Vavra vs. O’Hearn

[Big Mac]

The idea of using a 26-man spot on a backup 1B/DH is absurd to me.  Are there any teams that actually do this?

The O'Hearn/Diaz/other AAAA 1B guys were brought in as Tyler Nevin replacements, IMO.  If Mountcastle has to go on the IL we'd rather roll with one of those.  They don't want to give almost 200 PA in 2023 to a Nevin-type. 

[Safelykept]

21 minutes ago, Big Mac said:

The idea of using a 26-man spot on a backup 1B/DH is absurd to me.  Are there any teams that actually do this?

The O'Hearn/Diaz/other AAAA 1B guys were brought in as Tyler Nevin replacements, IMO.  If Mountcastle has to go on the IL we'd rather roll with one of those.  They don't want to give almost 200 PA in 2023 to a Nevin-type. 

The Orioles did it last year with Mancini, problem with OHearn is he a backup 1b only and not a DH nor a very good PH option they roll With Vavra injuries aside

[Big Mac]

6 minutes ago, Safelykept said:

The Orioles did it last year with Mancini, problem with OHearn is he a backup 1b only and not a DH nor a very good PH option they roll With Vavra injuries aside

I think that is a bit of a different situation.  They intended for both Mancini and Mountcastle to play everyday, but even that became a bit crowded once Adley came up and needed some DH time. 

[sportsfan8703]

3 minutes ago, Safelykept said:

The Orioles did it last year with Mancini, problem with OHearn is he a backup 1b only and not a DH nor a very good PH option they roll With Vavra injuries aside

Can O’Hearn play RF in meaningful games?  I think the plan would be to have a LH MOO type bat that could allow Santander to DH, if we wanted to trot out an all LH lineup, with Hays sitting out too. 
 

High exit velocities. No shift. LH Power at OPACY. You gotta think that O’Hearn has been shifted ever since he’s been in pro ball. It’s funny what a fresh start and added confidence can do to a player. 
 

It’s nice to have competition. I’m not rooting against Vavra. I just like that we have options. 

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Can O’Hearn play RF in meaningful games?  I think the plan would be to have a LH MOO type bat that could allow Santander to DH, if we wanted to trot out an all LH lineup, with Hays sitting out too. 
 

High exit velocities. No shift. LH Power at OPACY. You gotta think that O’Hearn has been shifted ever since he’s been in pro ball. It’s funny what a fresh start and added confidence can do to a player. 
 

It’s nice to have competition. I’m not rooting against Vavra. I just like that we have options. 

I don't think he's been seeing big time shifts.  That's spread out enough that I wouldn't be running an extreme pull shift.

[btdart20]

4 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

I don't care about exit velocity if the guy has a hard time making contact.  He was in the 68th percentile last year.

Slight adjustment - O'Hearn was 68th percentile for max EV.  When people quote EV it's average EV.  (From what I understand, max EV isn't as useful for projections as average EV.  Open to be shown otherwise though.)  O'Hearn didn't have enough batted balls to qualify for average EV, but his career average EV is 91 mph (85th percentile in 2022).  

I'd like to see the mid-80% average EV listed (as opposed/in addition to the average or max EV).  Get rid of the miss-hits and smashes and see a more normalized range of outcomes.

[sportsfan8703]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

I don't think he's been seeing big time shifts.  That's spread out enough that I wouldn't be running an extreme pull shift.

Interesting. It’s not a great comp, but maybe we get a little bit of an answer as to what mediocre Chris Davis could’ve done against the shift. It’s worth seeing what happens. 
 

I’ve been a little hard on Vavra in this thread. I want to see him win this job, but he’s got to be healthy. Ideally, I’d want O’Hearn to be “fixed” by us, and for him to be the guy that plays 9-12 innings a week. Meanwhile, Vavra can go to AAA and get game experience all over the field. 

[rm5678]

3 hours ago, Big Mac said:

The idea of using a 26-man spot on a backup 1B/DH is absurd to me.  Are there any teams that actually do this?

The O'Hearn/Diaz/other AAAA 1B guys were brought in as Tyler Nevin replacements, IMO.  If Mountcastle has to go on the IL we'd rather roll with one of those.  They don't want to give almost 200 PA in 2023 to a Nevin-type. 

Vavra and O'Hearn (and to some extent Diaz) are hitting well in spring training and will likely make the decision even tougher. 

[waroriole]

Vavra >> O’Hearn

Westburg over either though. I don’t trust Mateo and his .260 OBP. Plus he should be an immediate upgrade over Frazier. There should be some ABs to be had in the IF. Outside of Gunnar, nobody is really an every day player. Westburg could be. 

[PsychoBird68]

10 hours ago, Il BuonO said:

Hmm, could have sworn Mullins saw less ABs vs LHP pitching last year after he struggled against them the first few months. Mullins can be platooned and probably should be if he shows again he can't hit LHP.

Yes he saw less AB's against lefties last year, he played in 156 games so he wasn't platooned we probably just faced less LHP's last year and maybe he did set 6 games because we faced tough lefties and maybe he didn't start some of them games and came in late for defense, However Hays can cover center in the handful of games that Mullins is going to set 

2021 - 602 AB's - vs LHP's 224 AB's - vs RHP's 378 - 159 G's

2022 - 608 AB's - vs LHP's 182 AB'S - vs RHP's 426 - 156 G's

 

 

[wildcard]

3 hours ago, PsychoBird68 said:

Yes he saw less AB's against lefties last year, he played in 156 games so he wasn't platooned we probably just faced less LHP's last year and maybe he did set 6 games because we faced tough lefties and maybe he didn't start some of them games and came in late for defense, However Hays can cover center in the handful of games that Mullins is going to set 

2021 - 602 AB's - vs LHP's 224 AB's - vs RHP's 378 - 159 G's

2022 - 608 AB's - vs LHP's 182 AB'S - vs RHP's 426 - 156 G's

 

 

When Hays is in center who plays left at Camden?

[Chaka Garcia]

On 3/9/2023 at 5:42 PM, sportsfan8703 said:

Well Vavra has been out 7 days. An IL stint is 10. So he’s pretty close to that. 
 

What is Vavra’s positional flexibility?  Don’t say CF, because that’s laughable. Defensively, Vavra is a poor man’s Stevie Wilkerson. Remember the Stowers homer against the CWS?  We were in that position because Vavra couldn’t turn two routine double plays. He’s a DH/COF with no power. Eventually pitchers will just challenging him more because of the lack of power. Most importantly, he just can’t stay healthy. 

This is why I didn’t get the love for Vavra. 

[Just Regular]

Hollander on the radio call with Vavra back today reporting it was a jammed shoulder and Vavra says it would have been a play through during the regular season.

Admirable pluck from someone Elias/Sig/Hyde might only want out there when he is at full strength.

[Yardball85]

O'Hearn, Cordero, and Diaz have played well this spring.  With that said, the final spot should go to Vavra, barring health. 

This of course highlights another reason (there are a zillion) why the Frazier signing was unnecessary, but that horse has been beaten dead too many times. 

[Ven6]

I don’t know, but Franchy has been smoking the ball. I really like the idea of some added LH power. Let’s see if it’s for real but he looks the part so far.