Time to give Geovany Soto his props
by MDBNIU on Apr 24, 2008 10:59 AM CDT
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PrintGone relatively unnoticed is the marvelous performance of Soto. I thought he would be good defensively and work well with the pitching staff, and he is doing both admirably. On offense, I thought 15-18 HRs and 55 RBIs or so to go with a .260 BA. But he's blowing those projections away. I'm very impressed with Soto's sweet swing and his approach to each at bat. He's a very intelligent hitter, especially for somebody of his relative inexperience level.
Anyway, it is high time Chicago (and baseball) start giving Soto his props. He is very good at his craft.
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VERY excited
about Soto’s continued development as well as some of the other youngsters who many had given up on (ONEDEC, specifically who Cwyers and I kept defending).
I only wish we wouldn’t have wasted time with Jason Kendall last year as we were desperately close to having Kendall brought back this year if Soto didn’t hit so well in his brief debut. At least we got a draft pick out of that though and Geovanny’s status as our everday catcher wasn’t impacted in the long run
by DartmouthCubsFan on Apr 24, 2008 11:10 AM CDT reply actions
I guess i dont comment to be recognized enough
but i continued to stick with Cedeno just for the record… And I love Soto!!! Ever since he came up last year hes been a beast…
"I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying" - Michael Jordan, the one and only...
I won't quibble...
as he is definitely doing a very impressive job. However, most of Chicago has been high on him since last season. And the national media has been considering the NL ROY a two-horse race between him and Fukudome—even prior to the start of the season.
John Donovan – SI.com
A good eye (12 walks) and a better-than-average arm (he’s caught four of 13 runners trying to steal) combined with an effective bat (.328, two homers, 13 RBIs) make this 11th-round pick (2001) someone the Cubs can bank on for awhile.
Just saying.
Exactly.
This diary is a day late and a dollar short. Soto’s been getting props across the board since last season. He’s just living up to expectations at this point.
"I've always felt that starting pitching is the most important part of the rotation." - Joe Morgan, Sunday Night Baseball 8-12-07
People = MDBNIU
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Apr 24, 2008 7:20 PM CDT up reply actions
golf clap.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Apr 24, 2008 8:30 PM CDT up reply actions
But
That might have been the expectations here among us Cubs’ fans. Just about every other baseball “expert” in the country had other ideas.
I reject your reality and substitute my own.
by WayneCampbell08 on Apr 24, 2008 7:04 PM CDT up reply actions
Not really.
On the strength of his AAA campaign and his short stint in the majors last season, good things were expected of Soto this season, and not just in rotisserie circles, where speculation can run rampant. Maybe he wasn’t expected to be this good (and truth be told, he probably won’t be, although I think he’ll continue to be very good), but he wasn’t panned, or underrated. He’s doing what he’s supposed to be doing, maybe throwing out a few less runners than expected, but that’ll even out as the season goes along.
"I've always felt that starting pitching is the most important part of the rotation." - Joe Morgan, Sunday Night Baseball 8-12-07
But
I think he was underrated by the national media who thought Soto might be a one year wonder. They kept bringing up the fact that it was his 3 year at Triple A and that he came out of nowhere to put up those video game numbers in Iowa. Maybe it’s just my selective memory, but the drumbeats were deafening in my ears this past offseason. I’m not going to say he’ll be a top 2 catcher at the end of the year though. He’s got to beat out Brain McCann as well as Russell Martin for that. He could be the third best C in the NL and nobody outside of Chicago believed that before this season.
I reject your reality and substitute my own.
by WayneCampbell08 on Apr 24, 2008 7:20 PM CDT up reply actions
underrated by the EAST COAST BIASED MEDIA..come on
Developing a catcher is altogether different than developing a everyday position player for the catcher must man his position first, than be able to hit. Barrett should be the example of that.
Now Soto figured out he was overweight and not right, he got right with a good diet/trainer and look his natural abilities came in line. Last year I saw him play in AAA and he was ready then, but the Cubs weren’t.
With Blanco, Soto will learn the nuances of the game and still hit. Martin and McCann are good, very good players. But what Soto has is he is a OPS monster. He hits the ball hard and long.
Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."
Who's "they"?
And please don’t reply “everyone,” because it’s not true. Buster Olney was talking up Soto before the season, Baseball America had him rated pretty high, Steve Stone talked up his hitting prowess on a weekly basis (though Stone was pretty critical of his defense) and, as Damen Jackson mentioned, he was roundly noted as preseason favorite for ROY…the list goes on. Sure they were suspicious of the power numbers, but not of his talent.
"I've always felt that starting pitching is the most important part of the rotation." - Joe Morgan, Sunday Night Baseball 8-12-07
ESPN power rankings
On the power rankings the Cubs are ranked second, in their description it says
“Geovany Soto leads all major league catchers in batting (.352), on-base percentage (.447) and slugging (.606).” So clearly “experts” are expecting greatness out of him.
by SouthsideCUBSfan on Apr 25, 2008 11:57 AM CDT up reply actions
He played this way all year
in AAA last year, and I know sometimes that doesn’t translate. It’s just nice to have home grown talent at a position like catcher!! He makes our lineup go. All 1-8 hitters over .400 in on base % last night?? Unheard of!
