Jai Miller - 4th Outfielder?

[Boats And Os]

So you're hoping for a guy who struck in nearly half his at bats last season against PCL AAA LH pitching is our starting DH against LHs? You have low expectations.

Hey it's the Orioles...the guy could be our offensive MVP.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Interesting day for Miller. He hit the three-run dinger and a double, but he also struck out with the bases loaded and only one out in the 10th inning when a fly out or a grounder in the right place would have won the ballgame.

Two doubles and a homer according to the boxscore.

[Mayor McCheese]

Two doubles and a homer according to the boxscore.

5 AB's 2 doubles, 1 HR, 1K

[CA-ORIOLE]

5 AB's 2 doubles, 1 HR, 1K

2 k's according to the boxscore. He also did not hit into any DP's.

[crissfan172]

So you're hoping for a guy who struck in nearly half his at bats last season against PCL AAA LH pitching is our starting DH against LHs? You have low expectations.

I'm hoping that he's good enough to be successful in that situation. Right now, we don't have anybody that makes sense as a righty alternative to Betemit, and it would be nice if he was capable of doing that.

[CA-ORIOLE]

I'm hoping that he's good enough to be successful in that situation. Right now, we don't have anybody that makes sense as a righty alternative to Betemit, and it would be nice if he was capable of doing that.

I'm with you. An LHP platoon is a good way to ease him in and get some ML AB's and see what we have......and hopefully help the team.

[Tony-OH]

I'm with you. An LHP platoon is a good way to ease him in and get some ML AB's and see what we have......and hopefully help the team.

Well, no offense, but you're as nutty as he is if you think a guy who struck out in 50% of PAs (soak that in) in AAA vs LHers, should be considered a candidate to DH against LHers, in the MFBL!

You guys are better than this. Miller is a spring training mirage. Unless he has a once in a lifetime revival he's going to be eaten up by major league pitching once the seasons starts, and probably by late spring training with the ash and trash have been sent packing.

[ccbird]

Ideally Miller fits the bill as our last position player on the bench. Right handed bat with power and speed. Compliments LH hitting Chavez and Flaherty assuming it's Flaherty over Antonelli. Still could ultimately be Antonelli over Miller for that last position spot but I do think Miller is ideally the better fit.

[Dagger420]

Well, no offense, but you're as nutty as he is if you think a guy who struck out in 50% of PAs (soak that in) in AAA vs LHers, should be considered a candidate to DH against LHers, in the MFBL!

You guys are better than this. Miller is a spring training mirage. Unless he has a once in a lifetime revival he's going to be eaten up by major league pitching once the seasons starts, and probably by late spring training with the ash and trash have been sent packing.

But who really thinks Chavez is better? Because he made one catch in a playoff game?

He's a bum. I'd definitely rather have Miller than Chavez...

[Tony-OH]

But who really thinks Chavez is better? Because he made one catch in a playoff game?

He's a bum. I'd definitely rather have Miller than Chavez...

Really? You think Chavez has 2730 major league plate appearances because he made one catch in the playoffs? Chavez is a decent 4th/5th outfielder because he can play center field effectively, run a little, bunt, and hold his own with the bat. Chavez had 1291 major league plate appearances by the time he was 26.

I'm not sure some of you really understand how predictive poor minor league strikeout rates are to the eventual major league success or lack thereof. Jai Miller struck out 61 times in 152 PAs against left-handed AA pitching last year. Unless he defies some type of crazy odds, he's not going to be a successful major league hitter.

Chavez is a 4th/5th outfielder at best, but at least he's going to make some contact and be decent (he has a .703 OPS since 2005) at the plate. Chavez can run, bunt, move runners along, and play defense well at all three outfield positions. He's a much better choice for 4th outfield and although anyone can have an opinion, I find it hard to believe any smart baseball fan would look at the numbers and say Miller is a good choice to be the 4th outfielder.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Well, no offense, but you're as nutty as he is if you think a guy who struck out in 50% of PAs (soak that in) in AAA vs LHers, should be considered a candidate to DH against LHers, in the MFBL!

You guys are better than this. Miller is a spring training mirage. Unless he has a once in a lifetime revival he's going to be eaten up by major league pitching once the seasons starts, and probably by late spring training with the ash and trash have been sent packing.

No offense taken.

David Price isn't exactly trash. I agree it does look like he's very susceptible to offspeed stuff, the K rate is out of control, and he's an admitted longshot. That doesn't make it hopeless or not worth trying (given other considerations/options). We do have a guy on the ML roster who has a similar/higher K rate than Miller and who has been a fairly successful hitter. He can't run or play defense. Miller can. I'm sure the response to that is that Miller's K rate will be far worse and/or will not improve against ML pitching than AAA pitching. I'm not sure that's true.

If guys are throwing a high percentage of fastballs in ST he's gonna swing at them. If he's thrown a ton of breaking balls, the stats would indicate he has some capability to lay off them and draw walks. The question is if he can get the K rate down to something more sustainable or not. I'm not convinced he can't..at least not yet. You believe he can't and it's not worth trying. If it's a choice between Nick Johnson and Miller, I'd prefer to give the AB's to Miller. Even if Johnson is healthy, I'm not sure he has retained his baseball skills and we basically have an option anyways. Antonelli (has an option) is certainly a primary consideration here, but I'd prefer to try out Miller for the time being. I'm not seeing much else here as far as positional depth and I'm not overly concerned about wins and losses.

