Jackson and Castillo

[ty_smitty21]

I think everyone is pretty excited about the futures of Castro and Rizzo. There seems to be a pretty safe bet that Jorge Soler will be the real deal as well, and a lot of excitement surrounding Baez and Almora.

My question is: Out of Jackson and Castillo, who do you think has a better chance of making an impact for our franchise? Or do you think neither of them, or both of them will make an impact?

Theo and Jed are getting a lot of praise from around the league at how they are building the Cubs. I like what I'm seeing... but I do think Jackson and Castillo could be the keys in whether or not we contend by 2014 or later. If they both turn into solid players and prove they can be a part of our core, we could then spend all of our money on pitching, one outfielder, and 3rd base and put together a really solid team. Sveum says Jackson has changed his swing this offeason. Castillo is kind of an unknown. In a small sample size last year, he put up the 10th best OPS among catchers in baseball. What do you guys think?

[SenorGato]

Don't see either as an impact talent. They're fighting to be the Darwin Barney of their respective positions...give us average to slightly above for a low, low price.

[RedHeadsRule]

I agree with Gato. I think there is more pressure on Castillo because he's going to be the guy right out of spring training and we have zero talent at the catcher position in the minors. I'm more confident in him turning out to be an everyday player, but I don't look at them even close to the way I do Castro, Rizzo, and Samardzija.

[fabian555]

Castillo by far he has hit in minors and all cather are smart, jackson is a ma ybe because he struggled in minors as well so far in the majors. Castillo over jackson but I pray then both do!!!"

[Doogolas]

Castillo by far he has hit in minors and all cather are smart, jackson is a ma ybe because he struggled in minors as well so far in the majors. Castillo over jackson but I pray then both do!!!"

Jackson never really "struggled" in the minors. At worst he was "pretty good" in the minors. Contact problems? Sure. But he didn't struggle on the whole.

[SenorGato]

When you're striking out in 1/3 of your PAs in AAA there's some struggling going on.

[WOwolfOL]

I still love Jackson and think he could put in some solid seasons, maybe 350 wOBA's. Castillo hasn't played 100+ games in any given year so I think he might be a guy who will take a couple seasons to adjust to the rigors. He's hard to project anything remarkable.

[SenorGato]

I would be fine with Jackson putting up a couple of .320's unless baseball suddenly explodes offensively again.

[WOwolfOL]

He's good for XBH and walks so if they can get his contact in relative check over the next few seasons he is definitely a 350

[SenorGato]

A .350 wOBA is somewhere around an .810 OPS right now. I'll be happy if he can put up .730. That'd be a 90 point increase on what he did in his initial callup.

[BlackHoleCub]

Neither.

[SenorGato]

How reasonable is .230/.315/.390 and .260/.320/.410 from Jackson and Castillo respectively? Over/under?

[1908_Cubs]

Reasonable. I still think Jackson's got a lot of upward mobility in his projections based on how well he takes to swing adaptations and if they fixed his issues.

I'd say they're both fairly strong barometers where both have the respective abilities to do more (though I think Castillo's is more in line with his ceiling than Jackson) and both certainly have the ability to underperform.

[SenatorMendoza]

Reasonable. I still think Jackson's got a lot of upward mobility in his projections based on how well he takes to swing adaptations and if they fixed his issues.

I'd say they're both fairly strong barometers where both have the respective abilities to do more (though I think Castillo's is more in line with his ceiling than Jackson) and both certainly have the ability to underperform.

The benchmark for catchers is so low, I think Castillo is most likely to be a regular. We've seen he can catch and throw decently. And he can hit his weight with reasonable pop, which basically makes his floor a below average starting catcher. For league minimum that's pretty good. Granted his ceiling is probably slightly above average starting catcher. Though every now and again a player surprises.

Jackson is way more boom or bust. Much better ceiling much lower floor and a much higher ceiling.

[SenorGato]

The benchmark for catchers is so low, I think Castillo is most likely to be a regular. We've seen he can catch and throw decently. And he can hit his weight with reasonable pop, which basically makes his floor a below average starting catcher. For league minimum that's pretty good. Granted his ceiling is probably slightly above average starting catcher. Though every now and again a player surprises.

Jackson is way more boom or bust. Much better ceiling much lower floor and a much higher ceiling.

Completely agreed on both, and I think you nailed Castillo.