Yuli hit 63 hr’s 2017 through 2019 and he was battling nagging injuries that hindered his power in 2018. Though he was a contact hitter, he did have power. Like when he hit 31 home runs in 2019. So to say that he was only ever a singles and doubles guy isn’t really being accurate. His home run power isnt really a concern of mine. What is a concern is his on base % and his rbi total after hitting 5th most of the season. Also, the amount of weak grounders and weak pop ups is concerning. Not a lot of hard hit outs for him. Not a lot of hard hit anything, really. Yes he has a few singles in the last few games. Mancini needs to play everyday.
First base (along with LF) is traditionally a power position, though. His 2019 HR numbers were no doubt inflated by the juiced balls. He, Bregman, and Brantley combined for 94 home runs that year (31, 41, 22). Still, what power Gurriel did have has largely disappeared, and the quality of contact has gone down. I've also noticed he's swung at bad pitches a lot more than in years past, but almost never with 2 strikes, hence, why his whiff percentage has gone up but not his strikeout percentage. (See: Baseball Savant). We definitely need Mancini playing every day, for sure.
Couldn't ask for a better outcome. Lance was awesome. He got run support. The pen didnt implode. A great day!
If he has lost some bat speed he has to decide to swing earlier and swings at bad pitches he was able to lay off of in the past.
Cool. That’s not what any of the defensive numbers say, which is what I stated, but maybe they are wrong and you are right in your opinion of Yuli’s defense. Another argument in favor of believing the defensive numbers would be that Yuli is 38 and 38 year olds aren’t ever good at defense, but maybe he is a two time anomaly and defies both age and defensive metrics. It’s possible. Those numbers can be murky. But that’s not the way I would bet.
Nice. I just looked it up bc I thought this was his last year of pre arb. He is an Astro for 1 more year than Presley is under contract so he could be our closer for 1 year without an extension.
Yuli is gone after this season. If you bench Yuli, it could affect how he plays in the playoffs. There is NO BENEFIT NOW of doing that. He has played better, since July (1st 2 weeks of August withstanding). His defense has saved Pena a number times. Team chemistry thing. Mancini is the better hitter as of now, but it is not worth pulling Yuli on the bench...when you can play Mancini at LF, DH, and also some 1st base.
I’m not saying never to play Yuli. I’m saying Mancini should play 5 or 6 times a week and Diaz 4 or 5 and Chas probably every day. If you want to play Yuli 2 or 3 times a week in favorable matchups cool- no problem or complaint from me. He just shouldn’t be written in pen everyday and hitting in the 2 hole. He’s not that guy anymore. He’s a situational player at best and hopefully will be treated that way in the playoffs.
Great game! I did not expect much from McCullers, so that was great. Mancini played LF and somehow didn't commit 5 errors, imagine that. Reading through some of the comments on here, it's weird. Some of y'all just have a straight up vendetta against Yuli. I know he has been a complete liability this year offensively, and his advanced defensive statistics say he's isn't actually good at defense anymore, but I don't believe the latter. He's still very trustworthy at 1B, and I don't mind him getting playing time there. I just want Mancini to play, so whether it's a 1B, LF, DH, whatever, he needs to be in the lineup most days. I'm fine with a rotating cast, but saying Mancini can't play bc we need to make room for Chazzy Fizz and Dubon, or bc Yordan wants to play LF is just moronic. On another note, Yuli basically did the exact same **** in 2020 and bounced back. He's basically not good every other year, it's been a weird career trend, but I'm hopefully he can contribute in the playoffs.
Yah I guess it's the "old school" mentality when you don't trust defensive stats. We always want to remember what players were because emotions...but tend to look over what they've become and how they've been performing for the season.
Yuli defense is good enough to play every playoff game. Last night should be our playoff offensive lineup.
What defensive metrics say Yuli is bad this year? Legit curious as I never really watch a play and go damn he should have had that.
That's why the advanced stats are important. A play that may look like it shouldn't have been made would actually get made by a player with better range. Jeter would go over and make a jump throw and people would be amazed, if he didn't make that play people will say it was a tough play. Adam Everett slides over and makes the exact same play look routine. The casual observer will say that was a ball he should have gotten and was nothing special.