Welcome back to Baseball Instinct’s series: Chin Music. We’re taking a quick snap shot of key player’s in each organization’s major league club as well as their minor league system. This isn’t a “point out the obvious” elite players. We are taking a look at player’s in situations that could help your fantasy team or be a good addition to your fantasy farm. This time we are going to take a look at the Chicago Cubs. Each Chin Music article will focus on three players up in the big leagues and three prospects down in the minors. So let’s begin!
Major leaguer: Starlin Castro SS
Starlin Castro made his major league debut on May 7th. And boy, did he make an impression. When the smooth fielding 20-year-old opened up his major league career by going 2 for 5 with a triple and a homerun, plus 6 rbi, fantasy baseball’s less informed, all at once, spit their Cheerios at their computer screens in the discovery the Mr. Castro was already on a roster in their league.
Didn’t they know that Castro had third best batting average in the Florida State League in 2008, before he was promoted to Double-A?
They obviously didn’t’ know that Castro was the youngest player in the Arizona Fall League in 2009.
And here he is, fast-tracked all the way to the bigs since May, where, for the season, Castro is hitting .310 and occupies the two-hole in the batting order every day. Except for June, where he fell back to earth and hit .227, young Starlin has batted over .310 every month. Tallying only 6 stolen bases, the only thing that he hasn’t done yet is use his plus speed on the base paths for anything other than doubles (21) and triples (5).
Next, our prospect expert Tom Belmont will detail some names to know in the Chicago farm system. Tom, it’s all yours.
Minor Leaguer: Brett Jackson OF
Jackson was already a top Cubs prospect heading into the season and he certainly hasn’t disappointed. He tore up High A in the FSL to the tune of .316 with 33 extra base hits and 12 SBs. He shows good range in CF and has enough arm to play any OF spot. Since his promotion to Double A Tennessee he’s held his own with a .284 Batting Average and has kept his IsoP above .180 which is excellent. He profiles as a 20/20 OF and could see some 30 SB seasons. Still a year away, he could see some time in Chicago in 2011.
Major Leaguer: Ryan Dempster SP
With Carlos Zambrano’s recent problems, Ryan Dempster was the obvious{+++} choice to become the club ace. A thirteen-year veteran, in Dempster’s first three years, as a Cub, he served as their closer, racking up save totals of 33, 24, and 28. In 2008, he was called to the role of starter and posted terrific numbers the last two years with 2008 being his best with 206.2 IP, 187K, and 2.96 ERA. The 2010 season projects to be closer to his 2009 effort: 200 IP, 172K, and 3.65 ERA. A step down, but still incredibly consistent. One of the more under-rated starters in the game.
Minor Leaguer: DJ LeMahieu 2B
Tom Belmont: LeMahieu might be the best hitter in the Cubs system and as a 2B with a 6-4 200lb frame he could become an offensive force. This season in the FSL he’s been using the whole field and currently sits at .298 with 25 XBH and 14 SB. He makes great contact but really needs to begin working on his strike zone judgement in order to take advantage of his natural raw power. Until he begins working deeper counts he’ll never fully realize his potential. But once he does he could see his HR power jump.
Major Leaguer: Tyler Colvin OF
The left-handed hitting Tyler Colvin, age 25, broke spring training this year with the Cubs as a reserve outfielder. Manager Lou Pinella played him sparingly for the first couple months. Due to the Cubs rough start, all that changed in June. Colvin’s role expanded. Currently, the young slugger is hitting .252, with 17 homers, and 40 RBI. Those homeruns, by the way, lead all major league rookies. And the only thing holding back those RBI numbers is the fact that he’s batting lead off. That’s right, I said lead off. Pinella, in his infinite wisdom, has this kid with a .315 OBP hitting in front of Starlin Castro who has a .355 OBP. Most likely, this situation is so to protect the 20-year-old as he develops into the stud he will eventually be, so look for Colvin to move down into a better run-producing spot in the batting order next year, as Chicago will have to address the lead off spot in the offseason.
Chris Archer RHP
Tom: Archer is already in Double A as a 21 year old after mastering the FSL this year. He currently has an 12-2 record and the peripherals support it in full. He has 118 strikeouts to just 49 walks and gets ground balls at more than 50% clip. His Ground Out to Air Out ratio is an impressive 1.52 for the year. At 6-3 and 180 lbs he has an excellent pitchers frame and could add to his already impressive mid 90s fastball and hard slider. His fastball is getting good sink this season and if he can continue that trend it seems like a rotation spot in Chicago awaits in the future.
That does it for Chin Music this week. Check back next time when we bring you three up and three down from the New York Yankees.
