Cubs' Prospects FUTUREBONER thread

[Eli]

Yeah but other teams know how to draft well, too, and are already good and loaded with players.

No they don't. Theo patented drafting and developing good players. No one else can do it now without paying royalties to the Cubs.

[ChuckD]

Yeah but other teams know how to draft well, too, and are already good and loaded with players.

No they don't. Theo patented drafting and developing good players. No one else can do it now without paying royalties to the Cubs.

Phew! I was worried when I saw what SKO posted.

[Tonker]

This whole debate is Desipio's April Fool right

It's a shame that CT has retired as arbiter of irony because I'd be very interested to hear what he had to say about this post.

[InternetApex]

This whole debate is Desipio's April Fool right

It's a shame that CT has retired as arbiter of irony because I'd be very interested to hear what he had to say about this post.

It was enough to have RV rolling over in his grave.

[Saul Goodman]

This whole debate is Desipio's April Fool right

It's a shame that CT has retired as arbiter of irony because I'd be very interested to hear what he had to say about this post.

Maybe that was the true April Fool's joke.







It's not, though.

[Saul Goodman]

DPD.  Joe Sheehan on Addison Russell:

Is there some reason other than tenure why Javier Baez is thought of as ahead of Addison Russell? Russell's the far better shortstop and the more polished hitter, and only a spring injury prevented him from advancing to the majors last year. Russell doesn't have Baez's bat speed; on the other hand, he can tell a ball from a strike and has internalized the idea that you don't have to swing at every pitch. The bigger issue, to me, is defense. Russell is absolutely a shortstop in the majors, and of the Cubs' three candidates for the position, he's the best defender by far. Russell hit .302/.355/.529 at Double-A last year, with reasonable plate discipline numbers. For all of the attention paid to Kris Bryant and his demotion this spring, I'm far more interested in seeing how the Cubs handle their three shortstops, whether they quickly come around to the idea that Russell is the future, and how they align the other two with that idea in mind.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

DPD.  Joe Sheehan on Addison Russell:

Is there some reason other than tenure why Javier Baez is thought of as ahead of Addison Russell? Russell's the far better shortstop and the more polished hitter, and only a spring injury prevented him from advancing to the majors last year. Russell doesn't have Baez's bat speed; on the other hand, he can tell a ball from a strike and has internalized the idea that you don't have to swing at every pitch. The bigger issue, to me, is defense. Russell is absolutely a shortstop in the majors, and of the Cubs' three candidates for the position, he's the best defender by far. Russell hit .302/.355/.529 at Double-A last year, with reasonable plate discipline numbers. For all of the attention paid to Kris Bryant and his demotion this spring, I'm far more interested in seeing how the Cubs handle their three shortstops, whether they quickly come around to the idea that Russell is the future, and how they align the other two with that idea in mind.

I wouldn't agree that Russell is "by far" better, defensively, than either of the other two, let alone Baez.

Still, 1060*'s looking pretty damn legit.

*Pen-approved nickname

[SKO]

DPD.  Joe Sheehan on Addison Russell:

Is there some reason other than tenure why Javier Baez is thought of as ahead of Addison Russell? Russell's the far better shortstop and the more polished hitter, and only a spring injury prevented him from advancing to the majors last year. Russell doesn't have Baez's bat speed; on the other hand, he can tell a ball from a strike and has internalized the idea that you don't have to swing at every pitch. The bigger issue, to me, is defense. Russell is absolutely a shortstop in the majors, and of the Cubs' three candidates for the position, he's the best defender by far. Russell hit .302/.355/.529 at Double-A last year, with reasonable plate discipline numbers. For all of the attention paid to Kris Bryant and his demotion this spring, I'm far more interested in seeing how the Cubs handle their three shortstops, whether they quickly come around to the idea that Russell is the future, and how they align the other two with that idea in mind.

I wouldn't agree that Russell is "by far" better, defensively, than either of the other two, let alone Baez.

Still, 1060*'s looking pretty damn legit.

*Pen-approved nickname

Who is Sheehan talking to that views Baez as ahead of Russell, anyway?

Pretty sure Russell is ranked as a top five prospect by nearly everyone, which Javy is not, and just based on my own discussions with people and this messageboard it sure seems that most Cubs fans would rather part with Baez or Castro than part with Russell in all of their imaginary trades. Seems like a weird strawman he's arguing with.

