Where is Domingo's Power?

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

up to .281 / .415 / .453 . . . nice.

 

3 Ks last night ... not nice.

[YelichPosse]

up to .281 / .415 / .453 . . . nice.

 

3 Ks last night ... not nice.

 

2 homers in one game can put a bow on a turd. haha.

 

I really want him to ramp it up , but until we see a week or two of consistency, I don't know what he is anymore .

[xisxisxis]

I really want him to ramp it up , but until we see a week or two of consistency, I don't know what he is anymore

 

Unfortunately, we've already played this game with Villar and the results aren't so positive. I think Santana is a better hitter than Villar so I still have hope he won't remain at his pre-2017 performance level for too much longer... With Santana I have a bit more hope that his regression was mostly mental (on the trade block all winter, 2 new OF brought in, etc.) while with Villar I think his 2016 was probably more fluke than real and Santana's 2017 more real than fluke...

[YelichPosse]

I really want him to ramp it up , but until we see a week or two of consistency, I don't know what he is anymore

 

Unfortunately, we've already played this game with Villar and the results aren't so positive. I think Santana is a better hitter than Villar so I still have hope he won't remain at his pre-2017 performance level for too much longer... With Santana I have a bit more hope that his regression was mostly mental (on the trade block all winter, 2 new OF brought in, etc.) while with Villar I think his 2016 was probably more fluke than real and Santana's 2017 more real than fluke...

 

I hope you are right here! I always thought Villar would be like Carlos Gomez, and it would "click". He would use his speed as a weapon and enough power to keep the other team honest. He has consistently gotten hits, but with minimal power and walks, it is like a puff of smoke.

 

Santana, I guess I struggle in wondering where he even got his pop last year. It's like he would have a week where he gets 5-6 homers then 50-60 at bats of .220/.260/.345 type ball. Streaky for sure. Like Geoff jenkins minus the true power.

 

I really don't know if either is a long term answer on this club, when at the same time I fear they will both go be Segura and Gennett after they leave. But right now.. not sure we will see that outcome here.

[djoctagone]

up to .299 / .429 / .481.

 

however, 12 strikeouts in his last 32 at-bats, but 10 walks over his last 10 games. that's certainly a positive.

[rickh150]

Beginning to think they should just call up Santana and Arcia to start the second half.

 

They need both back, agreed.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Beginning to think they should just call up Santana and Arcia to start the second half.

 

They need both back, agreed.

 

Arcia yes, Santana no, at least not yet. Not until he shows more power and consistency at the plate. He doesn't have the "good defender" cushion to fall back on.

[coolhandluke121]

Santana was surprisingly good in the field this year. I almost wonder if he slimmed down a little and sacrificed power to improve range in response to all the criticism and trade rumors. But he's always going to be up and down, like Corey Hart. I think guys that tall often have holes in their swing because the strike zone is bigger when you're tall. It's not that he's a free-swinger - he has a good eye at the plate - but he's still going to strike out a lot.

 

I don't like Braun but he is a little better than his stats this year and I think Santana/Braun is pretty close to a wash. Santana's availability is better though, which as others have mentioned is obviously the issue with Braun. But if neither of them is going to hit ~.775+, you may as well have Broxton and Phillips on the 25. Cross your fingers and put Thames in RF or LF a few times a week and pull him for defense when it's time to PH too. When the alternative is Broxton or Phillips, it's probably pretty close to a wash and playing time should be determined by match-ups and ballparks.

[A Swing and A Drive]

Santana did not lose all his power because he slimmed down a bit.

 

He was just being exposed by MLB pitchers for the average player he is.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Santana did not lose all his power because he slimmed down a bit.

 

He was just being exposed by MLB pitchers for the average player he is.

 

If he were average, he'd be starting in RF for the Brewers on a regular basis. He was most decidedly below average before getting sent down.

[FVBrewerFan]

Beginning to think they should just call up Santana and Arcia to start the second half.

 

They need both back, agreed.

 

Arcia yes, Santana no, at least not yet. Not until he shows more power and consistency at the plate. He doesn't have the "good defender" cushion to fall back on.

 

Agree. Thames is back and I imagine will play most of the time in RF vs RHP, Braun will start vs LHP. If either of them really struggle, Santana can be called up. Of course, reverse is true also. If Santana is just killing it for a couple weeks they'll bring his bat up and find a place for him. They really need RF to produce more offense.

 

I would bring up Arcia now, but if they feel he needs more time down there, fine. Move Saladino to UT guy, and 2B can be Villar, Dozier, Miller, whoever.

[LouisEly]

Beginning to think they should just call up Santana and Arcia to start the second half.

 

They need both back, agreed.

 

Arcia yes, Santana no, at least not yet. Not until he shows more power and consistency at the plate. He doesn't have the "good defender" cushion to fall back on.

I'd argue that Santana's .429 OBP in AAA is not only fairly consistent but also sorely needed on the major league team.

[bill hAll Star]

 

They need both back, agreed.

 

Arcia yes, Santana no, at least not yet. Not until he shows more power and consistency at the plate. He doesn't have the "good defender" cushion to fall back on.

I'd argue that Santana's .429 OBP in AAA is not only fairly consistent but also sorely needed on the major league team.

