General 2020 Blue Jays Discussion Thread

[Brownie19]

Rowdy forcing the issue would be a great problem to have, he was below league average at 91 wRC+ last season. For him to jump to 115-120 would be a Major improvement.

 

For starters, he’ll have to show a much better walk rate like he did in the minors, he was taken to the cleaners by breaking balls last year with a .224 WOBA vs breaking pitches.

 

His BB/K ratio in the minors has historically been pretty good (BB% of 10 and K% < 20 +/-). If he can get to that point at the ML level and can sustain the ISO he's had to date (which oddly enough exceeds the highest single season ISO he ever posted in the minors) than he's got a chance to be a 115-120 wRC+ hitter...which would make him a ML player.

 

I'm rooting for the kid. He went through a lot of s*** for a couple of years there.

[Brownie19]

Would you have preferred he went full Jeter with it?

 

something else - I'm not sure I've ever see a legit SS make the throw in the hole using that technique.

[Orgfiller]

something else - I'm not sure I've ever see a legit SS make the throw in the hole using that technique.

 

Well other than taking a couple of extra steps with the ball I don't really see the big issue with his technique, it's not gonna get the out the majority of the time but most plays in the hole from the outfield grass also aren't.

[Laika]

Groshans has a Tulo frame. Same leg proportions. This is not a compliment or a criticism.

[BlueRocky]

His BB/K ratio in the minors has historically been pretty good (BB% of 10 and K% < 20 +/-). If he can get to that point at the ML level and can sustain the ISO he's had to date (which oddly enough exceeds the highest single season ISO he ever posted in the minors) than he's got a chance to be a 115-120 wRC+ hitter...which would make him a ML player.

 

I'm rooting for the kid. He went through a lot of s*** for a couple of years there.

 

I’m rooting for him too, yeah he’s been through a lot. We could really use a strong left power bat in the lineup. If his approach and discipline improves vs breaking balls the walk rate should recover a bit closer to his minor numbers. With his power he just needs to hit for average, but yeah he would mainly be DH/ backup 1B.

[saskjayfan]

Given the new arrivals, there's a decent chance Gurriel might have tested positive. If you're going to have a key player test positive, now is the time I guess. Hopefully he comes through this well and can come back soon if he did test positive.

[Dick_Pole]

That silence is eerie...

 

I think it's pretty cool. You hear sounds that you will never hear again at a stadium. The clarity of the bat making contact. The thud of the ball landing. If this is the situation we live in right now, might as well relish the experience. Can't wait to figure out which player has the biggest potty-mouth.

[Boxcar]

Groshans has a Tulo frame. Same leg proportions. This is not a compliment or a criticism.

 

What about heel proportions?

[Dick_Pole]

The bat still has a chance to play. I think there are intriguing elements to him for sure. He completely torched AAA in his short stint in 2019. But I don't think he's part of a contending Blue Jay team in the long run.

 

My hope is that he gets hot for 60 games and then we can trade him for something decent. It'll be interesting to see the transactions in general after this season. You would think this regime will shift aggressively towards trading for some key pieces after all the hoarding of prospects they've done in recent years.

 

Tellez has absolutely no trade value unless he hits something crazy like 150 RC+. C.J. Cron is a pretty good comparable and he is barely employable. Might as well just cheer for whatever limited contribution he may be in position to do and not worry about his trade value.

[Boxcar]

It's not that hard Vlad. Tell him Luis.

 

Somehow, Luis Rivera teaching Vlad fundamentals does not evoke confidence.

[Spanky99]

Somehow, Luis Rivera teaching Vlad fundamentals does not evoke confidence.

 

Uhmm... he's the teams infield coach, must be doing something right?

[Deadpool]

Would you have preferred he went full Jeter with it?

 

If he wants some completely undeserved gold gloves in his career, he's going to have to learn...

[Boxcar]

Uhmm... he's the teams infield coach, must be doing something right?

 

They should have a WAR stat for third base coaches. I wonder how many runs Rivera has cost the Jays by sending every player that reaches third to a sure out at home.

 

But hey, he's the third base coach, must be doing something right.

[Deadpool]

They should have a WAR stat for third base coaches. I wonder how many runs Rivera has cost the Jays by sending every player that reaches third to a sure out at home.

 

But hey, he's the third base coach, must be doing something right.

 

While I also have memories of Rivera being overly aggressive sending runners that had no chance, without an actual statistic measuring that (which, oddly, baseball doesn't seem to have...) it's definitely confirmation bias to suggest that he's worse than any other 3rd base coach.

