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As of now, which non-pitcher position are you the most concerned about?


Greg Pappas

As of now, which non-pitcher position are you the most concerned about?  

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  1. 1. As of now, which non-pitcher position are you the most concerned about?



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2 hours ago, ChosenOne21 said:

It's hard for me to get worked up about 1B, because we could probably plug that hole with Coby Mayo if we had to. Heck, we've got multiple decent options for every position on the dirt.

I voted CF, because Mullins isn't getting younger or better and we have no one great ready to take over. I don't believe Cowser is a CF.

Issues with Hays aside, I'm pretty sure we could cover him with Cowser, Kjerstad, Stowers, etc. if we had to. Same for Santander.

I can get behind voting CF because of lack of depth, but Mullins was relatively healthy the two prior seasons so I'm hoping that 2023 was just a a slight hiccup in the health department. I also think signing someone like Adam Duvall to a one year deal could easily put a band-aid on the CF depth issue, at least in the short term. 

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I went with CF. Ced is very good, when healthy. A lot of leg issues for a guy whose game is his legs. If you want Ced to be productive in September and October, you need to get him off his feet more during the season. 

We need to solidify the position. Perhaps Hilliard was to that end, or he might be getting Hays a break more than Ced. Cowser has a lot to prove, and doesn’t look, to me, like he belongs in CF. McKenna is out of options, and who knows if they plan on doing another move to replace Hicks’ production. I don’t think Hicks would be a guy I would want in 2024.

 

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1 hour ago, HakunaSakata said:

Their career batting averages are almost identical and Mullin's career OBP is higher. They're literally the same offensive player except Mullins steals bases and has actually had at least one breakout season. If you want to argue the CF depth issue (compared to LF) that's fine, but Hays isn't a better offensive player than Mullins. 

He was better last year, healthy, and trending positive/steady while Mullins has put up .720 two years in a row and had multiple injuries. Sorry, I am allowed to be more worried about Mullins, and I am.

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My only concern (not great) will be if we get hit heavy with injuries and the "next up" is a big drop-off. I understand that Hays, Ced, etc. are a year older but Adley, Gunnar, et al. are a year more experienced.

I have many more "hopes" than "concerns".

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The only holes that this team had at the end of the season was SP to replace Gibson, closer to replace Bautista, and the RH SU/MR that we hoped Fuji would be. Webb sorta filled that role. So did Wells. 

On offense, it’s just depth. CF and Catcher. Are we bringing back Hicks?  Mateo is still here and can play some CF. Mckenna vs Hilliard in ST. Gotta favor Hilliard simply because the FA status of our OF in the future and his bat has everyday potential. Would McKenna clear waivers at the end of ST?

McCann is in a contract year if that matters. Perez seems like the vet catcher stash for AAA along with Handley. Basallo might be closer than we think. Especially with less emphasis on the catcher’s game calling since the pitchers call their pitches. SB are way down too, but Basallo has a cannon.

 

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4 hours ago, emmett16 said:

RF is only position on team with a negative WAA.  When measuring how the team performs, that seems like the most applicable stat. 

Santander only had 411 of the PA going into that, and others had 273 so that readout was almost exactly 40% others, including dribs and drabs of the Fraziers and Vavras of the world.     I know we both hope the story of 2024 is zero Orioles plate appearances going to bats that weak.

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I think for me its 3B, given the possibility Mayo perhaps can't cover it.    

I have Gunnar-Holliday hopefully starting on what I hope will be as long and productive a partnership as Trammell and Whitaker.

Then its just Ramon Urias, Jordan Westburg and Joey Ortiz for that role, and it'll be okay but I don't see even the "Austin Hays might be an All-Star in a good year" upside all of the rest of the positions have at least.

Somebody out of Mountcastle, O'Hearn, Kjerstad, Mayo or Basallo will be a nice 1B option by fall, especially if Mayo is limited to that bucket.

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    • Just to be clear, though, fWAR also includes a substantial adjustment for position, including a negative one for Cowser.  For a clearer example on that front, as the chart posted higher on this page indicates, Carlos Santana had a +14 OAA — which is the source data that fWAR’s defensive component is based on. That 14 outs above average equates to 11-12 (they use different values on this for some reason) runs better than the average 1B.  So does Santana have a 12.0 defensive value, per fWAR? He does not. That’s because they adjust his defensive value downward to reflect that he’s playing a less difficult/valuable position. In this case, that adjustment comes out to -11.0 runs, as you can see here:   So despite apparently having a bona fide Gold Glove season, Santana’s Fielding Runs value (FanGraphs’ equivalent to dWAR) is barely above average, at 1.1 runs.    Any good WAR calculation is going to adjust for position. Being a good 1B just isn’t worth as much as being an average SS or catcher. Just as being a good LF isn’t worth as much as being an average CF. Every outfielder can play LF — only the best outfielders can play CF.  Where the nuance/context shows up here is with Cowser’s unique situation. Playing LF in OPACY, with all that ground to cover, is not the same as playing LF at Fenway or Yankee Stadium. Treating Cowser’s “position” as equivalent to Tyler O’Neill’s, for example, is not fair. The degree of difficulty is much, much higher at OPACY’s LF, and so the adjustment seems out of whack for him. That’s the one place where I’d say the bWAR value is “unfair” to Cowser.
    • Wait a second here, the reason he's -0.1 in bb-ref dwar is because they're using drs to track his defensive run value.  He's worth 6.6 runs in defense according to fangraphs, which includes adjustments for position, which would give him a fangraphs defensive war of +0.7.
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    • We were all a lot younger in 2005.  No one wanted to believe Canseco cause he’s a smarmy guy. Like I said, he was the only one telling the truth. It wasn’t a leap of faith to see McGwire up there and Sosa up there and think “yeah, those guys were juicing” but then suddenly look at Raffy and think he was completely innocent.  It’s a sad story. The guy should be in Hall of Fame yet 500 homers and 3,000 hits are gone like a fart in the wind cause his legacy is wagging his finger and thinking he couldn’t get caught.  Don’t fly too close to the sun.  
    • I think if we get the fun sprinkler loving Gunnar that was in the dugout yesterday, I don’t think we have to worry about him pressing. He seemed loose and feeling good with the other guys he was with, like Kremer.
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    • Not bad, but Mullins needs to be at Centerfield for his range, glove, and defensive ability. Top teir premium defense cannot be underestimated. Kjerstad will be on the bench. I think the question is whether Slater or Cowser plays. I would prefer Ramirez over Slater if they need another right handed bat. Sig needs to look at Adleys recent sample sizes vs LHP before making him DH. McCann is catching for Burnes and hitting the left handed pitcher. He's also on a hot streak.
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