Indianapolis Day on Baseball America!
by Slick1 on May 17, 2010 10:08 PM EDT
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Baseball America has a couple of nice posts today on Indianapolis prospects Neil Walker and Jose Tabata. There is anything to earth shattering here but it's nice to see some of our prospects get some recognition.
I feel that it is a positive that Tabata has forced himself back into the spotlight after being left off of their top 100 list this year. I don't believe this is a pay article so here's the link:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=8737
Bryon Morris gets mentioned in the above post as well.
You need a subscription for the Walker article but here's the link anyway:
http://ww.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/prospect-bulletin/2010/269956.html
The article basically talks about how he has gone from catcher of the future to having to break the bigs as a utility guy. There are a couple of items of interest from Indy manager Kremblas on Walker's work at second base:
"He's looked good. He's getting used to it," Kremblas said. "The biggest thing is footwork more than anything—especially turning double plays. Catching ground balls is the same everywhere, but you have to learn the footwork on a double-play turn or the footwork to his glove side where he might have to spin around one time to throw.
"I think he can be big league average there if he continues to do what he's doing defensively."
While the article focusses on Walker being a utility player the majority of the discussion was on his work at second base. Given the amount of starts he has seen there recently in Indy I think it's safe to say that he will got a shot at taking over the position when he finally arrives in Pittsburgh.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the managing editor (Charlie) or SB Nation. FanPosts are written by Bucs Dugout readers.
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why
does everyone with bigger legs get looked at as slow or not mobile or whatever. they bring it up in the tabata article and we just discussed it about alvarez. if the guy can run then the guy can run, what does thickness of leg matter, honestly.
There are some guys that are surprisingly fast for their large thigh size.
Marlon Byrd is one. Watching him play in Texas I was constantly amazed when I saw him run in the outfield. Watching it live you really get a feeling of surreality because it’s not something you’re used to seeing.
by MarkInDallas on May 18, 2010 12:06 AM EDT up reply actions
I think it's just a matter of people having to see it to believe it.
Look at LeBron James. I know it’s not the same sport, but the guy is 6’9, 280ish…and he can move like a deer! There’s no way in the world somebody with those measurables SHOULD be able to do the incredible things he does, but some people are just blessed in a way that can’t be explained. Alvarez is an example. Tabata is an example. You just can’t explain some things. God blesses people with abilities and talents that are hard to explain, but that’s the way it is. Some people have to see the athlete in motion and watch him actually perform to believe what they are seeing.
I will have to disagree on Alvarez.
Because when I see him run, I don’t in any way think he is defying the laws of physics. He’s not exactly a speed burner.
by MarkInDallas on May 18, 2010 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions
He's defying the laws of physics alright
It’s a miracle he can jog around the bases on a homerun!
Oh, no seriously, I think you’re right Mark, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Alvarez is fast
The glare of the spotlight is harsh, and the pressure that success breeds immense. We revere our heroes, but expect much. And criticism can come as easily as praise.
I'm not talking necessarily about speed.
We all know Alvarez isn’t very fleet of feet, but the guy moves pretty well for his size. Overall, the guy plays baseball very well for his size. He’s just another example of a guy that has been blessed with God-given talents to play this game at a high level regardless of his size.
Bolt doesn't really have a thick lower half in the traditional sense.
He has big muscular thighs, sure, but narrow hips and not much ass.
Look at the ratio of shoulders-to-waist there.
(Of course, part of the reason Bolt can have lots of thigh muscles without being “thick” down on the bottom is that he’s 6-foot-5. The taller you are, the proportionally thinner your limbs will be for the same amount of muscle mass.)
It's not about being slow in the present.
It’s about how well their speed will last as they age. Guys who have a thick lower half tend to lose their speed (and range in the field, which has a large speed component) more rapidly than the average player. So even if they’re fast as prospects, they probably won’t be five years down the road.
For an example of what I mean...
…look at Tony Gwynn. As a young player, he was very fast. He played some CF, stole 30 bags a year, and hit five or ten triples per season, even though he looked like this:
…or this:
[Sorry for the less-than-ideal photos – tracking down 25-year-old images online is harder than you’d think. Still, you can see the broad hips pretty clearly.]
As he got older, his body thickened and his speed melted away. Ten years after he first came up, he was a corner outfielder who looked like this:
Still very athletic, and still a good player (If I have my year right, he hit .394 and won a batting title the season that was taken). Just not particularly fast anymore.
It's funny
how it’s viewed as some sort of huge problem if one of our prospects isn’t hitting for power. Who in our big league lineup does hit for power? Only two people hitting today are legitimate power threats (Cutch and Jones in case you were wondering). Church and Doumit are pretty fringey on the power threat front. So how exactly would it be a downgrade if someone who actually seems to be able to hit and get on base comes in but isn’t hitting for power? Whoever he’s going to replace hasn’t been hitting for power. They also haven’t been getting on base too well either.
Jason
The Hanging Curve
We just want him to be the best he can be.
Ideally, Tabata ends up with a better career than Ryan Church, y’know?
Good Point
I think the main reason why we all fear his lack of power is that we don’t have anyone, except Pedro, that could be a legit power threat. The reason most of us would worry is that nobody has ever won with a team full of leadoff hitters. And if we put a powerless hitter in the corner outfield position, that means that in order to get back to the normal numbers, we need someone else to pick up the slack. The easiest positions to do so would be catcher, middle infield, or centerfield. McCutchen has decent power, maybe slightly above average, Tony Sanchez or Doumit aren’t big power threats, and we still don’t have much at 2nd or SS.
So basically, the question is whether or not we can win without tons of HRs, or if we can find someone to get us back to at least the middle of the pack in HRs.
Wasn't there like a 6 year run
where no one on a World Series winning team hit 35hrs? In the late 90’s no less. Those Yankee teams had Jeter, Paul O’Neill, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, Posada… A whole bunch of high avg/obp guys with solid D and 15-25hr power. I don’t see why Tabata can’t get into that range once he hits his peak performance ages.
I'm not sure that's an accurate characterization...
…of those Yankees’ power abilities.
Tino, for example, had more than 25 HR in four of his six seasons as the Yankees’ 1B, including a high of 44 in 1997. Similarly, Bernie had four seaons with more than 25 HR between 1996 and 2001.
I would also argue
that Jeter’s defense is not solid, despite the Gold Glove awards.
Jason
The Hanging Curve
by poorboywilly on May 19, 2010 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions
That team had power spread through the lineup
They didn’t have anyone too powerful, but almost everyone hit at least 10. In Pittsburgh, we top out at 25, followed by a few 15s, and the rest at 6-8.
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