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| Rob Bryson |
Here is the rundown of what Indians players in winter ball did yesterday.
Venezuelan Winter League
- Ezequiel Carrera (CF, Navegantes del Magallanes): 2-for-4, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB. One of Carrera’s best games in awhile as he reached base in 3 of his 5 plate appearances and pounded out 2 extra base hits. The homer was his 2nd this offseason.
- Rob Bryson (RP, Bravos de Margarita): 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 1 K. Only Bryson’s third outing in three weeks. His opportunities have been limited, but that is the life of a prospect in a place where winning is everything in Venezuela.
- Jesus Aguilar (PH-DH, Leones del Caracas): 1-for-2, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, K. It doesn’t matter where Aguilar has played this year, he just continues to hit and be a run producer. He came in late as a pinch hitter and got the deciding 3-run double in extra innings.
- Luis Valbuena (2B, Cardenales de Lara): 2-for-3, RBI, BB. Valbuena is on a mini hot streak as in his last two games he is now 6-for-8 at the plate with a homer and 4 RBI. He also has 21 walks and 21 strikeouts in 34 games.
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4 comments:
Let's get real.
I know how young he is, I know how inexperienced he is, I know you don't want to rush young players, but when you desperately need a right-handed, power bat, and the young man hits sensationally everywhere he plays, then you have to at least give him a solid chance to win the 1B job in spring training.
This player's progress has stunned me this season and post-season.
I think he deserves a shot, and ought to play in Columbus if he can't win the job.
Hello Bric,
All due respect, Kinston to Columbus is quite a jump, let alone Cleveland. I could, maybe, see him starting the year in Akron, perhaps, though keep in mind he didn't have much playing time in Kinston in 2011, so starting 2012 in Carolina would not be out of the question.
With proper progression, making it to Akron and even Columbus would be a very solid year, with a possible chance of making it to Cleveland in September. That would seem more realistic to me.
Realistically, Aguilar has limited experience in High-A; expecting him to be the "missing piece" to the Indians' offense when he hasn't even experienced the two highest levels of Minor League Baseball yet is very unrealistic, and not likely one that the Indians will ignore.
In fact, it sounds like a perfect opportunity to bring in a quality FA who can fill the gap for a year. If Aguilar can have more of the type of season that I described in 2012 (High-A or AA to start, progress to AAA, maybe have a little bit of time in Cleveland), what you describe for Aguilar could be quite realistic for 2013, but not 2012.
Heck, didn't we try this with Matt LaPorta (though that was more the OF than 1B initially), and he was more established than Aguilar is at this stage, and we know that LaPorta has been a big disappointment, so rushing Aguilar at this stage would be a big mistake in my opinion, and one I doubt that the Indians would do, especially after LaPorta has faltered.
Hello again Bric,
One other thing to consider that just came to me - even if the Venezuelan Winter League is at the level of AA/AAA (I think it is, more less - Tony likely knows this better than I do), Aguilar, like most young players, isn't getting a lot of playing time in the VWL because those teams are built to win (unlike the Minor Leagues, who are more focused on developing players, with winning being the second-highest goal).
It can't be easy for a young player to learn to play at such a high level getting so few ABs or IP, so even if he is playing at a AA/AAA level this offseason, it's not enough consistent playing time to get a real feel for playing at that level, let alone not learning how to handle the day-to-day grind of facing current and former ML pitching and hitting.
This is all the more reason why the Indians will not consider Aguilar for the 1B job this spring - he just doesn't have enough ABs against top level Minor League competition to realistically consider him for the position. Rushing him at this point doesn't benefit anyone, not Aguilar and not the Indians.
I think Tony has mentioned it, as has a few other writers, but Derrek Lee seems to be a perfect fit for the Indians at 1B - he's still average to above-average offensively and defensively (especially compared to what we've had at 1B over the last several years), and I can't believe he'd get that much money in a FA contract due to his age and injury history. I would think and hope that the Indians would be interested in him and would be able to sign him.
This way, he'd improve the ballclub, while at the same time, give Aguilar the time he needs to polish his offensive and defensive skills so that, hopefully, he can be ready to join the Indians at some point in 2013 (perhaps to begin the season, but hopefully by the midpoint at the latest).
I'm with Joe on this....for as good a season as Aguilar has had, he is still a bit away from a ML opportunity. He is still raw defensively and can not be trusted in the big leagues there, so one of the big things he needs to work on now through next season is to improve his defense. He is also very susceptible to breaking balls low and away. He has gotten better this fall at handling them, but he was killed at Kinston with them and probably will get a steady diet of them in Carolina/Akron next year. He's a talent for sure....but no need to rush him. If he does all that he could move quick.
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