Kaleb Cowart Splits as of July 2nd, 2017

[ettin]

Solid equitable splits with above average defense at 2B and even better defense at 3B: http://www.claydavenport.com/ht/COWART19920602A.shtml

Just felt like dropping an update: http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=cowart001kal&type=bgl&year=2017

Edited July 3, 2017 by ettin

[Angel Oracle]

If the Halos fall back in the WC race by late July, Cowart needs to be up here playing most of the time.

At age 25, it's time to finally see what he can truly do as a regular here.

[Docwaukee]

this is like telling us what Hilary Clinton is up to.  

[Troll Daddy]

Lots of time and money invested in this kid. It appears that he has turned a corner this season. Although, now isn't his time. 

 

 

[Second Base]

Kaleb owns Salt Lake. 

[Ohtaniland]

1 hour ago, Scotty@AW said:

Kaleb owns Salt Lake. 

Maybe they think he might be worth something more in a deadline trade so they're keeping him in AAA where he can perform at a high level. 

[Second Base]

39 minutes ago, CALZONE said:

Maybe they think he might be worth something more in a deadline trade so they're keeping him in AAA where he can perform at a high level. 

More likely he's in AAA because Escobar is better than he is right now, and Espinosa is better defensively and the Angels would like to trade him at the deadline or hope his bat comes around and helps them compete.

Cowart's time will come next year.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

28 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

More likely he's in AAA because Escobar is better than he is right now, and Espinosa is better defensively and the Angels would like to trade him at the deadline or hope his bat comes around and helps them compete.

Cowart's time will come next year.

It's always next year for him.

[arch stanton]

Cowart's not getting called up unless it's to play close to everyday which means somebody has to get hurt/get traded. I'm sure it's coming soon

[Second Base]

7 minutes ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

It's always next year for him.

I don't know about that. 2 years ago, he looked stalled in his development and headed for the pitcher's mound. He makes it up to the majors which is a dramatic change, but doesn't impress. Sonthe Angeks trade for Escobar who has two years left on his contract. 

I think everyone at that point knew Cowart's time would be the 2018 season. He'd have plenty of experience in AAA, got his feet wet multiple times in the majors, would be out of minor league options, but still making the major league minimum.

I think Cowart and the Angels are properly prepared to confidently hand him the reigns at 3B or 2B next year. In fact I'd be shocked if they didn't. His youth, contract, upside, defensive ability and switch hitting are all Eppler's MO. Cowart's a perfect fit next year.

[AngelsFaninGA]

12 minutes ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

It's always next year for him.

Exactly. We'll sign some other no-talent hack in the offseason to fill the spot in the lineup, he'll proceed to hit .200, and we'll see the same threads again next year. If the org has no plans for him, which appears to be the case, they should trade him. 

[Second Base]

1 minute ago, AngelsFaninGA said:

Exactly. We'll sign some other no-talent hack in the offseason to fill the spot in the lineup, he'll proceed to hit .200, and we'll see the same threads again next year. If the org has no plans for him, which appears to be the case, they should trade him. 

Escobar hit .314 last year and if he keeps hitting like he has since coming off the DL, will hit .300 again this year. Hardly a no talent hack.

[AngelsFaninGA]

7 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

Escobar hit .314 last year and if he keeps hitting like he has since coming off the DL, will hit .300 again this year. Hardly a no talent hack.

I'm talking about Espinosa. Even if Cowart isn't fully ready to take over at 2B his overall value add to the team can't possibly be lower than Espinosa's. 

[tdawg87]

Espinosa has a 44 OPS+ and a -1.2 WAR. I know there's money involved but enough is enough. Cut the turd loose and let Cowart play every day. Worst case is the Angels still need a 2B next year. It's time to shit or get off the damn pot.

[Stradling]

9 hours ago, Scotty@AW said:

I don't know about that. 2 years ago, he looked stalled in his development and headed for the pitcher's mound. He makes it up to the majors which is a dramatic change, but doesn't impress. Sonthe Angeks trade for Escobar who has two years left on his contract. 

I think everyone at that point knew Cowart's time would be the 2018 season. He'd have plenty of experience in AAA, got his feet wet multiple times in the majors, would be out of minor league options, but still making the major league minimum.

I think Cowart and the Angels are properly prepared to confidently hand him the reigns at 3B or 2B next year. In fact I'd be shocked if they didn't. His youth, contract, upside, defensive ability and switch hitting are all Eppler's MO. Cowart's a perfect fit next year.

That may be true, but it's incredibly risky.  I would much rather see him at 2nd this year to see if his bat can play up here, rather than waste ALL of next year.  Plus what's the downside of putting him at 2nd?  Sure he'd be a 3rd baseman playing 2nd, but he literally can't be worse offensively than Espinosa.  The upside to such a move lets us know if he can handle 2nd base defensively which gives us more options in the off season.  I want to see him at 3rd because he has a great glove and arm over there.  

[ettin]

1 hour ago, Stradling said:

That may be true, but it's incredibly risky.  I would much rather see him at 2nd this year to see if his bat can play up here, rather than waste ALL of next year.  Plus what's the downside of putting him at 2nd?  Sure he'd be a 3rd baseman playing 2nd, but he literally can't be worse offensively than Espinosa.  The upside to such a move lets us know if he can handle 2nd base defensively which gives us more options in the off season.  I want to see him at 3rd because he has a great glove and arm over there.  

