You guys know me by now, I don’t go into anything without a
plan. Now whether my plans are good plans are not is another discussion for
another day but rest assured, I have a plan. My plan for the DH position is
simple, cost effective and it fits in with the current Yankees youth movement
as it involves relying once again on the Yankees farm system. In a rotation the
Yankees young hitters should go in and out of the DH position but one man
should be listed as the “every day DH” and that man is Aaron Judge. So who
plays right field you ask? Well between Tyler Austin, Aaron Hicks and/or Mason
Williams the Yankees should have that covered but just in case it may be a good
idea to call up the Yankees top prospect Clint Frazier as well.
I know what you’re thinking, I’m nut. Well, I am but that
isn’t the point. I know Frazier is young and has less than a full season at the
Triple-A level and believe me that I am well aware that he struggled some in
his limited time there. I get it. I also get that Judge has struggled with MLB
pitching, again in a small sample size, but Judge focusing on hitting only can
only help him in my eyes. Frazier on the other hand is talented and would step
into a right field that doesn’t come attached to a “World Series or bust” type
expectation level. The Yankees aren’t planning on competing in 2017 so why not
let Frazier get his feet wet?
Frazier is the Yankees top prospect and the 15th
best prospect in all of baseball according to MLB.com and he comes with raw
power and the ability to play any of the three outfield positions and do it
well. That’s the kind of versatility and talent the Yankees need at the MLB
level. Frazier could slowly get his feet wet and get acclimated to the Major
Leagues by the team having that outfield rotation we discussed earlier while gaining
invaluable experience and knowledge at the MLB level. Plus I think Judge would
be helped as well as he can work with Marcus Thames, one of the Yankees hitting
coaches, more one-on-one this winter.
It likely won’t happen because the Yankees are seemingly
against rushing their prospects but it makes a bit of sense in my eyes so I
presented it. What say you? Leave it below, thanks.
Totally against the idea. If we all believe Frazier isn't ready why not allow him to develop at a pace that supports his confidence? What happens if he starts out like Judge? Do you then send him down or let him set some kind of K rate record?
ReplyDeleteI say let him show us that he has advanced beyond AAA. If he is good enough to be in the majors that will show by mid season or so. Absolutely no need to rush and why would you want to sit Judge, a plus defender who has played the field his whole life and now to add to his hitting issues, he can no longer use his defense and arm as a plus?
I was thinking about Judge and his hitting more so than his fielding. I also used the word "rotation" many times in the article so I don't think he would be a DH only. He would get more at bats as a DH than most, sure, but he is up because of his bat. Not because of his glove. Let's not kid ourselves here.
DeleteSorry, but I hate the idea of a young DH-only. And while you may not exactly be putting Judge into that position, by removing him from the defensive side of things I can only see bad things happening in that department.
ReplyDeleteI'm against signing Encarnacion, or anybody else that would require more than a year or two contract. And I'm also for using young players to rotate through the DH position. But not one for use regularly.
Hell, that's one reason why Kyle Schwarber did not appeal to me. He may be able to rake, but his lack of defense put me off of the idea of giving up that much to acquire him in a trade.
Again, with Joe Girardi there would be a rotation in right field. Judge would not see 150 games at DH in 2017 by any means.
DeleteHmm I still believe we need a DH/1B type. Just insurance for Bird and it Austin. Hopefully on a 1 to 2 year max deal. Beltran, Holliday, Morneau, etc
ReplyDeleteWould love to see Todd Frazier at third. Maybe swing a trade for Braun or McClotchen.
Even more interesting would be a trade for Greinke or Gray.
YOUTH MOVEMENT, and AARON JUDGE.....here we go again!
ReplyDeleteThe 2017 team needs a proven power bat. A must get.
You want Judge, who failed BIG time, to be the DH ? Why ?
So far, Judge is nothing more than fans dream. He can not be in that role.
All the young talent is blocked. Like just call a sewer guy.
Mgmt. knows it, you know it...clear the decks.
Over the winter trade.... Gardner, Headley, Pinada, Tanaka, and
god willing, fingers crossed...the 'that ship has sailed' Ellsbury.
Five out, five in. Now the sewer pipe is cleared.
Game on, go for it.
Patrick I totally agree with your post. Gardner obviously has pictures of the elf with farm animals and that is the reason why he will still be here. I'm tired of the act of Pineda and the others mentioned above. I remember Cherrington the old Roid Sux GM was able to move a large chunk of salaries to the Dodgers with Crawford and Agone and a few other overpaid players, why can't the elf move these stiffs. Simple he continues to deal with the same organizations and never goes anywhere else. It is always the Mariners and D Backs and Pirates and Tigers to name a few of the usual teams.
DeleteGRETEL....The Elf with Obama ? and, Al Gore ?
