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2019 Minor League Thread

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It’s probably time to start paying attention to Yu Chang again.

AAA baseball is a complete joke now with the new ball they’re using and makes it nearly impossible to evaluate a player through most traditional statistical measures but he’s been the hottest hitter in Columbus for the past month. OPS in AAA is gonna be vastly inflated for most guys at that level but Chang's OBP is the highest it’s been since his AZL days. K's are up but he's also drawing walks at a rate like never before.

.357 / .423 / .619 since coming back from injury.

Something to keep an eye on with an obvious potential spot for him on the infield next season.
 
It’s probably time to start paying attention to Yu Chang again.

AAA baseball is a complete joke now with the new ball they’re using and makes it nearly impossible to evaluate a player through most traditional statistical measures but he’s been the hottest hitter in Columbus for the past month. OPS in AAA is gonna be vastly inflated for most guys at that level but Chang's OBP is the highest it’s been since his AZL days. K's are up but he's also drawing walks at a rate like never before.

.357 / .423 / .619 since coming back from injury.

Something to keep an eye on with an obvious potential spot for him on the infield next season.

Isnt walks a great indicator especially in our orginazation?

I remember several on here saying Bradley isn't ready because he strikes out way to much and walks way too little. Because that ended up being true, I am taking that to heart. I don't remember who pointed that out, but it was several on here for sure.
 
Isnt walks a great indicator especially in our orginazation?

I remember several on here saying Bradley isn't ready because he strikes out way to much and walks way too little. Because that ended up being true, I am taking that to heart. I don't remember who pointed that out, but it was several on here for sure.

I really, really feel that our lineup is best when every single player makes the pitcher work. My favorite undercover stat is Pitches per Plate Appearance. I see that the stat is kinda garbage and fluctuates wildly every year, but I can't get off it.

In 2016 when Santana and Napoli saw an absurd amount of pitches per AB, it was a thing of beauty to me.

I don't have much of an issue with Bradley's eye at the plate. It could improve, but I don't think it's atrocious. I just think his K% is unsustainable.
 
Isnt walks a great indicator especially in our orginazation?

I remember several on here saying Bradley isn't ready because he strikes out way to much and walks way too little. Because that ended up being true, I am taking that to heart. I don't remember who pointed that out, but it was several on here for sure.
Yes generally the way I look at it is:
Low walk percentage indicates over-aggressiveness and thus exploitability.
High strikeout percentage indicates lack of contact ability.

AAA is about player development, MLB is about winning, hence scouting reports that are aimed at hitters' weaknesses such as the tendency to chase high fastballs and/or low sliders and breaking stuff. If you have low walk percentage (exploitability) you'll get thrown junk that you can hit which will just compound an already bad problem if you have trouble making contact in general.

Basically MLB pitchers will eat you alive if you can't lay off junk. And you don't even need high K% for that to be a problem, it's harder to make quality contact with junk too.
 
I really, really feel that our lineup is best when every single player makes the pitcher work. My favorite undercover stat is Pitches per Plate Appearance. I see that the stat is kinda garbage and fluctuates wildly every year, but I can't get off it.

In 2016 when Santana and Napoli saw an absurd amount of pitches per AB, it was a thing of beauty to me.

I don't have much of an issue with Bradley's eye at the plate. It could improve, but I don't think it's atrocious. I just think his K% is unsustainable.
Bradley’s biggest problem is his swing and miss rate. His ability to make contact is atrocious.
 
I really, really feel that our lineup is best when every single player makes the pitcher work. My favorite undercover stat is Pitches per Plate Appearance. I see that the stat is kinda garbage and fluctuates wildly every year, but I can't get off it.

In 2016 when Santana and Napoli saw an absurd amount of pitches per AB, it was a thing of beauty to me.

I don't have much of an issue with Bradley's eye at the plate. It could improve, but I don't think it's atrocious. I just think his K% is unsustainable.

I always watch pitch counts for pitchers right from the first inning. Things usually go well when we run up the pitch count on the opposing starter early, and conversely for ours.
 
Bradley’s biggest problem is his swing and miss rate. His ability to make contact is atrocious.
It's a combination though. Bradley has a chase rate which would put him around 27th worst in the majors if he were qualified.

Gallo wasn't always great but I saw his name brought up and he has a 23% chase rate this year compared to Bradley's 37%. Both have similar contact rates.

Yeah his contact rate is bad to the point where he has to essentially be a rare case like Gallo (both he and Gallo would be dead last in majors if they were qualified), but instead he's got a bottom 20 percentile eye.

I don't know what will be easier for him to improve but probably a few steps ahead at both. As it is though, I think he has a somewhat sustainable 40% K rate which is obviously Not Good.
 
Figured I would point out a random fact, but the Indians AAA has 4 guys with 20+ HRs in Bradley, Haase, Thompson, and Barnes. To a minor league pitcher that has to look like a kind of scary lineup at the end of the day. Columbus is one of the minor league teams to actually beat down there!

The Clippers actually look like a team to beat, so you may see them arrange the roster a bit for the playoffs. Hoping guys like Morgan, Clement, Freeman get some AAA at bats to finish the season to be honest.
 
Any chance he is pitching in Cleveland come the stretch run?
My uninformed opinion is we probably don't see anyone new coming up this year, unless we make a move at the deadline that necessitates it.

Hopefully we can see some Karinchak, Johnson and bullpen-Hentges next year.
 

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