This is only the beginning....Lou Pinella end of '07 season and Chicago Transit Authority (the band when they were really good).
Nice to see the cubs develop a good catcher
When was the last time this happened? Whenw as the last time the cubs had a catcher that they held on to for more than a few years? He looks like a career Cub
"If I were playing third base and my mother were rounding third with the run that was going to beat us, I'd trip her. Oh, I'd pick her up and brush her off and say, 'Sorry, Mom,' but nobody beats me." ~ Leo Durocher
He is a budding superstar
How many catchers you know have hit for average, hit for power, able to throw out runners and command a good game.
Let me see: Pudge, Fisk, Bench, Munson, Berra, Campanella, Carter, Dickey, Cochrane, Hartnett?
I left Piazza out for he was easy to run on. These are HOF huge names where their teams have won because the catcher is the most important position on the field outside the starting pitcher and they play more often.
It is so unusual to have a truly offensive catcher that they are gold. Soto has the potential to be the best at his position within a year. The only other player of his age is Martin, who else? Posada is old, Pudge is getting older, DeLuca is already fading. Name me a catcher who could possibly put up Fisk or Bench numbers and also be one of the best defensive catchers.
But whisper it, I don’t want to have this known yet.
Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."
In fact if the Cubs develop a SS and CF'er along with a catcher
they will have hit the trifecta of position players. Those are the three most important positions on the defensive field. Pie could be as good as any defensive CF’er and if he can hit .280-.300 he is a superstar. If Ronnie ONEDEC can actually hit over .300 and field his position at his potential he is another superstar. If Soto can hit .300 or better, hit 25HR’s and drive in 90 RBI’s and throw out batters he is a superstar. They are what, 23, 24, and 25 years old?
They will hit the lotto if Samardz develops into a real starter this year or next.
Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."
Add in
Add in Ramirez who’s still not even 30, Lee who is not signing into a home anytime soon, Zambrano who’s 27, Fukudome signed for 4 years and if Theriot can grab hold of 2nd we have some nice days ahead. Hill pans out, Lilly is good for his contract and Marshall steps up.
We might be in for a 3-4 year run guys.
We are all waiting for that glorious October night when we finally win it all. Until then we will continue to cheer, never do the wave and hope.
by puckishcubsfan on Apr 24, 2008 7:29 PM CDT up reply actions
Brutal
If there’s ever a definition of one-year-wonder…that’s it. Where did 1993 come from?
"This is the kind of thing … that makes you want to see the Chicago Cubs team lose." Marty Brennaman
IIRC...
... Wilkins got hurt early the next season and was never really the same after that. It does, in just looking at the raw numbers, look like one of the biggest fluke seasons ever.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
He got his props when
he was named the starting catcher late last season and in the playoffs. He’s been a cog in this early season success and maybe hasn’t received all the ‘atta-boys’ but that is because there are so many good things going on right now.
The kid looks good, really good. The intangable here? When Z was starting to lose focus during a game last year….Soto went out to talk with him and during the discussion, grabbed Z by the jersey near the color and “got his attention”. That says almost as much as his in-game performance.
Best analysis of Soto so far....
from what I’ve heard, has acutally come from Santo (hard to believe). He said that when Soto knows a fastball is coming, he doesn’t miss it. Very accurate from what I’ve seen. When he swings, he commits to the swing (nice use of a golf term) and that is why he will always hit for a high slugging percentage. I really like Soto and think he can be an all-star quality catcher throughout his career.
Soto started training better, and eating a healthy diet... and lost excess weight
That seems to be the difference maker in his dramatic improvement.
Not comparing the two by any means at all, but Pujols had similar issues during his minor league days, and was almost off the radar as a prospect. Once he got in better shape, things turned around for him big time.
Cubs 2008 (15-6)
Home (10-4) | Road (5-2) | 1-Run Games (4-2) | Extra Innings (4-1)
Updated on April 24, 2008
Are you sure that's true about Pujols?
Pujols spent one season in the minors (2000) after being drafted in 1999. He made the team the following year. He was certainly a surprise, as he came from a year in A ball (with one month of A+ ball) to the majors.
Not saying that preparation/diet wasn’t the issue for Pujols, just that the path was not really similar at all between the two players. Soto spent three seasons in AAA and seven minor league seasons overall. Pujols spent just one season in the minors.
if i remember correctly, Albert did suffer a little from Billy Beane disease, perhaps Geo did as well..
..If you remember from Money Ball scouts were overly obsessed players physiques. i.e. Billy Beane “looked” like a ballplayer, so much was expected even though he had little talent as a player.
Albert was a little overweight when drafted which impacted his draft postion. Someone in the Cards organization saw very quickly he could hit….just a little.
Felix Pie must play everyday!
Even if that's true, the difference is...
that Pujols could always hit. He hit well in his one minor league season (albeit in A/A+ ball) too. Soto was never known as much of a hitter (if anything he was a defensive C) until 2007. Maybe I’m missing something (could very well be wrong here), but I don’t know that I see the similarities in their situations (even accounting for the difference in skill).
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