MINORS FINAL 5/3: What About Lipka?

[clvclv]

From Bowman's twitter:

"Jose Peraza's last 14 games: .385 (20-for-52 w/ no extra-base hits) .421 OBP, 6/7 SB, 4/7 BB/K"


Damn

But, but, but...weren't there a ton of people ready to crucify me less than a week ago when I suggested we just might see him as our 2B for good if he kept up his current pace for another 2-3 weeks???

[50PoundHead]

I still wait on the guy. We're going nowhere with a capital NO this season and unless he has learned all there is to learn at the AAA level, I'd just burnish the product a bit longer.

[Braves1976]

I still wait on the guy. We're going nowhere with a capital NO this season and unless he has learned all there is to learn at the AAA level, I'd just burnish the product a bit longer.

Agreed. Plus he has made 6 errors at second so far this year. I know he's better than that but I want him to work on his defense because he needs to clean it up a bit.

[clvclv]

I still wait on the guy. We're going nowhere with a capital NO this season and unless he has learned all there is to learn at the AAA level, I'd just burnish the product a bit longer.

I don't think they're going to rush him by any stretch, but still stand by my earlier point. IF (and that's a big if) he keeps this up for an extended period, he will be knocking on the door so loudly that Hart & Company will have little choice but to consider giving him the shot they said they were going to give him during camp - particularly since he will have cleared the Super-Two cutoff. They've been pretty consistent in saying that they weren't going to hold anyone back when they forced their way into the rotation or lineup, and (just my opinion) they'll have seen enough at that point to feel comfortable enough to want them to be learning to make adjustments from Roger and Seitzer while facing the highest level of competition possible to see if they are capable of making those adjustments.

Peraza's situation mirrors Folty's in this way (IMO) - Hart mentioned it himself when talking to Chip and Joe during his start when he said (paraphrasing obviously) "he's incorporated the things we gave him to work on coming out of camp pretty successfully, and from the all the reports we've gotten we feel like he's ready for the challenge and will likely benefit from facing the higher level of competition in the long run".

[thethe]

I am all for not burning service time but I think Chop said it best...You need to establish a system of meritocracy. If Peraza finds a way to keep this up for another month he will be in ATL.

[clvclv]

I am all for not burning service time but I think Chop said it best...You need to establish a system of meritocracy. If Peraza finds a way to keep this up for another month he will be in ATL.

This is something that always existed as a part of the old "Braves' Way" - the old guard wasn't going to let decisions about lesser players get in the way of someone they had at a lower level that they really believed in when those younger players demonstrated they were ready for a new challenge, regardless of the player's age or level.

This is something that's pretty important when you're an organization that's trying to build from within consistently when you're (somewhat) financially challenged - show us progress in the areas we want you to focus on, and we'll reward that as soon as we feel like you're ready for a new challenge.

[sturg33]

But, but, but...weren't there a ton of people ready to crucify me less than a week ago when I suggested we just might see him as our 2B for good if he kept up his current pace for another 2-3 weeks???

You're quickly rising the ranks of most obnoxious posters.

Nobody crucified you. They simply disagreed with burning service time in a lost year.

But you get really defensive when anyone disagrees with you

[nsacpi]

The Braves don' have consistent record in terms of rapid promotion. Chipper Jones and Freddie Freeman spent almost a full season each in AAA in spite of doing very well there. Others like Heyward, Andruw Jones and Furcal were promoted very rapidly.

I do think the weight of the service time argument is more significant if you aren't competing for anything.

[thethe]

The Braves don' have consistent record in terms of rapid promotion. Chipper Jones and Freddie Freeman spent almost a full season each in AAA in spite of doing very well there. Others like Heyward, Andruw Jones and Furcal were promoted very rapidly.

I do think the weight of the service time argument is more significant if you aren't competing for anything.

Thats a fair point but what if they are trying to contribute next season (which they are) and the front office feels that in order to help compete next year we need to have Peraza at the big leagues for X months this year? Would you agree with promotion in that case?

[thethe]

You're quickly rising the ranks of most obnoxious posters.

Nobody crucified you. They simply disagreed with burning service time in a lost year.

But you get really defensive when anyone disagrees with you

Please tell me I'm still in the upper pantheon.....

