Minor League Wrap--August 31 [UPDATED]

by Josh Timmers on Aug 31, 2008 10:52 PM CDT

Update: Please see my comments for a scouting report on Casey McGehee.

There's really only one game that matters today, so we might as well lead off with Daytona.

Daytona Cubs

Daytona clinched the FSL East second half title by winning the completion of yesterday's game over the Jupiter Hammerheads, 9-2. Daytona then lost today's regularly-scheduled game, 3-2.

Marcos Mateo started the clinching game yesterday and allowed one run in the four innings before the rain came. Mateo got nicked for six hits. He walked two and struck out three.

Todd Blackford improved his record at Daytona to 7-1 with three shutout innings today when play resumed. Blackford allowed two hits while striking out three Hammerheads. He did not issue any walks.

Shortstop Darwin Barney was 2 for 3 with a double and two walks in the clincher. Barney scored twice and batted three in.

Center fielder Jim Adduci went 2 for 5 with two RBI and a run scored. Left fielder Ty Wright was 3 for 5. DH Blake Lalli went 2 for 4 with a walk, a run scored and two RBI.

First baseman Russ Canzler went 2 for 5 with a double and scoring twice.

In the second game, Hung-Wen Chen gave the D-Cubs another strong five-inning start. Chen allowed only one run on three hits. Chen didn't walk anyone and struck out five.

Brian Schlitter, however, picked a good game to give Daytona his first blown save, first loss and allow his first runs in the Cub organization. Schlitter only retired one batter and allowed two men to score on three hits. If you're going to have a meltdown, best have it in the meaningless last game of the season, I guess.

In the second game, Darwin Barney continued his late-season surge with another 2 for 3 game with a double and a run scored. Center fielder Yusuf Carter also went 2 for 3 with a double.

The D-Cubs will host the Palm Beach Cardinals Tuesday in the first game of a best-of-three playoff.

Iowa Cubs

Iowa's ninth inning rally went to waste as the I-Cubs fell to the Omaha Royals, 6-5 in ten innings.

Starter Mike Burns allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk over six innings. Burns struck out two.

Kevin Hart threw a perfect inning of relief.

Justin Berg pitched the ninth inning and got the loss when he allowed the game-winning home run to Royals farmhand Kila Ka'aihue, whom I only mention because he's got a cool Hawai'ian name.

Catcher Tony Richie was 3 for 4 with an RBI. First baseman Jason Dubois went 2 for 5 and knocked two home.

Tennessee Smokies

The Smokies were humiliated by the Carolina Mudcats, 21-2.

Donnie Veal followed up his good start last time with an atrocious one. Veal allowed eight runs on ten hits and four walks over four plus innings. Veal struck out five.

I suppose the good news is that the other pitcher who got shelled was actually shortstop Jose Made, who managed to get one out and allow eleven runs. His ERA on the year now stands at 297.00. I don't think they'll convert him to the mound.

Third baseman Josh Lansford eventually relieved Made, and he actually got two outs and didn't allow a hit. He did walk one and strike out one.

Left fielder Tyler Colvin was 2 for 4 with a double. Matt Matulia went 2 for 4 and scored a run.

Peoria Chiefs

The Chiefs pounded out fourteen hits en route to beating the Kane County Cougars, 8-6.

It's been a rough season for Robert Hernandez, but he went out on a high note. Hernandez picked up his second win of the season with five innings, allowing only one run on six hits. Hernandez walked one and struck out two.

Jake Muyco got his fourth save. He allowed a walk in a hitless ninth inning. Unless he pitches tomorrow, Muyco will finish the season with a 1.80 ERA in 34 innings for Peoria. (He didn't allow a run in five innings for Boise.) I've said it before and I'll say it again: Muyco had a hell of a season for someone who started out in April as the backup catcher for the Tennessee Smokies.

Left fielder Elvis Lara had another big day with the bat by going 4 for 5 with an RBI and three runs scored.

Second baseman Josh Harrison was 2 for 6 with a run scored and an RBI. Third baseman Jovan Rosa went 2 for 6 with a run scored and two RBI.

DH Dylan Johnston is probably sad to see the season end tomorrow, as he went 2 for 5 with a double and an RBI. First baseman Luis Baustista was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. He also got hit by a pitch.

