Everything posted by caulfield12
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Fernando Tatis Jr. thread
https://theathletic.com/1039856/2019/06/21/is-fernando-tatis-jr-already-the-most-impressive-athlete-in-padres-history/ Tatis is hitting .333/.392/.600, the team leader in both average and on-base percentage. Meanwhile, he has benefited from a .433 batting average on balls in play, second-highest among players with at least 150 plate appearances. Regression appears inevitable. Yet that number is elevated largely due to Tatis’ speed and awareness. Already this season he has logged a 4.15-second time to first base, exceptional for a right-handed batter. His average sprint speed, at 29.2 feet per second, places him on par with Mike Trout and Trevor Story, two of the sports’ most formidable athletes. At 20, Tatis also wields a critical separator. “You see guys with that speed, but you never really see guys with the speed and the instincts he has,” said Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer. ... Tatis has yet to encounter an extended slump, an unavoidable rite of major-league passage. When he does, his speed figures to serve him well. So does continued experience. In the meantime, his combination of tools and smarts already belongs among the elite. One veteran National League West scout, asked where Tatis’ athleticism ranks among Padres players he has seen, did not need even a handful of seconds to scan his memory. “Tops,” the scout texted in response. Tatis Sr., speaking earlier this season, predicted his son would grow at least another half-inch. Myers, the owner of one of two cycles in Padres history, believes Tatis Jr. could achieve the feat more than once. “Every time he comes to the ballpark, he does something that I haven’t seen before, does something that’s special, does something that only he can do,” Myers said. “I know Mike Trout’s the best player in baseball, but this guy right here can definitely rival him.”
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
Probably the wise thing to do is DL him for a couple of weeks to let him recover 100%.
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
Mendick is the type of player who does everything fairly well but doesn’t have loud tools and who almost never gets a shot in the big leagues...we’ll just have to wait and see.
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
Or Alcides Escobar...whatever they do, they can’t let Engel come back to take Leury’s spot. Hopefully Cordell gets another extended run of playing time in CF.
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
Maybe it was bad timing to be listening to Adley Rutschman and his father talking about signing with the Orioles at precisely the same time I found out about the Anderson injury...
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
Do we get to extend the rebuild all the way to 2021 if Anderson is out for a long period of time...with rehab theoretically extending into next season?
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
That’s even MORE bad luck considering how they ended up after getting outed as frauds.
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
For a long time, Jimenez was in negative territory. Of course, he got the biggest contract in team history. He probably will turn out to be a lot like Carlos Lee...with more homers. A really really nice player to have, but not a superstar in the modern game where you need to be able to run and throw or hit like JD Martinez.
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
So I guess we get Leury at SS? I guess that can show off his positional flexibility to play the position capably for 7-10 days. Hope they don’t try to use Rondon there...of course, this probably means more Adam Engel in CF, haha. Or Alcides Escobar.
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
Just shocked to come back 45 minutes later to see the back of the bullpen up to its normal tricks...
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
Narvaez for Colome was 100x more controversial...
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
At first the name that came to mind was Shields with our pitching problems. A hit, realllllly?
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
NOT being they key missing word...instead of the double negative, what’s the worst thing that could possibly happen?
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
Jerry Krause, lol? He already gave up the baseball scouting gig, didn’t he?
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
He’s heading for a 30+ error season again...with his talent, that’s unacceptable. 20-25, fine.
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6/25 Games
Didn’t Hostetler claim that Walker was the most polished college hitter after Madrigal in that draft class?
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
Rule? Unless they need him to pitch out of the pen with Davidson and Leury gone...
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
Uh-oh. Collins looks to be headed for a Ventura rookie year hitless run...at least he got that homer out of the way early. 0/10 since then with oodles of K’s.
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
Moncada with six game hit streak, 879 ops. Who’s the one who was saying how Rondon was going to be so good all offseason?
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
Jimenez had yet another ball an average MLB left fielder gets to? Watching Avi, Palka and now Jimenez...at least we’re setting a baseline for terrible outfield defense, so there’s that.
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
There’s a lot more to think about and definitely more pressure/stress in an environment like last night at Fenway than just sitting on the bench and watching as a DH...or going back and forth from the clubhouse to watch video. That said, if he needs to be protected against all LHP...he’s probably not the prospect they argued would have gone 1-1. Of course, veteran managers will invariably protect rookies against especially tough same side pitchers, Ozzie and Ventura were no different in this regard. They're still doing the same with Moncada three years in...unfortunately, Price can now largely pitch around him. Probably Jay will bunt the runner over and Moncada will be walked again.
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
Doesn’t want Collins to take the golden sombrero vs. Price probably. in other words, they care more about protecting him psychologically than supporting Fulmer at this point.
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
Maybe trading Jay and Escobar as a package deal today gets you...Alex Call or Jake Elmore?
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ChiSox @ BoSox, 6/25, 6:10 CT, NSCH
http://www.espn.com/mlb/player/splits/_/id/33984/yoan-moncada Moncada has a 725 ops against lhp so far this year. In other words, he’s no longer Jose Valentin. Jon Jay from 2016-2018 is 690 vs. lefties and a not exactly robust 721 vs. rhp over the course of well over 900 at bats. Whether he’s arguably better than Tilson or Cordell is debatable, but Moncada needs as many PA’s as possible against lhp. All they will do is pitch around him at that spot in the order, so it’s not really helping him.
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Moncada
Except there’s two things that number doesn’t take into account...his defensive abilities (especially range and arm) and his ability to impact the game on the basepaths. He’s actually quite similar in so many ways to Javy Baez...minus the 3-4 years of swinging out of his shoes at every pitch that goes by. (Ironically, taking Baez or Contreras away from the Cubs might be our best way to stop them, assuming they won’t be able to afford Bryant and Rizzo, too.) He’s hit a ton of balls this year that missed being a homer by less than a foot or two...for example, one hit right off the new screen in RCF in Colorado that used to be a homer for the previous 25 years. He also gets a lot of infield hits by pure speed and hustle, like Avisail Garcia two years ago. You finally have to consider that PetCo was never a great hitter’s park and his age as well. So, sure, there’s a lot of luck involved, but exit velocity and foot speed/hustle also tend to find a way to create more luck. He’s not a 1.000 ops guy at age 21, but 825-850 is still going to have a huge impact for the reasons outlined above.