Triston Casas promoted, Bobby Dalbec demoted

nvalvo

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
21,479
Rogers Park
If we give big deals to Devers, Bogaerts and some top shelf FA, we may be looking to go cheap in other places. You could imagine Dalbec being useful to give Devers, Casas, and a potential LH DH time off against lefties.
 

Jimbodandy

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 31, 2006
11,405
around the way
Not a chance.

A trade maybe: he's arb eligible in 2024 and a FA in 2027, plus he's got two options. He's a legitimate threat to lefties, and can play 1B and 3B in at least non-embarassing way. The downside is that he'll be 28 and has been far more cold than hot in his career, especially against righties.

Some team with an actual pitching coach might think they can get more consistency out of him.

Edit - technically correct, but I had meant to type "hitting." :facepalm:
Yeah it's not like he's blocking anyone in the minors right now. He has options and can sit there mashing AAA pitching and be called up in case of emergency if we're able to improve the "backup corner infielder" depth chart.
 

Sox Puppet

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 7, 2016
724
Sadly, Dalbec -- he of the -0.5 WAR for the year -- still has a higher OPS than Casas. Small sample size and all (for Casas), but I'm not sure I foresaw that outcome.
 

billy ashley

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
1,228
Washington DC
Sadly, Dalbec -- he of the -0.5 WAR for the year -- still has a higher OPS than Casas. Small sample size and all (for Casas), but I'm not sure I foresaw that outcome.

It is a small sample, but if Casas gives Boston 500 PAs next season with a BB rate of 14.3%, a K rate of 26.5% and an ISO of .214, no one will be complaining.

He's getting killed on balls in play but this hasn't been a bad debut.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 13, 2021
11,921
It is a small sample, but if Casas gives Boston 500 PAs next season with a BB rate of 14.3%, a K rate of 26.5% and an ISO of .214, no one will be complaining.

He's getting killed on balls in play but this hasn't been a bad debut.
He’s got an 82 EV and 3% LD, though. It’s not all bad luck. You’re going to have a low BABIP when 62% of our contact is ground balls
 

billy ashley

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
1,228
Washington DC
low BABIP, sure. But sub .100?

I get it, he's slow and he's hitting way too many groundballs, but that's never really been an issue for him up the chain. It would be strange if that continues long term.

I'm encouraged by the K rate. We should expect struggle in debuts. The gap between the minors and majors seems harder than it has in years.

The fact that he's not whiffing and maintaining walks is a really positive sign.
 
Last edited:

nvalvo

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
21,479
Rogers Park
low BABIP, sure. But sub .100?

I get it, he's slow and he's hitting way too many groundballs, but that's never really been an issue for him up the chain. It would be strange if that continues long term.

I'm encouraged by the K rate. We should expect struggle in debuts. The gap between the minors and majors seems harder than it has in years.

The fact that he's not whiffing and maintaining walks is a really positive sign.
He seems to be having some growing pains with the MLB strike zone, or maybe it's just the rookie strike zone. Looking through his savant page, it looks like he has been having trouble making contact with offspeed pitches, so that will be an interesting thing to watch.

He doesn't swing a lot in general, but his general swing decisions and very low out-of-zone chase rate also bodes well for his pitch recognition. He was whiffing in the zone a lot in his first few games, but that seems to be coming back down already.

But I think I read somewhere that he had the highest quality of contact in the International League this season, although I'm not sure where it was. He only has ~30 balls in play so far, and one of them went 411 feet. I think we can safely assume based on his minor league track record that he won't post below-average exit velocities for long.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 11, 2007
6,348
He seems to be having some growing pains with the MLB strike zone, or maybe it's just the rookie strike zone. Looking through his savant page, it looks like he has been having trouble making contact with offspeed pitches, so that will be an interesting thing to watch.

He doesn't swing a lot in general, but his general swing decisions and very low out-of-zone chase rate also bodes well for his pitch recognition. He was whiffing in the zone a lot in his first few games, but that seems to be coming back down already.

