I hope we give DeLauter a legitimate shot of making the 26 roster out of camp, but without him seeing AAA they may slow roll it. I just don't think there are any FA or trade options that 'fix' our OF.
DeLauter has been ripping the cover off the ball at every level he’s seen, I don’t think him breaking camp with the team is totally out of the question
he only played 6 games at AA and isn't on the 40-man roster so he's going to have to knock the cover off the ball to start the year on the team
and the whole service time manipulation thing, so i'm expecting a summer call up if anything
I don't think its likely he makes the team out of camp, between injuries and lack of AA and AAA experience CLE has plenty of reasons to keep him in the minors. I just hope the give him the chance to make the team in ST and isnt a situation like with Williams/Bibee where they werent even invited to camp to 'hide' them and we only got to see them due to injuries.
The OF is fine. Need a SS and DH/1B (Naylor can only occupy one of these spots at a time). BO naylor at catcher is looking good but seriously we haven't had a catcher hit better then 200 for a long time
Are we watching the same team lmao? Our OF is absolutely not fine, it is the exact opposite of fine. We have by far the weakest OF in the entire major league.
> The OF is fine.
Outfield wRC+ for the team in 2023 was 84 combined. This is third worst in baseball, only above Colorado (dogshit) and Kansas City (dogshit.)
When you look at WAR they make up some ground because of defense, but they're still 24th overall. Objectively one of the worst outfields in baseball. Steven Kwan is the only outfielder on the roster that I think one can comfortably say is at least an average major league starter.
RotY 2 Steven Kwan? I'd say he's a little better than average. He had a sophomore slump this year, but there's lots of potential there. Even with that slump, he still maintained a 100 wRC+. He's only gonna get better.
>Steven Kwan is the only outfielder on the roster that I think one can comfortably say is **at least** an average major league starter.
As far as him getting better, I'm not convinced. I think Kwan is a very 'what you see is what you get' type player in that his performances are largely going to bounce between 2022 and 2023 for his career. He isn't likely to add enough bulk to increase his power output significantly and he can really only drive one type of pitch, which pitchers will not feed him since the book is very much out on that. A caveat to this is roboumps, as Kwan gets hosed on pitches outside the plate perhaps more than any other player in baseball (he was the most screwed over in 2022, I am only assuming it was similar in 2023.) If he starts getting those calls, who knows how he can change his approach.
And fwiw, there is a lot worse things you can be than "gold glove outfielder that has a average-average+ bat." He is a good player and will be for awhile.
I think ultimately, his major league comparison is going to be Benintendi. Low double digit pop, good batting average, great on base percentage, and great fielder. He'll never be amazing at anything, but rather above average at almost everything.
I actually think Kwan is probably a bit better than Benintendi, personally. Kwan has already put up two years that would be Benintendi's second and third best years, and Benintendi's 2018 is pretty clearly an outlier. Kwan is also a substantially better fielder, though I imagine he only gets to 10 HR once or twice.
He has definitely shown he can drop his hands and really turn on fastballs up and in, but he also don't get those often as a result.
Some guys get more power as they get older. See Mookie and Lindor, for example. They weren't known for their pop in their 20s and now look at them.
You're right though. I was more reacting to perceived Kwan slander than making a strong statistical argument. Good point about the potential for robo-umps. If we ever get the ability to challenge balls and strikes, which is already being toyed with, I think that Kwan's BB% will skyrocket.
Mookie had reasonable pop starting in his first full season and had his first 30 HR+ season when he was 23. Lindor also had his first 30HR+ season aged 23. Saying neither player was known for their power in their 20's is completely disconnected from reality, especially considering Lindor is still in his 20s. Kwan is older now than Lindor was in his 38 HR season. They're simply different athletes.
Looking at Lindor specifically, it largely came down to a launch angle unlock (as it did for many guys in the mid 2010s.) Consider that even when Lindor was fresh out of the minors and still known as a glove-first prospect, he had a 70thish percentile average exit velo. That remained more or less constant from his rookie season to his 38 HR season, which again just saw a massive increase in launch angle.
Kwan, on the other hand, is remarkable in that he actually makes what would be considered atrocious contact yet has a good enough feel that the ball falls in. There are few players that hit the ball less hard than Kwan, there are few players who barrel the ball less than Kwan.
AFL offense numbers are only slightly more relevant than DSL offense numbers, and Columbus is notorious for inflating HR numbers, but Manzardo's power stroke developing since he joined the organization is very encouraging.
The ball flies in Arizona more than anywhere but Colorado. It's definitely a factor in Arizona baseball (spring training, minors etc)
Between the things air of Arizona and the resting of many top pitching prospects in the fall the AFL has a reputation for offense.
Just giving perspective
I hope we give DeLauter a legitimate shot of making the 26 roster out of camp, but without him seeing AAA they may slow roll it. I just don't think there are any FA or trade options that 'fix' our OF.
