The Indians have gotten off to a sluggish 2-5 start in 2010, and there are a bevy of reasons why. More reasons for sure, than any one player could be blamed for. More reasons than any one player can fix. The starting pitching has been mediocre at best. The relief pitching has been terrible, the defense questionable, and the management... well, you get the idea.
At catcher, rookie Lou Marson has struggled both with the bat (1 hit in 15 at-bats) and in the field as there have been a number of wild pitches that probably should've been blocked, and inexcusable passed balls. Simply put, he's struggling, and his inability to knock down pitches in the dirt is hurting the confidence of the pitching staff to be able to throw their breaking stuff.
If his struggles behind the plate continue, it's going to force the Indians front office to consider making a decision they don't really want to. Namely, going to the minor leagues for help. That's because 'help,' in this case would be super-prospect Carlos Santana, and they don't want to start his arbitration clock yet, as it would set in motion the ability for Santana to reach super-two status.
Often when a prospect wants to get called up, he'll politely, "knock on the door." He'll hit well, field his position, show coachability... all good things. What Santana is doing isn't quite the same thing. No, what he's doing is taking a 34 ounce sledge hammer to the door and pounding it to smithereens.
So far in his first taste of AAA, Santana has bashed 4 home runs in just 20 at-bats, with a pair of doubles and three singles mixed in for good measure. His triple slash right now stands at .450/.500/.1.150. It's just a 20 at-bat sample size, but given his performance last year, it's obviously no fluke, and at 24, it's going to be his time very soon. The question is, how long can the Indians management continue to look the other way?
Showing posts with label Lou Marson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lou Marson. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Indians v White Sox 4/5/10
I'm not going to do game recaps or anything like that too often, but if I watch a game I'll try and give my thoughts.
White Sox offense off and running - Manager Ozzie Guillen wanted a more aggressive team, and boy does he have it. With the exception of Carlos Quentin not seeming to understand that any time the lead runner takes off, the follow runner should do the same, the manager should be pleased. They hit. They ran the bases. They scored runs. It helps that Jake Westbrook was awful and that Lou Marson couldn't keep a ball in front of him to save his life, but good teams take advantage of their opponents mistakes and the White Sox did that today.
Lou Marson Struggles - Four 'wild pitches,' none of which were that terribly wild.
Jake Westbrook shelled - pulled after 4 innings with the bases loaded and no one out in the 4th. It could be a long season in Cleveland. After not pitching for nearly two years, one kind of has to wonder, "what exactly was Manny Acta thinking?" When he wasn't skipping pitches about two feet short, he was serving meatballs, and boy, the diner was open for business today.
White Sox offense off and running - Manager Ozzie Guillen wanted a more aggressive team, and boy does he have it. With the exception of Carlos Quentin not seeming to understand that any time the lead runner takes off, the follow runner should do the same, the manager should be pleased. They hit. They ran the bases. They scored runs. It helps that Jake Westbrook was awful and that Lou Marson couldn't keep a ball in front of him to save his life, but good teams take advantage of their opponents mistakes and the White Sox did that today.
Lou Marson Struggles - Four 'wild pitches,' none of which were that terribly wild.
Jake Westbrook shelled - pulled after 4 innings with the bases loaded and no one out in the 4th. It could be a long season in Cleveland. After not pitching for nearly two years, one kind of has to wonder, "what exactly was Manny Acta thinking?" When he wasn't skipping pitches about two feet short, he was serving meatballs, and boy, the diner was open for business today.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Up and Coming Catchers, Pt. 4
This is the last of what will be a four part examination of the AL Centrals glut of catching talent. You can see parts one, two, and three at these links.
The position of catcher is one of the most difficult to fill in baseball. The job is extremely physically demanding and because of that, offense from the position is generally pretty rare - there is no position other than pitcher where players average a lower OPS. The players who are able to hit from that position are immediately thrust into the upper echelon. With that said, catcher will always be a defense first position. The catcher is responsible for putting together the game plan, calling the game, framing the pitches, controlling the running game, and serving as the pitchers therapist between innings.
The AL Central is lucky to be able to boast four of baseballs best young receiving prospects with Alex Avila in Detroit (Scouting Book #127), Carlos Santana in Cleveland (B.A. #10/B.P. #8/ESPN #3/ S.B. #14), Tyler Flowers in Chicago (B.A. #60/ B.P. #72/ S.B. #93), and Wilson Ramos in Minnesota (B.A. #58/ B.P. #65/ ESPN #42/ S.B #95).
Besides having a song named smooth with my favorite artist, Santana has a pretty smooth game behind the plate it would appear. Santana was acquired (along with Jonathan Meloan) in 2008 from the Dodgers for Casey Blake and while Indians fans have yet to see much return in that deal, things are about to change quickly. Converted to catcher after being drafted as a third baseman, Santana certainly seems to be adapting nicely.
While no one is expecting him to be the second coming of Johnny Bench, Santana still brings a very solid game behind the plate. Scouts praise his lateral mobility which pitchers should love. For their part, pitchers have praised his game calling abilities and receiving skills, and overall he's left his coaches impressed at every level of the minors. His arm isn't going to be top flight - he threw out just 30% in AA - but it should be better than that of Victor Martinez.
