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What’s Vaughn’s offensive ceiling?


Greg Hibbard
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I don’t think anyone has been more consistently surprising (in a good way) than Andrew Vaughn the last couple of seasons, first with his ability to stick in the majors playing the wrong position at age 23, then with his seemingly major step forward this year, especially the last three weeks. His K rate is below 20% this season. 

Do we think this is real? Is it a hot streak? What do you think Andrew Vaughn’s ceiling is at the ML level?

He seems to be maybe another Konerko in the making, given how young he is and how quickly he seems to be progressing.
 

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7 minutes ago, CeaseAndExist said:

Not sure what is surprising about Vaughn.

This is what he was projected to be. It was always ridiculous that because he wasnt Konkerko from Day 1 that he somehow wouldnt improve. He's going to put up .850-.950 OPS numbers for the next decade

I think playing capable outfield, sticking at the majors, and having this quick improvement without virtually any minors is surprising. 

Edited by Greg Hibbard
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Konerko and Goldy are much bigger. I don’t know, But I’ve learned long ago watching NBA that most players are not like many others before.  I am troubled finding a position for him in my mind. Short right handed players are difficult to project at first base imo. Right handed Prince  Fielder with less power? But again, not being  left handed in the field is tough for a short guy. And that’s high rent.  I almost prefer Vaughn in left field.

Edited by Chick Mercedes
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Vaughn is still young and the way he has coped with playing new positions in a stumbling team has been impressive, there is a lot more pressure on him to perform regularly due to the injuries but he seems to have the temperament to go with the talent and that above anything else is impressive.

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5 hours ago, Greg Hibbard said:

I don’t think anyone has been more consistently surprising (in a good way) than Andrew Vaughn the last couple of seasons, first with his ability to stick in the majors playing the wrong position at age 23, then with his seemingly major step forward this year, especially the last three weeks. His K rate is below 20% this season. 

Do we think this is real? Is it a hot streak? What do you think Andrew Vaughn’s ceiling is at the ML level?

He seems to be maybe another Konerko in the making, given how young he is and how quickly he seems to be progressing.
 

I’ve always compared him as a cross between Josh Donaldson and Paul Goldschmidt. He’s a cornerstone player. 

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He'll be a perennial .280+ hitter with OBP in the mid to upper .300s.  His power will increase as he gets more and more familiar with how pitchers will handle him.  I wouldn't doubt 30+ HRs yearly.  It will be interesting to see how the Sox handle what position(s) he plays.  I would imagine he is the 1B of the future, but you never know.

So, I could see his ceiling being Goldschmidt/Konerko.

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I applaud Tony for finding the at bats and Vaughn for embracing the challenge. I see multiple all star appearances in his future and if I had to pick one offensive category he could lead the league in one year, I would say RBIs. 

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In my mind, I feel Vaughn and Spencer Torkelson are intrinsically linked based on their college pedigree. Watching Tork absolutely struggle while Vaughn continues to get better is encouraging to me. And yes I know it's unfair to compare Tork this year to Vaughn this year, and yes I know SSS limitations, etc., but I think they'll be a good career comparison to watch.

And fwiw, I still think Tork will be a monster. I just hope that means Vaughn is even better :)

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For a dude who basically skipped the minors, it is unreal what Andrew Vaughn is doing at the plate. Throw in a last minute position change in each of the last two seasons and you pretty void any argument about the kids make up.

Offensively the guy is just going to be a professional hitter.  He already has a big IQ at the plate and looks nothing like he has less than 900 professional PAs total.  My guess is that the power really turns on in the next couple of years as he truly gets comfortable around with the leagues pitching and starts to feel when to let it rip more.

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What is so impressive to me is that he basically missed the entire process of minor league development and is still doing more than holding his own. I see nothing to suggest that he should be playing the outfield for any period of time, but that's okay since that was never a standard he should have been held to. He's probably going to struggle again (in fact I can see that Statcast thinks he's been on a lucky streak) but his ability to take his lumps at this level without falling apart is great. Really the main drawback is it has cost us the ability to see what his ceiling looks like since he missed the chance to dominate minor league competition and show what he looks like when he's fully "on."

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8 minutes ago, Squirmin' for Yermin said:

He doesn't have that sort of power. I'd be exstatic if he can consistently hit 30 HRs.

I certainly don't think we've seen the extent of his power.  But yeah, the question was ceiling.  I do think he'll contend for a few batting title and drive in tons of runs.  Homers will be the tough one, but I could see him hitting upper 30s down the road a bit.  

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31 minutes ago, ron883 said:

We must give Tony his due for finding Vaughn ABs when there have been other capable players such as Leury Garcia and Gavin Sheets who command playing time. 

Exactly. Or going out and getting an actual outfielder and have Vaughn platoon at 1st and DH like most managers would. 

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