DCTribefan
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He’s chasing that elusive $300 million contract.
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2020 Lineup Discussion
- Thread starter Derek
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That probably has something to do with it. He figures he's not going to get that kind of money drawing walks and hitting singles.
Derek
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For what it's worth, the reliable sample size for a hitter's K% is only 60 PA
Mercado is at 41 PA with a near 30% K-Rate... Not quite there yet, but if he can't start making contact in the next week, he may be due for some time off.
Mercado is at 41 PA with a near 30% K-Rate... Not quite there yet, but if he can't start making contact in the next week, he may be due for some time off.
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Lindor is gradually coming out of it. He has five hits and two walks in his last six games. Nothing earth shattering, but he's getting on base and seems to be laying off more of the low breaking balls. He's also taken a couple of outside pitches to left field for base hits which is a good sign.
Only three K's in his last 30 at-bats. He started the season by striking out at least once in the first seven games. In the next seven he's struck out in only two of them. He's more selective and is putting a lot more balls in play. Now he needs to start making more consistent hard contact.
Only three K's in his last 30 at-bats. He started the season by striking out at least once in the first seven games. In the next seven he's struck out in only two of them. He's more selective and is putting a lot more balls in play. Now he needs to start making more consistent hard contact.
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The whole team is starting to be more patient.
Indians hitters walked eight times [last night], and they have drawn six walks or more in four consecutive games for the first time since 1999.
Santana has an incredible 17 walks, Hernandez has 9, and Domingo Santana has 7 in only 31 PA's. DeShields already has four in eight PA's. Zimmer has five walks and the second best OBP on the team at .412, trailing only Hernandez.
Lindor, Mercado, and Reyes are the biggest offenders with 2-3 walks each in 40-60 at-bats. Not coincidentally, they are the three most disappointing hitters so far. Luplow has one walk in 21 PA's so he's right up there as he has yet to get a hit. Between the four of them they have 8 walks in 170 AB's.
This isn't rocket science, that's for sure.
Indians hitters walked eight times [last night], and they have drawn six walks or more in four consecutive games for the first time since 1999.
Santana has an incredible 17 walks, Hernandez has 9, and Domingo Santana has 7 in only 31 PA's. DeShields already has four in eight PA's. Zimmer has five walks and the second best OBP on the team at .412, trailing only Hernandez.
Lindor, Mercado, and Reyes are the biggest offenders with 2-3 walks each in 40-60 at-bats. Not coincidentally, they are the three most disappointing hitters so far. Luplow has one walk in 21 PA's so he's right up there as he has yet to get a hit. Between the four of them they have 8 walks in 170 AB's.
This isn't rocket science, that's for sure.
Martyinnewyork
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Tribe catchers are a combined 3-47 thus far. If they go 9-13 they will be up to the Mendoza line. Many pitchers hit better...
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Jim Bowden in The Athletic has a column on potential trade targets for various teams. Here's his ideas for the Indians.
Cleveland Indians
Need: Corner OF bat
Targets to consider: Mike Yastrzemski, RF, San Francisco Giants; Aristides Aquino, RF, Cincinnati Reds; Corey Dickerson, LF, Miami Marlins.
The Indians, like the Reds, have one of the best starting rotations in baseball, led by Shane Bieber, Mike Clevinger, Carlos Carrasco, Zach Plesac and Adam Civale. Their bullpen is loaded as well, with the likes of Brad Hand and James Karinchak. Their infield offense and defense is special, led by MVP candidates Francisco Lindor and José Ramírez and on-base percentage machines in Carlos Santana and César Hernández. Oscar Mercado profiles as a 20-home run, 20-stolen base center fielder. Franmil Reyes has 30-home run power from the DH spot.
However, what they lack are corner outfielders who can hit and with power. I realize the Indians don’t want to absorb any significant contracts and money they do have to spend — they need to save for their franchise player Lindor in case they can find a way to sign him long term.
Therefore, looking for affordable corner outfielders that would be an upgrade, I found Mike Yastrzemski of the Giants, Aristides Aquino of the Reds and Corey Dickerson of the Marlins.
Yastrzemski is my favorite of the three. The grandson of Hall of Famer Carl, Yastrzemski burst on the scene last year when he slashed .272/.334/.518 with 22 doubles, 21 home runs and 55 runs batted in, playing in 107 games and getting just 411 plate appearances. He’s off to a fast start this year leading the NL in runs and walks with 3 home runs and 7 runs batted in. Yastrzemski is 29 years old and although the Giants don’t want to trade him, based on his age I’m sure there is a prospect package that would at least tempt them.
Aquino seems to have lost his job to Nick Castellanos in right field and between Nick Senzel, Shogo Akimaya and Jesse Winker he seems to have dropped right off the depth chart, finding himself spending more time at the alternate site than at Great American Ball Park. Aquino, 26, hit 19 home runs last year with 47 runs batted in with the Reds in just 56 games and would at the very least be an upgrade from what the Indians are throwing out there right now.
