Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Cashing in on Cashner for R to I-Z-Z-O

By Corey R. Cunningham
New Cubs GM Theo Epstein has landed Anthony Rizzo once again. Rizzo was traded from the Padres to Chicago in exchange for RHP Andrew Cashner. Rizzo will get a small shot at the starting 1B gig this year at Wrigley Field while competing with Bryan LaHair, while Cashner will be pitching in a young and depleted Padres rotation.



Anthony Rizzo was drafted in the 6th round of the 2007 June Amateur Draft by the Boston RedSox. I got to see Rizzo first hand last June while I was in Boston attending the Padres Series. Being a RedSox fan, it was a bitter-sweet moment seeing Rizzo playing at Fenway Park, however, being in an opposition uniform. I once again am rooting for this young and upcoming prospect to do the best, even if it is in a Cubbies uniform (your welcome Ryan). Reports out of Chicago has the 29 year old Bryan LaHair getting the nod at 1B, however, Rizzo should bring some stiff competition. With Rizzo’s smooth swing and from the left handed side of the batter’s box, I would think he could be capable of a lot of 30 plus HR seasons. Rizzo has seen every spot in the batting order at least once last year, except for 2nd in just 128 AB. Rizzo spent a majority of his time batting in the 5th or 7th slot. In 49 games he batted 128 times, for a .141 BA, just 1 HR, and 9 RBI. Before his horrible second half of summer in San Diego, he had an excellent first half in AAA Tucson. Rizzo played in 93 games, where he batted .331, 26 HR, 101 RBI, .652 SLG, and 1.056 OPS. I am pulling for Rizzo to get the starting 1B job, if so I don’t think he will slug 30 HR just yet, but I do predict these numbers: .280 BA, 18 HR, 75 RBI.



Andrew Cashner who was drafted 4 times in 4 years from 2005-2008, final signed with the Chicago Cubs in 08. Cashner was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 05’ in the 20th round, in 06’ by the Rockies in the 18th round, 07’ by the Cubs in the 29th round, and once again in 08’ by the Cubs in the 1st round. He spent the past 4 years in the minor leagues with the last two years splitting time between the minor and major leagues. His most productive years in the minors were in 09’ and 10’. In 2009 he spent time in High-A Dayton and AA Tennessee, he had a line of 3-4, 2.60 ERA, 1.176 WHIP, 100 IP, 75 K, and 6.7K/9. In 2010, he split time between AA Tennessee, and AAA Iowa with a line of 6-1, 2.05 ERA, 0.947 WHIP, 57 IP, 59 K, and 9.3K/9. Cashner also spent time in the MLB in 10’ and 11’. In 2010 he went 2-6 with a 4.80 ERA, giving up 29 ER in just 54 IP, while in 2011 he pitched just 10 innings, with a 1.69 ERA. Cashner most likely will get the nod on the No. 5 slot, pending the physically conditions of SP Clayton Richard and SP Dustin Mosley who both experience left shoulder problems in 2011. My prediction: 8-11, 3.85 ERA, 140 K

The Age 27 Factor

The age of 27 has always been that magical number that hardcore fantasy owners notice each year come draft time. Many target different players base on this number alone. Yes, there is statistical proof that many players have their “career year” when 27 but many more do not. What the age 27 year guide should be is merely another tool in your belt come draft day.  The list I have compiled does have many interesting names that I would target regardless of their current age. What you should use this list for mostly is when you are on the fence between a couple of player when your draft slot approaches. I personally may lean to the age 27 player when drafting. Some of my favorite on this list that are not 1st or 2nd rounders include, De Aza, Joyce, Walker, Stubbs, and Upton.


Player
Team 
Pos.
Born
Mark Trumbo
LAA
1B
1/16/1986 
Reid Brignac
TB
SS
1/16/1986 
Carlos Gomez
MIL
OF
12/4/1985 
Luis Valbuena
TOR
2B
11/30/1985 
Asdrubal Cabrera
CLE
SS
11/13/1985 
Carlos Gonzalez
COL
OF
10/17/1985 
Evan Longoria
TB
3B
10/7/1985 
Ian Desmond
WAS
SS
9/20/1985 
Delmon Young
DET
OF
9/14/1985 
Neil Walker
PIT
3B
9/10/1985 
Tyler Colvin
COL
OF
9/5/1985 
Chris Nelson
COL
SS
9/3/1985 
Blake DeWitt
CHC
2B
8/20/1985 
Daric Barton
OAK
1B
8/16/1985 
Chris Valaika
CIN
SS
8/14/1985 
Adam Jones
BAL
OF
8/1/1985 
Mat Gamel
MIL
3B
7/26/1985 
Ramiro Pena
NYY
SS
7/18/1985 
Chris Coghlan
MIA
OF
6/18/1985 
Eric Young
COL
OF
5/25/1985 
J. Saltalamacchia
BOS
C
5/2/1985 
Sean Rodriguez
TB
3B
4/26/1985 
Emilio Bonifacio
MIA
2B
4/23/1985 
Brennan Boesch
DET
OF
4/12/1985 
Ian Stewart
CHC
3B
4/5/1985 
Daniel Murphy
NYM
1B
4/1/1985 
Jon Jay
STL
OF
3/15/1985 
Michael McKenry
PIT
C
3/4/1985 
Ryan Sweeney
BOS
OF
2/20/1985 
Scott Cousins
MIA
OF
1/22/1985 
Emmanuel Burriss
SF
2B
1/17/1985 
Matt LaPorta
CLE
OF
1/8/1985 
Scott Sizemore
OAK
2B
1/4/1985 
Chris Heisey
CIN
OF
12/14/1984 
Justin Turner
NYM
2B
11/23/1984 
Casper Wells
SEA
OF
11/23/1984 
Jesus Flores
WAS
C
10/26/1984 
Jose Lobaton
TB
C
10/21/1984 
Troy Tulowitzki
COL
SS
10/10/1984 
Drew Stubbs
CIN
OF
10/4/1984 
Chris Johnson
HOU
3B
10/1/1984 
Ryan Zimmerman
WAS
3B
9/28/1984 
Matt Kemp
LAD
OF
9/23/1984 
Danny Valencia
MIN
3B
9/19/1984 
Jason Donald
CLE
SS
9/4/1984 
B.J. Upton
TB
OF
8/21/1984 
Jarrod Dyson
KC
OF
8/15/1984 
Melky Cabrera
SF
OF
8/11/1984 
Matt Joyce
TB
OF
8/3/1984 
Luke Hughes
MIN
2B
8/2/1984 
Mark Hamilton
STL
1B
7/29/1984 
Alexi Casilla
MIN
2B
7/20/1984 
Allen Craig
STL
OF
7/18/1984 
Cole Gillespie
ARZ
OF
6/20/1984 
Cliff Pennington
OAK
SS
6/15/1984 
Roger Bernadina
WAS
OF
6/12/1984 
Chase Headley
SD
3B
5/9/1984 
Adam Moore
SEA
C
5/8/1984 
James Loney
LAD
1B
5/7/1984 
Alejandro De Aza
CHW
OF
4/11/1984 
Kila Ka'aihue
OAK
1B
3/29/1984 
Matt Downs
HOU
2B
3/19/1984 
Elliot Johnson
TB
2B
3/9/1984 
Denard Span
MIN
OF
2/27/1984 
Brian McCann
ATL
C
2/20/1984 
Brian Bogusevic
HOU
OF
2/18/1984 
Nate Schierholtz
SF
OF
2/15/1984 
Brett Hayes
MIA
C
2/13/1984 
Alex Gordon
KC
3B
2/10/1984