3B options, Latest: Ensberg discussion

[TooLiveBrew]

Ensberg plays very solid D and ... ding, ding, ding... gets on base at an above average clip.

 

Above-average is putting it mildly. His BB rates have been stellar.

 

Ralph, if you're worried about 'a ton of Ks', Ensberg may not be your guy - unless you just meant that Iguchi would K a lot w/o some of the positives Ensberg'd supply.

[LUKE232323]

Don't know if this has been posted yet, about the Crew "zeroing in on Crede". I am hoping this does not come to fruition.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AgNP59WeWiJ2tLHj.XgcyVaFCLcF?slug=notebookbrewersseekingbr&prov=tsn&type=lgns

[TooLiveBrew]

Given this quote from that same article,

 

"The Brewers have a deal in place for free-agent righthander David Riske"

 

I'd say this guy is about two to three days behind in his rumors. That's about the time we were reported elsewhere as 'zeroing in' (read: asking about) on Crede. Don't worry too much.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Ralph, if you're worried about 'a ton of Ks', Ensberg may not be your guy - unless you just meant that Iguchi would K a lot w/o some of the positives Ensberg'd supply.

Yeah, you basically summed it up. I know Ensberg isn't exactly a "hit-to-contact" guy, but if I'm going to have strikeouts, I want more power and a better eye than Iguchi brings. The prospect of Iguchi manning 3B for the crew just doesn't excite me in the least. To me, he's a younger, more expensive version of Tony Graffanino.

[dadofandrew]

Didn't Doug say ages ago he had little interest in Crede?

[danzig6767]

Ralph, if you're worried about 'a ton of Ks', Ensberg may not be your guy - unless you just meant that Iguchi would K a lot w/o some of the positives Ensberg'd supply.

Yeah, you basically summed it up. I know Ensberg isn't exactly a "hit-to-contact" guy, but if I'm going to have strikeouts, I want more power and a better eye than Iguchi brings. The prospect of Iguchi manning 3B for the crew just doesn't excite me in the least. To me, he's a younger, more expensive version of Tony Graffanino.

Ensberg is a hard guy to figure out. He'll have outstanding years and then struggle pretty bad the next year, especially in the batting average area. He does walk a ton though so odds are you can alays count on a good OBP.

 

I'd be fine with Melvin going after Ensberg is Rolen doesn't get dealt here, but i highly question if Melvin feels the same. He seems to want a guy that hits for a high average, takes walks, and doesn't strikeout very much. Plus, if i remember correctly, Esnberg has been prone the last few years to have torrid hot streaks and deep slumps like Jenkins.

 

I have no idea what will end up happening, but if i had to choose from guys like Crede/Feliz/Iguchi or Ensberg, i'd take Ensberg without giving it a second thought. Of every thirdbaseman we've talked about including Rolen, IMO Ensberg has the chance to put up the biggest number if things went well. It was only two years ago that he posted a .945 OPS with a .388 OBP. Even in 2006 with his struggles in having only a .235 batting average, he still managed an amazing .396 OBP by drawing 101 walks.

[pogokat]

i'm warming up to the idea of Crede a little...yeah, his career obp is ridiculous, but his defense should balance that out a little...

 

besides, he's certainly not as bad as last year...he's pretty similar to billy hall...we could get a .280/.330/.450 line out of him...which would be an asset to he lineup...the savings in defense will improve the team even if he doesnd't get on base a lot...

 

i;d rather have him than feliz though...but get him by giving up nothing of real value

[And That]

i'm warming up to the idea of Crede a little...yeah, his career obp is ridiculous, but his defense should balance that out a little...

 

besides, he's certainly not as bad as last year...he's pretty similar to billy hall...we could get a .280/.330/.450 line out of him...

I'll spot you the .450 slugging, but a .330 OBP would be a full-season career high in the bigs. His OBP would likely be closer to .300 than .330. It's odd this is true, because in the minors he actually took some walks. Have to wonder if part of his OBP is the ChiSox' doing.

 

[pogokat]

a healthy crede was at .323 in 2006...i suspect getting away from ozzie would help some...and batting 8th would probably help as well

 

and truthfully, rolen (2 of last 3 years obp below .331, blalock (last two full seasons below .325, needs platoon, ensberg ( obp below .320 last year), and feliz (god forsaken) all have big questions about the stick

 

Crede doesn't have the obp potential of rolen or ensberg...but he's not as different as it seems...and blalock isn't really ant different than crede...

 

that said, if it was up to me, i'd forget feliz, and then take whoever came cheaper between rolen and crede, assuming that the defense would outweigh the stick...

[And That]

Rolen's OBP will, with 90% likelihood, be better than Crede's, with nominal defensive difference. They are both coming off of health problems. So, I'd be willing to give up more for Rolen. Not a lot more, but more.

[danzig6767]

a healthy crede was at .323 in 2006...i suspect getting away from ozzie would help some...and batting 8th would probably help as well

 

and truthfully, rolen (2 of last 3 years obp below .331, blalock (last two full seasons below .325, needs platoon, ensberg ( obp below .320 last year), and feliz (god forsaken) all have big questions about the stick

 

Crede doesn't have the obp potential of rolen or ensberg...but he's not as different as it seems...and blalock isn't really ant different than crede...

