Cubs Minor League Wrap--April 29

I really don’t think Hanley is all that similar to Castro, but he is the premier shortstop in the league.

Since the OP spent the first part of the post basically saying that Hanley and Starlin shouldn’t be compared, I wanted to tackle that for a moment. Let me first state what I stated all offseason – if asked for a Starlin comp, Hanley would not be the first thing that comes to mind for me (Yunel Escobar and Edgar Renteria ae better comps, but I don’t love those either). Simply put, comparing prospects to elite players is a losing proposition most of the times. That said, is it fair to make a comparison? It’s a fine line I’m drawing, but I think there’s a line. Why?

a) The scouting reports on Starlin and Hanley at similar age and levels are fairly similar, ranging from defensive concerns, to offensive approach, to plate coverage, to bat speed, to pitch recognition, to arm strength. Hanley had better speed/baserunning instincts, but there are less concerns with character/work ethic with Starlin. Small differences in the grand scheme of things. The power expectations at similar age levels were the same. Yes, I did just type that. Here’s the thing – even Hanley wasn’t expected to be Hanley.

b) The performance is similar at the same age levels. Actually, it’s fair to say that Starlin has performed better at the same age levels.

At the end of the day, Hanley was a lazy kid who needed to be challenged. He’s more physically gifted than Starlin. Starlin’s a kid that has worked hard to put all his tools to use. I think, based on the stuff out there about this season so far, that we are slowly seeing some power development, and I think expecting a 12-17 HR type player in the prime of his career is fairly realistic, assuming he can maintain the contact ability that he is currently showing.

Short of it is, I don’t think that people are comparing Starlin to Hanley due to the fact that Hanley is the premier shortstop in the league. There’s justifiable reasons to compare the two, even if I don’t think it’s a good comparison.

He obviously won’t be up until June or later. The defense would be better with Theriot at second and Casto at short. Let’s not rush the kid. He’s our future and that is where our WS hopes are. We aren’t winning it this year.

the Reyes comp is just based on his ability/style at the plate, and not his overall game, right?

I think the Hanley Ramirez comparison’s come up not because they are similar players, other than both being shortstops who produced at a young age, but because Hanley is the most superlative comparison to make.

Castro has (I believe this is correct) one full year in the minors, where he played well at a young age. Because of this, this heretofore unknown prospect is now the jewel of our minor league system. Fans are so excited to have a promising position player prospect that each round of comparisons tries to top the previous one. So now this prospect who had a .740 OPS and .950 fielding % elevated his projections from a solid hitter with little power and good range/arm (perhaps Orlando Cabrera as a comp) to Edgar Renteria as a worst case scenario to Hanley Ramirez as the upside.

I think people need to rein in their expectations. Castro doesn’t have the size, speed or power of Ramirez, so other than unrestrained optimism and hope I don’t understand why his name would even come up in discussion.

That line of thinking is among the most short-sighted and nonsensical myths about prospects that is ever seen in print. Players are either able to play at the highest level or they aren’t. It’s that simple. Organizations do not stunt development of any of their players unless they willfully refuse to play them for personal or other reasons. Because managers and GM"s are generally in the business where their own success and security is directly tied to that of the players they choose to allow on the field, the players that can play usually do.

Corey Patterson’s growth was not stunted because of how he was handled in the Cub organization. Corey Patterson just wasn’t what some people believed he was. He was a capable major league OF just never a difference maker…but either way, it had nothing to do with how he was handled in the Cub organization. His levels of success at other stops clearly point that out.

Same for Felix Pie, same for Gary Scott, same for Mike Harkey, same for Scot Thompson and on and on and on.

Starlin Castro will be whatever Starlin Castro is capable of being. Whether he’s playing in Chicago in 2010, everyone will find out soon enough if he’s capable of being a major leaguer and absolutely none of it will have anything to do with Super 2 nonsense or how many AB’s he gets in AA.

He belongs in Chicago…now. He was one of their better players in spring training and to use the Super 2 routine to support some goofy “fiscal irrresponsiblity” argument is small market logic.

If the Cubs seriously want to win games in 2010, and it’s becoming pretty clear that they really don’t care about that, Castro would be in the everyday lineup in Chicago and the middle infield mess around 2B would be cleared up. Super 2 is a red herring…nothing more.

If you want us to treat you like a contributing member of the board, then contribute. Come up with an untapped niche, and discuss it respectfully. I enjoy Josh’s updates.

BTW, I didn’t read your recent post. Why? For the same reason I ignore the national news. I don’t want to get pissed off.

You are very knowledgable. I hope you can soon find a good way to spread your knowledge in a positive fashion.