I see him as a SS. Maybe as he gets older and his range decreases, he can move over to 3B... but I don't see that happening any time soon, and I don't see him moving at the expense of merely average defenders like Bregman. Would take an Adam Everett-type defensive SS prospect to even consider a move, and even then he may just be fully entrenched/committed at the position to make any move unlikely. He's got a cannon for an arm and his range has not been deemed to be significantly worse than Bregman or any other SS prospect in the system right now. Obviously, from an earning potential stand point, it makes more financial sense for him to become as good of a SS as he can be.... also with the amount of shifting the Astros do, true positional performance cannot be evaluated in the usual traditional sense.
I am curious as to why the Astros shift SS to the opposite side of second and the third baseman to around the SS position. The Twins move the third baseman to the opposite side of second base and leave the SS alone.
I'd imagine it has to do with the skills of the respective players (Lowrie & Marwin have more range than the average 3B, for example) and also the hit charts, familiarity together turning double plays, or something. Interesting to see what they do now that Correa & Valbuena will have a full ST together on the left side.
Detroit does it as well. I thought about discussing that when I made that post... it would make sense to put the guy with increased range in the true SS position... however you also have to consider whether or not the 3B is capable of turning the DP (presuming somebody is on base). Additionally, the exaggerated shift is done presuming the player won't hit it towards the left side.... moving your better defender there runs the risk of basically taking him off the field, if you truly believe the percetanges of where the ball should be hit (which they do, otherwise they wouldn't be shifting at all). I still don't fully understand why pitchers still offer up the away pitch, daring the hitter to go the other way, with the shift on. Again, the guess is that even when being pitched away, the hitters you truly shift against still have a tendency to pull.
This is why I think the Astros do it. Though as Buck points out, it may change with Valbuena at 3B. I would add just generally by keeping IFs in order, they can keep same responsibilities after the ball is in play such as who goes to what base, who's cut off.
I really like Bregman and like the idea of having guys that have played SS at 1b/2b/3b this includes Valbuena, plus having 3 Gold Glove CF's in the OF and Marisnick on the bench gives the Stros the best defensive team in baseball. IMHO Bregman would be an upgrade with both the bat and the glove over Val and Val is very good with the glove. For this reason if Bregman has a big yr at AA/AAA I could see him passing up Moran/Duffy on the pecking order. Particularly after the Super 2 deadline if injuries hit or Val falls on his face.
Also it makes me LOL that people talk about Bregman like he has a noodle arm. His arm is plenty good enough to play SS. Think Aybar good, although his arm isn't as good as Correa's. I will say that from what I've seen Bregman is more consistent with the glove than Correa is. (Blasphemy) However Correa has more tools and is more likely to become better with the glove with more experience.
I think his arm is just average. I believe he could become a very good second basemen but we have Altuve there. We have 2 years to decide what to do with Bregman.
Just going off body types, Bregman is probably the better all-around/prototypical short stop. Good mobility, solid arm for the position. Correa's got a rocket for an arm and is still mobile given his age, but I don't see him getting significantly better at SS. His mobility is never going to be above average given his size, but he can certainly become more consistent.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Astros sign Neal Cotts to minors deal: <a href="https://t.co/xhYQTAzjh4">https://t.co/xhYQTAzjh4</a></p>— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanDrellich/status/703230655551971328">February 26, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I see where you are coming from, but I think it's hard to say that he's tapped out at SS at only 21 years old. Sure he's going to get bigger (and arguably less mobile), but he'll also learn the nuances of the position where maybe his smarts can help outweigh his athleticism a bit. I think the kid is very, very far from even approaching his ceiling, both at the plate and in the field.
Agreed. It wasn't that long ago when Cal Ripkin Jr, and then A-Rod, were doing just fine at the SS position despite being bigger players. And Correa has the chance to eclipse both of them in terms of athleticism and arm-strength.
George Springer was on 790 this morning. That guy should be on the radio every morning. His enthusiasm is infectious..and he's funny. He's also my spirit animal.
The guy is genuinely a great guy. The way he was talking about Correa and how big his brand has gotten/getting, he really seems to want everybody to succeed. Need to get a Springer jersey and hope Luhnow never trades him.
There are just too many jerseys to get! I love all these guys. Altuve was our ray of shining light through the dark seasons, George is the emotion and energy of the team, Correa is a young phenomenon, and Keuchel is the Cy Young Winner!
