Around Baseball Offseason Edition - Derek Jeter will retire at seasons end
- Thread starter The Tariff King
- Start date
Can Salty throw out runners? I remember in Texas he had a huge mental block to where Ron Washington had to remove him from catching.
Gattis doesn't throw as good as McCann or D-Ross but he's still pretty slick behind the plate.
Gattis doesn't throw as good as McCann or D-Ross but he's still pretty slick behind the plate.
I don't have faith in players that have 1 baseball skill. (power, in this case) Certainly there is a chance that he breaks the mold and can translate a lack of plate awareness but huge power into a capable starting catcher, but I don't believe it will happen. Ideally, he'd be an AL DH type that can catch periodically.
From fangraphs, both positive and negative. (in my opinion we are making a mistake thinking he's an everyday catcher)
"As with most players, there are some real red flags when looking toward 2014, but they come with some positive signs as well. Brian McCann is a free agent and there is no guarantee that the Braves resign him, but they still could. If that were the case, Gattis would once again be a back-up, and given his horrid defense in left field, it would likely take an injury to McCann to ensure Gattis receives nearly 400 plate appearances again.
Next, Gattis’ plate approach is rather poor. With a 21/81 BB/K ratio, he was impatient and struck out too often given his walk rate. His minor league strikeout rates were much better, providing some optimism, but his 12% SwStk% was well above the league average. He’ll have to cut down on his swings and misses to have any chance of improving his strikeout rate. Aside from an inability to make consistent contact, Gattis apparently enjoys going fishing. By that, I mean that he loves to swing at pitches outside the strike zone. His 42.1% O-Swing% would have ranked seventh highest in baseball if he qualified. That is going to lead to pitchers rarely throwing him a strike, hurting his chances of taking a walk and limiting his ability to drive the ball and hit for power.
Line drive rates in small samples aren’t particularly meaningful, but while I’m questioning Gattis’ plate approach, it’s worth noting that his 14.5% LD% and 44.6% FB% are additional pieces of evidence that his approach doesn’t appear to be one that leads to long term success. Of course, we have to remember that this is a 27-year-old who recently got back into baseball after many years off. So just like any older player in the minors, we need to heavily adjust his minor league numbers when projecting his future MLB potential. It’s possible that this is who Gattis is and although he has power, that’s really all he brings to the plate.
I did promise some good news and that comes from two areas. First, the power is for real. His batted ball distance ranked 43rd in baseball at 293 feet, which is very good and matches up with a 17% HR/FB ratio. Furthermore, his BABIP was just .255. His xBABIP was actually just .264, but as mentioned above, his batted ball mix was rather poor. This may certainly be his true talent level with a repeat on the way, but it also seemingly can’t get much worse. Hence, there’s a lot more upside here than downside. That means that he’s not a lock to be a batting average killer.
There are many question marks surrounding Evan Gattis heading into next season. Given his journey to the bigs and with his playing time up in the air and issues concerning his approach at the plate, he’s a difficult man to project at the moment. His possible outcomes are likely all over the map, meaning that he could turn into a top five catcher or be a complete bust. Nothing would surprise me."
From fangraphs, both positive and negative. (in my opinion we are making a mistake thinking he's an everyday catcher)
"As with most players, there are some real red flags when looking toward 2014, but they come with some positive signs as well. Brian McCann is a free agent and there is no guarantee that the Braves resign him, but they still could. If that were the case, Gattis would once again be a back-up, and given his horrid defense in left field, it would likely take an injury to McCann to ensure Gattis receives nearly 400 plate appearances again.
Next, Gattis’ plate approach is rather poor. With a 21/81 BB/K ratio, he was impatient and struck out too often given his walk rate. His minor league strikeout rates were much better, providing some optimism, but his 12% SwStk% was well above the league average. He’ll have to cut down on his swings and misses to have any chance of improving his strikeout rate. Aside from an inability to make consistent contact, Gattis apparently enjoys going fishing. By that, I mean that he loves to swing at pitches outside the strike zone. His 42.1% O-Swing% would have ranked seventh highest in baseball if he qualified. That is going to lead to pitchers rarely throwing him a strike, hurting his chances of taking a walk and limiting his ability to drive the ball and hit for power.
Line drive rates in small samples aren’t particularly meaningful, but while I’m questioning Gattis’ plate approach, it’s worth noting that his 14.5% LD% and 44.6% FB% are additional pieces of evidence that his approach doesn’t appear to be one that leads to long term success. Of course, we have to remember that this is a 27-year-old who recently got back into baseball after many years off. So just like any older player in the minors, we need to heavily adjust his minor league numbers when projecting his future MLB potential. It’s possible that this is who Gattis is and although he has power, that’s really all he brings to the plate.
I did promise some good news and that comes from two areas. First, the power is for real. His batted ball distance ranked 43rd in baseball at 293 feet, which is very good and matches up with a 17% HR/FB ratio. Furthermore, his BABIP was just .255. His xBABIP was actually just .264, but as mentioned above, his batted ball mix was rather poor. This may certainly be his true talent level with a repeat on the way, but it also seemingly can’t get much worse. Hence, there’s a lot more upside here than downside. That means that he’s not a lock to be a batting average killer.
There are many question marks surrounding Evan Gattis heading into next season. Given his journey to the bigs and with his playing time up in the air and issues concerning his approach at the plate, he’s a difficult man to project at the moment. His possible outcomes are likely all over the map, meaning that he could turn into a top five catcher or be a complete bust. Nothing would surprise me."
