How backup playing time should be distributed: Dezenzo: 1B, 3B, RF, LF, DH, PH Dubon: 2B, SS, PR McCormick: CF Caratini: C They should send McCormick down and add Guillorme or Short as the 13th guy who never plays, then Dubon can be the backup CF.
Dubon can't hit, but plays good defense on the dirt (he's made a couple of bad plays at 2B, but making good plays/being dependable way overshadows the errors) and okay defense on the grass. He's going to get played over guys that can't hit and can't play defense. The backend of the position players seems to be getting weaker every year. On Dezenzo, I see a guy who takes a lot of strikes and whiffs a lot when he does swing. That is a tough combination for a hitter to overcome. However, he got two hits yesterday.
I was really pleased for Forrest Whitley. The guy has had many chances to call it a day, but he has stuck with it. He was really good last night and another good arm in the bullpen is greatly needed.
Made me curious to take a look. Dezenzo obviously needs way more PAs before we can fully draw conclusions about his ability, but his swing rate in the zone is 66.9% for his career, and contact rate on those is 74.4%. I decided to compare that to Springer (just one of the first names to come to mind), and he is 70.4% and 74.9% for his career. If you look at his first couple of years, his swing rate at balls in the zone were slightly better than Dezenzo (and similar to the rest of his career), but his contact rate in the zone was slightly worse than Dezenzo. He just dramatically improved in that area in year 3. Morgan Ensberg, the king of watching pitches down the middle, had a 63.2% swing rate at pitches in the zone for the limited time that data was available (2007 is the first year available). Alex Bregman, who is one of the more patient hitters I've ever seen is at 61.1% for his career, but of course makes contact at an extremely high clip.
Kinda remarkable to think he's not even halfway to Hersh's record of 59. He'd need 6 more starts like these to get the record. Considering the universal DH, it is probably one of the more unbreakable modern records. AL record in the live ball era is 41 back in 1926 & 1968. Luis Tiant, who tied the record in 1968, also did 40 in 1972. That is the last time a starter managed 24 straight scoreless innings before Hunter Brown.
Not swinging at strikes isn't the problem. Not swinging at strikes and then not hitting when you swing is the problem. It puts a lot of pressure on the remaining few swings to be incredibly productive. Bregman...no contact issue. Ensberg was a different era so the raw numbers aren't a good match, but he was a perfectly fine hitter until he started whiffing in addition to the called strikes if my memory serves me. Springer, he fit the mold of taking strikes and missing a lot early in his career. He also hit the ball over the fence about 3 times as much per ball in play versus Dezenzo early in his career. If you take strikes and whiff a lot, you gotta do what Springer did. Though, Springer cut down his whiffs by a lot very early in his career.
Good analysis. For Dezenzo’s potential outcomes: Without significant changes/improvement he’s most likely a league average bat who hits a fair amount of doubles but strikes out a lot. He could change his angle to get more HR without really changing his approach, in which case he’d be an above average bat (early Springer). He could change his approach but not his angle and strike out less but still just be a doubles hitter. Same net effect; he’d be an above average hitter. He could improve both his approach and angle, in which case he’d be peak Springer. Combined with the questions/upside in his defense, there’s a really wide range of outcomes for Dezenzo. Hes got power and speed and an arm. He could be a star player or a very limited AAAA/bench player. He really does need consistent playing time so they can get a clearer picture of him, on both sides of the ball.
But it isn't a major concern at this point. He has 85PAs in his career, and never had a chance to play every day. Long-term, he does have to make more contact, but I think he will with experience. Really sucks for him that he's stuck in purgatory right now.
I pull for him because he's wearing an Astros uniform. However a lot of his struggles were due to self inflicted stupidity. He's gotten a lot longer leash then just about any prospect ever would because of his natural arm talent.
Oh, I'm with you. But I love a good comeback story. It's inspiring to me when someone gets knocked down (or knocks himself down) and gets back up again instead of giving up.
The only issue I have with this is that I would clarify the OF. Dezenzo is the backup at LF and RF if a player needs a day off and a starter is needed. Chas is the backup in CF and defensive replacement late in games to protect a lead in LF or RF.
I wonder if it would he a good idea to send Diaz down to AA or AAA for 2-3 weeks and bring up Salazar? Give him a reset, work on his hitting ( and catching) without any pressure. Better now than in August. Any thoughts?
Not something you do to a proven hitter, with a week to go April. Hasn’t he gotten a few hits over his last few games? He hit one pretty hard to right center last night too.
