Gunnar Henderson 2023

[celery]

In the range of outcomes for sophomore slumps, I'll happily take the .361 OBP variety.

Talking about sending Gunnar down to AAA seems crazy to me. Maybe platoon him some more if you want to give him a better chance to break out, if anything.

[Moose Milligan]

I’ll gladly take the walks. Not making outs and keeping the innings going. 
 

 

[SilverRocket]

He got a pretty generous call on the outside corner on his last walk today, then tried to run it back in his last PA on a pitch more clearly in the zone and got called out.

Most of his called strikeouts are on the outer third of the plate. He just needs a 2-strike approach that can take those balls the other way, and he had some success on balls like that last year. I don't think he has to change any decisions before 2 strikes. I can't argue with the OBP.

[Chavez Ravine]

2 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

I’ll gladly take the walks. Not making outs and keeping the innings going. 
 

 

Jonah Hill is smiling.

[DirtyBird]

He reminds me of 2017 Chris Davis

[DirtyBird]

6 hours ago, celery said:

In the range of outcomes for sophomore slumps, I'll happily take the .361 OBP variety.

Talking about sending Gunnar down to AAA seems crazy to me. Maybe platoon him some more if you want to give him a better chance to break out, if anything.

How do you platoon him more than he is being platooned now?

[sportsfan8703]

Gunnar Vs RHP - .762 OPS 

Gunnar vs LHP - .424 OPS

Why would we send him down?  .  He’ll be ok. 

[celery]

1 hour ago, DirtyBird said:

How do you platoon him more than he is being platooned now?

I wouldn't, personally. But he started against a lefty last night. 

[joelala]

I think a demotion would actually help him. Looks like he’s playing not to be demoted right now instead of playing to play. It reminds me a bit of Kelenic in Seattle who has finally let loose this season so far and is enjoying massive success. 

[Moose Milligan]

30 minutes ago, joelala said:

I think a demotion would actually help him. Looks like he’s playing not to be demoted right now instead of playing to play. It reminds me a bit of Kelenic in Seattle who has finally let loose this season so far and is enjoying massive success. 

No.

First of all, Kelenic got his swing in check along with his approach and started seeing a sports psychologist this past offseason.  Kelenic's success has nothing to do with being sent back to the minors.

https://theathletic.com/4443635/2023/04/26/mariners-mets-jarred-kelenic-adjustments/

 

Quote

The Mariners maintained their faith in Kelenic and allowed him to seek outside instruction, conceding they might not have all the answers. His agent, Nick Chanock of Wasserman Baseball, provided him with constant guidance and support, culminating in what Mariners general manager Justin Hollander called, “the best ‘agent-ing,’ beyond contract negotiations, I’ve seen in 15 years.”

Kelenic put in the work not just with the coaches, but also a sports psychologist who helped him understand he could not be perfect.

“He’s changed the way I look at life, the way I look at the game of baseball, the way I treat myself,” Kelenic said of the psychologist, whom he declined to name.

Quote

The first step, Laker decided, was for Kelenic to get back to being an athlete. Kelenic had a wide stance. He was crouched down in his legs. His back elbow was high, creating tension in his shoulder. Kelenic did not have a pretty left-handed swing, the easy flow you see in hitters like Canó in his prime. He was simply trying to outmuscle the ball.

To develop more rhythm, Laker instructed Kelenic to drop his hands and drop into his back hip. Kelenic also started performing a drill Laker learned from Paul Goldschmidt while serving as the Diamondbacks’ hitting coach in 2017-18. Dubbed the “white-line drill,” it helped Kelenic with what he considered his most important adjustment, the one all great hitters master, staying inside the ball.

Gunnar shouldn't be sent down.  Quite frankly, his walks are too valuable to create a void in the lineup because he isn't hitting.  It'll be hard to replace a .361 OBP which is 5th on the team between Adley, Mateo, Cedric and Urias.

He's proven everything he can at the minor league level.  He's gotta figure it out now.  Even if he's struggling, walks don't slump.  They keep the inning going, they keep him valuable and they keep getting him on base so others can drive him in.  

I'm fairly confident that he'll start to hit eventually, the only thing that gives me pause is the fact that he's not great against breaking balls.  But that can change, too.

Edited May 3, 2023 by Moose Milligan

[DirtyBird]

2 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Gunnar shouldn't be sent down.  Quite frankly, his walks are too valuable to create a void in the lineup because he isn't hitting. 

Where is the void in the lineup if he goes down?

[ChuckS]

Gunnar has historically taken a little while to adjust to new levels of play, in the minors. 

I don't think he's anywhere close to earning a demotion.  I believe he will figure it out.  If we are in mid-June and he's still hitting .200, I may reconsider. 

[Moose Milligan]

38 minutes ago, DirtyBird said:

Where is the void in the lineup if he goes down?

Who's going to replace a .361 OBP?  Don't say Westburg or Ortiz, they're not proven.

[DirtyBird]

4 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Who's going to replace a .361 OBP?  Don't say Westburg or Ortiz, they're not proven.

Urias and Mateo both have higher OBP

[Moose Milligan]

1 minute ago, DirtyBird said:

Urias and Mateo both have higher OBP

...Mateo's already in the lineup every day.  He's not replacing Gunnar's OBP if Gunnar gets sent down.

Gunnar only has 8 more plate appearances than Urias, so Urias is already in the lineup on a semi-regular basis.  Urias isn't replacing Gunnar's OBP if he's already in the lineup practically as often as Gunnar is.  

Try again.  Send Gunnar down, who's replacing a .361 OBP and the guy who's 3rd in the AL in walks?