MONDAY MINORS 4/10 ... A.M. Baseball in Mississippi; Touki awesome

Pachoo said:
Good point. Saw the fangraph article today about how Mallex could be the new king of bunting and that he works hard at bunting every day. Talk about focusing on a pretty inefficient way of hitting. I find it hard to believe a player can become a very useful hitter by focusing on slapping grounders or bunts and beating out a hit to first. If Mallex wants to become a singles only hitter with a low average, that is one good way of accomplishing that.

Complete opposite approach to the main trend in the majors which is trying to hit balls in the air, avoiding grounders at all costs.
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Very few players have 80 speed like Mallex does. Him becoming an expert bunter would be huge for him. The danger of a bunt from Mallex will draw the corner infielders in making it much easier to find holes if he chooses not to bunt. Also, his speed puts so much pressure on fielders when the ball is on the ground to field it cleanly. If he's lofting the ball his speed is less of a weapon. Mallex will be much more successful slapping the ball around and relying on his legs.
 
Jackson will be fun to watch. He was one of the most accomplished HS hitters coming out in the last decade or two less than 3 years ago. I think the power will be there in a big way, he just needs to get his Ks to a manageable level...something like 22-24%. If he can do that, he can be a monster.
 
striker42 said:
Very few players have 80 speed like Mallex does. Him becoming an expert bunter would be huge for him. The danger of a bunt from Mallex will draw the corner infielders in making it much easier to find holes if he chooses not to bunt. Also, his speed puts so much pressure on fielders when the ball is on the ground to field it cleanly. If he's lofting the ball his speed is less of a weapon. Mallex will be much more successful slapping the ball around and relying on his legs.
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And Mallex has shown he can drive the ball as well. Learning to use his speed without totally surrendering his ability to hit the gaps should make him a more complete hitter. I wasn't especially fond of the trade because I think he would have been a perfect 4th OF for us who would have logged 250 - 300 ABs. Who knows on Gohara. Young and certainly had a good start out of the gate. I just thought he was superfluous to the project.
 
50PoundHead said:
And Mallex has shown he can drive the ball as well. Learning to use his speed without totally surrendering his ability to hit the gaps should make him a more complete hitter. I wasn't especially fond of the trade because I think he would have been a perfect 4th OF for us who would have logged 250 - 300 ABs. Who knows on Gohara. Young and certainly had a good start out of the gate. I just thought he was superfluous to the project.
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Absolutely. Mallex has a little bit of pop and it's not something he should abandon. It would just be foolish for him to start trying to loft the ball. Him becoming an excellent bunter just makes him more dangerous.
 
50PoundHead said:
And Mallex has shown he can drive the ball as well. Learning to use his speed without totally surrendering his ability to hit the gaps should make him a more complete hitter. I wasn't especially fond of the trade because I think he would have been a perfect 4th OF for us who would have logged 250 - 300 ABs. Who knows on Gohara. Young and certainly had a good start out of the gate. I just thought he was superfluous to the project.
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That's interesting. I felt like Mallex was somewhat superfluous, in that he's a 4th OF at a time where that's not extremely crucial for us, while Gohara was exactly what we should be going after - high-ceiling, potential impact young talent.

Everyone tries to down the Upton trade as though we only got Fried and some spare parts but then turns around and seems upset that we turned one of those spare parts into a legit top-100 pitching prospect.
 
smootness said:
That's interesting. I felt like Mallex was somewhat superfluous, in that he's a 4th OF at a time where that's not extremely crucial for us, while Gohara was exactly what we should be going after - high-ceiling, potential impact young talent.

Everyone tries to down the Upton trade as though we only got Fried and some spare parts but then turns around and seems upset that we turned one of those spare parts into a legit top-100 pitching prospect.
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Kinda agree. He would be fine to have while cheap. We were just fine in CF, so he was moveable. If Inciarte hadn't signed an extension, I think yeah he sticks around.
 
TheBravos said:
So I liked Mallex and Povse, and wasn't too happy about either trade. It's very early of course, but it sure looks like we took advantage of Seattle's willingness to move guys that were not the new regime's players...kinda like LA did with us on the HO trade.
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Hope ATL gets more out of it than LA did.
 
smootness said:
That's interesting. I felt like Mallex was somewhat superfluous, in that he's a 4th OF at a time where that's not extremely crucial for us, while Gohara was exactly what we should be going after - high-ceiling, potential impact young talent.

