Yoenis Cespedes, through his agent, sent a weird 20 minute video to major league teams to drum up interest for his services since his defection from Cuba in 2011. It was a strange YouTube, self produced video that was heavy on personality and light on actual baseball footage. It was made to smooth over some international scout impressions because Cespedes international career has highs and lows.
Cespedes is an allegedly 26 years old, 5’ 10” 187 lb center fielder. His mother was an athlete, a Cuban softball pitcher who appeared in the 2000 Olympics.
He started the 2009 Baseball World Cup as Cuba's starting center fielder but struggled and only hit .194/.275/.333 while being caught in his only steal attempt. Cespedes pinch-hit and got a 9th-inning single off Brad Lincoln in Cuba's 10-5 loss to Team USA title game.
Cespedes hit .345/.426/.617 in the 2009-2010 season with 87 runs and 22 homers in 87 contests. He was third in the league in runs, 10th in hits (118), 8th in home runs, 4th in total bases and was 9th in slugging.
Cespedes was 11 for 22 with 12 runs, 14 RBI, 2 doubles and four homers in six games at the 2010 World University Baseball Championship. He drove in six against South Korea and five against China. In the Gold Medal game, he was 0 for 4 with a strikeout as Cuba's #5 batter in a 4-3 win over Team USA.
He played for Cuba when they finished second in the 2010 Pan American Games Qualifying Tournament. In the 2010 Intercontinental Cup, he was 3 for 10 with a double, 3 runs, 4 RBI and a walk as a backup.
Cespedes put up a .333/.424/.667 batting line with 89 runs, 33 home runs and 99 RBI in 90 games in the 2010-2011 season. He led the league in runs, tied for the home run lead (breaking the league record by one),[tied for the most total bases (236), tiedfor 7th in steals (11 in 14 tries), led in RBI and finished 5th in slugging. He was named the All-Star center fielder.
Pro scouts believe Cespedes is a five-tool player; one who excels at hitting for average, hitting for power, baserunning skills and speed, throwing ability, and fielding abilities. If you try to imagine the Cuban National League as a AAA-AA talent league, his numbers are pretty consistent:
YEAR AVG HR RBI
2009 .284 26 78
2010 .345 22 76
2011 .333 33 99
However, there lacks the critical element of comparison to the talent he was playing against in Cuba. It makes it harder to project how he will do against major league pitching. So it is a real crap shoot in the dark to evaluate a player whose age, competition and major projections are mere speculation. It is also a more difficult decision since the agent is looking for a 5 year/$60 million deal.
The Cubs were one of six teams mentioned in the mix for Cespedes. That would mean that Epstein and Hoyer do not have the same evaluation of Brett Jackson, the team's center fielder in waiting, as did Hendry and the fans. Right now, Byrd is blocking Jackson from starting in CF in 2012. Jackson is ready to be promoted as he has excelled at all levels, including AAA last season. If Cespedes is signed, Byrd may be either a) the 4th OF with Reed Johnson or b) traded for low prospects. Soriano and DeJesus will not lose their starting roles.
If you are looking to fill in the middle of the order, we know Byrd is not productive in the #3 or #4 spot. Cespedes projects into the middle of the line up, and Jackson projects to a #3 hitter. Byrd's contract is up after 2012; Cespedes and Jackson can be under the same number of years of control (an aspect near and dear to Epstein's rebuild project).
Since CF is not a pressing need, the Cubs may be better off using the money needed to pay for Cespedes into acquiring depth in pitchers.