[sturg33]

Thats a fair point but what if they are trying to contribute next season (which they are) and the front office feels that in order to help compete next year we need to have Peraza at the big leagues for X months this year? Would you agree with promotion in that case?

Sure.

[sturg33]

Please tell me I'm still in the upper pantheon.....

You're the Floyd Mayweather of obnoxiousness

[nsacpi]

Strikeout rate, walk rate, BABIP and ISO for five minor league players so far this season:

Peraza (age 21 in AAA): 6.5%, 9.3%, .333, .032

Lipka (age 23 in AA): 7.8%, 12.9%, .413, .097

Castro (age 22 in AA): 3.4%, 9.0%, .408, .060

Mallex Smith (turns 22 this week in AA): 4.1%, 17.6%, .375, .088

Albies (18 in A): 6.1%, 18.4%, .347, .056

It would be great if one or more of them developed some power and/or moved the walk rate over 10%. Smith and Albies had walk rates over 10% last season. Power and patience of course are qualities that hitters (not all of course) tend to develop as they mature.

[thethe]

I would hope that people aren't expecting these kids to hit homers. Maybe Lipka/Smith could end up having some power 10-15 HR's but these other guys are going to be double hitters at the most with some of those gappers turning into triples.

[nsacpi]

I'm not looking for homers from any of them. But it would be nice to see one or two develop into the type of hitter who gets a lot of doubles.

[nsacpi]

Thats a fair point but what if they are trying to contribute next season (which they are) and the front office feels that in order to help compete next year we need to have Peraza at the big leagues for X months this year? Would you agree with promotion in that case?

It will be interesting to see what happens to payroll next season. I think it goes down and we don't make any significant splashes this off-season. But my view is you want to compete every year. That's what I think should be done. Even with that philosophy though, the benefits of deferring free agency and arbitration a year count a lot with me.

[thethe]

I could see all those develop into doubles hitters. Some (Peraza) will be on the lower end of a 25-45 total in a season. I think Mallex might end up being a high doubles/triples guy.

[smootness]

It will be interesting to see what happens to payroll next season. I think it goes down and we don't make any significant splashes this off-season. But my view is you want to compete every year. That's what I think should be done. Even with that philosophy though, the benefits of deferring free agency and arbitration a year count a lot with me.

I get the argument for holding back until into June, but I don't really understand the argument for holding him back all of this year plus into next year.

As for the power, Mallex Smith's ISO last year was over .120, and Peraza's has been around .100 most of his minor-league career. I think those are both more reliable than this year's sample so far. Obviously they're at a higher level, so it could come down...but there's no reason yet to believe they're going to simply be singles hitters.

Albies is still too young to make any kind of determination about.

But honestly, if Smith gives you .280/.350/.350 or something like that (his minor league history suggests an even higher OBP), that's great. If Peraza gives you .275/.330/.360, that's good enough given his speed and defense.

Ideally, I want all positions to be able to impact the team in every area. But realistically, if I can get great defense from a few spots (SS, 2B, CF, C), speed and on-base skills from a few, and power from a few, I think that's good enough to compete.

[chop2chip]

Think he's going to be solid... but the lack of power and plate discipline makes it really tough to be a good hitter in the big leagues

Maybe not a great hitter in a vacuum, but he can be a great hitter relative to his position.

And besides, we don't need Peraza to be a good hitter. We need him to be a great player. He does a lot of things well outside of slugging % to project as a great player.

[clvclv]

You're quickly rising the ranks of most obnoxious posters.

Nobody crucified you. They simply disagreed with burning service time in a lost year.

But you get really defensive when anyone disagrees with you

Actually that's not the case - it just happens to be certain "special" ones like you who expect everyone to roll over and agree with you rather than posting their disagreements. It is what it is - go back and read the thread closely.

There are certain posters here who "know" what they say they know with all kinds of certainty rather than admitting they're simply fans who have watched a lot of baseball and are passionate about the Braves. It seriously hacks some of them off when someone questions their qualifications. Some of us admit they don't "know" anything with any certainty - but defer to people who are paid to make those decisions because they're infinitely more qualified. There's not much to argue about when you simply state that something's your opinion and you might be wrong.

Which side of that spectrum do you fall on???