Everyone tries to down the Upton trade as though we only got Fried and some spare parts but then turns around and seems upset that we turned one of those spare parts into a legit top-100 pitching prospect.
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I thought the Upton trade was fine. I just wonder what kind of player Mallex will ultimately become. We have pitching up-and-down the system and maybe Gohara turns into something special and I gladly devour my words, but we carp about our laughable bench and don't stop to realize that Mallex would have been by far the best player on that bench.
 
50PoundHead said:
I thought the Upton trade was fine. I just wonder what kind of player Mallex will ultimately become. We have pitching up-and-down the system and maybe Gohara turns into something special and I gladly devour my words, but we carp about our laughable bench and don't stop to realize that Mallex would have been by far the best player on that bench.
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But how valuable is a bench bat on a team that isn't going to really compete?

My issue with evaluating the Upton trade is that even saying it was 'fine' seems to undersell it if you believe we got a guy like Fried and then a 2-3 WAR MLB player out of it, in addition to the Petersons. That seems like a phenomenal get for one year of Upton.

Evaluating it now, getting Fried and Gohara alone in that deal is a great return.
 
thethe said:
Peterson will play in the majors as well.
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Klaw has said he thinks he's significantly better than replacement at at corner. I worry about his power though after that break, that injury Saps power.

But it looks like we have a shot at two TOR and a 1-2 WAR corner OF for 1 year of Jup. That's a steal. Even if Fried is a 2 and Gohara becomes a closer it's a steal.

Mallex I liked. I'd rather have given up Markakis for Gohard but I bet the Mariners didn't want him. To act like Mallex is hard to replace is laughable. As far as his speed Albies, Lein, Didder and Seymore are probably just as fast. I don't think Mallex is 80 speed, never saw 80 speed from him. I know Lien can't hit right now, but I'd rather have him in the majors than Bonafacio now.
 
thethe said:
Peterson will play in the majors as well.
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I think so as well. I can see him progressing to a useful bat as long as the wrist surgery isn't going to hinder him going forward. He hit pretty durn well last year. I like him as more of a placeholder in RF or LF until the minors produce another upgrade...Then a super sub type.
 
smootness said:
But how valuable is a bench bat on a team that isn't going to really compete?

My issue with evaluating the Upton trade is that even saying it was 'fine' seems to undersell it if you believe we got a guy like Fried and then a 2-3 WAR MLB player out of it, in addition to the Petersons. That seems like a phenomenal get for one year of Upton.

Evaluating it now, getting Fried and Gohara alone in that deal is a great return.
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Smith is a bench bat that could develop into something more. It's always a risk to hang on to guys one year too long, but I don't think Mallex has reached his peak value.
 
50PoundHead said:
Smith is a bench bat that could develop into something more. It's always a risk to hang on to guys one year too long, but I don't think Mallex has reached his peak value.
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Were we ever likely to get more than Gohara for him? I don't think so. It was the right time to cash in, the right gamble to make, IMO.
 
50PoundHead said:
And Mallex has shown he can drive the ball as well. Learning to use his speed without totally surrendering his ability to hit the gaps should make him a more complete hitter. I wasn't especially fond of the trade because I think he would have been a perfect 4th OF for us who would have logged 250 - 300 ABs. Who knows on Gohara. Young and certainly had a good start out of the gate. I just thought he was superfluous to the project.
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This couldn't possibly describe my thoughts any better. Well said.
 
chop2chip said:
This couldn't possibly describe my thoughts any better. Well said.
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I just can't see how acquiring any pitching that has 1 to 2 type ceilings as superfluous to the project.. Hedge your bet.

Having Mallex on the bench this year is pointless outside of building his value. The FO doesn't care to win... they want to protect their projects this year. They exposed Wisler, Blair, Gant, and Whalen when they were not ready.. He doesn't want to make that mistake again.. 2018/2019 is his year.. if we play well before.. great.

what a problem to have though if Gohard, Allard, Soroka, Fried, Newk, Wiegel, and others hit.. Heck it is a good problem to have if just 2 hit.
 
Whether you liked the deal or didn't --- you gotta be excited about what SSS Alex Jackson has done. Slugging .737 with 2 bombs --- he does need to walk a little bit.

More fun with SSS;

- Seymour and Ventura both OPSing .900+
- Juan Yepez is the best hitter in the system
- Brett Cumberland has 1 hit and 8 SOs
 
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