Low A K rates

[torts]

just wanted to ask... but after looking at players like Harrison (33K/60AB), Gatewood (25/56) and Munoz (17/50), are the coaches basically just telling them to swing away as much as possible to develop their swing/approach, or are they just thinking they can swing and hit pitches and missing? Seems like a pretty high K rate for those 3 in particular, and i wasnt sure if it was something they were struggling with, or if it was something the coaches said to just not worry about and just swing away? I feel like I read before that coaches in the low/RK level leagues do that on here?

[FVBrewerFan]

Harrison and Gatewood are simply over-matched at this level. They struggled last year in AZ, so it was surprising they promoted them all the way to A ball. I think they should/will be sent to Helena, and very likely that was the plan all along.

[Jenkins5]

Harrison and Gatewood are simply over-matched at this level. They struggled last year in AZ, so it was surprising they promoted them all the way to A ball. I think they should/will be sent to Helena, and very likely that was the plan all along.

 

Yeah it is the same with Clint Coulter and Mcfarland two years ago and then Denson last year. I like the Brewers aggressive approach because you never really know until you push them where they are. It worked for the likes of Scooter, Arcia and Taylor because they were just ready, they didn't have many adjustments to make because they all were more pure/ or pro hitters. They see ball well and know what to do. Sometimes guys need to refine those skills a little more before they are ready.

 

My hope is they turn it around and continue to improve where they are not sent back down come June. I think it depends on where their confidence level is. Coulter was beat up, his confidence was down, and he simply needed to head back down to Helena. Mcfarland stuck it out the whole season, was repeated and was very impressive last season. Maybe they turn it around and figure it where they will be back on track to start in BC next year.

[torts]

so is it more of getting them used to playing ball from April - October then?

[Jenkins5]

so is it more of getting them used to playing ball from April - October then?

 

Really 2 things IMO

 

1) to push them and test them and see how they do. Instead of babying them, you push them see if they are ready or not. It's much better competition.

 

2) like you said, it gets them playing meaningful baseball right away. That's prob 150-200 meaningful PAs prior to the start of the Helena season.

[FVBrewerFan]

Yea, since Helena/AZ leagues don't start until later, not a lot to lose by starting these guys in Appleton. If they can be productive, keep them there. If not, bring them down to Helena when the season starts. At least they'll know what they need to work on, and understand what A ball will be like when they get back.

 

I don't think it's adjusting to a longer season that's the issue at this point- that usually shows up late in the season. It's just real young guys who haven't seen this quality of pitching every night.

[SRB]

Pushing them is one thing, but I do worry about the psychological setback of having a .528 OPS first season followed by a .519 OPS to start the second season (with poor defense on top). Would be nice to see Gatewood build some confidence and get in a groove somewhere - it does not appear Wisconsin is/was the appropriate forum for that.

[splitterpfj]

The Brewers try to pick the kids who can handle the mental side of being overmatched in a case like this, to get them out there, playing pro ball. We have no choice but to hope they guessed right.

 

It worked out with Coulter, they chose not to do it with Devin Williams - someone gets paid to make the call, I hope they didn't find him on Craigslist.

[TheCrew07]

Tough question.

 

I don't know that you can pigeon hole it in one particular way or another, it's really something that has to be taken case by case. For example when Arcia was in WI people raved about his low K rate and used that evidence of advanced plate discipline. In the truth the opposite was actually true, Orlando had bad discipline but had the hand-eye coordination to put balls in play that the majority of other hitter's just swing through. As such the many weak ground balls on half swings completely suppressed his batting average even though he had some of best hand-eye coordination I've seen, He's ascended as he's actually learned to swing at better pitches on a more consistent basis and just let his talent play.

 

If you want to know what each hitter's particular current weakness is I can help with that, but there's not any 1 issue that's consistent across of the hitters.

 

Obviously the high strike out rates aren't good but if I didn't think somewhat simple adjustments could make a significant impact I'd be much more concerned.