Blue Jays Discussion: Joe Panik: the hero we deserve

[theaub]

Just contract the Pirates

 

[Muston Atthews]

Just contract the Pirates

Proud fantasy baseball owner of both Bellinger and Hayes

 

[phillipmike]

Samad Taylor hit another homer today. Also has two walks.

If he didn’t have such a bad BB/K ratio, I would say he is a legit prospect again as a 22 year old in AA with a wRC+ of 125+. Just hard to get over the 35% K rate and 5% walk rate.

 

[metafour]

If he didn’t have such a bad BB/K ratio, I would say he is a legit prospect again as a 22 year old in AA with a wRC+ of 125+. Just hard to get over the 35% K rate and 5% walk rate.

6 strikeouts to 4 walks (albeit 3 of those came tonight) so far in June. It's possible that the extreme K-rate in May was rust-related.

 

[phillipmike]

6 strikeouts to 4 walks (albeit 3 of those came tonight) so far in June. It's possible that the extreme K-rate in May was rust-related.

It’s possible and let’s hope so as his K and BB rate were respectable prior to this season.

 

[landy92mack29]

Jays need to draft this guy

 

[hockeywiz542]

• June 8, 2021

ESPN

Jeff Passan reacts to Gerrit Cole essentially admitting he has used Spider Tack #Shorts

Earlier today, Gerrit Cole was asked whether he ever used Spider Tack while pitching and his response 'I don't quite know how to answer that'

 

[metafour]

Kevin Smith is 3 for 4 with another HR (7th on the season) and a SB. No strikeouts. Is he back LMAO?

 

[canucksfan]

Kevin Smith is 3 for 4 with another HR (7th on the season) and a SB. No strikeouts. Is he back LMAO?

He had a really slow start too Since May 20th he has a wRC of 176 and was a walk rate of 15.8% and a K rate of 19.3%.

I just picked a random date and doesn't include today's game.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Pirates' Ke’Bryan Hayes gets called out on home run after not touching first base

0:34 | June 8, 2021

Watch as Ke’Bryan Hayes gets called out after hitting a home run because he did not touch first base.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Toronto Blue Jays might have real deal in Gabriel Moreno - TSN.ca

TORONTO — To Bo Bichette, he’s the kid with the electric bat.

To his family and friends in Venezuela, he’s Luli.

To the authors of the top 100 prospect lists he’s guaranteed to shoot up over the next few months, he’s Gabriel Moreno, catcher in the Toronto Blue Jays’ farm system.

But long before he started tearing up Double-A last month, Moreno’s right-handed swing had already caught the eye of a rehabbing Bichette last summer at the club’s alternate site in Rochester.

“He’s electric,” Bichette says with a small grin. “He’s kind of one of those guys that I walked on the field and I saw him take one swing and I was like, ‘That’s dangerous.’

“He’s going to have to obviously go out there and prove himself, but he’s got a lot of talent. It’s fun to watch.”

Through the first month of the minor-league season, Moreno is doing exactly that – proving himself.

At the testing ground that is Double-A, the first stop in the upper minors with more advanced arms than the ones dabbling in A-ball, Moreno is raking.

Through his first 20 games, the 21-year-old is slashing .367/.429/.608 with four homers, 10 extra-base hits, and a team-leading 24 RBI.

There are maybe deeper reasons Bichette was drawn to Moreno as there are many similarities in the profile: low walk totals, the ability to find the baseball with the barrel more regularly than others, and a reputation as an aggressive hitter.

“It’s his swing,” Bichette explains. “You can tell nobody touched him. You can tell that he kind of just goes out there and he’s free, he lets it go and he swings as hard he can. Anybody that watches me knows I love that.”

.......................

Moreno is now doing his best to push his own timeline up in a similar fashion, but this is a prospect the Blue Jays will not rush because of his immense upside as a potential all-around talent behind the dish.

“He has been awesome, he really has,” Jays GM Ross Atkins says. “I think there are actually some things [to improve on] with his approach. He’s so talented with bat-to-ball, bat speed, contact rates. I think just his ability to control the zone better is what we’re focused on with him. It doesn’t mean he has to stay in Double-A to do that and we will absolutely consider if it’s best for him to take another step forward.”

The message to focus on his approach isn’t anything new for Moreno.

It’s something the organization’s hitting coaches have been drilling into his head since he signed as an amateur shortstop during the 2016 international signing period.

 

[The Nemesis]

I've seen suggestion that Moreno is the prime trade chip in the Jays system, but I'm not touching him if I'm in charge. Given how things have worked out with Jansen/McGuire, the uncertainty of Kirk lasting for a whole career behind the plate, and the fact that Adams apparently profiles as a bat-first backup C, I hang onto Moreno with the expectation that he's the future behind the plate. Kirk becomes a DH who can catch or maybe play some 1st to preserve his longevity, and Adams is your backup C/pinch hitter.

 

[theaub]

With how bad catchers hit in general is there such a thing as a bat-first backup catcher?

 

[Emerica]

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[Morgs]

With how bad catchers hit in general is there such a thing as a bat-first backup catcher?

