2011 Cub Grades

This is my very amateurish grade and scouting report for every player who appeared for the Cubs in 2011 and is still with the organization in alphabetical order.

Pitchers

 Justin Berg (D) Berg only made eight appearances for the club before earning his demotion back to Iowa where he blew out his arm.  So, it may be awhile before we see him back at Wrigley again.  His stuff isn’t bad but he just cannot throw strikes on a consistent basis.  His fastball has a natural sink to it and when he commands it he gets a lot of swings and misses.  His future is not bright though with his walk problems and now an arm surgery.

Chris Carpenter (B) Carpenter only made ten appearances so, I can only grade him on what I saw, and what I saw I liked.  He has a good fastball with movement.  Carpenter also has a closers mentality.  He developed arm issues at Iowa so, that is something to keep an eye on, but if healthy the ceiling is high on this kid.

Andrew Cashner (I) Can’t honestly grade Cashner as he missed most of the season with a shoulder injury.  But what I did see I did like.  I thought coming into the season he would have to work on cutting down on the walks and we will see if he does that coming into next year.  Projected by the Cubs as a starter and again the jury is out on that.  He has the pitches to start and I love his makeup.  The two big questions will be can he stay healthy and will he be a consistent enough to be starter at the big league level.

Casey Coleman (F) – I may be being too harsh here but, if you saw Coleman pitch this year I don’t know what else you could give him.  His stuff is average at best and he needs to be almost perfect to get hitters out.  If he maximizes all his talent he might wind up a serviceable middle reliever. 

Ryan Dempster (C-) I love Demp, but if you are being honest you have to admit his year wasn’t all that spectacular.  He started off brutally and around mid-May got himself righted.  He had a nice run for a bit but then reverted back down the stretch in September.  At this point Depmster is nothing more than a third starter.  He can give you an occasional great outing but most of the time he is going to be just average.  He has a huge contract option which he has threatened to decline.  Now, I know we don’t have a lot of other alternatives but for the money he makes there has to be something better out there. I would bring him back but not at that 14 million price tag that comes with him.

Rafael Dollis (I) – For some unknown reason he only made one appearance upon his call up by the mental midget we had in the dugout.  He projects as a closer and in AA he saved 17 games this year.  I didn’t see enough of him personally to say what I feel he will become.

Matt Garza (B+) Garza just misses out on an A for his fielding miscues and a couple of rough starts.  But, overall I thought Garza was better than advertised which says a lot as his billing was huge.  He has an array of pitches but his plus fastball is his best.  Natural movement and when he has his secondary pitches working he is literally unhittable.  A guy who wants to win and the Cubs should do everything in their power to lock him up for the long term.

John Gaub (I) Another guy we didn’t get a big look at so it is hard to grade.   Has the potential to be a useful LOOGY in a Mike Remlinger type model. 

John Grabow (D) Grabow was the highest paid member of the bullpen this year which is all you need to know about Jim Hendry.  He is nothing more than a LOOGY and in that role would probably be ok.  He held lefties to a .244 average.  Sadly, Mike Quade had no idea how to use him and he got rocked often.  He faced 80 more right handed hitters then left. He will be gone next season and he won’t be missed. 

Rodrigo Lopez (C-) Lopez was about what I expected when he was brought over from Atlanta’s AAA team.  A junk baller who will give it his all but at this point in his career is relying on moxie more than anything to get hitters out.  He was good for about five innings per start and then the wheels would usually fall off.  Everyone knew this except our resident genius Quade.  Also, the fact that we had no other alternatives then to give Lopez and Doug Davis as many starts as we did speaks volumes about the Cubs minor league system.

Scott Maine (F) I liked what I saw of Maine at the end of last year.  This year however, we didn’t see much of him and that is basically because when we did he was bad.  He walks far too many hitters for my liking.  He may the quintessential quadruple A player, too good for the minors but not good enough to get hitters out at the major league level.

