Coulter Position Switch?

[Crash2303]

With Phillips, Santiago, Clark, Harrison, Reed, Roache vying for future OF positions, in addition to Braun & Davis, its going to be tight competition for Coulter. I hope the Brewers start experimenting with Coulter at 1B & 3B. even if Braun eventually moves to first or we receive a corner infielder in a trade, at this point, I think versatility would only benefit Coulter reaching and staying in the bigs, provided his bat continues to progress. Has anyone heard if the crew will plan on training him at any other positions this season?

[And That]

They tried him at third in instructionals a few years ago and it didn't take. 1B is pretty much the last remaining option for him, but it would be a shame to waste his arm there. I wouldn't move anyone based on Clark or Harrison because of how far away they are, or Reed because he projects to be a fringe starter unless he can find more power. I also would be more inclined to move Roache to first.

[MrTPlush]

Personally I hope we rebuild fast enough that he can be trade bait for deals in that time. I don't ever see him getting a chance with the Brewers. Santana and Phillips will likely have two of the positions locked down and Braun likely will have the other one locked down too...unless he moves to first. Can't forget about Khris Davis either. He will probably stick around for the foreseeable future too.

 

Honestly he really needs to start pushing through the minors here real quick and hope Braun moves to first base. If those things don't happen his only real hope is for a major injury to happen when he is ready. He seems to be a outfielder only and that isn't the greatest spot to be in on this team. Wouldn't be surprised if he never gets a true shot here.

[brewmann04]

should be intresting to see what happens with all these OF and middle IF prospects.

[MNBrew]

I'd rather see him back at catcher, right back where they drafted him. I recall him switching to the OF but not the reason(s) why. Can anyone else fill in this gap?

[Jenkins5]

I'd rather see him back at catcher, right back where they drafted him. I recall him switching to the OF but not the reason(s) why. Can anyone else fill in this gap?

 

He wasn't very good behind the plate....His bat was very good. Outside of a strong arm, he really offered nothing defensively. behind the plate. His ticket is his power bat. They thought like most of us, why not just let him focus one his most important attribute. His defense was going to hold him back.

[And That]

I don't ever see him getting a chance with the Brewers.

Coulter is 21 and in A ball. He doesn't even need to be added to the 40-man until after next year. Any number of things could happen at the big league level and/or the guys ahead of him in the minors over the next three to four years. Actually, the soonest he could run out of options is 2020, the last guaranteed year of Braun's contract.

[JohnBriggs12]

I suspect they will start thinning out the crowded OF picture in the minors with some deals to acquire talent at spots they are thin at (3B, 1B and C). They are almost at a point where they can reshape their talent base by dealing from areas of depth for areas where they are thin. Guys like Coulter, Roache, and Taylor might end up being more valuable as pieces in deals. Not sure Coulter is an ideal fit at 1B. He'd have to hit a ton as a RH throwing and hitting 1B.

[Outlander]

And That makes a great point, it seems like Braun is here forever but by the time these talented guys in the lower minors are ready for the big leagues Braun will be at or near the end of his contract and Davis will be long gone by then unless extended. Santana is no sure thing either and some of these guys in the minors will be busts so no real need to worry about all of these great outfielders the Brewers have and where they will play. Just continue to develop and stockpile these high ceiling guys no matter the position.

[Crash2303]

I'm not saying he needs to permanently switch positions due to the current OF logjam, I'm saying at some point, I think it would behoove Coulter's value to create more positional flexibility. there's little reason to restrict him to OF, when he is athletic enough to possibly add 1B (or even 3B) to his defensive arsenal. aka what they have done with Jason Rogers.

[And That]

He is restricted physically to the outfield, or first base. He has a lot more value in the outfield, so while I don't have a problem with him taking some grounders at first, he needs to concentrate on getting better defensively in right field. And again, the Brewers have apparently taken third base off of the table for him.

 

Jason Rogers is also not a third baseman, and creates negative value when they throw him out there. He at least did play there in college, though. Which is a lot more experience than Coulter has or will have.

[Jenkins5]

It is great to have a incredible arm, I am all for him being out in the OF and adding that skill in case something happens down the road, however, he profiles perfectly at 1st base. He was a catcher and should be able to adjust to picking the ball and becoming a sold defender there. He is also an athletic guy, he really does move pretty for his size (not as much as the freaks Demi or Monte of course). Nick Ramirez had to repeat AA then pretty much lost his job there by the end of the season. Cooper I could see opening up in AAA with his age and approach.

 

Coulter's best path to the big leagues is 1st base and letting his bat speak for him. That also doesn't mean he is locked there for life either. Look at Cory Hart. 3B, then 1B then RF, then back to 1B. If his bat plays big, they will find/clear a spot for him in RF/LF/ or 1B. Otherwise he is trade bait.

[And That]

Hart also had his value killed by being, at best, a below average defender no matter where he went. His third base experiment was a complete joke. It's the Brewers way - move a player around so much that they don't even remember which positions they were bad at.

 

As for Coulter being able to adjust to first base, great, he can do that later. His value lies in the outfield and he needs to continue working out there.

[Jenkins5]

Hart also had his value killed by being, at best, a below average defender no matter where he went. His third base experiment was a complete joke. It's the Brewers way - move a player around so much that they don't even remember which positions they were bad at.

 

As for Coulter being able to adjust to first base, great, he can do that later. His value lies in the outfield and he needs to continue working out there.

