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He has had a few years where he is more or less league average in terms of his offensive production via WRC+. He typically gets on base at an above average rate but doesn’t hit for much power. youre right in saying he isn’t chopped liver, he’s been moderately good offensively his whole career.
A slightly below average offensive player with stellar CF defense gives you a valuable player. He has generally been a 3 WAR guy, considered somewhere between a “solid starter” and a “good player”, but not quite an all star performer.
TLDR. He is not stealing money, he is very much over performing his contract.
.286 lifetime average isn't below average in my way of looking at things.
A friendly reminder the Braves' bullpen ERA of 4.74 is worst among all of the 2018 playoff teams. The bullpen's 62 walks puts them at second-worst in MLB, behind only Seattle's 63, despite pitching 11 fewer innings. Atlanta's save percentage of 50% is 4th worst in baseball. Take out Luke Jackson and the ERA inflates to 5.05.
This isn't too shocking, considering Atlanta had the 3rd worst bullpen ERA of all playoff teams last year as well.
The team clearly thought they would get considerable help from the minors in the pen. So far that hasn't really materialized. We need 4 very solid starters and at least 5 relief pitchers that can be counted on.
Honestly, I would rather see some young gun reliever get some big league experience than watch Biddle and Sobotka walk everybody they see
Sobotka is a young gun reliever.
I've said it before and I'm saying it again. It was running naked through a briar patch crazy to fire the pitching coach after finishing 7th in team ERA in MLB in 2018. The team currently has the 21st best ERA in MLB. You don't just fire a pitching coach after a very successful year just because some numb nuts thinks he had help. Where are those behind the scenes people now ? Young developing staffs are fragile, it was insane to disrupt things for no good reason.
You’re right on this. The Braves probably like him for good reasons. Good velo and spin rates equate to him having pretty good stuff. He just hasn’t commanded it well and has been hit around a bit. Not ready to completely give up on him yet, but it’s obvious he isn’t helping us much right now.
Sobotka is my definition of a young gun reliever getting big league experience. But frankly the days of being ok with getting a young guy experience should be gone. We are a fringe playoff team who should be trying to win now. We need production and he hasn’t provided much.
Kirbstomper. I'm guessing by mid-June the team will be in full development mode. I hope I'm wrong but there are some serious issues right now.
As I said several times before:
Chuck Hernandez gets fired if the Coppy scandal doesn't happen after 2017. He had failed at that point and his only claims to fame were Verlander and Jose Fernandez (RIP). Two generational guys.
Hernandez was in the right place at the right time for 2018 instead of actually doing well at teaching and helping growth and development and I don't know how many times I need to say that. In fact, I'll add onto that.
Really, the Folty stuff is actually indicative of deeper problems and is why AA fired more than just Chuck Hernandez, he fired quite a few people involved with pitching development after last year. It took a front office change for Folty to be told to do stuff that he needed and for him to finally break out?
While they aren't some of the guys that are around now, Hernandez had a hand in development of the first wave of pitching as he had been in the organization in 2016, and outside of Mike Foltynewicz, who was a bust until the front office change, they all busted. There was not even one guy that was a number three type, they all failed. (I consider everyone else, including Newcomb to be wave #2)
Too many relief pitchers who throw “batting practice”.
Like I've said before GG, your argument seems weak in making a case for firing Hernandez. It might have made some sense in 2017, but certainly not after the 2018 season when both overall results and development of young pitchers was trending way up..
You simply don't fire a coach for half baked reasons.
Or you DO fire him and mostly clean house on your pitching development coordination in the minors if you have a problem with how the previous regime did with their teaching and development of pitching. Because the latter also happened based off what I saw.
And it was indeed a problem. You might disagree, but plenty of people have said the Braves have been failing a lot in developing their guys and have been too old school at times (ie: Mike Foltynewicz was going to stay a bust no matter WHAT I bet until he adjusted his wind up and cut down usage of the sinker). So they cleaned house.
