General Blue Jays Thread

bluerap23 · Post #121 » by **bluerap23** » Sun Sep 13, 2020 2:59 pm

Schad wrote:
Lateral Quicks wrote:I really don't like skipping a guy past AA and AAA ball, with just half a season at A+ ball to boot. Especially a catcher.

I understand being high on this guy - I am too - and being desperate for production at catcher, but was this really the best move either short term or long term? What are the odds he can contribute with the stick this year? What are the odds he can handle a major league staff?

Those are all perfectly good questions, and in a normal year I'd very much be against it, too. But in a year where there aren't real minor league games, and where the bar to contribute at catcher is quite low (Jansen has been replacement-level, McGuire was atrocious) it isn't a crazy roll of the dice if they believe that he'll reach the majors for good before he exhausts his options.

That, and it's only 15 game. He only has to play 5 of those if he struggles. It's not like that will kill his confidence. He looked pretty good yesterday.

polo007 · Post #122 » by **polo007** » Sun Sep 13, 2020 10:46 pm

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Trilogy · Post #123 » by **Trilogy** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 12:53 am

As great as things have gone this year Vlad's quietly gone cold again is down to a 99 wRC+. He's sporting a negative WAR now too with his crappy defence and baserunning.

I'm officially worried about him. The logical part of my mind says he should come good and has some solid underlying indicators but he's just absolutely beating the **** out of the ball into the ground. Contact rate and swinging strike rates have gone a bit in the wrong direction from last year. He still hits the ball super hard, just into the ground so much.

I'm not nuanced enough from a technical batting perspective to really know what's wrong but his swing seems like it might be flawed with the super low launch angle it produces. I have a feeling the coaches are avoiding tinkering since he was such a super prospect but it's starting to get to the point where you might have to consider it.

Natural11 · Post #124 » by **Natural11** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 2:56 pm

Trilogy wrote:As great as things have gone this year Vlad's quietly gone cold again is down to a 99 wRC+. He's sporting a negative WAR now too with his crappy defence and baserunning.

I'm officially worried about him. The logical part of my mind says he should come good and has some solid underlying indicators but he's just absolutely beating the **** out of the ball into the ground. Contact rate and swinging strike rates have gone a bit in the wrong direction from last year. He still hits the ball super hard, just into the ground so much.

I'm not nuanced enough from a technical batting perspective to really know what's wrong but his swing seems like it might be flawed with the super low launch angle it produces. I have a feeling the coaches are avoiding tinkering since he was such a super prospect but it's starting to get to the point where you might have to consider it.

They should 100% be working with him on his swing. He is one of the top hitting prospects in baseball and his first 600+AB are not reflective of his ability or power. He's still only 21 so there's plenty of time for him to come into his own, but he is now showing visible signs of frustration and the more frustrated he gets, the worse he performs. If/when he figures it out, this will be a dangerous team when the FO are able to spend more money on pitching.

Post #125 » by **Schad** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 10:59 pm

I'm still not that concerned. The components are still there. My suggestions, though, would be twofold:

- Move slightly further from the plate. Vlad cuts himself off a lot on pitches on the inner half, which leads him to roll over on the ball. Trust that his eye is good enough to lay off pitches outside, and his bat control is good enough to do something with pitches on the outer edge.
- Try to hit the ball up the middle. Vlad's power is such that he really, really doesn't need to try to pull everything (see: cutting himself off on pitches on the inner half). Wait back a shade more and step and swing toward center, because that's where he has gotten the best results:

Vlad, career xwOBA:

- Pull side: .342
- Straightaway: .432
- Oppo: .288

Vlad, career launch angle:

- Pull side: -2.5
- Straightaway: 5.0
- Oppo: 21.9

Vlad, career average distance traveled:

- Pull side: 117 feet.
- Straightaway: 170 feet.
- Oppo: 181 feet.

He tends to hit soft flies oppo, and hit pull-side grounders, but he crunches the ball gap-to-gap. Still could use a little more loft, but there's nothing wrong with a 95mph liner, either. So, like, set up to do that.

SharoneWright · Post #126 » by **SharoneWright** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 9:31 pm

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Seems suspicious!? LOL

Metallikid · Post #127 » by **Metallikid** » Thu Sep 17, 2020 12:19 am

SharoneWright wrote:

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Seems suspicious!? LOL

If Teo is back then who cares about Fisher?

SharoneWright · Post #128 » by **SharoneWright** » Thu Sep 17, 2020 12:39 am

Metallikid wrote:
SharoneWright wrote:

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Seems suspicious!? LOL

If Teo is back then who cares about Fisher?

