Down on the Farm - Casey McGehee - ChicagoCubsOnline.com

In this article we take a look at Casey McGehee, one of the last non-roster players to be invited to spring training. This is his second year as a non-roster invitee but this spring has not been a good one for McGehee. He has not received much playing time to showcase his skills, appearing in just 10 games and getting only 7 at-bats. He has been a pinch runner and a pinch-hitter, which makes it hard to get anything going at the plate. The Cubs invited him to spring training but based on his playing time he obviously does not have a serious chance to make the team....despite surviving the first round of cuts on Monday.

McGehee is in his 5th season as a Cub after being picked in the 10th round (283rd overall) in the 2003 amateur draft. He finished the 2006 season at AAA after playing a full year there. He will likely start the season in Iowa and should play the entire year there, again barring any injuries. McGehee plays 3rd base and the Cubs have just re-signed Aramis Ramirez to a 5-year deal so the chances of McGehee taking over at 3rd anytime soon are very slim. With that in mind, McGehee asked to return to catching as he has the reputation of being the ultimate team player.

He has experience as a catcher and some experience at both first base and second base while in the Cubs minor league system. He has not done much catching since 2004 and his chances of making the team as a catcher are probably worse if you look at the number of catchers in the Cubs' system. He has been a good player in the minors but he isn't seen as one of the Cubs' best prospects. Scout.com has him rated as the 20th best Cubs prospect, along with Chris Walker.

McGehee has a better than average chance to make the big leagues but my feeling is that it will be with another team. I see him improving his skills and being included in a trade or signing with another team somewhere down the road. After the off-season with all the money the Cubs spent they are set at the positions he can play for years to come. He could play first base but Derrek Lee is not going anywhere, second base is his best chance but I feel that Ryan Theriot is the better option there. With that being said McGehee will never be much more than a bench player with Chicago and that is not the best way to improve on your skills.

What McGehee does well is hit. Although he hasn't put up a stellar batting average in the minors but I see him batting around .310 to .320 once he makes the big leagues. He has average power and average speed so he won't hit 40 home runs or steal 40 bases. McGehee is a good contact hitter and can hit the ball to all fields. During the 2006 season McGehee had a 16-game hitting streak and a 34-game on-base streak. He hit .280, a .336 OBP, 28 doubles and 68 RBI's in 135 games (a career high). That shows that he not only has a good eye for hitting but he has a good eye period. One of the Cubs problems has been getting people on base so McGehee could be an answer for that if he ever gets a chance. He has a great viewpoint on hitting versus taking a free base. He feels that taking a walk is actually better than a single because you are able to drive up the pitchers count. During winter ball in the Mexican Pacific League he hit .300 with 7 home runs and 36 RBI's. In 2005 he was named to the Southern League Midseason All-Star team.

If you look at McGehee since he joined the Cubs, you see a guy that has improved and has worked very hard toward his ultimate goal; and I think that day will eventually come. He has moved up one level each year and if not for a solid Cubs team he might have had a chance to break camp with the big league team this year. Basically, if he were part of another minor league system he might have had a better chance this season. He can use the 2007 season at AAA to build on his resume and to hone his defensive skills behind the plate. If he continues to be patient as a hitter he will accomplish his goal; the big question is whether he will be patient enough to wait for the Cubs to give him that chance or if he will get it with another team. Either way he should be a solid player and have a solid career at the major league level once his time comes.

Scout.com Top 20 Prospects

1. Felix Pie
2. Donald Veal
3. Mark Pawelek
4. Eric Patterson
5a. Jeff Samardzija
5b. Sean Gallagher
6. Tyler Colvin
7. Scott Moore
8. Ryan Harvey
9. Jae-Kuk Ryu (traded to Tampa Bay)
10. Clay Rapada
11. Brian Dopirak
12. Chris Shaver
13. Jake Fox
14. Randy Wells
15. Mitch Atkins
16. Adam Harben
17. Billy Petrick
18. Carmen Pignatiello
19. Rocky Cherry
20a. Casey McGehee
20b. Chris Walker

Full Name: Casey M. McGehee
Height: 6-1, Weight: 190
Bats: R, Throws R
Born: October 12, 1982

Casey McGehee's Baseball Cube page

Coming Next: Down on the Farm - Mike Kinkade

Ryan R

Aaron,

Don't forget Glenallen Hill. AAHH... Those were the days when the Cubs would lose 9-3 to the Pirates and Hill would go 1-5 with 3 strikeouts. Of course the 1 landed on top of the building on Waveland, courtesy of his too short for an adult arms.

