Josh Vitters entered the 2007 Draft as one of the best bats in the class. Matt Wieters was considered the best college bat in the country and scouts debated whether Mike Moustakas or Josh Vitters was the best high school bat. Some scouts even said Vitters had the best bat in the draft. David Price would be selected 1st and Mike Moustakas next. Then the Cubs picked and took Josh Vitters. Wieters fell to 5th because of contract demands. The Cubs would sign Vitters for $3.2 million.
Moustakas made his big league debut last year and Vitters is waiting for a call-up. At the time of the draft, Vitters was very nearly a full year younger than Moustakas. Vitters was very young for the draft (just 17). Both of the two played only a minimal amount in 2007, but Moustakas hit well in 47 PA while Vitters struggled in 55 PA. Moustakas entered 2008 as the 18th best prospect in baseball while Vitters was 43rd.
At the time of the draft, Baseball America offered this scouting report for Vitters:
Vitters' older brother Christian was a solid prospect who had an excellent career at Fresno State. While Christian was a 10th-round pick, Josh figures to go nine rounds higher. He entered last summer as one of the top hitters in the class, then blew to the top of the heap while dominating at the Area Code Games, doubling three times at the Aflac Classic and earning MVP honors at the Cape Cod Classic. While Vitters has solid defensive and running tools, that's not what earned him such accolades–his bat did. He has tremendous feel for getting the fat part of the bat to the ball, and with his tremendous bat speed and barrel awareness, he drives the ball more consistently than any hitter in the class. Scouts describe him as the rare righthanded hitter with a pretty swing, and he's shown the ability to handle different velocities and different styles of pitching with ease. Vitters' his hand-eye coordination and ability to make contact are almost too good, because at times he swings at pitches he should let pass, rather than waiting for one he can punish with his all-fields power. While his hands and footwork at third are sound, he tends to misread hops, and defense doesn't come easy to him. His bat should play at any position, however. His only speed-bump this spring was a bout with pneumonia that caused him to miss two weeks, but he was still considered a near-lock to be picked in the first five spots overall.
Still young in 2008, just 18, Vitters stayed behind at extended spring training and waited for the short season leagues to open. He began that season in Boise and in 277 PA he hit .328/.365/.498. He was bumped to full season Peoria for the final 4 games of the season. Vitters career had taken off. His defense was a concern, which we expected. His patience was also a concern. His NIBB%* was just 5.2%.
*NIBB% excludes intentional walks from both the numerator and denominator, but includes hit by pitch. It's actually (NIBB+HBP)%, but NIBB% is easier.
A 5.2% rate in short-season A ball isn't all that impressive. The numbers will likely get worse as he plays in more difficult leagues. That's just how it works. The concern the scouts had that he swings at too many pitches was becoming much more of a concern. Still young though, there was no time to panic.
In part because of the low walk rate, Vitters dropped from the 43rd ranked prospect down to 51st the following year. Vitters was still only 19 and he would begin his first season in a full season league. He returned to Peoria where he had played only 4 games the year before and hit .316/.351/.535, which was good for a .402 wOBA and 148 wRC+. After 70 games and 288 plate appearances he was moved up to High A Daytona and he struggled a bit. He hit just .238/.260/..344 (.277 wOBA, 71 wRC+).
2009 was a mixed bag for Vitters. He crushed the ball in Peoria and was still young for the level, but was eaten up in High A. What became even more of a concern was his inability to draw walks. His NIBB% in Peoria was somewhat decent (6%), but it included 9 HBP. His actual walk percentage was under 3%. On the year his NIBB% was 4.8%. As expected, the numbers were going down and he was only in High A.
As far as hitting though, Vitters was doing pretty damn well.
He had a .372 wOBA, 133 wRC+ the following partial season back at High A (120 PA). He was promoted to AA Tennesse and like the year before after a promotion, he struggled. Despite the struggles in AA, he improves his NIBB% to 9.2% in 2010.
He spent all of 2011 in AA and hit just .283/.322/..448, which was good for a league average wOBA of .334 (99 wRC+). His NIBB% slumped to 6.5%.
