Ryan Mountcastle 2018

[Il BuonO]

33 minutes ago, justD said:

I wouldn't. If they're trying to get him to improve his defense at third, I'd be glad to hear he hasn't had the distraction of being moved anywhere else for now. 

Looked up his stats, and he's started all 51 of his games at 3B, with no other positions covered this season:

Machado didn’t seem distracted when he moved to 3B after playing only SS. I’m comparing them only to show it’s done and that’s just one example.

I take it as a good sign when Buck dressed him down about plate discipline he improved in that area. He looks to be a confident guy. And more importantly, I know of no outside evaluators who are convinced he’ll stick at 3B because of the lack of arm strength. He has more value at 2B than in LF (the other spot I’ve heard mentioned). 

[Il BuonO]

On 7/18/2018 at 10:05 AM, Can_of_corn said:

45/50 throw?

I’m sure @Tony-OH and @Luke-OH have seen more of him than I have, but those aren’t the ranges I’d give him.

[weams]

Nice defensive play tonight. 

[bobmc]

13 hours ago, weams said:

Nice defensive play tonight. 

Rich man's Nunez?

[sportsfan8703]

15 hours ago, Il BuonO said:

Machado didn’t seem distracted when he moved to 3B after playing only SS. I’m comparing them only to show it’s done and that’s just one example.

I take it as a good sign when Buck dressed him down about plate discipline he improved in that area. He looks to be a confident guy. And more importantly, I know of no outside evaluators who are convinced he’ll stick at 3B because of the lack of arm strength. He has more value at 2B than in LF (the other spot I’ve heard mentioned). 

Good post. .362 OBP this year. That’s actually the same career OBP the Yusnial Diaz has. So Mountcastle definitely stepped that up and responded to Buck. I would think Mountcastle’s SS background means he has a good glove. Is range should be good at 3B. The good thing about 3rd base is that that ball gets you faster so that could make up for his “weak” arm. 

[weams]

10 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Good post. .362 OBP this year. That’s actually the same career OBP the Yusnial Diaz has. So Mountcastle definitely stepped that up and responded to Buck. I would think Mountcastle’s SS background means he has a good glove. Is range should be good at 3B. The good thing about 3rd base is that that ball gets you faster so that could make up for his “weak” arm. 

The arm is not weak. It has been erratic. Footwork and arm angle. 

[sportsfan8703]

6 minutes ago, weams said:

The arm is not weak. It has been erratic. Footwork and arm angle. 

Well that’s good to hear. The guys is only 21. There is a lot of time for him to be coached up mechanically. Wish we still had a guy like Paul Janish in the minors. It’s a shame we had him for 2 years and no IF prospects to pick things up from him. 

[Frobby]

5 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Well that’s good to hear. The guys is only 21. There is a lot of time for him to be coached up mechanically. 

They’ve been trying pretty hard for three years now.    I know RM was doing arm strengthening routines in the offseason.   My reading of the reports I’ve seen is that arm strength is a big issue, not just footwork and being erratic.    But I haven’t seen him in person so maybe that’s wrong.   

[Jammer7]

4 hours ago, Frobby said:

They’ve been trying pretty hard for three years now.    I know RM was doing arm strengthening routines in the offseason.   My reading of the reports I’ve seen is that arm strength is a big issue, not just footwork and being erratic.    But I haven’t seen him in person so maybe that’s wrong.   

From what little I have seen, and everything I have read, it has been a weak arm. His scouting grades were often a 30, and ML average is 50. For a 3B, you would like to have at least a 55-60 arm.

That said, with better footwork it can be strong enough. Its not, and never will be, a Manny arm. To me, it looked like he was tentative and did not trust his throws instinctively like he should. I have not seen him since Spring, so I will yield to Weams on that. Most errors on throws are footwork. The transition to 3B is not as easy as Manny made it. Moving from SS is a completely different mindset, a different reaction time, angles of attack...everything is different. Really makes you appreciate Manny and how he made it look so easy.

[Legend_Of_Joey]

5 hours ago, Frobby said:

They’ve been trying pretty hard for three years now.    I know RM was doing arm strengthening routines in the offseason.   My reading of the reports I’ve seen is that arm strength is a big issue, not just footwork and being erratic.    But I haven’t seen him in person so maybe that’s wrong.   

Having seen him in person multiple times in both Frederick and Bowie...

It is a weak arm. He doesn't throw on a straight line to first, he "lollipops" it over there. The same way people who don't have the arm strength to throw a straight line across the diamond do.

He was doing the same thing as a shortstop too. His mechanics were fine, he just wasn't getting a lot on the throws.

[accinfo]

39 minutes ago, Legend_Of_Joey said:

Having seen him in person multiple times in both Frederick and Bowie...

It is a weak arm. He doesn't throw on a straight line to first, he "lollipops" it over there. The same way people who don't have the arm strength to throw a straight line across the diamond do.

He was doing the same thing as a shortstop too. His mechanics were fine, he just wasn't getting a lot on the throws.

If it is arm strength then why not try 2nd base.  Maybe some concern turning the double play but if he can field then why not?

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, accinfo said:

If it is arm strength then why not try 2nd base.  Maybe some concern turning the double play but if he can field then why not?

Because they need a third baseman in 2019 and don't need a second baseman until 2020.

[ReclaimTheCrown]

9 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Because they need a third baseman in 2019 and don't need a second baseman until 2020.

Maddeningly, this.

[MDtransplant757]

Hit one out in Bowie today 

[Ruzious]

On 7/21/2018 at 9:04 PM, Legend_Of_Joey said:

Having seen him in person multiple times in both Frederick and Bowie...

It is a weak arm. He doesn't throw on a straight line to first, he "lollipops" it over there. The same way people who don't have the arm strength to throw a straight line across the diamond do.

He was doing the same thing as a shortstop too. His mechanics were fine, he just wasn't getting a lot on the throws.

I always wondered why the assumption seemed to be that his arm wasn't going to get stronger - considering he was young and expected to get a lot bigger.