2040.5 New Look Infield

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2040.5 New Look Infield

Post by ae37jr » Mon Sep 23, 2019 5:20 pm

New Look Infield

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Eclectic balance of young and old

So far we have touched on 1B/DH, the outfield mix, and the battle for the 27th man. Today we are going to talk up the new look infield. In 2039 the team got a surprise shot in the arm from veteran Carlos García. The team inked him to a cheap one year deal with no true role in mind. By mid season he had emerged as the starting second baseman. A position he had not played much in the past. Garcia responded with arguably a career year. This lead to him declining his player option and demanding a small fortune to extend.

Taking Garcia's spot at the keystone this year will be rookie Richard Drouin. Richard is a fairly highly thought of prospect in the Robins system. While not a Zimmer level defender, he is a solid hand that can easily play 2nd and 3rd base. I suppose he could play SS and possibly even some corner outfield in a pinch. For this Robins team he will mainly play 2nd base while serving as an insurance policy for 3B.

Drouin is 8/7/6/5/7 vs RHP, so he should be a top half of the league offensive contibuter at the position as well. Making him a quality all around player. In a short sample September call up, Richard hit .242/.338/.339. He'll need to improve on that for sure. One likely reason for his struggles is that he was playing out of position so that Garcia could get every chance to earn compensation status. This is consistent with Brooklyn's long standing theory that playing players one slot to the left on the defensive spectrum will dramatically improve his offensive output. Only time will tell if this is the case with Drouin.

The Robins will also feature a rookie short stop for 2040. Jorge Lugo expects to be one of six rookies in the Brooklyn opening day lineup. Lugo may or may not be 100% ready. If he isn't, he is damn sure close. With 6/7/5/4/5 current abilities and 9/9/9/7 defense, Lugo should at least be able to hold above replacement level play for the time being. And if/when he tops out at 7/8/5/4/8 offense, he will easily be an above average SS in the BBA.

Coming back to play 3rd base this season is Nico Eijpe. While it seems that Eijpe has been around forever, he actually just turned 25. There was some thought given into nontendering the Oranjestad native and using his money for something else. It appears as though Brooklyn made a wise decision as there wasn't really much to spend on this winter.

Eijpe is another good but not great player who does a lot of things well, just nothing extraordinary. His 7/8/7/3/6 ratings VS RHP puts him in decent company at a thin position around the league. His defense is plus. 7/7/10/8 and can play all 4 positions on the dirt to varying degrees of success. The Robins will only be asking him to play 3rd base and a little late inning subbing at 1B when not starting.

Eijpe and Drouin definitely need platoon partners. Veterans J.J. McQuade and Arief Alatas are expected to fill those roles. Mcquade was brought in a few seasons ago to help fill the park during it's down years. Since the rebuild has gone a lot quicker then expected, we didn't really expect McQuade to be here for meaningful games. Being grossly overpaid and his abomination of a 2039 aside, McQuade isn't a terrible player. He can play all 4 infield positions and hit a little. The hope is that a reduced role will bring better results. That may backfire though as McQuade feels he is still a starter. Alatas we talked about at length before. He is a defensive juggernaut that can hit a little and play 6 different positions.

Now you may be asking yourself... what about Mark Dempsey? He is a veteran who can decline a demotion. How is he not on the roster? Well, that is just Brooklyn being Brooklyn. We've been employing a strategy that other teams use as well that entails overpaying a veteran and then straggling them along through the DL, rehab assignments, and the waiver wire. His main purpose is to bring fans to the park and be a backup plan in case the team is ravaged with injuries. Dempsey's days of playing 3rd are over and he will get consideration as a 1B/DH. But it is unlikely he makes the squad.

Other players entering camp are the afore mentioned Robert Franklin and Ernie Schoonmaker who will be looking at defensive supersub roles if Alatas falters. Clarence Kirkpatrick will get one more chance to impress after a blistering September call up last season. Ignacio Venegas figures to get some work in the minors this season and be a solid short side platoon partner by seasons end. Last but not least is Scott Bell who will most likely be one of the first cuts, but has a solid future with the franchise regardless.

All in all I'd say this group is not great, yet not terrible. Eijpe, Drouin and Lugo are young solid all around players while McQuade and Alatas are niche players looking to do what they do. Brooklyn is a little susceptible to injury and could add another player to the mix(Carlos Garcia reunion?) or they could call on a guy like Schoonmaker and give him every chance to succeed.
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