A little over 2 weeks ago, I wrote an article with Uncle Dave's help about a different way to rate prospects. Dave got the idea from Hockey's Future. Dave's explanations of what each number grade (ceiling) represented was so awesome that I used it word for word. I did want to clarify something on the letter grades (floor). An A …
Daily Facepalm – 3.5.13
MLBTR must be reading our comment section They posted a "Where are they now" of everyone involved in the Matt Garza trade with Tampa. I forgot that the Cubs threw in Chirinos and Guyer, unfortunately for them they've both been plagued by injuries since moving to the Rays. This Jorge Soler guy could be pretty good JD Sussman at Fangraphs …
Better Know a Cub: Brett Jackson
How long does it take to change your swing? Is it even possible to change in your 20's? The answer to these 2 questions will probably tell you all you need to know about Jackson's future with the Cubs. Brett Jackson was drafted in the 1st round of the 2009 draft, at 31st overall. He worked his way up many …
Baseball America Top 100 Prospects
Don't forget to check out the OV Bunt Tournament Contest if you haven't already entered. The Baseball America top 100 prospects are out today and Javier Baez is the highest ranked Cub, at 18. Albert Almora is 33rd and Jorge Soler 34th. Arodys Vizcaino is the final Cub in the top 100 at 83. This is an improvement over last …
Brett Jackson discusses his new swing
Brett Jackson discusses his new swing in this video from ESPN. Last season was his worst season as a professional and hpefully the change in swing will put him on the right track. If the Cubs could get an above average CF in Brett Jackson for dirt cheap it would go a long way toward their rebuilding process.
Carrie Muskat: Prospect Jackson takes hitting session to heart
Best shape of his life? An intense week of hitting in November may help Brett Jackson become the hitter the Cubs think he can be. Jackson and teammate Darwin Barney spent time with Cubs manager Dale Sveum, hitting coach James Rowson and assistant hitting coach Rob Deer at Fitch Park. After striking out 59 times in 120 big league at-bats …
2013 PECOTA Projections
The 2013 PECOTA projections are out and I thought I'd post some of the Cubs below. Since you have to be a subscriber in order to download the spreadsheet, I'm only going to include PA and wOBA, which I calculated using the basic formula. For pitchers I'll only show IP and FIP (I calculated this too). 2013 PECOTA Projections for …
Four most likely to exceed expectations
I was working on an idea for a post using the 2013 Cubs projections. The idea was to calculate an approximation of the best case scenario win total. I was going to use the 65th percentile projection for every player just for fun. I'll finish that before the season, but as I was getting the position player projections into a …
Should the Cubs go after Michael Bourn
Michael Bourn rumors have been flying around all offseason, but he is still sitting there without a job for 2013. We were told how he'd be one of the most highly sought after free agents this offseason, but perhaps those people who said that need to rethink it. Bourn has had plenty of suitors, but talks with him have not …
A closer look at Josh Vitters
We've already taken a closer look at Brett Jackson so let's now take a closer look at Josh Vitters. He had about the worst imaginable start to his big league career in 2012. Vitters hit .121/.193/.202 over 109 plate appearances. His wRC+ late in the year had dipped to something like -12 and after a hot stretch Vitters managed to …