tedf
Rookie
Posts: 137
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Post by tedf on Jun 21, 2024 8:33:02 GMT -5
As far as I can tell, Valdez has settled down defensively at 2B. He was a complete butcher when he first came up last year, but looked a little better in September and has mostly been okay this year. His range probably leaves him as a bottom-five defender, but at least not an outlier.
I was ready to give up on his offense earlier this year -- a 4% BB rate vs. 31% K rate and 38% chase rate when he was sent down. He is on the small side, with below average power and speed, so he can't afford that kind of numbers.
Since returning, his chase rate is down to 22%, his contact rate has jumped from 75% to 88%, his LD rate has jumped to 31% (mostly coming off his FB and IFFB rates), and he has a 14% BB rate vs. 12% K rate. He isn't going to continue to hit .333/.423/.733, but the peripherals suggest that he is fundamentally a better hitter than at the start of the season.
Would love to hear what scouts are saying about what he might be doing differently? I can see that his swing LOOKS better, but I don't have the experience to pinpoint anything. Any thoughts on whether or not these changes (just 52 PA) are sustainable?
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tedf
Rookie
Posts: 137
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Post by tedf on Jun 21, 2024 8:36:42 GMT -5
"You can justify a platoon hitter on your roster if he can play a few positions."
Can Valdez play anywhere else besides 2B? I know he has appeared at 3B, 1B, LF, and even SS/RF on occasion, but are these legitimate options on a regular basis? Most of that has come in the minors. He has 1 inning in LF and 1 inning at SS thus far in his ML career.
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Post by James Dunne on Jun 21, 2024 9:22:13 GMT -5
There is also a 40-man consideration with Meidroth - he wouldn't need to be added until after 2025, so adding him earlier takes a spot from someone else. If he was clearly the option and is going to get the playing time to justify it, then that makes roster space the secondary concern. But I don't think you add him to be the up-and-down backup.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Jun 21, 2024 10:58:01 GMT -5
You could make a similar argument for Sogard as well. He's almost certainly not going to be selected in Rule 5 and he's not going to be a MLFA until after next season, so again, the question is whether he provides so much more value than a Westbrook or Dalbec for the role you need him for that it's worth it to add him and give him that 40-man spot all offseason.
Again, it's not even would this guy or that guy be better, so much as will this guy or that guy be much better, in the role the player is going to fill for the amount of time they're going to fill it. They're not going to add one of these guys to be a 10-day injury fill-in. If Grissom AND Hamilton AND Valdez all go down or something, then yeah, maybe Meidroth gets some run.
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Post by James Dunne on Jun 21, 2024 14:01:09 GMT -5
I guess the difference is that Sogard's long-term upside isn't the same as Meidroth. With Sogard, maybe you take the marginal upgrade (if it is, in their eyes, an upgrade) of him as a backup for the next 15 weeks or so even if it means you risk having to DFA him later. With Meidroth, he's cemented in that spot. You want to preserve depth where you can, but if Sogard's in Triple-A and he's not someone they plan to protect then he's probably fungible enough to play with (even if you prefer not to lose him).
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