As a 24 year old who will be opening the season in AAA, he might not have the typical advancement you'd see amongst a top prospect, but that's primarily because it's taken an extra year or two for his defensive game to get caught up. Offensively, Santana is a force. I could choose to nit-pick his strikeout rates, but at 19.4% last year, they're nothing like those of prospects I profiled earlier such as Tyler Flowers or Alex Avila. And the rest of his game is so much more advanced. His walk rates have been consistently strong - his 16.% last year was hardly abnormal. His career minor league batting average of .287 is solid and consistent across the levels and his power is exploding. Last year he belted 23 home runs in just 428 at-bats. As he matures, he almost certainly has 30 home run power (or more) at the Major League level. I could very easily see Santana developing into a .280/.380/.500 force behind the plate for years to come.
If there are concerns about Santana, it would be his size. At just 170lbs he's not by any means big, and one has to wonder if he's big enough to hold up to the kind of constant punishment catchers receive all year long. So far though, those concerns have been for naught as he's stayed healthy almost without exception from day one.
To open 2010 the Indians will have Santana at AAA to get a little more seasoning, but realistically, he could probably come up right now and make an impact at the Major League level. One almost has to assume that given their current options - Lou Marson will be the starter to open the seasons - that having Santana in AAA to open the year is about little more than preventing him from reach super-two status. Not that there is anything particularly wrong with that. The Indians need to be cost conscious and in a season where they aren't likely to be competing for a playoff spot, I see little harm in the decision. However I fully expect Carlos to be with the team in June and logging the lions share of the teams minutes behind the plate come July.
While it's unlikely that any of the catchers in the group I've spent the past few days discussing is of the caliber of the Twins Joe Mauer, as a whole, they have the potential to make the AL Central the strongest division for catchers in all of baseball.
The position of catcher is one of the most difficult to fill in baseball. The job is extremely physically demanding and because of that, offense from the position is generally pretty rare - there is no position other than pitcher where players average a lower OPS. The players who are able to hit from that position are immediately thrust into the upper echelon. With that said, catcher will always be a defense first position. The catcher is responsible for putting together the game plan, calling the game, framing the pitches, controlling the running game, and serving as the pitchers therapist between innings.
The AL Central is lucky to be able to boast four of baseballs best young receiving prospects with Alex Avila in Detroit (Scouting Book #127), Carlos Santana in Cleveland (B.A. #10/B.P. #8/ESPN #3/ S.B. #14), Tyler Flowers in Chicago (B.A. #60/ B.P. #72/ S.B. #93), and Wilson Ramos in Minnesota (B.A. #58/ B.P. #65/ ESPN #42/ S.B #95).
Carlos Santana
Besides having a song named smooth with my favorite artist, Santana has a pretty smooth game behind the plate it would appear. Santana was acquired (along with Jonathan Meloan) in 2008 from the Dodgers for Casey Blake and while Indians fans have yet to see much return in that deal, things are about to change quickly. Converted to catcher after being drafted as a third baseman, Santana certainly seems to be adapting nicely.
While no one is expecting him to be the second coming of Johnny Bench, Santana still brings a very solid game behind the plate. Scouts praise his lateral mobility which pitchers should love. For their part, pitchers have praised his game calling abilities and receiving skills, and overall he's left his coaches impressed at every level of the minors. His arm isn't going to be top flight - he threw out just 30% in AA - but it should be better than that of Victor Martinez.
As a 24 year old who will be opening the season in AAA, he might not have the typical advancement you'd see amongst a top prospect, but that's primarily because it's taken an extra year or two for his defensive game to get caught up. Offensively, Santana is a force. I could choose to nit-pick his strikeout rates, but at 19.4% last year, they're nothing like those of prospects I profiled earlier such as Tyler Flowers or Alex Avila. And the rest of his game is so much more advanced. His walk rates have been consistently strong - his 16.% last year was hardly abnormal. His career minor league batting average of .287 is solid and consistent across the levels and his power is exploding. Last year he belted 23 home runs in just 428 at-bats. As he matures, he almost certainly has 30 home run power (or more) at the Major League level. I could very easily see Santana developing into a .280/.380/.500 force behind the plate for years to come.
If there are concerns about Santana, it would be his size. At just 170lbs he's not by any means big, and one has to wonder if he's big enough to hold up to the kind of constant punishment catchers receive all year long. So far though, those concerns have been for naught as he's stayed healthy almost without exception from day one.
To open 2010 the Indians will have Santana at AAA to get a little more seasoning, but realistically, he could probably come up right now and make an impact at the Major League level. One almost has to assume that given their current options - Lou Marson will be the starter to open the seasons - that having Santana in AAA to open the year is about little more than preventing him from reach super-two status. Not that there is anything particularly wrong with that. The Indians need to be cost conscious and in a season where they aren't likely to be competing for a playoff spot, I see little harm in the decision. However I fully expect Carlos to be with the team in June and logging the lions share of the teams minutes behind the plate come July.
While it's unlikely that any of the catchers in the group I've spent the past few days discussing is of the caliber of the Twins Joe Mauer, as a whole, they have the potential to make the AL Central the strongest division for catchers in all of baseball.
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