Vavra has been working on 1B

[Big Mac]

2 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

But, it depends what’s really available…plus you need an extension. If you are trading prospects for him. 

Nobody is suggesting acquiring him, as has been pointed out he was already traded to the Marlins this offseason.  It's just an example of a player that has proven to be pretty valuable at 1B despite limited power. 

[Roll Tide]

35 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

You're missing my point.  Arraez hit 8 home runs but was, overall, a very valuable 1B.    I don't think Vavra is going to be a starting 1B but you can do it without power.   It just isn't the norm.    BTW, Arraez was the main piece in the Twins deal for the Marlins' Pablo Lopez.   He is now a Marlin.

Admittedly I’m not really not familiar with him. What struck about Vavra was how little power he displayed. He could probably be played shallow , stealing some of his base hits.

[RZNJ]

2 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

Admittedly I’m not really not familiar with him. What struck about Vavra was how little power he displayed. He could probably be played shallow , stealing some of his base hits.

I think you're wrong because Vavra did have decent pop in the minors but time will tell.   I agree that he showed very little pop in the majors but I think it's just a matter of experience and confidence.   He slugged .468 in the minors.  .337 in the majors.     

[Chaka Garcia]

On 2/6/2023 at 9:55 AM, Sports Guy said:

Maybe. If he doesn’t show power, his OBp will be nothing and his offense overall isn’t good enough for the OF or first.

I was high on Vavra but not being able to play second or hit for power basically makes him a pretty useless player. He has to show A LOT this year to stay in the majors.

I had the same thought and don’t understand the love for Vavra.  I would rather use Westburg who has earned it at AAA. Someone who can play multiple positions and has power.

[Aristotelian]

2 hours ago, Chaka Garcia said:

I had the same thought and don’t understand the love for Vavra.  I would rather use Westburg who has earned it at AAA. Someone who can play multiple positions and has power.

High OBP is a major need for this team and that is the one thing Vavra brings. .435 in AAA to go with almost .900 OPS. Homers are worth only so much if you don't have guys on base. I like Westburg too. Ideally we would have room for both.

[waroriole]

10 hours ago, Aristotelian said:

High OBP is a major need for this team and that is the one thing Vavra brings. .435 in AAA to go with almost .900 OPS. Homers are worth only so much if you don't have guys on base. I like Westburg too. Ideally we would have room for both.

But you’re not gonna get on base when ML pitchers know you can’t hurt them. That’s what happened to him after his initial decent start. They threw him strikes and he couldn’t hit them with any authority. 

[wildcard]

40 minutes ago, waroriole said:

But you’re not gonna get on base when ML pitchers know you can’t hurt them. That’s what happened to him after his initial decent start. They threw him strikes and he couldn’t hit them with any authority. 

While I agree Vavra has little power his Sept was better than his August so I don't think the pitchers took advantage of him the longer he played.

[sportsfan8703]

Vavra was an absolute OBP machine and we probably all view him with orange glasses because he was a big part of us actually being in the lead for a WC spot. I imagine his numbers after his David Newhan like hot streak, we’re pretty terrible. 
 

We want to see Zobrist, but he’s probably more David Newhan. 

[RZNJ]

Vavra is a ML hitter.   He’s not necessarily starting material but he’s going to give you way better AB’s than Ryan McKenna.  For that matter, he’s going to give you bettter AB’s than Mountcastle.   If Vavra is a viable defensive option at 1B, then he’s a good option to play there once a week with theability to fill in ar 2B and LF as well.  It’s probably going to come down to Vavra or O’Hearn for that last spot.

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Vavra is a ML hitter.   He’s not necessarily starting material but he’s going to give you way better AB’s than Ryan McKenna.  For that matter, he’s going to give you bettter AB’s than Mountcastle.   If Vavra is a viable defensive option at 1B, then he’s a good option to play there once a week with theability to fill in ar 2B and LF as well.  It’s probably going to come down to Vavra or O’Hearn for that last spot.

To me the guy with a career OPS+ of 112 is giving me better at bats than the guy that has a career OPS+ of 94.

Are you using better at bats to mean something separate from actual results?

[RZNJ]

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

To me the guy with a career OPS+ of 112 is giving me better at bats than the guy that has a career OPS+ of 94.

Are you using better at bats to mean something separate from actual results?

Yes.  Of course.   Why do you ask questions that you know the answers to?

 

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Yes.  Of course.   Why do you ask questions that you know the answers to?

 

Lots of different reasons.

In this case I just wanted you to say that you rate a batter's approach more highly than you do the actual results a batter produces.

Me?  Give me the hacker that produces. 

You know who Vavra reminds me of?

Hyun Soo Kim.

 

[RZNJ]

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

Lots of different reasons.

In this case I just wanted you to say that you rate a batter's approach more highly than you do the actual results a batter produces.

Me?  Give me the hacker that produces. 

You know who Vavra reminds me of?

Hyun Soo Kim.

 

If I thought Vavra was better than Mountcastle I wouldn’t be suggesting him as someone to fill in once a week at 1B.    

[Aristotelian]

2 hours ago, waroriole said:

But you’re not gonna get on base when ML pitchers know you can’t hurt them. That’s what happened to him after his initial decent start. They threw him strikes and he couldn’t hit them with any authority. 

He has such a small sample size, we have no idea how he will re-adjust to the pitchers attacking him. He hit 14 doubles in 200 AB's at Norfolk which isn't nothing. I obviously don't think he will sustain .435 in MLB but he could still easily be among our team leaders. Actually at .340 he beat all of our current starters except Adley and Gunnar. I think he's an interesting suber-sub option, including 1B. I'd rather have him over O'Hearn.

[Frobby]

52 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

 

You know who Vavra reminds me of?

Hyun Soo Kim.

 

I can see some similarities there.  Kim had a career OPS+ of 94, OBP-heavy, same as Vavra.  Of course, Kim’s 2016 campaign was way better than his 2017, and better than what Vavra did last year.  I’m hoping Vavra has another gear.   I certainly don’t assume that his first 100 at bats in the majors is the best he can be, though it sometimes happens that way.