Cubs Minor League Wrap: June 18

by Josh Timmers on Jun 19, 2011 12:48 AM CDT in Minor Leagues

Welington Castillo would be fine with the I-Cubs playing in Albuquerque every day. I'm not.

Have I mentioned I hate Albuquerque? Actually, I really just hate Isotopes Park.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were outslugged by the Albuquerque Isotopes, 13-10.

Austin Bibens-Dirkx started tonight and retired the first three batters without incident thanks to a strike-em-out/throw-em-out double play. Then he took the mound for the the second inning.

In the second inning, the first eleven Isotope hitters all reached base against Bibens-Dirkx before he got pulled from the game. He was relieved by Jeff Stevens, who promptly allowed singles to the first two batters he faced. The I-Cubs let the first thirteen batters reach before recording an out. Once Stevens got the first out, however, he did get the next two batters out.

Biben's-Dirkx final line on the night was one inning, allowing eleven runs on nine hits. He only walked one, but he hit two batters. Bibens-Dirkx fanned two.

Catcher Welington Castillo hit his ninth home run tonight and his third in two games. It was a two-run home run in the fourth inning. Castillo was 3 for 5 and also doubled. He scored twice.

Third baseman Marquez Smith went 4 for 5 with a double. He scored once and had one RBI. Center fielder Fernando Perez was 2 for 6 with a double. He scored once and had two RBI.

Second baseman Scott Moore was a perfect 2 for 2 with a triple and three walks. He also scored once and had one RBI.

Tennessee Smokies

The Smokies couldn't hide from the Chattanooga Lookouts, 5-3.

Starter Dallas Beeler took the loss. Beeler pitched six innings and allowed four runs on eight hits, including two home runs. The bright side was that Beeler struck out eight and didn't walk anyone.

Catcher Blake Lalli was 2 for 4 with a double. He scored once and batted one in. Second baseman Matt Camp went 2 for 4 with a double and one run scored.

Daytona Cubs

The North All-Stars defeated the South All-Stars, 5-3. (Daytona is in the North)

Matt Cerda hit an RBI double in the sixth inning that broke a 2-2 tie and gave the north the lead for good. He was 1 for 2. Michael Brenly was 2 for 2 with an RBI and a run scored.

Justin Bour was only 1 for 4 with a double, but he won the home run derby before the game.

The D-Cubs pitchers didn't fare so well as Aaron Kurcz allowed two runs in the inning he pitched and Frank Batista gave up one run in his two-thirds of an inning.

Peoria Chiefs

The Chiefs lost their sixth game in a row, 6-1 to the Quad City River Bandits.

Even Austin Kirk couldn't save the Chiefs tonight, as he got tagged for six runs on eight hits over five innings. Kirk struck out three and did not walk anyone.

Center fielder Matt Szczur hit his fifth home run of the season in the sixth inning. Szczur was 1 for 4.

Boise Hawks

The Hawks won their first game of the year in a big fashion with a 10-2 thumping of the Eugene Emeralds.

Starter Yao-Lin Wang picked up his first win for Boise with five shutout innings. He only allowed two hits. He walked two and struck out six.

Right fielder Reggie Golden went 2 for 4 with a walk and a stolen base. He scored twice and had one RBI.

Center fielder Pin-Cheh Chen was also 2 for 4 with a walk and a steal. He only crossed home once though.

Left fielder Ben Klafczynski was 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored.

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Comments

Is Wang a bonus baby?

He had a good line.

Matt Cerda. Wellington Castillo, Matt Szczur. and Dallas Beeler continue to find ways to impress.

Marquez Smith isn’t having as good a season as last year, but is there anything about him that could be interesting at the MLB level? I know last year he put up some very strong MLEs.

Ah what could have been with Bibens-Dirkzx. A guy with a job title like his could have gone far for us earlier this year.

by SenorGato on Jun 19, 2011 1:15 AM CDT reply actions

He signed

for $260k back in ‘09. So yeah, I guess he’s a prospect.

by Josh Timmers on Jun 19, 2011 2:35 AM CDT up reply actions

Best fastball of any Pacific Rim signing of late

No idea about his secondary stuff, but his FB can hit mid-90s.

by RynoRooter on Jun 19, 2011 12:25 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah

Castillo is raking…if only the amazing Koyie Hill wasn’t blocking him..

Beeler’s line doesn’t do him justice at all. In the first inning he gave up 3 singles that all easily could have been outs but Lake and Camp couldn’t quite get to them. He then gave up a double and HR and sent down 7 straight, still a solid game, but could have been better.