But I think I read somewhere that he had the highest quality of contact in the International League this season, although I'm not sure where it was. He only has ~30 balls in play so far, and one of them went 411 feet. I think we can safely assume based on his minor league track record that he won't post below-average exit velocities for long.
The pitch recognition and plate discipline skills of mL'ers translating the same into their early transition to ML plate appearances usually, from my reading, projects to good results sooner or later. The problem with Duran was that it didn't.... at all. I haven't totally given up on him (even though I think he's an idiot that makes Damon look like a Rhodes Scholar) and he has other issues (including his age), but Casas just looks good at the plate. I'm pretty bullish on him. Expecting a slow start that I hope is at the ML level for '23 without Cora already deciding he shouldn't hit against lefties, and giving up on him too fast. Patience is needed to develop these kids and the Sox fans don't actually have much of that, and not sure that Cora does either.
 

nvalvo

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
21,479
Rogers Park
The pitch recognition and plate discipline skills of mL'ers translating the same into their early transition to ML plate appearances usually, from my reading, projects to good results sooner or later. The problem with Duran was that it didn't.... at all. I haven't totally given up on him (even though I think he's an idiot that makes Damon look like a Rhodes Scholar) and he has other issues (including his age), but Casas just looks good at the plate. I'm pretty bullish on him. Expecting a slow start that I hope is at the ML level for '23 without Cora already deciding he shouldn't hit against lefties, and giving up on him too fast. Patience is needed to develop these kids and the Sox fans don't actually have much of that, and not sure that Cora does either.
With Duran, I'm actually wondering if the rule changes could turn him into a useful player.

The problem with him is that he's a really fast guy but doesn't have a base-stealer's instincts. If the new pickoff and pitch clock rules and bigger bases tilt the cat-and-mouse game towards players like that, maybe that could really help him. If we could get him to focus on worrying less about SLG, and instead taking his walks (pretty good eye!) and hitting oppo linedrive singles over the shortstop's head, these new rules could suddenly turn him into a 40 SB type guy. Some of the linedrive singles are probably doubles anyway with his speed.

On a pre-arb salary, that could be a pretty useful player, maybe even a guy worth giving a couple hundred DH PAs to, along with 4/5 outfielder duties.

What he does not look like at present is the CF of the future, which is a shame. But is that Ceddane Rafaela's music I hear?
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

Throw Momma From the Train
Moderator
SoSH Member
May 20, 2003
35,727
Deep inside Muppet Labs
low BABIP, sure. But sub .100?

I get it, he's slow and he's hitting way too many groundballs, but that's never really been an issue for him up the chain. It would be strange if that continues long term.

I'm encouraged by the K rate. We should expect struggle in debuts. The gap between the minors and majors seems harder than it has in years.

The fact that he's not whiffing and maintaining walks is a really positive sign.
Yeah, it's hardly unusual for great prospects to come up and initially struggle.

Julio Rodriguez started his career this year 6 for 44 with 22 K and 0 HR. Judge hit 179/263/345 over 95 PA in his first major league season.
 

Jason Bae

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 23, 2021
624
NJ
Pedroia had a 42 OPS+ in his first 98 PA. He started 2007 by hitting .172/.294/.224 through May 1st. He finished the season hitting .317/.380/.442.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,715
Is Casas actually slow? He looked like he got down to first faster than I expected last night when IKF took his time getting the ball over there.
 

billy ashley

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
1,228
Washington DC
Is Casas actually slow? He looked like he got down to first faster than I expected last night when IKF took his time getting the ball over there.
yeah, most reports are that he's a very good athlete but foot speed is not part of a game. 40 runner at best.

He's an excellent defender by most accounts but he's always probably going to have an artificially low babip due to sprint speed. This year has been excessive in that regard, though.
 

BravesField

New Member
Oct 27, 2021
252
With Duran, I'm actually wondering if the rule changes could turn him into a useful player.

The problem with him is that he's a really fast guy but doesn't have a base-stealer's instincts. If the new pickoff and pitch clock rules and bigger bases tilt the cat-and-mouse game towards players like that, maybe that could really help him. If we could get him to focus on worrying less about SLG, and instead taking his walks (pretty good eye!) and hitting oppo linedrive singles over the shortstop's head, these new rules could suddenly turn him into a 40 SB type guy. Some of the linedrive singles are probably doubles anyway with his speed.

On a pre-arb salary, that could be a pretty useful player, maybe even a guy worth giving a couple hundred DH PAs to, along with 4/5 outfielder duties.

What he does not look like at present is the CF of the future, which is a shame. But is that Ceddane Rafaela's music I hear?
Still complaining about Duran???? Everyone's favorite punching bag. Can't hit....Can't field...Can't thow...Now...he can't steal bases. What's next? Can't score in a woman's prison?
 

