Only 3 days away from pitchers and catchers - kind of the "unofficial" start of the 2019 campaign.
RAB did a bit on Voit. Obviously the sample was small, but he was an absolute beast. Hit for average, hit for power. It was some explosion onto the scene and it basically made Bird a forgotten man.
Now that the smoke is all clear and we know that Voit clearly benefitted from a small sample, pitchers not really knowing his cold zones well enough, a BABIP over .380, and did struggle a bit with the flamethrowers.... we can also look at the other side of the coin.
Voit's BABIP is clearly not sustainable, BUT - sometimes hitters make their own BABIP luck more than others with consistently hard, solid contact that finds ways into open spaces in the field. The statcast data seems to suggest that is certainly part of Voit's number.
Certain numbers will obviously depend on how many games he plays (counting stats like HR's, RBI's, etc) - and I'm guessing his average will dip down around .265 if he gets more extensive playing time. But, I think if he were to start ~120 games, we'd be able to pencil him in for 20-25 HR's.
Glove is bad - to be a 1.9 fWAR player in just ~50 games tells you just how insanely hot he was with the bat.
Bird is running out of time, so if he wants to get back into the picture, he's going to need Voit to start slow and find a way to at least play his way into some sort of platoon.
Curious as to what everyone else is expecting from Voit this year. Smoke a mirrors? Real deal? Somewhere in between?
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Andujar has a HUGE problem fielding the ball- the metrics show that he has the range of a phone booth. VERY little ability to move laterally or getting to bouncers. The reason that he doesn't get errors on those balls is that he never gets to them period.
I don't see how moving him to 1B helps that. He could be a real liability on pick-off plays or anything hit in the 1B/2B hole.
Personally, I think I would prefer Andujar to be the DH and Voit to be the 1B. At least Voit knows what to do out there and has experience doing it. Voit is still a terrible defensive 1B, but he isn't going to hurt you with inexperience or bad positioning like Andujar probably will.
I sure hope that the Yanks gave Voit some sort of isometrics plan or something to improve his quick twitch reflexes.
Still disagree. I probably watched well over 120 games, maybe closer to 140 games last year. I'm sure he booted more than a couple balls, but what I remember was he caught everything he got his glove on but the the scary part was the throw which was frightful/painful every time - I think he was afraid to throw it.
Something like being bad at fielding a grounder I would have noticed. Range, can't argue with the metrics, the numbers are the numbers, except I did not find the range reprehensible. Maybe Didi covered him so much I just did not notice. I normally see what I see and the throws got worse as the year went on. Whatever, he isn't about the win a GG anytime soon.
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Andujar has a HUGE problem fielding the ball- the metrics show that he has the range of a phone booth. VERY little ability to move laterally or getting to bouncers. The reason that he doesn't get errors on those balls is that he never gets to them period.
I don't see how moving him to 1B helps that. He could be a real liability on pick-off plays or anything hit in the 1B/2B hole.
Personally, I think I would prefer Andujar to be the DH and Voit to be the 1B. At least Voit knows what to do out there and has experience doing it. Voit is still a terrible defensive 1B, but he isn't going to hurt you with inexperience or bad positioning like Andujar probably will.
I sure hope that the Yanks gave Voit some sort of isometrics plan or something to improve his quick twitch reflexes.
Still disagree. I probably watched well over 120 games, maybe closer to 140 games last year. I'm sure he booted more than a couple balls, but what I remember was he caught everything he got his glove on but the the scary part was the throw which was frightful/painful every time - I think he was afraid to throw it.
Something like being bad at fielding a grounder I would have noticed. Range, can't argue with the metrics, the numbers are the numbers, except I did not find the range reprehensible. Maybe Didi covered him so much I just did not notice. I normally see what I see and the throws got worse as the year went on. Whatever, he isn't about the win a GG anytime soon.
I remember years ago when Cal Ripken was playing SS- and people often wondered how a player that big could get to all the balls in play that he did. It came down to defensive positioning- pre-analytics days. He knew what the pitcher was throwing and positioned himself accordingly.
Today, with all the numbers and advanced information they have, why doesn't someone give Andujar a cheat sheet he can put in his cap or pocket to set himself for every batter, depending on the pitch? Sometimes just a single step to one side or the other can make all the difference.
As for the throwing, you are right there- I think one of the problems is that he developed a bad habit (apparently in the minors because scouting reports mention it several years back) or dropping his throwing angle and looping it over sidearm.
I think that someone just needs to make him take a million grounders over there and make the drill to throw it over the top and hard to 1B- and every time he drops the throwing angle, he has to field an extra 10 grounders. One would think that muscle memory would eventually take over and make it automatic to go over the top after enough of that drill.
Something has to change, or he will likely not be long for the Yanks.