Szczur still slumping despite HR.

Nice start for Golden, and good game for Wang.

Kirk also got robbed of a call that would have made me implode on the mound as well. Gibbs threw out a runner at first, but the runner was called safe which led to the bases being loaded with no outs instead or 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. Clearly still a tough situation, but it doesn’t help when the umps are against you. Hopefully his last Peoria start.

by Ryno G on Jun 19, 2011 3:37 AM CDT up reply actions

"Bonus Baby"

Very Rick Monday-ish.

by San Diego Smooth Jazz Man on Jun 19, 2011 1:52 AM CDT reply actions

Age

Josh not sure if you have the answer. While looking over the box scores over the years, I like to check the age of the minor leaguers. To me it seems many 23-25 years olds playing in lower/higher A. Pretty much same age group in AA.

I always thought the Cubs system has older players at their given league. So I just the checked the Lookouts (Dodgers). Granted I checked out 7-8 players. I was surprised to see they actually are older than the AA Cubs squad. Maybe a small sampling, but never the less interesting.

So finally to my question. On average how old ideally should the player be in each league?

Now for a comment. I am pleased to see that Lake is young at 21. It seems you do not see many players that age at AA. Of course Vitters comes to mind. This Lake might pan out.

Cubs 2011 70-92

by wild bill on Jun 19, 2011 7:01 AM CDT reply actions

I'm sure Josh will chime in too, but the major milestones for a "prospect"

Are to be in A+ by 19 and doing really well by 20, AA by 20-21 and showing his potential in AA by 21-22, AAA by 22-23 showing their potential by 23-24 and then a call up to the majors.

This is a VERY rough guess work of what you’d like to see out of your top prospects. Obviously this changes dramatically depending on the player, how they perform, how high their ceiling is, where they get the best development, what level they’re able to best work on their weaknesses and harness their strengths, etc. But the general rule is, you’re not going to be a top prospect in A+ at 22 or AA at 24, etc. Those guys can still be very viable major league players, but not your possible all start type players most of the time. Obviously there are ALWAYS exceptions to these rules and some guys are just late bloomers.

by bdlugz on Jun 19, 2011 10:00 AM CDT up reply actions

That's about right

although catchers take longer to develop and pitchers pretty much develop on their own schedule. You do want to see yearly progress out of both though.

It depends a bit on whether they went to college or not, but 22 is too old for low-A and then going up one year per level.

by Josh Timmers on Jun 19, 2011 11:30 AM CDT up reply actions

So currently

Vitters and Lake are somewhat above the curve. It seems that AA know a days is more prone to supplying above average talent to the bigs. I am really hoping that Vitters fulfills the promise that he has.

Cubs 2011 70-92

by wild bill on Jun 19, 2011 5:00 PM CDT up reply actions

Yes

Vitters and Lake are still young for Double-A. Now you could argue that they aren’t young for Double-A for someone who is supposed to be a star.

by Josh Timmers on Jun 19, 2011 5:54 PM CDT up reply actions

Kind of a funny story

I know this person throught business. Her son just completed college. He was a pretty good ballplayer. He was contacted by a couple teams prior to the draft.

I asked her if he was drafted he most likely would go to rookie league. Her reply was that he thought he would be in line to report directly to AA. Even with my limited knowledge of how this all works, that was a pipe dream.

Turns out he was not even drafted.

Cubs 2011 70-92

by wild bill on Jun 19, 2011 5:03 PM CDT up reply actions

If he just completed college

then he really wasn’t a prospect since the good ones are all drafted after their junior year.

by Josh Timmers on Jun 19, 2011 5:52 PM CDT up reply actions

Average age in each league

Courtesy of BA, 2009 data

Triple-A: 26.9
Double-A: 24.3
High Class: 22.8
Low Class A: 21.6
Short-Season: 21.3
Rookie Advanced: 20.7
Rookie AZL: 20.2

I think bdlugz is more or less correct for the ages of “prospects,” though of course most of the players in the minor leagues are non-prospects who have little chance of making a big league club, thus the high average ages.

by FTLOTC on Jun 19, 2011 10:11 AM CDT up reply actions

Thank you

to all for answers. I had a hunch. But the input was quite informative.

Cubs 2011 70-92

by wild bill on Jun 19, 2011 4:58 PM CDT up reply actions

Thanks Josh

ABQ isn’t heaven but it’s home, and regarding Isotopes park, I’m just glad to have baseball back in this city – something we lost when the Dukes went away.

