Reasons Why Callaspo, NOT Aybar Should Bat Second

[xboom28x]

Oh I dunno about that. .285, 50 doubles, 30 HR, looks like a good middle of the order hitter to me.

So ignore Kendrick's 2011 stats, but go by Bourjos' 2011 stats. Makes sense

[Lifetime]

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=1042

There is literally no evidence for line up protection. You won't be able to find any wtih a decent sample size.

and other studies have varied results on the subject of protection and a lot of that can be attributed to what kind of hitters both the leader and the followerare

In this example, Kendrick followed by Pujols, Kendrick is going to have to be disciplined to lay off the down and away pitch or he's not going to see more pitches in the zone.

And I should mention that I don't necessarily think he will get a higher or significantly higher FB% per AB, but I would expect him to see more pitches in the zone - again if he can show improved discipline.

[angelduck]

Iannetta has the best walk rate of any of the candidates and the most pop, but for some reason people want Callaspo (can't hit the ball to the gap) and Kendrick (has trouble making contact at times, and GIDPs a lot) and Bourjos (Just not a good option judging by his 2012 stats, and K rates)

 

Iannetta may be slow, but he does two things that a #2 hitter should be able to do. Plate discipline and decent power. I think it should be between him and Aybar. If I had to rank it would go:

 

Iannetta

Aybar

 

 

Callaspo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kendrick

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bourjos

[Lifetime]

Another thing to consider is that not only would he be hitting ahead of Pujols, but he is followed by Hamilton and Trumbull all 3 of which provide big power ability.

[xboom28x]

Fastball percentage, in this case, has more to do with Trout on base, rather than Pujols batting behind him. Basically, a hitter sees more fastballs when a premiere base stealer is on base and sees more pitches in the zone, regardless of pitch type, when a premiere power hitter is on deck.

[Second Base]

So ignore Kendrick's 2011 stats, but go by Bourjos' 2011 stats. Makes sense

 

I guess it's better than ignoring Pujols' entire career, butt-dart.  Saying Pujols isn't a middle of the order hitter is like saying Trout isn't a leadoff hitter or Josh Hamilton isn't left-handed.  There's obvious, and then there's oblivious.  This situation seems to have brought about both unfortunately. 

[Second Base]

Best of luck convincing everyone here that Pujols isn't a good #3 hitter xboomx28.  I'm sure that'll go over well. 

[tdawg87]

Do you really not understand why he said that?

[AZMike]

Iannetta has the best walk rate of any of the candidates and the most pop, but for some reason people want Callaspo (can't hit the ball to the gap) and Kendrick (has trouble making contact at times, and GIDPs a lot) and Bourjos (Just not a good option judging by his 2012 stats, and K rates)

 

Iannetta may be slow, but he does two things that a #2 hitter should be able to do. Plate discipline and decent power. I think it should be between him and Aybar. If I had to rank it would go:

 

Iannetta

Aybar

 

 

Callaspo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kendrick

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bourjos

 

Agreed with Iannetta being the best option. His slowness could actuallly be a good thing if it helps keep Pujols from trying to stretch extra bases when he shouldn't

 

Where does Wells rank on your scale by the way?

[Lifetime]

Best of luck convincing everyone here that Pujols isn't a good #3 hitter xboomx28.  I'm sure that'll go over well. 

quite clearly you missed the point scotty

[Second Base]

Most likely.  Reason being I rarely read all of what xboom writes, given how unintelligent I find him.  But I also downed three cans of Monster energy drink, snorted an entire bag of cocaine, took 17 shots of Tequila and listened to "Lose Yourself" by Eminem before responding.  Locked and loaded. 

[Lifetime]

You might want to rethink your posting

[HaloMagic]

Most likely. Reason being I rarely read all of what xboom writes, given how unintelligent I find him. But I also downed three cans of Monster energy drink, snorted an entire bag of cocaine, took 17 shots of Tequila and listened to "Lose Yourself" by Eminem before responding. Locked and loaded.

It's really cool to see someone insult another poster's intelligence. Makes this place so nice.

[Troll Daddy]

Looks like you guys are still battling it out with your theories. You can bank on Iannetta not batting second. Callaspo will be third in line if Aybar and Kendrick fail ... which I doubt.

 

Good luck with your theories guys.

[xboom28x]

I guess it's better than ignoring Pujols' entire career, butt-dart.  Saying Pujols isn't a middle of the order hitter is like saying Trout isn't a leadoff hitter or Josh Hamilton isn't left-handed.  There's obvious, and then there's oblivious.  This situation seems to have brought about both unfortunately. 

