What to do with J.J. Hardy - he's putting together a great year

[sbrylski]

If the Brewers prefer Escobar to Hardy at shortstop long-term, they'd just as soon trade Hardy rather than move him to another position. His greatest value is at short, and someone would pay a lot for him.

I'm absolutely loving JJ Hardy right now, but I think I have to agree. I think his trade value will surprise a lot around here. I could go out on a limb and say it might be as great as Fielder's if he keeps up what he's doing. (And Fielder doesn't boost his numbers by the end of the season.)

 

[GoudaBrew]

JJ is on fire right now and has upped his line to:

.300/.364/.491 with 14 homers and 45 RBIs

 

Last year was a breakout year for JJ and I did not think he'd come close to reproducing it. I thought he might top out at 15 homers while hitting around .260-.270 with an OBP of .320 this year. I know he's red hot right now (all those hard hit grounders are finding the holes instead of the infielders glove), and the above numbers will probably drop some, but he has been a perfect #2 hitter for us this year.

 

Look at his splits this year:

vs. lefties: .313/.414/.554

vs. righties: .290/.342/.468

 

In short, I just wanted to give some props to JJ. I had some doubts about him entering this year and now I'm really confident in him. Keep it up!

[crossface21]

I'll agree to that! I kept thinking that there was no way he'd be a Brewer next year because of the way he was hitting early in the year, but I stand corrected. JJ has picked it up and now he's looking like he's a guy the Brewers will need to keep-IF he can keep this up.

 

Way to go JJ!! I'm glad I was wrong about you!

[lcbj68c]

I like JJ, I just wish he was a bit faster. How he got thrown out on that play up the middle last night is beyond me. Miles had no real mustard on that thrown and it looked like JJ was running half-speed.

 

JJ is a perfect #2 hitter. Yost tried to overthink a little bit and play with his new toy in Mike Cameron. He figured it out and made the switch and all is good.

[zzzmanwitz]

I really hope he is willing to move to 2nd or 3rd. Escobar has to play SS in the near future.

[Gobias Industries]

JJ's been great ever since he got the extended break a month or so back. I think he'll finish with a line in the .345/.450 range.

 

In those O-swing stats Russ has posted, it showed Hardy at the top of the Brewers for strikes seen, even in early May when he was terrible and in front of the pitcher. It seems like he gets a lot of fastballs in his wheelhouse and hanging curves, and he's not missing them like he was early in the year.

[DHonks]

JJ's turnaround has been incredible, not just because it seemed very unlikely, but also because Bill Schroeder has correctly explained the reasons for it.

 

JJ always declared he was a dead pull hitter. In 2007, his homers went to left field along with the vast majority of his hits. When teams started working him off the plate away, he struggled, hence why his 2nd half wasn't as strong. But in the last 2 months JJ has learned not only to go to right field, but to embrace it. He's distributing hits all over the field.

 

Although last night his grounder up the middle had me wondering "what happened to the races in 2007 when JJ tied as our fastest runner?"

[TooLiveBrew]

Way to go JJ!! I'm glad I was wrong about you!

 

Now there's some honesty! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

 

JJ is a perfect #2 hitter.

 

Before the season, I felt he was better suited down near #6, but the OBP/BB growth that Ennder correctly forecasted prior to this season has helped J.J. thrive in the #2 slot. I think we should keep in mind to cool our jets a bit, though, and not make a definitive or semi-definitive player analysis while said player is in the midst of a hot streak. I think Gobias has Hardy's relative line pegged fairly well. But a .350 OBP & .450 SLG from a good-fielding SS is certainly a luxury.

[fondybrewfan]

I don't understand why we are talking about JJ moving off of SS. He is one of the most valuable SS in all of baseball when you consider offense and defense. Why would we move him for a kid who hasn't played an inning against MLB pitching? If anything Escobar should be the one moved. Everyone talks about Escobar's range and Hardy's lackthereof, but I am pretty sure Escobar would still have range if he played 2nd base. Range doesn't vanish if you change infield positions. I also doubt that Escobar's arm can match Hardy's.

[homer]

His BABIP is .321 so I'd expect him to regress slightly as the year goes on. Still having a really good year though.

[joepepsi]

I'll be sorry to see him go at the end of the season but he must be released or traded for a bag of chips so the GREAT ALCIDES ESCOBAR can be rushed to play ss for the Crew.

[thebadge10]

Why is everybody in such a hurry for Escobar to play short. I would be happy to sign JJ to a long term contract and leave him at SS. Everybody raves about Escobar but he does have 17 errors so far this year. His range might be better than JJ's but he can't possibly have a better arm than him.

