IST Pirates @ Cubs

[CSF77]

Is he really playing that much better than he did last year? He had a wRC+ of 108 last season in AAA and that includes his slow start. This season he has a 113. The one area where I feel you can say he's improved is his k rate is 5% lower. I still think you want to see more before you call him up again.

His BB% went up some. It is hard to gauge it with his limited AB's. 17 SO, 5 BB. Those 2 numbers are what Jed and Theo are looking at. 3.4:1 ratio. Which is a tad bit high. This is called strike zone mastery and a player should be between 2-3:1.

 

[CSF77]

Castro: 4.67:1 (just bad but due to his lack of taking a walk)
Soler: 3.4:1
Fowler: 2.2:1
Rizzo: .85:1 (backwards)
Coghlan: 2:1
Bryant: 1.73:1
Russell: 8:1
Montero: 1.06:1

After viewing these Baez falls in with Soler right now. Montero continues to amaze me. Russell needs to be more selective. Think Castro is on a all time low for taking walks this year.

 

[JosMin]

Visiting some family in Chicago this weekend, gonna' be at today's game with my dad. Hope the rain stays away.

 

[beckdawg]

Visiting some family in Chicago this weekend, gonna' be at today's game with my dad. Hope the rain stays away.

View attachment 2126

If they lose today then I'm blaming you

 

[beckdawg]

His BB% went up some.

When i checked last night it was 7.8% which was identical to last year. Regardless, walk rate doesn't really stabilize until well over 100 PAs and he's at 64.

 

[chibears55]

Maybe soon they might look to trade him?

A pitcher seems to be the more pressing need IMO than a SS converting to LF part time.

I think they could look to deal him for some pitching help.......maybe.

Personally, I would much rather have a disciplined LH hitter like Schwarber manning LF if I had to choose one of the two, even though he may a year away.

I think he will be traded too but until then and he continues to hit well in Iowa, i think they will bring him up again. .

Coghlin and Szczur haven't really done much consistently to hold down LF and they dont have noone else ready ..


Schwarber still catching... it looks like their getting McKinney ready to make the jump as he was just promoted to AA

 

[chibears55]

Is he really playing that much better than he did last year? He had a wRC+ of 108 last season in AAA and that includes his slow start. This season he has a 113. The one area where I feel you can say he's improved is his k rate is 5% lower. I still think you want to see more before you call him up again.

@TommyBirch: This little stretch Baez is on right now is the best I've seen him in. Heated up at times last season. Never got really hot. #Cubs #MiLB

Just showing an opinion of someone ( spirtswriter ) who been watching him play everyday. .

I agree you want to see more, i didn't say bring him up now.

He has 68 PA, if he continues to hit well as he gets to 100 + PA then i think they might consider bringing him up again. .

With the IF set now, and LF being the weakest link of all the positions.. why not give him a shot out there. .
Start out as a platoon with Coghlin ..

Unless the plan is to let him put up crazy numbers in Iowa again and build back up his trade value that way for a deal come july, then why not bring him up and see if he can contribute. ..

 

[beckdawg]

He has 68 PA, if he continues to hit well as he gets to 100 + PA then i think they might consider bringing him up again.

This is my point though... last season he played essentially this well for June and July. Last season from June first until he was called up he it .288/.353/.581 with 16 HRs and a 26.5% K rate with a 8.7% walk rate in 252 PAs. That's strikingly similar to the .281/.359/.421 with 7.8%/25.0% bb/k rates we're seeing today though then he had more power. Clearly he wasn't ready last year. So why based off his numbers anyways would be be ready now or in say a month at similar production? I think you want to see him put up something like 130-140 wRC+ as opposed to the 113 he presently has before you consider calling him back up. That's the difference between dominating a level and being marginally better than it. Honestly 130 wRC+ might even bee too low as Alcantara was at 126 last season and despite my hopes still wasn't ready. Bryant on the other hand who appears to be ready was at 164. Soler who's some what struggling now but still sort of productive was 149 in AAA.

