If by "hold his own" you mean, "put up -0.3 fWAR in just 83 PA," then we are in agreement.

 

Sub-replacement level is a strange definition of "hold his own" though.

With his bat, which he was above replacement level. His defense weighed him down as I mentioned. I don't want him up here.

With his bat, which he was above replacement level. His defense weighed him down as I mentioned. I don't want him up here.

 

Having watched a month to six weeks of both Sanchez and Johnson, I think the team is much better with Carlos's defense, even if Johnson is going to give them a bit more offense. Sanchez is a defensive stopper at 2B, and has changed entire innings with his glove. To a team that is struggling defensively, and is as fragile as it is mentally, I think this is more important.

Having watched a month to six weeks of both Sanchez and Johnson, I think the team is much better with Carlos's defense, even if Johnson is going to give them a bit more offense. Sanchez is a defensive stopper at 2B, and has changed entire innings with his glove. To a team that is struggling defensively, and is as fragile as it is mentally, I think this is more important.

 

the post of the week. i am in total agreement with you. in a normal situation, esp if the parent team is working on all cylinders, then yeah the team can sacrifice the defense for his bat.

 

excellent thought process.

Having watched a month to six weeks of both Sanchez and Johnson, I think the team is much better with Carlos's defense, even if Johnson is going to give them a bit more offense. Sanchez is a defensive stopper at 2B, and has changed entire innings with his glove. To a team that is struggling defensively, and is as fragile as it is mentally, I think this is more important.

We were 3 games below .500 with Micah and 6 games below .500 with Carlos so far. Honestly...maybe it really doesn't make that much of a difference, maybe we're crappy with both of them.

We were 3 games below .500 with Micah and 6 games below .500 with Carlos so far. Honestly...maybe it really doesn't make that much of a difference, maybe we're crappy with both of them.

If that's the case, give the major league playing time to the guy who has a chance of being a long-term solution at the poistion and that player is Micah.

If that's the case, give the major league playing time to the guy who has a chance of being a long-term solution at the poistion and that player is Micah.

If Micah can't improve on his defense then he does not have a chance of being a long term solution at the position.

 

Where would he be better able to work on his defense, around the clown show in Chicago or with the player development people in the minors?

Having watched a month to six weeks of both Sanchez and Johnson, I think the team is much better with Carlos's defense, even if Johnson is going to give them a bit more offense. Sanchez is a defensive stopper at 2B, and has changed entire innings with his glove. To a team that is struggling defensively, and is as fragile as it is mentally, I think this is more important.

That's what I thought preseason too. This season is over though so I'm ready to give Micah the major league reps.

Where would he be better able to work on his defense, around the clown show in Chicago or with the player development people in the minors?

Neither so let him play against the best competition.

If Micah can't improve on his defense then he does not have a chance of being a long term solution at the position.

 

Where would he be better able to work on his defense, around the clown show in Chicago or with the player development people in the minors?

People seem to be judging his defense off an incredibly small sample of plays and assuming none of his f***-ups were due to rookie jitters. I also don't see why his defense would develop any differently in AAA vs. the majors. However, his bat could use some work against major league pitching. When we go back to Micah (and we will), we'll probably have to endure some offensive growing pains and unfortunately for us this adjustment period will now likely spill over into 2016. We should be taking advantage of this wasted season.

Edited June 25, 201510 yr by Chicago White Sox

Turn Micah into a DH, then. Assuming he can hit, of course. Nothing wrong with having a non-HR hitter, who hits .300 and steals a bunch of bases as a DH.

If Micah can't improve on his defense then he does not have a chance of being a long term solution at the position.

 

Where would he be better able to work on his defense, around the clown show in Chicago or with the player development people in the minors?

 

good point. i agree.

People seem to be judging his defense off an incredibly small sample of plays and assuming none of his f***-ups were due to rookie jitters. I also don't see why his defense would develop any differently in AAA vs. the majors. However, his bat could use some work against major league pitching. When we go back to Micah (and we will), we'll probably have to endure some offensive growing pains and unfortunately for us this adjustment period will now likely spill over into 2016. We should be taking advantage of this wasted season.

 

you have a point, but no offense, i do not agree.

 

there is nothing wrong with his projected offense. it is his defense. he will need to learn that. re maybe moving him to DH.... i always thought after Adam LaRoche contract ends, move Avi there.

Turn Micah into a DH, then. Assuming he can hit, of course. Nothing wrong with having a non-HR hitter, who hits .300 and steals a bunch of bases as a DH.

 

 

He doesn't have that kind of bat...MAYBE Tim Anderson does, or Hawkins, but Micah's a still a ways off from being a poor man's Tony Phillips.

 

We need him at 2B.

 

Another small problem, we already have three DH's in Abreu, LaRoche and Avi, not to mention Melky Cabrera. Gillaspie, if you want to keep going.

Edited June 25, 201510 yr by caulfield12

Melky is fine in left.