Carlos Marmol (D-) No player frustrates me more than Marmol.  Part of his issue may be Riggins not being able to get through to him.  Or it may be a case of him being too hard headed.  He depends way too much on his slider.  When his slider is on, it is spectacular but hitters have gotten the scouting report on him.  He does not trust his fastball and has trouble locating his slider.  So, now no one swings unless they have two strikes.  He blew ten saves and the Cubs finished twenty games under.  I know we can’t expect perfection but, do the math.  That is a .500 record if he closes the games out.  I am not sure he will ever be able to duplicate his past greatness.  I would trade him if I could and even if he does come back he should not be guaranteed the closers role heading into camp.

Marcos Mateo (D) Mateo surprised by making the team out of camp and pitched okay for awhile before he blew up.  He got sent down then got called back up and then got hurt stupidly.  I think he has a chance but his biggest obstacle seems to be himself.  Gets flustered on the mound and when he starts getting hit does not know how to get out of jams.  I like his arm, but I wonder about his head.

Ramon Ortiz (C-) Ortiz is another retread over the hill guy that was brought in to pitch mop up innings.  He can still retire righties as they only hit .205 against him. But at this point in his career he does not have the ability to retire lefties.  They hit nearly .300 against him and slugged .574.  He won’t be back next season unless something drastically goes wrong.  (Like it did in 2011.)

James Russell (C) Russell has his role.  It is as a LOOGY, nothing more.  Sadly the Cubs “brain trust” somehow got it in their head that he could be a starter.  We saw the results and they were horrifying.  But, to his credit he never complained and took the ball whenever it was asked of him.  His numbers out of the bullpen were actually pretty good.  But his five starts were so bad they kind of skew his overall totals.

Jeff Samardzjia (A-) Well Cub fans be honest, raise your hands if you saw this coming from the shark this year.  I sure didn’t.  At long last Jeffo developed a secondary pitch.  When he mixes in his off speed stuff his plus fastball becomes that much more effective.  Walks too many hitters but, in the second half really put a curb to that as well.  Of course the Cubs are talking about moving him to the rotation next year which in my mind would be a huge mistake.  Be happy what you have with him and don’t mess him up.

Jeff Stevens (D-) The only reason he didn’t get an F is because I really feel Quade messed him up.  Stevens is nothing more than a middle reliever with mediocre material to work with.  He can be effective when he stays in the strike zone but has to be almost perfect to get hitters out.  Q-Balled did him no favors by asking him to throw 3.1 innings in a game in April.  He was doing okay before that but, after being overextended he gave it his all and his reward was being cut.   

Randy Wells (C-) I defended this guy last year when everyone kept saying sophomore slump.  Well, this year, he was hard to defend.  You wonder how much of his issues were related to his arm injury though.  Wells pattern is getting old.  First innings just give him fits.  His first inning ERA was 7.04, which says it all.  He would usually get in trouble in the first and then settle down and start pitching.  His changeup that he developed later in the year was an effective out pitch.  If he can get his early troubles fixed I still think the guy can be a solid number three in a good rotation.  But, that is a big if.

Kerry Wood (B-) What is there really to say about Wood?  You know what you are getting with him, a solid late inning reliever who at some point will get injured.  His development of the cutter has been a huge boost late in his career.  Still has a plus fastball with movement.  Had some first half wildness but really settled down to finish the year strong before, yes again getting hurt.  Does not cost much so, why not bring him back.

Carlos Zambrano (C-) I know he is as good as gone and I also know he has no one to blame but himself.  But, I will miss Big Z.  Sure, he stuff isn’t what it once was.  But he still got hitters out.  His issues were always the same year in year out, between the ears.  He would get flustered on the mound and would start rushing his pitches and then bad things would happen.  When he is on, it is still a thing of beauty to watch.  But, his being on, was becoming rarer and rarer.  I have a bad feeling he goes to Florida with Gullien and pitches well for him. 

Hitters

Jeff Baker (C-) Baker is nice utility player, but that is all he is.  He still hits lefties rather well, hitting .314 and slugging .463 against them.  But, he is an automatic out verses righties as he reached base at only a .229 clip!  Also damming is that he walked only ten times all year.  He can spot start at a number of different positions and be a nice bat off the bench against a leftie but that is all he is.