"Ask Dad. He'll know. And on the off chance he doesn't, he'll make something up"

by StevenABQ on Jun 19, 2011 10:04 AM CDT via mobile reply actions

Ah, but Albuquerque is very, very close to Mexican Food Heaven

You can walk into any restaurant that offers chile verde, order it, and expect it to be good to great. And one of the few places where restaurants understand that a relleno isn’t supposed to be soggy.

by ClarkFan on Jun 19, 2011 10:16 AM CDT up reply actions

Agreed

I won’t eat it anywhere outside the state. Particularly because New Mexican food (being a blend of native American, cowboy cuisine, and Mexican) cannot be found anywhere else.

"Ask Dad. He'll know. And on the off chance he doesn't, he'll make something up"

by StevenABQ on Jun 19, 2011 10:23 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions

I'd probably love Albuquerque

if I actually lived there. It’s just what happens to a baseball in dry, desert air a mile above sea level.

But yeah, baseball at Isotopes Park beats no baseball any day of the week.

by Josh Timmers on Jun 19, 2011 11:21 AM CDT up reply actions

Reggie Golden with a stolen base?

Was there a bucket of KFC on the bag?

"You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that." -- Jerry Angelo (12.30.2008)

Jerry Angelo trades for Jay Cutler! (4.2.2009)

by SackMan on Jun 19, 2011 11:49 AM CDT reply actions

Golden has good speed

maybe he’s worked off the off-season pounds by now.

by Josh Timmers on Jun 19, 2011 11:52 AM CDT up reply actions

Yeah I'm under the impression he was considered a very strong athlete.

by SenorGato on Jun 19, 2011 12:14 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah, he was considered to have slightly above average speed

coming out of HS. But his baserunning was so raw that most didn’t think it would translate to SBs right away. Good to see.

I’m not liking the 3 Ks in 2 games already, though. Of course, the 2 BBs are a welcome sight.

by RynoRooter on Jun 19, 2011 12:30 PM CDT up reply actions

Micah Gibbs

Cam Greathouse is saying that Micah Gibbs is getting promoted to Tennessee after the ASG.

by Josh Timmers on Jun 19, 2011 11:54 AM CDT reply actions

OK

Greathouse was joking.

by Josh Timmers on Jun 19, 2011 11:58 AM CDT up reply actions

Cam-ism

for those who know what one is.

I'm a Cubs fan. The Jaded Bitterness comes as a Standard Feature.

by timh815 on Jun 19, 2011 12:00 PM CDT up reply actions

I wouldn't be surprised though

if Gibbs did get promoted after the ASG, although Daytona would be more likely.

by Josh Timmers on Jun 19, 2011 12:12 PM CDT up reply actions

Josh: Question Clevenger

Seeing that currently Soto is having troubles with RHP and Hill has problems with all MLB pitchers wondering if you see Clevenger jumping over Castillo as a possible addition to the MLB roster in 2011.

I see his being considered for the AA All Star game with a .296 BA from the left side and a reputation for being a good defensive back stop.

Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."

by Ivy Walls on Jun 19, 2011 12:23 PM CDT reply actions

Don't overlook Castillo.

He’s hitting .333 with 9HR himself. If Soto had decent trade value I wouldnt be opposed to a Castillo/Clevenger platoon next year.

by Dcr18 on Jun 19, 2011 12:29 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions

I've been saying all year

Cubs have lots of big contracts that we can’t get rid of, but Soto has some value. Castillo and Clevenger have caught my attention and I’d love to see what they could do at the major level. I think next year, even more than this year, becomes a “hey lets see what the kids can do” type of year. Ideally this is your roster

C Clevenger/Castillo
1B Pujols? Free agent
2B Barney
SS Castro
3B I’d love it to be Vitters but most likely it will be Ramirez
OF Soriano, Jackson, Colvin

Bench Byrd, Lemahieu, DeWitt (I’d love to get rid of him)

SP Zambrano, Dempster, Garza, Wells, Cashner. I don’t think we have anyone who can be of much use in the minors just yet

"Baseball is almost the only orderly thing in a very unorderly world. If you get three strikes, even the best lawyer in the world can't get you off." ~ Bill Veeck

by Musicdude10 on Jun 19, 2011 12:38 PM CDT up reply actions

3 C on the big club

with Koyie? snicker.

I'm a Cubs fan. The Jaded Bitterness comes as a Standard Feature.

by timh815 on Jun 19, 2011 12:41 PM CDT up reply actions

I can see where you're going, but I'd argue..

LeMahieu start at 2B, forget Ramirez and either sign someone cheap or try Flaherty. Probably give Byrd some starts in RF over Colvin, depending on his progress the remainder of the year.

