Time for Kevan Smith to take over as starting catcher

[Second Base]

Offensively, he's one of the best catchers in baseball, his pitch framing is better than Lucroy's and has also been better on balls in the dirt. His biggest weakness from before, which was throwing out runners had been improved upon by pitchers simply doing a better job of holding runners on. 

 

[mmc]

Seems like he pretty much already has?

[34red4]

I like Smith more than Lucroy, but I still think the team needs to play Lucroy more to see if he can get hot again and look attractive as a trade target. 

Then work out a trade with the Padres sending Lucroy over for Luis Campusano.

[CDiaz27?]

Still don’t think we should give up on Jose Briceno yet

[robblin17]

Definitely agree.

[mmc]

29 minutes ago, Jinzu said:

I like Smith more than Lucroy, but I still think the team needs to play Lucroy more to see if he can get hot again and look attractive as a trade target. 

Then work out a trade with the Padres sending Lucroy over for Luis Campusano.

Why would the Padres trade one of their top 15 prospects for a backup catcher in a year where they probably won't make the playoffs?

[rafibomb]

From what we've seen from Smith I think he is a vastly superior game caller than Lucroy as well

[Broad Street]

Sample size?

[rafibomb]

9 minutes ago, Kody Mac said:

Sample size?

I think 537 career at-bats with a .281/.326/.382 slash line is a decent sample size

[Chuck]

+1

[tdawg87]

His parents are jerks for spelling his first name Kevan

[Taylor]

[34red4]

34 minutes ago, mymerlincat said:

Why would the Padres trade one of their top 15 prospects for a backup catcher in a year where they probably won't make the playoffs?

You saw Lucroy as a backup catcher when his OPS was in the upper .700s? My post was with the assumption he got hot again to those levels again.

To answer your question, for the same reason some posters on here want to go after MadBum though the Angels probably won’t make the playoffs. Because there is hope of making the playoffs, current players in-house are worse this season, and there is organizational depth in the position they are trading from.

[mmc]

Just now, Jinzu said:

You saw Lucroy as a backup catcher when his OPS was in the upper .700s? My post was with the assumption he got hot again to those levels again.

To answer your question, for the same reason some posters on here want to go after MadBum though the Angels probably won’t make the playoffs. Because there is hope of making the playoffs, current players in-house are worse this season, and there is organizational depth in the position they are trading from.

Even if he improves a bit (which is unlikely because he's been incredibly meh for 3 seasons now), he still isn't better than Hedges.

[Lou]

He's the best QB on the team

[34red4]

8 minutes ago, mymerlincat said:

Even if he improves a bit (which is unlikely because he's been incredibly meh for 3 seasons now), he still isn't better than Hedges.

Hedges is absolutely better overall than Lucroy. But Lucroy is superior with the bat this season. And offense is what they are looking for.

“The Padres’ goal in dealing from its current position player cast would be to upgrade offensively at two spots – catcher and center field – and add “young arms,” per Acee. Their desire to pick up controllable pitching has long been known, though it’s interesting they want a better offensive backstop.”

On May 24th, Lucroys OPS was .800. Last 15 games he’s slumped atrociously,  hitting .140/.228/.140. For the season, his OPS is .680. It is not unrealistic for him to get hot again.

Hedges OPS for the season is .579.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/06/padres-reportedly-willing-to-trade-most-position-players.html

[mmc]

4 minutes ago, Jinzu said:

Hedges is absolutely better overall than Lucroy. But Lucroy is superior with the bat this season. And offense is what they are looking for.

“The Padres’ goal in dealing from its current position player cast would be to upgrade offensively at two spots – catcher and center field – and add “young arms,” per Acee. Their desire to pick up controllable pitching has long been known, though it’s interesting they want a better offensive backstop.”

On May 24th, Lucroys OPS was .800. Last 15 games he’s slumped atrociously,  hitting .140/.228/.140. For the season, his OPS is .680. It is not unrealistic for him to get hot again.

Hedges OPS for the season is .579.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/06/padres-reportedly-willing-to-trade-most-position-players.html

He still has a below 100 wRC+ and has for the last 3 seasons.  I just don't see any way that Lucroy can gain that kind of value.

[ScottT]

59 minutes ago, rafibomb said:

I think 537 career at-bats with a .281/.326/.382 slash line is a decent sample size

 

And not all that impressive.  I knew he had a good year offensively last season, but I didn't realize his career SLG was so low.  It's bit better this year,  but with sporadic at bats. A poor next two games and it's down to career levels. I like him as a backup, but it's no slam dunk that he'll be better than Lucroy going forward.

Lucroy has been cold... and is likely to turn that around. 

Inconsistency is arguably the most consistent thing in baseball.  Especially when it comes to hitting.   Hence, the nonsense on this board about saying how well or poorly Mike Trout or anyone else is doing.... followed by... "like clockwork"

[Pancake Bear]

Not disagreeing, just curious: Why, when Ausmus has shown willingness to cut bait with guys like Allen and Bour who aren't performing and being willing to bench Pujols or lower him in the lineup based on performance, why is Lucroy getting 2 out of every 3 starts?

Is there something we're missing about Lucroy and/or Smith?

Is it just bias despite other guys getting a short leash?

Is there a perception issue either on their side or ours that isn't rooted in reality? 

Do the pitchers prefer Lucroy? 

It's just interesting to me that, despite Smith being clearly better on paper, Lucroy is getting by far the lion's share of starts. Are they intending to move him at the deadline? If so, it would diminish his return if he's playing barely half the games (or less).

[Slegnaac]

Smith had a head injury recently.  Probably just want to make sure he is getting plenty of rest, and not overtax him.

[Broad Street]

Smith is about to be 31 and seems to be a career AAAA player. Did he magically turn a corner or is it a mirage?

[Second Base]

1 hour ago, Kody Mac said:

Smith is about to be 31 and seems to be a career AAAA player. Did he magically turn a corner or is it a mirage?

The performance is legit and matches the skill set. Smith should factor into the catching rotation for the next 2-3 years. 

[Troll Daddy]

I’m fine with who ever they throw out there. I don’t buy into the Lucroy is a bad game caller theory.