Mariners (Kirby) vs Brewers (Gasser): 8/20/26, 1:10 PM

[nate82]

1 hour ago, willie key said:

Too low.   I’m more thinking about his hall of fame candidacy now

Just behind YuniB but that is unfair to Joey.  It was a shame YuniB didn’t get invited to the alumni game.  He is the greatest SS/1B in Brewers history!!!

[willie key]

1 minute ago, nate82 said:

Just behind YuniB but that is unfair to Joey.  It was a shame YuniB didn’t get invited to the alumni game.  He is the greatest SS/1B in Brewers history!!!

Yuni actually had a good playoffs

[adambr2]

1 hour ago, TURBO said:

I'm just not seeing a bat there that is going to be a building block for the future.  Lara to me, looks like a 4th OFer type, sorry.

His batting average, OBP, and slugging are all higher than Jackson Chourio’s were after his first 95 ABs and 108 plate appearances.

I'm not saying he’s going to be Jackson Chourio, but I am saying it is far, far too early to make any definitive statements about Lara’s future.

 

[StearnsFTW]

15 hours ago, willie key said:

The starting pitching needs to stop sucking 

Yeah.  Good call.

 

[baseball101]

7 hours ago, adambr2 said:

His batting average, OBP, and slugging are all higher than Jackson Chourio’s were after his first 95 ABs and 108 plate appearances.

I'm not saying he’s going to be Jackson Chourio, but I am saying it is far, far too early to make any definitive statements about Lara’s future.

 

I understand what you are saying however Lara obviously doesn’t have the physical tools that Chourio has. I see no scenario where Lara is a 20/20 guy. I’m just slightly surprised by Lara’s lack of pop in the bat. I know he’s more known for plate discipline and contact. 

[igor67]

I don't read too much into the power numbers at this stage partly due to youth, but more importantly as described in a number of the articles on the site the team has consistently asked the rookies basically to focus on contact and pitch recognition after getting called up and then later gives them the OK to swing harder.

[homer]

Lara has shown a great eye at the plate, he doesn't chase, he takes a walk, he's fast, and plays really good defense (even if people think he hasn't shown it in right field, the scouting reports all say he's elite in center). There's incredible value there even if he never slugs 450+

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

2 hours ago, baseball101 said:

I understand what you are saying however Lara obviously doesn’t have the physical tools that Chourio has. I see no scenario where Lara is a 20/20 guy. I’m just slightly surprised by Lara’s lack of pop in the bat. I know he’s more known for plate discipline and contact. 

He's also only 21, and physical development is not linear. I would expect him to fill out some, and for more power to develop over the next few years.

[willie key]

3 hours ago, StearnsFTW said:

Yeah.  Good call.

 

Thank you.  

[Playing Catch]

2 hours ago, baseball101 said:

I understand what you are saying however Lara obviously doesn’t have the physical tools that Chourio has. I see no scenario where Lara is a 20/20 guy. I’m just slightly surprised by Lara’s lack of pop in the bat. I know he’s more known for plate discipline and contact. 

He may hit 40 doubles, though, and won't hit into many double-plays.

[sveumrules]

Somewhere along the line I saw Coco Crisp (5'10 / 185 lbs / switch hitting CF) thrown out there as a comp for the shape that Lara's career could possibly take.

Through age 30 (Lara's last team option year) Coco put up 3,779 PA of 95 wRC+ with +37.5 BsR and +68.9 DEF for 21.3 WAR. Batting profile was 91 BB+ | 81 K+ | 103 AVG+ | 84 ISO+.

Here's a few other players that made being short and not having much power work because they were fast and really dood defenders with strike zone discipline during the Thirty Team Era (with their stats thru age 30)...

Brett Gardner (2864 PA)
104 wRC+ | +38.8 BsR | +61.5 DEF | 21.7 WAR
122 BB+ | 100 K+ | 102 AVG+ | 86 ISO+

Shane Victorino (3629 PA)
107 wRC+ | +35.8 BsR | +36.0 DEF | 21.9 WAR
87 BB+ | 66 K+ | 105 AVG+ | 103 ISO+

Denard Span (4001 PA)
105 wRC+ | +25.4 BsR | +33.1 DEF | 22.4 WAR
104 BB+ | 64 K+ | 110 AVG+ | 71 ISO+

Michael Bourn (3941 PA)
92 wRC+ | +60.6 BsR | +59.0 DEF | 20.9 WAR
98 BB+ | 112 K+ | 103 AVG+ | 62 ISO+

Brian Roberts (4379 PA)
105 wRC+ | +36.2 BsR | +34.9 DEF | 24.4 WAR
120 BB+ | 79 K+ | 105 AVG+ | 84 ISO+

Luis Castillo (5618 PA)
98 wRC+ | +20.4 BsR | +43.4 DEF | 23.2 WAR
115 BB+ | 75 K+ | 108 AVG+ | 39 ISO+

Jean Segura (4657 PA)
97 wRC+ | +23.9 BsR | +43.6 DEF | 20.2 WAR
61 BB+ | 67 K+ | 111 AVG+ | 75 ISO+

Rafael Furcal (5192 PA)
101 wRC+ | +41.2 BsR | +36.7 DEF | 25.0 WAR
99 BB+ | 77 K+ | 106 AVG+ | 77 ISO+

 

 

[owbc]

13 hours ago, willie key said:

Yuni actually had a good playoffs

I loved Yuni B, he was one of my favorite players on the 2011 team. A replacement level guy who knew his role and knew his limitations and just went to work every day with a smile on his face and enjoyed the ride. 
 

Should he have gotten 584 plate appearances? Heck no, but that's not his call to make. He just did his job to the best of his ability. 

[adambr2]

4 hours ago, baseball101 said:

I understand what you are saying however Lara obviously doesn’t have the physical tools that Chourio has. I see no scenario where Lara is a 20/20 guy. I’m just slightly surprised by Lara’s lack of pop in the bat. I know he’s more known for plate discipline and contact. 

But that was never really my point. I was never saying that Lara could still turn into Chourio and I’m not comparing the two, they don’t have the same skillsets.

My point was, the guy has had less than 100 career ABs. It is crazy early to make any sweeping conclusions. He is still in the learning process/adjustment phase. One thing I’ve noticed is how much more comfortable he seems defensively lately . That is one adjustment he’s made from early on, when it seems like the speed and exit velocities of MLB hitters was something he was still trying to adjust to compared to the minors. The bat is still a work in progress. 

Pratt started off 11 for his first 68. Turang had a .585 OPS and 6 HR for his entire rookie season of 404 ABs, and this was at age 23, not 21! Imagine if we had written him off as a utility infielder (and many of us did).

 

[willie key]

2 hours ago, owbc said:

I loved Yuni B, he was one of my favorite players on the 2011 team. A replacement level guy who knew his role and knew his limitations and just went to work every day with a smile on his face and enjoyed the ride. 
 

Should he have gotten 584 plate appearances? Heck no, but that's not his call to make. He just did his job to the best of his ability. 

Yep.  And for all the crap he took he actually showed up in the playoffs that year.   I didn’t mind the guy