While that's not a fantastic rate, it has been an improvement on what he did early in his career, but despite that the hitting kind of went south for him. Now you had concerns about his ability to stay at 3rd base, his ability to hit well enough and his rather poor plate discipline.
Vitters was unranked by Baseball America entering 2011 and 2012. He went to Iowa this year where he's been hitting pretty well. At just the age of 22 he's hit .303/.353/.511. His wOBA is .369 (116 wRC+). He's also hit 15 home run, which tied his career high at any one level (2009 Peoria), but he did hit 18 overall in 2009.
Vitters doesn't have much speed. He had only 8 triples in his career that has spanned 6 seasons and nearly 2100 plate appearances. He has 20 stolen bases and has managed to be caught 18 times. If you know nothing about a player's defense, which as fans we really don't, speed is a good proxy for defensive talent. Vitters has never been known as a good fielder and it's been questionable if he can stick at 3rd base.
At the MLB level, only Pedro Alvarez, Chris Johnson and Brett Lawrie have made more than 9 errors at 3rd base. Vitters, in the same number of games, has made 19 for AAA Iowa. The average number of assists for those 3 is 169. Vitters has 148. Pedro Alvarez and Chris Johnson each have a .937 fielding percentage, which is the worst among all qualified 3B. Alex Rodriguez and Hanley Ramirez are 3rd worst at .951. Vitters' fielding percentage is .913 and just .924 in his career. The only years Vitters has played in 100 games or more has ben in 2009 (104) and 2011 (100). He made 21 errors each of those seasons.
I'll be the first to admit that it's very difficult to compare defense in the minors to the big leagues, but that's really all the information I have so it's the best I can do. Considering we know he's a below average 3rd baseman, those numbers just illustrate that fact. By no means do I think he's going to be the worst fielder. I just don't know. It's definitely a possibility.
He's not a good fielder and he is definitely slow. He's terrible at stealing bases and based on the few number of triples he's had it might be safe to say that he's not going to excel at taking extra bases on hits. He could end up being a good baserunner, but I'd say the odds of that are pretty slim. Instead, it's likely he's a below average baserunner.
But he can hit. He's always been able to hit and he's doing it at the highest level in the minor leagues. I entered this season thinking Vitters had little chance to become much of anything at the big league level, but he's hit well enough, shown enough ability to get on base without getting a hit that I'm definitely more optimistic than I was. Do think he'll be a superstar? No. There are way too many flaws in his game for that to happen. He doesn't hit for enough power, he doesn't play good enough defense, run the bases well enough and he's not going to be getting on base without a hit enough for that to happen.
He doesn't have to become a superstar to become valuable and I think that's where I am now. Whether he ends up being a platoon partner or a decent everyday 3rd baseman remains to be seen, but there's value in both. There's obviously more value in being an everyday player, but Vitters has crushed lefties in his career. This season he's hiting .331/.381/.621 vs lefties in over 125 PA. He's hit lefties well prior to this season too.
The Cubs have nobody at 3rd base so I'm anxious to see Josh Vitters get called up and be given a chance to play everyday. I'm more optimistic now than I was a year ago that he might actually be able to hold the position down, but I don't think Vitters will be making any all-star teams. If Vitters has to move to the outfield or across the infield, which is definitely a possibility, the likelihood of him becoming productive drops considerably.
Comments
I’m becoming more optimistic about Vitters too, but there’s this subliminal message I can’t get out of my head now…
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube wrote:
FTA:
Fixed for truthiness.
WaLiQuote Reply
Starlin’s at-bat was so quick I actually missed it, and I am listening to the game.
joshQuote Reply
RIZZOOOOOOO!
