Who is Jarek Cunningham?

by psugator on Sep 5, 2008 3:16 PM EDT Comment 13 comments

I'm starting to see his name in a lot of different places. And then I did some googling and found that he was over-slot guy. I guess the Pirates had to give him enough money so he'd bypass his Arizona State scholarship. So right away I look at a guy who got a lot of money to play pro ball, a guy who was set to play at one of the best baseball schools in the country..........

and then i look at his numbers and see that he plays a premium position (currently 3B until alvarez signs) and is absolutely raking.

i'm in a fantasy league that gives each owner 30 minors spots.......my question to you:

what kind of player does cunningham look like? one story i found said that he plays lots of different positions, which would imply that he projects to be a utility/bench guy, which would be of no benefit to me as a fantasy owner..........please help.....what does cunningham become? would he be an asset to my fantasy team?

thanks for your help.

0 recs | Comment 13 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

I think it’s way too early to say anything definitively, either way. The season he just had was very promising—the power is an excellent sign—but he’s only 18 and he’s a mile away from the majors. We might learn more about him based on where the Pirates assign him next year.

by Charlie on Sep 5, 2008 5:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

By the way, he wasn’t one of the Pirates’ more highly touted draft picks.

by Charlie on Sep 5, 2008 5:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think he may have slipped under the radar. There were a couple articles online about him. He missed an entire season (junior year I think) due to a knee injury. I don’t feel like trying to relocate the articles right now, but my recollection is that he was highly regarded before that but maybe written off due to the severity of the injury. I think his recovery was better than expected, so maybe he just got overlooked. If so, it’s good scouting by the Pirates. Or at least I like to think that’s how it played out.

by WTM on Sep 5, 2008 7:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He also plays SS. I just started paying attention to minor league ball last year, so I’m not a huge authority, but I’m pretty excited about him. I think I read that he was very highly thought of early in HS, then had a catastrophic knee injury, from which he miraculously fully recovered before his senior year of HS. He thus flew under the radar in the draft this year, hence he was not one of the highly touted picks.

I don’t really know how they assign people to particular places, but I would expect him to open up with Hickory this year (since he has already had an entire short season already). Hickory will likely have both Mercer and D’Arnaud so those 3 will either rotate between 2B, 3B and SS or Cunningham will start at Hickory. Just my $0.02.

by houksyndrome on Sep 5, 2008 5:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, they’re going to have a logjam. Mostly what I meant by that comment is that if they assign him to State College, it’ll likely suggest that they don’t think he’s for real.

by Charlie on Sep 5, 2008 5:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I look for Mercer to be in Lynchburg in 2009,

having spent most of his time in Hickory this season.

by ElliottBayBucco on Sep 5, 2008 7:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The question would be if and when Alvarez arrives in 2009,

will it be in Lynchburg or Hickory? If he’s in Lynchburg, how will they divvy up playing time at third with Alvarez and Matt Hague? If he’s in Hickory, will Cunningham split time at SS & 3B with D’Arnaud & Alvarez?

Nice dilemma to have for a change for the PBC.

by ElliottBayBucco on Sep 5, 2008 7:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I bet Alvarez starts at Lynchburg, assuming he’s with the organization. Matt Wieters started this year at the same level, then moved up to AA pretty quickly. Let’s hope Alvarez can do the same.

by Charlie on Sep 5, 2008 7:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If Alvarez is as good as the hype, I hope so too!

Hague can move across the diamond to 1B.

by ElliottBayBucco on Sep 5, 2008 8:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hague...

also played in the OF his senior at OK ST. He did a pretty good job there so that is always an option.

by Slick1 on Sep 5, 2008 8:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Mercer

If he starts at Lynchburg,it is for one reason.
And that is that they really want to keep Mercer and D’arnaud separated.
Mercer really struggled at the Low A level and really should (at least start) return there in 2009.

Check out my blog at thoughtsofrs@blogspot.com

by Count Vertigo on Sep 6, 2008 7:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreed.

by Charlie on Sep 6, 2008 9:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think he's a potentially useful player.

But it’s only a hundred at-bats. We need to see what he does for a few full seasons before we really know what he brings to the table.

Since you were asking about fantasy leagues, I think it’s maybe too early to add him, unless you play in an unusually deep league or your system really sucks. Guys in Low-A or Rookie ball need to be discounted pretty heavily in leagues with farm systems, since they’re so many years away from becoming useful contributors.

by Vlad on Sep 8, 2008 9:49 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs