tagged: alex maestri, alfonso soriano, andrew cashner, aramis ramirez, blake parker, brad snyder, brandon guyer, brett jackson, carlos marmol, chris archer, chris carpenter, chris huseby, david cales, derrek lee, dexter fowler, dustin sasser, geovany soto, greg reinhard, hak-ju lee, james adduci, jeff beliveau, jeff stevens, jeffry antigua, john gaub, jose valdez, josh vitters, juan pierre, koyie hill, kyler burke, logan watkins, manolin de leon, marlon byrd, matt camp, micah hoffpauir, michael bourn, nyger morgan, ryan buchter, sam fuld, starlin castro, tony campana, tyler colvin, willie taveras, xavier nady
So far, Josh Vitters looks like a beta version of the player he will become. By contrast, Starlin Castro, Hak-Ju Lee, Brett Jackson and D.J. LeMahieu have shown polished two-way skills that may propel them to the majors while Vitters is working on his glove, his plate discipline, his power stroke. Either way–whoever gets there [...]
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Posted 05 November 2009
† Phil
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Hendry § bradley § prospect § trade
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Also tagged: brett jackson, casey coleman, chris archer, chris huseby, darwin barney, dj lemahieu, hak-ju lee, jim hendry, josh vitters, junior lake, kosuke fukudome, kyler burke, logan watkins, milton bradley, ryan flaherty, starlin castro
Prospects are ranked according to my Marmol Index, strikeouts-per-nine-innings minus hits-per-nine-innings.
These are the best arms in the Cub minors, not necessarily the best pitchers. For one thing, I don’t use walks in the formula, although I list walks and calculate K/BB. Perhaps the Marmol Index slants toward relief pitchers, who throw harder when they’re out [...]
Lou said recently he was not averse to “bringing up some young kids with good arms and seeing what they can do.”
If Lou wants to make the rounds of the Cubs’ farm teams and bring back quality arms, he should send a bus. It’s early, but right now the Cubs appear to have a slew [...]
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Posted 13 May 2009
† Phil
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prospect
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Also tagged: alberto albuquerque, blake parker, brian schlitter, carlos marmol, chris archer, chris carpenter, chris huseby, dan mcdaniel, david cales, erik hamren, greg reinhard, henry williamson, jake muyco, jeff beliveau, jeff stevens, jeremy papelbon, john gaub, jose ascanio, josh whitlock, kevin hart, kevin kreier, marcos mateo, mitch atkins, rafael dolis, ryan buchter, steven vento, vince perkins
Many Cub fans saw the report recently that their team was 27th in organizational talent rankings according to Baseball America. Observant fans know, however, that there was a lot of healthy ferment last season in the Cubs’ lower minors, and that the high-A Daytona team, for example, won the Florida State League championship with [...]
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Posted 11 April 2009
† Phil
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Hendry § Uncategorized § prospect
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Also tagged: alex maestri, blake parker, brandon guyer, brian schlitter, casey coleman, casey lambert, darwin barney, hung-wen chen, jake fox, james russell, jeff samardzija, jeremy papelbon, john gaub, josh lansford, kosuke fukudome, nate spears, sam fuld, tim wilken, tony thomas, tyler colvin, welington castillo
Doing anything on Tuesday, July 29th? Go to Wrigley and watch the Peoria Chiefs under Ryne Sandberg as they host the Kane County Cougars in a Midwest League game. The Chiefs are winning lately and are loaded with what seem to be real prospects. I would love to get a peek at the following players, [...]