4/18 Games

[flavum]

http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?s...mp;ymd=20130418

 

Charlotte facing Odorizzi.

[caulfield12]

Mitchell continuing to struggle mightily. The epidemic continues, 2 more K's in 3 AB's.

 

Carlos Sanchez only at .227, but it's early.

[fathom]

Carlos Sanchez only at .227, but it's early.

 

Biggest concern I have about Sanchez is that if he is strictly a singles hitter, the Cell isn't exactly a good place for that with the outfielders not having to play deep to cover the alleys, etc.

[Jake]

Biggest concern I have about Sanchez is that if he is strictly a singles hitter, the Cell isn't exactly a good place for that with the outfielders not having to play deep to cover the alleys, etc.

 

Yeah, I think the average will bump up with more at bats but projecting more power is tricky. People have used the example of Jeter as a guy that gained power with more MiLB at bats, but for the most part his value seems limited at the moment. This is why I'm not eager to promote him even if he is batting >.300 mid-season (and there's an opening), because you'd like him to get comfortable enough at hitting singles that eventually he can open up his approach and try to hit the ball with some authority.

[flavum]

Chris Beck vs Kyle Zimmer..that should be good.

 

If Hawkins doesn't k at least twice, I'll be shocked.

 

Snodgress and Olacio also starting tonight.

Edited April 18, 2013 by flavum

[flavum]

Hawkins--that's one

[fathom]

Hawkins--that's one

 

I watched a highlight of a homer of his on Milb.com, and he crushed it. However, it looked like he had a gigantic hitch in his swing.

[flavum]

Sac fly for Hawkins. That's new.

[caulfield12]

11 RBI's on the season now...

[flavum]

Gotta like Chris Beck's season so far.

[fathom]

Gotta like Chris Beck's season so far.

 

Um, yes

[fathom]

Hawkins--that's one

 

that's two...goodness

[DirtySox]

Um, yes

 

Yep. I'd like to see some more strikeouts though.

[fathom]

Yep. I'd like to see some more strikeouts though.

 

I swear I thought you were talking about Hawkins at first.

 

[fathom]

BTW here's that video of Hawkins' homer

 

http://www.milb.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?content_id=26377401

[flavum]

Beck- 8 shutout innings, 4 hits, 1 bb, 5 k

[fathom]

0-3, 3 k for Hawkins. It's getting to the point you have to demote him.

[flavum]

0-3, 3 k for Hawkins. It's getting to the point you have to demote him.

 

They need to teach him how to be a baseball player, not just an athlete with power.

 

I wonder if Frank Thomas could help him with just teaching him how to hit and letting the power take over while being a good hitter.

[thxfrthmmrs]

That's gotta be the worse k% I've ever seen. Between Mitchell, Walker, Thompson and Hawkins, I think our system is jinxed. Keep in mind Tyler Flowers also went through the same crap a few years ago, where he started striking out a bunch and lost the ability to make any contact at all.

 

As far as Sanchez, I don't see him being a regular at the majors. There is no indicators of power at all. He's never shown any gap power with doubles or triples in his minor league career. A no power, average defense player isn't going to be an everyday starter. The most likely projection for him is a slightly better contact version of Chris Getz.

[caulfield12]

That's gotta be the worse k% I've ever seen. Between Mitchell, Walker, Thompson and Hawkins, I think our system is jinxed. Keep in mind Tyler Flowers also went through the same crap a few years ago, where he started striking out a bunch and lost the ability to make any contact at all.

 

As far as Sanchez, I don't see him being a regular at the majors. There is no indicators of power at all. He's never shown any gap power with doubles or triples in his minor league career. A no power, average defense player isn't going to be an everyday starter. The most likely projection for him is a slightly better contact version of Chris Getz.

 

There are lots of conflicting reports about his defense. Some describe him as a "plus" defender or having the ability to be elite. If he can play that type of defense at SS, then he has a chance to be a regular, or 2B (assuming they will replace Beckham, which isn't a sure thing quite yet).

 

He doesn't hit for enough power to play 3B. As far as Gillaspie's power goes, we'll have a better idea two months from now, especially when the weather starts to heat up in Chicago.

 

He has three big assets going in his favor right now. His walk/contact rate, his speed (maybe a 20-25 SB guy at the major league level) and his age.

[flavum]

A little Beck postgame interview, if you can hear it over the music.

 

http://dashboard.mlblogs.com/2013/04/18/vi...s-great-outing/

[NorthSideSox72]

0-3, 3 k for Hawkins. It's getting to the point you have to demote him.

I'd rather deactivate him, send him to extended ST and get him in some deeper instruction for a while. Then, back to W-S after a few weeks. Demotion by itself won't do a lot, I don't think. Pitching isn't THAT much worse in A vs A+.

 

[thxfrthmmrs]

There are lots of conflicting reports about his defense. Some describe him as a "plus" defender or having the ability to be elite. If he can play that type of defense at SS, then he has a chance to be a regular, or 2B (assuming they will replace Beckham, which isn't a sure thing quite yet).

 

He doesn't hit for enough power to play 3B. As far as Gillaspie's power goes, we'll have a better idea two months from now, especially when the weather starts to heat up in Chicago.

