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Crowe 2007 / Sizemore platoon

I know that Crowe is only batting .267 in Akron (33 games), but he does have a 1/1 K/BB rate (actual numbers, 16/16) and 15 SB. Is there any chance that he is in Cleveland in early 2007? (not starting there...or maybe so). I know that I might be putting pure hope above of sound development standards, and fear of rushing the kid, but Crowe as leadoff batter on this team makes this team incredibly dynamic.

Also--as Jay pointed out with Sizemore's R/L splits, it does not make any sense whatsoever to have Grady as leadoff hitter (getting 5 AB's/game) against LHP. Will Michaels be retained, and if so in 1st spot v. LHP? Gut? Then whom?  

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Re: Crowe 2007 / Sizemore platoon
I don't think you stop starting Sizemore everyday, bad hitting against lefties be damned.
If I had a nickel for every time I heard "...and Victor Martinez grounds into a double play", i'd be rich.

by Rayman on Aug 30, 2006 8:39 PM EDT   0 recs

Re: Crowe 2007 / Sizemore platoon
I think he means moving Grady down in the order against lefties, not benching him.

by mkwng on Aug 30, 2006 8:46 PM EDT   0 recs

Re: Crowe 2007 / Sizemore platoon
Yeah, I think that's what he's saying, but how many people will even get as far as reading a Diary with "Sizemore platoon" in the title?

by Jay on Aug 31, 2006 12:07 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Re: Crowe 2007 / Sizemore platoon
Good lord Jay (et. al.), lighten up. I thought you would clearly recognize the reference to Ryan's parent post from Tuesday:

"While Grady has a most definite platoon split, Pronk doesn't care which arm the pitcher throws with..."

Notice where it says PLATOON split. Do you really think my intention was to suggest that Grady should sit against LHP and Michaels against RHP? I thought it was self-evident that I was suggesting one must reconsider whether he should remain in the leadoff spot against lefties when, as Ryan most definitely wished to emphasize, he has a .211 BA and a .288 OBP against them. That's all.

For the rest I was just wondering how Crowe was looking at AA and whether, as a contact line-drive hitter, it might be more easy for him to advance more quickly than not.

by DocNo on Aug 31, 2006 5:44 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Thoughts about Crowe!
Hello DocNo,

I have not personally seen Crowe, but from what I have heard, his line drive stroke and patient approach should allow him to advance quickly.

However, of late, his offense has stagnated a bit; whether this is due to his move to 2B or whether he is just tiring a bit, that is something to be aware of.  

Still, I think it's certainly possible he could be up to Cleveland by around this time next year, especially if he starts the year in AAA or advances to AAA within the first month or two of the 2007 season.

Go Tribe! :-)

by indiansfan on Aug 31, 2006 7:57 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Re: Crowe 2007 / Sizemore platoon
Heh, I think we're about to get into a pointless discussion over who needs to lighten up the most, and about what ... anyway, a lot of crackpot theories get floated, I've seen crazier than platooning Sizemore.  Hell, it wasn't even a year ago that someone else wrote that Hafner "hasn't even proven he can hit lefties."

I just thought the headline could be misinterpreted, it's no biggie.  I gave you the benefit of the doubt, myself.

by Jay on Sep 1, 2006 3:40 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Re: Crowe 2007 / Sizemore platoon
ok...saber sheathed...probably overreacted, misinterpreted, love the LGTsite, etc. etc.
I actually manage to make a living on pointless discussions, and see no need to engage in another one.

by DocNo on Sep 1, 2006 4:09 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Re: Crowe 2007 / Sizemore platoon
This is funny.  When I saw the title, I clicked on the diary expecting to see a silly suggestion about a platoon between Sizemore and Crowe.  I tuned in just for the craziness.  Oh well, not as crazy as I had hoped.

