April 6, 20214 yr I think the answer to the question "Why didn't he get a look earlier" can be answered in two parts: 1. He was/is a late-20s prospect with a short track record of success and no defensive position 2. The White Sox had some depth ahead of him in the 1B/DH/Backup C position Fortune took care of part 2. Only time and ABs can eliminate part 1. Right now he's a fun story and there is reason to think he can succeed, but he will need to "adjust to the adjustments" so to speak.
April 6, 20214 yr 2 minutes ago, daggins said: I think the answer to the question "Why didn't he get a look earlier" can be answered in two parts: 1. He was/is a late-20s prospect with a short track record of success and no defensive position 2. The White Sox had some depth ahead of him in the 1B/DH/Backup C position Fortune took care of part 2. Only time and ABs can eliminate part 1. Right now he's a fun story and there is reason to think he can succeed, but he will need to "adjust to the adjustments" so to speak. I think this is more why it’s fair for fans to think this way but I would hope our self scouting is good enough that they could see he translates as a bat at least as much as AJ reed. But it would have been tough last year, I get it, but thank goodness they gave him a shot this year.
April 6, 20214 yr 9 minutes ago, daggins said: I think the answer to the question "Why didn't he get a look earlier" can be answered in two parts: 1. He was/is a late-20s prospect with a short track record of success and no defensive position 2. The White Sox had some depth ahead of him in the 1B/DH/Backup C position Fortune took care of part 2. Only time and ABs can eliminate part 1. Right now he's a fun story and there is reason to think he can succeed, but he will need to "adjust to the adjustments" so to speak. No offense, but he does not have a short track record of hitting. He has mashed every year in the minors. But yes, I agree he is no more than a catcher insurance guy. Edited April 6, 20214 yr by Squirmin' for Yermin
April 6, 20214 yr 1 minute ago, Squirmin' for Yermin said: No offense, but he does not have a short track record of hitting. He has mashed every year in the minors Ya, I obviously have 0 idea if he can continue to hit in the majors but his track record of hitting in the minors is not short. Dude has been doing it for a ton of years now.
April 6, 20214 yr Ehhh, he raked in 2016...as a 23 year old in A ball. In 2017 and 2018 he was unremarkable (and again, old for the level) and in 2019 he definitely raked, but Charlotte is also a different kind of park. I think it's correct to be skeptical that this is anything but a nice bit of SSS luck for now.
April 6, 20214 yr No one really knows whether this is legit or a flash. But to me the difference between Mercedes and the typical AAAA player is that the AAAA player has sat in AAA for multiple years. Mercedes hasn't. He sat in A ball a long time with Tampa, presumably to develop his defense. But once the Sox drafted him, he moved up pretty quickly and hit at each level. Heck he hit in Birmingham when no one else could.
April 6, 20214 yr 44 minutes ago, bmags said: I think this is more why it’s fair for fans to think this way but I would hope our self scouting is good enough that they could see he translates as a bat at least as much as AJ reed. But it would have been tough last year, I get it, but thank goodness they gave him a shot this year. I am still pissed about watching AJ Reed get at bats in 2019 that could have gone to Collins and Mercedes.
April 6, 20214 yr 8 minutes ago, chitown87 said: I am still pissed about watching AJ Reed get at bats in 2019 that could have gone to Collins and Mercedes. 2019 should have been Collins, with Mercedes getting the cup of coffee at the bare minimum. At some point in 2020, they should have given up on Encarnacion for either of them.
April 6, 20214 yr Just keep running him out there. Lol, poor Zack Collins - just can't catch a break.
April 6, 20214 yr 2 hours ago, Squirmin' for Yermin said: No offense, but he does not have a short track record of hitting. He has mashed every year in the minors. But yes, I agree he is no more than a catcher insurance guy. The guy has like 400 ABs above A ball. That is absolutely a short track record, especially for a guy that was in indy leagues until he was 22. Edited April 6, 20214 yr by mqr
April 6, 20214 yr 4 hours ago, bmags said: this is so dumb, you just keep them all because they are all in cheap years and then you have more good players. Trading from surplus on a competitive team is such video game thinking. This is only true if you have a perfect roster. If we can use redundancies to fill holes that’s a major win.
