Time for a new mancrush

by raysfaninminnesota on Jul 7, 2009 4:18 PM EDT Comment 33 comments

Not sure what it would take to get him (a healthy Kaz, perhaps Niemann), but Mike Napoli would look awesome behind the plate in a Rays uni. Currently on pace for a 24 HR, .288/.376/.497 in less than 500 AB, Napoli is having a great season offensively. If he can call a decent game and even be average defensively, he'd be a huge upgrade, even if Navy was near 2008 levels. The only catch is he's in arbitration. What would you be willing to give up to get him?

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Jeffrey Warren Niemann, plus Ruggiano.

The Angels don’t have enough borderline outfielders.

by Suttree on Jul 7, 2009 4:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Edwin Jackson

SOSH AUCTION to K ALS

by Sandy Kazmir on Jul 7, 2009 4:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

If we traded Kaz for Napoli straight up I might kill myself.

And I like Napoli.

by rglass44 on Jul 7, 2009 4:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I posted this in the Niemann's homer rate thread and nobody responded

I proposed Niemann for Napoli since I vaguely remember the Angels calling about Niemann (it migh have been Brignac, but I can’t remember). I don’t know if Niemann for Napoli straight up is fair or if they would make that trade. I like Suttree’s proposal of Niamann and Ruggiano for Napoli though. Or Niemann and Wheeler, if that is at all possible.

by nolesblogger on Jul 7, 2009 5:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Halladay and Barajas for Briggy, Niemann, Hellboy

SOSH AUCTION to K ALS

by Sandy Kazmir on Jul 8, 2009 11:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

are you serious?

Come ON Pat the Bust, Navi can not have more homers than you

by Some other guy who does not care on Jul 8, 2009 11:21 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If you really want a mancrush then check out this one...

Buster Posey

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=C&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=457763

We could have drafted him, but got Beckham instead..

Hello Kitty, #1 in your fantasy league. =p

by Boricua on Jul 7, 2009 6:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Posey is very good at baseball.

But he’s also 3 years older than Tim, played major college baseball for those three years gaining some measure of polish. Not to mention he’s playing in the best hitters league in America and only 1 level higher than Beckham. Talk to me in 3 years.

Tools Whore

by Tyler on Jul 7, 2009 7:04 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

yes but then again he's batting .510 vs lefties

Rays baseball + Colorado Football= amazing

by raysfan81 on Jul 7, 2009 10:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Posey is playing really well at a premium position

He is going to be an above average major leaguer with a shot at being great.

The volatility of Beckhams returns are much greater. He may be tremendous also.

My personal opinion is you cannot turn down such a solid catcher like that. But Beckham has the potential that it is all good.

by matthan on Jul 7, 2009 11:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You have to trust your scouts.

And our scouts determined that Tim Beckham was the best player in the entire draft. Taking the future above-average player over guys with significantly more potential is not a great way to draft. I love Posey, but I’m going to defer to our scouts on this one.

Tools Whore

by Tyler on Jul 8, 2009 12:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not upset with the pick. I'd rather have Posey, but I'm fine either way.

And I do agree to trust the scouts. They’ve seen far more of these guys than we have. Although I do have to say it is definitely quite a bit more than just the best player. Obviously Beckham is not better right now than say Posey. He certainly has a higher ceiling though. Of course he has a lower floor too. I don’t have a problem drafting to get potential superstars though.

For me the key with Beckham is whether he can stay at short. If our scouts and FO really believe he can stay at short then I think it was the right move. If he has to move to the OF then I’d much rather have Posey.

by matthan on Jul 8, 2009 9:36 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No one has a lower floor than catching prospects.

by rglass44 on Jul 8, 2009 9:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think they were looking for another Beej, clearly, Bex didn't carry the same perception out of HS, but they are of similar

build, fast, quick quick wrists, etc. With that in mind here is how they compare in their 18 & 19 old seasons:

18
BA OBP SLG OPS K/9 BB/9 K/BB
Beej 0.297 0.390 0.431 0.821 7.27 5.05 1.44
Bex 0.246 0.309 0.350 0.659 8.25 2.81 2.93

19
BA OBP SLG OPS K/9 BB/9 K/BB
Beej 0.315 0.410 0.505 0.915 9.18 5.14 1.79
Bex 0.283 0.337 0.417 0.754 8.38 2.59 3.24

Beej played at higher levels across the board, but perhaps, him moving through the ranks that much faster never allowed him to learn to play SS properly.

Errors at 18: Beej 56, Bex 13
Errors at 19: Beej 35, Bex 28 (so far)
With neither of these guys will it ever be about their range so errors may be a good indicator of ability here. I like Beckham, we just have to be patient. If he comes up in 5-6 years as a better Brignac, then we are in good shape.