Classy response Scotty. I expected nothing less from you. Thank you for proving me right.

[Bruce Nye]

I guess it's better than ignoring Pujols' entire career, butt-dart.  Saying Pujols isn't a middle of the order hitter is like saying Trout isn't a leadoff hitter or Josh Hamilton isn't left-handed.  There's obvious, and then there's oblivious.  This situation seems to have brought about both unfortunately. 

 

 

ScottyA - knock off the name calling. 

[tdawg87]

Butt-dart is my phrase of the day.

[Troll Daddy]

[Chuck]

Butt-dart is my phrase of the day.

 

LOL

[Docwaukee]

Iannetta has the best walk rate of any of the candidates and the most pop, but for some reason people want Callaspo (can't hit the ball to the gap) and Kendrick (has trouble making contact at times, and GIDPs a lot) and Bourjos (Just not a good option judging by his 2012 stats, and K rates)

 

Iannetta may be slow, but he does two things that a #2 hitter should be able to do. Plate discipline and decent power. I think it should be between him and Aybar. If I had to rank it would go:

 

Iannetta

Aybar

 

 

Callaspo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kendrick

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bourjos

 

 

The biggest problem that I have with Ianetta is that he's not a very good hitter.  he'll have an obp about 100 points above his average, but he's gonna hit about 230, and he k's greater than 20% of the time.  ie, he still makes a ton of outs.  He's got pop, but his slg% is still around 400.  Why?  Cuz he doesn't get very many hits.  If he could hit .260 with an obp of .360, it would be a different story, but he's never done that.  Also, his obp relative to his average is artificially high relative to his colorado day when he was hitting in front of the pitcher.

 

The ideal guy is someone who doesn't make a lot of outs, can handle the bat, doesn't whiff much, has a little pop, can bunt, and has good speed.  If you assume hamilton will bat 4th and trout 1st, there isn't anyone left to perfectly fit that criteria. 

 

Callaspo is far from the perfect choice but he has the potential to get on base at a .340-360 clip.  He's got average to below average speed.  Don't know about his bunting ability.  He doesn't k much.  He see a lot of pitches and doesn't go out of the zone very often.  He's got limited power. 

 

Aybar has horrible plate disciple.  his pop is marginal and probably a shade better than callaspo.  he doesn't see very many pitches.  his average is a bit all over but likely around .280.  he's fast and an excellent bunter

 

Howie actually sees a decent about of pitches.  no great, but not horrible.  he's got pop and good speed.  GIDP can vary wildly from year to year, so for me, that's not much of a consideration.  He does strike out a fair amount and he doesn't get on base at a very good clip, but he's a good hitter.  Similar to aybar in that respect but with more power.  Not sure about his bunting

 

Bourjos is fast but cant steal.  Seem like a good bunter.  Whiffs a lot and jury is out whether he can actually hit.  Decent pop but pretty bad plate discipline. 

 

To me, callaspo gets the edge over kendrick and aybar by a small margin, but it's not an absolute, and I'd be willing to accept in season adjustments based on performance.  I like howie over aybar because I am a kendrick sucker and still believe in his potential.  I get sucked in every year.  Aybar is a close third with Ianetta and Bourjos well suited to the bottom of the lineup imo. 

 

1.  Callaspo

2.  Kendrick

3.  Aybar

4.  Ianetta

5.  Bourjos

 

Caveat:  Bourjos could rocket up the list if he performs well ie hits .270-280 and gets on base like he briefly showed he was capable of in the minors. I am hopeful, but realistic. 

[worldofx]

Bourjos' SwStr% was actually much higher in 2011 than 2012, and his O-Swing% was much higher in 2011 as well, all this despite his K% being identical.

 

He was just way too passive at the plate last year. If he regains his confidence he's a pretty good option in that spot, relative to the other choices.

[Lifetime]

Aybar

Kendrick

Callaspo

Bourjos

Ianetta

Bourjos moves update the list if he gets to hittin

[Second Base]

I was looking for any reason to use the phrase "butt-dart".  I seriously haven't called anyone that since 1989 and it made me laugh.  If I meant any offense by it, I would've used a much harsher word.  Sort of like calling someone a dorkus. 

[Second Base]

And I apologize to xboomx for calling him a butt-dart and finding him to be unintelligent.  

[tdawg87]

lol