571 replies to this topic

[TwentyThirtyFive]

Chris Davis on the IL

Lol. Sure.

[TwentyThirtyFive]

Will be interesting to see the corresponding move when Hays returns. Have to think its Smith or Vailaka. Hopefully Smith.

[Nigel Tufnel]

Lol. Sure.

 

In completely unrelated news, Jeff Gillooly was spotted in Baltimore today with $1,000 in crisp new bills.

[Mike in STL]

Chris Davis on the IL

Did he step in the Ubaldo pothole?

[You Play to Win the Game]

It's one of those persistent headaches that will subside in about 35 games or so. 

[Mike B]

Did he step in the Ubaldo pothole?

I believe it is a nerve issue.  His play has gotten on Hyde's.

[BSLRoseKatz]

https://www.youtube....h?v=VI6dsMeABpU

[bmore_ken]

I might watch my first game of the year now. 🙂

[dude]

Couple nice doubles roped down the LF line and another walk for Mountcastle today.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Balt Sun: Ryan Mountcastle’s two homers not enough as Orioles lose to Blue Jays, 6-5, on another walk-off hit

[BSLSteveBirrer]

Its early.

He will have struggles along the way.

But man you sure have to like what we've seen so far! Kids got game.

[BSLChrisStoner]

@masnRoch

Hyde on Mountcastle: “He showed you the raw power, he’s playing a nice left field and he’s playing hungry. And it’s really fun to watch a young guy with hype playing with this much energy and this much confidence. He’s been a big boost and it’s been a lot of fun to watch him.”

[Mike B]

It is a very small sample size, but I really like his swing and his plate coverage.

 

Again, very short amount of time, but he seems to have the swagger and the it factor.

[Ruzious]

What bugs me... the stat guys who implied over and over that Mountcastle isn't much of a prospect because of one stat - his very low walk rate.  And you know those people will just say they were just pointing out how unusual it is - not predicting he'd fail.  Yeah, they were effectively predicting he'd fail.    

[Old Man]

What bugs me... the stat guys who implied over and over that Mountcastle isn't much of a prospect because of one stat - his very low walk rate.  And you know those people will just say they were just pointing out how unusual it is - not predicting he'd fail.  Yeah, they were effectively predicting he'd fail.    

I thought that the knock on RM was his defensive limitations, bat prowess was never thought to be an issue.

[JeremyStrain]

I thought that the knock on RM was his defensive limitations, bat prowess was never thought to be an issue.

Defense was/is a huge question. Doesn't quite fit a couple different spots, so can he be passable at any one of them enough to be in the lineup everyday? We've seen that issue up close recently with guys like Trumbo out in the OF.

 

The walk rate of his was a concern too, he's never really had good walk/k ratios which from a purely analytic view, usually shows pitch recognition being a little behind, BUT walks are one of those weird things where a guy may not walk much at all in the minors, and hit the majors and all of a sudden have an uptick in them. A part of taking walks is the mental frame of mind for them. Some guys actively look for that hit down to the last possible second. Other guys will actively work for the walk to get on base. It may be less of a pitch recognition thing than him just choosing to practice swinging for certain pitches, or trying to get better at picking up certain pitches in the minors, but in the majors he's happy to help the team and take the walk. OR, it could be an issue of taking what he's given. Until you're an established veteran there's going to be a "book" on him, and they are going to attack you more aggressively in the zone. I talked about this a while ago with Santander. Until he's done it enough to show he's going to do it consistently, they'll go after them, they aren't scared and don't respect them as hitters yet. Once they've proven they are going to hit, pitchers will adapt and start throwing more out of the zone (which means more walks) and trying to get him to chase them. That's when pitch recognition will play in, he's gotta know whats coming and when to lay off it.

 

He's doing a real good job of developing right before our eyes. They are working some magic down in Bowie whatever they are doing.

[russsnyder]

What bugs me... the stat guys who implied over and over that Mountcastle isn't much of a prospect because of one stat - his very low walk rate. And you know those people will just say they were just pointing out how unusual it is - not predicting he'd fail. Yeah, they were effectively predicting he'd fail.

They were, I really don't know of anyone whom has walked their way to the major leagues. Why worry about a guys walk rate when he has pretty much wrecked the pitching at every level he has played at? I want this guy swinging the bat. Good things seem to happen when he does.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Camden Chat: For former top prospect Ryan Mountcastle, the future has arrived

https://www.camdench...-in-review-2020

[Old Man]

They were, I really don't know of anyone whom has walked their way to the major leagues. Why worry about a guys walk rate when he has pretty much wrecked the pitching at every level he has played at? I want this guy swinging the bat. Good things seem to happen when he does.

Old school scouts, believe guys with low walk, dont have good pitch selection and are free swingers.

 

Clearly this is one of those, well, some are, but maybe some have such a good eye and skillset, they hit the ball more and dont get much of a chance to walk.

[Mackus]

Old school scouts, believe guys with low walk, dont have good pitch selection and are free swingers.

 

Clearly this is one of those, well, some are, but maybe some have such a good eye and skillset, they hit the ball more and dont get much of a chance to walk.

 

Some guys swing at everything because they can't figure out what pitches are coming out of the hand (Austin Hays).  Other guys swing at everything because they can hit everything (Miguel Tejada).  I'd put Mountcastle in the latter category based on what I saw from him this season.

 

Looking only at a low walk rate is indicative but doesn't tell you everything.  Gotta see the actual approach to know if the low walks are because of bad plate discipline or because of justifiably aggressive approach.  If its because of bad plate discipline in the minors, that'll likely get worse as they climb the ladder and the overall offensive production will plummet.  If it's because of an aggressive approach with a strong hit tool, then the overall production should be more sustainable.  A low walk rate will always put a lower ceiling on a guy than someone who can draw more walks while maintaining the ISO and AVG.  OBP is very important and drives run scoring.  But you can still be a very good to great hitter without walking a lot, it's just more difficult.