On a slow news day, a few back-reads on Michael Saunders, if you're so inclined.
...
Tale of the Tape - from Dec. 2008, a friendly little debate in which Dr. D argued that Michael Saunders' sabermetrics (i.e. his results) have been well ahead of Mike Carp's.
In fact, Saunders has been pretty close to blue-chip pedigree -- A+ star at 20, AA at 21, AAA at 22 -- whereas he is a tools-projectable player, not a sabermetric one. Like Matt Tuiasosopo, Ryan Howard, and the like, Michael Saunders isn't a player you judge solely (or even primarily) on age-arc performance. Some guys have plateau leaps in them.
...
October Baseball - Spectator chips in with a report that The Mick is lookin' good in postseason baseball.
...
August 26 - Marvelling in a postgame recap, Dr. D waxes ecstatic about Saunders' bunting ability, composure, and frontrunning position towards the 2010 lineup.
You hear this come up repeatedly, Saunders' "baseball intelligence."
It's true that Willie Bloomquist has legitimate "baseball intelligence" and that it hasn't gotten him very far. But you take guys with talent and acuity, and give them a chance to learn, and you wind up with the Jamie Moyers and Ichiros and Paul Molitors of the game.
Not that Saunders is a Molitor-level talent, but don't let the Bloomquists fool you into thinking that smarts are always irrelevant...
...
Sept. 24 - Our verdict on the coaching staff's overhaul of Saunders' swing mechanics. Sat out about four years this fall, came back with sore hands, a new swing, and ripped three hits. We didn't get to see much more.
...
Two-Seam RH Fastballs - in which we follow on the discovery that the Mariners' April lineup was having trouble with 2-seam RH FB's with the general principle that righty first-pitch fastball hitters don't work in Safeco...
Thereby making Michael Saunders the park-appropriate choice for LF. For what that's worth, not much, per se.
...
Ryan Rowland-Smith, July 29 - Dr D's first ballpark look at Saunders' speed in LF, in which we proposed the M's might be better off with Saunders in CF and Gutierrez in LF.
I know, I know, a dirty word. :- ) Only point is, don't undersell Saunders' mitt.
...
Canadian Bacon, July 25 - Saving the best archive read for last...
Right after the ASB, and right after Wlad Balentien got powerflushed, Cool Papa Bell blared the sirens that Michael Saunders was liable to have staying power after his callup.
Cool Papa -- for those of you who just joined us, CPB secured everlasting fame by winning the mammoth 20-team Yahoo invitational roto league in 2008 -- pushed all into the pot, flatly declaring that Michael Saunders would hit 30+ homers and OBP .370 on a year-in, year-out basis, making him "a legit impact player and a star in the AL."
When you raise Cool Papa, you get reraised, and if you raise again, he comes right back at you. He'll roll over any table with that attitude, and he seeks to roll the scouts off with this one. :- )
... "It is true you won't find scouts who are drooling over him and predicting stardom as I have. However, this is a reflection on the scouts, not Saunders. It is important to understand that if a player is not hyped up when he enters professional baseball, then scouts are very slow to change their projections..."
" In short, he isn't a solid prospect, he isn't a good prospect, he is a GREAT prospect."
Don't think that Cool Papa has updated his assessment of Saunders since his writeup in July. Would be interested to hear if anything's changed.
Cheers,
Dr D
He's played 11 games down in Venezuela, in CF, and has gotten on base every single game:
1-for-4
3-for-5, HR
1-for-4
2-for-5
1-for-4, triple, BB
1-for-4, triple (again)
0-for-2, 3 BB
2-for-4, double
1-for-1, lifted for pinch runner due to minor ankle sprain
2-for-4, HR
1-for-3, BB
If your Saunders trade scenarios include the notion of plugging Ezekiel Carrera in as a speedy LH 4th OF with a great eye -- which looks plenty plausible after he tore up AA with a .337 BA, .441 OBP, 59 BB, 62 K -- just note that he seems to have left his eye in the states, with 13 K and only 4 BB so far in the VWL in 75 AB.
Josh Fields consistency perhaps finally has arrived? He now has four straight AFL appearances with 0 hits, 0 ER (all 7 appearances have been 1.0 IP each). ERA 2.57, 6 K in 7.0 IP and BA against of .154.
And we've been remiss about Anthony Varvaro, who mowed down AA after being switched to the pen: 63 K in 54.1 IP, 2.82 ERA, .163 BA against (walks were kinda high though: 44 BB). He's kept it going in the AFL, with 5 K in 7.2 IP, 2.35 ERA and .192 BA against. Varvaro was drafted out of St. John's as a post-TJ project in 2005 and hasn't gotten much traction since, until now.
We notice also that Saunders has an EYE of 4:13, to go with his .375/.440/.675 line in ten games. So he's opened his swing up pedal-to-the-metal.
It continues to take me aback, the extent to which Saunders attacks the ball. I keep expecting an Ackley-type hitter, for some (actually no) reason, but his results profile actually looks more like you'd see from a young Dennis Raben or Rich Poythress or somebody.
In the eyes of most of the insiders. I remember G and J liked him on draft day, too.
of .441 was based on a BABIP of over .400, no doubt fueled by Ichiro-like scampers down the line against amorphous minor-league infields...
I always wonder how guys like Carrera are going to walk 100 times against the Lackeys and Weavers of the game who, unafraid of his lack of power, never throw him a ball...
Not to dis' Carrera. But IMHO the burden of proof is going to be on him.
I know I once compared him to a lefty Cammy (w/o the uber-GG defense, though he's making strides). I think it was CPB who saw him as a lefty Jason Bay.
Saunders is the hockey player/power forward type, as his background bears out.
This will teach you. You pointed out Saunders' 4:13 eye ratio in the VWL, and what does he do? Walks in five straight games, and it's now 9:16.
He's still reached base in every game (15 in a row) and his numbers are:
.327/.422/.527
55 AB, 18 H, 1 2b, 2 3b, 2 HR, 9 BB, 16 K, 2 SB, 0 CS
Meanwhile in AZ, Ackley is:
.295/.380/.386
44 AB, 13 H, 4 2b, 0 3b, 0 HR, 6 BB, 12 K, 1 SB, 0 CS
Not worried about the lack of HR as much as the Ks. A big part of his college calling card was that he was very very tough to strike out.
after the little layoff...
I like the looks of the .422 OBP in any league.
...............
Maybe the M's are going to get a second chance at a Shin-Soo Choo here?