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
H to the R(izzo)
WaLiQuote Reply
Did that make it into the river?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
GW wrote:
Either the value of the win is going up because of the CBA as most expect or it’s going down. In other words, overall spending remains the same or the players agreed to a CBA in which the owners will spend less money. That could be right. You’re one of the few who shares that opinion (first I’ve seen actually), but I’d say it’s highly unlikely that overall spending goes down. Spending on amateur talent went down, which leaves more resources for free agents. The value of the win is more than likely going to increase; not decrease as this comment suggests.
mb21Quote Reply
The dot on Gameday made it look like he hit it into Virginia.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
The ocean, actually.
joshQuote Reply
As for teams giving up draft picks on free agents I see no reason anything will change. They did that before and they’ll do it now. Teams were more than willing to give up 1st round picks to sign relievers in the past. Teams will be giving up fewer draft picks to sign free agents, which only increases their value on the market. As for players who will still cost a draft pick, there’s no reason whatsoever to even believe they’ll get less money now.
mb21Quote Reply
Dempste(H)R.
WaLiQuote Reply
The whole point of the new CBA was to funnel more money to the free agents and less to amateurs, but now Dempster is going to get fucked by this same system that is so beneficial to all other free agents? If Dempster is going to get fucked, the Cubs best be on the phone taking the best offer for Garza because he would presumably be fucked next year.
mb21Quote Reply
If vitters defense doesnt improve, I think he will be a Jeff Baker kind of guy. I think that has some value, probably like 1WAR a year or 2 if he hits really well but he cant walk this infrequently and play a corner OF or first, well maybe for the Cubs, but not if the Cubs are going to be good soon. That being said, seeing his defense improve wouldn’t shock me, I mean the guy is only 22 so he’s far from his potential physical peak. He has been progressing somewhat regularly, going through 6 levels from 07-12 so maybe being with one instructor for a full year will help his defense considerably. That’s why I would leave him in the minors for all of this year until the iowa season ends.
AndrewQuote Reply
Wasn’t this post supposed to be about Randall Delgado?
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
That was so 24 hours ago.
WaLiQuote Reply
Andrew wrote:
That’s exactly what I think and he’s better than Baker right now. I mentioned that recently and I really see no reason to not just DFA Baker or Valbuena and call him up. He has some value. How much? That depends on several things that we don’t really know yet.
mb21Quote Reply
The one concern I have that I’ve mentioned before, but didn’t here is that while age is important, so is service time. A 22 year old in AAA who has 2 years of service time is almost certainly a better prospect than a player the same age, but with 6 years of service time.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Assuming similar numbers, position and all that.
mb21Quote Reply
Since I don’t use iCloud and I don’t have an iPad or iPhone, and I don’t do much with Facebook and am not on Twitter or Flickr (what’s Flickr?), is there any reason to upgrade to Mountain Lion, even if it’s only $20?
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
Not to change the subject or anything…
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
I haven’t played with it much, but will let you know what I think tonight or tomorrow. I do have both an iPad and iPhone so I’m sure it’s more valuable to me (syncing most everything). It really depends on what you want your computer for. If you like to set reminders or send messages and get notifications, I’d say upgrade. If you don’t give a rat’s ass about that stuff you’d probably be just fine sticking with Lion. I’ll let you know more later on.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Cool. Thanks
SVBQuote Reply
Other than that home run he gave up (ick) Dempster is pitching well.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ SVB:
I’d much rather talk about that than Dempster. (dying laughing)
I use reminders and ical all the time on my phone so I’m pretty sure I’m going to love Mountain Lion. For those two things alone it’s worth 20 bucks to me. I don’t care about the Game Center and I don’t send many messages so I don’t really care about that, but it will be nice when iOS 6 comes out that I can sync them on my iPad and Macbook Air using a phone number. I use the Notes app all the time on my phone so I’ll enjoy that. I haven’t noticed any bugs yet. Downloaded and installed quickly. I haven’t found any installed apps that don’t work with it yet. I’m sure as other apps are updated it will be even better.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Baker’s hitting too well to DFA to me I think we could trade him in a package deal and get a little something for him. I’d agree with Valbuena, but I think there is value in leaving Vitters in AAA. The comparison isnt great since Rizzo and Wood are much better, but I think weve seen that leaving a guy in AAA can help a players development, even if they have already had success at that level. I’d like to see Cardenas get a try though. He’s been wrecking AAA for about 1200 PA and at 24, correct me if im wrong, isn’t even very old for the league. Not sure why the A’s let him go but I think he could be a solid contributor. I know AAA stats are iffy but 27/17 BB/SO is pretty good everywhere IMO.