[zzzmanwitz]

Why is everybody in such a hurry for Escobar to play short. I would be happy to sign JJ to a long term contract and leave him at SS. Everybody raves about Escobar but he does have 17 errors so far this year. His range might be better than JJ's but he can't possibly have a better arm than him.

 

From all accounts I've seen/heard, he does have a better arm than JJ. Many of his errors have come due to his great range.

 

I'm not in a hurry to see Escobar play SS, but if JJ and he are on the same field, it will be Alcides playing SS. I want JJ to be a longterm Brewer and with Escobar coming up soon (by 2010), if JJ is going to be a Brewer past FA, he would need to change positions.

[thebadge10]

Since JJ throws 95 mph or at least he has thrown that fast I would be surprised if AE throws harder!

[TooLiveBrew]

If Hardy can be coerced into playing 3B, wow. That'd be an amazing thing for the Crew. If not, it's too bad Gamel couldn't stick there defensively.

[zzzmanwitz]

There is a difference between a pitching throw and a SS throw. When was JJ clocked at 95?

[GoudaBrew]

I don't understand why we are talking about JJ moving off of SS. He is one of the most valuable SS in all of baseball when you consider offense and defense. Why would we move him for a kid who hasn't played an inning against MLB pitching? If anything Escobar should be the one moved. Everyone talks about Escobar's range and Hardy's lackthereof, but I am pretty sure Escobar would still have range if he played 2nd base. Range doesn't vanish if you change infield positions. I also doubt that Escobar's arm can match Hardy's.

Well, Hardy would still have great value at 2nd if he could play there. But Escobar needs to prove that his bat can play at the Bigs before I'm ready to hand over the everyday job to him (like I have that power, ha). That probably won't be until 2010. At least I hope the Brewers are patient with him as there is no gaping hole in the infield (though that could be argued with Weeks less-than-stellar first half this year)

 

[DHonks]

Hardy's arm angle would work well at 3rd. Jose Hernandez struggled because he loved side-arm throws and those tail away from the 1st baseman too much. But Hardy's arm slot would likely be very accurate at 3b. With his arm strength he could also play a little fairly deep at 3b. His hands and glove are so good that they'd allow him to get to many balls

[logan82]

Iirc since SS is valued as the most important defensive position,

Defensive spectrum

 

C - SS - 2B - CF - 3B - RF - LF - 1B

 

I don't think it would hurt his value much to move him to 2B, but I agree I would hate to see Hardy and Fielder paired up on one side of the IF.

[mletto157]

I actually agree with one of the other posts a few back that says the management has been raving about AB to try and talk him up as trade bait... Obviously speculation, but it does make sense.

 

I am also in with the bandwagon though that JJ would be great at 3B. His only knock is that he lacks range, and that would be minimized at 3B.

 

By the way, where did someone hear that JJ raced and tied for fastest Brewer? He has never really had speed.......

[TooLiveBrew]

Defensive spectrum

 

C - SS - 2B - CF - 3B - RF - LF - 1B

 

Duh! Sorry, of course #1 is catcher. Thanks logan. I agree that Hardy + Prince on the right side would mean a lot more seeing-eye singles

 

 

where did someone hear that JJ raced and tied for fastest Brewer?

 

ST 2007 (iirc) -- the team released the times. It's not some wacko crackpot idea. They were 60-yard sprints, iirc

[nate82]

I'm absolutely loving JJ Hardy right now, but I think I have to agree. I think his trade value will surprise a lot around here. I could go out on a limb and say it might be as great as Fielder's if he keeps up what he's doing. (And Fielder doesn't boost his numbers by the end of the season.)

 

Hardy to the Royals is looking like a move the Brewers could make and get some of the starting pitching back for a run in 2010 for the playoffs. I don't expect the Brewers to get something back that would help them in 2009 right away to stay competitive with the Cubs and other NL teams. But a trade during the off season involving Hardy for some pitching help would be something I can see happening.

[cwolf2012]

I think he's likely to be traded (and probably should be because his value will never ever be higher than it is) to either SF in a package for Matt Cain or to the Royals for whatever. We could maybe see something happen with TB depending on the development of some of their top tier prospects.

[FVBrewerFan]

Every time there's a thread about Hardy, many people talk about him playing 2B for some reason. I have never understood that. With his cannon and limited range, 3B makes far more sens than 2B if they ever move him.

[fondybrewfan]

Why would Hardy ever agree to go to third base. At SS he is a Top 5-10 offensive player, at 3rd he be lucky to crack the top 20, that would cost him a ton of money IMO. A move to 2nd makes more financial sense for Hardy than a move to 3rd, but he would make the most just staying at SS.