[Saul Goodman]

DPD.  Joe Sheehan on Addison Russell:

Is there some reason other than tenure why Javier Baez is thought of as ahead of Addison Russell? Russell's the far better shortstop and the more polished hitter, and only a spring injury prevented him from advancing to the majors last year. Russell doesn't have Baez's bat speed; on the other hand, he can tell a ball from a strike and has internalized the idea that you don't have to swing at every pitch. The bigger issue, to me, is defense. Russell is absolutely a shortstop in the majors, and of the Cubs' three candidates for the position, he's the best defender by far. Russell hit .302/.355/.529 at Double-A last year, with reasonable plate discipline numbers. For all of the attention paid to Kris Bryant and his demotion this spring, I'm far more interested in seeing how the Cubs handle their three shortstops, whether they quickly come around to the idea that Russell is the future, and how they align the other two with that idea in mind.

I wouldn't agree that Russell is "by far" better, defensively, than either of the other two, let alone Baez.

Still, 1060*'s looking pretty damn legit.

*Pen-approved nickname

Who is Sheehan talking to that views Baez as ahead of Russell, anyway?

Pretty sure Russell is ranked as a top five prospect by nearly everyone, which Javy is not, and just based on my own discussions with people and this messageboard it sure seems that most Cubs fans would rather part with Baez or Castro than part with Russell in all of their imaginary trades. Seems like a weird strawman he's arguing with.

I don't know that he's arguing with a straw man; I read that as stating the simple fact that Baez was promoted first.  Therefore, in most casual fans' minds — unlike the minds of pathetically obsessed sadsacks like us — he's ahead of Russell.  Javier isn't ranked as a top five prospect anymore because he exceeded rookie limits in 2014.  No longer a prospect.  He was right there at the top of the boards before then though.

[SKO]

DPD.  Joe Sheehan on Addison Russell:

Is there some reason other than tenure why Javier Baez is thought of as ahead of Addison Russell? Russell's the far better shortstop and the more polished hitter, and only a spring injury prevented him from advancing to the majors last year. Russell doesn't have Baez's bat speed; on the other hand, he can tell a ball from a strike and has internalized the idea that you don't have to swing at every pitch. The bigger issue, to me, is defense. Russell is absolutely a shortstop in the majors, and of the Cubs' three candidates for the position, he's the best defender by far. Russell hit .302/.355/.529 at Double-A last year, with reasonable plate discipline numbers. For all of the attention paid to Kris Bryant and his demotion this spring, I'm far more interested in seeing how the Cubs handle their three shortstops, whether they quickly come around to the idea that Russell is the future, and how they align the other two with that idea in mind.

I wouldn't agree that Russell is "by far" better, defensively, than either of the other two, let alone Baez.

Still, 1060*'s looking pretty damn legit.

*Pen-approved nickname

Who is Sheehan talking to that views Baez as ahead of Russell, anyway?

Pretty sure Russell is ranked as a top five prospect by nearly everyone, which Javy is not, and just based on my own discussions with people and this messageboard it sure seems that most Cubs fans would rather part with Baez or Castro than part with Russell in all of their imaginary trades. Seems like a weird strawman he's arguing with.

I don't know that he's arguing with a straw man; I read that as stating the simple fact that Baez was promoted first.  Therefore, in most casual fans' minds — unlike the minds of pathetically obsessed sadsacks like us — he's ahead of Russell.  Javier isn't ranked as a top five prospect anymore because he exceeded rookie limits in 2014.  No longer a prospect.  He was right there at the top of the boards before then though.

Oh well it seems like he wasted a lot of time typing when he could have written this then:

Is there some reason other than tenure why Javier Baez is thought of as ahead of Addison Russell?

No, no there is not.

[Saul Goodman]

DPD.  Joe Sheehan on Addison Russell:

Is there some reason other than tenure why Javier Baez is thought of as ahead of Addison Russell? Russell's the far better shortstop and the more polished hitter, and only a spring injury prevented him from advancing to the majors last year. Russell doesn't have Baez's bat speed; on the other hand, he can tell a ball from a strike and has internalized the idea that you don't have to swing at every pitch. The bigger issue, to me, is defense. Russell is absolutely a shortstop in the majors, and of the Cubs' three candidates for the position, he's the best defender by far. Russell hit .302/.355/.529 at Double-A last year, with reasonable plate discipline numbers. For all of the attention paid to Kris Bryant and his demotion this spring, I'm far more interested in seeing how the Cubs handle their three shortstops, whether they quickly come around to the idea that Russell is the future, and how they align the other two with that idea in mind.

I wouldn't agree that Russell is "by far" better, defensively, than either of the other two, let alone Baez.

Still, 1060*'s looking pretty damn legit.

