How good do we think Thames will be

baulderdash77 · Post #1 » by **baulderdash77** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 3:17 am

I've been watching Thames closely since last year and this spring I was following him very closely.

There's no doubt to me that he should have made the team right from the beginning of the season. If he had done that I think he would be in contention for ROY right now.

But the question is how good do we think he can be? Right now he's up to .309/356/.529 and he seems to be getting better.

Is the outlook for Thames a 30 HR guy who hits for average & power? That seems to be his upside at this point.

luenell · Post #2 » by **luenell** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 3:35 am

Not going to predict a guy to become a 30 home run a year player after 18 games. Need to see a lot more before that should happen

mikero · Post #3 » by **mikero** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 3:42 am

I have a feeling he is going to be one of my favourite Jays.

Thames could definitely become a 25-30 HR guy. He has that kind of power and bat speed. Batting average is a bit tougher to judge as he's been pretty lucky in terms of BABIP.

BigLeagueChew · Post #4 » by **BigLeagueChew** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 5:25 am

4-tool player with questions on defence. Everything else looks like above average potential at the very least.

lilneige · Post #5 » by **lilneige** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 10:55 am

I like him too, but don't overrated him just yet...
especially his current number is inflated by the sky-high babip.

Right now, according to the fangraph, both of his zone swing% and out of zone swing% are significantly higher than the league average. However, his contract rate is 10% below the league average. This also reflects on his 33.8% K/9. If he had enough AB to be qualified on the leader board, his K/9 will rank 2nd highest behind Adam Dunn.

Nevertheless, I am expecting him be a 20 to 25hr and OPS around 830 type of hitter as a platoon LF hitting RHP.

Lateral Quicks · Post #6 » by **Lateral Quicks** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 1:53 pm

I think he provide enough pop and enough defense to own an outfield spot for the foreseeable future. I'd be very happy with 20 HR and an .800 OPS from him. Also, he needs to cut down on the strikeouts. He seems like a really likeable guy who's battled through some rough times, so it's easy to root for him. Plus he does yoga... and us guys who do yoga have to stick together :lol:

Avenger · Post #7 » by **Avenger** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 3:56 pm

An 830-840 ops platoon left fielder or 780-790 ops fulltime left fielder is definately possible, the latter might be more valuable as we don't have to waste a roster spot or salary on his platoon partner. I would give him a ton of at bats against lefties before we start declaring him a platoon player. I'm not a big fan of platoons unless you have two players that fit perfectly and those combinations are pretty rare.

Snider also better start mashing as soon as he comes up, he's gonna be given many more chances to fail if Thames continues to hit.

fredericklove · Post #8 » by **fredericklove** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 4:25 pm

he needs to steal some bases...so far zero! not liking it!

baulderdash77 · Post #9 » by **baulderdash77** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 6:31 pm

An 800 ops batter is very good. If you check our lineup we only have 2 guys above ,800. Last year we had 3 I think.

Post #10 » by **Schad** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 6:36 pm

Avenger wrote:An 830-840 ops platoon left fielder or 780-790 ops fulltime left fielder is definately possible, the latter might be more valuable as we don't have to waste a roster spot or salary on his platoon partner. I would give him a ton of at bats against lefties before we start declaring him a platoon player. I'm not a big fan of platoons unless you have two players that fit perfectly and those combinations are pretty rare.

I disagree; a corner outfield platoon is pretty viable (especially if the right-handed portion of it can play a little center field as the fourth outfielder), and a tandem that hits for an OPS in the .850 range is a heck of a lot better than a single hitter who hits .750.

baulderdash77 · Post #11 » by **baulderdash77** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 6:44 pm

If you're going to have 4 outfielders anyways, it makes sense to use the bench especially if the LH/RH splits are huge.

Right now we wouldn't dream of platooning him because our 4th outfielder is so bad. But in a normal situation it's not a bad idea.

kwamebargnani · Post #12 » by **kwamebargnani** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 7:13 pm

Black Lind

baulderdash77 · Post #13 » by **baulderdash77** » Sun Jul 3, 2011 7:27 pm

Thames' line is getting into the sick area now. He's up to .329/.370/.566 with today's game.

He's showing that he can hit lefties so maybe he can be better than a platoon hitter after all

Too bad they sent him down after his first stint or he could be a ROY candidate maybe, or at least in the conversation.

-MetA4- · Post #14 » by **-MetA4-** » Sun Jul 3, 2011 7:31 pm

Still way way too early. Arencibia was posting an All-Star caliber line early and now he's dipping into the low .700's in OPS and showing the obvious holes in his game.

baulderdash77 · Post #15 » by **baulderdash77** » Sun Jul 3, 2011 7:37 pm

Thames sees better pitches because he's hitting in front of Jose. They have to pitch to him because they don't want to walk him. He looks better than he would be if he was in the back of the order.

That 1-4 in the order sure looks good when Escobar is healthy.

Post #16 » by **Mr Swagtastic** » Thu Jul 7, 2011 11:01 pm

I am probly going to get hate for this but I could see him as a player just a step under Alex Rios. A solid hitter one day but not the 30+ HR guy people are making him out to be....at least not yet.

I think hitting in front of Jose has a lot to do with it I mean he's getting a lot more fastballs to hit. I think he's going to be a really good 4-5 tool player in 1-2 years depending on what he does this up coming offseason. I just wish he would be more agressive on the base paths.

Post #17 » by **Schad** » Thu Jul 7, 2011 11:31 pm

Mr Swagtastic wrote:I am probly going to get hate for this but I could see him as a player just a step under Alex Rios. A solid hitter one day but not the 30+ HR guy people are making him out to be....at least not yet.

I think hitting in front of Jose has a lot to do with it I mean he's getting a lot more fastballs to hit. I think he's going to be a really good 4-5 tool player in 1-2 years depending on what he does this up coming offseason. I just wish he would be more agressive on the base paths.

Thames is going to be, at best, a two-tool player: power and hitting. He's never going to have great range, or a good arm, and he definitely doesn't have much speed on the basepaths. But if his hitting and power are good enough, it won't much matter.

Relentless88 · Post #18 » by **Relentless88** » Thu Jul 7, 2011 11:40 pm

Thames isn't a 5 tool player. He's pretty limited and as Schad said he's got power. Hopefully he can be a long term regular, but how realistic is that? Is he more of a 4th OF type?

Weems · Post #19 » by **Weems** » Fri Jul 8, 2011 1:50 am

Hits the ball hard, but has struggled to make consistent contact and doesn't walk much. Maybe low-ish average and OBP, 20+ HR rate power.

But he's fairly inexperienced. Not young, but progressed quickly. So dunno.

LBJSeizedMyID · Post #20 » by **LBJSeizedMyID** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 12:53 pm

Wait until there's a book out on him before we call him Alex Rios. Thames has quick hands will help mask that batting average, but has questionable plate discipline. Love the fact that Farrell put him at the 2-hole to help hide this weakness, so Thames will get a lot of fastballs to hit.

However, I really do like the potential, just have my doubts he'll be a full time outfielder and think he could end up in a Seth Smith type situation. Also think he has more speed than you guys think, just being in front of Jose Bautista, he won't see a lot of opportunities.