Outside of Miami, it's really funny to look at Chuck Hernandez's history. His history is teams always regress with control under him and he for some reason gets credit for generational guys like Justin Verlander and Jose Fernandez. There is no merely good starting pitcher that I see that he developed, in all of the cases, they were already there and had time outside of Verlander and Fernandez who were going to be greats even if Joe Schmo were their pitching coach. I can't give him credit for Mike Foltynewicz, AT ALL. When the front office changes over and he does so well with that mere change because he's told to ditch his sinker and change his wind up, it really raises eyebrows that he did so much better. If there's any credit to Chuck on Folty, it's MAAAYBBBBEEEE 10% of his season, MAX. 60% is on the front office change, and 20% is on Flowers.
I'm done with you on this. If you really think Chuck is that dang good of a pitching coach, go be his agent after this season for him gaining another pitching coach opportunity. There's a reason that Chuck didn't immediately get scooped up as a pitching coach and is merely a bullpen coach (oh, by the way, his bullpen he has in the Mets is doing very poorly so far too outside of generational guy Edwin Diaz so far to open the year and the overall pitching BB/9 has regressed from 3 to 4.1, and although that's not all him, HMMM, what's different?), because of the rep he's gained.
We're going to have to end this here and agree to disagree. You think Chuck is awesome and at least 70% of the fanbase thinks he suc.ked. Most wanted him fired either way and credited very little of 2018 to him. Very little.
Ok GG, they ignored success and acted on some perception unrelated to results. It seems like bad management to me.
Pitchers at any level are boarder mental cases. My daughter who has pitched since she was nine still has the problem of being her worst enemy. You can be the best “coach” out there but if the player doesn’t have the capacity to learn and apply its a long grind. That being said the Braves have the players to be successful but they have to get over the mental hump.
It takes time to develop a roster full of very young pitchers. You'll have an occasional phenom who steps in at 20 years old and never struggles, but those are rare. We're working with so many guys who are still figuring it out it would have taken a near miracle to not have quite a few bumps in the road. Also, not all of these guys will pan out.
I've said for a couple of years Soroka is my pick to be the best of the bunch if he can stay healthy he looks really special. Folty has already had his breakout year, I just hope changing pitching coaches doesn't stunt development with some of these guys.
Soroka was sharp again last night. Hopefully his bumps will be fewer than most. Freid looks like a keeper as well. I'm feeling better about our pitching now...the starters at least. The bullpen...yikes...it scares me to death. I like our fielding and the offense has been productive. Donaldson is starting to earn some of his 23 million. Fingers crossed.
I am wondering if young Ozzie would be better served to just hit right handed. I recall reading a book by hitting guru Charlie Lau's son where he said unless averages from both sides are pretty equivalent, players should stick with their best side. Albies is young but has always, even in the minors, I think, been a good bit better from the right side.
The Braves do not deserve fan support if they aren’t willing to reward it by signing Craig Kimbrel. This bullpen is ridiculous. I have no idea what is going on behind the scenes, but if this doesn’t get done and the Braves flounder away the entire year because of blown leads late in the game then I will not jump back on the wagon train when they get things righted the way I did in 92 after I had ditched them for trading away Murphy. This is pure crapola by the Braves.
Note: I will not debate the merits of trading away Dale Murphy. He was my childhood baseball idol. Emotion trumped production for me.
@WCDawg your concern about changing pitching coaches and stunting development is meritless. These guys change pitching coaches every year as they move through the minor league system, often several times in one season. Choppy was no miracle worker.
The Athletic has a good article on Ozzie and his switch hitting. The beginning of the season he was doing well and going opposite field when batting left handed. He's cooled off a good bit, but he's still young and has time to adjust and improve, which he's showing he can do. Also, when you've been switch-hitting your whole life, he could be lost seeing a RHP while batting right handed. He hasn't seen a ball come at him from that angle ever, that could lead to a worse BA batting full-time right handed.