Right fielder Jonathan Wyatt was 2 for 4 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored.

Boise Hawks

The Hawks shut down the Spokane Indians, 3-1.

Aussie Ryan Searle pitched the first five innings and didn't allow a hit. Searle walked two Indians and struck out two.

David Cales got his first save of the season. Cales allowed one unearned run over two innings.

Right fielder Kyler Burke was 2 for 3 with a triple, an RBI and two runs scored.

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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Scouting report on Casey McGehee

Casey McGehee got called up the the majors today. Since he’s the only first-time major leaguer to get the call, I thought I’d do a quick scouting report.

Casey McGehee was an all-conference third baseman for Fresno State whom the Cubs chose in the tenth round of the 2003 draft. The Cubs started him out in Peoria, where he hit well for a second-day pick in his first professional experience (.272), but without a lot of power or patience.

The next season the Cubs tried to make a catcher out of him, like they would later do with Matthew Cerda, Steve Clevenger, Robinson Chirinos and others. In McGehee’s case, the move really didn’t take and while he does still play an occasional game behind the plate, he’s mostly a third baseman these days. In Daytona, learning to catch didn’t really affect his bat that much. He still struggled to get on base, but he started to fill out and hit the ball more into the gaps for doubles and an occasional home run. He especially likes that opposite field gap between center and right field.

In 2005, McGehee had his most successful season, hitting .297 for AA West Tennessee and getting on base at a .354 clip. McGehee still didn’t drive the ball out of the park much, but he continued to dump the ball into the gaps a lot, hitting 31 doubles. He started showing up at the bottom of the Cubs top 20 or top 30 prospects lists after 2005.

McGehee’s 2005 season got him invited to major league training camp in 2006, and he’s been with the major league team in Mesa every spring since. This is probably where most Cub fans know him from. In 2006 he was playing third base almost exclusively for Iowa, and he turned in another typical Casey McGehee season—.280/.336/.406. The OBP dropped a little with the transition to AAA. He also played a little around the diamond—short and second base. The Cubs were clearly thinking his future was as a utility infielder by this point rather than a backup catcher.

McGehee’s 2007 season was a disaster. He struggled in Iowa and got demoted to AA Tennessee. In Tennessee they had him start catching again, probably because they were worried he wouldn’t hit enough to play at third base anymore, even as a backup. He didn’t hit badly for the Smokies, in fact, it was another typical McGehee season at the plate. But he was going backwards, and McGehee’s lousy 2007 had him drop off pretty much everyone’s prospect radar this past off-season. (Including mine.)

This season, McGehee was handed the starting third base job for the I-Cubs out of spring training as well as being the third-string catcher. Putting the bad 2007 season behind him, McGehee went back to doing what he did best: putting the ball in play and hitting doubles into the opposite field gap. He hit .297 for the I-Cubs with a .345 OBP and a .429 SLG. He hit 30 doubles, normal for him, and 12 home runs, which was a slight improvement.

Defensively, McGehee at third base is solid but unspectacular, from what I’ve seen. Behind the plate, he’s pretty much an emergency option. He can do it, but I wouldn’t recommend it in an important game.

Clearly, the Cub that McGehee reminds me the most of is Mark DeRosa, at least with the bat. (That’s the Mark DeRosa who came up with the Braves. Not the Mark DeRosa who’s a star this season.) But like DeRosa, McGehee is going to hit for a decent average and a lot of doubles. Also like DeRosa, McGehee is taking a while to establish himself in the major leagues. Unlike DeRosa, though, McGehee has yet to establish that he can play a middle infield position, and that’s a big difference. If McGehee can only play third base, his major league career might be very short.

Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?

by Josh Timmers on Sep 1, 2008 12:48 PM CDT reply actions

McGehee's translated batting line...

…from BP’s Davenport Translations system is .260/.307/.378. We’re probably better off with Cedeno at third. (Of course, I expect Cedeno’s playing time at short to increase; Lou probably wants to give Theriot a breather to try and avoid a repeat of last September.)

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by cwyers on Sep 1, 2008 12:54 PM CDT up reply actions

Probably

Cedeno’s the better player. But if Ronny has lost his (or Lou’s) confidence, I think we could do worse than McGehee.

