RZNJ

MLBTR It’s been a brutal start to the season for the 21-year-old Walker, who entered the 2023 season widely considered one of the game’s top 10 prospects and debuted with a .276/.342/.445 showing as a rookie. He’s looked lost at the plate in his sophomore season, hitting just .155/.239/.259 with a 26.9% strikeout rate and no home runs in his first 67 trips to the plate. Given the magnitude of those struggles and the Cardinals’ 10-14 start to the season — fifth in the NL Central — they’ll send Walker down to try to get the promising young slugger back on track.

Urias already isn’t playing much at all but I’m sure he senses a chance at a bigger role if Holliday doesn’t acclimate in time.

If so, I think that’s more a product of his difficult start rather than how they hoped to use him. They never intended to platoon him but he’s been so bad they are trying to get him started by sitting him against LHP.

Rubber game. Hyde and Elias want to win. Mateo at 2B against a LHP. Interesting but not surprising.

Aram Leighton Just Baseball A 14th round selection in last year’s draft out of State College of Florida, Forret struggled in his pro debut, allowing five earned runs, before tossing 10 consecutive scoreless in his next two outings with 15 strikeouts and one free pass. Forret’s fastball averaged 95 MPH, touching 97 MPH with above average carry. He flashed a short, sharp slider at 85-87 MPH as well as a curveball in the low 80s, a splitter and an occasional cutter. It’s very early in the newly-turned 20-year-old’s pro career and it seems like he is feeling his arsenal out some. Over his last two successful starts, he has really showed confidence in his slider and increased willingness to throw his split. Forret could be a deep cut name to watch.

Thank you. Not sure how easy for someone who may have been doing it for years and someone who’s been talented enough to make it work. Someone posted a video of Freddie Freeman and Holliday to show similarities but, to me, it just showed how different their lead foot was. Freeman’s was closed and perfectly in line and parallel to his back foot. Hollidays foot pointed out and the foot towards 2B position. I questioned it. Other guys, who admittedly know more, said it was no problem. Again, he might be able to become a HOF with those mechanics. I’ve just never seen a good ML hitter hit that way. From that early January thread “I guess it depends on your definition of “step in the bucket”. His stride foot definitely doesn’t go straight. Pretty easy to see where his foot is in relation to the batters box and how much further away it is when it lands. It doesn’t seem to affect him negatively though. Interestingly enough, Freeman’s stride foot goes perfectly straight.” Edited January 6 by RZNJ

Plus Member 30.8k Posted January 24 Aram Leighton from Just Baseball on Holliday “He has the tendency to pull off of the ball a bit with his front side, which can minimize his ability to use the ground and his lower half to generate more power, especially on pitches on the outer half. The move does not impede his ability to consistently make contact thanks to his adjustability and feel for the barrel. Holliday projects as an easy plus hitter with more juice to tap into.“ https://www.justbaseball.com/prospects/baltimore-orioles-top-15-prospects-for-2024/

From a thread in early January titled “Breaking down Jackson Holliday’s Swing” January 4 Makes sense but I can’t think of many, if any, ML hitters who step like that with their lead foot. It doesn’t look good to me but who can argue with the results? Quote

It was a fastball. If you’re bailing out on a fastball from a LHP with a 3/4 delivery like that I think there’s a problem but if you think it’s perfectly fine you’re entitled to your opinion.

Mike Wright? Ouch!

Baseball’s a funny game. We spend 1.4M on Carter Young who played at D1 powerhouse Vanderbilt and he hasn’t looked too good so far in his pro career. A year later in the 20th round, we pick Vazquez from North Greenville University (sorry. Never heard of it), sign him for 30k and he puts up an .822 OPS at Delmarva. This year both Vazquez and Young are at Aberdeen and it’s not too difficult to guess which one is the better prospect. In 46 PA, Vazquez has 12 walks to 7 strikeouts and a .933 OPS. In addition, he’s stolen 7 bases in 8 tries. @Tony-OH also has said he’s a good defensive SS. 2023 draft. Etzel in the 10th. Vazquez in the 20th. Nice job, scouts.

That’s probably true and Elias said he also didn’t want to call him up if he wasn’t ready to be an everyday player. So ………. something to keep an eye on.

Maybe not so good that his front hip is almost in the first base dugout and he has to get fully extended just to reach a ball on the outside corner.

When you’re off balance and turned sideways, 75 mph looks pretty fast.

I agree. Last night was a step in the right direction but if I want to take the negative approach, he almost misplayed that line drive. He and Henderson were laughing about it because I think the ball hooked on him. As far as the 75mph, I believe it. He was reaching for it and it went off the bat. If your a pitcher, 75 mph, initially, still looks fast coming back at you but that ball would have lost steam pretty quickly. How fast do you think the liner Suarez caught the other night was? Don’t cheat. I’m going to look it up now. I’m guessing more than 75 but less than 90 but I think it was struck harder than Hollidays. Just checked. Taylor Ward hit his 95, so pretty hard but it basically found Suarez glove.