If Robo Umps stay just in AAA for next year will that hurt player development?

[Trov]

I was reading a different forum and a commenter brought up an interesting note about AAA this year.  Specifically, that AAA is using robo umps and MLB is not.  The post talked about walks being way up and that is leading to more hard contact because to avoid missing the corners the pitchers are working more of the middle.  Personally, I think that is what baseball is looking for, more offense and balls in play less getting called strike 3 on a pitch you could not if you tried as a hitter. That aside this is not a post about if the robo umps should be brought to MLB but if they are not and stay in AAA will that hurt the development of the player.

I point to both Julien and Wallner as two guys who played a decent amount in AAA this year, not a ton, but enough to get used to the robo umps.  For those who are not aware, AAA has 3 days of full robo umps, and 3 days of challenge system.  Both of the guys have been talked about their eye's at the plate. Julien has been about a 4 walks to every 5 k's over his minor league career, but at MLB level this year with 100 more plate appearances at MLB over AAA he has walked just 4 times more, but struck out over twice as much, 88 k at MLB level versus 42 at AAA.  With 36 walks at MLB level, and 32 at AAA.  The eye test for Julien is he has taken a lot of pitches for called strike 3 and many times not in the tv box, keeping in mind that is not tied to the robo ump type system.  

Wallner, walked at closer to a 1 walk per 2 k's rate, with in 305 plate appearances in AAA this year he walked 39 times k 87.  At MLB he has 152 plate appearances, with 11 walks to 49 strike outs.  Similar I feel like I have seen many called third strikes on balls out of the zone.  Sometimes for both players it may not be strike 3 out of the zone but 1 or 2. 

The question I really have is, if the players start learning the robo ump zone just before MLB level, will that affect their ability at MLB because they will be taking those pitches that in AAA will get called a strike, but at MLB you never know and no way to get it right?  Will this lead to guys coming up and taking too many borderline pitches  for called strikes?  Is it good they are taking those called strikes?  Maybe there is comfort in knowing you were right and the ump was wrong?  

Yesterday I watched Lewis expand the zone on a 3-2 pitch way outside, was that because he was scared the ump would ring him up?  Clearly that pitch would not have been, but you start to expand the zone because the umps are making calls you are not used to.  Even more so, you are up at MLB level you want to impress, but then umps start taking bats out of hands while you watch, what in your experience in AAA would be a ball, get called for a strike 3. 

I want to make clear, I do not think all difference in walks and strike out numbers are due to this change in balls and strikes calls, but I think even the small sample I have seen with my own eyes is guys taking pitches for called strike 3 that maybe someone not trained in robo umps would look to foul off worried that ump will get it wrong.  The issue with that is sometimes you expand the zone and make the job easy for the ump. 

[RpR]

To your title , Yes.

[Nine of twelve]

Not using robo-umps hurts everything about the game. 

[Trov]

21 hours ago, Nine of twelve said:

Not using robo-umps hurts everything about the game. 

I agree, and hope it happens in MLB soon.  However, my concern is that MLB will still hold off and both hitters and pitchers will have issues when they come up.  Both will get used to the robo zone, then come up to MLB and have to deal with a whole new zone.  

[Dman]

I tend to agree with the OP it seems like the players that are coming out of the minors these days know the zone better than the Umpires.  Granted some of the misses are quite small, but they are out of the box.,  It works both ways though as some calls the pitcher isn't getting and that helps the hitter.  It is just that the zone gets expanded more often than tightened so it affects hitters more.

Personally I think everyone benefits from a consistent zone and the game was always meant to be called that way but it is harder than ever to get calls right with all the movement pitches have and the speed they are thrown.  Time for technology to take over IMO.

[Jocko87]

22 hours ago, RpR said:

To your title , Yes.

I would agree.  AAA and the bigs need to be somewhat similar.  Long term experiments belong in the lower levels and Cape Cod type leagues.  That thought process leads me to believe that something is coming next year.

[Trov]

5 minutes ago, Dman said:

I tend to agree with the OP it seems like the players that are coming out of the minors these days know the zone better than the Umpires.  Granted some of the misses are quite small, but they are out of the box.,  It works both ways though as some calls the pitcher isn't getting and that helps the hitter.  It is just that the zone gets expanded more often than tightened so it affects hitters more.

Personally I think everyone benefits from a consistent zone and the game was always meant to called that way but it is harder than ever to get calls right with all the movement pitches have and the speed they are thrown.  Time for technology to take over IMO.

I agree.  I hate when people say things like, "the umps get like 95% right" or something like that.  One, that does not tell the whole story, because they actually only get 50% on the calls on the edges.  I read article years ago about it, and it is even worse depending on count and how the ump called prior pitches.  Some umps also hate to call strike 3 on hitters unless it is a 3-2 count, if the pitch is close.  I agree it is the hardest thing to do, watch a baseball come flying toward you, while a bat may or may not come swinging past your face, and you need to not blink and get the call right.  I commend the umps that do it great, but we have the tech to make it consistent call, lets do it. 

[Trov]

7 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

I would agree.  AAA and the bigs need to be somewhat similar.  Long term experiments belong in the lower levels and Cape Cod type leagues.  That thought process leads me to believe that something is coming next year.

I expect they will go with the challenge system next year, and after a year or two of that, they will go full robo. 

[Nine of twelve]

1 hour ago, Trov said:

I expect they will go with the challenge system next year, and after a year or two of that, they will go full robo. 

That wouldn’t surprise me. Even though I think that’s silly I guess it would be progress in the right direction. So I would grudgingly accept it, especially if the choice was either the challenge system or no change.