Chance Sisco 2020

[canonfaz]

Hitting guru Craig Gentry must have been all booked up.

In all seriousness, good for Sisco. Sounds like he put in some effort during the off-season to work on a flaw in an intelligent manner.

[interloper]

2 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Yes, and I’m pretty sure that Orioles management suggested it.    I recall reading something about that early in the offseason.   

I was hoping Davis would give a guy like Wallenbrock a couple of hours and maybe he'd realize he doesn't have to "squat down". That's a drastic exaggeration of what "working on your swing" means. It could be something super simple. 

[HowAboutThat]

4 minutes ago, glenn__davis said:

Sure, I agree with all that, but Sisco's never going to be an excellent defensive catcher.  His calling card is going to be his hitting.  Honestly if I were him that's where I'd put most of my efforts and focus, and it sounds like that's what he's done.

Oh, I agree that he’ll never be outstanding on defense. I think his only chance of survival is moving to a different position, and he has to hit appropriate for the position.

 

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, canonfaz said:

Hitting guru Craig Gentry must have been all booked up.

In all seriousness, good for Sisco. Sounds like he put in some effort during the off-season to work on a flaw in an intelligent manner.

Workout guru Craig Gentry.

[interloper]

2 minutes ago, canonfaz said:

Hitting guru Craig Gentry must have been all booked up.

In all seriousness, good for Sisco. Sounds like he put in some effort during the off-season to work on a flaw in an intelligent manner.

Mullins, too. And Mancini even mentioned some small adjustments with his eye level, etc. And then guys like Hess and Asher sound like they worked on some things. Means went hard again, sounds like. 

It's all very warm and fuzzy spring training. But it provides some interesting things to track and see if any of this stuff pays off. 

[interloper]

Working with an offseason hitting instructor is the new "best shape of my life". Bring on the rainbows and unicorns.

[Can_of_corn]

4 minutes ago, interloper said:

Mullins, too. And Mancini even mentioned some small adjustments with his eye level, etc. And then guys like Hess and Asher sound like they worked on some things. Means went hard again, sounds like. 

It's all very warm and fuzzy spring training. But it provides some interesting things to track and see if any of this stuff pays off. 

This is helping me understand the idea of not having draftees play the season they are drafted.  I can see how their might be more value in work of this nature, in a controlled setting.

[Can_of_corn]

6 minutes ago, interloper said:

Mullins, too. And Mancini even mentioned some small adjustments with his eye level, etc. And then guys like Hess and Asher sound like they worked on some things. Means went hard again, sounds like. 

It's all very warm and fuzzy spring training. But it provides some interesting things to track and see if any of this stuff pays off. 

And Davis gained mass.

[Frobby]

4 minutes ago, interloper said:

Mullins, too. And Mancini even mentioned some small adjustments with his eye level, etc. And then guys like Hess and Asher sound like they worked on some things. Means went hard again, sounds like. 

It's all very warm and fuzzy spring training. But it provides some interesting things to track and see if any of this stuff pays off. 

Well, the thing is, a huge number of players are working to improve in the offseason, and more and more at these specialized instruction sites utilizing advanced technology to help guide the players.    But it’s kind of a zero sum game.    If hitters have better swings but pitchers have better pitches, maybe nobody gets the upper hand.     But of course, those players who don’t do serious work in the offseason are in for a rude awakening.  

[mdbdotcom]

22 minutes ago, interloper said:

Working with an offseason hitting instructor is the new "best shape of my life". Bring on the rainbows and unicorns.

I like the way the bat comes out of his mouth.

[sportsfan8703]

59 minutes ago, Philip said:

I agree, he hasn’t proven anything, however there is always a job for an excellent defensive catcher. Catchers who can’t hit are typical.

But catchers who can’t defend or hit go to plumbing school.

He's only 24.  Catchers usually take longer to develop.  I wouldn't give up on him yet.  At the very least I see him as a .700 OPS Catcher.  That's not bad for that position.  

[Frobby]

4 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

He's only 24.  Catchers usually take longer to develop.  I wouldn't give up on him yet.  At the very least I see him as a .700 OPS Catcher.  That's not bad for that position.  

Given his well below average defense, I’d want Sisco to be well over .700 OPS to be a viable major league catcher.     At .729 last year he was basically replacement level (0.1 rWAR, -0.2 fWAR).    I think he’s capable of hitting better than that based on his minor league track record, and hopefully his offseason work will lead to good results.     And while I suspect he’ll always be below average defensively, hopefully he can improve there, too.

[interloper]

5 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

He's only 24.  Catchers usually take longer to develop.  I wouldn't give up on him yet.  At the very least I see him as a .700 OPS Catcher.  That's not bad for that position.  

If you ignore everything else (not that you should), you can say the following about Chance: he improved from a .557 OPS in 2018 to a .729 OPS in 2019 in a similarly-sized sample (160 AB to 167 AB). In a vacuum, that's good! 

Now the reason we're kind of down on the guy is because that .729 OPS was buoyed mostly by a scorching hot start when he got called up followed by a pretty dismal remainder of his season. And then you factor in his defense and his former top prospect status and it all kind of adds up to disappointment. 

BUT. He did improve, at least in the technical sense. And this new knowledge about his offseason work is definitely exciting. There's room on most teams for a left-handed slugging catcher - all he has to do is just be sort of average on defense. 

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Given his well below average defense, I’d want Sisco to be well over .700 OPS to be a viable major league catcher.     At .729 last year he was basically replacement level (0.1 rWAR, -0.2 fWAR).    I think he’s capable of hitting better than that based on his minor league track record, and hopefully his offseason work will lead to good results.     And while I suspect he’ll always be below average defensively, hopefully he can improve there, too.

Replacement isn't a viable standard for a backup catcher?

[sportsfan8703]

@Frobby @interloper You realize that he put up those offensive numbers in his age 22, 23, and 24 seasons?  Everyone thinks they're a whiz at judging Catchers defensively but what really do we know?  All we know is their caught stealing percentage and how many passed balls they have.  Either way, at 24, he's not a finished product.  

Is the ball going to be juiced this year?  If not, I'll take a .729 OPS from a guy that isn't the catcher of the future.