AndrewQuote Reply
@ SVB:
Flickr is a site for sharing photos. It tries to also be a social network type site, but isn’t as successful in that realm. It’s great for blogging as well (like, but who BLOGS anymore, man?) I like Flickr, they host all my photos, like my caterpillars:
tangent
joshQuote Reply
I can also give up Google Chrome, which I started using recently because Firefox has really started to suck. Safari know has the same features that made me switch to Google Chrome (view open tabs on other devices).
mb21Quote Reply
@ Andrew:
I’m fine with leaving Vitters in AAA until their season ends, but I’d really like to see him called up after the I-Cubs season is over. I’m just not sure how much value Baker has, but if they could package him with someone that would be much better than DFA’ing. I’m not the biggest fan of Valbuena even though he’s had impressive numbers in the minors. I’m intrigued by Cardenas, but I don’t have high hopes at this point either.
mb21Quote Reply
Just watched the replay, Rizzo’s HR stayed in the park.
joshQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Yeah, I switched from Firefox to Chrome recently too for a couple of reasons: 1) Firefox started to suck, as you said, though I’m not sure why exactly. Just everything seemed to not be working as well, 2) Chrome can remember my bookmarks and such across different machines. The downside is that using Chrome helps Google gain data on you.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
You take nice pictures.
mb21Quote Reply
@ josh:
I think it was that stupid plugin container Firefox added awhile back. Ever since then I’ve had nothing but troubles with it and I don’t even have many plugins (adblock, something to copy html tables to a spreadsheet and that’s about it). I wish Firefox would just go back in time about 5 years and start over.
mb21Quote Reply
Rizzo drove in the run that wasn’t.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Anthony Rizzo is good at baseball
bubblesdachimpQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Yeah, there was a time there when they were easily the best one.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
Yep. I’m not really happy with any of the available browsers I’ve tried, but Chrome was the most convenient for me for awhile and now it will be Safari (especially when iOS 6 comes out). I don’t necessarily like Safari, but it’s better than the rest in my opinion. They all kinda suck.
mb21Quote Reply
Vitters should come up shortly i hope
bubblesdachimpQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Just turn the plugincontainer.exe thing off. Plenty of info available that tells you how to do it.
pinetarQuote Reply
@ pinetar:
But then can you not use plugins? I actually have been happy with Chrome. I like how it remembers bookmarks I did at home. That’s handy dandy.
joshQuote Reply
@ pinetar:
I looked into that, but for some reason I think I was going to lose some functionality that I required. I might look into it again.
mb21Quote Reply
If Firefox had an iOS app I’d be thrilled, but I really want to be able to see the open tabs on other devices. Why hasn’t FF come up with an iOS app?
mb21Quote Reply
@ josh:
No, all of your plugins will continue to work. The only thing is the plugincontainer.exe is a plugin crash monitor and all plugins run within the executable. If you change your config the plugincontainer.exe will not be loaded and all your plugins will run outside of process plugin = OOPP.
pinetarQuote Reply
maybe this will stir more interest in dempster
bubblesdachimpQuote Reply
@ bubblesdachimp:
I think people already knew Demspter was a good pitcher.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
yes, spending will go up. my point is that it will be much better for any individual (demp included) not to have a first round pick annihilator hanging around his neck when he enters the market, since there’s no way to buy up young talent now. maybe worse for dempster than others depending on how he performs in the second half.
GWQuote Reply
@ pinetar:
I’ll try that out tonight.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Any trouble drop me an email. I had issues with the damn thing 5-6 releases ago but not had any issues with it for sometime and actually turned mine back on. But if it helps smooth things out go for it. I take it the version you are currently running is the current one correct?
pinetarQuote Reply
@ josh:
I thought that was what Photobucket was for.
(dying laughing)
Does that bastard sting? I was measuring photosynthesis in sweetgum tree canopies in NC one time, and brushed some caterpillar similar to this (but the horns or whatever they’re called may have been bristlier) and my forearm stung for hours. I had to wait 20 min to get out of the tree for ice, because I’d just started the measurements.