Red(s)HawksFan

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 23, 2009
20,676
Maine
Still complaining about Duran???? Everyone's favorite punching bag. Can't hit....Can't field...Can't thow...Now...he can't steal bases. What's next? Can't score in a woman's prison?
Maybe you meant to quote someone else, but I don't read nvalvo's post as complaining about Duran. Seems more like he's postulating a way to salvage some value out of Duran. He's trying to find some glimmer of hope from a player who hasn't shown a whole lot of anything as a big league player thus far.
 

absintheofmalaise

too many flowers
Dope
SoSH Member
Mar 16, 2005
23,333
The gran facenda
Maybe you meant to quote someone else, but I don't read nvalvo's post as complaining about Duran. Seems more like he's postulating a way to salvage some value out of Duran. He's trying to find some glimmer of hope from a player who hasn't shown a whole lot of anything as a big league player thus far.
I read it the same way.
@BravesField put some thought into your posts.
 

nvalvo

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
21,479
Rogers Park
Still complaining about Duran???? Everyone's favorite punching bag. Can't hit....Can't field...Can't thow...Now...he can't steal bases. What's next? Can't score in a woman's prison?
As for the bolded, gross.

If you reread my post, I actually was suggesting a pathway for him to maybe scratch out some success as a tremendously toolsy guy who lacks some key baseball polish. He's not the first player like that by any measure. It is simply a fact that he has not been a big base stealer in the minors or major, given that he's a 70 runner. He posted some decent totals in the low minors, but only has 33 SB in AAA across two seasons where he was on base a lot (.357 AAA OBP). Compare that to David Hamilton's 70 SB in Portland this year. Yet Sox Prospects seems to think Duran ("plus-plus speed") is faster than Hamilton ("plus-to-better"). Call it a 70 vs. a 65.

In the majors, he has 9 SB in 90 games against 2 CS. Part of that is that he hasn't managed a good OBP in the majors yet, but for a guy with his tools, you'd think he'd be running a lot more. I wonder if maybe he could trade some power for contact and make up for it in the running game, now that the pickoff rules seem likely to help players like him.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 13, 2021
11,921
I think there’s a big difference between being fast and being a good base stealer. Frankly, Duran seems like a guy who is a great athlete but not a particularly good baseball player. His instincts seem below average across the board.
 

nvalvo

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
21,479
Rogers Park
I think there’s a big difference between being fast and being a good base stealer. Frankly, Duran seems like a guy who is a great athlete but not a particularly good baseball player. His instincts seem below average across the board.
Yes, exactly. Do we think the coming rule changes could make that difference smaller, though?
 

scottyno

late Bloomer
SoSH Member
Dec 7, 2008
11,304
Might not mean much but Duran has 2 steals of home in the last 2 weeks in Worcester, I think he might have at least some base stealing instincts
 

billy ashley

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
1,228
Washington DC
People keep spelling Casas in a way that I'm unaccustomed to.

Duran has offensive tools. He has been a steady to good offensive player in the high minors for a while now. What is going to determine whether or not he will be a big leaguer will likely be his defense. If he can get to average in center (I'm doubtful) he will probably have a nice long major league career. If he can be good in LF, his bat will be tested, but there's a good chance he's a useful role player with that profile.

This was a older college draftee from a weird baseball program that emphasized a pretty unusual approach to batting. I think he's too toolsy to give up on, but he faces too many steep challenges to bank on. He's a lottery ticket. He shouldn't be penciled in for anything next year, but his progress is something we should all be paying attention to.

2 more BBs with Casas, yesterday. I think this guy is going to be an OBP machine wen he gets more comfortable.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 11, 2007
6,348
People keep spelling Casas in a way that I'm unaccustomed to.

Duran has offensive tools. He has been a steady to good offensive player in the high minors for a while now. What is going to determine whether or not he will be a big leaguer will likely be his defense. If he can get to average in center (I'm doubtful) he will probably have a nice long major league career. If he can be good in LF, his bat will be tested, but there's a good chance he's a useful role player with that profile.

This was a older college draftee from a weird baseball program that emphasized a pretty unusual approach to batting. I think he's too toolsy to give up on, but he faces too many steep challenges to bank on. He's a lottery ticket. He shouldn't be penciled in for anything next year, but his progress is something we should all be paying attention to.

