Pillar Appreciation Thread

[BigCecil]

A 32nd Round pick 4th OF who has a 4.3 WAR 2015 season under his belt. Many expect it will be a career year for him. Few predict further improvement.

 

Not even expected to start in the Jays OF this season he has been a pleasant surprise. Despite his poor pitch selection and propensity to brain cramp at times when it comes to ball sense, he has been of solid value to the Jays. Seems to be a soft spoken pretty humble guy.

 

His reckless abandon allows him to make the plays he does, but he is sometimes overly aggressive. If it wasn't for the Rays Defensive CF wizard, this guy would easily win the GG (whatever that's worth).

I ask you Jays fans "where would we be without him in 2015?"

 

Plus, he has a pretty hot wife. Mazel Tov!

 

Edited October 7, 2015 by BigCecil

[HERPDERP]

Defensively Pillar has been great and more than expected. I think his contributions with the glove make him an excellent 4th outfielder.

 

His offensive performance this year and his speed on the basepaths make him a suitable regular.

 

Personally, I would like to trade him while his value is sky high, but I highly doubt there are teams out there that will be paying a lot for a guy like Pillar.

 

You don't have to look far to see a similar player in this franchise' history - Reed Johnson. He had an insane 4.4 war year but never touched close to it ever again.

 

That being said, I think the Jays have the depth in Pompey to take a risk and carry Pillar next year.

[RealAccountant]

I would trade him in a package for a starter now. It's all downhill from here

 

P.s. it's not Reed Johnson. Johnson value was derived from mashing LHP and putting up a blip of an offensive year.

[HERPDERP]

What I mean to say when I compare him to Reed Johnson is that they both perform beyond their expectations offensively. I don't see Pillar as a .270 hitter at all.

[Olerud363]

What I mean to say when I compare him to Reed Johnson is that they both perform beyond their expectations offensively. I don't see Pillar as a .270 hitter at all.

 

?????????????????????????

 

Whuttt!! That makes no sense. Pillar is a .320 minor league hitter, athletic as hell, OK k-rate at the major league level...

 

He is the defination of a guy who's .270 average is real.

 

If Anthony Gose hit .270 that would be a guy who's .270 average is not real. (high k-rate, low milb average).

[Dr. Dinger]

Kevin has done a lot of good things this year besides emerging as a Gold Glove caliber CF. He's reduced his K rate to an excellent 13.5% and proven himself to be an exceptional baserunner, not just in terms of SB, but with his ability to make good reads in order to take aggressive bases and make very few mistakes. He's never going to be a big power threat or an OBP beast, but he's proving to be a very valuable asset. I could see him returning 3 WAR next year, assuming there will be some defensive regression. He's the perfect complement to our stacked offence at a premium defensive position, and he's cost controllable for another 5 (4?) years.

 

I can also confirm he's got a plus handshake.

[HERPDERP]

?????????????????????????

 

Whuttt!! That makes no sense. Pillar is a .320 minor league hitter, athletic as hell, OK k-rate at the major league level...

 

He is the defination of a guy who's .270 average is real.

 

If Anthony Gose hit .270 that would be a guy who's .270 average is not real. (high k-rate, low milb average).

 

#'s vs scouting in a nutshell brah.

 

Pillar does not look like a .270 hitter. Looks more like a .250 guy.

[Spanky99]

#'s vs scouting in a nutshell brah.

 

Pillar does not look like a .270 hitter. Looks more like a .250 guy.

 

*sighs*

[puphood]

Pillars success started last year defensively and escalated right from this spring and has show me he is one of the most aggressive outfielders in the game. I think he is a honest .260-.280 hitter and could streak higher and who actually is much more comfortable at the plate in the last couple months. Trade him are you F---Nuts and replace him with what?

[BigCecil]

Kevin has done a lot of good things this year besides emerging as a Gold Glove caliber CF. He's reduced his K rate to an excellent 13.5% and proven himself to be an exceptional baserunner, not just in terms of SB, but with his ability to make good reads in order to take aggressive bases and make very few mistakes. He's never going to be a big power threat or an OBP beast, but he's proving to be a very valuable asset. I could see him returning 3 WAR next year, assuming there will be some defensive regression. He's the perfect complement to our stacked offence at a premium defensive position, and he's cost controllable for another 5 (4?) years.

 

I can also confirm he's got a plus handshake.

 

This is a good assessment and one I agree with.

[Spanky99]

This is a good assessment and one I agree with.

 

Yup, it's all that needs to be said.

[Sammy225]

Colby has nicer hair.... Other wise i can see Kevin being a 2-3 WAR player his career with exceptional defense in a premium position.... Role player for sure. Can't be stacked with a bat at every position.

[Governator]

He's a human highlight reel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dr Negative]

Nothing in his numbers scream 'regression' at me. I'd keep him around. Who knows, maybe he learns how to take a walk at some point like Ryan Goins.

[dineke]

#'s vs scouting in a nutshell brah.

 

Pillar does not look like a .270 hitter. Looks more like a .250 guy.