[Boxcar]

While I also have memories of Rivera being overly aggressive sending runners that had no chance, without an actual statistic measuring that (which, oddly, baseball doesn't seem to have...) it's definitely confirmation bias to suggest that he's worse than any other 3rd base coach.

 

That is a valid point, but given the number of guys he's windmilled into certain death, I have to imagine he's near the bottom. I know for near certain that Butterfield wasn't even close to as bad.

[Dick_Pole]

But...the argument here is he appropriate to teach 1B defensive techniques to Guerrero? There might be positive correlation to bad judgement of sending home runners and bad infield defense advice but I would guess that correlation is pretty low. It could even be that the team keeps him around in spite of some bad judgement calls because he excels in other areas of his job.

 

There might not be "coach's WAR" available to the general public but if you trust Shapiro and four-eyes to run a tight ship, don't you think they would have some kind of stat in their advanced metrics toolkit to justify Rivera's employment?

[Deadpool]

That is a valid point, but given the number of guys he's windmilled into certain death, I have to imagine he's near the bottom. I know for near certain that Butterfield wasn't even close to as bad.

 

Oh yeah, he's definitely sent runners that had no business being sent, and I don't recall Butters being as bad, but I honestly can't say for sure... Rivera SEEMS really s***** at that particular skill.

[BlueRocky]

[43211234]

Apparently it will be Shulman and Buck calling all the games. Pat Tabler will be staying home and appearing on pre- and post-game shows.

[Orgfiller]

Apparently it will be Shulman and Buck calling all the games. Pat Tabler will be staying home and appearing on pre- and post-game shows.

 

This is a big win for us. Shulman and Buck are a much better duo, thanks to the former not being a bumbling idiot like Pat.

[Bobthe4th]

Apparently it will be Shulman and Buck calling all the games. Pat Tabler will be staying home and appearing on pre- and post-game shows.

 

Buck is 71, bit surprising that it's Pat sitting out and not him, but I'm not complaining!

[Spanky99]

They should have a WAR stat for third base coaches. I wonder how many runs Rivera has cost the Jays by sending every player that reaches third to a sure out at home.

 

But hey, he's the third base coach, must be doing something right.

 

lol... I didn't mention his in game calls for a reason.

[Laika]

This is a big win for us. Shulman and Buck are a much better duo, thanks to the former not being a bumbling idiot like Pat.

 

When Buck Martinez is paired with professional broadcasters he is not terrible. On some of the national and playoff coverage when he does colour he is good enough

[Orgfiller]

When Buck Martinez is paired with professional broadcasters he is not terrible. On some of the national and playoff coverage when he does colour he is good enough

 

Pat is an enabler for Buck, just brings out the dinosaur in him. It doesn't help that he also adds literally nothing to any conversation or play.

[Brownie19]

When Buck Martinez is paired with professional broadcasters he is not terrible. On some of the national and playoff coverage when he does colour he is good enough

 

Disagree. He's beyond s*** in all situations. He couldn't call a T-Ball game.

[Slade]

When Buck Martinez is paired with professional broadcasters he is not terrible. On some of the national and playoff coverage when he does colour he is good enough

 

Less terrible, still terrible though.

 

I hope when Buck and Tabler's contract is up they look to pair Shulman with a better partner.

[Spanky99]

Less terrible, still terrible though.

 

I hope when Buck and Tabler's contract is up they look to pair Shulman with a better partner.

 

Like who, someone else terrible? Buck's hand picked to the PS for a reason. No one's dropping in with advanced stats anytime soon.

[Bobthe4th]

Less terrible, still terrible though.

 

I hope when Buck and Tabler's contract is up they look to pair Shulman with a better partner.

 

Anyone know when that is? All I can find is that their latest 5 year extension expired in 2019, but obviously they must have signed another deal.

[max silver]

Apparently it will be Shulman and Buck calling all the games. Pat Tabler will be staying home and appearing on pre- and post-game shows.

 

Seeing as how Shulman lives in Toronto he is a perfectly obvious choice to call Jays games. Hopefully that won't just be a 2020 thing, Shulman and Buck is world's better than Buck and Pat. I suspect Shulman and Joe Siddal would make for a top notch broadcast team if they decided to go that route.

[Slade]

Like who, someone else terrible? Buck's hand picked to the PS for a reason. No one's dropping in with advanced stats anytime soon.

 

I wouldn't mind Sidall sitting in see how that goes. I think he did some games last year but I can't remember if it was with Shulman or like a rotation of guys. I don't think they have to go full advanced stats to make it better.