I love his bat, but he looks horrid in the field - awkward throwing motion.
Getting closer to the 2019 campaign. Exciting times.
Record predictions?
I say 98-64, but I think this team will be a little better than last year's.
Ellsbury is that horse that needs to be taken out to the back of the shed.... I venture insurance money is the primary reason he is still on NYY.
Randy Miller
Verified account @RandyJMiller
2m2 minutes ago
#Yankees manager Aaron Boone just wrapped up his first news conference of the spring. It lasted 32 minutes. The biggest news was Jacoby Ellsbury being hurt again and back in Arizona, CC Sabathia maybe starting season on DL and prospect Michael King being hurt.
absolutely not. i'd like to know how someone can be this chronically injured and have a peak for myself. I can't think of another Mr. Glass since I started watching baseball.
The kid has legit 20 HR+, 20 SB and 40 double potential.
Previous tweet by Randy Miller in his thread:
Randy Miller
Verified account @RandyJMiller
53m53 minutes ago
#Yankees manager Aaron Boone says Jacoby Ellsbury wont be in camp initially. His foot injury last season slowed his rehab over the winter. Hes staying home in Arizona for awhile.
Carl Pavano is still my champ for Mr. Glass. And I doubt Ellsbury will go on to have the post-Yankees career that Pavano did.
Previous tweet by Randy Miller in his thread:
Randy Miller
Verified account @RandyJMiller
53m53 minutes ago
#Yankees manager Aaron Boone says Jacoby Ellsbury wont be in camp initially. His foot injury last season slowed his rehab over the winter. Hes staying home in Arizona for awhile.
Carl Pavano is still my champ for Mr. Glass. And I doubt Ellsbury will go on to have the post-Yankees career that Pavano did.
So Yanks don't have any trainers or doctors that know how to handle PF? Sounds fishy to me. Even if he is injured, why not still come to camp.
plantar fasciitis is what we are being told and he is staying home to get treatment....
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I am confident in his ability at the plate, though. He has a big league bat. He'll find his home somewhere on the diamond. Ideally he can stick @ 3B. If not, so be it.
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It's the same plantar fasciitis he was dealing with all of last year.
Previous tweet by Randy Miller in his thread:
Randy Miller
Verified account @RandyJMiller
53m53 minutes ago
#Yankees manager Aaron Boone says Jacoby Ellsbury wont be in camp initially. His foot injury last season slowed his rehab over the winter. Hes staying home in Arizona for awhile.
Carl Pavano is still my champ for Mr. Glass. And I doubt Ellsbury will go on to have the post-Yankees career that Pavano did.
So Yanks don't have any trainers or doctors that know how to handle PF? Sounds fishy to me. Even if he is injured, why not still come to camp.
There is a Yanks trainer working with him. The Yanks thought he'd get the best re-hab where he can work 6 to 8 hrs per day as per Cashman.
Who is Long? The Yanks haven't started spring training games yet.
Today, I will... shed a tear.... for the one that got away.
From what i've read it made sense for us to flip him for Stowers. No issues with the move. It's amazing how many former Yankees are in spring-training with the M's.
There were 19 3B's that played over 900 innings in the field last year. Andujar ranked 19th in UZR/150. The 18th worst was closer to 1st than Andujar was to 18th.
Devers on the Red Sox was 16th overall and benched for his glove at times last year (and his bat too). He was pretty terrible at 3B.
He made 16% of unlikely outs and 48% of 50/50 plays.
Andujar made 7% of unlikely outs and 11% of 50/50 plays. A high School kid could probably do better than that.
MLB 3B Fielding - ( New Window )
Exactly. He gets to balls. He catches what he gets to. He makes terrible throws or just eats it. Sometimes your eyeballs tell you something that a metric does not. What I saw was not a player who could not catch or get to balls, but a guy that was off balance making throws, or uncertain on how to set up to throw. As the season went on, he got worse - like the yips. And he never delivered the ball the same way. He would make some throws over the top, or three quarter or sometimes side arm. Inconsistent delivery.
What they are doing with him, making him move with the pitch, that is step toward the plate as the pitch is thrown, or take a skip, will make him more agile. If you stand still, you are momentarily frozen. Kay said yesterday that they determined he squatted prior to the pitch and could not get the initial step until late, like his feet were cemented to the ground.
I'm not sure it can be corrected quickly. But he does not appear to be unathletic - so he may be able to make incremental gains monthly and annually. Maybe the light goes on and it comes to him quickly, but IMO, he is fighting two issues - movement(set up) and confidently making throws. They may be related or they may be independent of each other. Maybe by getting the pre-pitch set up solved, the throws become natural....
You're insufferable. Bet you're a ton of fun at parties.
Good, yep, metrics tell the whole story. Unfailingly accurate, even when Dune tells you of the fault in the analysis.