People seem to be judging his defense off an incredibly small sample of plays and assuming none of his f***-ups were due to rookie jitters. I also don't see why his defense would develop any differently in AAA vs. the majors. However, his bat could use some work against major league pitching. When we go back to Micah (and we will), we'll probably have to endure some offensive growing pains and unfortunately for us this adjustment period will now likely spill over into 2016. We should be taking advantage of this wasted season.

 

The knock on Johnson all through the minors was his defense as well. If you want to use the minor league argument, at least Sanchez has hit in the minors. Johnson has never been known as a good defender.

the post of the week. i am in total agreement with you. in a normal situation, esp if the parent team is working on all cylinders, then yeah the team can sacrifice the defense for his bat.

 

excellent thought process.

It's not. .270/.333/.297 over .159/.207/.204 is a much larger gap than the difference in their defence.

Sanchez can't hit.

Micah can't defend.

One has to be in Charlotte, the other in Chicago at this point, until the chicago herd is culled a bit.

I think defensive development can happen equally in Charlotte or Chicago. As for O, is it better to learn in Chicago or Charlotte? Prob. Charlotte I guess.

So switch them, although close either way.

The knock on Johnson all through the minors was his defense as well. If you want to use the minor league argument, at least Sanchez has hit in the minors. Johnson has never been known as a good defender.

I get Johnson has had issues with his defense in the minors and I don't expect him to ever be a plus defender. I just think it's crazy that people look at how bad he was in an incredibly small sample and for some reason expect that going forward. There is no doubt in my mind Sanchez isn't a .400 OPS hitter, just like I don't believe Micah Johnson is the worst defensive 2B of all-time. However, I do believe Micah has a chance to be a special offensive player, which means he doesn't even have to be average defensively to add value to the team, he simply needs to be passable.

Edited June 25, 201510 yr by Chicago White Sox

I get Johnson has had issues with his defense in the minors and I don't expect him to ever be a plus defender. I just think it's crazy that people look at how bad he was in an incredibly small sample and for some reason expect that going forward. There is no doubt in my mind Sanchez isn't a .400 OPS hitter, just like I don't believe Micah Johnson is the worst defensive 2B of all-time. However, I do believe Micah has a chance to be a special offensive player, which means he doesn't even have to be average defensively to add value to the team, he simply needs to be passable.

With his skill set what exactly do you mean by this? For guys with speed but little power, defense is usually a particularly important part of their game unless you think Micah can pull his hitting up to legendary levels.

I get Johnson has had issues with his defense in the minors and I don't expect him to ever be a plus defender. I just think it's crazy that people look at how bad he was in an incredibly small sample and for some reason expect that going forward. There is no doubt in my mind Sanchez isn't a .400 OPS hitter, just like I don't believe Micah Johnson is the worst defensive 2B of all-time. However, I do believe Micah has a chance to be a special offensive player, which means he doesn't even have to be average defensively to add value to the team, he simply needs to be passable.

 

But he hasn't been passable at any stop in the minors either. He has been a bad defender. Expecting Sanchez to hit is different because he has a history of hitting, while Johnson does not have a history of fielding.

But he hasn't been passable at any stop in the minors either. He has been a bad defender. Expecting Sanchez to hit is different because he has a history of hitting, while Johnson does not have a history of fielding.

Sanchez has a history of slapping, without walking much or stealing a lot of bags. His upside is incredibly limited offensively.

 

As for Micah's defense, everything in the minors is based on second-hand reports. There is limited data to gauge the degree of "bad", and quite frankly, I've read in some of those reports that one of the primary reasons for his bad defense was trying to do too much. That can improve with time. What we do know is he has a lot of range, which provides a floor to how bad he can really be long-term. Again, Micah is no doubt a flawed defensive player, but I think many on this site have already written him off as even being passable based on a small major league sample and some minor league scouting reports.

With his skill set what exactly do you mean by this? For guys with speed but little power, defense is usually a particularly important part of their game unless you think Micah can pull his hitting up to legendary levels.

I said special offensive player, so why are you bringing in defense here? Dude has incredible speed, good plate discipline, and more natural power than most people think. In this offensive environment, he can be a pretty special hitter if he puts it all together for a middle infielder. Not saying he will be a superstar, but he can definitely be a high-end lead off hitter if all goes well.

I said special offensive player, so why are you bringing in defense here? Dude has incredible speed, good plate discipline, and more natural power than most people think. In this offensive environment, he can be a pretty special hitter if he puts it all together for a middle infielder. Not saying he will be a superstar, but he can definitely be a high-end lead off hitter if all goes well.

Give me some numbers then on what a "special player" is?

Give me some numbers then on what a "special player" is?

Yeah, I'm not going to get into an argument of my definition of "special". I already said high-end leadoff hitter, so let's say Adam Eaton (2014 version) with a Ton of SBs at a good rate. Do you feel that is not a possibility?

I don't see Johnson's speed translating to the majors either.