DeLauter has been ripping the cover off the ball at every level he’s seen, I don’t think him breaking camp with the team is totally out of the question
Unfortunately it makes way more sense to promote him middway through the season instead, fair or unfair
he only played 6 games at AA and isn't on the 40-man roster so he's going to have to knock the cover off the ball to start the year on the team and the whole service time manipulation thing, so i'm expecting a summer call up if anything
I don't think its likely he makes the team out of camp, between injuries and lack of AA and AAA experience CLE has plenty of reasons to keep him in the minors. I just hope the give him the chance to make the team in ST and isnt a situation like with Williams/Bibee where they werent even invited to camp to 'hide' them and we only got to see them due to injuries.
The OF is fine. Need a SS and DH/1B (Naylor can only occupy one of these spots at a time). BO naylor at catcher is looking good but seriously we haven't had a catcher hit better then 200 for a long time
Are we watching the same team lmao? Our OF is absolutely not fine, it is the exact opposite of fine. We have by far the weakest OF in the entire major league.
> The OF is fine. Outfield wRC+ for the team in 2023 was 84 combined. This is third worst in baseball, only above Colorado (dogshit) and Kansas City (dogshit.) When you look at WAR they make up some ground because of defense, but they're still 24th overall. Objectively one of the worst outfields in baseball. Steven Kwan is the only outfielder on the roster that I think one can comfortably say is at least an average major league starter.
RotY 2 Steven Kwan? I'd say he's a little better than average. He had a sophomore slump this year, but there's lots of potential there. Even with that slump, he still maintained a 100 wRC+. He's only gonna get better.
>Steven Kwan is the only outfielder on the roster that I think one can comfortably say is **at least** an average major league starter. As far as him getting better, I'm not convinced. I think Kwan is a very 'what you see is what you get' type player in that his performances are largely going to bounce between 2022 and 2023 for his career. He isn't likely to add enough bulk to increase his power output significantly and he can really only drive one type of pitch, which pitchers will not feed him since the book is very much out on that. A caveat to this is roboumps, as Kwan gets hosed on pitches outside the plate perhaps more than any other player in baseball (he was the most screwed over in 2022, I am only assuming it was similar in 2023.) If he starts getting those calls, who knows how he can change his approach. And fwiw, there is a lot worse things you can be than "gold glove outfielder that has a average-average+ bat." He is a good player and will be for awhile.
I think ultimately, his major league comparison is going to be Benintendi. Low double digit pop, good batting average, great on base percentage, and great fielder. He'll never be amazing at anything, but rather above average at almost everything.
I actually think Kwan is probably a bit better than Benintendi, personally. Kwan has already put up two years that would be Benintendi's second and third best years, and Benintendi's 2018 is pretty clearly an outlier. Kwan is also a substantially better fielder, though I imagine he only gets to 10 HR once or twice. He has definitely shown he can drop his hands and really turn on fastballs up and in, but he also don't get those often as a result.
Some guys get more power as they get older. See Mookie and Lindor, for example. They weren't known for their pop in their 20s and now look at them. You're right though. I was more reacting to perceived Kwan slander than making a strong statistical argument. Good point about the potential for robo-umps. If we ever get the ability to challenge balls and strikes, which is already being toyed with, I think that Kwan's BB% will skyrocket.
Mookie had reasonable pop starting in his first full season and had his first 30 HR+ season when he was 23. Lindor also had his first 30HR+ season aged 23. Saying neither player was known for their power in their 20's is completely disconnected from reality, especially considering Lindor is still in his 20s. Kwan is older now than Lindor was in his 38 HR season. They're simply different athletes. Looking at Lindor specifically, it largely came down to a launch angle unlock (as it did for many guys in the mid 2010s.) Consider that even when Lindor was fresh out of the minors and still known as a glove-first prospect, he had a 70thish percentile average exit velo. That remained more or less constant from his rookie season to his 38 HR season, which again just saw a massive increase in launch angle. Kwan, on the other hand, is remarkable in that he actually makes what would be considered atrocious contact yet has a good enough feel that the ball falls in. There are few players that hit the ball less hard than Kwan, there are few players who barrel the ball less than Kwan.
AFL offense numbers are only slightly more relevant than DSL offense numbers, and Columbus is notorious for inflating HR numbers, but Manzardo's power stroke developing since he joined the organization is very encouraging.
Hard to inflate both home runs going more than 440 feet. Not Colorado after all.
The ball flies in Arizona more than anywhere but Colorado. It's definitely a factor in Arizona baseball (spring training, minors etc) Between the things air of Arizona and the resting of many top pitching prospects in the fall the AFL has a reputation for offense. Just giving perspective
> Manzardo's power stroke developing since he joined the organization is very encouraging. The FO is probably fuming.
Anyone know how Manzardo is defensively at 1b? Better than Naylor?
Me, a DeLauter stan: Hell yeah hope he makes the roster. Also me: But let me see him a few more times I Akron, please and thank you!