Ahh, so that explains the weird visceral reaction I had to seeing that guy's face.My only concern is that the pitcher who served it up looks a lot like Joe Kelly to me. That cheapens it substantially. But still.
Ahh, so that explains the weird visceral reaction I had to seeing that guy's face.My only concern is that the pitcher who served it up looks a lot like Joe Kelly to me. That cheapens it substantially. But still.
Power comes from the hips, not the kick. He's got beautiful balance to not come over that closed front leg.Damn that's not a lot of leg kick for that kind of power.
How many times is multiple? I thought pick offs went into books as caught stealings?AA numbers update:
2 more HR yesterday, bringing him to 7 HR in 21 G. Updated Portand slash .329/.415/.683/1.098.
7 SB/1 CS, although also picked off multiple times including 2nd base pickoff.
Over last 10, discipline improving via 9bb/12k.
Have to wonder when 3B/LF experiment begins.
Sure. But that would be a nice strong side of a platoon with Chris Young, once Young returns..508 OPS as a RH hitter.
1.221 OPS as a LH hitter.
SSS but I would guess they want to see improvement there before moving him up to AAA.
I am pretty sure it does exist, and Carson Smith's spot (on the 60 day DL) would be available to anyone who is in the organization by 8/31.Sure. But that would be a nice strong side of a platoon with Chris Young, once Young returns.
My guess, splits aside, is that Moncada sits in AA until 8/31, then comes to the big leagues when rosters expand.
Does the rule still exist to allow someone who wasn't on the 25-man roster on 8/31 to be on the playoffs roster if there is an injury? (I seem to recall it was referred to originally and colloquially as the Francisco Rodriguez rule)
Seems like Moncada is likely also the best PR option in the organization for when you must have that one stolen base.
"A pick-off is considered to be a baserunning mistake, even if it not usually captured in individual statistics as it is not a caught stealing."How many times is multiple? I thought pick offs went into books as caught stealings?
I was penning a post yesterday about Moncada's silly stats and was going to write that he's too good to not play in the bigs this year yadda yadda. When I got to the K rate, I stopped writing my post. In Salem, the K rate was 21%. In Portland it's now at 29%. Even though he's hitting the ball hard, I would imagine that they'd want him to work on that a bit. Do we know if it's a pitch recognition issue or more of a chasing outside the zone?I think they're going to be cautious with Moncada. His K/BB rates suggest he's a bit raw and you don't pay a guy $60M to rush him to the majors before he's ready -- you want to be earning an ROI by waiting until he's ready.
I don't really know but I think it was Keith Law who said that, among the top of the prospect rankings, he thinks Moncada is a guy who is more likely to struggle early.I was penning a post yesterday about Moncada's silly stats and was going to write that he's too good to not play in the bigs this year yadda yadda. When I got to the K rate, I stopped writing my post. In Salem, the K rate was 21%. In Portland it's now at 29%. Even though he's hitting the ball hard, I would imagine that they'd want him to work on that a bit. Do we know if it's a pitch recognition issue or more of a chasing outside the zone?
He ws missing a week with a sprained ankleHasn't played much recently. What's going on?
Returned last night and hit a bomb.He ws missing a week with a sprained ankle
Based on his brief encounter with major-league sliders, there is at least the possibility that he can't hit the breaking pitch. That deficiency defeated Rusney Castillo.Perhaps he can defy the odds, but the strikeouts are at least concerning.
But can he hit the ball as far as Wily Mo?Based on his brief encounter with major-league sliders, there is at least the possibility that he can't hit the breaking pitch. That deficiency defeated Rusney Castillo.
Moncada: even toolsier than Toolsney.
In a partial season? At age 21? In his 2nd year of US baseball following a 2 year layoff? While increasing his walk rate significantly? And switch hitting?The striking out in 1/3 of your PAs in AA is a completely valid issue.
It was one year off (you're thinking of Castillo). And while, yes, there's no need to conclude anything yet, it is in fact something to keep an eye on. If he can't lay off a slider, he will get eaten alive. 124 Ks in 491 PAs is not good when you're facing AA level breaking pitches. Now, there's a reason he;s still ranked as highly as he is despite that and in part it's the view you're taking, that's he's only 21 and he has plenty of time to learn to use his tools. It's not time to go Chicken Little on him, but it does bear watching. I think he'd be best served planning to spend almost all of next year in the minors unless he shows a drastic drop in K rate. It was only 20 ABs, but he was flailing at breaking stuff away. Not just production wise but mentally he needs to do better before anyone starts planning on him taking a roster spot;In a partial season? At age 21? In his 2nd year of US baseball following a 2 year layoff? While increasing his walk rate significantly? And switch hitting?
Not seeing any need to conclude anything other than he'll probably need to start next season in the minors.
207 PA. I am concerned about his k rate, I would be much more concerned if it was 491 PA and not 207. His K rate in Salem was only 21.1%. He also was scorching everything he saw in Portland for awhile, so he probably starting swinging for the fences on top of that.It was one year off (you're thinking of Castillo). And while, yes, there's no need to conclude anything yet, it is in fact something to keep an eye on. If he can't lay off a slider, he will get eaten alive. 124 Ks in 491 PAs is not good when you're facing AA level breaking pitches. Now, there's a reason he;s still ranked as highly as he is despite that and in part it's the view you're taking, that's he's only 21 and he has plenty of time to learn to use his tools. It's not time to go Chicken Little on him, but it does bear watching. I think he'd be best served planning to spend almost all of next year in the minors unless he shows a drastic drop in K rate. It was only 20 ABs, but he was flailing at breaking stuff away. Not just production wise but mentally he needs to do better before anyone starts planning on him taking a roster spot;
Not sure what you're trying to parse here. He had 491 minor league PAs last year and struck out 124 times. The year before he struck out 83 times in 363 PAs in Greenville. That's not good.
If it makes you feel better that he struck out less in Salem than he did in Portland, well, we don't agree there. A step up in competition level means better opponents. If he can't adjust that's an issue. And I think it's wishful thinking that he was swinging for the fences and that led to it. I think the much more obvious and likely scenario is the book got out on him and he couldn't adjust to the adjustments.
Again, it's not time to panic. He's got great tools and there's every reason to hope he can improve on it. But his K rate sucks and is getting worse, not better and it's not going to get easier.
The author cites Cano as a comp. It's lazy, inaccurate and based on nothing more than his left handed swing resembling Cano's and the fact they play 2B. Cano had 261 Ks in over 2100 minor league PAs. Moncada shows no such ability to control a strike zone. Yet, at least. The guy is a stud prospect, but someone else made the point about Brandon Wood. He has work to do and anyone expecting him to be a reliable player on the ML roster before 2018 is probably fooling themselves.
He's the Sons of Ron Karkovice's problem now.Lock it!