Andrew Cashner Moving to the Bul - You Know What, I Just Can't Fucking Do This Anymore

Fail.

Chicago Cubs top pitching prospect Andrew Cashner is so good, he's earned the right to go immediately to the bullpen, bypassing the usual route of earning a multi-million dollar salary and being the team's best starting pitcher for a decade first.

Andrew Cashner Round 2

Gameday

FIRST INNING

1) Line drive single to center field
2) Line drive to second base, caught, double play
3) Groundout to third on a 2-0 pitch
10 pitches, 6 strikes

SECOND INNING

1) Ryan Roberts pops out to second base "softly"
2) Flyout to right field
3) On a 3-1 pitch, Chris Rahl lines out to right field
12 pitches, 6 strikes

THIRD INNING

1) Ground ball single up the middle
2) Force out at second base
3) Another force out at second base
4) After a wild pitch (pitch #2), a harmless fly out ends the inning
12 pitches, 9 strikes

FOURTH INNING

1) Throwing error by Chad Tracy after an 0-2 pitch
2) Doug Deeds walks on six pitches. During the at bat, Pedro Ciaraco steals second.
3) Cashner gets a 1-6-3 double play on a 1-1 pitch
4) One pitch, 6-3 groundout. Reno has stranded a RISP the last two innings.
13 pitches, 8 strikes

FIFTH INNING

1) Chris Rahl leads off the inning with a ground ball double to left
2) Cashner's first strike out of the game (swinging). Beef Castle turns it into a double play by throwing out Rahl attempting to steal at third.
3) Flyout to left field on two pitches.
9 pitches, 6 strikes

Iowa then sends nine men to the plate in the top of the sixth, so Cashner has a long delay in the dugout.

SIXTH INNING

1) Two pitches, groundout to third
2) Single to right field
3) Infield single on a ball hit to Darwin Barney, who then gets charged with a throwing error allowing Drew Macias to advance to third
4) On the first pitch, Doug Deeds lines a single to right field, scoring a run
5) After going 2-0, Cashner gets a popup in foul territory on the infield
6) Flyout to left, ending Cashner's night
14 pitches, 9 strikes

TOTALS
6.0 IP, 1 R, 6 H, 1 K, 1 BB
70 pitches, 44 strikes

In terms of efficiency, this start was almost identical to his last start, just quicker. That happens when you get timely double plays and batters out without lengthy strikeouts.

In his last start, Cashner threw 56 of 89 pitches for strikes (63%). Last night, Cashner threw 44 of 70 pitches for strikes (63%).

Last week, Cashner threw first pitch strikes to 11 of 23 batters. Last night, Cashner threw first pitch strikes to 11 of 23 batters.

So while Cashner still seems to have slight difficulty getting ahead of hitters on the first pitch, he improved greatly on the second pitch. I noted last week that Cashner went 2-0 to seven different hitters in his AAA debut. He dropped that number to three this time around. In fact, Cashner only reached three balls in the count three times in the whole game.

The strikeout numbers obviously went down, but Cashner's outing was probably even better than the last. Reno was aggressive last night, swinging at over half of Cashner's pitches (36 of 70). You get the idea they weren't going to wait around and let him compile big K numbers as he's been doing all season. Again, without pitch f/x data I have no idea what to make of his velocity or movement, but the fact of the matter is Cashner continues to pound the zone and just get hitters out.

Cashner AAA Recap

Andrew Cashner pitched six strong innings last night in his AAA debut. He allowed one earned run, struck out six, and only walked one batter. Most importantly, he got the win. Ace!

Let's take a look at the batters he faced, inning by inning, via Gameday.

FIRST INNING

1) Cashner goes 2-0 on every Cub fan's wet dream (a Hoffpauir that plays middle infield) before getting the infield pop up.
2) First pitch infield pop up.
3) Cashner misses with his first two, then runs the count full before getting Brett Wallace to ground out. Inning over.