I was more curious than anything. This season guys with above 100 wRC+, a below 1 fangraphs defensive rating and probably considered the "backup":

Jason Castro
Francisco Mejia
William Contreras

That's more than I thought.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

I've seen suggestion that Moreno is the prime trade chip in the Jays system, but I'm not touching him if I'm in charge. Given how things have worked out with Jansen/McGuire, the uncertainty of Kirk lasting for a whole career behind the plate, and the fact that Adams apparently profiles as a bat-first backup C, I hang onto Moreno with the expectation that he's the future behind the plate. Kirk becomes a DH who can catch or maybe play some 1st to preserve his longevity, and Adams is your backup C/pinch hitter.

But this is Jansen's big breakout year!

 

[Discoverer]

Kevin Smith is 3 for 4 with another HR (7th on the season) and a SB. No strikeouts. Is he back LMAO?

Still a pretty small sample this year, but he's outperforming his excellent 2019 that got him on the prospect radar. The K's are back down to a manageable rate, the walks have doubled, the power has increased, he has 5 SB without getting caught, he's still playing mostly SS but getting some reps in at 3B... it's been close to a best-case-scenario for him so far.

 

[Discoverer]

But this is Jansen's big breakout year!

June was GOING to be his big breakout, but he got hurt! You'll just have to trust me on this one.

 

[FreeBird]

Toronto Blue Jays might have real deal in Gabriel Moreno - TSN.ca

TORONTO — To Bo Bichette, he’s the kid with the electric bat.

To his family and friends in Venezuela, he’s Luli.

To the authors of the top 100 prospect lists he’s guaranteed to shoot up over the next few months, he’s Gabriel Moreno, catcher in the Toronto Blue Jays’ farm system.

But long before he started tearing up Double-A last month, Moreno’s right-handed swing had already caught the eye of a rehabbing Bichette last summer at the club’s alternate site in Rochester.

“He’s electric,” Bichette says with a small grin. “He’s kind of one of those guys that I walked on the field and I saw him take one swing and I was like, ‘That’s dangerous.’

“He’s going to have to obviously go out there and prove himself, but he’s got a lot of talent. It’s fun to watch.”

Through the first month of the minor-league season, Moreno is doing exactly that – proving himself.

At the testing ground that is Double-A, the first stop in the upper minors with more advanced arms than the ones dabbling in A-ball, Moreno is raking.

Through his first 20 games, the 21-year-old is slashing .367/.429/.608 with four homers, 10 extra-base hits, and a team-leading 24 RBI.

There are maybe deeper reasons Bichette was drawn to Moreno as there are many similarities in the profile: low walk totals, the ability to find the baseball with the barrel more regularly than others, and a reputation as an aggressive hitter.

“It’s his swing,” Bichette explains. “You can tell nobody touched him. You can tell that he kind of just goes out there and he’s free, he lets it go and he swings as hard he can. Anybody that watches me knows I love that.”

.......................

Moreno is now doing his best to push his own timeline up in a similar fashion, but this is a prospect the Blue Jays will not rush because of his immense upside as a potential all-around talent behind the dish.

“He has been awesome, he really has,” Jays GM Ross Atkins says. “I think there are actually some things [to improve on] with his approach. He’s so talented with bat-to-ball, bat speed, contact rates. I think just his ability to control the zone better is what we’re focused on with him. It doesn’t mean he has to stay in Double-A to do that and we will absolutely consider if it’s best for him to take another step forward.”

The message to focus on his approach isn’t anything new for Moreno.

It’s something the organization’s hitting coaches have been drilling into his head since he signed as an amateur shortstop during the 2016 international signing period.

probably has better arm than all of our so called pitching prospects their pathetic 150 million better spent on pitching

 

[BlueForever75]

I still believe Jansen has it in him to give us something offensively. Im not asking for much but .260 AVG 15 HR and 60+ RBI is all expect. Before getting hurt he seemed to have been turning the corner and seeing the ball well. Here's hoping that he comes back and can find his stroke again.

To be honest we shouldnt expect much out of the catcher's position then what I suggest. If we can get that production we are sitting pretty.

 

[phillipmike]

Jansen isnt going to be Realmuto but it would be silly to write off a player who has yet to play a full 162 game season. Especially one with his defensive record.

Jansen's Career 748 PAs (age 23 to 26): 2.3 fWAR, 74 wRC+, .223 BABIP, .155 ISO, 32.8% hard contact, 36.6% GB%, 49.8% Pull, 25 HRs, 79 RBI

Realmuto's first (747 PAs) (age 23 to 25): 1.2 fWAR, 97 wRC+, .313 BABIP, .136 ISO, 29.5% hard contact, 47.4% GB%, 39.4% Pull, 14 HRs, 74 RBI

Major League Leaderboards » 2014 » Batters » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball

Major League Leaderboards » 2016 » Batters » Batted Ball Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball

Realmuto will always have better numbers as his hitting profile improved year after year. Jansen isnt going to be the best catcher in the game, but he can be a 2-3 fWAR guy. Its up to him to see what he does, so i wouldnt write him off yet.

Now if someone offers something good for him, i would trade him as we have a lot of catchers.

 

[SDig14]

If he is ready to DH now, sure sounds like he will be ready to be activated once eligible in a few weeks.

 

[SDig14]

 

[ER89]

Montoyo has been saying that since april ffs.