How long a leash does Velasquez have?

[floplag]

I get it Maddon loves the guy, hes got an amazing glove, but he simply can not hit.
Hes not an every day player, at least not at this point.
Thoughts?

[Taylor]

He'll be that guy that inexplicably plays five or six times a week and then finally gets DFA'd in mid July.

[T.G.]

The man is not a dog!

[tdawg87]

Depends on how kinky he is.

[T.G.]

The better question is how long a leash does Fletcher have?

[tdawg87]

3 minutes ago, True Grich said:

The better question is how long a leash does Fletcher have?

Too long.

[tdawg87]

In all seriousness, Velazquez should be with the team all year. He's the best shortstop we have right now (by far).

Any upgrade they get offensively is washed out by the loss of run prevention. Duffy, Wade and Mayfield are obviously better hitters, but they're such a downgrade defensively that it's a complete wash at the absolute best. Fletcher can play solid SS but at this point it's a question if he can even hit better than Velazquez.

[Erstad Grit]

He's been great. Several of his outs have been hit hard as well. I like him at SS. 

Look up Carlos Correa's numbers this year. 

[Angelsjunky]

Meanwhile, Luis Rengifo is killing AAA pitching: .356/.429/.562. Oh wait, he does that every year. Oh wait, so did Velazquez.

Still, I'd like to see Rengifo get another shot. With Fletcher in AAA, Rengifo's been playing a lot of 2B, so he could be an option there, as well.

[mmc]

Just curious how much better people really think the teams record would be if we replaced with Velazquez in the lineup with even an average hitting SS (whatever "average" at the plate is for that position)

[Stradling]

1 hour ago, floplag said:

I get it Maddon loves the guy, hes got an amazing glove, but he simply can not hit.
Hes not an every day player, at least not at this point.
Thoughts?

On a team that lacks defense he should start virtually everyday.  We have the bats to support his awful bat, but we don’t have the defense to support his replacement defensively.  

[Stradling]

2 minutes ago, mmc said:

Just curious how much better people really think the teams record would be if we replaced with Velazquez in the lineup with even an average hitting SS (whatever "average" at the plate is for that position)

If the average hitting SS had average defense then it wouldn’t be a net gain and probably lead to fewer wins.  As IP has said time and again, run prevention leads to more wins that run production.

[tdawg87]

2 minutes ago, mmc said:

Just curious how much better people really think the teams record would be if we replaced with Velazquez in the lineup with even an average hitting SS (whatever "average" at the plate is for that position)

Depends on how they played defense. 

You guys would be shocked at how important run prevention is.

[Angelsjunky]

1 minute ago, Stradling said:

If the average hitting SS had average defense then it wouldn’t be a net gain and probably lead to fewer wins.  As IP has said time and again, run prevention leads to more wins that run production.

This. You can't really make such an assessment unless we know how good the average hitter was defensively. 

[mmc]

3 minutes ago, Stradling said:

If the average hitting SS had average defense then it wouldn’t be a net gain and probably lead to fewer wins.  As IP has said time and again, run prevention leads to more wins that run production.

Yeah this is pretty much where I'm at.  Sure it would be great if he hit more but I don't think the difference between us competing or not is shortstop offense

[Angel Oracle]

Current BABiP is .185 for Velasquez, higher than his BA.

Still, I’m content if he can approach the Mendoza Line and draw a few BBs.

DRS of 4 is near the top in the AL so far.

Can they though have TWO hitters like that in the order (Velazquez SS and Fletcher 2B)?  Both are really good defenders at those positions.

[Torridd]

2 hours ago, floplag said:

I get it Maddon loves the guy, hes got an amazing glove, but he simply can not hit.
Hes not an every day player, at least not at this point.
Thoughts?

I agree. He may figure that the team can afford one bad bat in the lineup, but I don't think so. 

[Torridd]

1 hour ago, tdawg87 said:

In all seriousness, Velazquez should be with the team all year. He's the best shortstop we have right now (by far).

Any upgrade they get offensively is washed out by the loss of run prevention. Duffy, Wade and Mayfield are obviously better hitters, but they're such a downgrade defensively that it's a complete wash at the absolute best. Fletcher can play solid SS but at this point it's a question if he can even hit better than Velazquez.

Are they that bad defensively? 

[tdawg87]

1 minute ago, Torridd said:

Are they that bad defensively? 

Yes.

[Warfarin]

5 hours ago, Angel Oracle said:

Current BABiP is .185 for Velasquez, higher than his BA.

Still, I’m content if he can approach the Mendoza Line and draw a few BBs.

DRS of 4 is near the top in the AL so far.

Can they though have TWO hitters like that in the order (Velazquez SS and Fletcher 2B)?  Both are really good defenders at those positions.

Yeah - that's a great point.  Velazquez looks great defensively.  We can absorb having one awful hitter (at a key defensive spot), but can we absorb two of them?

It sounds like Fletcher might not be healthy, so if he's out awhile, maybe that'll help the situation resolve itself for now.  I am okay with Velazquez as our SS for now, given how solid the rest of the lineup is.

[DMVol]

5 hours ago, Torridd said:

Are they that bad defensively? 

 

5 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

Yes.

I think Wade is the best of the 3 defensively at SS…Duffy is ok at 3b and 2b….Mayfield is pretty good at 3b, passable at 2b….

[Blarg]

8 hours ago, floplag said:

I get it Maddon loves the guy, hes got an amazing glove, but he simply can not hit.
Hes not an every day player, at least not at this point.
Thoughts?

You should probably learn how to spell his name. 

[Warfarin]

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2022-batting-leaders.shtml

Interestingly, as of now, Velazquez has the highest defensive WAR in baseball per Baseball Reference.  It's an imperfect stat, but it's cool to see nevertheless.

[Angel Oracle]

11 hours ago, DMVol said:

 

I think Wade is the best of the 3 defensively at SS…Duffy is ok at 3b and 2b….Mayfield is pretty good at 3b, passable at 2b….

There was a stat on last night’s telecast that Wade has had 66 straight errorless games at SS?  Don’t know if the display was a mistake or not.

The range may not be like Velasquez’, but he gets the job done defensively.

Just alternate them at SS (2/3 of starts for Velazquez) and have Wade and Duffy take the 2B starts?   Mayfield fills in as needed in the INF?

Edited April 28, 2022 by Angel Oracle

[DMVol]

2 hours ago, Angel Oracle said:

There was a stat on last night’s telecast that Wade has had 66 straight errorless games at SS?  Don’t know if the display was a mistake or not.

The range may not be like Velasquez’, but he gets the job done defensively.

Just alternate them at SS (2/3 of starts for Velazquez) and have Wade and Duffy take the 2B starts?   Mayfield fills in as needed in the INF?

We'll need to see what happens when Fletcher returns...