All things Caleb Durbin

[wallus]

The thing I have been most impressed by Durbin is how accurate his throws have been. If anything, that would have been a concern for most long time 2nd basemen. I think it shows he is putting in the time to be good 

[Samurai Bucky]

7 hours ago, wallus said:

The thing I have been most impressed by Durbin is how accurate his throws have been. If anything, that would have been a concern for most long time 2nd basemen. I think it shows he is putting in the time to be good 

It is probably just me, but he seems to throw a little "weird."  It is probably the second-baseman-mechanics that I'm not used to.

It also seems that he throws the ball slower.  However, he is 23rd among third basemen at an average of 82mph.  The stats don't lie.

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/arm-strength?type=player&year=2025&minThrows=50&pos=arm_3b&team=&sortColumn=arm_3b&sortDirection=desc

[Jim French Stepstool]

On 6/27/2025 at 5:58 PM, sveumrules said:

Sure, that would be a true but so far this year Bohm has a .280 average and .319 on base percentage.

Durbin only has a .236 average, but since he will take a walk his .318 on base percentage is right in line with Bohm's.

 

Take a walk, and stick an elbow or shoulder out there at an opportune time😁. And he's now over the '1-4' line at .251.

We all know that he's physically more suited to 2B. But that's what endears the kid to me, how he's taken a team need, conformed to it & done an acceptable job while playing virtually every day. As the roster evolves in the years to come I don't know if he'll be a part of it, get traded, or what. But he seems like one of these guys who doesn't just pay lip service to the term "I want to win", he lives it. I'd love to see him have a role here for a long time.

[Frisbee Slider]

Looking around at the box scores from today’s games throughout the league, there are very few 3B playing today with a meaningfully higher OPS than Durbin’s .684.

[sveumrules]

5 minutes ago, Frisbee Slider said:

Looking around at the box scores from today’s games throughout the league, there are very few 3B playing today with a meaningfully higher OPS than Durbin’s .684.

Third base has been in a little bit of a slump leaguewide the last few years.

In order, from 2012-19 the hot corner hit 105, 103, 101, 106, 107, 103, 106, and 107 wRC+. This is what most people think of when they think of a "third baseman".

They kept it up for a couple years after the pandemic with a 100 and 105 wRC+ in 2021 and 2022.

Last three years though? 96 wRC+ in 2023, 97 wRC+ in 2024, and a 99 wRC+ so far in 2025.

[Playing Catch]

Durbin had two nibblers toward 3rd this weekend which really highlighted the Brewers playing small-ball to perfection.

The best way to beat the big teams? Take away their FIP by putting the ball in play, and forcing their sub-par defenders to make play, after play, after play.

[Turning2]

On 6/28/2025 at 10:34 PM, Samurai Bucky said:

It is probably just me, but he seems to throw a little "weird."  It is probably the second-baseman-mechanics that I'm not used to.

It also seems that he throws the ball slower.  However, he is 23rd among third basemen at an average of 82mph.  The stats don't lie.

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/arm-strength?type=player&year=2025&minThrows=50&pos=arm_3b&team=&sortColumn=arm_3b&sortDirection=desc

He does have an odd throwing motion, It looks like a dart pushing movement sometimes. I noticed that right  off, but it hasn't been a problem. 

[CheezWizHed]

1 hour ago, Turning2 said:

He does have an odd throwing motion, It looks like a dart pushing movement sometimes. I noticed that right  off, but it hasn't been a problem. 

Frankly, I don't care if he punts the ball to 1B as long as he is accurate and timely. 😂 We don't need (or can get) platinum gloves at all positions. He is solid throwing and has an excellent glove with good range. 

His only weakness would be the 7' high line drives....

[PlayerHader]

Is Siegler likely to get 2-3 starts a week vs RHP right away? Why else bring him up now?

[Turning2]

13 minutes ago, CheezWizHed said:

Frankly, I don't care if he punts the ball to 1B as long as he is accurate and timely. 😂 We don't need (or can get) platinum gloves at all positions. He is solid throwing and has an excellent glove with good range. 

His only weakness would be the 7' high line drives....

Yes, defensively he's been better than I expected... by quite a bit. The range is good for what he can do lengthwise - in other words, there are balls he can't get to when laying out because of his stature. But that is negligible. I suspect his average will come up to at least the .250- .270 range eventually (next year?). If he can get his power up to the 15ish HR's / year range, he will be a great band aid until some of the prospects arrive - (that assumes at least one of the prospects will pan out with power at this level however). To that end, if he  hits those targets, he might make some of the prospects tradeable. I still hope / believe that Wilken will eventually be our monster thumper at 3B delivering 25+ HRs yearly. 

