Time to Promote and Demote

[Tyler]

I'd like to see the Angels give Kubitza a shot to ignite the offense as a DH right now. 

 

As of right now he's at...

 

AVG .311

OBP .373

SLG .492

OPS .865

 

He's striking out a little too much for my taste, and his BABIP is extremely high and due to regress, but he's still been quality against top competition in Minors as evidenced by his .285 AVG and 52 BB :80 SO in about 300 plate appearances against Top 20 pitching prospects.

 

Meanwhile Cron is in a massive slump and needs to find his groove down in AAA. When the best thing about a Cron at bat is his walkup music, then you know he needs to work on a few things.

[Tyler]

Delete please. Saw the thread on main board with basically the same topic.

[Inside Pitch]

Kubitza has a history of really crazy high BABIPs...   Guess its the speed factor but still, it's trippy.

[ettin]

Line drive approach = Higher BABIP's

[Inside Pitch]

Line drive approach = Higher BABIP's

 

Not sure it's just the LD rate....   Check his rate history..   Some really crazy numbers... http://www.statcorner.com/bat/605323/Kyle-Kubitza    Not liking the drop in nB%

[Docwaukee]

Not sure it's just the LD rate....   Check his rate history..   Some really crazy numbers... http://www.statcorner.com/bat/605323/Kyle-Kubitza    Not liking the drop in nB%

I would be more concerned about this if he were struggling with getting hits.  If he's getting good pitches then it's no biggie imo.  

[ettin]

Looking at the numbers (and I haven't seen him in person or anything so these are just Sabermetric thoughts) he has made steady improvements in LD% over the last 3 years. Additionally it appears that he is sacrificing walk rate to be a bit more aggressive at the plate because his walk rate has been going down but his average has been going up (he seems to have found a balance between batting eye and contact hitting). Finally he also seems to be taking a more power oriented line drive approach so you're seeing a significant rise in doubles over the last three years (not necessarily HR power but a power alley approach). Currently he looks like he's on track to hit over 40 doubles this year which would be a career high.

I don't know IP but I feel like he's really making positive strides in his hitting development. It would not surprise me one bit to see him slotted in the #2 spot and Calhoun hitting lead off in the near future. Both of them have a tremendous amount of plate discipline and would put Trout in a lot of RBI situations in the 3-hole.

I guess I feel good about his potential. Of course the Minor Leagues are not the Major Leagues so he has to prove he can do it at the top level.

[Inside Pitch]

Looking at the numbers (and I haven't seen him in person or anything so these are just Sabermetric thoughts) he has made steady improvements in LD% over the last 3 years. Additionally it appears that he is sacrificing walk rate to be a bit more aggressive at the plate because his walk rate has been going down but his average has been going up (he seems to have found a balance between batting eye and contact hitting). Finally he also seems to be taking a more power oriented line drive approach so you're seeing a significant rise in doubles over the last three years (not necessarily HR power but a power alley approach). Currently he looks like he's on track to hit over 40 doubles this year which would be a career high. I don't know IP but I feel like he's really making positive strides in his hitting development. It would not surprise me one bit to see him slotted in the #2 spot and Calhoun hitting lead off in the near future. Both of them have a tremendous amount of plate discipline and would put Trout in a lot of RBI situations in the 3-hole. I guess I feel good about his potential. Of course the Minor Leagues are not the Major Leagues so he has to prove he can do it at the top level.

 

No, Im happy with where he is -- but I do wonder how much the LD rate has to do with something he's doing .vs the park itself,  http://www.statcorner.com/team/561/2015/Salt%20Lake%20Bees  let's not forget that SLC is a very favorable hitting environment.  Regardless, I'm not particularly worried about the drop in his walk rate, but I'd rather he keep it above the league average rate.  It wouldn't surprise me to see it rise as the season goes on.

[Second Base]

It will. I've scouted him in person multiple times this year and have tuned in to MILB. TV, his swing is much more geared toward line drives, and the numbers back that up. He's plenty strong enough to hit HR's but he won't. However, from my experience, the biggest indicator of success at any level is LD%, and Kubitza's suggests he will hot at the major league level as well.

Sanchez was a difficult piece to give up, he can be an elite pitcher, but right now, I have to think it was worth it.