Ari Bear
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2nd is not normaly a power area. If you moved him out of the 3 hole he would move 4th, cleanup
CSF77
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I get the OBA thing but spiting up the RH bats means more.
wOBA:
Rizzo .385
Coghlan: .342
Ruggiano: .337
Castro: .334
Valbuena: .329
Baez: .318
Castillo: .307
Alcantara: .288
Sweeney: .286
From: http://www.fangraphs.com/library/offense/woba/
I believe they need to invest into a legit lead off. Alcantara's .288 wOBA leaves much to be desired. But he has some intangibles that still play out lower in the order.
So if it was me I would look into LF for a full time lead off with a back up plan of Coghlan. .342 wOBA is not killing the team.
Now losing Valbuena for Bryant will make the team RH heavy. That pushes the need for a LH bat lower in the order. So where Alcantara is now makes sense next year even more so.
I'm thinking Coghlan, Baez, Bryant, Rizzo, Soler, Castro, Alcantara, Castillo next year. Unless they are able to get a lead off.
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Knowing Solar is up, I would put Soler in the 2 spot and move Baez to 5. That isn't going to happen this year, but it's what I would do.
chibears55
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Im guessing sweeney gets the axe tomorrow to make room for soler on 25 man...
CSF77
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Baez is barley above league avg with Rizzo protecting him. His production would fall below the league avg with no protection.
CSF77
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No Szczur
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Rizzo isn't protecting him. He is flailing at so many pitches out of yhe zone it makes little sense to throw him much that's decent.
CSF77
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Check that. Sweeney went down with a injury. Guess he hits the 15 now and Soler comes up. Ho convenient.
chibears55
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yea I forgot about him.. he seems like he gonna be one of those career minor leaguers that might catch his break in his late 20's
He gonna be 26 next year and cubs still have 5 more season of control over him..
Just looked and saw sweeney has 1 more yr., I thought this was his last... so yea, I guess theyd hang onto his lefty bat for next year
CSF77
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Dude it would drop down to where Alcantara is. That is what happened with Alcantara.
The thing is the more polished the prospect the safer it is to leave him unprotected in the line up. Soler and Bryant are the 2 most polished prospects on the team. Baez is a free swinger. He will need to be protected. Alcantara is in the same boat but as we see he is not viewed by the Cubs' brass as a "core"
chibears55
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Injury ? During game ? I mustve missed it
Did he suffer the edwin Jackson injury to make room for a rook ?
chibears55
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Uh oh. Rizzo out of game,, hope it not serious
CSF77
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http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/26868/watkins-on-front-line-of-cubs-rebuild
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CHICAGO -- If anyone can speak to the quality and depth of the Chicago Cubs prospect pool, it's newly demoted utility man Logan Watkins.
Watkins, 24, has been in the Cubs system since being drafted in 2008. He has played with All-Star shortstop Starlin Castro -- in the minors and at the major league level -- and next to Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Jorge Soler. He had a cup of coffee with the Cubs in 2013 and was needed last week as Castro was dealing with a death in his family and played well, batting .300 in four games before being sent down Sunday.
[+] EnlargeJorge Soler
Michael Spomer/Cal Sport Media/AP Images
Jorge Soler is a "freakish athlete" who has a good approach at the plate, according to Logan Watkins.
"Like I said when I first came up, it's one of the most talented teams I've played on," Watkins said Sunday of the Cubs' Triple-A Iowa team this season.
Many of those talented Iowa Cubs were with him in the majors, save Bryant and Soler. Major league sources indicate the Cubs might not be done making trades this month, which could open a roster spot for either player, although the Cubs have already indicated Bryant isn't coming up. After a five-hit Saturday, plus three more including a home run on Sunday, Soler could be close.
"He's a freak but has a good approach at the plate," Watkins said. "He's not just up there just swinging."
Baez has shown a propensity to swing at anything -- see his 41.9 percent strikeout rate -- but Watkins believes Baez might be the most dangerous because he says pitchers will end up "pitching not to make mistakes."
Like outfielder Matt Szczur, Watkins' only chance to stick with the Cubs in the future likely is as a utility player. Nearly every time the organization wanted to look at a more highly touted prospect at a new position in Iowa, Watkins was moved around the diamond. When Arismendy Alcantara was moved from shortstop to second base at Triple-A, Watkins went to the outfield.
