jpx7 (07-03-2019)
Didn't see that. He had hit a wall. Everything I read about him indicated he was a very hard worker, but he never hit. I think his signing bonus was actually a bit higher than Pache's and he was ranked higher than Pache in a number of reports leading up to that year's international signings. Juan Morales was the third in the highly-touted trio and, like Cruz, he's having problems with the bat.
jpx7 (07-03-2019)
In the beginning Cruz looked like the better player. That’s a shame.
Tom: What will the first date be when the Braves OF is Acuna, Pache and Waters?
12:57
Kiley McDaniel: August 1, 2020
Ivermectin Man
JohnAdcox (07-04-2019)
Thats pretty conservative. They will both be in AAA to start next year if not at some point this year. I would guess June 1st.
"Donald Trump will serve a second term as president of the United States.
It’s over."
Little Thethe Nov 19, 2020.
Seemlingly. But not really so. Both he and Pache were just getting instruction and they both got the same instruction. Hit the ball on a line/on the ground and use your speed to compensate until you get stronger. Scouts bemoaned that instruction as they both hit the ball hard at times, but nothing with lift. Make no mistake, Cruz worked hard. I've seen it both via the field and on the side. Where Pache changed things up is when he elevated his defense and his line drives started to find gaps. Cruz never really developed a plane on his swing that was conducive to being more than a singles hitter.
Even with that, it is surprising that Cruz is hanging it up. He was starting to fill out and even hit gappers on a few occasions. In any case, I wish him well.
JohnAdcox (07-04-2019)
Yes Acuna also adjusted and improved his k and bb rates. Riley has not done that. Thanks for your major pearl of wisdom that rookies sometimes struggle though. I really had no clue. It’s not about the struggling, it’s about the why. It’s about the league adjusting and the overwhelming evidence that Riley hasn’t started adjusting on his end yet. I guarantee he will be sent down if he continues to struggle as bad as he has when he’s on a legit WS contender. Duvall can change a game with one swing too. Your argument doesn’t impress me much.
Has there EVER been a statement and question a certain someone should absolutely never have made and asked publicly more than...
Kinda pathetic to see yourself as a message board knight in shining armor. How impotent does someone have to be in real life to resort to playing hero on a message board?
Acuna didn’t make significant adjustments until the ASB. I honestly think if he doesn’t sprain his knee, Soto probably does win ROY last year. The hand positioning that he came up with was just not going to be viable and his numbers would’ve probably taken a major hit if he didn’t get hurt because they didn’t really start working with him to adjust until then (he made minor tweaks in his rehab stint, but the major ones didn’t come until the break). So, while the injury sucked, some things just happen for a reason.
Something, something, adjusting on the fly can be hard, something, something.
It “does” make me wonder though. Would lowered hands work with Riley? If they have things for him to work on, it’ll interesting to read/hear about that if there is. The lowered hands helped Acuna in that it gave him more confidence to cover the low and away strike, so he didn’t get antsy anymore about swinging there to try to cover those pitches, and get caught swinging at breaking balls that ended up being outside or even in the dirt instead.
Aggression with prospects is fine, but being stupid is not. There should be a way to find a happy medium between a Pirates like idea of being overly cautious with prospects and going stupidly fast with prospects.