The guy I keep waiting for: Schoop

As I think about how we can compensate for the loss of Manny on the offensive side, I feel like one of the possibilities should be improved hitting from Jonathan Schoop. Not that I'm expecting him to hit as well as Manny, but I just feel he should be able to do better than .216/.254/.340 now that he has 349 major league plate appearances under his belt.

Schoop does have a .250/.308/.542 line in August, but I'm not putting too much stock in that. It's a small sample and he was hitting .200 before going 2 for 4 yesterday. But doesn't Schoop have to figure things out sometime? I mean, he looks like a major leaguer to me, but he has really struggled despite the occasional bomb and clutch hit.

Now would be a good time for him to figure things out.

I'm not holding my breath for Schoop. Better chance of Cruz, Davis, Jones, Pearce, and Caleb, picking up the pace. Any thing we get from Schoop is gravy.

Lots of ground outs to infielders, unless the pitch is a clear mistake up in the zone. Ryan Flaherty also looks like a major leaguer, and he hasn't figured it out either.

Schoop makes alright contact, though, and you would think he runs into more hits by accident alone. I really have no idea what to think about him. He swings hard as hell. A little shorter stroke might go a long way.

A little pitch selection would go a long way too. His approach at the plate is often times worse than Adam Jones on his worst days.

Lots of ground outs to infielders, unless the pitch is a clear mistake up in the zone. Ryan Flaherty also looks like a major leaguer, and he hasn't figured it out either.

Schoop makes alright contact, though, and you would think he runs into more hits by accident alone. I really have no idea what to think about him. He swings hard as hell. A little shorter stroke might go a long way.

12.6% line drive percentage. That's awful. Too aggressive at plate to boot. Usually hits an accidental homer a couple times a month.

I think it's way too early to italicize the word "sometime." He's a rookie, and rookies don't always hit well in their first year. He does show signs of power, which is encouraging for the future. And despite a couple flubs the last two games, he's obviously a strong defender.

I'm not expecting him to post great #s the rest of the way. I'd take great defense and slightly improved hitting in a heartbeat.

I think Hardy is a decent comp for Schoop at this stage of his career, but Schoop falls a little shy of JJ's first two seasons:

.245 / .312 / .392

However, I could see Schoop improving next year to get closer to that level. Either way, it's still too early to tell.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Jonathan Schoop vs. NYY: .385 (10-for-26) with 3 HRs, 10 RBIs, .808 slugging and 1.215 OPS. Leads team in all categories.</p>— Steve Melewski (@masnSteve) <a href="

">August 12, 2014</a></blockquote>

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Well there's that, at least!

Heh, isn't almost all of that against Tanaka though? Seems like it.

Schoop's 2014 reminds me of Bedard's 2004. Both earned (were given due to lack of better options?) MLB regular gigs with a less than ideal amount of minor league experience. I remember after Bedard finished a 1.1 rWAR year, the main thing that impressed me was that as a rookie, he simply survived the entire season without being knocked out of the box.

Schoop at 0.9 rWAR with seven weeks to go. He's flirted with being so bad you have to bench, but hasn't forced Buck's hand yet. If he finishes even a little better than he's been so far, I think the org has to be thrilled with his progress this year. Even continuing at the same pace, this year's no catastrophe.

Heh, isn't almost all of that against Tanaka though? Seems like it.

He actually has hit the entire AL EAST this season if you look at his numbers over his career. He hits Boston well and the Jays as well. The rays only team he has OPS under .800 against.

Yeah surely they can work on this guy's swing a little, no? He doesn't hit enough homers to warrant being a Mark Reynolds type guy. He needs to up his batting average.

Mark Reynolds also has around a career 12% walk rate.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Jonathan Schoop vs. NYY: .385 (10-for-26) with 3 HRs, 10 RBIs, .808 slugging and 1.215 OPS. Leads team in all categories.</p>— Steve Melewski (@masnSteve) <a href="

">August 12, 2014</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Well there's that, at least!

Great. Just play him against the Yankees.

Schoop's 2014 reminds me of Bedard's 2004. Both earned (were given due to lack of better options?) MLB regular gigs with a less than ideal amount of minor league experience. I remember after Bedard finished a 1.1 rWAR year, the main thing that impressed me was that as a rookie, he simply survived the entire season without being knocked out of the box.

Schoop at 0.9 rWAR with seven weeks to go. He's flirted with being so bad you have to bench, but hasn't forced Buck's hand yet. If he finishes even a little better than he's been so far, I think the org has to be thrilled with his progress this year. Even continuing at the same pace, this year's no catastrophe.

Let's be honest, his bat has been a catastrophe. The only reason he's still up here is because of his glove. That's it. He hasn't progressed as a hitter, IMHO.

Eh. The guy is 22 years old and he's getting what he needs, namely major league experience. We'll just have to see if he gets better or not, but plenty of people do as they reach their mid-20s. What's most important right now is his rock-solid glove at 2B.

Let's be honest, his bat has been a catastrophe. The only reason he's still up here is because of his glove. That's it. He hasn't progressed as a hitter, IMHO.

He actually has not been as bad as many people believe this is not the 90s anymore hitting is down. He actually has a higher War then gus like Kipnis, Infante, and Beckman. Yeah his defense helps but a .220 average now is equal to around .240-.250.

He actually has not been as bad as many people believe this is not the 90s anymore hitting is down. He actually has a higher War then gus like Kipnis, Infante, and Beckman. Yeah his defense helps but a .220 average now is equal to around .240-.250.

No, he has been that bad. Even accounting for the fact that offense is down, Schoop's OPS right now is worse than 11 other qualifying second basemen in the league, and that includes all three guys you mentioned. There's no getting around the fact that his offense has been atrocious in every single aspect except home runs. It is a fair argument to say if not for his defense he wouldn't be in the big leagues right now, because his total offensive performance doesn't merit it.