Friday March 26, 2010
Coming out of the University of Illinois Chris Robinson was considered the leading catcher in the Big 10 Conference. His arm graded plus and considered his best tool. He lead the league (Big 10) in throwing out base-runners (43%) and pickoffs (seven). Offensively his bat was decent with average power and he ran well for a catcher.
The Detroit Tigers were most impressed with his makeup, leading Illinois to it's first Big 10 title in seven years. They drafted him in the third round of the 2005 MLB draft and on August 20, 2006 the Chicago Cubs acquired him for Neifi Perez. The Cubs are beginning to see the fruits of this deal. Last season (2009) in 91 games at Iowa Robinson batted .326 with a .435 slg%. He drove in 48 runs and stole nine bases in 12 attempts.
This spring Robinson has played in 12 games batting .364 with 3 rbi's and a .545 slg%. It appears he has developed into a decent hitting catcher with some speed. His arm is major league ready and if he can improve his receiving skills, he will be pushing to play in Wrigley soon.
GO CUBS GO
Original Story:
http://www.mtrmedia.com/cubs/2010/03/...
