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Q. Might he turn into a 4-WAR player during his 2016 option season?
A. No way no how, jack.
M's emphasized that Luis Sardinas made two straight Top 100 lists. And furthermore, he made them with the scouts (Baseball America) and the saberdogs (Baseball Prospectus).
The funny thing is, he didn't make BaseballHQ's top 500 after 2014. He wasn't in the top 15 shortstops, wasn't in the top 15 second basemen, wasn't in the top 15 for either Milwaukee or Texas. He wasn't in the 500 players they decided to short-form. Either BaseballHQ had a database error or they saw the problem.
The word in Milwaukee was that Sardinas used to be a hot prospect, but "his bat didn't develop." Say what? Sardinas has hit an empty .231 in the majors, .231 with only 16 doubles per 162 games. (4 triples, 0 HR, 19 walks per 162). But! That's exactly what his minors numbers SAY he would do. Six years in the minors, he's .288/.332/.356 with a lousy EYE and not a single "flash" season.
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Q. Why would BA, much less BP, rate this guy a #2 org prospect?
A. Their way of saying, I guess, that he was a great defensive SS and also very likely to OPS+ 90 in the bigs. He looks a blinkin' long, LONG way from batting 90.
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Q. So why would DiPoto want him, other than that he has one option year left where Flores didn't?
A. Stoploss.
Lou Piniella used to literally carry three Desi Relaford types on his bench. Poor players who could play 8 positions and bat left or bat right. Dr. D always loathed this kind of cover-your-backside use of three roster slots. The main function of a fast little switch-hitting infielder is --- > to make sure the manager never has Kyle Seager playing shortstop for 1 inning.
But yeah.
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Q. Is the fascination with gloves going too far?
A. The center fielder is the only place we've GOTTEN a glove so far. That's point A.
But secondly, if you have an Opening Day shortstop fail, then a good-glove no-hit SS is a short term stoploss that EVERY team, all 30, will consider. By the way, here's something from James:
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Is defence more important if teams are scoring 6-7 runs a game or if teams are scoring 3-4 runs a game? I thought it was the latter, but I'm starting to wonder if it's the former. I can argue it both ways, which means I don't know.
Asked by: shthar
Answered: 11/20/2015
I don't know, either. I think you can make either argument.
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In other words, it isn't the low-scoring environment as such that makes gloves a priority (as opposed to the pitching 70% of run prevention). It's that the airport ballpark gives gloves a chance to make plays.
:: shrug ::
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Q. Does Sardinas do ANYthing that SSI likes?
A. Here, check out this MLB single that he hit and also this single that he hit. He's got a slow bat, a slow bat in the good sense. He can launch the bat fine; that's not the kind of batspeed we're talking about. Thing is that he drags the bat through the zone. James campaigns for players like this, especially as K's go up and up and up.
It could be fun to watch him collect 100 AB's on the M's bench and "clonk" 26 singles in between the infield and outfield. It's kind of a cool style of hitting.
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Q. So DiPoto thought pretty highly of Flores, huh.
A. Big statement from him that Boog Powell has a bigger future in baseball than does Ramon Flores. Here sits Powell, with an option, on the 40-man when it normally would have been Flores, without one.
So DiPoto is going with Boog Powell, and he picks up a true "utility" player for the Cheney Carousel. Sounds coherent to me.
BABVA,
Dr D