I’d say there is a 0% chance of Ramirez coming back next year.

by bdlugz on Jun 19, 2011 2:13 PM CDT up reply actions

I've been a big Clevenger fan for years

and I think that he could be a solid backup catcher for the Cubs next season. He probably won’t hit for much power in the majors, but he’ll likely hit from the left-side and get on base at a good clip—maybe .345 or so. Add to that solid if unspectacular defense behind the plate and you’ve got a good major league backup. I have no idea if the Cubs share my point of view.

by Josh Timmers on Jun 19, 2011 12:49 PM CDT up reply actions

Don't overlook Castillo.

He’s hitting .333 with 9HR himself. If Soto had decent trade value I wouldnt be opposed to a Castillo/Clevenger platoon next year.

by Dcr18 on Jun 19, 2011 1:14 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions

Have fun typing Ben Klafczynski for the rest of the year

"Baseball is almost the only orderly thing in a very unorderly world. If you get three strikes, even the best lawyer in the world can't get you off." ~ Bill Veeck

by Musicdude10 on Jun 19, 2011 12:38 PM CDT reply actions

If I can get Samardzija down

I can get Klafczynski. It will take me a few weeks, but pretty soon I’ll be able to spell it without looking.

by Josh Timmers on Jun 19, 2011 12:50 PM CDT up reply actions

Great article

Good write up. Go Cubbies!

by CoachKennyBuford on Jun 19, 2011 1:28 PM CDT reply actions

Albuquerque is actually awesome

And Isotopes Park is a really great venue to take in a ball game.

The dry desert air and altitude make for a lot of offense, but you are sorely mistaken in your assessment of ABQ and Istopes Park.

"Playoffs?!" -Jim Mora

by Castro Por Presidente on Jun 19, 2011 5:04 PM CDT reply actions

It may be a great place to watch a game

but it’s a terrible place to evaluate prospects.

by Josh Timmers on Jun 19, 2011 5:55 PM CDT up reply actions

Maybe from a purely boxscore perspective

but there are a lot of places that inflate offensive numbers more than albuquerque…col springs, las vegas, the cal league, etc.

Evaluating prospects seems like it can be done just fine in all those environments, don’t know why albuquerque would be any different.

If pitchers are leaving everything up in the zone, it’s true that it’s not going to be very forgiving. Unfortunately that’s what the ICubs have been doing here this year for the most part. A staff that doesn’t do that, for instance Omaha’s staff, doesn’t have the same problems here that the ICubs do.

"Playoffs?!" -Jim Mora

by Castro Por Presidente on Jun 19, 2011 8:59 PM CDT up reply actions

Sorry

but look at these three-year park factors.

ABQ is at 1.23 for runs scored. Las Vegas is 1.06. Colorado Springs is 1.13. Only High Desert in the Cal League comes close at 1.20, and they’re leaving town soon.

Albuquerque inflates runs 10% more that Colorado Springs. That’s how bad it is.

by Josh Timmers on Jun 19, 2011 9:06 PM CDT up reply actions

Those factors can't be used to compare between leagues

but either way that’s kinda beside my point. Prospects have been evaluated successfully in offensively skewed parks for a long time, it’s just hard to do that when you’re not seeing them in person.

I was at the first two games and if the ICubs pitchers continue to leave the ball up I don’t care if they pitch in Petco, they’re going to get rocked.

"Playoffs?!" -Jim Mora

by Castro Por Presidente on Jun 19, 2011 9:51 PM CDT up reply actions

But Las Vegas

and Colorado Spring aren’t in different leagues than ABQ

by Josh Timmers on Jun 19, 2011 10:01 PM CDT up reply actions

How statistically significant is a single 3 year set of data?

Probably not very. It’s definitely not significant enough to say with any degree of certitude that abq inflates runs 10% over Col. Springs. Park factor analyses normally need much more data before they are reliable, even at the major league level where you aren’t dealing with the same kind of roster turnover. That analysis is a good start and once it is done over a longer period of time it will be a much better estimation of park factor.

Regardless of whether abq is the most offensively skewed park in the PCL or the third most skewed park in the PCL, an offensively skewed park doesn’t make for a terrible place to evaluate prospects. The park is just one factor of many that make up the context of the performance, and I don’t think it’s even one of the most important. I think that is the crux of our disagreement; rational minds will disagree.

"Playoffs?!" -Jim Mora

by Castro Por Presidente on Jun 20, 2011 12:37 AM CDT up reply actions