General 2017 Blue Jays Discussion Thread

[KevinGregg]

Busy making a "put Ryan Goins in the leadoff spot" thread

 

Love the new avatar

[glory]

Pillar batting 1st and Pearce batting 8th.

 

Gibby working under Ned Yost makes a ton of sense.

[G-Snarls]

Love the new avatar

 

Thanks

 

[Slade]

Is it wrong to loathe Tulo right now? He has been so useless offensively, he belongs in that bottom third with Goins and Pillar.

[Laika]

Tulo is definitely having some mechanical problems with his swing.

 

He's barely striking out (well below his career rate, actually) and his BB% is steady with the last two seasons. But...

 

His GB% is a career high.

His FB% is a career low.

His GB/FB ratio is a career high (obviously).

His LD% is a career low.

His Infield Fly % is a career high, and an alarming 16.7%. It seems like he pops out all the f***ing time.

 

Making contact but hitting weak ground balls and pop ups. He's Kevin Pillar.

 

I'm almost certain it's mechanical. He probably needs to make some kind of adjustment like McCutchen just made a month ago. It's time for a lesson from the team's best hitters, JD and Smoak.

[Laika]

I actually find it weird that this Tulo decline has gotten no coverage. When Cutch had a bad year, you heard about it evert week or two. People were so incredulous. Tulo is a guy who was on par with Cutch. Everyone loved him in Colorado, smooth fielding SS, class act, blah blah. Just seems like no one cares that he's done. Not even in fantasy anymore.

 

Tulo's decline hasn't seemed quite as abrupt. It was also masked by the trade and various injuries and that the team was winning

[BigCecil]

Pillar leading off again tonight...

 

1. Kevin Pillar ® CF

2. Josh Donaldson ® 3B

3. Jose Bautista ® RF

4. Kendrys Morales (S) DH

5. Justin Smoak (S) 1B

6. Troy Tulowitzki ® SS

7. Russell Martin ® C

8. Steve Pearce ® LF

9. Ryan Goins (L) 2B

 

Long slow crash back to normal for Pillar. It was ok to ride the hot hand, but Gibby...c'mon.

[Sorrow]

I wonder if the Jays end up selling this year if it's the time to see if you can get anything for Pillar. Range in the OF seems to have decreased, his base running has been poor this year and he's always been a legs reliant player. He's getting around that age where a lot of speed dependent guys seem to fall off a cliff.

[TholesWeirdEye]

I wonder if the Jays end up selling this year if it's the time to see if you can get anything for Pillar. Range in the OF seems to have decreased, his base running has been poor this year and he's always been a legs reliant player. He's getting around that age where a lot of speed dependent guys seem to fall off a cliff.

 

Plus he kinda sucks.

[Terminator]

Ok Pillar isn't having the best year but if he were batting 8th in the lineup it would be fine. No need to dump him jut yet.

[glory]

Tulo was declining in his final (half) season in Colorado. i guess there was a chance that it was just an off year and he would bounce back to star levels after that, but he was a league average hitter in 2015, 2016, and well below so far in 2017. This is probably what he's going to be, about ~100 wrc+ in a typical season. If his defence dips on top of that, then it will get ugly.

[Slade]

Ok Pillar isn't having the best year but if he were batting 8th in the lineup it would be fine. No need to dump him jut yet.

 

It would be fine if we had the offense of 2015 but we can barely score runs.

[Brownie19]

Ok Pillar isn't having the best year but if he were batting 8th in the lineup it would be fine. No need to dump him jut yet.

 

IMO - it's about maximizing value. His value has nowhere to go but down. I'd certainly be seeing what I could get for him. Osuna too if I'm being honest. Fans would lose their minds though.

[burlingtonbandit]

I actually find it weird that this Tulo decline has gotten no coverage. When Cutch had a bad year, you heard about it evert week or two. People were so incredulous. Tulo is a guy who was on par with Cutch. Everyone loved him in Colorado, smooth fielding SS, class act, blah blah. Just seems like no one cares that he's done. Not even in fantasy anymore.

 

He rebounded last year pretty well.

[Sorrow]

Ok Pillar isn't having the best year but if he were batting 8th in the lineup it would be fine. No need to dump him jut yet.

 

I'm not evening saying dump him because of the bat. I'm saying dump him because you may get something for him and he's likely to start becoming a below replacement level player once his legs do go.

[Maahfaace]

IMO - it's about maximizing value. His value has nowhere to go but down. I'd certainly be seeing what I could get for him. Osuna too if I'm being honest. Fans would lose their minds though.