SVBQuote Reply
@ GW:
But the teams signing all the free agents weren’t necessarily the teams scooping up all the amateur talent. Several large markets spent well under what you’d expect. I just don’t see any reason to think a very similar system is going to result in drastically different results for certain types of pitchers.
If he has a down 2nd half that’s an entirely different argument and I would agree. It will have an impact on his future value, but I just don’t buy that he’s going to get less because of some slight modifications to the compensation process.
In year’s past the top 15 picks were protected and it’s only 10 this year. That might have a marginal impact, but it won’t be much.
Assuming Depmster doesn’t collapse the rest of the way, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t sign a contract elsewhere for 3 years and close to $40 million. That’s a wild ass guess based on the win value remaining roughly the same. If the Hamels signing is any indication of what may happen this offseason, holy shit, look out.
Teams still overvalue ERA and he’s among the best in baseball right now. There is just no way that someone like that is going to come away disappointed with free agency when it’s quite likely the value of the win will be increasing. Dempster is going to make out very well this offseason. Trade or no trade he’s going to do just fine.
mb21Quote Reply
@ pinetar:
All right. Although by now I’ve gotten so used to Chrome, I might just stick with it.
joshQuote Reply
bubblesdachimp wrote:
What the fuck does plugincontainer.exe have to do with that?
uncle daveQuote Reply
I think the fact that Dempster doesn’t appear interested in signing an extension with the team he’s traded to is evidence of what his agent and other agents are expecting this offseason. He’s in a perfect position to ask a team who the Cubs want to trade him to work out an extension before approval. I’m surprised he hasn’t done that.
mb21Quote Reply
If you can’t find instructions for turning the plugincontainer.exe off follow these steps.
do an about:config in the address bar.
do a search for ipc
Change all of the dom.ipc.plugins values to be false
pinetarQuote Reply
@ pinetar:
I assume that would work on a Mac, right?
mb21Quote Reply
@ SVB:
These guys don’t, no. The colors and spines are mostly a visual deterrent, though it might make them harder to swallow for something like a squirrel. I suspect they could bite, but I don’t really handle them because I’m trying to keep them from getting infections. There are a few stinging caterpillars in the US, http://www.arkinspace.com/2011/05/stinging-caterpillars-of-united-states.html. There are many more in tropical regions.
These guys are actually large domestic silkmoths, related to luna moths, called cecropia moths. They’re in decline for various reasons.
joshQuote Reply
@ SVB:
I use photobucket for pics I don’t necessarily want my parents to see, and Flickr to do more sharing/social type sharing: pics of the kid, my bug hobby, nature pics, etc.
joshQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Or maybe he simply just doesn’t give a fuck about winning or losing, he enjoys playing at Wrigley where he gets more day games and more time with his family, and is more or less punching a clock. Any chance he decides that playing out as many $12 million seasons with the Cubs as he can is more important to him than signing one more long-term deal? Guy’s already made $70 million over his career. Special medical needs or not, his family is already financially secure unless he is a complete and total fuckup.
uncle daveQuote Reply
@ mb21:
3/40 for a 36 year old? i won’t argue the hypothetical, here. either way it will be significantly less with the first round loss. and yes, i think era is important, which is why we saw the market focused on the non-sabr teams. and the braves and nats love those first round picks.
GWQuote Reply
@ uncle dave:
i wouldn’t be that surprised.
GWQuote Reply
@ mb21:
I’m a Mac neophyte so I can’t responsibly answer that, but would imagine it would. The container is there to allow all the plugins to run in a container in the case the plugin blows up so it wouldn’t bring the browser down only the container.
pinetarQuote Reply
@ GW:
Wouldn’t other key free agents this offseason be in a simlar situation? This is what I’m asking. If all these free agents who qualify for compensation are in the same position, spending is going down if you are right. These are the guys who are worth the most money. Garza will be fucked this time next year. Greinke will get considerably less than Hamels even though he becomes a free agent.
