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What we know as fact….
– the lineup is beyond awful
– Bader is the worst of the bunch
– Thomas is above avg in center and has a lot better upsideSeems like a no brainer to me to use Bader as the defensive replacement?
There sure are a lot of people here who believe the measure of a player is batting average.
Not that there is anything wrong with that. Just noticing the size of the tribe.
Triple, if they had 3 above average bats, a guy like Bader would be acceptable in the 8 hole. However, they have Wong and Goldy who are above average and nothing else. Runs need to be scored to win games.
On base percentage is the most important asset a batter has. You have to get on base first. I also think defense and base running are very underrated. I’m not a fan of putting a player out of his normal position just to get his bat in the lineup. For example, watching Carpenter play second was brutal. I hope they don’t do this for Miller.
I was going to post something about optimal lineup, but wow, who is hitting 2nd, 4th and 5th?!?
Carlson’s profile will be great long term in the 2 hole, but that’s hopefully not until the end of April.
I’m still wondering if DeJong is going to be in the #4 hole. Or if Dean is going to end up there.
I hope DeJong is not in the 4 hole but unfortunately we don’t have many choices.
I am not sure if Dean even makes the team that goes north.
Why not?
There will be five position player reserves. It is fair to assume that Wieters, Edman, Miller, and Thomas will make the cut. That leaves the final spot down to Sosa, Munoz, Williams, Ravelo, and Dean. (with an outside shot for Carlson).
Dean could certainly be the 26th man but I would say it is far from a foregone conclusion and even if he does make it is he going to be a starter in LF over O’Neill or Thomas? I would say highly unlikely unless he has a massive spring training performance.
Let’s take a look at the AAA numbers for O’Neill, Bader, and Dean.
O’Neill – 884 ABs
.267/.339/.554/.893/Bader – 641 ABs
.275/.345/.465/.810/Dean – 568 ABs
.331/.394/.546/.944O’Neill is 24
Bader is 25
Dean is 26O’Neill might just surprise you this season. He’s now had time at the ML level to know what it takes to succeed, even though he’s struggled a bit making the adjustment.
This may be his year.What they have done in AAA means less than zero if it does not translate to the ML and has not for those 3 very well at all.
I meant to make a case for Dean. Sorry. What was his true motivation when he was called up to the Marlins in 2018 and 2019? Maybe now that he has a chance to play for a contender, in front of 40,000+ passionate fans he’ll be a true surprise for the Cardinals. Another Ludwick.
Not that it will be the determining factor but the Miller signing lessens Carlson’s chances slightly due to the 40 man being full and Hicks already on the 60 day IL. Of course Mikolos may soon solve that problem.
Bader is potentially equal overall, but for a team who’s lineup is awful, they need Thomas and his more than acceptable defense, who has a much better bat in the lineup. When they don’t have anyone to feel confident about for the 5 hole or more importantly the 4 hole, that’s a big issue and they can’t just give lineup spots away. If they had a “big three” or something in the middle then they could afford to give up the 8 spot for CF defense.
– Thomas is above avg in center and has a lot better upside
I guess I need to ask what is that based on? I recall only seeing Thomas a very few times last season but I saw Bader a lot. Ain’t nobody beating Bader on defense. Offense he does need work but, for a time, he showed improvement but whatever lesson it was got forgotten at the end of the season. Retrain with the bat.
Actually Kozma usually batted .220-.230 and was roundly criticized for it. I was and still am a Pete Kozma fan. Today those BAs seem to be passable for some.
MM3 wrote:
Today those BAs seem to be passable for some.
Not for anyone making baseball decisions – unless there is another significant offensive strength behind it. That is why Kozma is a journeyman, with twice as many career Triple-A games as MLB ones.
Kozma had a glove, but was woeful at the plate. Bader’s 2019 slash line was eerily similar to Kozma’s career slash line.
Wong
14′ (.275) BAbip 90 wRC+
15′ (.296) ……96
16′ (.268) ……85
17′ (.331) ……108
18′ (.275) ……99
19′ (.321) ……108Bader
18′ (.358) 107
19′ (.268) 81at ’em, or tween ’em still matters, even if it’s called BAbip now.
Wong is a little guy with some speed that got carried away with trying to jack the ball over the fence. He’s now just trying to make contact. One thing about him though, he knows that when you put the bat on the ball anything can happen. Even a little scribbler down the line in the infield can go for a base hit with his speed. In his major league career, he has a 15% strike out rate.
The problem with Bader is that he hasn’t caught on yet. He’s got blazing speed but hasn’t put emphasis on the contact portion of it. Here’s his strike out rate since coming to the majors –
2017 – 26%
2018 – 29%
2019 – 29%No improvement at all. Is he still swinging for the fences in his 3rd year up? If he is, that could exhibit a little bull headedness.
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