The Andrew Vaughn LF Thread

[brijames1957]

Keep Vaughn in left. Don't start moving him all around. He has become a more than adequate leftfielder. And he is just going to keep getting better at the plate the more at bats he gets. 

[South Side Hit Men]

1 hour ago, brijames1957 said:

Keep Vaughn in left. Don't start moving him all around. He has become a more than adequate leftfielder. And he is just going to keep getting better at the plate the more at bats he gets. 

Pretty sure this was an emergency only situation, with the Sox literally out of all other options except for Yermin, Sheets or Goodwin. Burger will help fill in / cover 3B starting tomorrow.

I just hope the Sox don’t rush him back prematurely. Guys continue to come back off the DL partially healed (Engel, Hamilton), would rather test the minimize league depth than prolong a players injuries. Yoan needs to stay out until he can field and hit with his injured hand.

[Balta1701]

JFC. This is off a righty?

 

[BigHurt3515]

Vaughn is coming around. I don't know how anyone expected this guy to be any better than he has been when he hasn't been above A ball plus learning a brand new position in the major leagues.

[South Side Hit Men]

1 hour ago, Balta1701 said:

JFC. This is off a righty?

 

That couldn't have possibly happened. @CaliSoxFanViaSWside said Andrew Vaughn doesn't offer a damn thing, he is disgusting, terrible and putrid, can't hit, field or run. Open your eyes Balta and stop blindly supporting Vaughn.

 

Quote

I still see so many here saying Vaughn has to play every day. No he doesn't, he has proven he hit's LHP at this point in his career. His numbers are putrid against RHP. Terrible, disgusting even. If you truly want to win games, just as you don't want other bad hitting players in the game you shouldn't want Vaughn in the game either against RHP. Vaughn isn't good enough defensively or fast enough to justify a spot in the lineup against RHP. He doesn't bring a damn thing to the table. Hamilton is more valuable against RHP than Vaughn is. Open your eyes and stop blindly supporting Vaughn.

 

Edited July 3, 2021 by South Side Hit Men

[black jack]

Kid is getting comfy and lucky for us because he has the ability to carry a team for a short while.

This team is now deep enough to let Eloy DH, but still play LF once or twice a week to keep him happy.

 

 

 

[tray]

Vaughn needs to get some starts at first base, his eventual every day position.

[tray]

You are drinking Steve Stone Koolaid if you think Vaughn is going to be a career outfielder.

[Bob Sacamano]

10 minutes ago, tray said:

Vaughn needs to get some starts at first base, his eventual every day position.

Nah. I’m good with Abreu and Grandal staying there (of course Grandal might have a short IL stint right now).

[Bob Sacamano]

3 minutes ago, tray said:

You are drinking Steve Stone Koolaid if you think Vaughn is going to be a career outfielder.

Why? Players can’t improve defensively? Not that you need to be good to play LF anyway.

Edited July 3, 2021 by manbearpuig

[tray]

1 minute ago, manbearpuig said:

Why? Players can’t improve defensively? Not that you need to be good to play LF anyway.

Vaughn is what, 23 years old? He has been a first basemen his entire career before being cast into LF. He can catch a fly ball but he is slow and as he ages, will only get slower. His defense has been seriously overrated.  Don't lose sight of the fact that Vaughn is the heir apparent to Abreu (who is 11 years his senior) at first base. I agree that you don't need to be that good to play LF, which is why he is out there now.

[southsider2k5]

9 minutes ago, tray said:

You are drinking Steve Stone Koolaid if you think Vaughn is going to be a career outfielder.

If you have watched Vaughn play OF this season and think he can't pass in LF your Kool aid has a little something extra in it.

[Bob Sacamano]

7 minutes ago, tray said:

Vaughn is what, 23 years old? He has been a first basemen his entire career before being cast into LF. He can catch a fly ball but he is slow and as he ages, will only get slower. His defense has been seriously overrated.  Don't lose sight of the fact that Vaughn is the heir apparent to Abreu (who is 11 years his senior) at first base. I agree that you don't need to be that good to play LF, which is why he is out there now.

So you’re suggesting bench Abreu for Vaughn? Don’t forget Abreu has improved defensively himself and doesn’t like being a strict DH so I’m sure that will go over well.

Also pretty funny that you’re acting like he’s going to forget how to play 1B or something after next year lol I would expect random starts at 1B rest of this year and next but he’s not going to get bulk of the playing time.

Edited July 3, 2021 by manbearpuig

[tray]

39 minutes ago, manbearpuig said:

So you’re suggesting bench Abreu for Vaughn? Don’t forget Abreu has improved defensively himself and doesn’t like being a strict DH so I’m sure that will go over well.

Also pretty funny that you’re acting like he’s going to forget how to play 1B or something after next year lol I would expect random starts at 1B rest of this year and next but he’s not going to get bulk of the playing time.

Generally, I agree with you although I do not share your levity or use of sarcasm. Vaughn should get starts at first base this season,  if for no other reason than to to provide rest to Abreu.   That will also make way for Eloy's return, who , like it or not, will get several starting assignments in the outfield. Over time,  Abreu will transition into a Nelson Cruz  DH / elder statesman and Vaughn will become the every day WSox First basemen.  That appears to be the WSox plan and one of the reasons they Drafted him.