 

This season I am fine with, next season we will have to see how the system starts to shake out. If he breaks out the way I have a feeling he will at the plate.... for 2017 you have to start thinking about how he can help the MLB team....way that is looking that is 1B, if Braun moves to 1B, Khris Davis is traded, Now it is looking like LF or RF. He is not a guy you can call-up up mid season, toss him a 1b glove and say your our 1b, better catch on fast. He will need an off-season to learn it. Going into 2017 or 2018 will be when they for sure need to decide if his bat is playing at a high level. In 2016....you don't need to move him now, at AA your not really worried about who is at the MLB or AAA level ahead of you. If the club feels he could be the 1b of the future, do it, otherwise keep letting him play OF.

[paul253]

I get the whole "he is still a long ways away so a lot could still happen" argument but I don't understand why we continue to ignore the fact that we have solid OF players at almost every level in the organization and not one solid first baseman anywhere. Even if they want to move Braun to first Coulter is 2-3 years away. I've always thought Coulter to first was the obvious move. I'm sorry if we waste his good arm but his arm is also wasted if he's stuck in the minors or on the bench. This organization has never been one to think three to fours years down the road, MAYBE up until now. Seeing the incredible amount of outfield talent in front of Coulter (Braun, Davis, Santana, Reed, Phillips), not to mention behind him (Clark, Demi, Harrison) and the incredible dearth of first baseman all throughout the system I think it would be wise to move him now and give him at least two seasons to begin to learn the position.

[jerichoholicninja]

There's no reason he can't play both, right? Work him at 1B a little next year and a little bit more the year after while still spending most of his time in the outfield. I really hate how all major league clubs have this idea that a player can only play one position at a time. Your minor league players should be playing a position or two. In the long run, that flexibility is a great benefit to both the player and the organization.

[paul253]

I agree in most cases but in this case he'd really be learning two completely different positions simultaneously. It'd be one thing if he took some reps in the outfield when he was still a catcher. But he's only played outfield one year. I don't think having him learn first base while he's still learning how to play the outfield would be a good idea.

[jerichoholicninja]

There really isn't much to "learn" about playing the outfield. You run after the ball and throw it to the cutoff man. It's pretty simple. Certainly there is experience to be gained by playing there in games such as reading balls off the bat and communicating with other fielders but it doesn't take a whole lot of "learning" to be good at it. He can work at 1B before games and then play OF during them. There's no reason to tie him to one position right now, especially one that is so stacked in the organization and when he's still 2 or 3 years from the bigs.

[And That]

There really isn't much to "learn" about playing the outfield. You run after the ball and throw it to the cutoff man. It's pretty simple.

Off the top of my head, Alfonso Soriano, Dante Bichette, and Adam Dunn would strongly disagree with you. It is pretty simple to be bad outfielder, I'll grant you that.

[Mass Haas]

There really isn't much to "learn" about playing the outfield. You run after the ball and throw it to the cutoff man. It's pretty simple.

Off the top of my head, Alfonso Soriano, Dante Bichette, and Adam Dunn would strongly disagree with you. It is pretty simple to be bad outfielder, I'll grant you that.

 

Hanley Ramirez, circa 2015...

[jerichoholicninja]

There really isn't much to "learn" about playing the outfield. You run after the ball and throw it to the cutoff man. It's pretty simple.

Off the top of my head, Alfonso Soriano, Dante Bichette, and Adam Dunn would strongly disagree with you. It is pretty simple to be bad outfielder, I'll grant you that.

 

Hanley Ramirez, circa 2015...

 

Aside from Hanley, those guys just weren't athletic guys, they could hit the ball and had to play somewhere in the field. No amount of practice was going to make Adam Dunn a better outfielder. He just didn't have the physical tools to be good at it.

 

You get better in the OF by playing it. There just really isn't much to practice. With infield play, the repetition of taking ground balls, turning double plays, knowing where/when to take cuts from the OF, cover bases, look back runners, and follow trail runners are things that you can get better at with practice.

[CheezWizHed]

In the OF, you need to see the ball come off the bat over and over again. Different trajectories, different depths, different spins... a lot like practicing ground balls.

 

If you aren't a natural at it or haven't done it much, you need to practice it.

[jerichoholicninja]

In the OF, you need to see the ball come off the bat over and over again. Different trajectories, different depths, different spins... a lot like practicing ground balls.

 

If you aren't a natural at it or haven't done it much, you need to practice it.

 

Which is best done in games. A coach hitting fungos isn't even close to the same thing.

[CheezWizHed]

Nothing is like live game action. Double plays with a player trying to take you out isn't like practice. Neither are ground balls, looking people back, placing yourself for cutoff, covering bases, etc... But that doesn't mean you don't practice them.

 

You will see one or two balls in an actual game. You need far more repetitions than that.

[colbyjack]

Adam Dunn was a Division I college quarterback for the University of Texas.

 

Bichette was a very talented two-way player in high school and college that played SS/3B and also pitched.

 

Physically, Alfonso Soriano is the definition of a quick-twitch athlete. Incredibly physical gifts with some of the fastest hands and overall bat speed you will see.

 

To call any of them not athletic is just a poor argument, or at least worded poorly. Some players just aren't good defensively for a variety of reasons.

 

And Coulter was a future 1B/DH the day the Brewers drafted him. He certainly was never a catcher, or a third baseman. It doesn't matter how strong his arm is as he needs to be put at a position where he can succeed overall. Mark Teixeira, who obviously is a Gold Glover, has one of the strongest arms at first base that you'll ever see, but I think it's obvious the way his body developed that third base, or even a corner outfield spot, was never in his future.

 

And no, I'm not comparing Clint Coulter to Mark Teixeira.