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The OF Conundrum

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Agreed. But history tends to show us, poor defensive/offensively minded infielders who can hit tend to end up in the OF or at 1B, not the utility spot. Basically if he has a real/long term home here it will be somewhere in the OF... Otherwise someone else can try to plug him into SS or ?? at their discretion
I may be in the minority here, but I think Amed could be a damn good 2B, and I haven't given up on him as a SS. I don't want to come across like I don't like him because I do. I just don't think he's likely to play CF defense as good as Johnson can. He certainly doesn't have Johnson's arm or Johnson's power. Both of those tools are extremely attractive to me in CF if the defense is passable.......and it is.

Amed's bat doesn't profile in a corner spot. He's a middle of the field bat. SS and 2B are locked up for the foreseeable future and CF has a few guys who are all average or better defensively with glimpses of offensive potential(Zimmer and Mercado) and a prospect that is unproven and dynamic. Amed will be on this roster if he's not traded, but I have no idea where or how they'll use him.
 
I may be in the minority here, but I think Amed could be a damn good 2B, and I haven't given up on him as a SS. I don't want to come across like I don't like him because I do. I just don't think he's likely to play CF defense as good as Johnson can. He certainly doesn't have Johnson's arm or Johnson's power. Both of those tools are extremely attractive to me in CF if the defense is passable.......and it is.

Amed's bat doesn't profile in a corner spot. He's a middle of the field bat. SS and 2B are locked up for the foreseeable future and CF has a few guys who are all average or better defensively with glimpses of offensive potential(Zimmer and Mercado) and a prospect that is unproven and dynamic. Amed will be on this roster if he's not traded, but I have no idea where or how they'll use him.
I don't think Amed is getting consideration at 2B due to the depth at the position & other SS options that could be moved..

I believe Hernandez has 2B locked down for at least the 1st half of 2021. After that his performance (along with performance & readiness of Yu Chang/ Tyler Freeman/ Gabriel Arias/ even Owen Miller & Aaron Bracho) lessens the need/ opportunity of Amed Rosario at 2B moving forward.
 
Again with Rosario, which I mentioned in the main ST thread.

The Mets told him to stay out of the OF this winter and focus on the other IF positions, as well as SS. He did most of his offseason work at 2B prior to the trade. They were kicking off his transition to other positions, but once he was coming to Cleveland with no known SS option showing itself just yet he went back to working at SS full time.

And for what its worth, he looks like a natural fielding in the OF...
 
I'm thinking Chang is the UIF now that they're having him play some first base. Once he gets comfortable there he can play all four infield positions. And he's hitting the crap out of the ball. Another benefit would be that Naylor can focus 100% on the outfield.

There's a reason they traded Mike Freeman, gave Chang a first baseman's mitt, and have moved Rosario to CF.

Could they platoon Rosario and Johnson in center, play Naylor in right, send Mercado to the minors, and release Zimmer, Gamel, and Jake Bauers? The Cleveland outfield would be the Rosario brothers, Johnson, Naylor and Harold Ramirez. Mercado, Nolan Jones and somebody else would play OF in Columbus.
 
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I believe Daniel Johnson and Oscar Mercado start 2021 in AAA. with Zimmer as part of the CF tandem.

Amed Rosario will be your opening day CFer, if we do not manipulate Gimenez's service time.

If Zimmer doesn't make the team, Mercado does.
 
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I’m thinking they may envision Amed as a Marwin Gonzalez type—plug him in wherever you’ve got a hole.

Disagree with the Johnson comparisons albeit I’d pick Daniel in a foot race.

I think the wide hit tool evaluation (40-60) had much to do with Amed’s plate discipline (or lack there of). He’s not wandering outside the zone as much as when he first came up but the tighter his zone becomes the closer he’ll get toward the higher evaluation.

I still think they should chase Amed’s potential and carry someone they know can play CF. Johnson’s fate I believe has much to do with what happens at 1B this year, e.g. Naylor moving there and Johnson grabbing the opportunity to claim RF.
 
This should not count as a “bold prediction” in the @sportscoach contest thread...:chuckle:
I took a screen shot of my current predictions.. I wonder how they're gonna look in the final 24 hours before ST closes..
 
I took a screen shot of my current predictions.. I wonder how they're gonna look in the final 24 hours before ST closes..
...lots of moving parts still at work. It will be interesting to see where it settles in April, and if anything significantly changes by the end of May.
 
