But did you read it in Dana Carvey as John McLaughlin’s voice?
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Yes indeed.
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In fairness, when a player has an outlier season and outperforms his career averages, you’re not going to make much money betting on further improvement. If Dubon can go to the swing doctors and develop a power stroke, that’s one thing—but now we’re in the realm of pure speculation. I think Dubon is plenty valuable but I wouldn’t expect him to repeat his 2023 numbers next year, much less improve.
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Yes Diaz could see a decline.
Wear and tear, more data for the opponents to calibrate their approach.
Hell, if he doesn’t get a little more selective he won’t see anything near the zone.
But I suspect (hope?) his floor is still above the average catcher offensively.
His ceiling is certainly way higher.
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I will also say that, with more playing time, Dubon has improved his glovework in CF
I had not paid attention to that and thought Meyers superior defense was more of a benefit than it actually would have been.
Between Chas, Jake, and Dubón the best arm by far belongs to Mauricio.
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I don’t expect Mauricio Dubon to become an all-star or MVP. But, I think his offensive improvements last season were real, and when you combine them with his ability to play multiple positions at an above-average to elite level defensively, you have a very valuable utility player for a contending team.
Regardless, potential is something many players never reach. More fail to realize it than those that do.
Between Shaq, Wilt and Russell, Bill was the best FT shooter
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Peña’s problem is pitch recognition, for sure. But batting him in front of Maldonado is just setting him up for failure. He’s not a natural 2-hole hitter, but you’ve got to try to put him a position to succeed, and that was the best spot in that lineup. Will it be next season? I don’t know. That’s my point about not just moving guys around and think you’ll get the exact same result. You won’t. Situation matters, and it’s why putting together a lineup isn’t just random.
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Of course it’s not random…you find one stat like WARC or WOPR and you line them up in order, by height
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I hope there is a GM out there that is as enamored of Meyers as you are and will trade a reliever or prospect for him.
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To be clear, I have not suggested that. I’ve said you have to put him a position where he can succeed rather than set him up for failure. In 2023, the way that lineup was constructed, hitting second was it. Will it be the same next season? I don’t know. Again…you can’t just move guys around with the thinking “he hits .275 in the 2-hole, he’ll do it hitting 8th.” It doesn’t work like that. But Dusty consistently put Peña in a situation to fail last season.
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With Diaz as the starting catcher and if Altuve continues to bat lead off, i think Pena batting 9 is a good spot for him.
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I think that most players are more likely to succeed and more comfortable with consistency and knowing what to expect on a regular basis.
I could be wrong.
I also think that identifying any individual player and putting him in a spot to succeed is not the goal of any team.
If Jeremy Pena is a superstar in the #2 spot in the lineup but the team scores fewer runs and/or loses more games then its a failure.
I’m not saying that will or has happened but should be the consideration, not how to make Pena the best hitter possible.
I agree with this.
Altuve should provide similar protection to hitting in front of Yordan and allows a guy like Bregman or Yordan who is the superior hitter and gets on base more often to get those extra PAs from the #2 spot.
A decent reliever is very possible. I’m willing to bet there are a number of teams interested in Meyers as a buy-low guy. He’s still a bit of a data darling.
The Straw and Toro trades are decent comparisons for imagining what a Meyers trade might look like.
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It was encouraging that he remained consistently excellent from June through the end of the season. It’s not hard to figure out the book on him, and opponents tried their best to exploit his weaknesses, but he kept hitting.
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Peña was MVP of two postseason series in the 2 hole.
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I don’t think batting order is the reason he went four months without a HR.
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It contributed.
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