 

[chibears55]

This is my point though... last season he played essentially this well for June and July. Last season from June first until he was called up he it .288/.353/.581 with 16 HRs and a 26.5% K rate with a 8.7% walk rate in 252 PAs. That's strikingly similar to the .281/.359/.421with 7.8%/25.0% bb/k rates we're seeing today though then he had more power. Clearly he wasn't ready last year. So why based off his numbers anyways would be be ready now or in say a month at similar production? I think you want to see him put up something like 130-140 wRC+ as opposed to the 113 he presently has before you consider calling him back up. That's the difference between dominating a level and being marginally better than it. Honestly 130 wRC+ might even bee too low as Alcantara was at 126 last season and despite my hopes still wasn't ready. Bryant on the other hand who appears to be ready was at 164. Soler who's some what struggling now but still sort of productive was 149 in AAA.

So, after a slow start he got his wrc up to 113..
so if he continues to hit well in his next 50 AB he probabaly raises it up another 17 or so and itll be over 130..

I personally feel he the guy their gonna trade for a pitcher. .

So, like i said their plan is to either keep him down and let/hope he inflates his numbers there to look attractive. .
OR
They could bring him up and showcase him in the majors and showing he ready that way...

I mentioned LF, only because the IF is set now with Russell taking over 2B and you probably dont wanna be shuffling bryant around now..so, LF is the only spot where they can get him ABs til he traded

 

[Boobaby1]

So, after a slow start he got his wrc up to 113..
so if he continues to hit well in his next 50 AB he probabaly raises it up another 17 or so and itll be over 130..

I personally feel he the guy their gonna trade for a pitcher. .

So, like i said their plan is to either keep him down and let/hope he inflates his numbers there to look attractive. .
OR
They could bring him up and showcase him in the majors and showing he ready that way...

I mentioned LF, only because the IF is set now with Russell taking over 2B and you probably dont wanna be shuffling bryant around now..so, LF is the only spot where they can get him ABs til he traded

Their will be outfielders available at the deadline, and the Cubs could probably take a contract off of some ones hands until Schwarber may be ready, or trade for one. If they are buyers, I would much rather invest in a proven player versus throwing the unproven to a team that is in contention. Assuming they are still in contention of course.

To me, a very intriguing name would be Josh Reddick of Oakland. LH hitter with a little power, and 1-1/2 years of eligibility left. A guy like him in LF and putting Coghlan on the bench as an outfield sub could go a long way IMO. He doesn't have overwhelming stats like OBP and average for his career, but he doesn't strike out a lot either. Plus he is a Theo draftee.

You might have a line-up that looks like this.

Fowler CF
Reddick LF
Rizzo 1B
Bryant 3B
Castro SS
Montero C
Soler RF
Pitcher
Russell 2B

Hell. While I am throwing out this ridiculous scenario, why not put together a package that would net the Cubs Reddick and Kazmir and solve two issues at once? Kazmir takes the place of Travis Wood, and he would be a free agent at the end of the year, so the Cubs could probably pounce on Kazmir early, so Oakland would no longer have to pay his salary since they will lose him anyways. Either player I am cool with.

The main piece would be Reddick because of his year and a half of eligibility as they are going to lose Kazmir anyways, but with a logjam coming, guys that might have a problem fitting in for the Cubs would be McKinney and Vogelbach, plus Baez is still a potential trade candidate.

Just a thought.

 

[chibears55]

Their will be outfielders available at the deadline, and the Cubs could probably take a contract off of some ones hands until Schwarber may be ready, or trade for one. If they are buyers, I would much rather invest in a proven player versus throwing the unproven to a team that is in contention. Assuming they are still in contention of course.

To me, a very intriguing name would be Josh Reddick of Oakland. LH hitter with a little power, and one year of eligibility left. A guy like him in LF and putting Coghlan on the bench as an outfield sub could go a long way IMO. He doesn't have overwhelming stats like OBP and average for his career, but he doesn't strike out a lot either. Plus he is a Theo draftee.

You might have a line-up that looks like this.

Fowler CF
Reddick LF
Rizzo 1B
Bryant 3B
Castro SS
Montero C
Soler RF
Pitcher
Russell 2B

Hell. While I am throwing out this ridiculous scenario, why not put together a package that would net the Cubs Reddick and Kazmir and solve two issues at once? Kazmir takes the place of Travis Wood, and he would be a free agent at the end of the year, so the Cubs could probably pounce on Kazmir early, so Oakland would no longer have to pay his salary since they will lose him anyways. Either player I am cool with.

