2016 OF Situation

[Boomer5]

For what its worth:

 

OPS by Player in ST

 

Santana: 1.392

Braun: 1.381

Presley: 958

Broxton: 870

Kirk N: 747

Reed: 744

EY Jr: 625

Flores: 609

[Scooter102783]

I'm surprised anyone is advocating for Young. He's 30. He has a career .642 OPS (.610 in '14, .464 in '15). And his ability to dabble at 2B may not be all that consequential for a team that very well could be rostering 5 infielders with 2B experience/chops in Gennett, Walsh, Villar, Rivera, and Hill. I think we have that position covered. Of the 3 candidates left, I guess I'd go Nieuwenhuis...he's younger than EY, and was a 1+ win player as recently as '14. Or, again, maybe only keep 4 true outfielders.

[proudsoftballdad]

Being that we are in rebuild mode and that you are talking limited playing time the chance that one of the veterans plays well enough to make them a trade chip at the deadline is ify at best,so why not give the nod to youth and see what we have ,are they 4AAA players or is there something to develop?. It should not be about if that bench player can help you win a game or two it needs to be about looking at who can help you win in 17 and 18.

[CheezWizHed]

How often have we actually kept a 5th OFer on the roster? I'd bet we keep 4. Santana and Flores are "passable" at CF short term. Then call up Maverick or someone else to cover CF longer term if needed.

[JohnBriggs12]

How often have we actually kept a 5th OFer on the roster? I'd bet we keep 4. Santana and Flores are "passable" at CF short term. Then call up Maverick or someone else to cover CF longer term if needed.

 

Opening day last year they had 5 OF, Davis, Gomez, Braun, Parra and Schafer, who was later replaced by Peterson. When have they not had a 5th OF or an IF who also played OF, other than those instances where they went with 13 pitchers temporarily.

 

Based on spring production only, Presley would have the clear edge at this point. Overall career numbers factor in, but none of Presley, Nieuwenhuis, or EY Jr. is really above the other two.

 

By the way, Flores can play some 1B.

 

I don't get the Middlebrooks love. He's been awful this spring (.444 OPS), was awful in the majors in 2014 and 2015 and not very good at AAA those two years either. He's had two good seasons as a professional, in 2011 and 2012. That's it. Because he was in Boston system, he got extra hype. His career numbers in the minors are very ordinary. I don't know if he has an opt-out clause that kicks in, but if he does, I suspect he'll be gone one way or the other in a few days.

[DuWayne Steurer]

 

By the way, Flores can play some 1B.

 

I don't get the Middlebrooks love. He's been awful this spring (.444 OPS), was awful in the majors in 2014 and 2015 and not very good at AAA those two years either. He's had two good seasons as a professional, in 2011 and 2012. That's it. Because he was in Boston system, he got extra hype. His career numbers in the minors are very ordinary. I don't know if he has an opt-out clause that kicks in, but if he does, I suspect he'll be gone one way or the other in a few days.

 

 

Maybe it's my own perception, but it often seems to me that prospects coming up the Boston pipeline often get extra "hype". Interesting that others have noticed this as well.

 

Middlebrooks looked like the real deal at first, but his inability to be selective ruined him.

[djoctagone]

Maybe it's my own perception, but it often seems to me that prospects coming up the Boston pipeline often get extra "hype". Interesting that others have noticed this as well.

ahhhhh . . . we had such high hopes for this guy.

[TommyHarper3rdBase]

With Liriano out and headed for the 60-day DL, the centerfield battle comes down to Broxton and Nieuwenhuis. Both will make the team. The fifth outfielder comes down to Pressley, who is tearing it up this Sprimg, and veteran Peterson, who has struggled at the plate. Both are non-roster invitees.

[Mass Haas]

The fifth outfielder comes down to Pressley, who is tearing it up this Sprimg, and veteran Peterson, who has struggled at the plate. Both are non-roster invitees.

 

40-man roster OF Ramon Flores says hi.

[MKE81]

With Liriano out and headed for the 60-day DL, the centerfield battle comes down to Broxton and Nieuwenhuis. Both will make the team. The fifth outfielder comes down to Pressley, who is tearing it up this Sprimg, and veteran Peterson, who has struggled at the plate. Both are non-roster invitees.

Personally, I can't see any reason, as of right now, for Kirk to make this team let alone being a present day lock. I hope you leaving Flores out of the picture was a brain fart and accidentally forgot about him!! Given his age, upside, ability to cover all OF spots and 1b combined with being a lefty and having the plate discipline/approach he does he should be a lock. Kirk has been extremely inconsistent, has an insane K rate this spring and examining his body of work at this point he's the worst performer - after the first 14 of his 18 games played he was sub-300 OBP and after his 17th game was just a tick above 300. His 250/333/758 slash look likes solid for him but that's misleading when looking at his body of work this spring. He will play good defense though. I'm not focusing on OPS as an indicator because if you replace 1 Flores single with a HR his OPS is 800 - huge difference and reality is these guys are getting a relatively small sample size anyway so one HR or one awesome game in general can shift everything significantly stats wise.

