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jkcarew

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Everything posted by jkcarew

  1. jkcarew
    I agree with this, but Rocco has been very hesitant when he only has two catchers on the 25-man. At no point in 2023 did they have 3 catchers active…and Jeffers got 6 starts at DH all season, despite being desperate for right-handed bats against lefties. I’m sure it’s all about avoiding the risk of losing the DH if Vasquez was to get dinged up during the game. Maybe, Rocco will be talked off that ledge more frequently this year.
  2. jkcarew
    I hope so. He’s been getting hit hard pretty much every outing so far. Today was batting practice. Probably just working on things, etc. I haven’t heard anything about velocity being down or anything?
  3. jkcarew
    Has Paddack won the number 4 spot?
  4. jkcarew
    It’d be great! But I’m still busy hoping Brock Stewart can be this year’s Brock Stewart.
  5. jkcarew
    Grant Balfour and Homer Bailey pale in comparison.
  6. jkcarew
    Looks like Scott Blewett.
  7. jkcarew
    Lotta smart GM’s, apparently.
  8. jkcarew
    Well, no…and yes. He’s always been an extreme high BA guy with elite bat control throughout the minors. Not expected to have THIS level of success with it at the MLB level, no…but it’s always been his DNA. Miranda’s never been that guy, good but nowhere near Arraez’s bat-to-ball skill…has to have some SLG to his game.
  9. jkcarew
    I do anticipate that Kirilloff will start at 1B fairly often against right-handed pitching. I’d rather have Buxton resting than DH’ing in that scenario (if he isn’t in CF)…just put Castro or Farmer in and move Wallner or Julien to DH and be done with it.
  10. jkcarew
    He’s not going to turn into Luis Arraez. And will need XBH/HR’s to provide value...especially as a 1B/DH. Nice that he’s been putting the ball in play…but that’s not really been his issue. Not encouraging…at this early stage, I’d just call this ‘interesting information’.
  11. jkcarew
    De Andrade one of the less obvious reasons the club would be willing to trade Miller. Ahead of Miller with the bat (so far)…and the club might be thinking he’s likely to stick at shortstop.
  12. jkcarew
    Who saw Graterol becoming an extreme ground-ball pitcher with a low (easily below league average) K-rate…who relies on an extraordinary low BABiP-against?? I never saw him as a starter...but I didn’t see this coming, either.
  13. jkcarew
    In a different thread, I said it wouldn’t be the end of the world if Kirilloff ended up being Randy Bush instead of Kent Hrbek. Slightly disappointing, maybe. But that seems to be where this is heading. Seems they’ve already determined him to be a platoon hitter, and a defensive position to call his own may be slipping away, as well.
  14. jkcarew
    I’m ok with this definition…seems reasonable… Of course, we’d need to then acknowledge that Buxton has NEVER had a successful season. Never had an OPS+ of 120 with 100 games. Played over 100 games only once (with an OPS+ of 93.) Career OPS+ of 106 and the 3-year trend has been 171, 133, 98. Also, never been anything close to healthy and/or good by the time the postseason rolled around. With a grand total of 7 more-or-less miserable plate appearances across 5 postseason series. I’d say if all this happens this year, it would be a huge, and surprising, boost to the club.
  15. jkcarew
    It’s just practice. Guys working on things with no intent on specific results regarding wins and losses. Having said that, it’s quite apparent ERod (to name one) is nowhere near ready. (In case anyone thought he might be.)
  16. jkcarew
    These games are practice. Guys working on things, etc…not a coordinated effort to achieve results in term of wins/losses. Having said that, it’s apparent ERod (for one) is nowhere near ready. (In case anyone was thinking that he might be).
  17. jkcarew
    The ridiculous power means he will get more attention and game-planning from opposing pitchers. Still, his K% is not starting from a super horrible level…31+%l. Gallo’s (for reference) was in the high 30’s at the same age, despite more mlb experience. I am optimistic on the bat. A one-step-back, then two-steps-forward type of progression wouldn’t surprise.
  18. jkcarew
    The door is wide open for AK and Alcala. Miranda will need to wait for injuries or big failures…seems to be swinging it nice in ST, though.
  19. jkcarew
    I don’t think it just HS pitchers…but HS players in general. It’s simply harder to project from the younger age and over a greater number of years. It’s harder to successfully predict the weather 5 days from now vs 2 days from now. More time for things to change and/or deviate from forecasted results. But when a HS pitcher is drafted in the 1st/2nd rounds, it’s because the upside is SO high, that it warrants the higher fail rate. It seems like Soto fits that definition. So for now, I’ll dream about him becoming one of the ones that came out ‘ok’ despite the odds being stacked against them: guys like Clayton Kershaw, Madison Bumgarner, Blake Snell, Zach Greinke, Roy Halladay, CC Sabathia…
  20. jkcarew
    High ceiling, due to the immense power. Relatively low floor, as he doesn’t seem to offer much value other than the power. Some, but not much. Absolutely too early to tell. Still in the acclimation period where pitchers will make adjustments against him...and he against them, etc. The power is no joke. Probably comes down to ability to manage the K rate. We’ll see.
  21. jkcarew
    So put him on the 40-man and break camp with him so he can take a bench role from Farmer??
  22. jkcarew
    Hitting has always been about finding the sweet spot between the ‘aggressive’ approach where swinging early in the count can reduce likelihood of K, but also can lead to frequently putting ‘pitchers pitches’ into play (soft contact) resulting in muted BABiP/SLG…vs ‘patient’ approach, offer only at pitches you (think) you can drive hard for extra bases…taking the tough pitches, and increasing likelihood of getting into 2-strike counts and subsequently K’ing. We all know where that pendulum currently stands. A ton of players in the league that wouldn’t have a clue about how to execute the ‘aggressive’ approach because they’ve only hit with the one tool in the box right from little league. Maybe more data drives the pendulum more into balance. Maybe more data will drive it further out of balance.
  23. jkcarew
    The modern hitter (and Gallo fits the category) get their 2-strikes mostly by TAKING strikes, not expanding the zone. (Especially relative to earlier generations of players.) Hence the preponderance of ‘three true outcome’ guys. The mantra is to offer only at pitches you can drive out of the park. Can’t do that with a fastball tailing hard into the inside corner or a slider at the knees on the outside black, etc, etc. The conundrum is, that in many, many at-bats this results in HAVING to expand the zone with 2 strikes. That’s where we’re at. The Twins will still have their share of these guys…Julien probably the ‘best’ example.
  24. jkcarew
    Right? About a dozen. I’d say an even 20…plus or minus another half-dozen…in the next TWO years, before the club would pick up the team option in 2026. But, true to their nature, the Twins will have him cleaning dishes in the cafeteria before they’ll release him and the $5.25M he’s owed between now and then.
  25. jkcarew
    Devers as 3B depth at $30M? No doubt Red Sox nation is clamoring to replace Devers with someone like Austin Martin…still, this doesn’t seem like a Twins-type move. Besides, with our luck, if we did this…it would for sure end up being the year Lewis finally DOESN’T get hurt. And Devers doesn’t have options. So, we’d just look silly.
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