The Fall of Brett Jackson

Brett Jackson, ever since the Chicago Cubs drafted him in the first round in 2008 has been the Cubs top prospect until 2012 where he was replaced by Javier Baez and even then he was the 32nd top prospect in Baseball according to Baseball America. He was considered a 5-tool player and was supposed to be the Cubs star outfielder. His strikeouts had other plans./

Brett Jackson had all the tools when he was drafted by the Cubs: power, average, speed, throwing ability, and fielding ability. The Cubs seemed like they got a great pick when they drafted him. In 2009 his first pro season he batted .318 with an impressive .418 OBP and 8 homers. The real problem was his 56 strikeouts which meant a 26.5 strikeout rate.

In 2010 he was among the top 75 prospects in Baseball and played in High-A and Double A that year. He hit .297/.395/.493 with 12 homers and 30 steals but struck out 25% of the time

. The same thing happened in 2011 he was a highly rated prospect with great potential but he struck out way to much with a 32% strikeout rate. He still got on base a lot and still hit for power but the average was dropping and people started to become concerned that his strikeout rate was too much in the minor leagues to translate to success in the major leagues.

In 2012 he struck out 156 times and and hit only .256/.338/.479. He was a top 50 prospect even though the strikeout rate was pretty high. He made his debut in the big leagues in August and struggled mightily for the Cubs hitting .175/.303/.342 3 home runs and 0 steals. He struck out 59 times in 160 ABs.Yes nearly 50% of the time.

Now in 2013 the Cubs made some changes to his approach but it seemed to make him even worse as he batted only .217/.290/.349 and seems to be on the road to Bust City. It is sad to see his decline especially since he had all that potential but struck out too much to last in the big leagues. He can still make the big leagues if he cuts on the strikeouts. It is sad to see the fall of a player with great potential

Is Aramis Ramirez a hall of famer?

 Ramirez belts a walk off against the White Sox

When healthy Aramis Ramirez can be a force at third base he can drive the ball and can hit for a high average as well and can draw walks. Ramirez has struggled with injuries as of late after a 50-double season last year he has only hit 11 this year in 54 games. His slugging percentage is over .100 points lower than last season but that is effected due to the injuries.

 Ramirez is a good hitter, even maybe one of the better hitting third baseman of all time. He is among the top 10 home run hitters for third baseman with 342 (6th active) and 91st all time and110th all time in extra base hits (13th active). He is among the top 130 in RBIs (12th active) A-Ram is 35 years old but hitting 50 doubles at 34 is hard in its own right and is impressive for his lack of speed as well.

The next 4-5 years are key for Ramirez as he needs to get to 400 homers before his name starts coming up more. He seems to be a lock for 500 doubles in his career which will help his case as an extra base guy. A-Ram has a .845 career OPS and a 116 OPS+. His best years were in a Cubs uniform where he was on of the best third baseman to wear a Cub uniform and if he does get enough to be inducted it will be in a Cubs uniform.

What could the Phillies get for Michael Young

Michael Young is currently 36 years old and was acquired in a trade in the off season that sent Josh Lindblom and Lisalverto Bonilla to the Rangers in exchange for Young. With the Phillies only at .500 they seem to be rebuilding to get younger.

The most likely player to be traded is Michael Young as he is still a fairly productive player and can really help a contending team while getting the Phillies some decent prospects. Young is currently hitting .278/.344/.404 this year with 7 homers and 32 RBIs. He has been playing slightly below his career numbers of .300/.347/.442 which is hard to do at the age of 36.

The biggest question is who the Phillies can get for him. I doubt they will get much because of the age and the fact he will be a rental. My prediction is that the Rangers, Dodgers, and Reds will be in on Young as they are teams that are willing to sacrifice prospects in the quest for a ring.

Young is known for being a contact hitter and is a 15-20 home run threat. He is not a great fielder with a -1.6 defensive war but a 1.2 offensive war but his total WAR for this year is -0.5. If he is acquired by an AL team he could DH and since Lance Berkman going to the DL and considering retirement. The Rangers could be a likely destination for Young.

