Saw there was a new post and figured it was around his 4th homer, only to find out it was about his 5th. The kid’s on an unbelievable run right now.
It’s all about service time.He is heating up to a point where a first half 2022 call up is gonna be in the cards.
I don't really think the Sox need to manipulate service time as much as they need a 1B. Also, we're assuming there is a season in 2022, and that if there is, "service time" is a thing that still exists. Who knows how all that shakes out, point is Casas is going great right now.It’s all about service time.
No ... we want him to stay healthySEND HIM TO FENWAY!
Except that they will as there’s a real incentive to bleeding out the extra low cost service time. They can live with a 1B rotation of Dalbec and Schwarber for a while.I don't really think the Sox need to manipulate service time as much as they need a 1B. Also, we're assuming there is a season in 2022, and that if there is, "service time" is a thing that still exists. Who knows how all that shakes out, point is Casas is going great right now.
Yeah, somehow I think we’ll survive for a couple weeks without Casas. Starting his service time clock a year early for 15 games would be a head scratcher.Except that they will as there’s a real incentive to bleeding out the extra low cost service time. They can live with a 1B rotation of Dalbec and Schwarber for a while.
I love the "ooohhh" that follows the crack of the bat. No doubter!
Nobody cares about your fantasy team.I picked up a couple of his 2018 Bowman Chrome Autos last year and as his stock has risen, the card value has increased nicely. Looking more and more like he's going to be the real deal.
Hey, I'm providing investment adviceNobody cares about your fantasy team.
Any idea what my '95 Zane Smith card is worth ?Hey, I'm providing investment advice
I, for one, am following it.Hey, I'm providing investment advice
At this point, it’s how he fares against lefties that will determine his mlb path, right?Casas hitting .333 ,21 H, 12 BB, .883 OPS in the desert so far.
On that note, anyone have the ridiculously small AFL splits or a link where I could get them?At this point, it’s how he fares against lefties that will determine his mlb path, right?
He does have a big minor league split. In the old days when they had starting pitchers you would just platoon him with Dalbec.At this point, it’s how he fares against lefties that will determine his mlb path, right?
He probably hasn't faced all that many lefties in his life either, at least of any quality. It might be one of those things he has to learn at the MLB level.He does have a big minor league split. In the old days when they had starting pitchers you would just platoon him with Dalbec.
I think we mentioned in the Downs thread that the AFL is roughly equal to AA level competition on average, so we're really not getting any new information from his stats there. We know he can rake against that level of competition. He needs to show he can hit against AAA level competition in a game setting, and that is going to mean time at Worcester after spring training I would think.Break camp? Almost no chance. Rake for a few months at AAA and come up if/when Dalbec struggles? Much more likely. Good AFL performance is better than a bad performance, but he still has very little exposure to the high minors or a track record that translates well to the major league level, and the variety of pitching that he is competing against in Arizona right now is not the equivalent of a good AAA staff, if only because of the age mix.
It's a non zero number. I'd say 5-10% but I openly admit I'm aggressive with player development. Although I've noticed a lot of times, the Sox thoughts line up with my own. I'd guess others have the number at < 1%.Casas now at .372/.495/.487 in Arizona in 97 plate appearances. Any thoughts of what he’d have to do in Spring Training to break camp with the big club?
“I think about it all the time,” he said. “When I’m not playing baseball, I’m watching baseball. In the offseasons, when I’m not working out or in between my workouts, I usually come home and I play MLB The Show on my monitor and watch MLB Network on the TV on top of the monitor.
I don’t know where I’m getting this from- but isn’t the two single A levels considered pretty even? The jump from low A to high A being minimal in competition quality while the jump from single A to AA is often thought of to be the most challenging?It's a non zero number. I'd say 5-10% but I openly admit I'm aggressive with player development. Although I've noticed a lot of times, the Sox thoughts line up with my own. I'd guess others have the number at < 1%.