2 more BBs with Casas, yesterday. I think this guy is going to be an OBP machine wen he gets more comfortable.
I’ll take that with Casas! Sox haven’t had one of those in years.
Edit- 3 BB’s and a HR today. OPS went from <.500 to >.700 in one game.
I’m getting excited about ‘23 and the future
 
Last edited:

AB in DC

OG Football Writing
SoSH Member
Jul 10, 2002
13,622
Springfield, VA
6 major league hits of which four are HRs.

Someone needs to change the thread title to "Three True Outcomes Part 2: the Triston Casas thread"
 

Al Zarilla

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 8, 2005
58,871
San Andreas Fault
Jeez I didnt know but Casas is a big dude.
Funny you should say that. Watching the game today I was thinking the opposite. After Judge got his walk, The Camera showed him and Casas at first base. Judge looked a whole head taller than Casas. Maybe Judge was standing in the middle of the bag? Except for little leaguers, baseball players don't usually do that. They usually have the back foot just touching the edge of the bag and the front foot on the ground ready to go to the next base. I deleted my recording of the game so now I have to watch Sunday's game. Casas has to play first and Judge has to get on while he does. BBREF has Judge at 6'7" and Casas at 6'4".
 
Last edited:

LogansDad

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
29,054
Alamogordo
Sure, the early struggle are real, but the plate discipline and power a obviously there. MLB.com had a nice article with some pretty awesome quotes from him this morning.

“I think discipline comes with a trickle-down effect,” Casas said. “I don’t think I’m going to come into the league and they’re just going to attack me with fastballs, and I'm going to hit home runs and they’re going to be scared to pitch to me. I think they’re going to work the edges and try to see how much I’ll chase, how far I'll go off, and then if I keep chasing after it, they’re not going to attack me with anything in the zone. I think if I display that discipline for the edges, they’ll come to the middle of the zone eventually.”

How far back in his baseball life has Casas been so selective? It turns out it goes back very far, as in childhood.

“It’s definitely something that I’ve always worked on,” Casas said. “If you don’t swing at good pitches, you’re just going to be chasing and you’re going to be off-balance, and they’re never going to attack you. Yeah, it’s definitely been something that some of my early coaches and my dad were really hard on me to swing at good pitches and pick the right ones to hit.”
 

nvalvo

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
21,479
Rogers Park
He also has 4 HR in like 55 PA.
Funny you should say that. Watching the game today I was thinking the opposite. After Judge got his walk, The Camera showed him and Casas at first base. Judge looked a whole head taller than Casas. Maybe Judge was standing in the middle of the bag? Except for little leaguers, baseball players don't usually do that. They usually have the back foot just touching the edge of the bag and the front foot on the ground ready to go to the next base. I deleted my recording of the game so now I have to watch Sunday's game. Casas has to play first and Judge has to get on while he does. BBREF has Judge at 6'7" and Casas at 6'4".
SoxProspects has Casas at 6'5". He's young enough that maybe he added an inch?
 

Jimbodandy

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 31, 2006
11,405
around the way
He also has 4 HR in like 55 PA.


SoxProspects has Casas at 6'5". He's young enough that maybe he added an inch?
Could be measuring in shoes or not, like basketball. Probably just an inconsitency, since baseball doesn't care as much about height. MLB.com has him at 6'5", MiLB.com at 6'4", so your theory could be correct.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 11, 2007
6,348
Maybe Judge is 7 feet tall?

I hope Casas plays today with lefty Nestor Cortes going.
I suspect Judge is more like 6’8 or 6’9. He really towers over guys that are listed 6’2, 6’3 (avg. baseball height) by way more than a few inches.
I saw Magic Johnson standing next to Bird at a game when I was a kid in ‘81 right at court side and magic had to have been 2” taller though IIRC he was listed an inch shorter
 

Rovin Romine

Johnny Rico
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
23,683
Miami (oh, Miami!)
I thought I was comparing, like, face to face. Maybe Casas was standing in the same hole the entire team has been standing in for a lot of the year.
The impression I got from the Fox/Apple broadcasts was that Judge levitates. And also glows in the dark. So take that into account.
 

The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2006
7,874
SS Botany Bay
The impression I got from the Fox/Apple broadcasts was that Judge levitates. And also glows in the dark. So take that into account.
Indeed, during the broadcast I was drinking a bottle of water, and when Judge was up it turned into wine. Cheap wine, but still.

