Cubs that got away

[Parade_Rain]

This isn't a lament thread, but I saw a beckdawg post mentioning Pagan, so it got me thinking about the MLB talent that has been in a Cubs uniform as a young player and left to have nice careers elsewhere. I'm thinking of Angel Pagan, DJ LaMaheiu, etc. I wouldn't include Chris Archer as he never dressed at Wrigley, IINM. Who else?

 

[Boobaby1]

This isn't a lament thread, but I saw a beckdawg post mentioning Pagan, so it got me thinking about the MLB talent that has been in a Cubs uniform as a young player and left to have nice careers elsewhere. I'm thinking of Angel Pagan, DJ LaMaheiu, etc. I wouldn't include Chris Archer as he never dressed at Wrigley, IINM. Who else?

Ummm! Lou Brock? Kenny Holtzman? Joe Carter? Rafael Palmiero?

 

[SilenceS]

This isn't a lament thread, but I saw a beckdawg post mentioning Pagan, so it got me thinking about the MLB talent that has been in a Cubs uniform as a young player and left to have nice careers elsewhere. I'm thinking of Angel Pagan, DJ LaMaheiu, etc. I wouldn't include Chris Archer as he never dressed at Wrigley, IINM. Who else?

Josh Donaldson but I guess that doesn't count he was traded a minor leaguer.

 

[JZsportsfan]

DJ LeMahieu and Angel Pagan would be bench players right now, at best. Or worse they would be starting and they would have drafted someone else

Archer, Donaldson, Josh Hamilton fit the thread

 

[Parade_Rain]

Ummm! Lou Brock? Kenny Holtzman? Joe Carter? Rafael Palmiero?

Perhaps it wasn't clear in my post, but I named players who are still in the league.

 

[Parade_Rain]

Josh Donaldson but I guess that doesn't count he was traded a minor leaguer.

That's right. That's why I didn't count Archer or Hamilton either. Surely there are more than the two I named.

 

[SilenceS]

DJ LeMahieu and Angel Pagan would be bench players right now, at best. Or worse they would be starting and they would have drafted someone else

Archer, Donaldson, Josh Hamilton fit the thread

LeMahieu would not be a bench player. Gold glove D with a solid bat.

 

[Parade_Rain]

DJ LeMahieu and Angel Pagan would be bench players right now, at best. Or worse they would be starting and they would have drafted someone else

LeMahieu would be a bench player? He's an All-Star. Pagan is a WS starting CF.

Archer, Donaldson, Josh Hamilton fit the thread

Yes, very talented, but they don't fit the criteria I set, as none dressed in a Cubs uni at Wrigley as an MLBer.

 

[Boobaby1]

That's right. That's why I didn't count Archer or Hamilton either. Surely there are more than the two I named.

Not if you are talking about the drafting while Hendry was in charge.

I don't think I have ever seen so many whiffs in a draft during his tenure in my life.

You are getting down to skimps if you have to throw people like Casey McGeehee on this thread. Sad really.

 

[JZsportsfan]

LeMahieu would be a bench player? He's an All-Star. Pagan is a WS starting CF.

Yes, very talented, but they don't fit the criteria I set, as none dressed in a Cubs uni at Wrigley as an MLBer.

Big deal. A lot of average/below average players have started for a WS winner. Pagan has had a negative dWAR the past 5 seasons, and a below/very average bat. Sure he's had a solid career but he's no body worth lamenting about. His wins above average have been negative 3 of the past 5 seasons.

Up until this season LeMahieu's road/home splits have been horrendous

 

[beckdawg]

LeMahieu would not be a bench player. Gold glove D with a solid bat.

He's still more of a second division starter honestly. He's got 5 HRs right now. I mean there's two ways to view this year. One is that this is his peak potential level which may or may not continue. The other is that he has more than he's showing. I find it some what difficult to believe there's more in his tank than what he's showing. If we view his year this year as his peak, he's roughly an average hitter with his present 104 wRC+ and his career wRC+ is much lower at 78. As for his glove, it's definitely good but 9.1 UZR/150 puts him more at the step right below gold glove.

And there in lies the problem. If you're hoping to be a playoff/WS team you want a better upgrade at 2B as a hitter. Obviously he's not a terrible guy to have but he's probably more valuable to a rebuilding team than a playoff team.

 

[Parade_Rain]

Not if you are talking about the drafting while Hendry was in charge.

I don't think I have ever seen so many whiffs in a draft during his tenure in my life.

You are getting down to skimps if you have to throw people like Casey McGeehee on this thread. Sad really.

Yep. That's the type of stuff I'm looking for out of this. The Pattersons didn't have long careers, Pie didn't last, etc. So far only DJ and Angel fit the mold from the names all mentioned. It's a pretty thin list.

 

[Parade_Rain]

Big deal. A lot of average/below average players have started for a WS winner. Pagan has had a negative dWAR the past 5 seasons, and a below/very average bat. Sure he's had a solid career but he's no body worth lamenting about. His wins above average have been negative 3 of the past 5 seasons.

Up until this season LeMahieu's road/home splits have been horrendous

Well that's good, because the first sentence in the OP states "This is not a lament thread."

 

[SilenceS]

He's still more of a second division starter honestly. He's got 5 HRs right now. I mean there's two ways to view this year. One is that this is his peak potential level which may or may not continue. The other is that he has more than he's showing. I find it some what difficult to believe there's more in his tank than what he's showing. If we view his year this year as his peak, he's roughly an average hitter with his present 104 wRC+ and his career wRC+ is much lower at 78. As for his glove, it's definitely good but 9.1 UZR/150 puts him more at the step right below gold glove.

And there in lies the problem. If you're hoping to be a playoff/WS team you want a better upgrade at 2B as a hitter. Obviously he's not a terrible guy to have but he's probably more valuable to a rebuilding team than a playoff team.

106 OPS+, .377 OBP, 18 SB, 3 CS. 2.6 fWAR at the age of 26. Im sure he has nothing left in the tank. 7th in the league in WAR at second. Ahead of guys such as Altuve, Robinson Cano, Daniel Murphy, Brandon Phillips etc. etc. .991 FP.

Well, we better get Addison Russell off the team if we want to make the playoffs. His 1.6 fWar won't cut it.

He would start on this team.

 

[brett05]

DJ LeMahieu and Angel Pagan would be bench players right now, at best. Or worse they would be starting and they would have drafted someone else

Archer, Donaldson, Josh Hamilton fit the thread

None of them played for the Cubs and Hamilton was drafted strictly to be traded.

 

[Doubledown]

Edwin Jackson will be in a Braves uni tonight.

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

This isn't a lament thread, but I saw a beckdawg post mentioning Pagan, so it got me thinking about the MLB talent that has been in a Cubs uniform as a young player and left to have nice careers elsewhere. I'm thinking of Angel Pagan, DJ LaMaheiu, etc. I wouldn't include Chris Archer as he never dressed at Wrigley, IINM. Who else?

Dontrelle Willis

 

[Parade_Rain]

Dontrelle Willis

Interesting. He certainly had a good year after being traded, IIRC.

 

[brett05]

Aramis Ramirez? Went unsigned so perhaps he would not count.

 

[Parade_Rain]

Aramis Ramirez? Went unsigned so perhaps he would not count.

They didn't miss out on his talent for the better part of his career. IOW, in the spirit of the thread, the Cubs had him during his most productive years.