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Daytona Cubs

I went and saw the Daytona Cubs play down in Clearwater tonight. I can't say that I was very impressed by any one player. I'm not sure what the prospect status of any of the players is, but going by the stats, there isn't much there.

Sam Fuld, a lefty hitting centerfielder did hit the ball solid every time up and took great routes to several fly balls. He's hitting .300+ with a .390 OBP. Grant Johnson threw a few innings and had nasty stuff, but was all over the place. I can't believe Ryan Harvey was ever touted as a 5 category stud. He showed good power hitting two warning track fly balls off the end of the bat. With his lanky build and lack of contact there is no way he becomes anything special. He did seem like a great guy though, coming over and chatting with fans before and in between games. Ryan Craig had a nice swing, but strikes out a ton.

The two teams were rained out on Tuesday and Wednesday, so they will play doubleheaders today and tomorrow. Of course it was raining when I had to leave in between games.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Veal
Donald Veal had 9 Ks and 0 hits in 5 IP tonight...
Shades of Wrigley

by Ienpw @ Bleed Cubbie Blue on Jul 20, 2006 10:22 PM CDT reply actions  

Roster
I really don't get too excited about the Daytona roster.  Donald Veal clearly has talent and is doing well since being promoted from Daytona.  And he's still young.

Other than Veal, maybe Mark Holliman can advance.  Grant Johnson seems to be pitching better lately-- mostly from the bullpen.  But Johnson is 23.

And I don't think there are any position players at Daytona who will make it to The Bigs.  Looking at their numbers and ages, I assume many of them will stall out at AA or lower.

by Romero on Jul 20, 2006 11:12 PM CDT reply actions  

Fuld
has had very good numbers at Stanford and with the Cubs. Unfortunately for him, he is blocked from advancing by both Pie at Iowa and Walker in West Tenn. Something will have to happen because he is clearly worth advancing and has the best stats of all the CF prospects. I wouldn't be surprised to see either Walker or him part of a 7/31 trade. Personally I hope we keep him.
Players win awards but teams win championships.

by tharr on Jul 21, 2006 3:51 AM CDT reply actions  

The problem with Fuld...
... isn't that he's "blocked" (and Walker isn't a prospect either), it's that he's going to be 25 in November.

That's WAY too old to be in High-A. If you're 25 and going to make it in the major leagues, you ought to already be there.

If anyone wants him in trade, do it.

by Al Yellon on Jul 21, 2006 7:49 AM CDT up reply actions  

More Fuld
Fuld's best chance of becoming any kind of prospect is if:
  1. He gets promoted to West Tennessee in the next few days.
  2. He continues to post a .390-.410 OBP with an OPS in the .800-.825 range (which is where he's been at for most of the year at Daytona).
  3. He continues playing at a high level in 2007 at Iowa.
Even still, he'll be 25 going on 26 in 2007, so it seems like a stretch to project him to do well at upper levels when he's 24 and a half at High-A ball.

All of that said, Fuld clearly seems like he has some talent.  I think it would be wise for Fleita and the Cubs to promote him and at least give him a chance at some tougher competition.

If anything, Fuld seems like a much better prospect than Chris Walker at West Tenn.  If the Cubs think Walker is as good or better than Fuld than they are clearly seeing something that I don't.

by Romero on Jul 21, 2006 10:39 AM CDT up reply actions  

Harvey and other hitters
I for one haven't given up on Harvey, maybe it is just the optimist in me.  He's been hitting the cover off the ball lately, so I'm going to remain hopeful.

Another guy that has impressed scouts is shortstop, Jonathan Mota, who hasn't hit for a whole lot of power yet, but his glove is reportedly very impressive.

Check out my Cubs Minor League System website: Top Cubs Prospects

by jonpyardi on Jul 21, 2006 7:51 AM CDT reply actions  

Me neither
Im still hopeful for Earl Cunningham and Todd Noel too.

by Santos Sorrow @ Bleed Cubbie Blue on Jul 21, 2006 9:51 AM CDT up reply actions  

What about Ty Griffin?
I still have 2 of his rookie cards!
Check out my Cubs Minor League System website: Top Cubs Prospects

by jonpyardi on Jul 21, 2006 10:23 AM CDT up reply actions  

Lately?
Ok, I didn't look at recent game by game but  Harvey's average is .225 with an OBP of .262.  

You must be an optimist!

by rlpete on Jul 21, 2006 10:54 AM CDT up reply actions  

his average
Lately = he's raised his batting average 25 points in the last month

Check out his splits, you'll see that he has had an OPS of over 1000 in July.

Check out my Cubs Minor League System website: Top Cubs Prospects

by jonpyardi on Jul 21, 2006 11:13 AM CDT up reply actions  

I work right down the street
So the Cubs will be playing Saturday too?
Cleverly Disguised as a Responsible Adult

by Scott G F on Jul 21, 2006 8:13 AM CDT reply actions  

Walker / Fuld
I'm not a minor league expert, but I have seen both these guys play and will share what I do know.

Both are relatively speedy little-pop CF types who are a old for their leagues.  Both have shown the ability to hit for average.  Walker switch-hits, has been named the fastest player in the Cubs org and going into yesterday's action was tied with Eric Patterson for the SL lead in stolen bases.  He has said his work with Vince Coleman last year improved his running game. K rate has been a concern in past years.  He has lowered it a bit so far this season.  Great attitude and work ethic.   After a rough start in rookie A, he has shown improvement at each level.  I'd guess the Cubs like the speed and the switch-hitting ability.

Fuld bats lefty, is obviously a more advanced (and older) hitter than the pro leagues he's played in so far, and his biggest attribute is a remarkable command of the strike zone.  He is a high contact hitter who rarely Ks and manages to draw BBs in ~10% of his plate appearances.   He also plays a fine defensive CF which I've seen (small sample size) and heard raved about on radio broadcasts.  He doesn't have the raw speed of a Walker (or a Pie), but is demonstrating better SB abilities this season (last season he went 18SB - 11CS in Peoria, but those numbers are sometimes deceiving in low-A ball given that the running game is used much more often at that level for instructional purposes and because the few sluggers in the league tend to get promoted quickly unless plate discipline is a huge concern).  I'd guess the Cubs like the plate discipline, but who knows how much they value it.

I think of Fuld as an Adam Greenberg type with a better walk rate so far.  

Chris Walker could be a useful backup OFer/PR type (and I'd rather have a legit OF like that on the roster instead of 2-3 "versatile" Macias-type IFers who end up getting stuck in CF or -- shudder -- RF).   Fuld I think has some future value in as a 4th OFer decent-OBP defensive type (or even a CFer on a team with big boppers elsewhere, dare I dream), but I don't see this organization trying much to develop his sort of talent in the minors or keeping it on the bench if there's a switch-hitting low-obp 2Bman available anywhere.

I'd trade either.  Do note that while both of these two have much lower ceilings than a Felix Pie type, they also likely have a higher chance of hitting that ceiling.  I enjoy seeing Pie play, but expecting him to be manning CF (much less a corner OF slot) full-time next year is way too optimistic for me.  

What does not kill you makes you stronger.

by Pa on Jul 25, 2006 9:59 AM CDT reply actions  

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