The main piece would be Reddick because of his year and a half of eligibility as they are going to lose Kazmir anyways, but with a logjam coming, guys that might have a problem fitting in for the Cubs would be McKinney and Vogelbach, plus Baez is still a potential trade candidate.

Just a thought.

Im sure there will be OFers available at the deadline
Just as im sure baez will probably be traded by then too..

Im talking about within the next couple weeks for him to come up and play until then...

 

[SilenceS]

Baez has changed his swing and approach. Thats the part people are missing. Javy just needs to keep doing Javy. Haters gonna hate.

 

[SilenceS]

This is my point though... last season he played essentially this well for June and July. Last season from June first until he was called up he it .288/.353/.581 with 16 HRs and a 26.5% K rate with a 8.7% walk rate in 252 PAs. That's strikingly similar to the .281/.359/.421 with 7.8%/25.0% bb/k rates we're seeing today though then he had more power. Clearly he wasn't ready last year. So why based off his numbers anyways would be be ready now or in say a month at similar production? I think you want to see him put up something like 130-140 wRC+ as opposed to the 113 he presently has before you consider calling him back up. That's the difference between dominating a level and being marginally better than it. Honestly 130 wRC+ might even bee too low as Alcantara was at 126 last season and despite my hopes still wasn't ready. Bryant on the other hand who appears to be ready was at 164. Soler who's some what struggling now but still sort of productive was 149 in AAA.

His wRC+ is 126

 

[SilenceS]

Sounds like a baseball player to me.

Tommy Birch ‏@TommyBirch 3h3 hours ago

Javier Baez's last 10 games with the I-#Cubs: Hitting .342 (13-38), 4 runs, 1 HR, 8 RBIs, 4 walks, 4 stolen bases, and 11 strikeouts. #MiLB

 

[chibears55]

@CarrieMuskat: #Cubs need a fresh arm so Schlitter coming up. Szczur to Iowa

The shitter back. ..

They need to keep doing this, bringing extra arm up and shortning the bench because of overusing guys like Rosscup, Strop, Grimm, Russell to clean up the messes Jackson Coke and Motte leaves

 

[SilenceS]

@CarrieMuskat: #Cubs need a fresh arm so Schlitter coming up. Szczur to Iowa

The shitter back. ..

They need to keep doing this, bringing extra arm up and shortning the bench because of overusing guys like Rosscup, Strop, Grimm, Russell to clean up the messes Jackson Coke and Motte leaves

Need LEster to go 7 strong

 

[chibears55]

Need LEster to go 7 strong

That and the hitters to go off again..

3 guys on the bench for today. .
Herrera, Castillo, and Montero

Kinda crazy when you think about how they've been able to win games and stay over .500

Short bench..
half the pen are fatigued and half of pen suck ass..
Shakey starts from their 4th and 5th starters

 

[beckdawg]

So, after a slow start he got his wrc up to 113..
so if he continues to hit well in his next 50 AB he probabaly raises it up another 17 or so and itll be over 130..

Not really the way it works. wRC+ is a measure of how much better you are than the average. At 100 you are considered average for where you are. At 110 you are 10% better. At 120 you are 20% better ...etc. In other words, it's not a counting stat like HRs. Put another way, if he doesn't increase his on base his wRC+ doesn't go up because he's not creating more runs than he previously was compared to the average.

 

[beckdawg]

His wRC+ is 126

Stats must have updated on fangraphs.

Baez has changed his swing and approach. Thats the part people are missing. Javy just needs to keep doing Javy. Haters gonna hate.

Why is anything I've said recently "hating?" I think it's entirely fair to want a prospect to play to a certain level above the competition before being promoted. If he get to that point and sustains it then great. But I don't see a reason to rush him.

 

[chibears55]

Not really the way it works. wRC+ is a measure of how much better you are than the average. At 100 you are considered average for where you are. At 110 you are 10% better. At 120 you are 20% better ...etc. In other words, it's not a counting stat like HRs. Put another way, if he doesn't increase his on base his wRC+ doesn't go up because he's not creating more runs than he previously was compared to the average.

So if he at 126 and your suggesting 130 or better
You don't think he can improve by 4 or more in his next 40 -50 or so ABs