[Brian]

15 minutes ago, PlayerHader said:

Is Siegler likely to get 2-3 starts a week vs RHP right away? Why else bring him up now?

My guess has always been is to catch and let Contreras's hand heal over AS break. Also to test him out to see if he can be more productive than Hasse. 

[CheezWizHed]

14 minutes ago, Turning2 said:

Yes, defensively he's been better than I expected... by quite a bit. The range is good for what he can do lengthwise - in other words, there are balls he can't get to when laying out because of his stature. But that is negligible. I suspect his average will come up to at least the .250- .270 range eventually (next year?). If he can get his power up to the 15ish HR's / year range, he will be a great band aid until some of the prospects arrive - (that assumes at least one of the prospects will pan out with power at this level however). To that end, if he  hits those targets, he might make some of the prospects tradeable. I still hope / believe that Wilken will eventually be our monster thumper at 3B delivering 25+ HRs yearly. 

If you have a 3B that can hit 250-270 with 15 HRs and good defense, you have someone with an OPS around 750-820 (250/350/400 - 270/370/450).  That is an above average starter... not a band aid. 

[Turning2]

7 minutes ago, CheezWizHed said:

If you have a 3B that can hit 250-270 with 15 HRs and good defense, you have someone with an OPS around 750-820 (250/350/400 - 270/370/450).  That is an above average starter... not a band aid. 

Correct, that's why I included the addendum about making the prospects unneeded / tradeabale

[da swedish german]

48 minutes ago, Brian said:

My guess has always been is to catch and let Contreras's hand heal over AS break. Also to test him out to see if he can be more productive than Hasse. 

hasse has barely been given a chance. we're already ready to move on from him?

doesn't it feel like the few times a month Eric catches the pitcher does pretty good?

[da swedish german]

I say that realizing hasse isn't and never was the "future". just frustrated that he seems to play pretty well when given a chance and we should've done something about william's injury a long time ago

 

[Brian]

12 minutes ago, da swedish german said:

hasse has barely been given a chance. we're already ready to move on from him?

doesn't it feel like the few times a month Eric catches the pitcher does pretty good?

Barely been given a chance?  He has 1113 MLB at bats and is 32 years old. 

https://www.mlb.com/player/eric-haase-606992 

[da swedish german]

I was clearly referencing only this year, hence he's not the future. just weird if they're going to start seigler suddenly with the intent of hoping William heals up.  

could've been done weeks ago.  

other than obp they have very similar numbers

[Team Canada]

Haase. Not Hasse.

[Turning2]

We're all supposing that WC's hand injury is severe enough to impede his ability at the plate, but not serious enough to sit him. I have to wonder if Murphy and med staff know otherwise, and perhaps that's not the case. Maybe he is just having a down year with the bat. We've heard that WC is vocal about not being left out of the lineup, but still.. if he was injured to a detrimental extent of the team, it's hard to believe they wouldn't DL him (I reject the IL terminology). 

[Turning2]

21 hours ago, PlayerHader said:

Is Siegler likely to get 2-3 starts a week vs RHP right away? Why else bring him up now?

Why now?... as already mentioned, he provides a lot of roster flexibility. A Leatherman multi tool infielder who can also provide catching backup really covers a lot of ground, a lot of bang for the buck. And he's hitting in the high .270's with 7 HRs. Perhaps it's an "encouragement nudge" to Durbin that we need more from the bat or playing time may be split. Or maybe it's just to give Sieg a cup of MLB coffee until Perk returns.  I don't think Contreras is going on the DL anytime soon. 

[PlayerHader]

4 minutes ago, Turning2 said:

Why now?... as already mentioned, he provides a lot of roster flexibility. A Leatherman multi tool infielder who can also provide catching backup really covers a lot of ground, a lot of bang for the buck. And he's hitting in the high .270's with 7 HRs. Perhaps it's an "encouragement nudge" to Durbin that we need more from the bat or playing time may be split. Or maybe it's just to give Sieg a cup of MLB coffee until Perk returns.  I don't think Contreras is going on the DL anytime soon. 

So why now? Lol

I think he gets 2-3 starts a week against RHP, mostly at 3b. I was asking if people think that’s likely.

[Turning2]

5 minutes ago, PlayerHader said:

So why now? Lol

I think he gets 2-3 starts a week against RHP, mostly at 3b. I was asking if people think that’s likely.

Maybe initially, especially if the intent is a short term call up. 

[markedman5]

This seems good

 

[wallus]

Looking at Savants page for Durbin and Frelick. They seem to have pretty close data there. 

[umphrey]

6th in the league in Clutch stat in one of the reports I pulled (min 100 PA)