50PoundHead
Hessmania Forever
I thought Johnson would be a nice fit for us, but I still can't get over the goo-goo eyes a lot of fans in here still have about him. I can remember after the season when one poster here (can't remember which) thought Kelly had earned a huge payday this past season, which obviously he didn't. He's a nice player who had a couple of promising years earlier in his career that weren't exactly a mirage, but didn't pave the way to the stardom some thought he was destined for simply because he could take a walk. That said, I still would have liked him in Atlanta as a LHH would can play numerous positions and serve as insurance in the event Chris Johnson comes back to earth.
That's a nice contract for the Marlins with Saltalamacchia. $7 M per is affordable and Saltalamacchia is a pretty good player. I think it's probably a coin-flip between Saltalamacchia and Gattis, but I don't think gilesfan is that far off on Gattis. He IS a question mark going forward. I don't see how anyone could truly contend otherwise. As well as he played in 2013, there are a few warning signs, particularly his OBP, that should at least give us pause.
bravesnumberone
Well-known member
Ellsbury is a good player, but that's a grossly absurd contract.
diamondsyd
Creepy Lurking Stalker
You might be thinking about me, but my contention was i thought he would get about 3 million per for 2 years and I did not want to committ that to him.
ramadon101
Danville Rookie
Gattis was a rookie and acted like one. He was getting tons of pub, and felt like he needed to hit a HR every night to carry the team especially when our bats went cold. Pitchers started exploiting his aggressiveness (as they should at the MLB level), and he didn't adjust quickly. That's not a knock, it's typical of first year players across the league and across time. I'd put more stock in his minor league walk numbers than I would half a season of ABs when he was over anxious to do damage at the plate and up in the bright lights for the first time in his life (literally.. since he's always been an underdog).
I think anyone who underestimates Gattis is due for a surprise. It may not come in 2014, but I think, barring injury, it will come. He will learn to chase fewer pitches outside of the strike zone and as a result, connect with more pitches within the strike zone... and when he does, watch out.
I like Salty. He's a decent player. But his career best offensive season was comparable to Gattis' rookie season. There's more upside in Gattis' bat to me and both are barely average defensively. I take Gattis making $500K over Salty at $7M. I even take Gattis over Salty if the money is the same.
50PoundHead
Hessmania Forever
No it was someone else. I think I said I'd give him the same he got this year and someone said that wasn't going to be nearly enough and that he'd be in the $3 M to $4 M range. Looks like the Yanks are going to get him for less than half a million more than what he was paid in 2013, which still puts him below $3 M.
Don't get me wrong. I think Johnson is a good player, but at this point, he's settled into what he's going to be (which truth be told is a pretty valuable cog on a good team).
Perfect Cell
Lynchburg Prospect
Kelly Johnson at least has had a better career than Ryan Langerhans which many posters pegged for being the better player than KJ
50PoundHead
Hessmania Forever
True that.
Perfect Cell
Lynchburg Prospect
I don't agree. But the fact that its Gattis making 500k him better. Having said that if it meant being able to trade gattis for an upgrade to the rotation then its salty
ramadon101
Danville Rookie
Once again, what makes Salty a better player than Gattis?
Salty's best offensive season matches Gattis's rookie year. Do you really believe Gattis will regress in 2014?
Gattis was one of the best catchers at pitch framing last year. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid= No question he's got a ton of room for improvement on other areas of catcher defense, but it's not like Salty is Yadier Molina ver. 2.0.
As you note, Gattis makes a fraction of what Salty makes in 2014 (and for the foreseeable future).
Gattis has way more power than Salty.
Perfect Cell
Lynchburg Prospect
these 2 things are the biggest things for me. Plus I would have liked us have made a try at David Price from the Rays. The Rays were clearly looking at help at C and we could have used Gattis or Betancourt to make a package for Price.
That plus another 3 of our top 7-10 prospects. I'm wary of pitchers with lots of mileage that are apart to get paid.
Tapate50
Well-known member
Agree.
ramadon101
Danville Rookie
But your desire for Price has nothing to do with whether Gattis is a better overall player than Salty... it merely has to do with your preferred roster configuration of utilizing Gattis as part of a larger package for Price and then signing Salty as his replacement. It doesn't mean Salty is a better player than Gattis.
I still contend that Gattis is the better player. I think he will take two steps forward in 2014... the power is real, and he chased an absurd amount of pitches outside of the zone last year. To me, that only portends as a positive in 2014 since I think he will work on being more selective (a trait he exhibited throughout the minors) and consequently improving his overall average, OBP% and power numbers.
Heyward
<B>Voted Worst Poster <br>'13, '14, '15 (Co-Winner
He cost them two games in the WS by airmailing two throws.
Salty if better than Gattis isnt 8+ million better.
zbhargrove
Well-known member
Actually, I'm saying Fister is BETTER than Garza... Garza is so overrated its not even funny. A constant injury liability who has the raw stuff but can't harness it consistently. Fister is more efficient and more consistent.
Career MLB ERAs:
Fister: 3.53
Garza: 3.83
If we were going by minor league careers, Garza would be better... but this is the majors and Fister has come into his own while Garza has regressed
ON TOP of the fact that Fister is a better MAJOR league pitcher... Garza was also a RENTAL... the Fister trade was a steal and its not even close.