 

He has three big assets going in his favor right now. His walk/contact rate, his speed (maybe a 20-25 SB guy at the major league level) and his age.

 

Sometimes I wish your posts stays on one point. Who's talking about Gillespie's power?

 

Not to be a downer, his contact tool is not plus plus, maybe a plus, if that. He's only put up one .300 season so far. He has some speed, but he's been caught stolen far too many times to be an effective base stealer, see Alexei. I am not sure if it's a result of his technique or lack of top speed, I am hoping it's the former. Last thing, I wouldn't buy the scouting reports of him having a great glove, the organization wouldn't have him split between positions every season and slow down his development if he's elite at one position.

[caulfield12]

Sometimes I wish your posts stays on one point. Who's talking about Gillespie's power?

 

Not to be a downer, his contact tool is not plus plus, maybe a plus, if that. He's only put up one .300 season so far. He has some speed, but he's been caught stolen far too many times to be an effective base stealer, see Alexei. I am not sure if it's a result of his technique or lack of top speed, I am hoping it's the former. Last thing, I wouldn't buy the scouting reports of him having a great glove, the organization wouldn't have him split between positions every season and slow down his development if he's elite at one position.

 

The reason I brought up Gillaspie is because there's no set answer for 3B, and nobody in the minors in waiting...Alexei's getting older, and Beckham's a huge question mark. (And this is another reason our players tend to get moved all over the field, because the needs of the major league team keep changing...if you look at the examples of position changes for Viciedo and Beckham, for example).

 

In my opinion, Sanchez only makes sense as a middle infielder, period.

 

It's hard to say really what we have in him, because it's a lot like the Hector Santiago situation, where he just arrived on the scene and "got it" after years laboring in the lower minors. (For that matter, it took Jose Quintana 6 years to get out of A ball, the he essentially jumpe over both AA/AAA in one month).

 

So to judge his past performance as a cumulative whole rather than looking more specifically at last season is a mistake, IMO.

 

The whole idea of playing at one position is overrated...without power hitting tools or PED's, all players need to have more versatility than ever before. Ideally, a born SS with a rocket of an arm stays at that position all the way up through the minors, but we haven't had one of those in ages that we've incubated in our minor league system and brought up to the big leagues after developing them ourselves.

 

And then when he has that kind of season at age 19, it's even more noteworthy...keeping in mind the advanced competition and ages of the players he's competing against.

[thxfrthmmrs]

The reason I brought up Gillaspie is because there's no set answer for 3B, and nobody in the minors in waiting...Alexei's getting older, and Beckham's a huge question mark. (And this is another reason our players tend to get moved all over the field, because the needs of the major league team keep changing...if you look at the examples of position changes for Viciedo and Beckham, for example).

 

In my opinion, Sanchez only makes sense as a middle infielder, period.

 

It's hard to say really what we have in him, because it's a lot like the Hector Santiago situation, where he just arrived on the scene and "got it" after years laboring in the lower minors. (For that matter, it took Jose Quintana 6 years to get out of A ball, the he essentially jumpe over both AA/AAA in one month).

 

So to judge his past performance as a cumulative whole rather than looking more specifically at last season is a mistake, IMO.

 

The whole idea of playing at one position is overrated...without power hitting tools or PED's, all players need to have more versatility than ever before. Ideally, a born SS with a rocket of an arm stays at that position all the way up through the minors, but we haven't had one of those in ages that we've incubated in our minor league system and brought up to the big leagues after developing them ourselves.

 

And then when he has that kind of season at age 19, it's even more noteworthy...keeping in mind the advanced competition and ages of the players he's competing against.

 

And I sometimes also wish you would make more relevant comparisons. Last time you compared Richar Shelby and Harris to Micah Johnson, now you are comparing Santiago and Quintana's situation to Sanchez? Really?

 

Let's have sanity check here, we all know Santiago became a whole new pitcher after he learned the screwball, and pitcher developments are not the same as hitter developments. And why are you even trying to construe a misleading analyze for Quintana's minor league track? First of all he did not spend 6 years in A ball or below. He only pitched 5 innings as a 17 year old and was suspended his entire age 18. So if you want to count it, that's 3 years in Rk - A+, which is totally typical for a pitcher. He's also been consistently good those 3 years, but scouts didn't view him as a big time prospect because he lacked the "stuff", which he still doesn't have, but he pitches with the poise of a veteran, which is giving him the edge so far. Again, totally irrelevant to a batter's development.

 

Also, why are you comparing Viceido and Gordon's position switch to Sanchez's? For the record, Sanchez never officially switched positions, he keeps bouncing around between SS and 2B, while Viceido and Gordon's switch were long term changes. His situation is more like the Tyler Kuhn situation, where he can fill multiple positions, but not spectacular at a specific one. If the organization doesn't even have a defined position for him, I wouldn't trust your "sources" and label as a plus defender just yet.

 

It's very simple, if the organization feels he's a plus defender, he will be playing one position full time. If he's blocked by someone at his current position or another position opens up, then they will have him permanently switch over to the other position. That was how the Viceido/Beckham situations were handled.

 

Really, none of the comparisons you offered really applies to Carlos Sanchez.

Edited April 19, 2013 by thxfrthmmrs