Should Vitters be moved up to AA?

Let him grow as a player at his own pace. I don’t see any use in pushing him this year. He didn’t play a lot last year, and is still very young. A push is for someone you think can help you in a year or two at the majors. Vitters isn’t going to land in Chicago until 2011 at the earliest.

Would Vitters be considered in the same league as Longoria was when he first come into the league??? I remember him being pushed through quite quickly. I personally don’t think Vitters is ready to be moved to the MLB this year, but a lost of talent jumps from AA to the majors, especially pitchers. So I want to see how he does against the future pitchers of the MLB.

I don’t get it.

I’m as excited for Vitters as anyone else, but I don’t see the point in starting his option clock any sooner than would be justified. The guy still has a lot of development and coaching that he needs to receive. He won’t get that as a token callup in September who gets limited playing time and rides pine.

There’s absolutely no need to rush him. Has everyone forgotten the Corey Patterson disaster? He flew through the Cubs’ system, was yo-yoed, and was a huge flop. Perhaps his career track would have been the same had he taken a traditional route, but I think there is a lot to be said for the dangers of rushing promising young players. You don’t want them to develop bad habits. You don’t want them to end up in a situation where they’re so horribly overmatched that their confidence is ruined. I think C-Patt would have been better off had the Cubs been more patient with him and realized that he had strike zone issues that could have been better addressed with more time and coaching in the minors, rather than being thrown into the fire.

Plus, while Vitters had a scorching hot May, it was one month. He has the tools and the talent to continue hitting like this, but there’s a distinct possibility that teams will develop better scouting reports and expose his weaknesses. Heck, he might even fall into a slump of his own making. One month standing on its own does not justify a prospect’s promotion. I think he’ll end up in High A at some point this season, but probably not until the second half of the season.

There’s another matter regarding double jumping Vitters to AA. There’s a well-established history of Cubs prospects mashing the ball in the Midwest League, only to move up to the Florida State League and find themselves over-matched. Vitters does not have the same flaws as, say, Brian Dopirak. However, I think there’s something to be said for using the FSL as a proving ground for hitters. High A is where a lot of hitters start coming across good secondary pitches on a regular basis. Rather than give Vitters a complete and total shock to the system by jumping him to AA, a jump to High A would be a much better way to introduce him to higher quality pitchers.

Finally, Vitters has one glaring weakness in his game that he absolutely needs to address through coaching, practice, and repetition. His defense at 3B still needs a lot of work before it will be major league quality. I think he could be an above average defensive 3B in the future, but frankly, it will take him a lot of time to get there. He can only get that time by playing 3B every day in the minors, working with his coaches, and learning from his mistakes in the field. He won’t get that in the majors as a September callup.

The Cubs should not call him up until 2011. There won’t be any room on the roster for him unless Ramirez opts out after 2010 and/or the Cubs decide not to re-sign Lee after 2010 (meaning Ramirez could shift over to 1B). He’d be wasted as an outfielder, to boot.

In other words: be patient with him!

…be patient.