2024 Game Thread

[fish16]

Hope you don’t need a visa to get from queens to Syracuse. Mets optioned Brazoban to aaa

[Nick]

Early returns but Norby looks like he belongs. Made a nice pick on a throw from Brujan at SS to get an out, but also had a play where he whiffed on a grounder at 3rd.

[nny]

Yeah I expected the defense to be worse. Definitely growing pains like with X at short, but he looks like he'll hold it down just fine.

Honestly if we're running out 1B Burger, 3B Norby, SS Edwards, and being aggressive at 2B with either Serna or Sanoja next year, I ain't against it (w/ probably Otto back up MI, Bride back up CI).

It's hurting defensively but you gotta make the best of what you've got, optimize the aggregate rather than optimize the individual player. I appreciated Kim doing that last year and loved trading for a 2B who was moved off 2B by his last team and putting someone who never played OF straight into CF. It was a risk, but it was optimizing the aggregate and paid off. And while these guys may be bad defensively (and still too early to say one way or the other with Norby), they at least reach the floor of serviceable.

I'd certainly rather have a good defensive SS, but this is a team that could quickly turn around with the potential staff we have next year. So while SS certainly would still be a long term hole, if there is no long term option available I'd rather they use resources to eg improve the OF to make 2025 better rather making a move for the sole purpose of moving X off SS. And whenever long term pieces start filling out, you can move players off to new positions/holes.

But if we're not really trying and eg running out Otto again there next year, it's a lot harder to be okay with playing 2Bs out of position (especially X at SS). And they've already been very aggressive with Sanoja since taking over

And this is ignoring X having the back issues, which moving him off SS sooner rather than later just for his body to take less of a beating might be required.

And of course the always big if on if that staff stays healthy, as it's really the only competitive part of the team. If it fall apart again then nothing matters next year anyway lol

[nny]

Also with DDLS, it's definitely the power I am dreaming on. A 21 year old doing what he's doing is just insane. He's putting up a .300 ISO as a 21yo in AAA; when Burger was 21yo, he was putting up a .320 ISO with metal bats in the Missouri Valley Conference. He's not 25 and doing this, and he's not doing this in A+. 21 in AAA putting up a .300 ISO.

I can only find 3 players in the last 10 years to display this much power, at this level, around that age: Bobby Witt Jr, Joc Pederson, and Kris Bryant (Pederson and Bryant were 22, Witt 21). Hell it's actually interesting just comparing his peripherals to Witt:

Witt vs DDLS
BB%: 9.0% vs 6.4%
KK%: 23.2% vs 24.2%
BB/K: 0.39 vs 0.26
ISO: .286 vs .301

Witt with the slightly better plate discipline, DDLS with the slightly better power.

This is certainly not saying he's going to be as good as Witt (especially with what all Witt brings outside offense), but I do think what he's accomplished is being slept on.

Of course not that power is everything. But worse comes to worse he's Wily Mo Pena and we can appreciate random moonshots haha

[nny]

Which, fun fact while looking at the above, top ISO leaders this years for all of MILB min 450 PA (so, who's displayed the most power in all of minor league baseball):

2) Deyvison De Los Santos (.301), 21yo
10) Agustin Ramirez (.227), 22yo
11) Joe Mack (.226), 22yo

The only other <=22yo in the top 11 is Brayden Taylor, who is a top-100 prospect for the Rays and came in #8

Power's coming boys

[Namaste]

Jacob Amaya DFA’d

[Namaste]

Early returns but Norby looks like he belongs. Made a nice pick on a throw from Brujan at SS to get an out, but also had a play where he whiffed on a grounder at 3rd.

Agreed.

To be fair, the ball was hit hard and it was off a lefty bat and those can be tricky. I’m

[Nick]

Norby looking good.

[Nick]

Griffin Conine called up. What a world.

[rmc523]

Griffin Conine called up. What a world.

Playoff run? Lol

[fish16]

connor norby appears to be the real deal while trevor rogers got lit up for 10 ER in AAA for balitmore. if he can stay at 3b he could become our best 3b since what, mike lowell? At least as a true long term guy and not a temporary solution like prado.

[Namaste]

I’m excited about Norby. We need a bright spot to the season. But I’m not within several galaxies of thinking about a Mike Lowell comp after 57 PA’s this year.

[fish16]

I’m excited about Norby. We need a bright spot to the season. But I’m not within several galaxies of thinking about a Mike Lowell comp after 57 PA’s this year.

Was more of a comment on the fact that we haven’t had a young long term piece at 3b in a very long time. Anderson was decent but he fell off very quickly. Same with first base but I could be forgetting someone there. Lot of retread vets at both spots for quite a while

[Nick]

X is going to need to find a way to stay on the field. Starting to be a noticeable trend with him.

Hopefully in this case, it's just the organization being over cautious in a lost season.

[fish16]

X is going to need to find a way to stay on the field. Starting to be a noticeable trend with him.

Hopefully in this case, it's just the organization being over cautious in a lost season.

i couldnt watch this weekend, did he have a noticeable injury? From what i read he kind of just left a game and people were confused about how he got injured? Is he supposed to be out for the year?