Not sure where you read that I cared about Fisher. Just noticed that he apparently got beaned in batting practice and shelved on the IR the very next day after last night's performance. Maybe the brass thinks they can still trade him for International FA cap space (after ordering the hit job!! :lol:

).

polo007 · Post #129 » by **polo007** » Thu Sep 17, 2020 12:59 am

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Metallikid · Post #130 » by **Metallikid** » Thu Sep 17, 2020 1:20 am

polo007 wrote:

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Next time just keep the young stud who made some bad life choices and went to anger management to change for the better.

Don't let the door hit you on your way out, Ken.

polo007 · Post #131 » by **polo007** » Thu Sep 17, 2020 5:20 am

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SharoneWright · Post #132 » by **SharoneWright** » Thu Sep 17, 2020 5:27 am

Screwed again by injuries. Giles and JD could have netted us real talent.

Post #133 » by **Schad** » Thu Sep 17, 2020 6:32 am

Metallikid wrote:Next time just keep the young stud who made some bad life choices and went to anger management to change for the better.

Don't let the door hit you on your way out, Ken.

Said kid has missed almost all of this season and is expected to miss all of next season, as well.

Metallikid · Post #134 » by **Metallikid** » Thu Sep 17, 2020 6:40 am

Schad wrote:
Metallikid wrote:Next time just keep the young stud who made some bad life choices and went to anger management to change for the better.

Don't let the door hit you on your way out, Ken.

Said kid has missed almost all of this season and is expected to miss all of next season, as well.

I didn't know that so that's fair, but Osuna had also had mental health problems and I think he would perform even better if we had retained him.

bluerap23 · Post #135 » by **bluerap23** » Thu Sep 17, 2020 1:03 pm

SharoneWright wrote:
Metallikid wrote:
SharoneWright wrote:

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Seems suspicious!? LOL

If Teo is back then who cares about Fisher?

Not sure where you read that I cared about Fisher. Just noticed that he apparently got beaned in batting practice and shelved on the IR the very next day after last night's performance. Maybe the brass thinks they can still trade him for International FA cap space (after ordering the hit job!! ).

More likely that Montoyo ordered the hit. Sweep the leg.

vaff87 · Post #136 » by **vaff87** » Thu Sep 17, 2020 7:31 pm

Schad wrote:
Metallikid wrote:Next time just keep the young stud who made some bad life choices and went to anger management to change for the better.

Don't let the door hit you on your way out, Ken.

Said kid has missed almost all of this season and is expected to miss all of next season, as well.

Not to mention Giles has probably been the better pitcher since the trade.

Also, I’m pretty sure brutalizing a domestic partner (specifically woman) should not simply be characterized as a “bad life choice”. That’s a pretty **** serious “bad life choice”. I don’t care if he has mental health issues, so do I. It’s no excuse.

Metallikid · Post #137 » by **Metallikid** » Thu Sep 17, 2020 9:29 pm

vaff87 wrote:
Schad wrote:
Metallikid wrote:Next time just keep the young stud who made some bad life choices and went to anger management to change for the better.

Don't let the door hit you on your way out, Ken.

Said kid has missed almost all of this season and is expected to miss all of next season, as well.

Not to mention Giles has probably been the better pitcher since the trade.

Also, I’m pretty sure brutalizing a domestic partner (specifically woman) should not simply be characterized as a “bad life choice”. That’s a pretty **** serious “bad life choice”. I don’t care if he has mental health issues, so do I. It’s no excuse.

He was charged and he went through the process of rehabilitation. I, for one, believe that once you have paid your debt to society you should no longer be vilified for prior actions. They are bad life choices and he has done his best to make up for them.

Metallikid · Post #138 » by **Metallikid** » Sat Sep 19, 2020 12:43 am

How badly did we screw up not keeping Hendriks?

Post #139 » by **Schad** » Sat Sep 19, 2020 10:27 pm

Metallikid wrote:How badly did we screw up not keeping Hendriks?

He was solid, but thoroughly unspectacular for three years after we traded him. Definitely an upper-echelon reliever at the moment, but relievers are weird and unpredictable and it's hard to really blame management for failing to realize that Hendriks would blow up at age 30 in his 9th season in the majors, heh.

Actually, every team in the majors, including the A's, screwed up on that one: Hendriks was DFAed in 2018. He cleared waivers: no team wanted to pay the prorated portion of his $1.9m salary (would have been less than $1m over half a season). He's been lights-out since.

polo007 · Post #140 » by **polo007** » Sun Sep 20, 2020 5:33 pm

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