April 6, 20214 yr 18 minutes ago, mqr said: But yeah, at this point you run him out there until the magic runs out. One thing I couldn't stand about Rick: maybe it can't be measured accurately yet, but "pixie dust" is a thing and until the League adjusts you ride that pixie dust as long as you can. Keep starting him. The worst thing that can happen is a he cools off and gets benched. Until then, ride it.
April 6, 20214 yr 2 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said: This is only true if you have a perfect roster. If we can use redundancies to fill holes that’s a major win. It’s like the Yankees with Andujar, Voit, Bruce, Tauchman, Sanchez, Gardner, etc.
April 6, 20214 yr 31 minutes ago, mqr said: The guy has like 400 ABs above A ball. That is absolutely a short track record, especially for a guy that was in indy leagues until he was 22. Trouble is when you spend most of your career A ball and lower it's because no one trusts you as a catcher and younger guys, higher draft picks keep getting looks over you. Once you finally hit AA because your hitting can no longer be ignored it becomes apparent that he needed to rise quickly because of his age. He's 28 now and hoping he can stick around and prove his worth. But if he does prove his worth, the smattering of people saying he should've got a shot earlier will only get louder. I'm just thankful he finally got a shot when I didn't think he ever would with the Sox.
April 6, 20214 yr 15 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said: One thing I couldn't stand about Rick: maybe it can't be measured accurately yet, but "pixie dust" is a thing and until the League adjusts you ride that pixie dust as long as you can. Keep starting him. The worst thing that can happen is a he cools off and gets benched. Until then, ride it. Right. The only thing to 'make of' Yermin Mercedes right now is that he's played 4 incredibly good games. Maybe they found a unicorn, but more likely than that they found a decent plug and play guy. (I still think it's probably even more likely that they found a guy who had a great week one time, but regardless) Play him and find out.
April 6, 20214 yr 4 hours ago, bmags said: this is so dumb, you just keep them all because they are all in cheap years and then you have more good players. Trading from surplus on a competitive team is such video game thinking. Yeah except in a video game I would have Alt+f4-ed the second the Eloy injury alert popped up
April 6, 20214 yr 2 hours ago, chitown87 said: I am still pissed about watching AJ Reed get at bats in 2019 that could have gone to Collins and Mercedes. If you want to be po at someone getting Mercedes at bats last year.....EE gets my vote.
April 6, 20214 yr 36 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said: One thing I couldn't stand about Rick: maybe it can't be measured accurately yet, but "pixie dust" is a thing and until the League adjusts you ride that pixie dust as long as you can. Keep starting him. The worst thing that can happen is a he cools off and gets benched. Until then, ride it. How does one now define cooling off for a guy like Yermin.
April 6, 20214 yr 3 minutes ago, kitekrazy said: How does one now define cooling off for a guy like Yermin. Probably like a 1-20 where he is pulling off pitches and/or swinging at junk. Hopefully TLR can see it, he certainly has the experience.
April 6, 20214 yr 26 minutes ago, kitekrazy said: How does one now define cooling off for a guy like Yermin. When his babip drops below 0.700.
April 6, 20214 yr 4 hours ago, daggins said: I think the answer to the question "Why didn't he get a look earlier" can be answered in two parts: 1. He was/is a late-20s prospect with a short track record of success and no defensive position 2. The White Sox had some depth ahead of him in the 1B/DH/Backup C position Fortune took care of part 2. Only time and ABs can eliminate part 1. Right now he's a fun story and there is reason to think he can succeed, but he will need to "adjust to the adjustments" so to speak. 3. He is a great big fat person
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