2012 Minor League Thread 10.0

[Rynoplasty]

Sickels on Brett Jackson:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Is that a response to Jackson starting in CF or to the notion that the Cubs won't even try to be competitive?

I know you really wanted Upton, but with that ship sailed I think I prefer Jackson to any of the other FA options. If he can be a "floating 2 WAR type" as I believe you've put it, that would be fairly valuable to demonstrate definitively. It could rebuild a bit of his trade value without killing 2013 in the process.

[SenorGato]

Both.

Upton wasnt about Upton, it was about the pursuit of a prime aged, high quality (as I saw it) talent to a roster that could desperately use that and then some. I don't talk about Greinke as much as Upton because Greinke being good is pretty universally accepted while Upton is one of the most divisive players in the league, but I want Greinke on the Cubs as much or more once I got over that makeup thing. The team is absolutely devoid of young veteran talent (Garza, Shark, Barney, Russel, and the 23 year old SS are it) with room to become more stable and highly productive players.

I don't feel like sitting around waiting for him to turn into a good player. There isn't enough of a payoff unless he's secretly really really good and was just hiding it the past year and a half in the upper minors.

[WOwolfOL]

I think we should all be legitimately pissed off if we don't pursue Greinke. That's just my opinion, but when those young elite talents come around, you gotta pounce on em.

Oh, and Amaya is the 2B of the future

[bulldog312]

Sickels on Brett Jackson:



NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I think he's dead on though. Either you go out and go for it and try to contend, or you let both Vitters and Jackson just have a full season to see how they progress. At least find out what you've got and give them a chance. If they make progress and look like ML caliber guys then you've filled a few holes for cheap going forward. The only other option is to trade him, but who is going to trade for a CF who projects as a backup or 2nd division starter who probably doesn't have a ceiling past a 3 win player? I can't imagine that landing anything of value past a year or two.

[Rynoplasty]

Both.

Upton wasnt about Upton, it was about the pursuit of a prime aged, high quality (as I saw it) talent to a roster that could desperately use that and then some. I don't talk about Greinke as much as Upton because Greinke being good is pretty universally accepted while Upton is one of the most divisive players in the league, but I want Greinke on the Cubs as much or more once I got over that makeup thing. The team is absolutely devoid of young veteran talent (Garza, Shark, Barney, Russel, and the 23 year old SS are it) with room to become more stable and highly productive players.

I don't feel like sitting around waiting for him to turn into a good player. There isn't enough of a payoff unless he's secretly really really good and was just hiding it the past year and a half in the upper minors.

Who do you want in CF? I don't think Hamilton is realistic for us for intangible reasons, Bourn is the type of speed-dependent player I don't care for in free agency on the back nine of his prime, and Victorino at this point in his career screams stopgap solution. The upside with Jackson is that he proves he can be a ML starter and turns back into an asset with some semblance of value.

[SenorGato]

Who do you want in CF?

Preferably a good player. Given a choice right now I would go Victorino, my second choice after Upton.

The downside with Jackson starting is that he gets eaten alive, loses whatever perceived value he has left, and unless Almora is a legend in the making they are in a worse position than they started (which would take some work or lack thereof to accomplish).

As far as trade options...Bourjos is a personal favorite, though there is always the worry that he's too rangy...Ellsbury...Rasmus...probably others that I'm less enthused about like Brantley, C. Young...Mostly Rasmus, Ellsbury, or Bourjos in that order, I guess just going by the minute info or "info" out there.

Hamilton on the right deal, surrounded with other right deals (for pitching), wouldn't be too bad either.

[Rynoplasty]

Preferably a good player. Given a choice right now I would go Victorino, my second choice after Upton.

The downside with Jackson starting is that he gets eaten alive, loses whatever perceived value he has left, and unless Almora is a legend in the making they are in a worse position than they started (which would take some work or lack thereof to accomplish).

As far as trade options...Bourjos is a personal favorite, though there is always the worry that he's too rangy...Ellsbury...Rasmus...probably others that I'm less enthused about like Brantley, C. Young...Mostly Rasmus, Ellsbury, or Bourjos in that order, I guess just going by the minute info or "info" out there.

Hamilton on the right deal, surrounded with other right deals (for pitching), wouldn't be too bad either.

Brett Jackson could pretty easily end up being Peter Bourjos. Bourjos sported a .272 wOBA last year compared to Jackson's .292 in the majors.

Ellsbury is interesting, but other than him I'm not really digging any of those names more than seeing what Jackson's unusual skillset translates to over a full season.

[SenorGato]

This should be fair:

If they add significant talent to the pitching part of the roster then I might find it acceptable to give 500+ ABs to Jackson. He needs coaching, they have tons of coaches now, but I want nothing to do with the scenario if there aren't guaranteed gains elsewhere on the roster.

He should probably start in AAA.

[Milnertime]

Preferably a good player. Given a choice right now I would go Victorino, my second choice after Upton.

The downside with Jackson starting is that he gets eaten alive, loses whatever perceived value he has left, and unless Almora is a legend in the making they are in a worse position than they started (which would take some work or lack thereof to accomplish).

As far as trade options...Bourjos is a personal favorite, though there is always the worry that he's too rangy...Ellsbury...Rasmus...probably others that I'm less enthused about like Brantley, C. Young...Mostly Rasmus, Ellsbury, or Bourjos in that order, I guess just going by the minute info or "info" out there.

Hamilton on the right deal, surrounded with other right deals (for pitching), wouldn't be too bad either.

I would love Colby Rasmus. Just for the simple fact that if he panned out to be anything close to his potential, it would be great to give Cardinals fans a bunch of **** for them bailing on him to replace him with Jon Jay, who is entirely overrated.

[SenatorMendoza]

I tell you, waiting for John Sickel's Cubs prospect list, I really empathize with Cartman on Southpark when he cryogenically froze himself because he couldn't wait for the Wii to come out. Well I'm off to go try to make some room in my freezer.

[Yagyu+]

Some Q&A:

Question: What should we expect from Loux?

Jim Callis: Realistically, solid No. 4 SP. One of their best full-season SP prospects.

Question: Is [Loux] a top 10 organizational prospect?

Jim Callis: No on Loux. But will make the second half of #Cubs Top 30. Working on it now.

[Cubsfan365]

Some Q&A:

Seems to be the best we've heard on him so far.

[Cubsfan365]

Apparently, John Sickels has Vogelbach rated as a B prospect right now, and is thinking about making him a B+. Just as a point of reference, he had Rizzo and B-Jax both as B+ prospects entering last year, Baez as a B, and Vogelbach was a B-.

[KyleJRM]

Sickels really likes Vogelbach. And I think fairly so. At some point, the fact that he can just freaking hit matters more than his body.

[BobTheAutomator]

Reading minorleagueball.com really gives me a newfound appreciation for how prolific Gato is.