Darwin Barney (B-) Barney had a nice first half but then ran out of gas after the all star break.  He wound up hitting only .276 (thanks to a .238 average post break) and worse yet only reached base at a .313 clip.  For a guy with no power and hit second an awful lot those are not good numbers.  He does not strike out a ton, so you can count on him to put the ball in play.  Has good range at second and will provide above average defense there.  But, in the long run unless he learns some more plate discipline I don’t think he is the long term answer at second base.

Marlon Byrd (D-) No one player angered me more than Byrd.  His 35 RBi’s in 482 AB’s is embarrassing.  For the year he slugged .395 that is a joke.  He drew a grand total 25 walks this season.  With 2 outs and RISP he hit .194.  I could go on throwing atrocious numbers at you, but I think one gets the point.  His main issue is he doesn’t get on base or have enough speed to hit at the top of the lineup and doesn’t drive in enough runners to hit in the middle.  So, you are left with a guy who plays a below average center field who can’t hit.  If you can get a used rosin bag for him, take it. 

Tony Campana (C) Campana has speed not seen on the North side in my lifetime.  For that reason and that reason alone he deserves a look.  However, he has to learn some plate discipline if he is ever going to be a solid contributor at the major league level.  He reached base at a .303 pace and that won’t cut it.  A good fastball blows him away.  So, he has to add a little muscle if he can and start learning to foul off good pitches.  A walk to him is a double.  At best he can be a useful threat off the bench to pinch run but not sure he ever becomes an everyday player.  Also has a squirt gun for an arm in the outfield.

Wellington Castillo (I) Of all the indictments against the Quade-Hendry brain trust I could spew the fact that Castillo only got 13 at bats upon his call up when Soto got hurt could be at the top of the list.  Soto got hurt and instead of plugging Castillo in there on a daily basis the clowns in charge gave us Koyie Hill every day.  I could understand that if the team is in contention actually, no I can’t.  We know what we have in Hill.  Castillo at the big league level is still an unknown.  The situation was made worse when he got hurt late in the year at Iowa and we didn’t even get to see him in September.  He put up decent enough numbers on the farm and he has a cannon for an arm so, he should get a look in Mesa.

Starlin Castro (B+) He only misses an A because of his defense.  From the offensive side there isn’t much to complain about.  He could draw more walks but, I think in time that will come.  You hate to ruin his aggressive approach because it works for him.  Is about as consistent as they come and he started hitting for some pop in the second half which is truly scary.  Still needs to cut down on the mental mistakes in the field.  He makes the spectacular play but still made way too many errors.  It is scary to think how many he would have had if Pena hadn’t bailed him out as much as he did.  You have to remember he is still a young kid and hopefully the defensive consistency comes because if it does the sky is the limit for him. 

Steve Clevenger (I) It is hard to get a gage on a player who only started one game and who made five plate appearances.  He did have a pretty good season between Tennessee and Iowa also, the fact that he is a left handed hitting catcher is a plus.  But, obviously the jury is still out on him.

Tyler Colvin (F) I am not sure how you can give him any other grade then the F bomb.  He looked completely lost at the plate this year.  Breaking balls gave him fits as did fastballs up around his eyes.  He has never been a patient hitter and this year to say he regressed would be an understatement.  I have never been high on Colvin even after his 20 homer campaign last year.  The league made an adjustment to him and he has not adjusted back.  I am not sure he will ever be a useful full time player.

Blake Dewitt (C+) DeWitt seemed to make the best out of a bad situation.  DeWitt’s issue is that he has a second baseman’s bat but his best defensive position is third.  He is another guy that does not take walks and strikes out too much.  (I think Hendry cornered the market on those types of players.)  Still he did have a couple of nice moments during the season.  But, truthfully I don’t think he will ever hit enough to be a full timer in the bigs. 

Koyie Hill (D) Please let this be the last year of Frankenstein, I mean Koyie Hill.  He seems like a nice enough guy but he cannot hit a lick.  I understand that is why he is a backup catcher but even his defense has become lackluster.  He still calls a good game I guess but, his bat is an automatic out.  A .268 on base percentage is Nefi like.  Again, if he is back next year I will revolt.