I just checked some old BP’s and they say he’s got “gold glove” potential at third base. I commented on “solid” from having seen him play myself, but to be honest, two games isn’t really enough to make that call. (BP’s assessment was from a couple of years ago. He didn’t merit any mention in this year’s guide.)

So McGehee could end up being a defensive replacement for Aramis, although he really doesn’t need it these days. But if they wanted to give him a rest in a blowout, I could see McGehee out there.

Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?

by Josh Timmers on Sep 1, 2008 1:01 PM CDT up reply actions

Call me crazy...

But I doubt Ramirez gets taken out for a defensive replacement given how well he’s done this year AND his bat late in games is too much to take out. The only way I see Ramirez coming out late is if the game is practically over because the Cubs have a big (6+ runs) lead.

Also, DeRo seems like the more logical defensive replacement if he’s available.

One thing you learned as a Cubs fan: when you bought you ticket, you could bank on seeing the bottom of the ninth.
Joe Garagiola

by Ryan at Cubshub on Sep 1, 2008 3:27 PM CDT up reply actions

DeRosa could probably use a few days off as well.

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by cwyers on Sep 1, 2008 4:11 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm really not seeing why McGehee is up over Dubois

other than possibly that Lou’s seen McGehee and hasn’t necessarily seen Dubois.

The author of this post is not a certified scout, doctor, agent, statistician, manager, or journalist, nor was he ever a very good player, though he tried very hard to be like Ryne Sandberg and was about as scrappy as it gets (in T-ball). Any opinion expressed above should in no way be confused with fact, truth, or reality and is hereby qualified in the following ways: 1) The author does not know as much about baseball as Lou Piniella. 2) The author does not know as much about baseball as Jim Hendry. 3) The author does not know as much about baseball as either Dusty or Darren Baker.

by DGU on Sep 1, 2008 4:29 PM CDT up reply actions

McGehee is an infielder

and Dubois isn’t. Dubois can play first and left, which are the two positions Micah Hoffpauir can play. McGehee can play third and catch.

It’s just a positional thing.

Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?

by Josh Timmers on Sep 1, 2008 5:09 PM CDT up reply actions

If McGehee gets more than 15 at bats in September it will be news

by MDBNIU on Sep 1, 2008 7:23 PM CDT up reply actions

Josh Donaldson

Not a bad finish to his his year after quite a few bloggers had torched him for his half season in Peoria. Josh finished with 184 at bats in Stockton. He 12 doubles, 9 home runs and hit 332 with a 394 obp. For the season he hit 15 home runs and close to 270.

by Slamdog on Sep 1, 2008 1:27 PM CDT reply actions

He had a rough season in Peoria

the Athletics, I believe, attributed this to just bad luck and cold weather. They actually promoted him to the California League (one level above the Midwest League) so he could get his confidence back. It should be noted that the Midwest League is considered a pitcher’s league (especially in April and May) and the Cal League is considered a hitter’s paradise.

I was very high on Josh Donaldson last offseason. If the A’s were right and he just needed to get out of the Midwest League, then they may have a great prospect on their hands.

On the other hand, I’d have still traded him for Harden and Gaudin. We’re going for it this season.

Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?

by Josh Timmers on Sep 1, 2008 1:33 PM CDT up reply actions

And he's still not expected to be

particularly good behind the plate, right?

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by Brett Taylor on Sep 1, 2008 6:24 PM CDT up reply actions

Well, he's still pretty raw

He’s actually got a great arm, but he’s inexperienced so he has trouble making the transfer and letting go of the ball in time. He actually fields bunts and ground balls in front of the plate well (he was a third baseman until his junior year at Auburn) but he’s still inexperienced as far as blocking pitches and was giving up a lot of passed balls. (That was with the Cubs system. I don’t know how he’s been with Stockton. I guess I should have driven down there and seen for myself. Just a 45 minute drive.)

So it’s not accurate to say he’s not expected to be good. It would be accurate to say he’s not good now. He has the tools and the capacity to be a good defensive catcher, but it’s a tough position to learn.

Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?

by Josh Timmers on Sep 2, 2008 12:23 AM CDT up reply actions

That's a definite "no brainer"

Good points and well taken! I would also take that deal anyday. Just wanted to remind those bloggers that jumped all over Donaldson early in the season,

by Slamdog on Sep 1, 2008 1:44 PM CDT reply actions