FWIW, I could see Greinke getting less because teams like the Yankees, Sox, Mets and some other large markets probably won’t show much interest.
mb21Quote Reply
@ uncle dave:
Sure. It’s always a possibility. I don’t think him declining the offer is guaranteed by any means.
mb21Quote Reply
It was a saddleback caterpillar. First one on your link. That Bastard. Hope I never see another one in real life.
You aren’t going to start a new gypsy moth infestation are you? 😉
SVBQuote Reply
@ mb21:
greinke will be the best player on the market, a legit 29-yr old ace beloved by stats and scouts alike. yes, i think it will marginally effect his value, but giving up a first rounder for zach greinke is much more palatable than doing it for dempster.
GWQuote Reply
@ GW:
More free agents were type A’s before and the value of the win remained rather consistent. Will he get a little less? Yeah, probably about $2.5 million less. Or maybe not even that much less. One thing not talked about now is that prior to this year teams had to worry about giving other teams additional picks. Not so anymore. They get a comp pick and that’s it.
Dempster will have about a 2.5 to 3 WAR projection entering next season. Over 3 years that’s about 6 to 7.5 WAR if we take off .5 each season. If he was a free agent last year he’d have gotten about 3 years and over $30 million. I assume a boost in value since teams overvalue ERA. Increase the value of the win and go ahead and take off $2.5 million for the draft pick and you’re looking at close to $40 million or more.
mb21Quote Reply
@ GW:
He has some mental issues though that may scare some teams away. How that perception is viewed will depend on his value because he may not thrive in a large pressure filled market.
pinetarQuote Reply
@ SVB:
No, cecropia moths are native to North America in general and are found naturally in Illinois. They used to be important members of the food chain (as food), but urbanization and encroachment by invasive species have been hard on them. I’ve never seen one in the wild, but they are rare even in normal times. The best way is to set up a blacklight at night.
joshQuote Reply
Ted Lilly got 3 years and $33 million a couple years ago. That’s the starting point that Dempster and his agent will have.
mb21Quote Reply
regardless, i still think he gets dealt, for two or three mediocre dodger ‘spects. if not, we can continue the discussion then.
GWQuote Reply
@ SVB:
Actually, according to bugguide, tachinid flies that were introduced to control gypsy moths could be part of the reason for cecropia moths declining. Invasive’s suck. Here’s what an adult looks like (not my image, I won’t have adults until next spring):
joshQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Yeah, that seemed surprising to me, considering his age.
Demp just gave up the lead.
Not an ace.
joshQuote Reply
@ mb21:
fair comp, that could well be the right range. though lilly was a year younger, a better pitcher, and had no strings attached.
GWQuote Reply
@ josh:
I see one of those almost every year. Whether here in central IL or central MO.
pinetarQuote Reply
Oh, Dempster…
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ GW:
Of course, but we’re talking about teams that gave up 1st round picks for relievers, GW. It’s not like we’re talking about a group of teams who were stingy about giving up prospects.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
prospects = draft picks
mb21Quote Reply
@ josh:
Oh yeah, I recognize those. Pretty. Don’t think we have them in PR. A friend of mine does the black light thing at night on his porch in the mountains here. He’s expanded the PR moth species list quite a bit, despite being a geologist.
SVBQuote Reply
Not only would they give them up in the past, they were more than willing to just give them to other teams.
mb21Quote Reply
Here’s a quote from Bruce Miles that made me laugh:
SVBQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Still a QS, FWIW.
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
Very cool. Private insect collections can be valuable data sources for entomologists. Hell, the U of I insect collection started as a private collection.
joshQuote Reply
Dempster reportedly got all bulldoggy in the dugout. Presumably after being told he was done for the day.
Aisle424Quote Reply
I still think he gets traded, and this is mostly posturing.
I guess it puts me in the minority here, but I dont think Allen Webster is a terrible return.
PFDQuote Reply
Aisle424 wrote:
He threw shit all over the place. But I’m betting he doesn’t get the Zambrano treatment by the media.
DoogolasQuote Reply
I actually ended up being in OKC again last night and caught the I-Cubs playing the OKC Redhawks.
