First Base 2014

[fondybrewfan]

I really wish Morris would have followed up his .925 OPS at AA with even an .800 at AAA last year; we probably wouldn't even be having this discussion. I would be willing to give him a shot if our other options are middling aging veterans. If the Brewers brass has any hope that his true talent is closer to what he did in AA than what he did in AAA last year; they have to give him a shot. He has decent power for a 1B; K and BB rates were more or less the same in 2012 and 2013. His BA just fell off quite a bit; was it BABIP related? I would love for Morris, Halton, or Rogers to be a good long term solution at 1B; Morris seems like has the most upside

[TooLiveBrew]

I think Morris will wind up being a better option for the RH side of a 1B platoon, both this coming season & going forward, than Francisco. I actually think the Brewers could get a good amount of bang for their buck with a Morris/Halton platoon, which would be a lot more wise than overpaying for some Grizzled Veteran™ with a Proven Track Record™ to turn in a sub-.800 OPS. Plus, having Morris as a power LH bat off the bench on days he wouldn't be starting would be nice.

[bill hAll Star]

I'm not so sure about that, myself. Admittedly, like most, I've never seen Morris play, but just looking at Francisco's AA/AAA progression gives me a better feeling about him than Morris. When he got to AA/AAA and he started to "get it" at the age of 23 and 24 he was going in the range of .300/.340/.530 and this was not in the PCL.

 

Now, he was more along the lines of .280/.310/.480 in the years before that, but that is what we've seen from Morris outside of his hot AA season.

 

Halton seems like a AAAA guy to me (Morris does to a lesser degree as well and Francisco is a rich-man's AAAA player). Halton could barely crack the .800 mark in the PCL, and he's going in the LHP side of the platoon.

 

Halton reminds me a bit of Brett Pill from a progression standpoint, which doesn't really excite me.

[fleehaw]

Halton had around a .975 OPS vs. LHP in 2012 in his first go-round in AAA. Last year he didn't do nearly as well; however, he was also playing different positions for the first time. Perhaps that has something to do with it, perhaps not.

 

World beater, no. Useful, inexpensive part of a platoon, yes.

[TooLiveBrew]

I'm not so sure about that, myself. Admittedly, like most, I've never seen Morris play, but just looking at Francisco's AA/AAA progression gives me a better feeling about him than Morris. When he got to AA/AAA and he started to "get it" at the age of 23 and 24 he was going in the range of .300/.340/.530 and this was not in the PCL.

 

Now, he was more along the lines of .280/.310/.480 in the years before that, but that is what we've seen from Morris outside of his hot AA season.

 

Halton seems like a AAAA guy to me (Morris does to a lesser degree as well and Francisco is a rich-man's AAAA player). Halton could barely crack the .800 mark in the PCL, and he's going in the LHP side of the platoon.

 

Halton reminds me a bit of Brett Pill from a progression standpoint, which doesn't really excite me.

I just like how quiet Morris's swing is when he's comfortable at the plate. Francisco really seems to have to put a lot more effort into his swing to generate power than Morris does (just imo from admittedly a small sample of watching Morris on MiLB.tv).

[LouisEly]

I hate to say this, but Morris' 2012 season I believe is the outlier, based on his other minor league seasons and based on the fact that Morris is from Huntsville and lived at home with his parents/family during 2012. Sleeping in your own bed, being around your family, having your parents likely cook for you, not paying any rent... doesn't get any more comfortable than that.

 

I want Morris to succeed, but the data doesn't suggest it will happen.

[fondybrewfan]

His HR rates and walk rates have both improved the farther he has gotten along but that BA has been all over the place. I really don't know what to make of him; I really want him to be our 1B of the future but he is an enigma. If he does indeed start at AAA this year I would need to see considerable improvement for me to think he has sticking power. If you can't OPS 800+ repeating AAA then he probably just is a AAAA type player.

[MNBrew]

I want Hunter Morris to be everything his 2012 makes it seem he can be, but I'm too leery he'll become the next Kevin Barker (who I didn't think was as bad as he was made out to be in the short-ish stretch he got to start before they pulled the plug on him & dumped him for good).

[SRB]

I have a hard time considering Morris a legitimate prospect anymore, and I don't think the front office really does either. Maybe that's harsh, but when you are limited to 1B defensively you really have a huge burden to consistently perform offensively. Putting up a .766 OPS season at AAA with a 122/43 K/BB ratio is just not going to cut it. And it's not like he's 21 years old.

 

If they are punting on the season then sure, call him up and see what you've got (though in that case you also have to start trading players like Gomez for maximum return). But I don't think the team would have to do all that much to be competitive in 2014. A boring-but-competent stopgap at 1B could be all they need. Rolling the dice with non-prospects and AAAA players is closer to just giving up on the season.

