03-07-2023, 08:28 PM
Strong article on The Athletic about the importance of Austin Slater to the Giants:
Austin Slater’s importance to the 2023 Giants - The Athletic
If you aren't a subscriber, the basic gist is that Slater is extremely valuable because (a) he plays all outfield positions, (b) he has one of the strongest outfield arms in baseball (it's true, 6th best arm in MLB from CF), © he has a .350 OPS from the right side (he's a right handed hitter), (d) he's one of only two fast players on the team (defined as 75th percentile or faster) and (e) the Giants don't have any better options.
And I'm very glad that Lex doesn't place any importance in spring training stats -- I don't either, because the Giants are 3-9, and in last place in the cactus league with a -32 run differential, 12th in runs scored (of 15) and 13th in runs allowed.
In terms of OPS Blake Sabol (1.667), Joey Bart (1.444), Brett Wisely (1.264), Stephen Piscotty (1.238), & Casey Schmitt (1.167) are crushing it. Haniger (.800) and Conforto (.930) are doing well, but each have five strikeouts. Players who won't make the roster, but are hitting the cover off the ball are Gigliotti, Matheny, Williams, Brown and Meckler.
Conversely, Villar is not only 0 for 11, he has 7 strikeouts. Estrada is 1 for 10, Crawford is 1 for 9, Wynns is 1 for 9, Coulter is 2/15, Bailey is 1 for 7, Ramos is 2 for 13, Yaz is 1 for 6, Wade is 2 for 11, matos is 3 for 15.
Starting pitchers are a bit all over the map. Cobb has 8 strikeouts but a 9.00 ERA, Manaea has 6 strikeouts, but a 7.71 ERA. Ta. Rogers, DeSclefani, Guzman, Ty Rogers, WOod, Gavin have 0.00 ERAs (as do 1/2 dozen other pitchers who won't see the major league roster). Hjelle and Junis are 1.80 and 2.25 ERAs respectively. Camilo Doval and Sam Long at 3.00, Logan Webb at 3.60. STripling at 7.20.
Not sure how to interpret fielding. The team has 12 errors in 12 games (not good), but six were in the first game and no player has more than one error. Only two potential starters have errors (Estrada, Villar) and one pitcher (Tyler Rogers).
Austin Slater’s importance to the 2023 Giants - The Athletic
If you aren't a subscriber, the basic gist is that Slater is extremely valuable because (a) he plays all outfield positions, (b) he has one of the strongest outfield arms in baseball (it's true, 6th best arm in MLB from CF), © he has a .350 OPS from the right side (he's a right handed hitter), (d) he's one of only two fast players on the team (defined as 75th percentile or faster) and (e) the Giants don't have any better options.
And I'm very glad that Lex doesn't place any importance in spring training stats -- I don't either, because the Giants are 3-9, and in last place in the cactus league with a -32 run differential, 12th in runs scored (of 15) and 13th in runs allowed.
In terms of OPS Blake Sabol (1.667), Joey Bart (1.444), Brett Wisely (1.264), Stephen Piscotty (1.238), & Casey Schmitt (1.167) are crushing it. Haniger (.800) and Conforto (.930) are doing well, but each have five strikeouts. Players who won't make the roster, but are hitting the cover off the ball are Gigliotti, Matheny, Williams, Brown and Meckler.
Conversely, Villar is not only 0 for 11, he has 7 strikeouts. Estrada is 1 for 10, Crawford is 1 for 9, Wynns is 1 for 9, Coulter is 2/15, Bailey is 1 for 7, Ramos is 2 for 13, Yaz is 1 for 6, Wade is 2 for 11, matos is 3 for 15.
Starting pitchers are a bit all over the map. Cobb has 8 strikeouts but a 9.00 ERA, Manaea has 6 strikeouts, but a 7.71 ERA. Ta. Rogers, DeSclefani, Guzman, Ty Rogers, WOod, Gavin have 0.00 ERAs (as do 1/2 dozen other pitchers who won't see the major league roster). Hjelle and Junis are 1.80 and 2.25 ERAs respectively. Camilo Doval and Sam Long at 3.00, Logan Webb at 3.60. STripling at 7.20.
Not sure how to interpret fielding. The team has 12 errors in 12 games (not good), but six were in the first game and no player has more than one error. Only two potential starters have errors (Estrada, Villar) and one pitcher (Tyler Rogers).
Audaces fortuna iuvat