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2023 Guardians Spring Training Thread

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Out of 22 qualified shortstops in MLB last season, Amed was ranked....

FIRST in UZR.
10th in DRS.
10th in FP.

In spite of the insistence otherwise, that's decent.

Amed suffers the same way Peralta did. Just because they weren't/aren't the beloved defensive wizards that they followed doesn't mean they weren't/aren't solid defensive players themselves.

Amed is being kept for 23 because he is well liked by the team and he took a big step forward in 22 in a lot of areas...

He won't be here in 24...
 
Amed is being kept for 23 because he is well liked by the team and he took a big step forward in 22 in a lot of areas...

He won't be here in 24...
I think you are right.

But this is 2023, and, barring a total team collapse, he will be the SS this year.
 
I think you are right.

But this is 2023, and, barring a total team collapse, he will be the SS this year.

Pretty much... Though some will not agree with us even if he's out there...
 
Pretty much... Though some will not agree with us even if he's out there...
Thats OK.

There were a few who insisted that the team couldn't contend with Amed at short...or with Straw in center...or with Hedges behind the plate...or with Plesac in the rotation.

But they won 92 games in the regular season, swept Tampa, and came within a game of getting to the ALCS.
 
Thats OK.

There were a few who insisted that the team couldn't contend with Amed at short...or with Straw in center...or with Hedges behind the plate...or with Plesac in the rotation.

But they won 92 games in the regular season, swept Tampa, and came within a game of getting to the ALCS.

Plus we added Bell, who on paper, adds the element we badly missed in the playoffs...
 
Out of 22 qualified shortstops in MLB last season, Amed was ranked....

FIRST in UZR.
10th in DRS.

10th in FP.

In spite of the insistence otherwise, that's decent.

Amed suffers the same way Peralta did. Just because they weren't/aren't the beloved defensive wizards that they followed doesn't mean they weren't/aren't solid defensive players themselves.

You guys really have to gain a better understanding of how these 2 stats are calculated, especially in the shift era.

Here's an example, in practice, for how those 2 stats are significantly flawed.

Shortstop A is playing straight up in a traditional spot with a runner on 2nd. A ball is hit to a spot between SS and 3B at a velocity that has a 10% chance of being caught and is worth .9 runs. Shortstop A covers 15 feet to stop the ball from going into the outfield and the runner from scoring. +.81 to his UZR, +1 to his DRS.

Shortstop B was told by his coach to shade towards 3B with a runner on 2nd. A ball is hit to a spot between SS and 3B at a velocity that has a 10% chance of being caught and is worth .9 runs. Shortstop B covers 3 feet to stop the ball from going into the outfield and the runner from scoring. +.81 to his UZR, +1 to his DRS.

Who made the better play?
 
You guys really have to gain a better understanding of how these 2 stats are calculated, especially in the shift era.

Here's an example, in practice, for how those 2 stats are significantly flawed.

Shortstop A is playing straight up in a traditional spot with a runner on 2nd. A ball is hit to a spot between SS and 3B at a velocity that has a 10% chance of being caught and is worth .9 runs. Shortstop A covers 15 feet to stop the ball from going into the outfield and the runner from scoring. +.81 to his UZR, +1 to his DRS.

Shortstop B was told by his coach to shade towards 3B with a runner on 2nd. A ball is hit to a spot between SS and 3B at a velocity that has a 10% chance of being caught and is worth .9 runs. Shortstop B covers 3 feet to stop the ball from going into the outfield and the runner from scoring. +.81 to his UZR, +1 to his DRS.

Who made the better play?

Very interesting.

Is there anywhere I can read about these stats? See them a lot in here and outside of WAR and OPS my advanced stat knowledge is pretty much non-existent.
 
You guys really have to gain a better understanding of how these 2 stats are calculated, especially in the shift era.

Here's an example, in practice, for how those 2 stats are significantly flawed.

Shortstop A is playing straight up in a traditional spot with a runner on 2nd. A ball is hit to a spot between SS and 3B at a velocity that has a 10% chance of being caught and is worth .9 runs. Shortstop A covers 15 feet to stop the ball from going into the outfield and the runner from scoring. +.81 to his UZR, +1 to his DRS.

Shortstop B was told by his coach to shade towards 3B with a runner on 2nd. A ball is hit to a spot between SS and 3B at a velocity that has a 10% chance of being caught and is worth .9 runs. Shortstop B covers 3 feet to stop the ball from going into the outfield and the runner from scoring. +.81 to his UZR, +1 to his DRS.

Who made the better play?

Rosario doesn't have a great range at SS, but he cut way down on the errors and that put up his stats as a SS.

