Minor League Plate Appearances

[Shane Wahl]

Jeremias Pineda and his .558 OPS this year leading off for E-Town. First, the guy is soon to be 24. Second, he is terrible. So how is it acceptable to give the most plate appearances to him?

 

Ryan Walker and his .598 OPS leading off for Cedar Rapids.

 

Fort Myers has it right.

 

Nate Hanson batting third for New Britain.

 

Doug Bernier batting leadoff for Rochester.

 

Even if it means 10-15 more plate appearances for actual prospects instead of filler players, I think it is worth it to tell the affiliates to actually work with the parent team in terms of progress.

[Paul Pleiss]

Shane, I'd never really given this much thought, but it seems like a good idea to give guys that may matter for the parent club more ABs than guys who are clearly org guys. Put your best players at the top of the lineups, especailly at the lower levels.

 

I can see some reasons for a guy like Bernier to be leading off for Rochester. At some level the minor league affiliate still needs to have a product to sell to their fans; they need to be able to at least pretend they're trying to win, even if it should be all about player development.

[The Wise One]

i guess the season must really be going poorly all around if 15-20 AB would make a difference in a player's development.

I am not sure at what point a player becomes filler rather than potential. I would supose it would be individual difference. If a Pineda is filler than explain criteria

[The Wise One]

Shane, I'd never really given this much thought, but it seems like a good idea to give guys that may matter for the parent club more ABs than guys who are clearly org guys. Put your best players at the top of the lineups, especailly at the lower levels.

 

I can see some reasons for a guy like Bernier to be leading off for Rochester. At some level the minor league affiliate still needs to have a product to sell to their fans; they need to be able to at least pretend they're trying to win, even if it should be all about player development.

I would think that any prospect below AA you see some purpose for other than organizational guy. There has to be some ceiling higher than A+ ball for a touted minor league system. Between international signings and the draf if you are not picking 30 players that can be in A+ ball you might want to rethink scouting or development.

Every level of the minor leagues it is still about winning for the local fans. The organization should be able to bring through prospects well enough at the lower levels to produce a quality team.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

If a Pineda is filler than explain criteria

Age?

[Steven Buhr]

 

Even if it means 10-15 more plate appearances for actual prospects instead of filler players, I think it is worth it to tell the affiliates to actually work with the parent team in terms of progress.

 

I'm not sure what exactly you mean when you refer to "affiliates" working with the "parent team," but obviously the local affiliate front office has absolutely no input over anything that goes on between the lines. The manager is an employee of the parent team and works with the farm director in determining who is getting what kind of playing time, so it is in fact the parent team who is determining the batting order and everything else concerning what goes on in terms of the game.

 

The manager and coaches also are developing players' situational hitting approaches. I don't really care to see, for example, Mitch Garver leading off for the Kernels just because he's perhaps their most advanced prospect. I'd rather have him see a few more situations where he's hitting with runners on base, or even in scoring position, than simply have him see 2-3 more plate appearances per month by hitting 2 spots higher in the order.

 

I'd also argue that we know that some "B" level prospects will eventually shine and become MLB players. We don't know which lucky few they are, but if getting those guys a few more plate appearances gives them a better chance at developing in to useful big leaguers some day, I don't think that's a bad thing.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Every organization has what is called filler. These guys have no future and are only there to fill a roster spot. They hold that place b/c in large part the guys behind them aren't ready to move into that role and there's no one else on the team that can fill it easily. Every org has these guys. When someone gets promoted, these guys are the ones that get released. It's the circle of baseball life.

[Thrylos]

Jeremias Pineda and his .558 OPS this year leading off for E-Town. First, the guy is soon to be 24. Second, he is terrible. So how is it acceptable to give the most plate appearances to him?

 

That's the same Jeremias Pineda who was traded for Danny V. and hitting .421/.447/.534 for the GCL in '12 before he turned into a bullfrog.    Something is going on there methinks...