Although it's never prudent to put too much stock into spring training stats, Logan Allen has looked tremendous so far while Cal Quantrill has struggled with his command overall and hasn't appeared nearly as sharp as Allen. Perhaps Allen is now the leader to nab the final spot in the rotation with Quantrill starting the season in the pen.
 
A few thoughts....

One poster insists that moving from SS to CF is really difficult, and seldom works. He can keep saying it, but that doesn't make it true. Just the opposite. It has been done successfully by lots of players throughout baseball history.

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Anybody who has seen both Johnson and Rosario.....well all I know is that in every rating service I can find, Rosario was an elite prospect, among the very best in all baseball. I can't find one that lists Johnson as any more than a fringe prospect.

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If you dont like Rosario, you must really despise Hernandez. In spite of being two years younger at the time, Rosario was far better thru his first three seasons. Obviously, that Hernandez kid was never gonna amount to anything.

I won't even talk about Michael Brantley, but I will tell you this....

I was involved in the exact same conversations about Brantley as we are having about Rosario now. Fans were positive...POSITIVE...that Brantley was never gonna be a MLB hitter.

Now, you can't find one who will admit it...lol.
 
Although it's never prudent to put too much stock into spring training stats, Logan Allen has looked tremendous so far while Cal Quantrill has struggled with his command overall and hasn't appeared nearly as sharp as Allen. Perhaps Allen is now the leader to nab the final spot in the rotation with Quantrill starting the season in the pen.

I hope Qunatrill is working on "stuff". That said, I suspect he won't last in the rotation all season. I am clearly his biggest detractor on these boards.

In regards to Brantley. He was overmatched in his initial trials with the tribe. Between trying to make him a center-fielding lead off hitter and anyone with a good/plus fastball beating him down at the plate, it took sometime for him to "get it" and once he did, he made do.. His learning curve was bendy at first, but he was able to evolve/adapt/whatever. Folks like Johnson, A.Rosario and Mercado should take note.
 
A few thoughts....

One poster insists that moving from SS to CF is really difficult, and seldom works. He can keep saying it, but that doesn't make it true. Just the opposite. It has been done successfully by lots of players throughout baseball history.

**********

Anybody who has seen both Johnson and Rosario.....well all I know is that in every rating service I can find, Rosario was an elite prospect, among the very best in all baseball. I can't find one that lists Johnson as any more than a fringe prospect.

***********

If you dont like Rosario, you must really despise Hernandez. In spite of being two years younger at the time, Rosario was far better thru his first three seasons. Obviously, that Hernandez kid was never gonna amount to anything.

I won't even talk about Michael Brantley, but I will tell you this....

I was involved in the exact same conversations about Brantley as we are having about Rosario now. Fans were positive...POSITIVE...that Brantley was never gonna be a MLB hitter.

Now, you can't find one who will admit it...lol.
I believe you're referring to me and again you're full of shit. I didn't say it seldom works. I said it seldom happens quickly and that stands true.

Keep following prospect rankings and basing every opinion you have off of them if you want.

Brantley's position was never in question. It was a totally different scenario, but hey, keep blowing wind into your sail as long as you want.
 
If you say so.....

We shall see when it comes to all our disagreements.
 
I hope Qunatrill is working on "stuff". That said, I suspect he won't last in the rotation all season. I am clearly his biggest detractor on these boards.

In regards to Brantley. He was overmatched in his initial trials with the tribe. Between trying to make him a center-fielding lead off hitter and anyone with a good/plus fastball beating him down at the plate, it took sometime for him to "get it" and once he did, he made do.. His learning curve was bendy at first, but he was able to evolve/adapt/whatever. Folks like Johnson, A.Rosario and Mercado should take note.
I waited a couple of days to consider this posting.. you're right about the quantrill progression not being there... questions remain.. Do you think the team might be better served with him as a multiple inning RP while figuring it out.. Good for the team?.. SP slot then goes to Allen?.. needing four SP's for the first three weeks.. helps this..

When Brantley developed his ability to get his long swing to hit elite speed.. along with his eye / pitch recognition.. he became exceptional at that point.. but you're right.. he didn't start that way..but learned.. Along with you... I'd love to see DJ/A-Ros/Merc.. develop along those lines.. they all have the physical skills to get there..
 

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