Update: 10:23 PM:
Rangers have stated "no interest" in bringing Young back. (Link).

A tribute to Alfonso Soriano

                                                               (Photo Credit: Vineline)
With the news Alfonso Soriano was traded to the New York Yankees in exchange for Corey Black.  I think it is time to reflect on the wonderful career he had with the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs signed Soriano to an 8 year deal after 2006 and he got off to a quick start hitting .291/.340/.547  with 62 homers and 38 steals in 2007-08 and leading the Cubs to the playoffs where they were swept both times. In 2007 during a Nationwide broadcast Soriano came up lame going from first to third on a single and he was never the speedster he once was.

Soriano lost many fans after a dismal 2009 season hitting .241..303/.423 with 20 homers and 55 RBIs but the RBI total was because he was batting lead off most of the time.

Soriano in his last 4 years with the Cubs batted .255/.307/.485 with 99 home runs and drove in 326. He had a wonderful 2012 hitting 32 homers and driving in a career high 108.

Soriano will always be one of my favorite Cubs and I had great joy in watching him hit long homers. I wish he could stay to get his 2000th hit and 400th homer with the Cubs.
I wish him good luck for the New York Yankees and leave you with some of his Cubs highlights.

Should the Yankees be buyers or sellers

The New York Yankees have been in the media a lot this season. Whether for Biogenesis or injuries they always are involved in something. But that brings up a bigger question. What do they do this trading deadline? The Yankees are 51-44 so far this year and are definitely still in the playoff race but are 4th in a very tough AL East. Some think they should be sellers and prepare for the future. But other think they should focus on the future when they are struggling.

 The Yankees don't have one part of the team that is truly dominant. All the regular starters except Cano are out with injuries. The Yankees best pitcher has easily been Hiroki Kuroda who is having a very nice late career resurgence. The Bullpen has actually done pretty well this year.

I honestly think the Yankees will be buying this year as they are still in the playoff hunt and they are above .500. I do expect them to trade Joba Chamberlain who has been their worst bullpen pitcher so far

Interview with Rob Zastryzny

Today I interviewed Rob Zastryzny the Chicago Cubs Second round draft pick from this year. He has currently appeared in 3 games for the Boise Hawks.

How did you find out the Cubs drafted you?

I was watching the draft on TV and I got a text from my advisor that said "cubs at 41" but I wasn't sure and about 30 seconds later I got to hear Kerry wood call my name.

What was going through your head when you were on the mound for the first time?

The same thing that does every time. Get a zero on the scoreboard and get my team in to hit. Give us the best chance to win

Who have been your biggest supporters so far?

My parents by far. My mizzou teammates and coaches have been great too. Chicago fans have been great so far too. Lots of support

When did you realize that you could make the big leagues?

After my sophomore season I started getting interest. But I knew in high school, that if I put in the work, it could be done. I still have a long way to go

Who was the first member of the Cubs to contact you?

Ty Nicholls was the area scout for Missouri and he met with me in the fall and called me on draft day

If you could play for one organization other than the Cubs who would you play for?

There's no other organization that I'd play for because they weren't the ones who wanted me to play for them. They had their chance. The cubs took a shot at me so I'm going to spend all my time helping them win a world series

What type of pitcher do you see yourself?

I have the ability to use power but I see myself as someone who mixes speeds and throws quality strikes

Thanks a ton to Rob for doing this interview and I wish him good luck in the future

Why Starlin Castro is having a year off

Starlin Castro has been really awful this year. He has a slash line of .243/.280/.351 and has been struggling since signing an extension with the Cubs in August of last year. His BB% is 3.7 which is absolutely unacceptable and if you take away the HBP his OBP is .271 which is a lot worse. But lets dive deeper. His BABIP is .285 and the average is .300 so he has been a bit unlucky. He also has been striking out a lot more with a total of 72 on the year. The most likely problem is that the Cubs changed his stance to drive the ball more but it is causing him to swing through a lot more pitches as well. He has a noticeable hitch in his swing that is causing him to move around more before the pitch. Another big issue is that he is not hitting as many line drives and is merely grounding out/flying out. The second half is very big for Castro.