SOSH AUCTION to K ALS

by Sandy Kazmir on Jul 8, 2009 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Expanded a little

18
G BA OBP SLG OPS K/9 BB/9 K/BB E/G
Beej 130 0.297 0.390 0.431 0.821 7.27 5.05 1.44 0.46
Bex 48 0.246 0.309 0.350 0.659 8.25 2.81 2.93 0.33
Briggy 28 0.378 0.427 0.486 0.913 3.86 3.21 1.20 0.41

19
G BA OBP SLG OPS K/9 BB/9 K/BB E/G
Beej 98 0.315 0.410 0.505 0.915 9.18 5.14 1.79 0.46
Bex 73 0.283 0.337 0.417 0.754 8.38 2.59 3.24 0.42
Briggy 127 0.264 0.319 0.416 0.735 9.28 2.83 3.28 0.25

SOSH AUCTION to K ALS

by Sandy Kazmir on Jul 8, 2009 11:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Beej was more polished at the plate when drafted, too.

by rglass44 on Jul 8, 2009 11:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Briggy is so hard to judge because of his extreme all hit no glove then vice versa seasons

SOSH AUCTION to K ALS

by Sandy Kazmir on Jul 8, 2009 11:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe in general

I’m a bit more confident in a top 5 that is a college catcher ending up have the value of a ML average catcher than a top 5 pick drafted high school SS ending up with a value equal to a average SS.

Beckham has a higher ceiling, but I think it is pretty safe to say that everyone knew what you were getting with Posey.

by matthan on Jul 8, 2009 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree

I think most thought he was already good enough defensively to catch in the majors. The major question about him was whether he would hit for power at the MLB level or only for average.

by nolesblogger on Jul 8, 2009 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

A friend of mine who goes to FSU was very insistent we should have drafted Buster.

Of course, he was saying things like,“HE COULD PLAY SHORTSTOP IF THEY NEEDED ONE THAT BADLY! HE CLOSED IN COLLEGE!”

by Suttree on Jul 8, 2009 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

FSU isn't usually associated with thinking men and women.

SOSH AUCTION to K ALS

by Sandy Kazmir on Jul 8, 2009 4:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I wanted us to also, but I'm not upset about picking Beckham.

I was there for all 3 of Posey’s years, and the power surge he showed as a junior was Zorillian (nearly quadrupling his total number of HR’s from the previous 2 years in one season). For me that was enough to cast away doubts of his power at the big league level. It seemed obvious that he had developed a power bat. His new power added to his high BB’s and low K’s was enough to convince me he should be the #1 pick.

As for your friend’s comments, there’s no way he would have stuck at SS. He would have had to either move to 3B or maybe 2B. He also wasn’t that great of a pitcher, just threw hard.

by nolesblogger on Jul 8, 2009 4:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not sure I agree there.

He didn’t have much experience there, so people felt he had the tools to be a big league ctacher without question. The issue was would he hit that well, and whether or not he could learn to BE a catcher.

by rglass44 on Jul 8, 2009 4:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm just trying to remember what I read around the time of the draft.

It may not have been that he was already good enough defensively, but that he wouldn’t have any problems developing as a defensive catcher given his limited time at the position. Either way, there wasn’t really much, if any, concern about his abilities to play defense at the position.

by nolesblogger on Jul 8, 2009 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If we were not going to take Beckham than I would have been upset by any pick other than Smoak.

Jeter Sucks.

by PriceMultiCyYoungs on Jul 9, 2009 9:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

he is owning AA right now

more walks than strikeouts…this guy is going to be a beast.

by raysfaninminnesota on Jul 9, 2009 11:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He's in AAA. FYI.

Jeter Sucks.

by PriceMultiCyYoungs on Jul 9, 2009 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Rather have Beckham

5 tool short stops are rare plus at the time of last years draft Navi was an all star and actually hitting. Bit Beckham is younger and may not be hitting great right now but a lot of the high schoolers struggle. Posey will be a major leaguerer first but down the road in 5 years lets look at this again.

by gatoralex911 on Jul 7, 2009 9:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Sonny and Neimann

Rays baseball + Colorado Football= amazing

by raysfan81 on Jul 7, 2009 10:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Ehhh.... One or the other.

Ruggiano can go with whichever they want.

"What the hell is a Labradoddle?"

by davelrogers on Jul 8, 2009 9:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Napoli?

The Rays need to look into a player like Bobby Wilson who is tearing it up in the Angels minor system or even after Jeff Mathis (Angels Catcher) a solid catcher who isn’t getting the time in Anaheim

by cbake73 on Jul 9, 2009 10:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

why would you not want Napoli?

Excellent offense, in his prime—27 yrs old, and if it doesn’t cost a major piece, the Rays can swap Napoli’s arbitration for Navarro’s arbitration and be just fine. You don’t always have to go prospect mode. And there’s a reason why Napoli is getting more starts than Mathis, who is good with the glove, not so much with the bat.

by raysfaninminnesota on Jul 9, 2009 11:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs