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Will David Fletcher ever start in a MLB game?


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I don't know all his defensive stats but this guy looks super solid to me. Has good fundamentals and range.  He looks confident out there. His approach at the plate seems to be the same. Is there room for a NEW guy like this in a starting line up or do you have to have the ability to hit 15-20 HRS?  Has launch angles replaced the the line drive single hitter? Which is better for a team, a player who hits .265 with 20 hrs or a guy who hits .295 with 2 hrs? I like the the .295 guy because it's better entertainment. Base running(1st to 3rd, scoring from 2nd on a base hit), bunting, stealing and plays at the plate.    

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Yes, he'll start a game in the majors at some point in his career.  It's been a while since the Angels had a super-utility man on the roster.  We've had utility players, guys that are backups at multiple positions, but not since Maicer Izturis have we had a player that's a starter at multiple positions.  Fletcher will likely log a coupe starts a week between 2B, 3B, SS and the OF once he's in the majors.  He'll still be a backup four days out of six, but on those four days it's a good bet he'll be a defensive replacement.

So Fletcher will get some field time and will be a valuable player coming off the bench.  But while he has minor league options, and hasn't truly conquered AAA yet, it's best for him and the Angels that he spends much of 2018 in the minors.

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1 hour ago, totdprods said:

Why? I think he's capable of league-average offense, .270/.330/.370/.700, and superb defense, all for ~$500k. Big savings.

Why would he be capable of that when he just put up a .650 OPS in AA/AAA last season? He's a utility guy, nothing more. If he can be Maicer Izturis that would be a big win for us. Izzy put up an .851 OPS in his age 23 season at AAA. Fletcher put up a .607 at AAA last year. He doesn't draw walks and he doesn't hit for power. Hit tool is okay but not good enough to make him a starter by itself.

 

He's almost 24 too, so the odds of him improving are beginning to go down at a rapid rate.

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9 minutes ago, GrittyVeterans said:

Why would he be capable of that when he just put up a .650 OPS in AA/AAA last season? He's a utility guy, nothing more. If he can be Maicer Izturis that would be a big win for us. Izzy put up an .851 OPS in his age 23 season at AAA. Fletcher put up a .607 at AAA last year. He doesn't draw walks and he doesn't hit for power. Hit tool is okay but not good enough to make him a starter by itself.

 

He's almost 24 too, so the odds of him improving are beginning to go down at a rapid rate.

Yep, Eckstein's minor league OBP from 1997-2000 was just over .400.....a lot higher than Fletcher's OBP the past 3 minor league seasons.   

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Eckstein walked 282 times in the minors and struck out only 175 times. He had elite plate discipline and contact ability.

 

You have to be really good at some aspect of hitting in the minors to be a starter in the MLB usually. Unless we're talking about a world class defender like Simmons, who is going to be worth 4 wins just based on his glove.Fletcher isn't Simba. And even Simmons was A LOT better offensively in the minors than Fletcher has been. He does have a nice glove though, which is why he might carve out a career as a utility guy.

If someone could name me a player that has been as underwhelming as Fletcher has been at every level in the minors, that turned into a league average MLB hitter, maybe I'll believe it a little more. But I'm looking up guys like Logan Forsythe, David Eckstein, and Mark Ellis...those guys were very good minor league hitters

 

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1 hour ago, GrittyVeterans said:

Why would he be capable of that when he just put up a .650 OPS in AA/AAA last season? He's a utility guy, nothing more. If he can be Maicer Izturis that would be a big win for us. Izzy put up an .851 OPS in his age 23 season at AAA. Fletcher put up a .607 at AAA last year.

I'm not gonna judge a guy's ceiling off his first 47 games at AAA. SLC is also a hitters paradise, yet he hit better in Mobile (arguably a tougher hitting environment against better talent) in slightly more games. I see no reason to write off his decent .276/.341/.354/.695 slash at Mobile. 21 walks, 30 strikeouts. Good contact, solid plate discipline. Zero power. 

1 hour ago, Angel Oracle said:

Yep, Eckstein's minor league OBP from 1997-2000 was just over .400.....a lot higher than Fletcher's OBP the past 3 minor league seasons.   

I don't think the Eckstein comp is fair - the grit is there, but you're right, Eck was always a better hitter than many had anticipated or were prepared to give him credit for. At the same time, offense has changed in the game so much since Eckstein's time. I don't think you can hold Eckstein's minor league slash to Fletcher's with the same weight. Offense has changed so much since Eck's time, even in the minors.

Between 1997-2000, the average MLB 2B slashed .269/.341/.428/.768. 

The average 2B between 2014-2017 is slashing .254/.320/.409/.728, and that's probably a bit inflated because the 2017 average 2B posted a .750 OPS season for the first time since 2009. Before that, average 2B were running a slash of .254/.319/.399/.718 between 2010-2015, which hadn't happened since the late 80's/early 90's...

Do I see him as a long-term starting 2B option? No way. But over three springs now, he's slashed .370/.440/.494/.933 in 44 games, 81 ABs, and has a solid 8 walks to 10 K's. He has hit every spring and has never looked over-matched. I'm confident he wouldn't see much of a dip from his minor league slash once in the bigs. 

I see less Eckstein and more Johnny Giavotella, with a supremely better glove and less pop. Gia still gave us positive WAR, even though he only mustered a .680 OPS here. I think Fletcher would hit around the same and be far more valuable with his glove. Stick someone like Jose Fernandez on the bench to give you some extra offense at 2B and enjoy the significant money saved for a couple years and use it on pitching, the pen, or 1B.

For the record, I'd still love D.J. LeMahieu and he's my first choice, and if Kinsler has a great year, I'd more than welcome him back. I just think Fletcher could realistically give us 1+ WAR at 2B for a year or two at league minimum, and that's not bad if we're needing to save some money for other commitments. 

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5 hours ago, totdprods said:

I'm not gonna judge a guy's ceiling off his first 47 games at AAA. SLC is also a hitters paradise, yet he hit better in Mobile (arguably a tougher hitting environment against better talent) in slightly more games. I see no reason to write off his decent .276/.341/.354/.695 slash at Mobile. 21 walks, 30 strikeouts. Good contact, solid plate discipline. Zero power. 

 

That's not a decent slash line for a 23 year old at AA though. Decent slash line would be like a .750-.800 OPS. The minors seem way too challenging for this kid, that's all I'm saying

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