The Jake Fox Enigma

[Brutus]

What do people make of this Jake Fox situation?

Here you have a borderline non-prospect because of age (approaching 27) that is absolutely brutalizing Pacific Coast League pitching to the point where even in a hitter-friendly league, he's looking like Mike Schmidt. Of course, it's further complicated by his absolutely atrocious defense.

Here you have a guy, that probably the only place he won't terrorize your DER is by keeping him at first. However, he's still blocked by the aging (and bat-speed-deteriorating) Derrek Lee as well as another non-prospect that kept hitting in AAA: Micah Hoffpauir.

But more to the point.

His line:

.429
17 HR
50 RBI
.513 OBP / .968 SLG / 1.481 OPS
His K% is fair (18.1%)

And according to a little Fan Graph blurb on him today, his wOBA is a ridiculous .600. That's 130 points higher than the 2nd place guy, which they say is the same margin between No. 2 and No. 70 in the PCL.

Other than his defense, I'm not seeing much to criticize.

This season, even as a righty, he's hitting right-handed pitching better than left-handers. In 2008 the difference was negligible. For that matter, with stops at AA and AAA last season, he combined on a .921 OPS (31 HR 105 RBI in 134 games).

The guy hit 4 homers in spring training to boot. I would think, at this point, the Cubs have got to bring him up and get him some time in the order. At what point does a guy have to prove himself to swing the bat?

[Benihana]

He could be Roberto Petaginie or he could be Nelson Cruz

[nate]

Interesting post. Here's the link to the full article on fangraphs.

[Brutus]

Interesting post. Here's the link to the full article on fangraphs.

And just for the curiosity in it, I ran his Minor League Equivalencies (MLE's) to see what his park-adjusted, major league-adjusted stats might be based on his current line. Here's what the MLE projects his current numbers if he were playing in Chicago to this point:

.352 BA
28 R
10 2B
1 3B
13 HR
37 RBI
.410 OBP / .742 SLG / 1.125 OPS
12 BB / 28 SO

(I used the MLE batting calculator at MinorLeagueSplits.com)

Obviously these aren't perfect. They can't, as the Fan Graphs article suggested, tell us if a guy can hit a major league curveball. They can't dictate whether said player can catch up to a 97 MPH heater. But since they do have some statistical precedence in a bit of accuracy, that's a pretty amazing line even if it were only partially accurate.

[Brutus]

As a follow-up, the Cubs answered my question of "what else does this guy have to do?"

Today, the brought Fox up with the intention of playing him a little bit here and a little bit there. It will be interesting to see how he fares. If he continues to hit at the torrid pace of AAA, they might have to find a way to get his bat in the lineup (especially they way they've struggled in spurts this year to score runs).

[Dude Rock]

As a follow-up, the Cubs answered my question of "what else does this guy have to do?"

Today, the brought Fox up with the intention of playing him a little bit here and a little bit there. It will be interesting to see how he fares. If he continues to hit at the torrid pace of AAA, they might have to find a way to get his bat in the lineup (especially they way they've struggled in spurts this year to score runs).

He had a pinch-hit rbi-producing double today for them.

[Brutus]

He had a pinch-hit rbi-producing double today for them.

Yep. He's 3-for-4 now through three games. He's 3-3 in pinch hits.

[Ghosts of 1990]

Jake roomed with a college teammate of mine in the summer league they played in during college. I am happy to see him get the call up because next weekend when they come to Cincinnati I think we're going to meet up with him and get dinner or something. He's a real good guy my buddy says. He went to U of Michigan though. I won't hold that against him.

[George Anderson]

Jake Fox was sent down yesterday even though he was hitting .417.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/s...e=MLBHeadlines

[klw]

Jake Fox was sent down yesterday even though he was hitting .417.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/s...e=MLBHeadlines

Bust

[High Mileage]

Sounds a lot like a guy we've got down in Omaha...

[Bumstead]

His problem obviously is finding a position on the field that he can man reasonably. Someone in the AL should be calling.

Bum