At the end of the day, he's average at SS at best and if it wasn't for the fact of his high intangibles he likely wouldn't be on the roster right now. He is a proven guy that you know what to expect from and it's hustle, hustle and more hustle.
 
So Antoinetti said he was optimistic a few days ago about getting at least 1 deal done with the guys who are 'eligible' for an extension. That's a pretty broad group, frankly. Who do some of you think are likely candidates? I wonder if Rosario isn't one of them. I doubt Bieber but the club signed Straw last year out of nowhere to a long-term deal. Maybe Kwan? Gimenez? Stephan?
 
So Antoinetti said he was optimistic a few days ago about getting at least 1 deal done with the guys who are 'eligible' for an extension. That's a pretty broad group, frankly. Who do some of you think are likely candidates? I wonder if Rosario isn't one of them. I doubt Bieber but the club signed Straw last year out of nowhere to a long-term deal. Maybe Kwan? Gimenez? Stephan?

First off, Rosario isn't a candidate...

If we are looking at contract extension guys...

Bieber
We know they will try to extend, but will he be in price?

Gimenez and TMac
These two are very high candidates for extensions. I am guessing it's a high chance one or both of them will get an extension...

Kwan
Makes sense, but he has less MLB time than they normally like before they give them extensions. I think it will be before 24, if he repeats, he will definitely get a contract extension offer...

Off chance guys would be peeps like Karinchak, Josh Naylor but I actually don't expect it to happen.

My guess is Gimenez and TMac...
 
Out of 22 qualified shortstops in MLB last season, Amed was ranked....

FIRST in UZR.
10th in DRS.
10th in FP.

In spite of the insistence otherwise, that's decent.

Amed suffers the same way Peralta did. Just because they weren't/aren't the beloved defensive wizards that they followed doesn't mean they weren't/aren't solid defensive players themselves.
Pretty sure those aren't accurate or you botched them.


Out of 21 qualified SS in 2022 Amed came in 19th for fielding and 20th for defense at FanGraphs.

14th in wRc+ and OBP despite being the only one outside the top 10 with a BABIP north of 300 (326), so if anything, he got lucky coming in 14th comped to other SS.

IOW, he was a below average bat at SS and bad glove at SS

He was 3rd in..... GIDP
 
Fangraphs has started its positional power rankings. First up is catcher, where the Guardians rank 14th - a big increase over where they ended up last year (24th). Here's the writeup:

Mike Zunino must be an incredibly frustrating player to employ, as he has never had a wRC+ over a full season between 83 and 117. Some years, Zunino’s a star; others, he’s barely a major leaguer. As a rule, volatility isn’t really a projectable thing — I didn’t believe in Bret Saberhagen’s even-year curse, for instance — but I’m wondering if it’s true in this very specific case. Z is always going to be a low-average hitter, but he’ll hit home runs in massive bursts in his good years, peaking at 33 in fewer than 400 plate appearances in 2021, a Barry Bonds-esque rate. Last year, thoracic outlet syndrome in his non-throwing arm almost mercifully ended his sub-.500 OPS season in June.

Bo Naylor is Cleveland’s catcher of the future, and if Zunino, who is only signed to a one-year deal, has one of his down seasons, Naylor could easily double his projected plate appearances here. Naylor emerged in 2022 as a top catching prospect by exploding to a .263/.392/.496 line in the high minors and appears to finally be fulfilling the promise that made him a first-round draft pick and the third catcher taken in 2018. Unlike the team’s former catcher of the future, Francisco Mejía, Naylor has made great strides defensively and looks to be a long-term fixture rather than trade bait.


Hopefully with the thoracic outlet syndrome fixed Zunino will once again be the Barry Bonds of catchers this season.

They rank the White Sox 10th, the Twins 11th, the Royals 22nd, and the Tigers 24th, so the Guardians are in the same area as their two main competitors in terms of catching.
 
Very interesting.

Is there anywhere I can read about these stats? See them a lot in here and outside of WAR and OPS my advanced stat knowledge is pretty much non-existent.
Yes.. you can find this under the heading of "length of cumulative putts made" for a tournament. In stroke play.. a 1 foot putt made = a 40 foot snake made..
 
Out of 22 qualified shortstops in MLB last season, Amed was ranked....

FIRST in UZR.
10th in DRS.
10th in FP.

In spite of the insistence otherwise, that's decent.

Amed suffers the same way Peralta did. Just because they weren't/aren't the beloved defensive wizards that they followed doesn't mean they weren't/aren't solid defensive players themselves.
No, he suffers because he isn't a very good defender.
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