I would guess that opposing teams are going to give him the steady diet of off-speed and breaking slop that most young players get fed in their first exposure to the big leagues.
Even if he looks great in a certain controlled set of situations, from the descriptions I've read and the data that you can look at, he needs to work on his right handed swing and cut down on strikeouts. I don't see him improving those two things in the majors during a playoff race, so I'd agree that he should be back in AA or more likely be sent to AAA to start next year. If things go well he could be up in just a few months. He also may need work on base stealing technique. He certainly has shown already that the power and speed are both for real. I can understand why they brought him up, but I am a bit surprised since it's seems there are still things he really could work on, unlike with Benintendi who just seemed ready.
I am not expecting much...would just like to see him do as well or better than the Yankees recent callup, Gary Sanchez
A bunch of his CS in Salem were actually SBs. Plus that seems like something you could work at at the ML level. I wouldn't be totally surprised if he was on the playoff roster as our pinch runner, at least not now. I didn't think he would be called up this year.
I was more thinking that he stole a lot less in AA (although his ankle injury may have had something to do with that), and the comments I saw also suggested he had gotten by in Salem much more on raw speed than timing and technique. I have no concerns that he'll run the bases well, eventually be a good base stealer, and that ML instruction will help him improve, I would just expect it would be a bit easier to practice stealing in AA and AAA early next year than in the majors. Just like with hitting lefties and improving contact rate. He just seems to have to stuff that is best polished in the minors.
Mostly I just meant this spring. I was not anticipating him being an everyday player out of spring training, and I was actually shocked, even with his decent finish to last season, that so many people assumed he'd be a regular contributor. I believe I was mocked for expressing disbelief even.
I think pretty much every player in the history of forever stole less in AA than A, and for the reasons you state. I'd be more concerned about the success rate. 9/13 isn't so hot but small sample.
Bit more complex for a switch hitter. Moncada is 24% from the left side and 30% from the right side (with little power) this year. I expect he will be starting mainly against RHP'ers in September
Mookie is still getting fastballs, some even on the inner half of the plate, which everybody knows by now he destroys. Not as many, granted. As for the breaking stuff, some turn into hangers, which can be sent a long way too. We shall see.
Is the concern over stunting his development, or over whether he's going to be effective and help the team? I don't think people are saying he shouldn't be up, just that he might not be as useful right now as we'd hope. Him being up, if only for the experience, seems like a no brainer.
No problem with the main thrust of this post but I've noticed quite a few people saying that the parent club would have the 'best coaches in the organization' (also came up when talking about him learning base-stealing skills and 3b defense). My question is whether that would really be the case. I would think that the parent club coaches would be adept at helping veterans break out of slumps, come up with strategies against opponents based on scouting reports, managing egos and (ahem) in-game strategy. But I would think that the best coaches in the organisation for learning basic and new advanced baseball skills would be in the minors. These guys would be good at that too, of course, but why wouldn't you put your best 'teachers' down a few levels in the org?
For me, it's a combination of stunting his development and him not being as effective as he's been hoped.
Is "stunting development" even a thing? Exposing a young player to a talent level that he is projected to excel against in certain matchups is all upside to me......how does this hurt the player? That doesn't make any sense in this instance.
I don't know if there's a widely understood empirical basis for this concern - I expect not - but I think there are lots of anecdotal examples of prospects being "rushed," struggling, and then either figuring it out, or not. Whether they would have reached a higher ceiling or developed more quickly without skipping levels is sort of unknowable, and thus grounds for endless, ardent debate.
Well, that'll keep him humble.
Could have on field coach Pedroia position him, but we can wait. Righties Mengden and Graveman going Saturday and Sunday. Yoan for the start both games?
Because one night offsets the suck since the all star break?
I really hope the Sox aren't that short-sighted where because Shaw happened to have a good night last night they then continue to play him, after 2 months of him batting .217.
Not to mention that the entire offense had a great night. Maybe the Oakland pitchers just sucked and my mother could have gone 3 for 6.
Actually I probably have watched more of them than a sensible person should.
I think the likelihood of that is close to zero.
LF is where RedSox go to die. Do you hate him that much?
Sitting Hanley for Shaw would be even worse. Hanley is batting .315 and OPS'ing north of .900 since August 1. Unlike Shaw, Hanley has proven to be a viable major league hitter for a pronounced period of time in recent memory, and there is much more of a chance that Hanley continues to hit well, than Shaw.
.963 August and 1.250 September!