My final suggestion would be Corey Dickerson. The Marlins signed him as a free agent this past offseason, inking him to two-year, $17.5 million deal. However, with the pandemic and dramatic financial losses, they probably wouldn’t mind alleviating him from the accounting books at this point, especially with so many outfield prospects on the way up. Dickerson, 31, had hit 20 or more home runs three different times in his career and hit over. 300 both in 2018 and 2019.
We have Naquin about ready to return and we wouldn't have to give up anything to get him. I'm not sure what we would have to give up to get a Yaz, Aquino, or Dickerson and whether any of them would be a big upgrade over Naquin, Domingo Santana, Luplow (versus lefties), or Zimmer (if Mercado or DeShields plays center).
Aquino is interesting because he's 26 years old so his best years are coming up. Last year in his first big league action he hit .259/.891 with 19 home runs in only 205 AB's. He did not have a platoon split, either. At 6'4", 220 he would replace Domingo Santana as a right-handed power bat. What concerns me is that his OPS at home was 1.010 versus .788 away, suggesting that maybe GABP artificially inflated his numbers a bit.
But I'm always on the lookout for emerging talent that is blocked, and Nick Castellanos is a pretty big block, so if the Reds can't use this guy maybe we could. Aquino hit .356 last year with RISP and .400 with RISP/2 out. I like players who are at their best in the most important at-bats.
The Reds are 6-8 and don't appear to be serious WS contenders this year. Hey, we traded Trevor Bauer to them last year. Maybe we can swing something for an emerging power hitter they don't have a job for.
Cleveland Indians
Need: Corner OF bat
Targets to consider: Mike Yastrzemski, RF, San Francisco Giants; Aristides Aquino, RF, Cincinnati Reds; Corey Dickerson, LF, Miami Marlins.
The Indians, like the Reds, have one of the best starting rotations in baseball, led by Shane Bieber, Mike Clevinger, Carlos Carrasco, Zach Plesac and Adam Civale. Their bullpen is loaded as well, with the likes of Brad Hand and James Karinchak. Their infield offense and defense is special, led by MVP candidates Francisco Lindor and José Ramírez and on-base percentage machines in Carlos Santana and César Hernández. Oscar Mercado profiles as a 20-home run, 20-stolen base center fielder. Franmil Reyes has 30-home run power from the DH spot.
However, what they lack are corner outfielders who can hit and with power. I realize the Indians don’t want to absorb any significant contracts and money they do have to spend — they need to save for their franchise player Lindor in case they can find a way to sign him long term.
Therefore, looking for affordable corner outfielders that would be an upgrade, I found Mike Yastrzemski of the Giants, Aristides Aquino of the Reds and Corey Dickerson of the Marlins.
Yastrzemski is my favorite of the three. The grandson of Hall of Famer Carl, Yastrzemski burst on the scene last year when he slashed .272/.334/.518 with 22 doubles, 21 home runs and 55 runs batted in, playing in 107 games and getting just 411 plate appearances. He’s off to a fast start this year leading the NL in runs and walks with 3 home runs and 7 runs batted in. Yastrzemski is 29 years old and although the Giants don’t want to trade him, based on his age I’m sure there is a prospect package that would at least tempt them.
Aquino seems to have lost his job to Nick Castellanos in right field and between Nick Senzel, Shogo Akimaya and Jesse Winker he seems to have dropped right off the depth chart, finding himself spending more time at the alternate site than at Great American Ball Park. Aquino, 26, hit 19 home runs last year with 47 runs batted in with the Reds in just 56 games and would at the very least be an upgrade from what the Indians are throwing out there right now.
My final suggestion would be Corey Dickerson. The Marlins signed him as a free agent this past offseason, inking him to two-year, $17.5 million deal. However, with the pandemic and dramatic financial losses, they probably wouldn’t mind alleviating him from the accounting books at this point, especially with so many outfield prospects on the way up. Dickerson, 31, had hit 20 or more home runs three different times in his career and hit over. 300 both in 2018 and 2019.
We have Naquin about ready to return and we wouldn't have to give up anything to get him. I'm not sure what we would have to give up to get a Yaz, Aquino, or Dickerson and whether any of them would be a big upgrade over Naquin, Domingo Santana, Luplow (versus lefties), or Zimmer (if Mercado or DeShields plays center).
Aquino is interesting because he's 26 years old so his best years are coming up. Last year in his first big league action he hit .259/.891 with 19 home runs in only 205 AB's. He did not have a platoon split, either. At 6'4", 220 he would replace Domingo Santana as a right-handed power bat. What concerns me is that his OPS at home was 1.010 versus .788 away, suggesting that maybe GABP artificially inflated his numbers a bit.
But I'm always on the lookout for emerging talent that is blocked, and Nick Castellanos is a pretty big block, so if the Reds can't use this guy maybe we could. Aquino hit .356 last year with RISP and .400 with RISP/2 out. I like players who are at their best in the most important at-bats.
