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 Earlier this month I wrote about Cubs Prospect Jeff Samardzija being promoted to Double-A, so I figure it's time for an update....
First of all, let me get this out of the way. I did not know this at the time but Samardzija has his own website....and blog. I'm not sure if that's of any interest to you, but he does update the blog fairly frequently (unlike Boney), so check it out. It even has a mailbag portion where you can send in questions and he'll answer them. I guess that shows that he's interested in talking to his fans, so if you have a question, go for it. I think I've pumped up his website enough.
As mentioned, Samardzija was promoted earlier this month with the hopes that a change of scenery would treat him well....and it has. He is 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA in four starts thus far. The minor league season is winding down, so he may have a few starts left (I believe he pitches tonight), but this has definitely been a beneficial move to him. He's struck out 16 hitters in 23 innings thus far and that's a far better ratio than the 45 K's in 107.1 IP in Single-A ball. You can check out the rest of the stats on that last link but the point is that he's pitching much better and the hitters are finding it more difficult to hit him. Then again, he was really struggling and he didn't have anywhere to go but up.
Now, there could be a couple of reasons for his forward progress. One, he could be getting better at pitching. This is his first full season as a professional player, so some improvement was expected as he became acclimated to the routine of being a baseball player. Two, all the good Double-A players have moved up to Triple-A and now he's facing whatever is left. Three, a new start was need for his bruised psyche. I have to imagine that after never facing adversity when it came to athletics, his struggles at Single-A were quite troublesome to him. Whatever the reason is, he's pitching much better now than he was before.
So, is he a top prospect like the Cubs want you to believe? I don't really think so. His strikeout rates are fairly low and that bothers me, as does his walk rate (42 BB's in 143 IP this season). There were some rumors that he would be called up when rosters expanded on September 1st, but that's just a pipe dream and anyone who thought that should get their head examined.
Samardzija should take a few weeks off after this season and get right back to pitching. The double duty he was pulling at Notre Dame has put him behind the curve when it comes to experience and he needs to make it up somehow. He's not playing a position where his athleticism is going to trump his 'stuff', so he needs time to work on being a pitching and....learning how to pitch instead of just throwing.
Either way, it's encouraging that he's been making progress at the end of the season.
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23 Comments
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2008 Cubs Preview
I pray to the sweet baby jesus he doesn't get called up this September or any future Septembers.
One, he's from ND and and I cannot root for him or any other ND grad.
Two, he's in AA ball and he has a website and blog. Spend less time online and work on your pitching.
Three, he needs a haircut.
Four, he's not any good. A 6'5" pitcher without power and can't strike anyone out.
Five, he's from Notre Dame.
I think you should definitely send in a question. Maybe such as this:
Q: Jeff, with all the obstacles you are facing (copy/paste your previous comment here) how did you push through to make so much money?
fair enough, done:
Dear Jeff,
Does it bother you when your girlie hair gets in your eyes while posting highlight films from 7th grade spelling bee on your website?
I look forward with much anticipation for your response.
ps - If you need any help on childhood stories, cobra posted a wonderful tale on his site yesterday.
gianluca
His upper 90's fastball doesn't count as power? I would say his WHIP is more important then the number of people he K's at this time in his career. You don't have to strike out a batter per inning to be successful, he does have professional fielders behind him.
Which other pitchers would be better options to call up come september (I really don't know so this is a sincere question to expand my learning)?
Very well played Gianluca, very well played.....
Actually Hank, when pitchers are moving through the minor league ranks scouts look at their k/ip ratio to see just how dominating they are. This shows them that the pitcher has the 'stuff' to pitch at higher levels. That's why pitchers with high k rates will always get more chances.
well, I'm glad you asked that question Hank. No starting pitchers at all. I'm more than satisfied with the five right now. Who's down that's better? No one. Why would you bring a kid with 150 innings of minor ball up in September to start. Putting him in the pen is ok but what spots does he pitch. Marmol, Howry and Dempster have 7-9 covered. Eyre with lefties, Wuertz, Woods and Pignitiello in garbage and middle.
Mateo, Cherry, Cotts and Ohman are probably the best choices since all have been up earlier. Can't see putting a AA kid in that spot.
Gianluca...you have forgotten Sean Gallagher. He's 3-1, 2.66 ERA @ Iowa while starting. This is why I'm still needed around here. Link for his player page:
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Sean%20Gallagher&pos=P&sid=t451&t=p_pbp&pid=451595
I'll pretend you didn't just mention Cotts and Ohman as possible callups. Please no Cotts and Ohman! I'm neither for or against bringing him up. I don't think those last four you mentioned should be considered. With the schedule being as it is, the bullpen and starting staff could start to wear thin, Samardzija could be used in a spot start or when one of the other 5 (who I agree have been pretty solid for the most part) gets roughed up early.
your always needed around here for guidance and inspiration.
Completely forgot about him. He may need to pitch in a doubleheader (September 10th or 15th) or rainout situation. Only two open dates in September. 29 games in 30 days. Cards have 31 in 30.
Yeah, I ran through the schedules today because I was thinking about making a post about it but decided against it for now. Looks like the Cards have a tougher schedule as their opponents, as of today, have a combined record of 525-526 while the Cubs opponents in Sept. have a combined record of 368-420. Cards play 8 different teams and the Cubs only 6, which is the reason for the difference in the total records.
Jack,
Take a moment to look around your "office" at work.... it's ok, I'll wait...
Ok, you see the fine construction around your place of work/business? Well, if it weren't for chuckleheads like me, your office would look like a bag of turds... If I had time to update my blog while at work (as it's been explained before, my old laptop is permanently on the fritz, and my other one was given back to my previous employer), I would. When I have time, as you can see last week, I did update it.
So, Mr. Let-me-write-about-my-training-pants-accident-from-4th-grade-in-order-to-fill-space-guy... don't taunt me sucka :)
Oh, I just figured it was because your Tigers are quickly falling out of the race and you ran out of Staind articles to write.
It's ok. In a month we'll see the obligatory "what coulda been" post from you about the Cubs and how "if they woulda started out better..." it woulda been different.
Then I'll have to sit through the posts about how the Cardinals are god's gift to baseball again.
That wouldn't be any different than what you've been doing all season with the Tigers when talking about the '06 Series would it?
I think I mentioned the Tigs once, and that was when I first stumbled over here after I saw you had a Cards contributor here...
by the way, if Sheff remained healthy, he shoulda been MVP this year.
Yeah...those 30+ games he's going to end up missing (total) are going to be what keeps him from winning the MVP.
/sarcasm
just because you miss only 30 games doesn't mean you haven't been hurt for longer than that.
/trying to talk common sense into a Cub's fan.
Good luck with that Boney. Jack would rather murder a small child than seriously ponder another persons opinion.
/not even joking, I saw him strangle a squirrel when I told him I thought Ryno was overrated......
You are both idiots.
/no sarcasm
If you gave me a couple of days, I bet I could dig up some dirt on Ryno's link to steroid use
Actually....nope. He gained 6 lbs from high school until the end of his career. 182 to 188. I found a quote on it the other day.
Jack Cobra you know you love it... did I tell you about my adventures in my first taxi cab ride yet?
/being gay