Blue Jays Discussion: We're back, baby. Blue Jays clinch 2020 playoff spot

[justashadowof]

Um... Ronald Acuna. He hit 100 career MLB RBIs on June 7th 2019 at the age of 21 years, 171 days.

Also Robin Yount who wasn't even 21 yet.

Also Al Kaline (under 21), ARod, Ken Griffey Jr.

Shows how rare it is. I can only recall Hall of Fame level talent trying to prove the wrong point.

 

[aingefan]

Shows how rare it is. I can only recall Hall of Fame level talent trying to prove the wrong point.

And it shows how intensely high the expectations are for Vlad, given that most people feel he has played below expectations.
And it shows how intensely high the expectations are for Vlad, given that most people feel he has played below expectations.RBI Are only a small parts of the players value of course, still… The point stands.

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[Anthrax442]

Thats amazing

Most "fans" keep forgetting he only turned 21 few months ago and how significant that is

 

[Anthrax442]

Man, Shapiro must be the director from the Truman Show if he can get the wind to blow only when Tanaka pitches and get it to stop for studs like Ray, Cole and Stripling.

waaah waah, these stupid Junkees keep complaining after each loss.

 

[The Nemesis]

waaah waah, these stupid Junkees keep complaining after each loss.

I blame the lights. They're lower to the field and so they heat up the air and cause more turbulence, whipping up the winds.

 

[hoc123]

I blame the lights. They're lower to the field and so they heat up the air and cause more turbulence, whipping up the winds.

But only in the bottom half of every inning.

 

[The Nemesis]

But only in the bottom half of every inning.

The man in white is in the park operations room turning on an a/c unit to keep the field cool during bottoms of innings and counteract the lights effect.

That way he can also monitor the cameras planted in the cardboard cut-out fans to most effectively steal the Yankees' signs.

 

[kb]

The man in white is in the park operations room turning on an a/c unit to keep the field cool during bottoms of innings and counteract the lights effect.

That way he can also monitor the cameras planted in the cardboard cut-out fans to most effectively steal the Yankees' signs.

I heard that all the eyes on the cut out fans were cameras that the Jays were using to steal signs.

 

[The Nemesis]

I heard that all the eyes on the cut out fans were cameras that the Jays were using to steal signs.

Of course they are why else would they have so many?

I heard Geddy Lee and that woman behind the plate are financing it.

 

[phillipmike]

Q&A: Top Draft prospect Kumar Rocker

MLB Pipeline: You were on the high school showcase circuit, faced a lot of top guys. You've been in the SEC, the College World Series, Vanderbilt intrasquads against top-five picks like J.J. Bleday and Austin Martin. Who's the best hitter you think you've faced to this point of your career and what stood out about him?

Rocker: Of course, I'm going to stay with Vanderbilt, so probably Austin Martin. Watching him hit is probably the biggest thing. No one else hits like him with the way he checks off balls and the way he puts balls into the gaps.

 

[ShaneFalco]

 

[Da Cool Rula]

Has it been mentioned that Vladdys struggles at 1st base are affecting his hitting even more? I just dont want this killing his confidence.
At the same time its nice to see him get a little hot of late.

 

[Da Cool Rula]

And Conine. He's going to become a 45 HR perennial mvp

Oh yes the future GOAT

 

[The Nemesis]

Oh yes the future GOAT

Whoa. Whoa. Slow down a little bit.

It's not like he's Panik or anything.

 

[MS]

And it shows how intensely high the expectations are for Vlad, given that most people feel he has played below expectations.
And it shows how intensely high the expectations are for Vlad, given that most people feel he has played below expectations.RBI Are only a small parts of the players value of course, still… The point stands.

Thats amazing

Most "fans" keep forgetting he only turned 21 few months ago and how significant that is

You can take two vastly divergent viewpoints on Guerrero right now and I don't know that either one is wrong.

On one hand ... yeah. He's one of the best 21 y/o players in baseball right now and is an above-average MLB hitter at 21. His contact rates and exit velocity indicate he'll be a high-end MLB hitter once he makes the adjustments to stop hitting so many ground balls. This is going to be a good player and a middle-order bat on this team for a long time.

On the other hand ... this was supposed to be the best MLB hitting prospect basically ever, or since prospect tracking became a big thing. What he was doing in the minors in 2017-18 was insane. 18 months ago he was the unanimous #1 prospect in baseball. And the hope was that he could stick at 3B and this could be an 8+ WAR player for a decade for this team. But fast-forward two years and guys in this elite group of Caribbean prospects that Guerrero Jr. was supposedly at the top of have passed him. By a lot. Tatis Jr. is the same age and a superstar. Acuna Jr. is a year older, but also a superstar and put up a monster top-5 MVP season in 2019 at the same age Guerrero is now. Juan Soto is only a couple months older and is the best hitter in the NL right now. This is the curve that Guerrero was supposed to be on ... and instead he's been 'pretty decent, I guess' with the bat while his ballooning weight and poor glove have him on the fast track to being a full-time DH. And if he ends of being a .280/.350/.550 35 HR/110 RBI DH worth 3-4 WAR ... that's a pretty big letdown for fans who thought they had a generational player on their hands. And it's hard not to look at Acuna/Soto/Tatis and feel a bit frustrated.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

Hentgen seemed like he was going to be a lifer. I remember when there was talk that he was being groomed and in line to be the next manager.

Whether his role was redundant and/or minimal, it sucks seeing a franchise icon no longer associated with the team in some capacity.

 

[Cloned]

You can take two vastly divergent viewpoints on Guerrero right now and I don't know that either one is wrong.

