I Still Believe in Aaron Sabato (And You Should, Too!)

[bean5302]

15 hours ago, Trov said:

I think Sabato could do similar to Rooker.  Both bat only college guys.  Rooker made debut in 2020, but that was 7 games due to injury and short season.  Then we thought he had it, and in 2021 we learned he still was a work in progress.  He was 26 that season.  At age 27 season he bounced around a few teams AAA and MLB and did nothing MLB level.  Finally, the real life Major League actively trying to lose Oakland A's brought him at age 28.  He had an out of the this world April, and then rest of ugh season.  Now 29 Rooker is doing decent.  He will never get a long term second deal, he may not even get through his arb years, but he is playing MLB ball.

I could see Sabato making similar run in his late 20's getting a few okay seasons from either us or another team that needs to fill holes in roster with cheap guys. Will he be an all-star ever, doubtful, but could he have a hot few months yeah.  Luke Raley is another guy, that at age 28 finally got a long run and put up some good numbers for a month or two.  We have a need at 1b possibly in the future so if we could get something like that out of him I would take it.  

In what world is Sabato related to Rooker? They're not similar.

MiLB Level, OPS
Yr 1 - Rooker, Rk = .952, A+ = .917
Yr 1 - Sabato, A = .722, A+ = 1.015

Yr 2 - Rooker, AA = .798
Yr 2 - Sabato, A+ = .798, AA = .688

Yr 3 - Rooker, AAA = .933
Yr 3 - Sabato, AA = .759

Yr 4 - Rooker, MLB = .960
Yr 4 - Sabato, AA = .815

In 2021 Rooker got some sporadic plate appearances and Falvey decided he liked Larnach more so Rooker was cast off. Rooker's xwOBA was .341 in 2021, which was 40 points higher than his actual wOBA. Rooker's exit velocity, barrel rate, lack of glaring weaknesses against pitch types, etc made him a prime candidate to get regular plate appearances, but it seemed like he didn't get the opportunities after the Twins wrote him off.

Sabato has been mediocre at the plate and slow to advance. Rooker hit well and kept hitting as he moved up quickly. For the record in 2023, Brent Rooker was not a 1 month wonder.
April wRC+ 232
May wRC+ 77
Jun wRC+ 74
Jul wRC+ 144
Aug wRC+ 94
Sep wRC+ 159
After April wRC+ 109. Pretty far cry from "ugh" even if it wasn't super impressive. Also, he's hitting well again this year. I think it's fair to say the guy can hit.
 

[Bodie]

On 6/23/2024 at 2:50 PM, DJL44 said:

Will Holland is showing more promise than Aaron Sabato.

Wil Holland???

My favorite 163 year old prospect?  Sweet!

#FreeWilHolland