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Post by thegoodthebadthesox on Apr 3, 2024 10:04:49 GMT -5
That’s fair, but really to me, moving him out of the majors causes other issues as this roster is not that deep. Take him from center, really the only other option is Duran who is mediocre at best in center. Put Duran in center, then Abreu or Yoshida is in left. Abreu also is struggling offensively, so if you put him in left you make the defense worse without helping the offense. If you put Yoshida in left you severely harm the defense, and there really isn’t another guy who is deserving of being the DH spot. When Refsynder really isn’t a full time player, so he doesn’t alleviate the issues. Frankly, having Rafaela in center. Is maximizing overall value. I suppose if you think Valdez is a full time second baseman, and Grissom can’t handle second and should be in left (as the Braves thought), then it is a different conversation. The Braves didn't think Grissom couldn't handle 2nd, they just happen to have Albies locked up and going nowhere and he's arguably the best 2nd baseman in the league. Certainly he is one of them anyway so Grissom if he was going to get consistent PT with the Braves it was going to have to be at a position other than 2nd. Yeah if the Braves actually thought Grissom should be a left fielder than they would’ve just made him one lol
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Post by patford on Apr 3, 2024 10:11:30 GMT -5
Other guys might make "a catch" except it isn't usually the catch. What they don't do is have a chance to make the catch because they don't get to the ball. Rafaela has that Bradley, Kiermaier type ability to read balls off the bat and get to them. As seen with Duran speed can not compensate for that. I'd bet every "great catch" Duran makes is on balls Bradley, Kiermaier and Rafaela get to easily and does not even look like a great catch. The great catches they make someone like Duran is chasing to the wall.
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TearsIn04
Veteran
Everybody knows Nelson de la Rosa, but who is Karim Garcia?
Posts: 2,835
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Post by TearsIn04 on Apr 3, 2024 10:22:25 GMT -5
It's always good to remember that the expectation was for Rafaela to struggle offensively this year. Casas hit .133 with a .576 OPS in April last year, and he was known for being a polished offensive hitter. Like many have already said, I don't see much of a benefit in him getting at bats in AAA, a league he's already dominated with his high chase rate. The adjustment period will likely take longer than Casas, and maybe even longer than Duran, but he's more than making up for it with spectacular defense. He's always hit and done so at every level. And always the story has been the same. "Well he hit GCL pitching but when he..." And then later, "Sure he hit well at Greenville but when he's going up against much better pitching in Portland..." So it's way too soon to be talking about sending him down to AAA. Makes me wonder if maybe the people who want him sent down live near Worcester because man that Worcester team sounds boring. It's more like an NBA G-League team than a collection of prospects. Well, I don't live near Worcester and haven't been to Polar Park yet. I'd like to make it this year but, yeah, looking at the roster makes me think I might be better off making a weekend trip to Portland.
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Post by chrisfromnc on Apr 3, 2024 10:25:36 GMT -5
For anyone who is wanting him to get sent down, just give the kid a chance. The season just started. I always try to be patient with prospects knowing that Dustin Pedroia was not very good for a couple months in 2007. Then the laser show started and he’s the ROY.
Not saying that’ll happen with Rafaela, but it’s got a non-zero chance.
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Post by wamderingdude on Apr 3, 2024 11:38:57 GMT -5
That’s fair, but really to me, moving him out of the majors causes other issues as this roster is not that deep. Take him from center, really the only other option is Duran who is mediocre at best in center. Put Duran in center, then Abreu or Yoshida is in left. Abreu also is struggling offensively, so if you put him in left you make the defense worse without helping the offense. If you put Yoshida in left you severely harm the defense, and there really isn’t another guy who is deserving of being the DH spot. When Refsynder really isn’t a full time player, so he doesn’t alleviate the issues. Frankly, having Rafaela in center. Is maximizing overall value. I suppose if you think Valdez is a full time second baseman, and Grissom can’t handle second and should be in left (as the Braves thought), then it is a different conversation. The Braves didn't think Grissom couldn't handle 2nd, they just happen to have Albies locked up and going nowhere and he's arguably the best 2nd baseman in the league. Certainly he is one of them anyway so Grissom if he was going to get consistent PT with the Braves it was going to have to be at a position other than 2nd. If the braves were willing to try Grissom at short in major league games i’m sure they thought he could move over to second. I don’t see any reason to believe he couldn’t be at least average over there after an adjustment period.