DeleteI want to see more than a handful of games from Judge before I say that he failed. He struggled when he first got to Triple-A, worked on adjustments and was better for it. There is no reason he can't do the same in the Majors, especially with Marcus Thames as his hitting coach.
DeleteAnd the rest of what you said patrick, agree. If we're going to see this youth movement to the end then let's do it. Trade everything not tied down for all I care.
I'll bite. Like stated above, judge isn't a DH only. but get creative, and give him to between DH and RF. additionally, between Williams, hicks, judge and Austin, make it work, hopefully gardner will be gone to get this done.
ReplyDeleteHOWEVER- Frazier shouldn't come up immediately. he needs to prove himself and gain more than 25 games at AAA experience.
Im on the fence. closers are volatile. BUT. we have betances. I say if you go with internal DH options, we pass on signing a closer. With CBA expected to go up to 200mil, get under/reset the luxury tax this year.
1- get below luxury tax
2- get experience for the youth, and see whos part of the core going forward. then, we will have even more coming off.
3- Otani. Otani. Otani. Sabathia as innings eater and a #5?
Then. We have another 2 year experience with Bird, sanchez, judge, cessa, sevs, frazier, MAYBE even torres, just in time for the big splash.
Who the F wants to pitch through Harper, Sanchez, Bird, Judge
I'm going to be real careful what I say about Judge here, because I don't want to start a Gardner like argument with Hans. People are giving up on Judge way too early. He struggled when he jumped from AA to AAA, but adjusted. He struggled when he jumped to the majors, but will make that adjustment too. Hans is right, he will strike out a lot. So does Chris Davis. Mike Trout struck out 187 times a couple years ago and is considered the best player in baseball. Strikeouts are just part of the game these days. I'll take 200 strikeouts and a .250 batting average if the guy is going to hit 30 homeruns and drive in 100. Especially if it's only costing $500,000. That's better than paying $25 million for a mid 30's "established power bat".
Deleteagreed jeff. Hell, say he hits .200, with 12-20 HR. at 500k, I'll take it. Napoli would cost 5-8 mil a season, for 30 HR and bat .230. But the upside/benefit of running judge is gigantic.
DeleteLevin good comeback I like it. I hope all is well with you. As you know I am not sold on Judge and I have a question which maybe someone can answer. If Judge needs to work on his swing and we all agree he does, why wasn't he in Arizona in the fall league? Is there something I am missing that doesn't allow him to play in the fall league?
DeleteThat's a damn good question Hans. I know that each team only has a certain amount of slots available. And I know they wanted Kaprelian, Tate, and Andujar to play. They also wanted to see Tyler Wade in the outfield. I'm great, just been really busy. I'm not completely sold on Judge either. I just want to see what his potential looks like. I haven't seen too many people hit one off the facing of the restaurant in centerfield.
DeleteJudge was and never will be a .300 hitter. Everyone knows that. He's a power bat that can hit it in the gaps as well, at least he did in the minor leagues. You're taking him for his power and his RBI totals.
DeleteIn the sabermetric world a strikeout counts the same as a guy who makes contact with the ball 100% of the time and just simply hits it right at the person. An out is an out. Of course you could get more in depth and talk about productive outs, moving the runner over, sacrifice flies and all that but no player is perfect.
I wonder if Judge's oblique injury wasn't fully healed in time for the AFL?
ReplyDeleteJudge doesn't need AFL at bats for the sake of getting at bats. He needs at bats against Major league pitching. It's not like greg bird, who sat 6 months and is rehabbing an injury.
DeleteThat would be incorrect Daryl. He needs to work on specifics on his swing and that is the time to do so
DeleteDave Winfield was 6'-6" and 21 years old when he came up. Some try to compare the two (Dave and Judge) but they are completely different types of hitters. Judge will never match Winfield in overall hitting numbers.
ReplyDeleteJudge is a power/RBI hitter and IF he hits at .225/.235, 30HR, 100+RBI I'll live with it...times, they have changed! Winfield was about 25HR, 100RBIs and .283 avg., but a line drive hitter.
Judge needs to hit against big league pitchers, those are the guys he will face.
In spring training, he would be facing AA, AAA pitchers most of the time at the start, then the big guys will be pitching for real later on and hopefully Judge will be ready for them...IF not, hello AAA!
We must remember, each player is different and it may take until March before we see, or don't see the real Judge! At 6'7" he has many holes the cover and has to find and cover the spots the pitchers can hit at a very high % of the time and cover those spots 1st and foremost!
Reed when you make a swing change you work against any pitcher that is available to you. You don't start your swing change in spring training. Second Winfield was a better athlete as he was drafted in baseball, basketball and football. I think he was a mistake when he was drafted as there was top[ of the line arms there to be had. The Yanks reach all the time, like when they took the Notre Dame SS in the first rd. Ya thats a hotbed for baseball and the kid couldn't hit his way out of a paper bag.
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