Minor League Discussion & Boxes 5-29-12

[Guest]

Vitters walks!

 

 

 

(okay, it was intentional)

[rawaction]

Vitters getting respect. Intentional walk with runners on 2nd and 3rd and 1 out in the 8th. Bases loaded for Sappelt down 4-3.

[Cubswin11]

Very good night for both Baez and Vitters. I don't want to get over excited about one night, but let's say both Vitters and Baez pan out and Vitters can at least be a league average defender at 3B and Baez can't stick at SS (either because of Castro or because he gets too big/isn't good enough defensively which there seem to be some differing reports on lately) where is it most likely Baez is moved to? RF since his arm is so strong? Or 2B?

[El Duderino]

I'm sure they'd keep Baez in the infield if they can. I don't get the "his arm is too strong for 2B" argument at all.

[RammyFanny]

Very good night for both Baez and Vitters.

Baez is 0-4 with 2 K's.

 

Walk was nice though. Peoria playing in the 13th now.

[craig]

Very good night for both Baez and Vitters. I don't want to get over excited about one night, but let's say both Vitters and Baez pan out and Vitters can at least be a league average defender at 3B and Baez can't stick at SS (either because of Castro or because he gets too big/isn't good enough defensively which there seem to be some differing reports on lately) where is it most likely Baez is moved to? RF since his arm is so strong? Or 2B?

 

What was so good about Baez going 0-4 with 2 K's?

 

SS, 2B, 3B, RF, and LF are all possibilities for Baez, if he hits.

 

I agree with Duderino, nobody's arm is too strong for 2b. You can make DP's and plays up the middle with a strong arm that most 2B's can't. It's an asset. If we had real good hitters at SS and 2B, that would be a nice way to get started on a really good lineup.

 

That's if Baez can hit, though. No guarantee of that, of course.

[El Duderino]

Damn, Baez struck out with the bases loaded. 14th inning.

[Cubswin11]

I was only going off of the posts on the first page about Baez's game tonight, saw he had a BB and a near HR, I didn't look at the box score. I also agree that the arm being strong shouldn't be a reason he doesn't move to 2B.

[toonsterwu]

Very good night for both Baez and Vitters. I don't want to get over excited about one night, but let's say both Vitters and Baez pan out and Vitters can at least be a league average defender at 3B and Baez can't stick at SS (either because of Castro or because he gets too big/isn't good enough defensively which there seem to be some differing reports on lately) where is it most likely Baez is moved to? RF since his arm is so strong? Or 2B?

 

Let's wait and see on Baez's ability to stick at short, but one thing I would note is that, I'd potentially rather have Baez at 3rd and Vitters in LF. Much as Vitters has improved at the hot corner, he's still, at best, an average defender at 3rd, and probably a tick below average. Of course, Baez could go to 2nd (but there's a lot of system options there), and his arm should be good enough to be a stud in RF.

[Prizefight]

It's really hard to keep Vitter's career path in perspective. Feels like he's been the 'it' name for so long I keep forgetting he's only 22.

 

Hopefully he continues to play well and warrants a September call up.

[craig]

Vitters OPS is at .798. He's never had a full-season over .770. His last stop over .800 was his half-season at Peoria in 2009, when he also had a HR-binge in May. IIRC, he then went in to a slump at Peoria in June, got promoted to Daytona while in that slump, and slumped the rest of the summer at Daytona, with a bad wrist involved or something.

 

Good hitters figure out ways to shorten the damage when they go into slumps, and how to extend the good times when they're hot. Hopefully Vitters will show some of that over the next month and beyond.

[craig]

.... one thing I would note is that, I'd potentially rather have Baez at 3rd and Vitters in LF. Much as Vitters has improved at the hot corner, he's still, at best, an average defender at 3rd, and probably a tick below average. ....

 

Good point. I've been surprised that Vitters hasn't played more OF in recent years. I wonder how bad he'd be in left, and how much practice it would take him to become anti-awful there. His lack of speed would obviously be a liability there, and I'm guessing he probably never played much OF even as a kid. But I've always thought that if his bat was good enough but his 3B defense was not, that LF was an obvious eventual possibility for him. His arm would certainly be a plus there.

[KingCubsFan]

Junior Lake has 1 BB and 10K's in his last 10 games.

[craig]

Junior Lake has 1 BB and 10K's in his last 10 games.

 

Good observation. Seems very routine that a hacker will take some walks early, then give it up quickly enough. Vitters, Colvin, Patterson, Barney, etc. etc..

[rawaction]

Junior Lake has 1 BB and 10K's in his last 10 games.

 

Good observation. Seems very routine that a hacker will take some walks early, then give it up quickly enough. Vitters, Colvin, Patterson, Barney, etc. etc..

 

He also is hitting .304 with half his doubles and HRs for the season in the last 2 games. So, the average and power hasn't gone anywhere, which is a positive sign.