OC Register: Andrelton Simmons believes WBC experience can carry over into Angels season

[AngelsWin.com]

TEMPE, Ariz. — Andrelton Simmons returned to the mundane preparation for his day job on Wednesday. After a three-week hiatus to play in intense baseball games, wearing his country’s name on his chest, the Angels shortstop was back to playing the...

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[ettin]

Glad he's back and let's hope that he hits his full stride in terms of his potential, strength, and ability on the offensive side, it could make a real impact if he can muscle the ball a little more when you consider his ability to make contact.

[Chuck]

39 minutes ago, ettin said:

Glad he's back and let's hope that he hits his full stride in terms of his potential, strength, and ability on the offensive side, it could make a real impact if he can muscle the ball a little more when you consider his ability to make contact.

This brings up a question I've thought about lately with Simmons.

Would you rather have the 2013 version that saw him club 17 home runs, but sport a low .247 BA/.296 OBP, or would you rather have the 2016 version we got last year that saw his OBP rise to .324, with a better contact rate .281 BA. Crazy that he only struck out 38 times last season. 

[vladdy#27]

36 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

This brings up a question I've thought about lately with Simmons.

Would you rather have the 2013 version that saw him club 17 home runs, but sport a low .247 BA/.296 OBP, or would you rather have the 2016 version we got last year that saw his OBP rise to .324, with a better contact rate .281 BA. Crazy that he only struck out 38 times last season. 

I would go with last years version. We have 6 guys capable of hitting 15-20+ HR. If he can get on base more those guys can drive him in. 

[ettin]

1 hour ago, Chuckster70 said:

This brings up a question I've thought about lately with Simmons.

Would you rather have the 2013 version that saw him club 17 home runs, but sport a low .247 BA/.296 OBP, or would you rather have the 2016 version we got last year that saw his OBP rise to .324, with a better contact rate .281 BA. Crazy that he only struck out 38 times last season. 

On-base version preferably, considering he will likely be hitting 9th in a lot of cases.

[ettin]

1 hour ago, Chuckster70 said:

This brings up a question I've thought about lately with Simmons.

Would you rather have the 2013 version that saw him club 17 home runs, but sport a low .247 BA/.296 OBP, or would you rather have the 2016 version we got last year that saw his OBP rise to .324, with a better contact rate .281 BA. Crazy that he only struck out 38 times last season. 

I should clarify too that when I talk about him getting a bit stronger I want to see him muscle more singles out of the infield. I don't care about a home run hitting Simmons I care about a guy that can hit a lot of singles and doubles (not dissimilar to Escobar).

If he can become Escobar with the bat it will make him incredibly valuable when combined with his defense. I believe @Dochalo spoke a bit about this a while back as well.

[eaterfan]

I'd prefer the high OBP. 

That being said, he had the same exit velocity last season as Todd Frazier. TF has hit 35 and 40 HR the last two seasons. Perhaps a little loft in Simmons' swing would create a lot more power with out sacrificing too much OBP.