[PrinceFielderx1]

The fact that the Brewers have been looking for a real 1B man that is proven speaks VOLUMES of what they think of Morris. Morris will never see Milwaukee unless 2-3 other 1B man get injured, and even then it's iffy.

[trwi7]

I have a hard time considering Morris a legitimate prospect anymore

 

I never thought he was legitimate in the first place, even with his big year in Huntsville. I'd still prefer him over Young and pretty much every other option though.

[JohnBriggs12]

If Francisco makes the opening day roster, his leash is going to be very short, especially if Morris gets off the a hot start.

 

I don't get the anti Young sentiment myself. We're talking about a guy who's been a premier hitter. Yes he's slipped. But last year they started off the season with a just as old but nowhere near the hitter in Alex Gonzalez at 1B who was backed up by Yuni. Young's not a guy that can play 156 games like he did with Rangers in 2012, when his numbers slipped significantly. But 130 games at age 37? Why not? That little extra rest might boost his numbers to say .290/.335/.410. Who's he really blocking? Halton? I like Halton as much as anyone and think he'll have a role this year at some point, but I'm guessing over a full season, he'd hit .250/.300/.400. Not Yuni like, but not something to really get excited about either.

 

The mentality of the Brewer brain trust is that 2011 and 2012 were sabotaged by slow starts. This team isn't a favorite, but it's not hopeless as far as contending either. But they can't be 10-15 under .500 again on June 1st either. They will have two first year regulars in Gennett and Davis. Adding a veteran bat with a limited downside could prevent a shaky start. If they are out of it in July, Young can and will probably be moved. One way or another, he's likely to finish the season on a contender.

[CheeseheadInQC]

I guess I wouldn't mind Young on a relatively inexpensive one year deal if Davis can't be had for cheap. It is at least better than over-paying in money or prospects for some of the other options out there.

 

Also, I was looking at the stats for the three first basemen likely to start the season in Nashville. I can't remember, was there ever any kind of explanation given for Jason Rogers' June? If he was struggling through an injury or something, all of a sudden his season compares quite well with with the numbers Morris put up the year before.

[trwi7]

But last year they started off the season with a just as old but nowhere near the hitter in Alex Gonzalez at 1B who was backed up by Yuni.

 

[sarcasm]And we were all just thrilled about that.[/sarcasm]

[sheetskout]

Not sure if this was mentioned but we can close out any thoughts of Brett Pill as I thought it was mentioned previously. Getting pretty thin.

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10179261/brett-pill-san-francisco-giants-sold-korean-team

[logan82]

But last year they started off the season with a just as old but nowhere near the hitter in Alex Gonzalez at 1B who was backed up by Yuni.

Just because they made a stupid mistake doesn't mean they should make the same stupid mistake again.

[MNBrew]

I think Michael Young could be a very positive move -- far from a "big mistake."

[RockCoCougars]

Would Young sign for 2 million? If Melvin gives him more than that, I would be irate. I really don't see any positives to bringing him in, unless he's really cheap. Otherwise, it seems like a Bando-esque 'vet leadership' move. Assuming that he can stay healthy (and that's a big assumption at his age), if he puts up numbers similar to his has the past few years, I'll just take my chances with the internal candidates.

[bensheeps]

2 Questions:

 

1) What would Mike Carp, of the RedSox's cost (in players for the trade, not cash)?

 

2) Would he be worth it?

 

Left-handed bat.

He had a decent year last year (although looks like he was protected against left-handers for the most part).

Is still youngish (27 until end of June).

Is arby eligible for the first time so still 3 years before free agent.

[TURBO]

What I find frustrating is the fact that we are even considering, even for 1 second, guys like Smoak, Loney, Carp, Young, Ike Davis, insert players name here who is no better than what we have on hand...

 

Spending draft picks and money on average at best players just doesn't do it for me...

 

1B is a black hole in our line-up, was last year, and it is shaping up like it will be the same this year.

 

3B in our near future looks the same.

 

We are talking about 2 offensive producing positions that we have no answer for.

[brewmann04]

Sign Young looking for a 3rd baseman is delmonico an answer at that spot?

[MNBrew]

Delmonico played in Class A in '13 and was underwhelming. In fact, nothing in his pro career is terribly encouraging - at least not in terms of results:

 

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=547170

[brewmann04]

thanks for the update does not sound to good.

[logan82]

He looked better before the trade. An .819 OPS wouldn't be horrible. He dropped off quite a bit after we acquired him. Not great overall. Link

[Rock hard Brouhard]

How about Aubrey Huff on a minor league contract?