When Alcantara started playing more center field, Watkins went back to second base. And when Baez was preparing for his final promotion and moved to second, Watkins switched places with him and took over at shortstop.
"I feel like I've increased my value this year because I played everywhere," Watkins said. "I want to make myself a luxury for the manager. They're building a championship team here. I want to be a part of it."
Whether fans believe in the Cubs' rebuilding plan or not, the young talent believes in itself. The players think something special is on the way even if they can't see every detail of the plan yet.
"I think we're pretty much set up the middle if those two guys stay healthy," Watkins said of Castro and Baez. "Kris [Bryant] is a polished hitter. He goes pitch-to-pitch. He's going to play the game a long, long time."
But it's Soler who's next up. Even if the Cubs don't make a waiver deal between now and Sept. 1, rosters will expand for the final month and fans will get to see the best pure athlete of the group.
"He can do it all," Watkins said. "Obviously there are things he has to work on, but that's a freakish athlete."
17414COMMENTS56EMAILPRINT
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CHICAGO -- If anyone can speak to the quality and depth of the Chicago Cubs prospect pool, it's newly demoted utility man Logan Watkins.
Watkins, 24, has been in the Cubs system since being drafted in 2008. He has played with All-Star shortstop Starlin Castro -- in the minors and at the major league level -- and next to Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Jorge Soler. He had a cup of coffee with the Cubs in 2013 and was needed last week as Castro was dealing with a death in his family and played well, batting .300 in four games before being sent down Sunday.
[+] EnlargeJorge Soler
Michael Spomer/Cal Sport Media/AP Images
Jorge Soler is a "freakish athlete" who has a good approach at the plate, according to Logan Watkins.
"Like I said when I first came up, it's one of the most talented teams I've played on," Watkins said Sunday of the Cubs' Triple-A Iowa team this season.
Many of those talented Iowa Cubs were with him in the majors, save Bryant and Soler. Major league sources indicate the Cubs might not be done making trades this month, which could open a roster spot for either player, although the Cubs have already indicated Bryant isn't coming up. After a five-hit Saturday, plus three more including a home run on Sunday, Soler could be close.
"He's a freak but has a good approach at the plate," Watkins said. "He's not just up there just swinging."
Baez has shown a propensity to swing at anything -- see his 41.9 percent strikeout rate -- but Watkins believes Baez might be the most dangerous because he says pitchers will end up "pitching not to make mistakes."
Like outfielder Matt Szczur, Watkins' only chance to stick with the Cubs in the future likely is as a utility player. Nearly every time the organization wanted to look at a more highly touted prospect at a new position in Iowa, Watkins was moved around the diamond. When Arismendy Alcantara was moved from shortstop to second base at Triple-A, Watkins went to the outfield.
When Alcantara started playing more center field, Watkins went back to second base. And when Baez was preparing for his final promotion and moved to second, Watkins switched places with him and took over at shortstop.
"I feel like I've increased my value this year because I played everywhere," Watkins said. "I want to make myself a luxury for the manager. They're building a championship team here. I want to be a part of it."
Whether fans believe in the Cubs' rebuilding plan or not, the young talent believes in itself. The players think something special is on the way even if they can't see every detail of the plan yet.
"I think we're pretty much set up the middle if those two guys stay healthy," Watkins said of Castro and Baez. "Kris [Bryant] is a polished hitter. He goes pitch-to-pitch. He's going to play the game a long, long time."
But it's Soler who's next up. Even if the Cubs don't make a waiver deal between now and Sept. 1, rosters will expand for the final month and fans will get to see the best pure athlete of the group.
"He can do it all," Watkins said. "Obviously there are things he has to work on, but that's a freakish athlete."
CSF77
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http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp...tebook_id=91582410&vkey=notebook_chc&c_id=chc
CINCINNATI -- Cubs outfielder Ryan Sweeney left Tuesday's game against the Reds in the second inning with a left hamstring injury and was being evaluated.
Sweeney appeared to be injured while running out a ground ball he hit up the middle to lead off the second, which Cincinnati shortstop Zack Cozart got to and threw to first to retire Sweeney.
Rookie Matt Szczur replaced Sweeney in right field in the bottom half of the frame.
CSF77
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chibears55
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!,,,
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In case you haven't looked, Baez BA is less than AA and that's with being "protected". Bryant isn't on the team, dude. He's in Iowa.
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