Detroit Tigers’ Curtis Granderson watches his two-run home run off Chicago White Sox closer Bobby Jenks, that also scored teammate Ryan Raburn tying the game at 3-3, during the ninth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 11, 2009, in Chicago. The Tigers lost 4-3, with a walkoff single by Scott Podsednik. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
AP
Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune writes that many in the Cubs’ front office feel they would be foolishto give up top prospect Starlin Castro to acquire Curtis Granderson from the Tigers.
Castro, a 19-year-old shortstop has drawn weighty comparisons to Hanley Ramirez and Derek Jeter with his play in the Arizona Fall League, batting .376/.396/.475 with one home run, 10 RBI, nine stolen bases and 18 runs scored in 26 games with the Mesa Solar Sox. Castro, a native of the Dominican Republic, has a .301/.354/.403 line over parts of three seasons in the minor leagues. Though he has improved his stock immensely this fall, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus warns that Castrois becoming one of the more over-rated prospects in the game.
Rogers speculates that “there are a lot of other ways to do the deal” for Granderson while wondering if new hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo could help his performance against left-handers. Granderson has a .614 career OPS against southpaws compared to a .894 OPS against righties. He batted .183/.245/.239 with 10 home runs, 34 RBI and a .696 OPS against left-handers in 2009.