 

that said, if it was up to me, i'd forget feliz, and then take whoever came cheaper between rolen and crede, assuming that the defense would outweigh the stick...

 

What makes you like Crede more than Ensberg?

[pogokat]

i'm leery that ensberg has just fallen completely apart...and i want 3b defense to be stellar...and i'm not sure if ensberg can give us that...

 

i don't know what happened to ensberg last year, but i'm not sure if he's going to re appear as a starter in the bigs...sorta reminds me of cirillo's seattle collapse

[Fear The Chorizo]

also really interesting that Ensberg's offensive numbers have been steadily (and rapidly) declining ever since MLB implemented their PED testing policies

[trwi7]

I'm still all for Ensberg if we can't get Rolen. He is solid, not spectacular on defense like Crede or Rolen but he still draws walks. It's weird though this year he posted only a .384 SLG% in Houston but a .483 SLG% in San Diego. And he is just one year removed from having a .235/.396/.463/.859 line. It's definitely a good risk to take.

[TheCouga23]

Crede is an out-producing, inning-ending machine. Given the money involved, I'd almost rather have Counsell start at third than Crede.

[RU Rah Rah]

I wonder what impact Inge will have on this. I doubt that the Brewers themselves would get him (for reasons stated numerous times above), but his likely trade from the Tigers could set some dominoes in motion at 3B somewhere else in the league.

[pogokat]

to me, it's all about the run differential...

 

braun cancelled out his offensive production last year at 3b with his defense...

 

by adding a league average defender at 3b and assuming braun plays a league average lf, it'll be like we added braun's offense to the team..

 

so, if crede's defense and offense even out, then we gain braun's offense...

 

even if creder hits .250/.300/.430, but plays above average defense, then i think this team will be better next year...besides, crede would only be with the team for a year...

 

i mean, i don't like crede...i think somewhere above this post i say he sucks completely, but in thinking about it, the team would probably win a few more games because of his presence, which i would be very happy about, so i'm warming up to the idea...

[homer]

Crede was playing hurt all last year. A lot of people were predicting a breakout season from him last year. But it really is odd how little he walked once he got to the majors. He had pretty good OBP numbers throughout his minor league career.

[brettac1]

From Haudricourt's most recent blog:

 

The fact that Kevin Mench was designated for assignment, on the heels of allowing Geoff Jenkins to become a free agent, tells you that the Brewers have something else in mind for LF. Look for them to pick up an outfielder or acquire a third baseman and move Ryan Braun to LF. I'm starting to get some vibes on Texas third baseman Hank Blalock.

[1e Corbeau]

Every time I've heard Doug speak this off season, he mentions a LH bat for 3B/LF. I wouldn't be too surprised if Blalock was at least discussed internally (if they haven't admitted to doing so). We know the Rangers have an unhealthy fascination with TGJ. Would it even take a Cappy/Vargas offer with Blalock's injury history and not-so-bad $5.95M 2008, plus 2009 (team?) option? (Typing that makes me want Rolen even more, since he's been better with the glove and stick, albeit a righty.)

 

We've DFA'd two former Rangers... and added only one, thus far.

 

Some great batter age comparables. Some scary overall batter comparables.

 

link

[brettac1]

Well, I eagerly await the second coming of his #4 most similar batter. Those were good days.

[yoshii8]

I saw somewhere that Felipe Lopez is a non tender candidate. How about him as a 3rd base and #2 hitter candidate? He is a switch hitter, that before last year got on base at a decent clip, and can steal bases. Hes only 27, and would probably improve w/ a switch to Miller Park as his home venue. The only thing is he hasn't played much at 3rd.

[sbrylski]

I would not mind Lopez. He'd be cheap compared to all the other options, and would probably play solid defense. FWIW, he preforms much better out of the 2nd spot: .345 career OBP verse .318 OBP leading off, 1100+ PA sample for both. Good fastball hitter?

 

Again, none of these options are great, but just moving Braun to LF would improve the team, so let's just go with the cheapest one.

[colbyjack]

Great suggestion of Lopez yoshii. Lopez also has averaged over 4 pitches per PA during his career and has been pretty healthy throughout, playing about 150 games each of the last three seasons (pretty much ever since he became a regular). I wouldn't have much concern about him handling the switch to third base. Almost all of the guys mentioned for third base (Rolen, Crede, Blalock and even LaRoche) have a pretty long history of injuries. Lopez is plenty young enough as noted to try and find a way to repeat his impressive 2005 season.

 

Plus, he's good friends with both Rickie Weeks and Prince Fielder, having grown up playing baseball with those guys in Florida (Lopez is from Altamonte Springs as is Weeks). IIRC, he's the one that led Fielder to Scott Boras, and I think the three of them still hang out quite a bit off of the field.

 

And speaking of Boras, there could be some goodwill there, with the recently signed Gagne, Fielder of course and even Matt LaPorta. We're not talking about his big-name guys (yet), but I do think something could be said for making these kinds of contractual gestures.

[sbrylski]

Lopez is plenty young enough as noted to try and find a way to repeat his impressive 2005 season.

 

I'd take the average of '05-'06:

 

 AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO SB CS SB% AVG OBP OBP OPS
599 169 30 4 17 69 119 30 10 75% .282 .355 .432 .787 

 

He's been about league average defensively at 3B in his very irregular time there over his career.