 

 

Edited July 3, 2021 by tray

[ron883]

7 minutes ago, tray said:

Generally, I agree with you although I do not share your levity or use of sarcasm. Vaughn should get starts at first base this season,  if for no other reason than to to provide rest to Abreu.   That will also make way for Eloy's return, who , like it or not, will get several starting assignments in the outfield. Over time,  Abreu will transition into a Nelson Cruz  DH / elder statesman and Vaughn will become the every day WSox First basemen.  That appears to be the WSox plan and one of the reasons they Drafted him.

 

 

Abreu has said before that he will not DH. To his credit, he improved his 1st base defense big time. However, it may simply become a detriment to the team at some point. Vaughn is probably a better defensive 1st baseman at this point. He definitely has more range. I'd imagine Sheets is better to. At some point, they'll just have to tell Abreu to suck it up and be the DH. 

[southsider2k5]

11 minutes ago, ron883 said:

Abreu has said before that he will not DH. To his credit, he improved his 1st base defense big time. However, it may simply become a detriment to the team at some point. Vaughn is probably a better defensive 1st baseman at this point. He definitely has more range. I'd imagine Sheets is better to. At some point, they'll just have to tell Abreu to suck it up and be the DH. 

As of today the team is better with Vaughn in left and Jose at 1st.  They are also better long term if AV has positional versatility. 

[ron883]

4 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

As of today the team is better with Vaughn in left and Jose at 1st.  They are also better long term if AV has positional versatility. 

The team would be better long-term if Sheets played some 1st base so Jose could heal up. His tough guy routine has grown old. It's a long season. No reason to play in the field every single chance you can, especially while banged up. 

[Harry Chappas]

How fast was Alez Gordon?  Is that a potential comp.  Again I don't know how fast Gordon was and only know he was a 3B that became a gold glove LF.  Vaughn only needs to be a poor man's Gordon. 

[Two-Gun Pete]

26 minutes ago, ron883 said:

Abreu has said before that he will not DH. To his credit, he improved his 1st base defense big time. However, it may simply become a detriment to the team at some point. Vaughn is probably a better defensive 1st baseman at this point. He definitely has more range. I'd imagine Sheets is better to. At some point, they'll just have to tell Abreu to suck it up and be the DH. 

Vaughn is listed at 6', but in seeing him in oerson, he's probably only 5'10". I'm not yet convinced that he's a better defensive 1st baseman than the league MVP.

8 minutes ago, ron883 said:

The team would be better long-term if Sheets played some 1st base so Jose could heal up. His tough guy routine has grown old. It's a long season. No reason to play in the field every single chance you can, especially while banged up. 

Anything to get your rocks off on getting rid of the reigning MVP, right? While he might be better off to take a day off/DH here and there NOW, he's also proven himself to be a solid defensive 1st baseman. (He's been positive on DRS in each of the past 2 seasons.)

Your vendetta against Abreu has gotten old. Give it a rest. There are much bigger issues with this roster than 1st base.

[Timmy U]

3 minutes ago, Harry Chappas said:

How fast was Alez Gordon?  Is that a potential comp.  Again I don't know how fast Gordon was and only know he was a 3B that became a gold glove LF.  Vaughn only needs to be a poor man's Gordon. 

Alex Gordon was MUCH faster than Vaughn.  Probably 50 speed vs. 30 speed.  Gordon is one of the best defensive leftfielders of all time.  A poor man’s Alex Gordon might be a gold glover.  Vaughn needs to be a rich man’s Kyle Schwarber.

[southsider2k5]

So for the record, looking at FanGraphs, Andrew Vaughn is currently 10th in their defensive ratings amongst all LF with at least 240 PAs.  10th.  He is 21st in OOZ plays.  He is 17th in UZR/150, and 18th in arm.

In half a season's worth of D measures, the kid is a middle of the pack defensive LF.

[poppysox]

2 hours ago, tray said:

Vaughn needs to get some starts at first base, his eventual every day position.

Sheets will have something to say about this IMO.

[bmags]

26 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

So for the record, looking at FanGraphs, Andrew Vaughn is currently 10th in their defensive ratings amongst all LF with at least 240 PAs.  10th.  He is 21st in OOZ plays.  He is 17th in UZR/150, and 18th in arm.

In half a season's worth of D measures, the kid is a middle of the pack defensive LF.

Yep, he’s stayed pretty stuck there. I would say Sox have position him really deep so I don’t know how that effects this but does feel like it concedes more hits.

[chitownsportsfan]

3 minutes ago, bmags said:

Yep, he’s stayed pretty stuck there. I would say Sox have position him really deep so I don’t know how that effects this but does feel like it concedes more hits.

He plays deep but he still does a good job keeping everything behind him and not over the wall caught.  As we have seen with Eloy that is not a given.

He looks like your average MLB LF.  Pretty good for a 23 year old rookie changing position.

[tray]

2 minutes ago, poppysox said:

Sheets will have something to say about this IMO.

Especially if they make a trade.  Vaughn looks like the primary trade target for teams that are talking to Hahn right now. Vaughn has raked against Minnesota and Detroit pitching which has peaked interest in him from other teams.

The Sox desperately need middle relievers if they are going to win close play-off games. Marshall, Heuer, Bummer, Crochet can , at times, be a shit show. Kopech will greatly help, if he stays healthy. Even then, we still need at least one more set-up guy or even another Closer type.

I love what Sheets has done so far. He clearly has power, sees the ball pretty well, and can cover the outside of the plate. I hope the Sox  keep him in case he turns into a monster LH bat, which is what the Sox look for every off--season.  We may have that guy right now. Maybe he can even play RF like Vaughn plays Left - put your heels a few feet in front of the warning track so almost everything that gets hit  is in front of you.