They have been really aggressive with Casas since the beginning, and while a lot has been made about Downs skipping over AA and struggling mightily in AAA, no one really mentions Casas skipping over A+ (7 PA) and not missing a beat. In fact, he improved. He struggled with power early on, but still hit well enough despite that. The power also arrived in a big way later in the season. His only real struggles were in June, but that was after being away from the team for awhile.
Starting on July 1st, he had 220 PA between AA/AAA, slashed .284/.418/.534 (.299 BAbip) with 40bb/34k.
In his first 153 PA of the year, he slashed .269/.353/.410 on a .344 BAbip with 17bb/38k.
That is a remarkable improvement over the course of the season for a player who at 21 is young for AA (even pre covid) and skipped over a league. Any time a player walks more than he strikes out is a positive sign. This is especially true when Casas had all of 22 PA against pitchers younger than him. If you include his AFL performance, he has 57bb/52k over 317 PA. That's an 18.0% BB% and a 16.4% K rate. In his first full season (his only other season) he had an 11.6% BB% and a 23.2% K% in 500 PA. In his first 153 PA this year, those rates were 11.1% BB% and 24.8%, about on par with last season. That's 653 PA. So in the last 300+, he's improved his BB% around 6.5% while lowering his K rate around 7.0% in a more advanced league... and I'll repeat it again, while skipping over A+. This is also why I'm incredibly high on Nick Yorke. (First 52 PA, 3bb/18k. Last 390 PA: 49bb/51k. That includes 96 PA in A+ (11bb/22k), so he really started to dominate the A league before forcing a promotion.
The one thing that may keep Casas down in AAA for awhile is the left handed hitting but I'm not sure that's something he'll see enough of at the AAA level to make any serious developments. I think it's something he may have to learn at the ML level. I'd really like to see his AFL splits but I'm guessing he's seen 25-30 PA vs L at most. There's also the possibility that Dalbec mashes.
The jump from Hi-A to AA is definitely greater than from Low-A to High-A, but I wouldnt call the difference in competition minimal - especially so for guys out of high school (guys out of college will often have played against better competition than Low-A so they often spend very little time there). High-A is a significantly more competitive league and you can start to see a lot more of the purely organizational player types struggling in High-A where they might have succeeded in Low-A.I don’t know where I’m getting this from- but isn’t the two single A levels considered pretty even? The jump from low A to high A being minimal in competition quality while the jump from single A to AA is often thought of to be the most challenging?
So Casas jump wouldn’t be that difficult while Downs was much more. I still am puzzled why they had him at AAA with no time at AA, so the struggles, to me, were likely.
What mikcou said. The jump from A+ to AA is definitely a bigger jump but the jump from A to A+ is far from minimal.I don’t know where I’m getting this from- but isn’t the two single A levels considered pretty even? The jump from low A to high A being minimal in competition quality while the jump from single A to AA is often thought of to be the most challenging?
So Casas jump wouldn’t be that difficult while Downs was much more. I still am puzzled why they had him at AAA with no time at AA, so the struggles, to me, were likely.
Agreed and the gap between the complex leagues and A will shrink as guys who would in the short A league either get pushed up or down.I'd actually guess with the shrinking of the minors, the gap between A and A+ is going to grow.
Interesting Twitter exchange by Ian Cundall, who is the scouting guy at soxprospects on this - he got asked if this means Casas is tapping into his in-game power.Article about Casas in the Glob today
https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-red-sox/2022/01/27/triston-casas-red-sox-prospects-potential/?p1=hp_featurebox
“I know I’m plenty big and strong enough,” Casas continued. “I’m 6-foot-5, I weighed in earlier this week at 265 [pounds] just rolling out of bed. So I know I’m plenty big enough, I’m plenty strong enough, I’m more than capable enough to tap into that power. It’s just a matter of if I’m swinging at the right pitches in the right counts and mentally I’m engaged on what I’m trying to accomplish in the box.”