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Post by bishop on Apr 3, 2024 11:41:58 GMT -5
You cannot take his glove out of the lineup. The Sox likely lose last night if Rafaela is not in CF to make that catch in the 11th. Or they win earlier because a better hitter gets a hit with the bases loaded before it even gets to the 11th. I'm just not ok with the - it doesn't matter what he does at the plate because of the glove. He needs to develop; but at this point that is on him. He can't go four at bats and see 8 pitches every night. Struggles are one thing - not making an effort to improve is something else. 14 pitches in 5 at bats isn't ideal either but idk the need to cherry pick numbers. Not saying a light bulb turned on and everything is great after one good AB but it was a promising one. Last year 4 players (Javy Baez, Ezequiel Tovar, Eddie Rosario, Salvador Perez) had O-Swing %'s over 40, currently Cedanne is at 48.7%. It's not good enough, he needs to make better swing decisions, but there are also 17 other guys over 40 this early, 6 over Raffy2, including Giancarlo Stanton (my god his metrics are dreadful) and the top CF prospect in baseball in Jackson Chourio. I assume most of those will have lower percentages as the sample size gets bigger, we'll see where Rafaela (and Abreu) is when Refsnyder's return is imminent, but at this point his glove alone is making him more valuable than Abreu and next man up is who Romy Gonzalez? (Hint: you really won't like his swing decisions either haha). He gets the month minimum, idk if that last at bat was a promising sign or an aberration, but I'm not seeing a guy physically overmatched up there just someone who needs to get better and hopefully does with more reps.
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Post by puzzler on Apr 3, 2024 12:27:52 GMT -5
Or they win earlier because a better hitter gets a hit with the bases loaded before it even gets to the 11th. I'm just not ok with the - it doesn't matter what he does at the plate because of the glove. He needs to develop; but at this point that is on him. He can't go four at bats and see 8 pitches every night. Struggles are one thing - not making an effort to improve is something else. 14 pitches in 5 at bats isn't ideal either but idk the need to cherry pick numbers. Not saying a light bulb turned on and everything is great after one good AB but it was a promising one. Last year 4 players (Javy Baez, Ezequiel Tovar, Eddie Rosario, Salvador Perez) had O-Swing %'s over 40, currently Cedanne is at 48.7%. It's not good enough, he needs to make better swing decisions, but there are also 17 other guys over 40 this early, 6 over Raffy2, including Giancarlo Stanton (my god his metrics are dreadful) and the top CF prospect in baseball in Jackson Chourio. I assume most of those will have lower percentages as the sample size gets bigger, we'll see where Rafaela (and Abreu) is when Refsnyder's return is imminent, but at this point his glove alone is making him more valuable than Abreu and next man up is who Romy Gonzalez? (Hint: you really won't like his swing decisions either haha). He gets the month minimum, idk if that last at bat was a promising sign or an aberration, but I'm not seeing a guy physically overmatched up there just someone who needs to get better and hopefully does with more reps. Hey, I'm not trying to send him down - I'm just saying if he doesn't improve at the dish, that's a good reason to send him down. As opposed to accepting any outcome with the bat because well his glove is so good.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Apr 3, 2024 12:34:57 GMT -5
The Braves didn't think Grissom couldn't handle 2nd, they just happen to have Albies locked up and going nowhere and he's arguably the best 2nd baseman in the league. Certainly he is one of them anyway so Grissom if he was going to get consistent PT with the Braves it was going to have to be at a position other than 2nd. Yeah if the Braves actually thought Grissom should be a left fielder than they would’ve just made him one lol Yeah I think it was Clegg who pointed out on our podcast that the "Grissom is going to platoon in left with Kelenic" thing never really made sense.
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