Jim (Tinley Park)

Aaron:

In order for guys to get serious consideration for the majors they have to be awesome in the minors or drafted in a high round. If the buddy of yours that used to catch for bridgeport was Josh Paul then I would say that he is a poor example of what you are trying to convey. Paul, might have been great in High School/College but his Major League career has been not so stellar. As a matter of fact, he made a hero out Pusszynski during game two of the ALCS. All he had to do was tag the jerk-off after he swung and missed, but no, and we all know what was to follow. I honestly don't about his minor league career but even in his late years, Alomar was a better reciever.

As for Theriot not starting, I remember a couple of years ago we all wanted Ronny Cedeno in the line up.

Last year, we wanted him on the bench in favor of Theriot. A hot March doesn't automatically transfer into hot April.

Aaron

This goes back to baseball being very political. Teams so they want versatility,t hen go out and sign a Paul Bako, Cliff Floyd, etc., in favor of an Angel Pagan, Theriot, Coats, McGehee. Now, I am not comparing them to Floyd's production, or whatever, but just saying that they should have a chance to prove what they can do, because they're a consumate team players, which is what you want on your team if you expect to win championships. Remember Luis Sojo? Guys like Soriano, who can play all 3 OF positions, and even has experience in the middle IF, are also at the top of the list.

Guys like McGehee, who go out of their comfort zone, adapt to a new position, produce, get blocked again, relearn an old position, and produce, are often overlooked, and it's a shame.

A buddy of mine was a catcher with the White Sox, and kept getting shuttled back and forth to and from the bigs. In college he was a corner OF and 3B, and the Sox made him a catcher, and he turned out to be a hell of a receiver in the minors. But they went and signed an aging Alomar Jr., and didn't really give him a shot to win the job. The Rockies contacted the Sox to orchestrate a trade for him to make him their starting catcher, and Kenny Williams turned it down, because he wanted insurance in case Alomar went down. By that time, he was lost in oblivion, so he asked if he could play the OF on occasion to make him more versatile, as the Sox--his favorite team growing up--had an opening in the majors. So he tore it up in the minors, and what did the Sox do? Brought him up as a catcher again, sat him, and sent him back when Alomar was off the DL...then he had enough, got his release, and the Cubs signed him for the stretch run in 2003, but he didn't play but a few games. You find guys like him, McGehee, Coats, Theriot, etc., all over baseball.

But for some reason guys like Neifi, Roger Cedeno, Hidalgo, Blanco, Bako, Jose Lima, Jose Macias, Freddie Bynum, Mike DeFelice, Miguel Olivo, Juan Uribe, Todd Pratt, Manny Alexander, Doug Mirabelli, Rey Ordonez (even when he was good)...I mean the list goes on and on for these underachievers, yet they all seem to find their way into bench roles, starting roles, or whatever, even when their play doesn't warrant that.

It just blows my mind that guys like Coats, McGehee, Theriot (still not starting), my buddy, are not starting in the majors in favor of guys like a Troy O'Leary, Todd Hollandsworthless, DeRosa (b/c of his career year vs mediocre career), Izturis.

Do you really think that playing Dubois would've been worse than watching Hollandsworthless hit lazy pop up after lazy pop up, or do you really think that Brandon Sing, or any 1B breathing in our minors would've been any worse than a rental player in Nevin that we had no interest in holding onto after the season? Now, I understand that Dopirak, if he hadn't broken his foot, or leg, or whatever, would've been brought up, but I'm sure we could've found someone to put it there and develop. Or would Patterson have been that terrible as a 4th OF? What did we get for him again? Oh, yeah, cracker jacks and cotton candy....nice.....But hey, I'm sure Nate Spears and Carlos Perez will be excellent ball players---one has the name of a psychopath former adolescent crush---awww, c'mon, didn't anyone else have Britney Spears posters---like the one in the Catholic school girl outfit? (drools, in a Homer Simpson-esque style)...and the other player has a name---well, one we'd just like to forget.

Wow, got slightly side-tracked there, but you get my point...why overpay for aging mediocre-at-best veteran talent, when you can have the likes of Coats, Pagan, McGehee, etc. on your team.

It's almost like teams view it as a rite of passage so to speak where once you make it to the majors---no matter what your production is in the future---you're always given the benefit of the doubt, because out there, there's always some team that will remember your one breakout season, even though you failed to make adjustments later on when the competition caught up to you.....

okay, end of rant...hope everyone has a blessed evening counting rookies in their sleep, jumping over fences....errrr...i mean, levels in the minors....GO CUBS!!!!!!

Tom

McGehee is just 24 so he is still very young. As for catching, he actually reported to spring training the same time as the pitchers and catchers and has done some catching but it still mainly an infielder but no one knows what the Cubs might want to do with him. I still see his best shot as a 2nd basement but a good hitting catcher is always nice to have but since he hasn't had a lot of playing time there it seems like they aren't serious about making him a catcher.