Comments on: Anthony Rizzo made his Cubs debut and it was good

By: hackerjay

hackerjay — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:20:59 +0000

Starlin Castro is is almost a year younger then Rizzo, already is on his way to his third straight year of .300+ average, and has improved drastically in the field. His walk rate has dropped to concerning levels, but I’m willing to give him a pass on it this year.

I think Rizzo is going to be good, but he’s going to be Paul Goldschmidt good, not Joey Votto good.

Castro has a Hall of Fame caliber ceiling. Guys that can get 200 hits at age 21 are few and far between. Castro is the best thing aboutu the Cubs this season, he’s the best thing about their entire organization including minor leagues, and it’s going to stay that way for the foreseeable future.

By: hackerjay

hackerjay — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:12:55 +0000

Except that Jason Hayward is having a significantly better year then Lawrie and has been playing at pretty much the exact same level as Harper, if not better since he is a superior fielder.
Yeah, last year was kind of a lost year for him due to injuries, but he’s still really young. In fact, he’s a day younger then Rizzo.

By: riverace19

riverace19 — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:37:43 +0000

I never really saw Heyward hustle ever. He was questioned by a first ballot HOFer on his work ethic. He is also always injured, probably in part because of his apathy towards his baseball career.

Trout and Harper (and please include Brett Lawrie with those 2) play every play all out, with intent, with fire. That’s a huge difference. That is why I don’t think you can compare this new group with Heyward… totally different mind sets.

By: florida76

florida76 — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:03:36 +0000

Everyone needs to ratchet down the hype when it comes down to this young players, Jason Heyward is a cautionary tale. When he debuted in 2010, ESPN was touting Heyward as the next Mickey Mantle, which sounds unbelievable now. Three years from now, we have no idea how Rizzo, Trout, or Harper will do.

By: WhenMattStairsIsKing

WhenMattStairsIsKing — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:43:19 +0000

He’s the best thing about my Cubs this season – well, him and my man Campana.

That said, he kinda looks like a member of ICP with that shaving cream on his face.

By: bigleagues

bigleagues — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:24:20 +0000

Craig,

Rizzo had 49 GAMES last year with 153 PA’s.

Also in his final At Bat he just missed a ball (seemingly hit on the handle area of the bat) that went to the edge of the warning track.