 

Flores, Presley, EY have all been consistent and that's exactly what you want off the bench. As of right now, I don't think Kirk should make the team. See how he performs the next 8 games as if he keeps trending up and turns out to have a solid 2nd half of spring then it's a different story. EY brings speed to the table in late game pinch running situations and that can have a strong impact on the game (ie Dyson from KC - obviously he's not as impactful as Dyson but it's a frame of reference). That's a tool none of the other guys have in this group. Given our 5th OF won't play much it's a great tool to have sitting at the end of the bench as it gives Counsell his best pinch hitters every night while still being able to shift the outcome late without burning those guys. Flores/Presley will have much better ABs than Kirk will - they'll get on base at a higher clip.

[Lee16]

We may have to keep 5 OF on the team, since I am getting the distinct impression that Braun isn't playing anywhere near 162 games this year, if we get 100 out of him, I'll be amazed.

[MVP2110]

Right now I'm thinking Braun, Santana, Broxton, Flores are all locks, and I think Presley has a slight lead on Kirk N for the last spot but would rule out either Kirk N or Young for that spot either

[proudsoftballdad]

[sarcasm][/sarcasm]

We may have to keep 5 OF on the team, since I am getting the distinct impression that Braun isn't playing anywhere near 162 games this year, if we get 100 out of him, I'll be amazed.

Agree but do you have to carry 5 at the break of camp? With time of in April plus the likelyhood of additional time off due to weather (road games) could we not make better use of the roster by calling up a player when and if Braun goes on the DL ?

[Lee16]

Maybe, but Braun is saying he may not have to play any more spring games and still be ready for the opener. It sounds like it is serious enough for him to need to rest it pretty often, but not yet serious enough to go on the DL. I wouldn't be surprised if they ease Braun into it by playing him 50/50 for the first 2-3 weeks, in which case you would need the 5th OF. It's a tough call.

[MrTPlush]

Ryan Braun is a good reason why we need a 5th outfielder. Soon enough Chevy will have an advertisement featuring a truck taking Braun out to left field so he doesn't get injured or aggravate an injury. Looks to be another year of nagging injuries where he needs rest, but not enough to go on the DL. So basically we need a back up for Braun and then another one to cover the other two spots.

[sveumrules]

I think at this point Maldonado, Walsh, Rivera & Flores are locked in for bench spots. If they break camp with 13 pitchers that's a full roster. If they go with 12 I think my preference for the last bench spot would be Nieuwenhuis.

[MNBrew]

I don't think there's any reason to carry 13 pitchers at almost any point in the year, let alone having 13 on the Opening Day roster.

 

There seem to be at least somewhat justifiable reasons to keep almost every OF on the roster, so this one's sure tough to figure out. The only strong-ish opinion I have thus far is that I really don't have much interest in Kirk N. at this point. His K rate seems to suggest he's the OF version of Hernan Perez, and I'd rather not see him make the roster, either.

[JohnBriggs12]

I don't think there's any reason to carry 13 pitchers at almost any point in the year, let alone having 13 on the Opening Day roster.

 

There seem to be at least somewhat justifiable reasons to keep almost every OF on the roster, so this one's sure tough to figure out. The only strong-ish opinion I have thus far is that I really don't have much interest in Kirk N. at this point. His K rate seems to suggest he's the OF version of Hernan Perez, and I'd rather not see him make the roster, either.

 

 

Herman Perez? Perez fanned 48 times in 230 ABs as a Brewer. That isn't a particularly high rate these days. Nieuwenhuis fanned 49 times last year in 102 fewer ABs. They don't compare at all.

[1992casey]

I'm not sure where the Pérez/Nieuwenhuis comparison fits in either. Kirk has lousy MLB numbers, but he's been fine in the minors. Hernán has sucked in both the majors and minors.

 

For what it's worth, Baseball Reference points out that today is Hernán's 25th birthday.

[pogokat]

Ey jr. Has been reassigned

[DuWayne Steurer]

Ey jr. Has been reassigned

 

 

Phew. Dodged a bullet on that one.

[JohnBriggs12]

I'm not sure where the Pérez/Nieuwenhuis comparison fits in either. Kirk has lousy MLB numbers, but he's been fine in the minors. Hernán has sucked in both the majors and minors.

 

For what it's worth, Baseball Reference points out that today is Hernán's 25th birthday.

 

 

Perez put up solid minor league numbers in 2013 in AA: .301/.325/.423 at age 22 and in AAA in 2014: .287/.331/.401 at age 23. Those are much better numbers than Rivera put up at those levels and everyone seems ready to hand him the utility job. Don't let your disdain for my opinions cloud your view of Perez. He's not a bad player. Guys don't get major league looks at age 21 like Perez did without ability.

[pacopete4]

I'm not sure where the Pérez/Nieuwenhuis comparison fits in either. Kirk has lousy MLB numbers, but he's been fine in the minors. Hernán has sucked in both the majors and minors.

 

For what it's worth, Baseball Reference points out that today is Hernán's 25th birthday.

 

 

Perez put up solid minor league numbers in 2013 in AA: .301/.325/.423 at age 22 and in AAA in 2014: .287/.331/.401 at age 23. Those are much better numbers than Rivera put up at those levels and everyone seems ready to hand him the utility job. Don't let your disdain for my opinions cloud your view of Perez. He's not a bad player. Guys don't get major league looks at age 21 like Perez did without ability.

 

 

If he ever learned to take a walk I would happily have him on this team but he just doesn't. Hopefully he can at AAA this season

[Boomer5]

Does Braun start the season on the DL? Seems like he has been day to day for a while.

[1992casey]

At this point, Braun and the team are saying that he'll be fine. Of course, that could change.