Ohtani's Spring Struggles

[ten ocho recon scout]

12 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

That was probably Dipoto's idea.

He tried trading a bases loaded inning to the other team for 2 runner on 1st innings.

[Blarg]

16 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

Over the top athleticism can mask a lot of flaws.  Tools guys will always be given the benefit of the doubt by prospect hounds because they can do things physically others cannot -- it's also why guys like Fletcher don't get their due.  Unfortunately baseball remains a skills game, so all the athleticism in the world while helpful couldn't turn Michael Jordan into a baseball player.   

It's kinda funny because I was one of the people cautioning he wasn't ready last year and as bad as his defense continues to be -- Adell seems to have improved his plate discipline, contract rate is still crappy but there are plenty of MLB players with shit contact rates.  I'm less concerned today than at this point last year.  Improving his batting eye will be the key to his MLB success.

Yeah, you were right, the clamoring to move him up was premature. He missed two months of 2019 and struggled to make up ground but was still promoted to AAA before he was ready and struggled there.

Then in the Arizona Fall league where he was seeing distilled pitching prospects the faws in his plate approach and swing really manifested itself and Marsh passed him in pure skills.

Missing an entire year of minor league ball really takes it's toll on guys that are athletically superior but have holes in their game. Marsh has been much more solid in the skills department and moved slower through the system so he could concentrate on both fielding and hitting without being overmatched in either. Adell got pushed forward and never had the opportunity to concentrate on just one area of development but had both hitting and fielding flaws.

He still needs most of af a triple AA season to lock up at least one of those. And, like you said, his eye at the plate will drive his success at the MLB level since it's pretty obvious he won't be an elite fielder but a passable fielder with elite hitting stays on the starting roster. I'm still positive he is going to break out and both Adell amd Marsh are going to flank Trout in 2022. 

[eligrba]

12 hours ago, cvdog said:

He can't hit. He can't field.  Who the hell was responsible for designating him a top prospect.  And can we please stop with this ridiculous "Ohtani is a pitcher" experiment. The only way he'll ever help this team is to focus all his energy on improving his hitting/DH skills.

I'm guessing you never played baseball at a higher level that little league.  Your lack of understanding the fundamentals of the sport is both shocking and entertaining.  Congratulations on your successful blending of complete ignorance with imaginary knowledge.  Hofstra would be proud.

[eligrba]

1 hour ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

He tried trading a bases loaded inning to the other team for 2 runner on 1st innings.

[tdawg87]

1 minute ago, eligrba said:

I'm guessing you never played baseball at a higher level that little league. 

His posts are dumb and he's probably a troll but come on, this is silly.

[eligrba]

14 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

I'm not saying my concerns about him defensively are less -- they aren't.   But most guys hit their way to MLB and his utter lack of plate discipline was going to be a massive obstacle for him.  He's shown signs that he can actually be more selective, so that helps him tap into what is likely going to be his primary tool moving forward..  the bat.

I have hopes that he will learn to rely on his athleticism less and more on understanding outfield fundamentals.  He is beginning to show signs of trying to incorporate basic outfield skills with routine balls, but he still resorts to his athleticism when fielding baseballs hit into the gap.  I don't blame him, if I had that much athleticism, I would use it as much as possible.  I blame the coaching for Adell's deficiencies.  There is no reason he shouldn't excel once he learns and incorporates fundamental skills into his play.  My uneducated guess is that he is two years away from being a regular major leaguer.  I can see him getting some time at the end of this season to assess his progress and then having him play over the off season to work on the areas he needs to improve.  He just needs to be average in offense and defense to get a foothold in the majors.

[Blarg]

6 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

His posts are dumb and he's probably a troll but come on, this is silly.

You are right.

T-Ball.

[eligrba]

6 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

His posts are dumb and he's probably a troll but come on, this is silly.

[Duren, Duren]

Spring training used to be about getting in shape physically. Burning off winter fat. Now most athletes have year round regimes that are much more sophisticated. Spring training for established players is more about refining skills and routines. And competition for jobs for the others. 

For Ohtani it seems it's about re-establishing his pitching rhythm and regaining confidence in his repertoire. It's also a time to experiment without consequences. What I would look for is a focus on his control as spring training gets closer to the end. He's aired out his fastball, worked on sequencing his other pitches. At this point the last part of spring training should be about establishing consistency. Not just proving he can throw a hundred mph or dazzle with off speed stuff. 

