Thinking about Manny Pina
by nwroyal on Jul 25, 2010 5:20 PM EDT
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When we picked up Manny Pina (along with LF Tim Smith) in the Dan Gutierrez trade last year, I wasn't very excited. He had just posted a 703 OPS at AA. This year he posted a 732 OPS at AA which doesn't sound that exciting. But check this out:
Year ISP BB% BABIP
2009 .124 5.4% .294
2010 .161 9.8% .259
Using minorleaguesplits.com's nifty little tool, it adjust Pina's OPS to a little over 800 when factoring 'luck' into the mix. Manny's defense has always been considered good. But his ISP has been increasing year by year--so it look like he's getting stronger. We'll see if he can maintain that spike in his walk rate (so far at AAA it's back around 5% in 40 PA). He's hitting really well at AAA so far with a 902 OPS.
It will be interesting to see where Pina is at in 2011--he could be ready to be a backup to Kendall--but of course he needs to play more than once every two weeks. Having a young catcher step and be ready to start would be big because it would let Wil Myers move to the OF and come up sooner.
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So Pina's upside is...
A better bat than Kendall with at least (but probably better) D? But does he have the required Bat Control and arm Tats?
C'MON CHEN!!! ---Will Ferrell
Scouts are mixed on Pina
Should be interesting to see what happens.
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I didn't realize he's only 23
That changes things for me. I liked his play when I saw him here in Nashville and he definitely was able to get some good swings on the ball (hit the biggest jack I’ve seen here). He did have a passed ball, but it was a rainy night and both catchers were having issues. I don’t know if I can go all the way to solid starter yet, but he seems like a guy that could be in a position to do a fairly even or 65-35 split with another guy, a la Olivo/Buck.
"Strikeouts are boring! Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic."
by MinnesotaRoyal on Jul 26, 2010 8:00 AM EDT up reply actions
Option D
The guy who gets 25 PAs backing up Kendall in 2011.
It's all ball bearings these days!
by CentralChamps20?? on Jul 26, 2010 12:41 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Im interested in Perez as well
Between him and Pina, we should have a serviceable starter with pretty good defense
Aren't there concerns about his noggin?
I think someone here posted he has trouble calling a game and suffers brain cramps from time to time.
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Kendall Mentor
problem solved
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by SagehenMacGyver47 on Jul 26, 2010 12:22 PM EDT up reply actions
Does he have any kids, and if so, doews he love them?
Ned likes Kendall in the 2-hole!
by mitchfreakingmaier! on Jul 26, 2010 10:46 AM EDT reply actions
dont think he has kids
but i went to NWA and he has possibly the finest lookin latino girlfriend… i would be hoping to have kids with girl like that
I would feel better about the Kendall "era",
if Moore came out and said they got Kendall to mentor Pina in 2011, with the idea of gradually turning the catching job over to him by 2012.
Kendall helping a young catcher hone his craft and his game calling skills would actually make some sense (caveat that Pina would actually get to start one-third of the games in 2011 so he can, you know, actually have a chance to learn)
"We're gonna win with pitching and defense" General Manager Dayton Moore, circa winter 2009
"Where did all these Indians come from?" General George Armstrong Custer, circa summer 1876
Also, you should retitle this as
Pining for Pina
"Strikeouts are boring! Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic."
by MinnesotaRoyal on Jul 26, 2010 11:23 AM EDT reply actions
Pina is moving in the right direction
but still has a ways to go. His K/BB ratio is promising, and the modest gain in power helps. The low line drive (14%) helps explain the low BABIP. Even adjusted, the numbers will take a significant hit in the majors (his MLE is still pretty ugly), so he needs to keep improving to stick as anything more than a generic backup.
of course
ld% at the minor league level should be taken with an enormous grain.
R.I.P. cwhitman412, Frederick0220, & Mets2k9
Even with a margin of error, 14% is pretty low
And Pina has a high rate of groundballs, which are easy to classify, which also negatively affects BABIP (for guys lacking good speed anyway).
he's got a great arm
that’s what has stood out to me the most. thought about an Olivo comp, but he’s not really the same player. his swing and approach are much more under control, not quite the power. similar build though.
the K/BB improvement this year is obviously the most impressive part. if that’s sustainable, it wouldn’t really stun me to see him as the starting C in two years.
R.I.P. cwhitman412, Frederick0220, & Mets2k9
Whatever happens with Pina
The Royals shouldn’t be making any decision regarding Wil Myers contingent on it.
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs and Beyond the Box Score.
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