SECOND INNING

1) Flyball out on a 2-0 pitch.
2) Single.
3) Infield pop out, 2-2 pitch.
4) Cashner starts Chris Aguila 2-0, gets two foul balls up in the zone, then strikes him out swinging on a pitch in the dirt.

THIRD INNING

1) Three pitch strikeout (looking).
2) "Soft ground ball" single on an 0-2 pitch.
3) Little Hoffpauir walks on 5 pitches. Might have been squeezed a little.
4) Cashner gets the inning-ending double play on two pitches.

FOURTH INNING

1) Brett Wallace fouls off a couple of 0-2 pitches before lining a single to left.
2) Fly out to left on a 2-0 pitch.
3) Castro strikes out Brian Dopirak swinging on seven pitches, the longest at bat thus far.
4) Cashner starts another hitter 2-0 before giving up a base hit.
5) On a 1-1 pitch, Chris Aguila lines a run-scoring double to right.
6) Groundout, inning over. Las Vegas strands two in scoring position.

FIFTH INNING

1) Groundout, two pitches.
2) Cashner strikes out Hoffpauir swinging on seven pitches.
3) Jeremy Reed flies out on a 2-2 pitch. 1-2-3 for Cashner, his first since the first inning.

SIXTH INNING

1) Strikeout looking
2) One pitch groundout
3) Swinging strikeout. 1-2-3 inning on 10 pitches.

Cashner's night was done after the sixth after throwing 89 pitches, 56 for strikes. He stayed strong throughout the game, retiring the last seven batters he faced in a pretty efficient fashion. He probably could have gone another inning. I obviously don't have any data on his speed or movement, but the results speak for themselves.

Really the only criticism one could find with Cashner last night was a failure to regularly get ahead of hitters. He threw first pitch strikes to less than half of the hitters he faced (11 of 23) and started seven at bats with a 2-0 count. Las Vegas didn't capitalize on some hitter's counts, and Cashner didn't let these minor control problems hurt him. Considering the overall strength of his outing, whining about the lack of first pitch strikes would be like complaining after a great sex session that your partner took too long to undress.

Cashner certainly has set the bar pretty high for himself by throwing some absolute gems in AA this season. Cub fans have to be encouraged that he's started his AAA career with more of the same.

Andrew Cashner AAA Watch

Top Cubs' pitching prospect Andrew Cashner makes his AAA for the I-Cubs tonight in Las Vegas against the 51s. Fangraphs actually ranked Cashner the team's #1 prospect in December, ahead of future bust Starlin Castro:

Cashner has been a huge find for the organization. Mainly a reliever in college, the right-hander has proven his durability (and repertoire) as a starter. His 1.50 ERA in high-A certainly looks shiny, but his FIP was 3.18 (still good, just not great). At that level, Cashner allowed just 31 hits in 42.0 innings, while showing average control with a walk rate of 3.21 BB/9. His strikeout rate was respectable at 7.29 K/9. He then moved up to double-A, where he allowed 45 hits in 58.1 innings. Cashner’s walk rate increased (4.17 BB/9) and his strikeout rate dropped (6.33 K/9). On the plus side, his ground-ball rate remained around the 47% mark, and he allowed just one home run all season. Cashner will likely begin 2010 back in double-A, with a shot at contributing in Wrigley Field in the second half of the season.

Cashner received a well-earned promotion from AA last week, showing flashes of brilliance while compiling a 42:13 K/BB ratio in 36 innings. Those 42 Ks are good for third in all of AA. He's held opponents to a .176 BAA as well.

He's only won three of his six starts though, so he's probably not an ace. It's no secret that the PCL is a hitter's league, but if Cashner continues to perform at this level he'll probably find himself pitching in Chicago in no time.

First pitch is at 9:05 CDT tonight. I'll post a write-up tonight or tomorrow.

Gameday

Cubs' minor league pitcher Andrew Cashner pitches during spring training. Cubs' fans can only hope Cashner fulfills his potential of dominant #1 starter, where after 7-8 years of solid, healthy production he can sign a large contract and move to the bullpen.