 

He’s just behind Choi on the Colorado Springs leaderboard who has a .296 majors OBP this year. Barely in front of Orf, Bandy, Arcia, Nottingham in OBP all well south of .300 OBP save for Nottingham (.583 OPS) in the majors...

 

Noticing a trend here?

[LouisEly]

Yes, he is trending back towards his career MLB OBP of .347 and the first third of this season was noise and not signal.

[xisxisxis]

You've missed out on bill hAll Star new role of pointing out that Colorado Springs numbers don't translate to MLB...

[coolhandluke121]

Santana did not lose all his power because he slimmed down a bit.

 

He was just being exposed by MLB pitchers for the average player he is.

 

That doesn't explain why he might have lost some power. It doesn't even attempt to. A lot of his batted ball peripherals are very similar to 2017. If everyone figured him out, his other peripherals would be worse. He's just not driving the ball at all. It's like he's trying to turn himself into a singles hitter. Could be statistically insignificant or there could be some explanation. It wouldn't be the first time a guy was at risk of losing his position and tried to change his approach, doing more harm than good in the process. I wouldn't be surprised if he realized he was striking out too much and tried to make more contact, but merely compromised his power without actually improving his k%. Or maybe he got a little complacent in the off season and didn't come to camp strong. Or maybe he wanted to get a little lighter and faster, like I initially suggested. His bad defense in RF was the 2nd-most discussed Domingo topic this off season, right behind trying to trade him. I'm pretty sure he heard that talk, and he did turn himself into a much better defender from what we saw.

 

Any one of those explanations is plausible, but saying everyone just figured him out is kind of lazy and not supported by evidence.

[bill hAll Star]

Yes, he is trending back towards his career MLB OBP of .347 and the first third of this season was noise and not signal.

 

I do agree that Santana likely is a good OBP guy when he’s back and when he’s right.

[djoctagone]

santana hit his fourth home run for the sky sox tuesday (that's 1 every 30 at-bats). still maintaining that high obp: .292 /.412 / .458

[FVBrewerFan]

You've missed out on bill hAll Star new role of pointing out that Colorado Springs numbers don't translate to MLB...

 

Well, it's an important role. As long as people keep bringing up CS stats, it needs to be pointed out. I mean Santana has Bandy-type numbers in CS. Really doesn't matter, he'll be up in September (or sooner if there's an injury) regardless of his CS stats.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

You've missed out on bill hAll Star new role of pointing out that Colorado Springs numbers don't translate to MLB...

 

Well, it's an important role. As long as people keep bringing up CS stats, it needs to be pointed out. I mean Santana has Bandy-type numbers in CS. Really doesn't matter, he'll be up in September (or sooner if there's an injury) regardless of his CS stats.

 

I had hoped/expected Santana to rip the cover off the ball in Colorado, and while he's been OK, he certainly hasn't done anything to indicate that the 2017 version of Santana is back.

[JohnBriggs12]

I'm not 100% certain that Santana will be up in September for the following reasons. One is that he hasn't hit to the level at CS that indicate he's even close to his 2017 form so with Counsell already juggling 4 regulars in the OF and with better defenders available in Broxton (assuming he's back) and Perez, who's bat has heated up, there's not much opportunity for Santana to see time other than the random PH spot, and even then they are deep enough that he's not the prime or even the second choice to hit. Secondly, he's arby eligible this winter. There's some question whether they will bring him back because, as of now going into 2018, he's no better than the 5th outfielder. Teams don't usually pay $2-3 million for a 5th outfielder. There's not much he can do to revive his trade value either by riding the big league bench in September.

[PeaveyFury]

There's some question whether they will bring him back because

 

I'm rarely a fan of speaking in absolutes, but I'll go as far as saying that there's a 0.00% chance that the Brewers let him go. If he's not with the team next year it's because they traded him, and even that I'd put as a low probability because it would be selling very low.

[adambr2]

There's some question whether they will bring him back because

 

I'm rarely a fan of speaking in absolutes, but I'll go as far as saying that there's a 0.00% chance that the Brewers let him go. If he's not with the team next year it's because they traded him, and even that I'd put as a low probability because it would be selling very low.

 

I also think there's almost no chance he'll be non-tendered, but I think the odds of him being traded in the offseason are much higher than you do.

 

They just don't really have a spot for him anymore, and it doesn't really make much sense to pay a guy a couple million dollars in arbitration to have him sit in AAA as depth.

 

Sucks to sell low, but we don't really have much choice as he's unlikely to regain much value the way we're going to use him anyway.

[djoctagone]

They just don't really have a spot for him anymore, and it doesn't really make much sense to pay a guy a couple million dollars in arbitration to have him sit in AAA as depth.

santana will enter his first arbitration year this off-season. he has burned his final minor league option this year, so there's no way the club can send him to the minors next year without trying to outright him.

[adambr2]

They just don't really have a spot for him anymore, and it doesn't really make much sense to pay a guy a couple million dollars in arbitration to have him sit in AAA as depth.

santana will enter his first arbitration year this off-season. he has burned his final minor league option this year, so there's no way the club can send him to the minors next year without trying to outright him.

 

All the more reason he will likely be traded in the offseason.