[Tony-OH]

No offense taken.

David Price isn't exactly trash. I agree it does look like he's very susceptible to offspeed stuff, the K rate is out of control, and he's an admitted longshot. That doesn't make it hopeless or not worth trying (given other considerations/options). We do have a guy on the ML roster who has a similar/higher K rate than Miller and who has been a fairly successful hitter. He can't run or play defense. Miller can. I'm sure the response to that is that Miller's K rate will be far worse and/or will not improve against ML pitching than AAA pitching. I'm not sure that's true.

If guys are throwing a high percentage of fastballs in ST he's gonna swing at them. If he's thrown a ton of breaking balls, the stats would indicate he has some capability to lay off them and draw walks. The question is if he can get the K rate down to something more sustainable or not. I'm not convinced he can't..at least not yet. You believe he can't and it's not worth trying. If it's a choice between Nick Johnson and Miller, I'd prefer to give the AB's to Miller. Even if Johnson is healthy, I'm not sure he has retained his baseball skills and we basically have an option anyways. Antonelli (has an option) is certainly a primary consideration here, but I'd prefer to try out Miller for the time being. I'm not seeing much else here as far as positional depth and I'm not overly concerned about wins and losses.

Um, you may want to take age and level into consideration before you make that comparison if you are talking about Reynolds.

You have your thoughts on roster management and I just don't agree. You hate guys like Angle and Chavev and I think those are the kinds of guys that win you ball games late. I've seen guys like Miller 100 times before. They never have sustained success in the major leagues. It was the same reason why I never really like Pie. He has some high end skills, but he's a poor baseball player instinctually. I haven't seen enough of Miller to say he's bad instinctual ball player, but I can see his K rates and I can due statistical analysis to say no 26-year old with that kind of K percentage in the minor league ever became a successful major leaguer.

I'd rather have guys who can play the game. Power is a nice commodity to have on your bench, but having guys with speed, defense, the ability to bunt and move guys over is more important in my opinion.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Um, you may want to take age and level into consideration before you make that comparison if you are talking about Reynolds.

You have your thoughts on roster management and I just don't agree. You hate guys like Angle and Chavev and I think those are the kinds of guys that win you ball games late. I've seen guys like Miller 100 times before. They never have sustained success in the major leagues. It was the same reason why I never really like Pie. He has some high end skills, but he's a poor baseball player instinctually. I haven't seen enough of Miller to say he's bad instinctual ball player, but I can see his K rates and I can due statistical analysis to say no 26-year old with that kind of K percentage in the minor league ever became a successful major leaguer.

I'd rather have guys who can play the game. Power is a nice commodity to have on your bench, but having guys with speed, defense, the ability to bunt and move guys over is more important in my opinion.

Yeah, I do think it's the way we look at the bench. I look at those spots as an opportunity to groom young players with some upside (even marginal upside) as an asset (even if it's a trade asset) rather than looking for guys than can be good bench players and fill roles. When we become more viable, I might look at things differently. So yeah, I don't really mind failing with a Felix Pie or a Jai Miller over a Matt Angle type.

[ccbird]

Let's forget about Miller vs. Chavez because that's not a competition in the real world. It could come down to Miller vs. Nick Johnson. Miller supposedly has speed, defense, and power. Johnson used to be good defensively. Not so sure anymore. He has no speed and it's very questionable what power and hitting skills he has left. He can be sent to Norfolk (unless he has a clause I don't know about). Who do you keep between those two?

While I think Johnson is the better player, since we are talking about a bench spot I think Miller is much more versatile. He has speed to pinch run. He also brings a RH bat with some pop compared to already two exclusive LH hitters in Flaherty and Chavez. Finally, he's arguably our best defensive replacement in the OF. I know Chavez is supposed to be good out there as well. Besides, I'd rather Johnson be getting regular ABs at Norfolk because IMO he an injury to Betemit, Reynolds, or Davis away from getting reg ABs in Baltimore. Or for that matter poor performances by Betemit as the primary DH or Davis as the primary 1B.

BTW... I agree with Tony's assesment of Chavez>> Miller as the 4th OF but Miller has some assets you like in your 13th man/5th OF on a bench.

[El Gordo]

Well, no offense, but you're as nutty as he is if you think a guy who struck out in 50% of PAs (soak that in) in AAA vs LHers, should be considered a candidate to DH against LHers, in the MFBL!

You guys are better than this. Miller is a spring training mirage. Unless he has a once in a lifetime revival he's going to be eaten up by major league pitching once the seasons starts, and probably by late spring training with the ash and trash have been sent packing.

Maybe, but the LH AB's are a SSS, and even so, he had a .344 OBP against LH SP, with 11 HR 16 BB, a .921 OPS in 154 PA, last year in AAA. So why not keep him until he gets eaten alive, and then bring up Antonelli or Johnson.