by dgcambridge on Sep 1, 2006 11:00 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Re: Crowe 2007 / Sizemore platoon
I doubt we see Crow until the All Star break unless he has a perfect AFL and Spring TRaining. i.e. very few errors at 2B and still hitting .300+

by talonk on Aug 31, 2006 12:08 AM EDT   0 recs

Re: Crowe 2007 / Sizemore platoon
Right now Crowe has not yet proved he should be promoted to Buffalo next year, so it's a bit premature to be promoting him to Cleveland.  A switch to 2b for him makes sense not only because the system is thin at that position but also because Crowe currently trails a bunch of outfielders at Buffalo and Akron - Barton, Goleski, and Snyder are all performing better than Crowe offensively.  Comparing him to other 2b options, Crowe's clearly not ready to challenge Joe Inglett or Hector Luna.  But the road to Cleveland seems easier as a 2b than as an outfielder.

by plato on Aug 31, 2006 1:46 AM EDT   0 recs

Re: Crowe 2007 / Sizemore platoon
you really think Snyder is performing better thant him? Snyder can avoid a strike out about as good as I can avoid a beer after work.

by hans on Aug 31, 2006 12:34 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Re: Crowe 2007 / Sizemore platoon
True that Snyder strikes out a lot, so do Thome, Hafner, and most good power hitters.  Snyder's ops:  797.  Crowe's ops:  706.  Snyder leads the team in doubles, triples (tied with Van Every) and HR.  Also has stolen 19 bases in 21 attempts, better than Crowe's 15 0f 20.  Pretty good year.  Snyder's on-base pct is even a little better than Crowe's.  This is Snyder's second year at AA so he should be doing better.  I would expect Crowe to hit better next year at AA.

by plato on Aug 31, 2006 6:00 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Re: Crowe 2007 / Sizemore platoon
To be fair, Crowe's OPS for the whole season is .829 (Kinston: .919, Akron: .706).

by APV on Aug 31, 2006 6:10 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Re: Crowe 2007 / Sizemore platoon
To be fair, Crowe is probably still a bit hobbled by that minor injury.

by Jay on Sep 1, 2006 3:40 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Agreed - Crowe is ahead of Snyder!
Hello plato,

While I can understand the numbers being higher for Snyder than Crowe at first glance, when you look at the entire season, the peripherals, and the fact that this is Snyder's second season at AA, not to mention the fact that Snyder is 24 versus Crowe's 22, I have to agree that Crowe is ahead of Snyder.

Personally, it wouldn't shock me if Snyder is part of an offseason trade.  It's debatable that Ryan Goleski and Brian Barton are both higher on the totem pole than Snyder as well.  

In fact, I was just looking at Snyders' BB/K ratio last night, and while his BB rate has improved from last year, his K rate is about the same as last year, so he has not made significant improvement in cutting down on his Ks.  For a guy with decent, but not outstanding power, that's not a good sign.

Go Tribe! :-)

by indiansfan on Aug 31, 2006 6:31 PM EDT   0 recs

Re: Agreed - Crowe is ahead of Snyder!
well, I don't know whether Crowe is ahead of where Snyder was at the same age or time in pro ball, I haven't checked.  But Snyder is performing better than Crowe right now (which is what I said), and has performed well enough to warrant starting 2007 at Buffalo though of course that won't be determined until next year.  And I think Crowe's 682 OPS at AA at start of today's game shows he is not yet ready for AAA.  Just my opinion.  

by plato on Sep 2, 2006 2:11 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Crowe reached AA at 22; Snyder, 23!
Hello plato,

I respect your opinion. :-)

Actually, Crowe had very limited time at AA Akron last year at age 21, but for all intensive purposes, he mastered High-A and graduated to AA at age 22.  Snyder didn't master High-A and graduate to AA until he was 23.  

Even though Snyder's stats look better than Crowe's at AA, this is Snyder's 2nd year there, and by most accounts, hasn't improved all that much in cutting down on his high K numbers - that is what has really held the Indians back in promoting him to AAA.  They had hoped most of his at-bats this season would be at the AAA level, but being that he really hasn't improved much in that department, I'm really not sure he's that much more ready to handle AAA pitching as he was to start this season.  Perhaps a slight improvement, but not so much so where you feel confident he will have AAA success.