 

Depends how you look at it, his value is pretty low right meow, so you could argue that selling this low would be poor asset management. He's had similar slumps in the past the all of a sudden goes on a tear. I would bet he will finish right around career norms with the stick by the end of the season.

[TwistedLogic]

lol Donaldson actually went on the record to basically say Bautista and Morales are ass and they need better OBP guys hitting ahead of Smoak.

 

 

Not sure I remember any other situation in which a player actually mentioned the struggles of his teammates by name. He flat out implies that Jose and Morales should be moved down in the order. As long as this doesn't create any serious resentment in the clubhouse, this is a refreshing level of honesty from a player.

[glory]

Depends how you look at it, his value is pretty low right meow, so you could argue that selling this low would be poor asset management. He's had similar slumps in the past the all of a sudden goes on a tear. I would bet he will finish right around career norms with the stick by the end of the season.

 

Current wrc+: 84

Career wrc+: 85

 

He is where he normally is already. Only difference is his defence isn't as good, so the value has plummeted.

 

If Seattle falls out of the race, I'd offer Pillar for Jarrod Dyson and see if the M's would value Pillar's controllability after 2017. Dyson is a better version of Pillar, and even though he's a FA might be cheaper to sign due to age (plus he can become the 4th OF in the future if someone takes CF from him).

[Bobthe4th]

Current wrc+: 84

Career wrc+: 85

 

He is where he normally is already. Only difference is his defence isn't as good, so the value has plummeted.

 

If Seattle falls out of the race, I'd offer Pillar for Jarrod Dyson and see if the M's would value Pillar's controllability after 2017. Dyson is a better version of Pillar, and even though he's a FA might be cheaper to sign due to age (plus he can become the 4th OF in the future if someone takes CF from him).

 

You can't be serious. 4 months of Dyson for 3 years of Pillar?

[Spanky99]

Long slow crash back to normal for Pillar. It was ok to ride the hot hand, but Gibby...c'mon.

No kidding, he's been atrocious since his suspension.

[Bobthe4th]

No kidding, he's been atrocious since his suspension.

 

Pillar is currently in a slump. He shouldn't be leading off anymore, but he will improve. Probably not to where he was 6 weeks ago, but certainly better than his performances so far in June.

[TwistedLogic]

[Laika]

I actually read Donaldson's comments about Bautista/Morales' OBP as a backhanded way to complain about Pillar in the leadoff spot.

 

He wanted to make a point about low OBP guys hitting too high. It's not a good move to directly chirp his teammate. So, he mentioned two other guys that can take it. And the obvious way to move Smoak up in the lineup is to have Bautista leadoff and slide Smoak up to 3rd or 4th, so opining that Smoak should slide up is an indirect way to advocate for Pillar going to the bottom of the order.

[Terminator]

 

I don't know about Smith hitting 2nd but giving Tulo and Pillar a day off sounds good to me. When they return they should be batting 7th and 8th.

[Pendleton]

I don't know about Smith hitting 2nd but giving Tulo and Pillar a day off sounds good to me. When they return they should be batting 7th and 8th.

 

I'd imagine the idea behind batting DSJ second is based on the theory that he should see a steady stream of hittable pitches with JD behind him.

[Brownie19]

What's the word on DSJ's defense?

 

He's played some CF in the past (and will be tonight), but I suspect he doesn't have the chops to play there regularly. But based on the fact he can play some CF, is he above average in LF? Does he have the arm to play RF?

 

 

He's an interesting little player and a guy I'm rooting for. I'd like to see what he could do on a regular basis. Is there a chance he could be a 115 wRC+ hitter with plus defense and base running in LF moving forward?

[Terminator]

What's the word on DSJ's defense?

 

He's played some CF in the past (and will be tonight), but I suspect he doesn't have the chops to play there regularly. But based on the fact he can play some CF, is he above average in LF? Does he have the arm to play RF?

 

 

He's an interesting little player and a guy I'm rooting for. I'd like to see what he could do on a regular basis. Is there a chance he could be a 115 wRC+ hitter with plus defense and base running in LF moving forward?

 

Based upon defense alone he is passable in CF though some think he could be at least average there if not better. But his arm which rates at a 45 on the 20/80 scale makes him more suited for LF over anywhere else.

[Angrioter]

Tulo suxxx, but Reyes es peor

[Jonn]

Tulo suxxx, but Reyes es peor

 

Atleast balls don't go through his legs. He makes the plays on balls hit at him and that's all we can ask for anymore.

[Angrioter]

Atleast balls don't go through his legs. He makes the plays on balls hit at him and that's all we can ask for anymore.

 

I own him Fantasy