Reed Johnson (A-) Few guys get more out of their ability then Reed Johnson.  He knows his role, accepts it, and excels at it.  All good teams need guys like Johnson on their bench.  Can play all three outfield positions and play them well. Hit over .300 with the occasional blast.  Reed is willing to do anything to get on base and is the anti- Marlon Byrd as he hit over .300 with two outs and RISP.   All in all he had a good year and is always welcome in the Cubs clubhouse.

Brian LaHair (B+) It was a total indictment against the Cubs management that LaHair didn’t get a call up during the season as he was ripping it up at Iowa.  I know he is a tad old to be considered a prospect but, this guy can hit.  And better yet, he knows how to take pitches and produce quality at bats.  I know it was September but an .885 OPS is not too shabby.  Natural position is at first but didn’t embarrass himself in the outfield.  Hopefully he will get a legitimate shot to make the team next season in some capacity.

D.J. LeMahieu (C -) Lemahieu didn’t get a chance to play all that much.  In the short time he did he didn’t exactly make much of an impression.  Still, I think he would be an upgrade over Barney over the course of a season.  He hit over .300 in the minors this year and I think at some point once he fills out may add some pop to his bat.  D.J. should at least be given a chance to compete for the job in Mesa.

 Luis Montanez (D) Montanez sadly will always be at least in my eyes viewed as the bust that he was.  The 3^rd overall pick of the draft never lived up to the hype. He is another of those in between players.  He raked at Iowa to the tune of a .321 average.  But when he came up, did not do a whole bunch.  Had a couple of hits here and there but is not a prospect and not a player the Cubs need to keep on the 40 man roster.

Carlos Pena (C-) I am not as big a fan of Pena as the Cubs brass.  He reaches base at a very good .357 percentage hits for power and plays gold glove defense.  However, he hit 4^th all year and drove in only 80 runs.  With 2 outs and RISP he hit an anemic .159.  With RISP in general he only hit .175.  That just does not cut it.  Verses lefties it is a joke.  Pena hit a pitcher like .133 against southpaws.  (Yet for some reason Quade let gave him 146 at bats against them.)  He strikes out way too often for my liking and is not worth the cash he made.   Please, please don’t bring him back.

Aramis Ramirez (B) Say what you want about A-Ram but he is still the main RBI man on the Cubs and they will be hard pressed to make up for his loss, if he does in fact walk.  He started off slow, as he seems to always do, and I cannot forget that start.     However, from June 1^st on I am not sure there was a better hitter in the whole league.  We seem to forget what a black hole the hot corner was here all those years after Santo.  Sure, I would like him to hustle a tad more and his defense is waning.  But I am not sure who replaces him if he is not brought back.  If you make a mistake to him he will still crush it.

Alfonso Soriano (C-) If Soriano is only 35 then I am 15.  He is the oldest looking and moving 35 year old on the planet.  He will have the occasional hot streak but when he is cold he offers you nothing.  He ran into 26 homers and did drive in 88 runs.  Those numbers would not kill you if he wasn’t making 18 million.  His defense is still subpar, and he can no longer run the bases.  He strikes out too much and can really only hit a low fastball.  I would love to think the Cubs shed his salary someway, but I am not confident. 

Geovany Soto (C) I personally think Soto wore down this year from playing so much in the beginning of the season.  When you have Koyie as your backup you want your starter to play as much as possible.  Soto has in my opinion improved defensively but had a bad year with the bat.  I can live with the 17 bombs and 54 RBI.  I will also that the .721 OPS which out of a catcher isn’t horrible.  But, there are times where Soto looks lost at the plate.  I will say he does draw walks and still hammers lefties.  In any other year I would suggest looking to upgrade but we have way more pressing and bigger holes to fill.

Brad Snyder (I) It is hard to remember Snyder got a brief June call up when the team was hit with the injury bug.  Snyder is a career minor leaguer and with good reason.  He has never shown the ability that made him a first round pick of the Indians in 2003.  Snyder has already filed for free agency and needless to say won’t be missed.