Should anyone be interested…
B-Jax worked 3-2 counts in his first 4ABs (struck out on 3 pitches in his final AB against a guy for OKC who was really dealing in his inning of work). 2 of his 3 strikeouts were waving at an offspeed pitch low and away and the 1 in the middle was a called strike on the outside corner. His HR was to the opposite field and was very pretty. It actually tied the game at 8.
Vitters’ strikeout was a low and outside off speed pitch on a 3-2 count. His 2-run single was laced to left and was at a part of the game where the OKC pitcher was obviously laboring but they were just trying to get him through the 4th without burning another pitcher. He popped up to short right his next time up on what appeared to be a hit and run – got it to the right spot, just in the air and not on the ground. His last time up he chopped the 1st pitch to 3B and demonstrated he is slooooow while Matt Dominguez easily retired him. Vitters also played 1B last night and didn’t have many chances except making a really nick pick to complete a double play that mercifully ended one inning.
Wellington Castillo hit a number of balls hard in his ABs.
The pitching… god the pitching was abysmal. Rodrigo Lopez couldn’t get anything by hitters and when he wasn’t getting hit, he was getting nothing on the corners. He was visibly and audibly irritated with the umpiring. Ryan Rowland-Smith got knocked around (stung by a Brad FUCKING Synder HR) and Jay Jackson came into the game with 2 men on and immediately gave up a 3 run bomb to Dominguez. I did get to see Marcus Hatley’s AAA debut. I actually thought he wasn’t that bad. He gave up a comebacker he couldn’t handle and then a seeing eye single. He struck out the next two guys with high 90s heat (95-97 on the radar gun although one time it checked in at 103 which has to have been a fluke), but then the wheels came off and he couldn’t find the plate before finally retiring the side on a line drive to the track in right. He really had a live fastball, but some pretty weak secondary stuff – to my completely untrained eye.
Chet MastersonQuote Reply
@ GW:
I still think he gets traded too. Probably in the next couple days.
mb21Quote Reply
@ Chet Masterson:
Thanks. Those minor league guns are awful. Sometimes they’re accurate and sometimes they just turn them up to get the crowd into it.
mb21Quote Reply
can someone remind me what the qualifying offer rules are? is the hamels extension going to bump it up?
GWQuote Reply
@ PFD:
MO and I said meh last night. You and Dylan are positive. I think we are the only ones “on the record” so far. So its 2-2. Once the rest of the OV crowd chimes in, Thoyer will know what to do.
(dying laughing)
SVBQuote Reply
@ PFD:
I think Webster would be a good return for Dempster. It would be nice if we could get Webster plus another mid-level prospect, but I doubt that’s possible.
mb21Quote Reply
@ Doogolas:
A few days ago, no, he’d not have gotten the treatment, but he will now. He’s an evil son of a bitch now.
mb21Quote Reply
@ GW:
It’s the average salary of the top X% of players. I don’t remember what percentage, but maybe 10% or something like that? Yes, it will have an impact, but not much.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
It seemed to have Rodrigo Lopez correctly marked in the low 80s, so I kind of assumed it was doing alright.
Interestingly, there were TWO dudes in the stands regularly with the gun on Rodrigo Lopez. One I think was just an I-Cub out of uniform charting, but the other guy, I don’t know. It seemed funny to me that someone thought it was relevant to keep a chart to know that Rodrigo throws slow and shitty. Last time I was there I saw many more scouts than this time. Maybe it’s because the Astros have already made their trades.
Chet MastersonQuote Reply
@ mb21:
X% by salary or X% by impenetrable, ridiculous forumula, as in the past?
GWQuote Reply
Dempster just blindsided the Gatorade cooler.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ mb21:
top 125 paid players
mb21Quote Reply
@ Chet Masterson:
Could be that and it could be because the Cubs aren’t sellers. It could also be because the I-Cubs have no talent. (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
have no talent that they’re going to trade
mb21Quote Reply
new shit: http://obstructedview.net/commentary-and-analysis/looking-back-at-ryan-dempsters-cubs-career.html
mb21Quote Reply