He's hit .234/.367/.396 for a 113 WRC+ since 4/15. He had two bad weeks to start the year and two good months since. I think his bat will be at least above average, especially once his power fully kicks in.
I do wonder if the umps expand the zone for big guys. IIRC, I remember Judge getting robbed a lot his rookie season on borderline calls. Which would suggest it's a combo of rookie hazing and size of the batter
He’s not a big guy but I watch a lot of Corbin Carroll because he’s an insane talent and he was getting boned pretty good early on in the year by umps based on what I saw. Like, it felt like almost hazing.
I’ve been wondering about the bolded as well. I can’t imagine that’s endearing him with the umpires.
I think they absolutely expand the zone on taller players like Judge, especially on pitches above and below the zone. That still happens to him, I think. Pitches below his knee would be above a lot of other players' knees and the umps call them strikes regardless. I don't think that is as much the case when we're talking pitches that are off the plate inside or outside though. Those are more often than not strikes that the catcher "steals" with his framing.
This board? For a guy who had an OPS of 847 and finished 3rd in the RoY voting? This board would have been in deep, romantic love with Boggs.
Currently 20th among MLB 1st baseman in that batting category. Already 15th in ISO with an xSLG 0.057 higher than SLG. BABIP 0.265. Anthony Rizzo 15th with a 116 WRC+, for reference.
I wasn't aware of this. If that's going on, someone needs to get in his ear and tell him to knock that shit off. In certain circumstances he's not just hurting himself, but his team as well. If you catch the right (wrong) ump who feels that he's being shown up and that it's being allowed by the team you may see an increase in calls going against the Sox. There are more than a couple of shitty umps out there who really don't need encouragement to become shittier umps.
I don't know about compulsive, he's just a really quirky dude. Early in the season the microphones were tuned differently and you could clearly hear him calling out where he thought the pitch was as it was coming through ("LOW", for instance).
https://www.audacy.com/weei/sports/red-sox/triston-casas-latest-unique-approach-is-rankling-umpires
Yah. Its an OCD type habit. He talks to the umpires before the game so they know he isnt doing it to show up the umps.
I noticed before the game Sunday that he had a long-ish chat with the 1B ump when the team took the field before T1. He, the ump and the 1B coach all shook hands.
It's a classic "If you win 20 in the show you can let the fungus grow on your shower shoes and the press will think're you colorful." thing. Once he succeeds, he'll be quirky and lovable. When he struggles, every difference needs to be hammered out of him.
Defense also looks improved. But as far as power goes... I suspect it's going to come soon. Since the early season, it looked more like he was looking to either not swing... or swing to kill. Now it looks like he's still being selective but trying to get his swing more balanced and making contact and it's working. I definitely predict he'll crank out a bunch in hot streaks and will go cold (both in power and batting average) over his career but will still land somewhere around .850 OPS and 30 HR's.
I know statscast isn't the ultimate arbitor, but it's pretty good, and it thinks Casas has been unlucky in the HR department. His "xHR" is 10 versus actual of 8. He's in the 88th percentile for barrel percentage and his launch angle is at 15%....those are an excellent combo for 30+ HR power. He's already showing the power in his batted ball metrics....it's only a matter of time before a few more start leaving the yard.
I feel like he's had at least 4 that would have been home runs if not for the, shall we say, "environment" (i.e. 3 feet short on a cold day with weird wind patterns). I am unsure if he has had any that have been environment aided, but I feel like all of the ones I have seen have been just absolute no doubters. I really think this kid is going to hit really, really well, for a long time.
Sheets ball was scalded (102.9 mph EV), it took a bad hop, and it had English on it. Cora was being a perfect jerk when he said Casas "makes that play." Casas didn't make any excuses, but, having played first base, I'll make one for him. That's a tough play for anyone.
Agree to disagree. His manager threw him under the bus. Casas was simply taking it like a man. The official scorer changed the play from an error to a hit, which is the right call.
Agreeing here…. That was a low rocket. Classic Jon Olerud probably makes that but not every time. Rightfully ruled a hit.
I also took that as a shot across the bow from Cora. AC knows he is putting a below average fielder at first base. Great home run though.
Yeah, but then it would be Casas's fault the winning run reached base instead of Cora's, so that can't be true.