I also get the impression that Judge is taller than listed. When I was younger I remember thinking that Mo Vaughn was a pretty big dude, but then one game I saw him standing next to late-career Dave Parker, and Mo looked absolutely tiny, not just in height but also build. Casas looks like a legit 6'5.
 

E5 Yaz

Transcends message boarding
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Apr 25, 2002
90,017
Oregon
“I was a little jelly-legged my first 40-somethings ABs,” Casas told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “But today felt good getting on base that many times. I think it was career-high so far. It was definitely good. I came up in a couple big spots and was able to grind out some at-bats and get on base.”

“I think seeing everybody for the first time, seeing the league and just being uncomfortable with just playing at this level in front of this many people. I think that was the initial shock reaction,” Casas said. “But getting my feet wet, finally understanding how to control my emotions and use the adrenaline to my advantage has been something I’ve been working on. Definitely trying to control my effort level as well. Just making sure I’m staying calm, trying to see the ball and try to read it before I make a decision to swing.”

https://nesn.com/2022/09/triston-casas-comfort-evident-in-terrific-performance-vs-yankees/
 

billy ashley

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
1,228
Washington DC
“I was a little jelly-legged my first 40-somethings ABs,” Casas told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “But today felt good getting on base that many times. I think it was career-high so far. It was definitely good. I came up in a couple big spots and was able to grind out some at-bats and get on base.”

“I think seeing everybody for the first time, seeing the league and just being uncomfortable with just playing at this level in front of this many people. I think that was the initial shock reaction,” Casas said. “But getting my feet wet, finally understanding how to control my emotions and use the adrenaline to my advantage has been something I’ve been working on. Definitely trying to control my effort level as well. Just making sure I’m staying calm, trying to see the ball and try to read it before I make a decision to swing.”

https://nesn.com/2022/09/triston-casas-comfort-evident-in-terrific-performance-vs-yankees/

That's a good quote and echoes a lot of what people have said about Casas throughout his minor league career. He's a thoughtful guy, who is constantly trying to improve. I think baseball's gotten so sophisticated in terms of coaching and training that it's really difficult for people to just ascend on talent but Casas has always gotten really high marks on how he thinks about baseball.

A lot of the reports on his makeup and work ethic read very similar to what was said about Mookie Betts a few years back. It seems the org puts a premium on that (there's been a lot of similar reporting of Mayer and Romero, too).
 

TonyPenaNeverJuiced

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 7, 2015
318
Christopher Smith for MassLive said:
Casas was asked if he heard any Yankees fans cheering for the Red Sox to tie it.

“I couldn’t hear anything. I couldn’t hear anything except for the little voice in my head telling me to try to grind this at-bat out, pass the baton,” Casas said. “I know after I swung through that second one to get two strikes, the crowd got into it a little bit. I heard that. No specific words though.”
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
SoSH Member
Oct 1, 2015
24,375
Casas needs to be the every day first baseman next year. He’s good. He has a chance to be really really good.

Bello needs to be in the rotation next year. He’s already pretty darned good. He has a chance to be elite.

This season has sucked but seeing these two gems ascend has been very fun for me and a real bright spot moving forward.
 

Spud

New Member
Nov 15, 2006
99
Casas needs to be the every day first baseman next year. He’s good. He has a chance to be really really good.

Bello needs to be in the rotation next year. He’s already pretty darned good. He has a chance to be elite.

This season has sucked but seeing these two gems ascend has been very fun for me and a real bright spot moving forward.
Agree as to both, although I watched a bit of the game last night and it appears to me that Bello is going to have to work on speeding things up next year with the pitch clock in place. He was REALLY slow to the plate with runners on base.
 

billy ashley

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
1,228
Washington DC
wait, folks aren't pinning for Hosmer?

Kidding aside, I think Boston is in a pretty interesting spot. The East is only getting better, but Boston has a ton of money coming off the books and a really intriguing core. I'm hoping the extend Devers and would be happy (though I'm not sure if it's smart) if they extend Xander.

An offense with Casas at first base, a healthy story at 2B, Xander holding down the fort until Mayer, Devers at third and a DH platoon of Hosmer and Dalbec could be something. Especially with Arroyo on the bench. If they can figure out a cheap corner OF, I feel really good about this team.

Hell, I like the building blocks of the pitching staff between Sale, Bello, Whitlock, and Pivetta.