IMHO Strad is correct. One of the most underrated tasks a GM has to manage is risk level/aversion. Too much potential variability in a player's performance adds an incremental amount of variability to the entire team. If you have too many players that have a wide variance in performance it makes it that much harder to figure out how well the team will or will not do in any particular season.

That's why you see all that talk about a player's floor and ceiling, it is, in part, describing how much or how little you can expect from a player. Dipoto seemed to go after the higher floor guys because at the time he wanted some minimum level of assurance he would get at least a little value out of those players. The side effect is that you don't have much room for an increase in performance like a higher ceiling guy brings to the table (which is what we are seeing in Eppler's drafts now).

Cowart, based on his offensive history in the Minors, has a high variability in performance. He has a greater level of risk because he could come up to the Majors and excel or he could get suckered by MLB pitchers. I think he'll do well enough at 2B to make it worth the teams trust but it is that lingering doubt regarding his history that probably makes the Angels a little wary.

Notably this variability is in part why Billy wants good defensive players at every position. If you have good defense that almost always translates to the Majors which means you are at least providing SOME production if you are not hitting well (ex: Espinosa). It is a method of reinforcing/raising the teams floor (which is in part why we are hovering at .500 rather than totally collapsing).

[Angel Oracle]

One thing though is that his hitting has finally found consistency these past two and a half years.

Wouldn't that normally dictate trying someone in a regular role up here?

[Troll Daddy]

Defensively Cowart isn't on the same level as Espinoza at second base imo and there's little evidence yet he can hit better ... which is no fault of Cowart this season. 

Cowart is a third baseman who is blocked by a better player. Trade Yescobar and he'll get his opportunity to play regularly. 

It's a crying shame that Espinoza can't get his head out of his arse at the plate. 

Personally, I'm rooting for the kid but until we become sellers ... I see no clear reason for him being on the team. 

[MacNasty]

He seems like one of those guys who needs a bit more time to settle in once he moves up to tougher competition.  I'd rather see them give him a look next year or even this year once they throw in the towel.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

12 hours ago, Scotty@AW said:

I don't know about that. 2 years ago, he looked stalled in his development and headed for the pitcher's mound. He makes it up to the majors which is a dramatic change, but doesn't impress. Sonthe Angeks trade for Escobar who has two years left on his contract. 

I think everyone at that point knew Cowart's time would be the 2018 season. He'd have plenty of experience in AAA, got his feet wet multiple times in the majors, would be out of minor league options, but still making the major league minimum.

I think Cowart and the Angels are properly prepared to confidently hand him the reigns at 3B or 2B next year. In fact I'd be shocked if they didn't. His youth, contract, upside, defensive ability and switch hitting are all Eppler's MO. Cowart's a perfect fit next year.

Two years ago he was coming 2 terrible years in AA. They sent to A+ IE, and after a slow start he study film and spent hours with his hitting coach and went back to his hitting style he had prior to AA. AA tried to change his swing with no success. Anyway he turned it around at IE, to the point he was promoted to AAA. At AAA he hit .323/.395/.491/.886. He was brought to play 3B while Escobar was on the DL. after going 0-4 games he got his first hit a HR and for the next 9 games he hit .300+ until Escobar returned. After that he was only a defensive replacement.

In 2016 he hit .280/.340/.452/.792 in AAA. He has improved on that this year. There is no doubt in my mind he could have played 2B this year better than Espinosa and defensively he is twice the defender Escobar is at 3B. Recently he has been playing 2B exclusively at SL.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

3 hours ago, Stradling said:

That may be true, but it's incredibly risky.  I would much rather see him at 2nd this year to see if his bat can play up here, rather than waste ALL of next year.  Plus what's the downside of putting him at 2nd?  Sure he'd be a 3rd baseman playing 2nd, but he literally can't be worse offensively than Espinosa.  The upside to such a move lets us know if he can handle 2nd base defensively which gives us more options in the off season.  I want to see him at 3rd because he has a great glove and arm over there.  

He has been 2B exclusively at AAA for some time lately.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

It seems like the Angels trust players from other teams, more than they trust their own minor leaguers. I mean Nick Franklin was hitting .198 in AAA while Cowart is hitting .310 but Franklin is on the Angels and Cowart is a Bee. I don't get it.

 

[Dick B Back]

7 minutes ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

It seems like the Angels trust players from other teams, more than they trust their own minor leaguers. I mean Nick Franklin was hitting .198 in AAA while Cowart is hitting .310 but Franklin is on the Angels and Cowart is a Bee. I don't get it.

 

Its called "The Brandon Wood Effect."

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

3 minutes ago, Dick B Back said:

Its called "The Brandon Wood Effect."

They need to get over the Brandon Wood Crap. Also if the bad taste in Arte mouth caused from the Hamilton Signing keeps him from signing other FA then we will be non-contenders for years and Trout will move on when his contract runs out.

[Docwaukee]

So, from an advanced metrics standpoint, his numbers this year are pretty avg for SLC.  With a wOBA+ of 101.7 (100 is avg).  He's got 29 xbh in 337 PA which isn't exactly tearing the cover off the ball.  He has a babip of .368 but his LD rate is very good at 21.2%.  

His value gets elevated by his defense.  But he's likely a 10-12hr, .250 avg guy.  The real key would be whether he can maintain his discipline and walk a fair amount as well as steal some bags.  His speed is actually a much stronger tool than his power.  

At the end of the day, you are looking at a below avg player offensively whose defense makes him avg.  It would be great to see him get a shot so we can find out if there's more there, but you can only fill so many positions with potentially avg players.  The latter half of this year should be his audition if we fall out of the race.  He should be in the lineup everyday.