Colby Rasmus vs Nori Aoki

[Ven6]

High K rate does not equal "free swinging". Rasmus' plate discipline is above average.

True. So then, it's either bad eyes or bad hand/eye coordination. Yikes.

[AdamK]

Sounds like the board is warming to Rasmus. Lots of well thought out rationale, guys. Nice work.

I suppose if the choice is between the two (and not a trade), I'd lean Colby as well.

If they do bring him in I give it until May before we hear the things that Cruz, De Aza and Kelly Johnson were saying publicly about the club house... That this is a place with good chemistry.

I think it is a good bet that:

Colby + chemistry = QO and compensation pick.

If it doesn't work out, que cera. But if it does, DD would have spun gold from flax. And I love that our system is reaping that reward. DD is a master builder, can we give that guy a promotion?

[SteveO]

High K rate does not equal "free swinging". Rasmus' plate discipline is above average.

I have a hard time believing a guy who walks 29 times in 346 AB's is "selective"

The guy is not a free swinger in the AJ mode, he does swing at plenty of pitches though that better hitters lay off. Fact.

[Babypowder]

True. So then, it's either bad eyes or bad hand/eye coordination. Yikes.

Which does Mike Trout have?

[Babypowder]

I have a hard time believing a guy who walks 29 times in 346 AB's is "selective"

The guy is not a free swinger in the AJ mode, he does swing at plenty of pitches though that better hitters lay off. Fact.

Career walk rate is over 8 percent. That's above league average. His 7.7 percent in 2014 was just over the MLB average of 7.6.

[SteveO]

Which does Mike Trout have?

Come on ....Trout came up 260+ time more and only struck out like 60 times more than Colby. He also walks at a better clip and that was in a year were frankly his numbers in both those areas were not as good as they could be. Rasmus is a consistent SO machine the past 4 years, even in his "good year" he SO a ton.

[SteveO]

Career walk rate is over 8 percent. That's above league average. His 7.7 percent in 2014 was just over the MLB average of 7.6.

The guy strikes out a ton...that is a fact. So either he swinging at pitches he can't hit OR he has trouble making contact with the good pitches he does swing at. The numbers don't lie man.

On this team with a number of power bats in the lineup I just don't see how much value another guy who consistently SO's at a high clip has. I would prefer to just roll with Lough (other posters will tell you I am far from a Lough cheerleader).

[Babypowder]

Come on ....Trout came up 260+ time more and only struck out like 60 times more than Colby. He also walks at a better clip and that was in a year were frankly his numbers in both those areas were not as good as they could be. Rasmus is a consistent SO machine the past 4 years, even in his "good year" he SO a ton.

I am not saying they are in the same stratosphere as players, just saying high K rates is not as simple as bad eyes or bad hand eye coordination. Lots of high K players out there and some of them are very good. Trout was 14th in K percentage and was the best player in baseball. Stanton was 12th, Justin Upton 11th, Desmond 8th.

[Guest]

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[Babypowder]

The guy strikes out a ton...that is a fact. So either he swinging at pitches he can't hit OR he has trouble making contact with the good pitches he does swing at. The numbers don't lie man.

On this team with a number of power bats in the lineup I just don't see how much value another guy who consistently SO's at a high clip has. I would prefer to just roll with Lough (other posters will tell you I am far from a Lough cheerleader).

I didn't say otherwise. You said he didn't walk enough to be called selective, the numbers say this is not true. They do not lie indeed.

Free swinging to me means a guy who swings at everything and doesn't know how to take a walk. Adam Jones is a free swinger. I don't classify relatively high walk and high K players as free swingers.

[SteveO]

I didn't say otherwise. You said he didn't walk enough to be called selective, the numbers say this is not true. They do not lie indeed.

Free swinging to me means a guy who swings at everything and doesn't know how to take a walk. Adam Jones is a free swinger. I don't classify relatively high walk and high K players as free swingers.

Fair enough. Not a Rasmus fan but if we get him will become one and give him a shot. Hope we can get out of him something that approximates his 2013 numbers and not the numbers that he has put up 3 out the past 4 years.

The guy has talent, seems to have a 2 cent head. In my experience guys like that tend to be major disappointments and cause other issues. Then again on a one year deal kinda like Delmon last year, who knows right.

[Malike]

Kind wish "None of the above" was a choice.

Rasmus has a history that suggests to me that he is a bit of a head case. His defense is good but as other posters have noted, you already have a guy in Lough who is pretty decent in that respect. From an offensive side, the guy strikes out a ton, I cannot see that changing. How many low OBP, high strike out guys does one team need? Rasmus is a gamble, on a team with some good talent in other areas and multiple players such as Davis and Weiters whom you already gambling on to return to form, I would rather roll with the guy who will give the small but consistent contribution if I have to pick one.

Doesn't matter to me if it is on the poll or not. That is my choice.

[weams]

True. So then, it's either bad eyes or bad hand/eye coordination. Yikes.

Which does Mike Trout have?

Chicks dig the longball. And Trout lost the MVP twice because his neck was not yet thick enough.

[weams]

Aoki lifetime walk percentage 7.8%. Rasmus lifetime walk percentage 8.6% (7.7% last year). Yet, Rasmus has got bad plate discipline and Aoki is an on base machine. They both know the strike zone. The difference is that Rasmus is swinging for the fences and reaching them while Aoki is slapping the ball around and making more contact.

I am glad I did not have to point that out again. David Lough could easily become Aoki if he chose to.

[crawjo]

Rasmus has more upside than Aoki, so I'd rather have Rasmus. Aoki is more of a sure thing, but I agree that our internal options could probably approximate some of his production. I think Rasmus is capable of 30 homers.