I think he will be fine a month or so into the season. There is no substitute for real league play, and he will have to go through an initial readjustment. 

 

[failos]

Ohtani is struggling? Some of you guys are idiots

[ThisismineScios]

16 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

Yeah I agree with that - he seems to be progressing offensively in the way we hope he would. 

We've got a small look at Jordan Adams this spring, and while he doesn't have Adell's power and he hasn't filled out much, if the spring was all I had to go on I'd think he was closer. He's looked like a natural in the outfield, and that adjustment he made to the curve ball on that bomb he hit the other day was impressive. Considering he's younger and better known for his dunking skills than baseball, despite his lack of a track record I think I might be officially higher on him than Adell right now.

Just wanting to clarify a few things to make sure I'm hearing you correctly. 

-Adell should be in a better place due to his "experience" moving to A, AA, and AAA in his Age 19 season (which I'm fine calling 20). He's has 1,000 at bats in the minors total. 
-Adams, who has very clearly filled out, hasn't filled out
-Adell, who is almost exactly 6 months older than Adams, doesn't have the upside anymore. 
-Adams has more upside than Adell because he's younger, despite their closeness in age and Adams not showing as much as Adell has yet. 

[Jason]

I don't put a whole lot of stock in ST stats and performance so my concerns about Ohtani are about his overall health and if he can regain what he had a couple of seasons ago. The problem is many players are not "great" after serious injuries and other set backs like he's had. Personally I'd like to see him only focus on one aspect of the game whether that's pitching or hitting but not both. I do not think he will develop into the player we had hoped for when he signed in 2017 but he should still be a player that adds value to the team. 

[AngelsLakersFan]

1 hour ago, ThisismineScios said:

Just wanting to clarify a few things to make sure I'm hearing you correctly. 

-Adell should be in a better place due to his "experience" moving to A, AA, and AAA in his Age 19 season (which I'm fine calling 20). He's has 1,000 at bats in the minors total. 
-Adams, who has very clearly filled out, hasn't filled out
-Adell, who is almost exactly 6 months older than Adams, doesn't have the upside anymore. 
-Adams has more upside than Adell because he's younger, despite their closeness in age and Adams not showing as much as Adell has yet. 

No.

[Taylor]

1 hour ago, failos said:

Ohtani is struggling? Two of you guys are idiots

Fixed

[Blarg]

Ohtani's opposite power doesn't seem to be struggling. Two oppo today.

[Jason]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

Ohtani's opposite power doesn't seem to be struggling. Two oppo today.

He should be a full time hitter and forget the pitching. It will be awesome if the Halos' plan for him works out but I'm worried that it won't with him being a two way player 

[Taylor]

8 minutes ago, Jason said:

He should be a full time hitter and forget the pitching. It will be awesome if the Halos' plan for him works out but I'm worried that it won't with him being a two way player 

He's been succeeding at both this spring.

[Lazorko Saves]

52 minutes ago, Jason said:

He should be a full time hitter and forget the pitching.

Ohtani is like having two players.  It's weird how many people want us to just effectively release on irrevocable waivers one of those players.

Not heard after last Thursday's game: "Canning should be a full time used car saleman and forget the pitching."

[BTH]

21 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

What does "rolling innings" mean?

Up until a couple days ago, teams were allowed to "roll" an inning after the pitcher had thrown 20 or more pitches.

When they did that, the inning would automatically end. So, say if the bottom of the 2nd was rolled, then anyone on base would be stranded and the inning would end even if there weren't 3 outs.

[failos]

@BackUpTheTruck do you still want Ohtani to become the closer?

[Stradling]

6 hours ago, failos said:

Ohtani is struggling? Some of you guys are idiots

It’s about time some of you come around to my side of things 

[Jason]

3 hours ago, Taylor said:

He's been succeeding at both this spring.

Like I said earlier, ST stats are not important. How a player produces over a 162 game season does. So far Ohtani has not done well in that department 

Edited March 16, 2021 by Jason

[WicketMaiden]

I can't quite decide whether this thread is full of trolling or just general fuckwittery.

Yeah, think I'm going with the fuckwittery. 

[Stradling]

I want to go on record as a fan of the word “fuckwittery”. 

[Blarg]

Put it through the English to English translator and it won't come out so fuckwittery and more fuckwad.