He might start at AAA Buffalo next year, but that depends on who is left over at Buffalo next year (Francisco? Gutierrez?) and also on Ryan Goleski and Brian Barton's progress as well - right now, those two seem higher up on the ladder than Snyder, since both are handling the AA level better because both have higher OPS over Snyder (Goleski: .881; Barton: .897; Snyder: .800; granted, smaller sample sizes for Goleski and Barton,) and both are striking out at lower rates than Snyder in their first exposures to AA.  Plus, Goleski and Barton are actually 2 and 1 month younger, respectively, than Snyder.

Crowe - admittedly, he probably will start back at AA next year for two reasons; one, the stats you mention, though keep in mind that he is probably wearing down a bit with the position change and such, plus did have that ankle injury recently, which could still be affecting him as well; two, the position change - the Indians probably would want him to play 2B a little while longer at AA Akron, at a level where he has some experience before promoting him to AAA.

Overall, Crowe would rank higher than Snyder on the Indians' Top Prospect list because he's 1.5 years younger than Snyder and because of the progress he has made this year versus Snyder stalling out a bit at AA and not reaching AAA yet like he was expected to.

 

Go Tribe! :-)

by indiansfan on Sep 2, 2006 2:42 AM EDT   0 recs

Re: Crowe reached AA at 22; Snyder, 23!
I agree that Snyder might not start 2007 at Buffalo because there might not be room for him there, even though I don't know that he needs to be at AA any longer.  I agree that Goleski and Barton are ahead of Snyder and should start next year at Buffalo, even though they haven't been at Akron a full year.  But who knows?  One or both might start at Akron for that reason, depending on what happens with Gutierrez and the other 4 outfielders already at Buffalo.  As to whether Crowe would rank higher than Snyder on an Indians prospect list, I just don't know.  I would guess that based on what they did this year, and especially the way Crowe finished the season (well, I guess there's still the playoffs - maybe he'll get hot again but don't count on it), neither Crowe nor Snyder will be very close to the top of any prospect list.

I hope Crowe and Snyder can get it together next year, but if not no problem.  I can live with an outfield of Blake, Sizemore and Michaels, or Blake, Sizemore and a Choo/Gutierrez platoon for a while.

by plato on Sep 6, 2006 1:37 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Crowe will be in the Top 5; Snyder will not!
Hello plato,

I respect your opinion, but I'd be very surprised if Trevor Crowe is not in the Top 5 - you have to look at more than the stats; you also have to look at the projected ability of these players as MLers, how young they are, how far they have progressed, etc.  All those factors say to me that Crowe will be in the Top 5.

Plus, I'm sure those who look at the stats will take Crowe's ankle injury into account; before the ankle injury, he was hitting well over .300 at AA - AA was not a problem for him.  I don't believe that he just all of a sudden lost his ability to hit there or that the pitchers there figured out some type of weakness - Crowe had very few, if any, weaknesses offensively.  

I'm pretty sure Crowe will be in the Top 5, along with Adam Miller, etc.

Brad Snyder might make Top 15, but certainly not Top 5, and probably not Top 10 either (at least, I wouldn't put him in the Indians' Top 10 Prospect List.)  He repeated AA, and while his walk rate is a bit higher, his K rate hasn't improved very much (the main reason he was still at AA Akron; he would have been at Buffalo this year, regardless of how many OFers they had there, if not for his inability to control the strike zone on a consistent basis.)  He's also 24, older than Barton and Goleski by 1 to 2 months respectively.  

He's losing the projectability that Crowe still has, and before the ankle injury, Crowe was playing at the level that the Indians have been expecting out of Snyder for the past two seasons.  Outside of a few small spurts, Snyder hasn't displayed that consistent high level of play like Crowe showed before his injury.  That's another main reason why Crowe will be in the Top 5 and rate higher than Snyder on the Indians' Top Prospect List.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Go Tribe! :-)

by indiansfan on Sep 6, 2006 6:58 PM EDT   0 recs

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