Jorge Mateo

[RZNJ]

2 hours ago, Frobby said:

According to Kevin Brown, it was Magneuris Sierra.  

Sure, but I think he's a LHB and that's not a really fair comparison.

[Chelsea_Phil]

Just don’t be like Mysyas and have a contest with Apollo as to who is the best flute player.  It will end badly for you.‍

[Frobby]

8 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Sure, but I think he's a LHB and that's not a really fair comparison.

Buxton ran one in 10.52 in 2017.  Hard to believe it could be run 0.6 seconds faster than Mateo.  
https://m.facebook.com/Twins/videos/fastest-triple-in-mlb-this-season-yep-byron-buxton-gets-another-mayo-clinic-spor/10155661360679841/

[RZNJ]

2 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Buxton ran one in 10.52 in 2017.  Hard to believe it could be run 0.6 seconds faster than Mateo.  
https://m.facebook.com/Twins/videos/fastest-triple-in-mlb-this-season-yep-byron-buxton-gets-another-mayo-clinic-spor/10155661360679841/

Yep.  Buxton might just be that much faster but you'd have to compare the break out of the box and how well they cut the bases too.  I only watched the Mateo triple as it happened and maybe the replay.   It's hard to see where or how he could have done it any better so yeah, .6 seconds faster is super impressive.

Edited September 10, 2022 by RZNJ

[Aristotelian]

Seems like he has hit a wall with the bat. OPS down to .669/88 OPS+. Leading the league in triples and steals, still adds up to over 3 WAR.  Will the shift ban make a rangy SS with arm more valuable? Will be really interesting to see what happens with him next year but Gunnar looks pretty good at SS. 

[RZNJ]

19 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Seems like he has hit a wall with the bat. OPS down to .669/88 OPS+. Leading the league in triples and steals, still adds up to over 3 WAR.  Will the shift ban make a rangy SS with arm more valuable? Will be really interesting to see what happens with him next year but Gunnar looks pretty good at SS. 

Unfortunately he's gotten away from going to RF and waiting on the pitch like he was during his very good stretch.  Sometimes it's hard to believe a batter can slip back into the bad habits of before or that coaches can't see it and get through to him.    He was never going to be a great hitter but he has the tools to be a .700 + OPS guy and he should be able to hit .250 but it seems he's drifting back to his pull only mode and he winds up committing too early to the pitch which leads to swinging at bad pitches and being succeptible to the outside slider/curve.

The worst thing that can happen to a hitter like Mateo is to line out to RF for an out and then pull an outside pitch down the 3B line or in the hole for a hit.   He feels rewarded for doing the wrong thing and punished for doing the right thing.   In the long run, it doesn't work out that way.   Even if he's making outs to RF the overall approach makes him a much better hitter.

Edited September 10, 2022 by RZNJ

[CharmCityHokie]

50 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Buxton ran one in 10.52 in 2017.  Hard to believe it could be run 0.6 seconds faster than Mateo.  
https://m.facebook.com/Twins/videos/fastest-triple-in-mlb-this-season-yep-byron-buxton-gets-another-mayo-clinic-spor/10155661360679841/

Wow, that is impressive. With the way he was cruising, he should have just kept heading home and confused the defense (Granted I can't see where the throw coming from the OF/cutoff man is at the point he hits 3B, but that was some smooth running.

[CharmCityHokie]

5 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Unfortunately he's gotten away from going to RF and waiting on the pitch like he was during his very good stretch.  Sometimes it's hard to believe a batter can slip back into the bad habits of before or that coaches can't see it and get through to him.    He was never going to be a great hitter but he has the tools to be a .700 + OPS guy and he should be able to hit .250 but it seems he's drifting back to his pull only mode and he winds up committing too early to the pitch which leads to swinging at bad pitches and being succeptible to the outside slider/curve.

I also wonder if advance-scouting is a factor. For awhile Mateo was a pretty easy out and I don't know if the pitch plan against him was that complicated in getting him out. When he really heated up and started letting bad pitches go, advance scouts had to come up with a more dedicated plan for their pitchers, which in turn may have frustrated Mateo who was having success leading him back to bad habits. I have no idea if that's actually true, but the more success you have, the more the other team is going to pay attention to you and figure out your weaknesses. 

[seak05]

22 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Seems like he has hit a wall with the bat. OPS down to .669/88 OPS+. Leading the league in triples and steals, still adds up to over 3 WAR.  Will the shift ban make a rangy SS with arm more valuable? Will be really interesting to see what happens with him next year but Gunnar looks pretty good at SS. 

That plus the new rules on how often a pitcher can throw to a base have massively increased steals in the minor leagues. I think the new rules make Matteo's skill set (top level range and speed) more valuable. 

[DrungoHazewood]

14 minutes ago, CharmCityHokie said:

I also wonder if advance-scouting is a factor. For awhile Mateo was a pretty easy out and I don't know if the pitch plan against him was that complicated in getting him out. When he really heated up and started letting bad pitches go, advance scouts had to come up with a more dedicated plan for their pitchers, which in turn may have frustrated Mateo who was having success leading him back to bad habits. I have no idea if that's actually true, but the more success you have, the more the other team is going to pay attention to you and figure out your weaknesses. 

You have to assume that any time any player has success the other 29 teams have their scouting and analytics guys pouring over video and figuring out how to counter that.  It's constant adjustments on both sides.

[RZNJ]

Buxton rounded 3rd instead of having to slide into 3rd.   Now, he did slow a little bit going into the bag but I'd say sliding is going to get you to the bad slower than running through it for sure but the fact that he slowed up to hold at 3rd probably makes that an even tradeoff with Mateo sliding into 3rd.  Advantage Buxton.   He looked like he had another gear after rounding 2nd.

[Sports Guy]

He’s just not a very good offensive player.

If we had a far better lineup and/or didn’t have better options available, I would be ok with him starting.

[LA2]

58 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

He’s just not a very good offensive player.

If we had a far better lineup and/or didn’t have better options available, I would be ok with him starting.

Chances are we will indeed have a far better lineup next year.

[Sports Guy]

3 minutes ago, LA2 said:

Chances are we will indeed have a far better lineup next year.

I’m not so sure that’s true. We may have a more talented lineup with younger guys with a lot of upside but that doesn’t mean it will be better yet.

And I’m not sure that they actually go the FA or trade route for positional talent, even though I think they should.

[LA2]

14 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

I’m not so sure that’s true. We may have a more talented lineup with younger guys with a lot of upside but that doesn’t mean it will be better yet.

And I’m not sure that they actually go the FA or trade route for positional talent, even though I think they should.

"Chances are" doesn't equal "certain that.'