emmett16

He had that the whole way. Incredible

A 2b & 3b tonight. OPS up to .730. And of course a SB #18. Trying to catch up to Etzel’s 20.

Only 1BB in the 1st…. unacceptable. NEED MORE WALkS!!!!!!!!

Mass = gas

His low Avg. EV #s give me some pause.

I don’t see a path for Mayo to get the ABs needed to acclimate & become a force in the lineup this year. Someone would need to be moved. I don’t see them bringing him up to get sporadic ABs and if they do bring him up and give him sporadic ABs I don’t see him being a difference maker. He’s a special talent but every single one of our top tier guys have needed time to adjust. How does he get that opportunity?

I don’t think they are. They traded Hernaiz for Irvin & Ortiz/Hall for Burnes.

I watched yesterday. He gets a ton of strikes from swings at his curveball (a good portion of which are not really that close to being in the zone). Yesterday he fell behind a ton of batters and gave up a ton of hard contact. His Strike % looks to be a function of batters swinging at pitches out of the zone (mostly the curve, looks like guys are laying off his FB out of the zone). Will that work at the next level? His stuff is pretty nasty and AAA hitters are definitely not picking it up, but I question if it will work at the MLB level. Even with the high strike % you see a guy that really doesn't know where the ball is going.

Using and leveraging one asset ( your scouting, development, and analytical assets) while minimizing the hit on your other assets (current minor league players and future MLB players).

I think anyone in Urias' position would struggle. Trying to hit off the worlds best pitchers with ABs few and far between is a tall ask. They made a choice to upgrade him in the off-season and they used the internal upgrade to acquire a #1 SP. We could have had an upgrade, but at the expense of pitching staff.

Cano’s nickname should be El Gato.

For sure. He had his BA % for quadrants in the strike zone as well as the count. It's pretty remarkable how far ahead of his time he was. I really wish I could have seen him play. The Science of Hitting is easily the best book out there on hitting.

I think it's a result of the shift and better more athletic defenders. It's been going on for a long time, but ever since Kyle Boddy disrupted player dev. in 2012 it's been a focus and has been expanded on. See-ing eye singles aren't really a thing anymore. Heck, defensive positioning rarely allows bloop hits anymore. If you aren't putting the ball in play at 95mph+ with a launch angle of 8-25 degrees, your chance of getting a hit is slim to none. And how can you achieve those results? Sell out on balls you can handle, often times even with 2 strikes if the situation/pitcher warrant that approach. I know some teams use a chart that shows the strike zone with a diamond in the middle of it, essentially eliminating all 4 corners. You are dinged if you go after a pitch in those 4 quadrants with less than 2 strikes. You're also dinged if you don't go after a pitch in the hot zone (regardless of count). I'm sure it gets much more sophisticated and personalized than that.

That's been my hope since the beginning of the year. He looks like he can be a shut down reliever and we desperately need someone to fill that role.

Yea, there is no different approach. Its a SSS in a long season. Their wOBA and ISO are up this year over last year. Their OBP is down slightly but can be attributed to a .278 BABIP this year vs. a .305 last year. The k% is almost identical and the BB % is off by -1.5%. I'd wager that by the end of season, the BB% will be up and the numbers will be up across the board. wRC+ 114 this year vs. 105 last year. Why are people complaining? Because it seems like we are being less patient?

Interesting. I've never thought about that before. I've read the studies on line-ups and understand there isn't a huge difference, but for me you have to have your best hitters at the top of the lineup. Gunnar was due up 4th in the bottom of the 9th yesterday. Of all the 'botches' people have been complaining about yesterday from Hyde, had we lost that game with our best hitter not coming to the plate in the bottom of the 9th, that would have been my #1 complaint.

I have not been a Webb fan. I’m happy to eat crow. His CU is pretty devastating and when batters are protecting against it his FB plays. Yesterday he was not at his best and found a way to make a pitch when he needed to. It will be interesting to see how he does for a full year. If he could be a 2.5-3.0 BB/9 guy, he’d be super valuable.

Correct. That’s why I said hard to tell if any of the CS were PIKs. The post I was replying to mentioned him being picked off at second and more times than not you're going back to the bag. I’d say most picks that result in CS are lefty’s going to first. Thanks for the follow up and looking in to the CS. I briefly tried to find the PIKs but didn’t have any luck. Agree on his SB rate. With that success rate, I’ll take a few PIKs. Heck, if he can continue that his low ISO might not be an issue, he just needs to find a way to get on base. If all those SBs could combine with the singles to become doubles, his OPS would be off the charts.

I think there is more to it than just simply versatility. There are PHDs out there that study and focus on high level achievers, mostly in sports but also in other areas. They’ve found that the brain grows through a process called myelination when someone repeatedly puts forth a concentrated, specific, and challenged effort. This is why implements and constraints are used in throwing and hitting development. A hitter will become much better if they are using different size & weight bats and if their bodies are in different positions. The brain organizes the motor skills and works hard to achieve an end and in doing so becomes better at that skill. This is why pitchers use different weight balls and balls of different sizes to hone in on command. A batter using the same bat, from the same position, hitting the same pitch will never improve even if they take 1,000 swings per day. The same theory goes for fielding. Different balls, from different angles, in different positions that require differ throws all while concentrating/focusing at a high level (not being comfortable repeating the same stuff) will have a greater longer term effect than repeated non-challenging reps from one position. The brain adapts and grows from performing challenging and specific motor skills. I agree they need to pick and chose a bit who this so best suited for. I also agree is super frustrating to watch as the players take their lumps, play new positions, and even play positions for the first time. I also think defense is much easier to develop than hitting. So I understand the thought of drafting bat first players who are athletic and then working with them. Will this work? I don’t think we can say for sure yet. I think we will need to see the second, third, and fourth wave come through to determine that. But I do think it’s done intentionally with the long term goal to develop the absolute best possible baseball player and not done hap haphazardly.

I imagine so. He has 41 SB in 45 MiLB games. He has 3 CS. Hard to tell from stat line of any of those CS are PIKs. To your point, he needs to figure out what he can and can’t get away with and low minors is the place to push the envelope.

Has EBJ been trying to pad his stats by stealing first after advancing to second? I kid I kid Agree on your point re:base running is a skill that needs to be honed.

That might get him traded even faster.

That and the paycheck bump.

If he got the bunt down, folks would have called him a genius. I like the play. Beats a K. Anytime you make the D execute a perfect play at home To save a run you’re doing something right.