On one hand ... yeah. He's one of the best 21 y/o players in baseball right now and is an above-average MLB hitter at 21. His contact rates and exit velocity indicate he'll be a high-end MLB hitter once he makes the adjustments to stop hitting so many ground balls. This is going to be a good player and a middle-order bat on this team for a long time.

On the other hand ... this was supposed to be the best MLB hitting prospect basically ever, or since prospect tracking became a big thing. What he was doing in the minors in 2017-18 was insane. 18 months ago he was the unanimous #1 prospect in baseball. And the hope was that he could stick at 3B and this could be an 8+ WAR player for a decade for this team. But fast-forward two years and guys in this elite group of Caribbean prospects that Guerrero Jr. was supposedly at the top of have passed him. By a lot. Tatis Jr. is the same age and a superstar. Acuna Jr. is a year older, but also a superstar and put up a monster top-5 MVP season in 2019 at the same age Guerrero is now. Juan Soto is only a couple months older and is the best hitter in the NL right now. This is the curve that Guerrero was supposed to be on ... and instead he's been 'pretty decent, I guess' with the bat while his ballooning weight and poor glove have him on the fast track to being a full-time DH. And if he ends of being a .280/.350/.550 35 HR/110 RBI DH worth 3-4 WAR ... that's a pretty big letdown for fans who thought they had a generational player on their hands. And it's hard not to look at Acuna/Soto/Tatis and feel a bit frustrated.

I will say that Tatis has cooled down significantly in the last few weeks. Acuna also having a subpar season by his standards in terms of hitting for average.

 

[phillipmike]

You can take two vastly divergent viewpoints on Guerrero right now and I don't know that either one is wrong.

On one hand ... yeah. He's one of the best 21 y/o players in baseball right now and is an above-average MLB hitter at 21. His contact rates and exit velocity indicate he'll be a high-end MLB hitter once he makes the adjustments to stop hitting so many ground balls. This is going to be a good player and a middle-order bat on this team for a long time.

On the other hand ... this was supposed to be the best MLB hitting prospect basically ever, or since prospect tracking became a big thing. What he was doing in the minors in 2017-18 was insane. 18 months ago he was the unanimous #1 prospect in baseball. And the hope was that he could stick at 3B and this could be an 8+ WAR player for a decade for this team. But fast-forward two years and guys in this elite group of Caribbean prospects that Guerrero Jr. was supposedly at the top of have passed him. By a lot. Tatis Jr. is the same age and a superstar. Acuna Jr. is a year older, but also a superstar and put up a monster top-5 MVP season in 2019 at the same age Guerrero is now. Juan Soto is only a couple months older and is the best hitter in the NL right now. This is the curve that Guerrero was supposed to be on ... and instead he's been 'pretty decent, I guess' with the bat while his ballooning weight and poor glove have him on the fast track to being a full-time DH. And if he ends of being a .280/.350/.550 35 HR/110 RBI DH worth 3-4 WAR ... that's a pretty big letdown for fans who thought they had a generational player on their hands. And it's hard not to look at Acuna/Soto/Tatis and feel a bit frustrated.

This is beautifully written and exactly how i feel.

 

[phillipmike]

Pearson in and Font off the roster. DFA would be good but released would be even better.

Best day ever. Hopefully we clinch tonight too.

 

[Cloned]

Pearson in and Font off the roster. DFA would be good but released would be even better.

Best day ever. Hopefully we clinch tonight too.

I hope Romano comes back healthy.

 

[phillipmike]

Padres holding out hope Mike Clevinger can pitch sometime in October

Wow Clevinger could be out for the season. Cleveland looks much better making this deal.

 

[Puckstuff]

Padres holding out hope Mike Clevinger can pitch sometime in October

Wow Clevinger could be out for the season. Cleveland looks much better making this deal.

Maybe they knew

 

[MS]

I will say that Tatis has cooled down significantly in the last few weeks. Acuna also having a subpar season by his standards in terms of hitting for average.

Tatis' start to the season was basically prime Babe Ruth playing SS so you had to think it wouldn't last at that level, but he's still been worth 6.5 WAR in his first 140 MLB games. Acuna has been worth 2 WAR in 43 games this season - basically a 7.5 WAR seasonal pace.

This has been a sport in the last decade where elite prospects have come in and dominated quickly at a young age - Trout, Harper, Machado, Bryant in the wave before this as well. I don't think that it was unfair to expect that Guerrero would walk in and be a 5 WAR All-Star type asset at this stage, given that that seems to be par for the course for a player with his billing. That he's plugging along at 1.7 WAR through 180 career games and 0.2 WAR this year as a 1B/DH is pretty disappointing relative to those expectations.

Thankfully Bichette has come in and actually performed at that level.

 

[Cloned]

Tatis' start to the season was basically prime Babe Ruth playing SS so you had to think it wouldn't last at that level, but he's still been worth 6.5 WAR in his first 140 MLB games. Acuna has been worth 2 WAR in 43 games this season - basically a 7.5 WAR seasonal pace.

This has been a sport in the last decade where elite prospects have come in and dominated quickly at a young age - Trout, Harper, Machado, Bryant in the wave before this as well. I don't think that it was unfair to expect that Guerrero would walk in and be a 5 WAR All-Star type asset at this stage, given that that seems to be par for the course for a player with his billing. That he's plugging along at 1.7 WAR through 180 career games and 0.2 WAR this year as a 1B/DH is pretty disappointing relative to those expectations.

Thankfully Bichette has come in and actually performed at that level.

I didn’t say anything about Guerrero; I’m disappointed with his performance so far as well.

Just making a point that not all development is linear and not every player has the same career progression curve.