 

He looks more like a .268 guy

[Governator]

He looks more like a .268 guy

 

with a .298 obp

[Brenner]

He looks more like a .268 guy

 

Yeah but he smells like a .285 guy

[dineke]

^lol look at this smellbermetric nerd

[BigCecil]

with a .298 obp

 

BsR 8.1 - that shocks me.

 

wRC+ 93

 

A solid piece to have around under cheap control as we see if Pompey matures into what we hope he will be. Pillar is what he is but isn't a black hole at the bottom of our lineup.

 

Who could forget this from June 2nd:

 

Pillar connected twice off Scherzer, including a go-ahead three-run homer, as the Blue Jays beat the Nationals 7-3 Tuesday night.

[nmrch]

Nothing in his numbers scream 'regression' at me. I'd keep him around. Who knows, maybe he learns how to take a walk at some point like Ryan Goins.

 

Well his value overwhelmingly comes from fielding and baserunning where the metrics do have a high variance. We know he he's talented at both but he might not be this good. However, even accounting for possible regression he still might be a solid ~2.5 guy. I'd keep him around as well, he'll cost you very little and he might not have what we consider fair value on teh open market.

[SaskJaysFan_2]

Well his value overwhelmingly comes from fielding and baserunning where the metrics do have a high variance. We know he he's talented at both but he might not be this good. However, even accounting for possible regression he still might be a solid ~2.5 guy. I'd keep him around as well, he'll cost you very little and he might not have what we consider fair value on teh open market.

 

How would a Pompey, Revere and Pillar outfield rank in terms of defense?

[Dr. Dinger]

BsR 8.1 - that shocks me.

 

Second in baseball, behind Mookie Betts, and Revere is next at 8.0.

[nextyear]

I am a big Pillar fan and feel that he was an important contributor in getting the team to the AL East winner.

 

In my opinion, there is little doubt that Pillar will be a future All Star. I think Pillar's MLB career can be split into two sections:

1) The frustrating, swing at everything Pillar from August 14, 2013 to May 31, 2015 whose stats were:

438 PA, 4.1% BB, 21 K%, wRC+ 67 - http://www.fangraphs.com/statsd.aspx?playerid=12434&position=OF&type=&gds=2013-08-14&gde=2015-05-31&season=

 

2) and the confident, future All Star Pillar who benefited the Blue Jays both on offense and defense from June 2, 2015 to October 4, 2015 whose stats were:

422 PA, 4.3% BB, 11.8 K%, wRC+ 111 - http://www.fangraphs.com/statsd.aspx?playerid=12434&position=OF&type=&gds=2015-06-02&gde=2015-10-04&season=

 

Pillars strikeout rate has been cut in half during the second half of his short (to date) MLB career. This shows that he has become more disciplined and it has resulted in a run production that is 67% higher than over the first half of his career.

 

From now on, I think I will just call him All Star Pillar.

[Governator]

I am a big Pillar fan and feel that he was an important contributor in getting the team to the AL East winner.

 

In my opinion, there is little doubt that Pillar will be a future All Star. I think Pillar's MLB career can be split into two sections:

1) The frustrating, swing at everything Pillar from August 14, 2013 to May 31, 2015 whose stats were:

438 PA, 4.1% BB, 21 K%, wRC+ 67 - http://www.fangraphs.com/statsd.aspx?playerid=12434&position=OF&type=&gds=2013-08-14&gde=2015-05-31&season=

 

2) and the confident, future All Star Pillar who benefited the Blue Jays both on offense and defense from June 2, 2015 to October 4, 2015 whose stats were:

422 PA, 4.3% BB, 11.8 K%, wRC+ 111 - http://www.fangraphs.com/statsd.aspx?playerid=12434&position=OF&type=&gds=2015-06-02&gde=2015-10-04&season=

 

Pillars strikeout rate has been cut in half during the second half of his short (to date) MLB career. This shows that he has become more disciplined and it has resulted in a run production that is 67% higher than over the first half of his career.

 

From now on, I think I will just call him All Star Pillar.

 

This also might be the best season he ever posts and the odds of him leapfrogging some of the top offensive outfielders for All Star votes will be pretty unlikely. All Star voting is loosely based on fan favourites but also on the 3 offensive categories MLB posts beside each candidate for comparisons.

[nextyear]

This also might be the best season he ever posts and the odds of him leapfrogging some of the top offensive outfielders for All Star votes will be pretty unlikely. All Star voting is loosely based on fan favourites but also on the 3 offensive categories MLB posts beside each candidate for comparisons.

 

No one knows the future, but I feel confident that Pillar will have a wRC+ of over 100 in the 2015 playoffs and contribute to the Blue Jays getting to the World Series. If he does, this will be more evidence that Pillar is really an outstanding player (I have little doubt that he is).

[Caper]

Great year from Pillar and Goins. I wonder if you could get an effective starter if you packaged them... might want to keep them around though.

[Krylian]

The GOAT

 

But sell high right?

[Angrioter]

Sell high

[tazsub3]

Sell high

 

you dont sell guys high on intagibles

[baubau]

Sell high

 

Good job Ang. You called him as the breakout player in the offseason. I thought you were f***ing nuts. Now I know you're just f***ing goats!