The Reds are 6-8 and don't appear to be serious WS contenders this year. Hey, we traded Trevor Bauer to them last year. Maybe we can swing something for an emerging power hitter they don't have a job for.
Derek
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You really shouldn't pay attention to RISP numbers in a single-season.
Aquino's numbers were accumulated in just 64 PA. That's not nearly enough to predict any sort of future success. You'd need 6-7 full seasons of data to make that an accurate predictor.
That aside, I do like Aquino, but I'm curious why the Reds haven't had more of a desire to get him in the lineup.
Aquino's numbers were accumulated in just 64 PA. That's not nearly enough to predict any sort of future success. You'd need 6-7 full seasons of data to make that an accurate predictor.
That aside, I do like Aquino, but I'm curious why the Reds haven't had more of a desire to get him in the lineup.
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Reds brought up Aquino in August last season - he pretty much hit a home run in every at bat in August
In September he pretty much struck out in every at bat
Castellanos has an opt out at the end of the first two years of his contract - covid might assure he opts back in for next season, but who knows
In September he pretty much struck out in every at bat
Castellanos has an opt out at the end of the first two years of his contract - covid might assure he opts back in for next season, but who knows
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Yeah, he really fell off although he did hit 5 homers in 102 at-bats in Sep. If the Indians are interested in Aquino it would be as a future play, not for this season.
Actually, his strikeouts were only a little higher in Sep (32 versus 26) in the same number of at-bats. It's interesting that he stole 7 bases without getting caught in two months. He's the same size as Zimmer (6'4", 220) and apparently runs pretty well. In AAA at Louisville last year he hit .299/.992. Luis Robert of the White Sox played in the same league and put up almost identical numbers, but Robert is four years younger.
The Indians have a lot of corner outfield candidates although Zimmer is the only one who is playing any kind of decent baseball at the moment. Supposedly they are high on Daniel Johnson. Naquin is still on the team along with Luplow and Domingo Santana. They were talking about playing Reyes in right field until the pandemic shut it down. So I would really be surprised if they went after Aquino, but since Bowden brought it up I thought it was worth a quick look.
DCTribefan
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I think the Tribe’s biggest weakness is catcher with Perez on the shelf indefinitely.
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Beau Taylor got the Golden Sombrero today so Tribe catchers are now 3-for-51 on the season. I'm starting to wonder if they might go 0-for-August.
Beau is a 30-year-old minor league lifer with 42 major league at-bats. I'm glad to see him getting some time in the bigs after nine years in the minors, but I hope Berto gets back soon. Leon is 2-for-25.
CDAV45
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I just can't wrap my head around wanting/acquiring DeShields. It's not like the OF wasn't already crowded so if you're gonna add to it you would think it would be someone like Aquino that has big upside. Domingo has had a couple of good yrs surrounded by less spectacular ones, but his upside makes him a good sign IMO. His 7 yr career slash is 258/344/458/794 which isn't too shabby. Naquin can hit when he plays, but........... Luplow has mashed LHP even more so than Guyer did for us. That's how good he has been, but does he deserve a full time gig? Zimmer's talent demands every opportunity be given to him, but he's been bit by the injury bug much like Naquin. Will Mercado hit enough? Daniel Johnson oozes talent and has performed very well in the minors. He can also play good to very good defense in all 3 OF spots with a howitzer for an arm, but he's unproven at the major league level. Poor Greg Allen could probably be a descent 4th OF'er, but he'll never get enough playing time here to reach his potential. I feel no shame in saying that I have no frickin' clue what to make of this OF puzzle. I will say that if I were filling the line up card that Domingo, Zimmer, Naquin, and Mercado would get regular AB's. If Mercado continues to struggle then Johnson would be given an opportunity, but that's just me and I certainly don't have an over abundance of confidence in saying that.
Our catchers absolutely suck at hitting major league pitching. What makes is worse is that they were never even decent at it. Perez can't get back fast enough.
Our catchers absolutely suck at hitting major league pitching. What makes is worse is that they were never even decent at it. Perez can't get back fast enough.
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It will be very interesting to see how the outfield settles out. Normally Tito would take a couple of months to give everyone extended looks and then decide, but that's not possible this year. It looks like Johnson and Allen were the first cuts and are out of the picture. Reyes apparently will strictly DH this year.
So that leaves Naquin, Luplow, Mercado, Zimmer, DeShields, and Domingo Santana as the survivors. I don't think DeShields can keep up this OBP and what the heck is going on with Mercado? I suppose I would platoon Naquin and Luplow in left, put Zimmer in center, and Domingo in right. If we get a lead last DeLino comes in for Santana.
So that leaves Naquin, Luplow, Mercado, Zimmer, DeShields, and Domingo Santana as the survivors. I don't think DeShields can keep up this OBP and what the heck is going on with Mercado? I suppose I would platoon Naquin and Luplow in left, put Zimmer in center, and Domingo in right. If we get a lead last DeLino comes in for Santana.