*Pen-approved nickname

Who is Sheehan talking to that views Baez as ahead of Russell, anyway?

Pretty sure Russell is ranked as a top five prospect by nearly everyone, which Javy is not, and just based on my own discussions with people and this messageboard it sure seems that most Cubs fans would rather part with Baez or Castro than part with Russell in all of their imaginary trades. Seems like a weird strawman he's arguing with.

I don't know that he's arguing with a straw man; I read that as stating the simple fact that Baez was promoted first.  Therefore, in most casual fans' minds — unlike the minds of pathetically obsessed sadsacks like us — he's ahead of Russell.  Javier isn't ranked as a top five prospect anymore because he exceeded rookie limits in 2014.  No longer a prospect.  He was right there at the top of the boards before then though.

Oh well it seems like he wasted a lot of time typing when he could have written this then:

Is there some reason other than tenure why Javier Baez is thought of as ahead of Addison Russell?

No, no there is not.

Ok.

[R-V]

DPD.  Joe Sheehan on Addison Russell:

Is there some reason other than tenure why Javier Baez is thought of as ahead of Addison Russell? Russell's the far better shortstop and the more polished hitter, and only a spring injury prevented him from advancing to the majors last year. Russell doesn't have Baez's bat speed; on the other hand, he can tell a ball from a strike and has internalized the idea that you don't have to swing at every pitch. The bigger issue, to me, is defense. Russell is absolutely a shortstop in the majors, and of the Cubs' three candidates for the position, he's the best defender by far. Russell hit .302/.355/.529 at Double-A last year, with reasonable plate discipline numbers. For all of the attention paid to Kris Bryant and his demotion this spring, I'm far more interested in seeing how the Cubs handle their three shortstops, whether they quickly come around to the idea that Russell is the future, and how they align the other two with that idea in mind.

I wouldn't agree that Russell is "by far" better, defensively, than either of the other two, let alone Baez.

Still, 1060*'s looking pretty damn legit.

*Pen-approved nickname

Who is Sheehan talking to that views Baez as ahead of Russell, anyway?

Pretty sure Russell is ranked as a top five prospect by nearly everyone, which Javy is not, and just based on my own discussions with people and this messageboard it sure seems that most Cubs fans would rather part with Baez or Castro than part with Russell in all of their imaginary trades. Seems like a weird strawman he's arguing with.

I don't know that he's arguing with a straw man; I read that as stating the simple fact that Baez was promoted first.  Therefore, in most casual fans' minds — unlike the minds of pathetically obsessed sadsacks like us — he's ahead of Russell.  Javier isn't ranked as a top five prospect anymore because he exceeded rookie limits in 2014.  No longer a prospect.  He was right there at the top of the boards before then though.

Oh well it seems like he wasted a lot of time typing when he could have written this then:

Is there some reason other than tenure why Javier Baez is thought of as ahead of Addison Russell?

No, no there is not.

What Sterling said.

Also, CT, is it ironic that SKO is criticizing a writer for their lack of brevity?

[Oleg]

The real April Fool's joke is that you guys are taking Joe Fucking Sheehan seriously, right?

[Powdered Toast Man]

DPD.  Joe Sheehan on Addison Russell:

Is there some reason other than tenure why Javier Baez is thought of as ahead of Addison Russell? Russell's the far better shortstop and the more polished hitter, and only a spring injury prevented him from advancing to the majors last year. Russell doesn't have Baez's bat speed; on the other hand, he can tell a ball from a strike and has internalized the idea that you don't have to swing at every pitch. The bigger issue, to me, is defense. Russell is absolutely a shortstop in the majors, and of the Cubs' three candidates for the position, he's the best defender by far. Russell hit .302/.355/.529 at Double-A last year, with reasonable plate discipline numbers. For all of the attention paid to Kris Bryant and his demotion this spring, I'm far more interested in seeing how the Cubs handle their three shortstops, whether they quickly come around to the idea that Russell is the future, and how they align the other two with that idea in mind.

Of the three, Russell has the lowest range factor and Baez has the highest.

I don't think the Cubs are in any danger no matter who plays SS out of those three, though. And the fact that Russell "internalized the idea" of not swinging at everything and can tell balls from strikes is something something call him up.

[J. Walter Weatherman]

Chicago does have access to a huge fresh water source though, so it's going to be prime real estate when the world economy collapses in the next few years. That should be boner time indeed.

And we've already rigged everything to float all of our piss and shit down to St. Louis.

*Pen-approved nickname

There's a feather in someone's cap.