7/19 MiLB - Jose Altuve Day

in any video or game action I’ve seen. Maybe solid average. He’s not a great runner either, and it’s definitely a function of his height combined with his thick build. It’s actually a sort of galumphing gait.

I love the hitting approach and swing. He’s balanced all the way through and routinely drives the ball. At worst some of the homers turn into doubles at the highest level, but he could hit a fair number of them. I could actually see him posting performance numbers similar to Starlin Castro’s, though it’s not a comp that normally springs to mind.

any ball in the dirt is head height for him ;)

His name is Jose Altuve. His name is Jose Altuve.

Does anyone know if he actually has a travel visa to enter the States at this point?

= a pretty decent ballplayer

You’re right. He’s no Maybin. He’s worse.

Remember when he was supposed to be an .850 OPS guy in center. How’s that working out?

Has been good for the last two months. He will fit well as the backup to both Alvarez and Cedeno (assuming he continues to play excellent defense).

For all the shit Wood takes on here, I’ve been happy with the acquisition.

Are any of Pittsburgh’s starters even any good? I guess Karstens has a Doug Fister thing going for him, but is that the type of pitcher you want to count on?

If it wasn’t for good luck and defense, the Pirates staff would be as sad as their names suggest they should be.

There are two other players in A ball in the Pirates’ system with essentially the same skill set: Evan Chambers and Dan Grovatt. I don’t understand why Grossman is suddenly getting so much more love than those guys.

Evan Chambers and Dan Grovatt both got substantially lower bonuses (Grossman – $1,000,000; Chambers – $423,900; Grovatt – undisclosed, although he sought 3rd round slot money which is what Chambers got). Granted, part of the difference is a product of both of them being college guys and Grossman being a signability prep, but Grossman was ranked as the 50th best player coming into his draft year, and IIRC neither Grovatt nor Chambers were even close to that. Grossman has a better draft pedigree, which is indicator of perceived talent.

Furthermore, just look at ARL. Grossman has the best ARL. Chambers is close, being only 6 months older, and isn’t repeating the league like Grossman is (that’s high (A+) ball). However, Grossman is a year above Grovatt and is nearly a full year (11 months) younger.

In addition, you can look at body type/athleticisim (which factored into the aforementioned bonuses). Grossman is slightly taller and leaner than Chambers, giving him more projection, especially power projection, and Grovatt is already considered strictly a corner outfielder (although he does play CF when Mel Rojas Jr. is out of action), but Grossman is still considered to be a passable CF (although he almost assuredly won’t play there in Pittsburgh).

Finally, simply look at production. While Chamber’s BABIP has been low and Grossman’s is probably high, it’s doubtful the gap is enough to close a .54 wOBA gap (.393 to .339). Chambers has a higher ISO, but Grossman’s .128 ISO is acceptable for a developing 21 year old. Plus, Grossman has significantly cut down on his K’s, down to 18% from 21% last year and 30% the year before. His walk rate has also spiked ~7%. Chambers on the other hand, has seen his walks lower and his K rate rise to 24.0% this year. Grovatt is older, playing at a lower level, and also has a lower wOBA and ISO than Grossman.

They’re all tweener types with minimal power who take a ton of walks and a lot of Ks. They’d need to really max out their potential to become starting-caliber ML outfielders.

This is true, and I’m not saying he’s going to be a superstar, but Grossman has the best shot out of any of these three guys, with Chambers being second, and Grovatt a distant third. Grossman is on pace for 10+ homeruns this year at age 21 in A+ ball. There’s no reason to think he can’t put up a .270 average with a .380 OBP and 15 HR’s in the big leagues while playing plus defense at a corner. That goes along with speed on the basepaths, probably 20-25 SB speed, and that seems to me (maybe I’m way off here) like an above-average cOF.

Grossman’s got a body and swing that makes scouts think power is on the way. With power, he would be a very good player. If it doesn’t develop, then yeah, what you’re saying above is reasonable. At this point, I don’t think it makes sense to say, “he’s 21, and scouts think the power will come, but I think he’s done developing. Tweener.”

It would be like blaming SD fans for only following guys with great bats and positional questions.