Kim vs Santander

[Emory Eagle]

For a team that struggles with OBP as much as the Os do, it's hard for me to believe that Kim gets as little playing time as he does. His approach to hitting is exactly what we need more of. He is almost guaranteed to make a pitcher work, fouling off pitcher's pitches and not chasing breaking balls out of the zone.  The downside is he doesn't have the ability to consistently turn with authority on a good FB on the inner portion of the plate. But that's the price you pay for patience.

[MurphDogg]

39 minutes ago, FlipTheBird said:

Santander, if he makes it, also potentially has a future with the O's. I don't think it's much of a secret that Hyun Soo Kim will not be suiting up in orange and black next year, unless it's for the Giants.

Hopefully that would be a shot with San Francisco, and not these Giants. 

[Can_of_corn]

51 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Well, not sure it's an obsession, but Santander is a 22-year old switch hitter with power from both sides of the plate. He showed enough during spring training for the orioles to try and find a way to keep him. The way Buck is using his roster, they can probably afford to keep him this year without hurting the team and gives the organization a guy who could profile as a an everyday big leaguer. Let me tell you as something one follows the system very closely, they don't have a ton of those guys. In fact, they don't have one switch-hitter in the organization that is actually a prospect.

I don't think it's the end of the world if he has to go back, but if I'm the Orioles, I'd try and find a way to get him on the active roster for 90 days in order to be able to keep him. 

Mullins?

[TINSTAAPP]

1 minute ago, Emory Eagle said:

For a team that struggles with OBP as much as the Os do, it's hard for me to believe that Kim gets as little playing time as he does. His approach to hitting is exactly what we need more of. He is almost guaranteed to make a pitcher work, fouling off pitcher's pitches and not chasing breaking balls out of the zone.  The downside is he doesn't have the ability to consistently turn with authority on a good FB on the inner portion of the plate. But that's the price you pay for patience.

That's the #1 reason why the O's should keep Kim. People on this board complain about the impatience of the hitters on this team all the time and rightly so. They're 13th in the American League in walks. A large majority of the hitters on this team are hackers yet O's fans want to get rid of the one of the few hitters on this team who can actually work a count and draw a walk. Furthermore, Mancini has a strikeout to walk ratio of 11:1 and a BABIP of .351.  Do people really believe Mancini's performance is sustainable? His role on the team is perfect as it is. 

[Tony-OH]

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

Mullins?

I meant a full-time, everyday player. I still see Mullins as a 4th/platoon outfielder though he can change my mind if he can hit lefties in AA all year. He started off hot against them this year, but let's see what it looks like at the end of the year. Saying that, he's the closest and I did like a couple of at bats I saw him have batting right-handed.

[MurphDogg]

6 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I meant a full-time, everyday player. I still see Mullins as a 4th/platoon outfielder though he can change my mind if he can hit lefties in AA all year. He started off hot against them this year, but let's see what it looks like at the end of the year. Saying that, he's the closest and I did like a couple of at bats I saw him have batting right-handed.

Tough to look past the height but I am excited to see him in Bowie this year. Hope he continues his hot start when he gets off the DL.

[Tony-OH]

2 minutes ago, TINSTAAPP said:

That's the #1 reason why the O's should keep Kim. People on this board complain about the impatience of the hitters on this team all the time and rightly so. They're 13th in the American League in walks. A large majority of the hitters on this team are hackers yet O's fans want to get rid of the one of the few hitters on this team who can actually work a count and draw a walk. Furthermore, Mancini has a strikeout to walk ratio of 11:1 and a BABIP of .351.  Do people really believe Mancini's performance is sustainable? His role on the team is perfect as it is. 

I don't really disagree, but it seems Buck likes power more than OBP. I would keep running Kim out there against righties, but if he's going to be used sparingly, they might as well use his roster spot for Santander. 

[weams]

6 hours ago, Richmond Bird 9 said:

This is not a bash Kim thread. Kim has been in 16 of the first 30 games and started less. If Buck is not going to play/use Kim, then we should trade him and activate Santander. Santander may not be able to play in the field, however he can hit and pinch run. The biggest gain we get is that Santander will get his time in. Trade Kim to the White Sox for inf/of Jake Peters. He hits left and has played all four inf positions and the corner of. 

What you would get for Kim in a trade is salary relief. 

[El Gordo]

I think it is premature to assume Buck is using Kim sparingly. The main reason is we have been facing an inordinate number of LHSP. Marconi has only faced RHSP  as opposed to Kim,.  a couple of times. He hits RH pitching better than Kim hits LHP.

[ChuckS]

4 minutes ago, weams said:

What you would get for Kim in a trade is salary relief. 

Maybe an effective middle reliever with a comparable salary from an offense starving club. 

With that said, Kim's skill are probably more valuable than with a lot of other teams.  He's not going to be attractive to many NL teams or teams playing in big parks.  

[Frobby]

16 minutes ago, El Gordo said:

I think it is premature to assume Buck is using Kim sparingly. The main reason is we have been facing an inordinate number of LHSP. Marconi has only faced RHSP  as opposed to Kim,.  a couple of times. He hits RH pitching better than Kim hits LHP.

We've seen 17 RH starters, but Kim has started only 12 games.    Two of the ones he missed were vs. the knuckleballer Wright, one was in Boston where he sat in favor of Flaherty against Porcello, and one was on Saturday against Covey.   I don't remember the fifth one where he sat.   I'll say this: of the four games I recall, we won all four, and in the three where Mancini started, he hit four homers and had nine RBI.   So, it's hard to criticize Buck's choices (though Flaherty did go 0 for 4 in his Fenway start).   

[Crazysilver03]

5 hours ago, Aristotelian said:

I believe we could keep Santander without activating him if he is in fact injured. Then his clock would reset next year and we could kick the Rule 5 game down the road after Kim's contract expires. So there is no point in activating him just to start his clock.

I do agree, for whatever reason Buck is not giving Kim the benefit of the doubt and is clearly prioritizing Mancini and Rickard even vs RHPs. As long as Mancini is producing and Kim is not, there is nothing wrong with that. 

It doesn't reset though if days are accumulated this year. Technically he would become optionable at some point next year if he accrued days this year  

[weams]

39 minutes ago, ChuckS said:

Maybe an effective middle reliever with a comparable salary from an offense starving club. 

With that said, Kim's skill are probably more valuable than with a lot of other teams.  He's not going to be attractive to many NL teams or teams playing in big parks.  

Oh. He's AL only. 

[backwardsk]

21 minutes ago, Frobby said:

We've seen 17 RH starters, but Kim has started only 12 games.    Two of the ones he missed were vs. the knuckleballer Wright, one was in Boston where he sat in favor of Flaherty against Porcello, and one was on Saturday against Covey.   I don't remember the fifth one where he sat.   I'll say this: of the four games I recall, we won all four, and in the three where Mancini started, he hit four homers and had nine RBI.   So, it's hard to criticize Buck's choices (though Flaherty did go 0 for 4 in his Fenway start).   

He sat against Arroyo in an NL park.

[Frobby]

36 minutes ago, backwardsk said:

He sat against Arroyo in an NL park.

Right, so no DH and Trumbo essentially took Kim's spot (and went 2 for 4).    

Remember that thread mocking the fact that Arroyo was still in the majors?   The Reds have won Arroyo's last four starts.