poppysox Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 9 hours ago, michelangelosmonkey said: Where am I hating?? He was 24 and released by Baltimore. AT 25 he had an OK year for Winston Salem...but 2.5 years older than league average. He was indeed GREAT in 2019. But then COVID. Whatcha going to do? I said I thought he was very interesting...but I don't see where he fits on the roster. I'm fine with him being up for the two weeks Vaughn needs to be down to buy back the year...but then what? Honestly you can't take him over Vaughn or Collins...there's just not a spot for him. I would like to showcase him for the two-weeks Vaughn needs minor league experience wink-wink. He will be worth something when NL goes with the DH someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michelangelosmonkey Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 4 hours ago, tray said: During the White Sox 2005 playoff run including the World Series, how many games did AJ not start in? I'm asking, because it seems to me that the primary value of a back-up catcher during the play-offs (absent some unexpected injury to the starting catcher) may well be as a pinch hitter. LaRussa would never start Collins or Mercedes or even Lucroy in a Wold Series game over Grandal, for example. But oif a situation came up where the Sox could use a blast to get back in the game. it would be great to have Mercedes step up to the plate for Poquito (Madrigal) or Eaton or Leury. AJ didn't catch 34 games in 2005...for the Sox he was generally around 30 days off catching a year. One of the things people don't seem to get is that Collins is a left handed hitter on a team dominated with righties. I will accept that Yermin is a better hitter than Collins but I'm not convinced he is significantly better. Collins minor league career has had more than double the walk rate than Yermin...20% vs 9%. Having a good batting eye is a good predictor of future MLB success. Collins and Yermin have roughly equivalent power...the one skill that Yermin has strongly over Collins is batting average. So really the blast in the 9th as a pinch hitter is no more likely off of Mercedes than Collins...basically he's more likely to get a single and Collins more likely to get a walk. Strategically though you want that good hitting lefty bat off the bench. The other factor people are ignoring is the future...IF Collins can become a league average defensive catcher...and remember he went to the alternate site last year to work daily with the best coaches they had...and they hired a new catching coach that is supposed to be a guru...so IF he can do that...all of a sudden you have a 26 year old lefty hitter catcher, with an elite batting eye and plus power to transition to as Grandal gets older. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michelangelosmonkey Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 11 hours ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said: Might as well throw LuCroy in the mix too. I will be really disappointed if Lucroy makes the team. He had a REALLY good five year stretch offensively and defensively but that was five years ago. I get that he had that neck injury...but he's 35. He's righty. And no major league team wanted him when they could have had him for free. I'm not sure what he could do in a handful of spring training games to convince me to take him over a lefty that is 9 years younger. If they take him over Collins there is something horrible about Collins that we don't know about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold's Leg Lift Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 Lucroy is going to be on the team and he's going to play often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michelangelosmonkey Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 2 minutes ago, michelangelosmonkey said: I will be really disappointed if Lucroy makes the team. He had a REALLY good five year stretch offensively and defensively but that was five years ago. I get that he had that neck injury...but he's 35. He's righty. And no major league team wanted him when they could have had him for free. I'm not sure what he could do in a handful of spring training games to convince me to take him over a lefty that is 9 years younger. If they take him over Collins there is something horrible about Collins that we don't know about. And I'm looking for a stick to beat this dead horse to death but...I think an interesting comp for Collins is Jorge Posada. He had an elite batting eye as a minor leaguer and decent power but not very good batting average. He didn't reach the majors until 26 and was back up catcher catching 50 game. 27 and 28 he caught 100 games and then after that he was the Yankees regular catcher. He was never great defensively but averaged 4.5 WAR per year for 8 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScootsMcGoots Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 2 minutes ago, Harold's Leg Lift said: Lucroy is going to be on the team and he's going to play often. So...Collins and Mercedes to AAA it is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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