More Cubs: D.J. LeMahieu

As Theo Epstein takes the Cubs job, he has a lot of messes to clean up. He also has to make some decisions on some prospects in his system. One of them is D.J. LeMahieu. LeMahieu is currently struggling in the Arizona Fall League, but was a 2nd round pick by the Cubs in 2009. In 28 at-bats in the AFL, he has an OBP of just .290 (.540 OPS) with a grand total of 7 total bases. Things aren't all bad though, as his PPG is 1.42 for the Mesa Solar Sox. Against right-handers, he has just a .190 OBP, and as many strikeouts as walks and hits. His 3 minor league seasons haven't been impressive, but they are better, .353 OBP, .753 OPS, 2.78 PAPP, 1.16 PPG and a .980 fielding percentage. In 2011, he was brought up to the majors for 37 games and wasn't very good, posting a -.4 WAR. He walked just once (striking out 12 times) and had an OPS of 546, a laughable Secondary average of .050, isolated slugging of .033, .19 PPG, and 3.88 PAPP. Probably no one was less ready for the big leagues than LeMahieu was. His numbers in college (LSU) were solid, but not the over-impressive dominating statistics one would expect a 2nd round pick to have, a 1.66 PPG and 875 OPS. In hindsight, it is pretty easy to question draft picks, however, this is extremely easy to question. He still has some time (just 23), but there really isn't much to be optimistic about. There is a reason the Cubs are paying all that money for Theo.