Seeking Gregor Blanco info

by Goofus on Nov 17, 2011 5:03 PM EST

Hey Royals Review folks! Since the Giants just aquired Gregor Blanco, I was hoping you that have seen him play on a regular basis could share some fan scouting on him. A brief look at the cursory look at the numbers suggests his one offensive ability is to get on base, which has been something in short supply on the Giants.

I've also read he's a plus defender in CF and that he's fast, but don't know much more than that.

Also, what was the deal with him spending 2011 in AAA?

If anyone is willing to share any personal observations or background on him, those of us at McCovey Chronicles would appreciate it.

Thanks!

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Ah, Greg White.

Your basic observations are correct. He had a knack for getting on base, but it was in a small enough sample size that I’m not sold on it being an overall ability. He hit for very little power, but slightly more so than your average replacement level defensive CF. The Royals rightly took a flyer on him, and there just wasn’t much of a future there.

Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the war room!

by KeepItCopacetic on Nov 17, 2011 5:07 PM EST reply actions

As for 2011, the Royals promised the position to Melky Cabrera while still giving

Jarrod Dyson some looks in center. By that point, though, they had acquired Lorenzo Cain in the Zack Greinke trade to be Cabrera’s heir apparent once he was traded (and I’m sure you know all about that for obvious reasons). In 2010, the Royals had traded almost all their veterans near the deadline so there was plenty of flux, and Blanco, whom the Royals had acquired in a trade involving Kyle Farnsworth and Rick Ankiel, was one of the beneficiaries.

Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the war room!

by KeepItCopacetic on Nov 17, 2011 5:09 PM EST up reply actions

Who's down with OBP

He had a knack for getting on base, but it was in a small enough sample size that I’m not sold on it being an overall ability.

I noticed a career OBP of .358 in over 800 PAs and thought maybe he had established himself in that ability.

So I guess this means the Phillies making it past the 1st round of the 2010 post season was a fluke.

by Goofus on Nov 17, 2011 5:53 PM EST up reply actions

Fair enough; I was only judging from his time with the Royals.

I don’t think he had played much of a full time role with the Braves so I figured it was better to evaluate him based on him having more of an everyday role, which he got with the Royals in late 2010.

I most likely am severely underrating him on that.

Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the war room!

by KeepItCopacetic on Nov 17, 2011 5:54 PM EST up reply actions

Long story short

Slightly better defense and on-base than Melky, crappier everything else.

by Sweep_the_Leg on Nov 17, 2011 5:18 PM EST reply actions

I Always Liked

Him, probably more than was rational. I liked his plate approach, which seemed to maximize his limited abilities.

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Nov 17, 2011 5:21 PM EST reply actions

most years since beltran left he shouldve and wouldve gotten regular PT...

the team is beyond that now though

Fire Everyone

by billybeingbilly on Nov 17, 2011 9:21 PM EST up reply actions

I Hope So

C’MON, CAIN!

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Nov 17, 2011 9:42 PM EST up reply actions

I thought he'd make a nice bench OF

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Nov 17, 2011 10:52 PM EST up reply actions

Of The Long

String of random hobos who stood in CF during Royals games in the last 4 years, he was among the better options.

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Nov 17, 2011 11:10 PM EST up reply actions

yep...but personally, id rather have dyson being that guy

Fire Everyone

by billybeingbilly on Nov 17, 2011 11:36 PM EST up reply actions

I'd rather have someone who can run AND get on base

rather than someone who can only run, even if he is the fastest player in the game.

by hawkinscm87 on Nov 18, 2011 6:54 PM EST up reply actions

As much as I love to watch Dyson play, I have to reluctantly agree with you.

Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the war room!

by KeepItCopacetic on Nov 19, 2011 8:55 PM EST up reply actions

Thanks Copacetic, Sweep and Phil

Your feedback is kind of what I’d figured. Sounds like a 4th/5th OF/PR/defensive replacement, or maybe a guy to pinch hit to lead off an inning.

One last question, from what you all know, is he considered well-liked and a good guy?

So I guess this means the Phillies making it past the 1st round of the 2010 post season was a fluke.

by Goofus on Nov 17, 2011 5:53 PM EST reply actions

Considering our local media loves to focus on human interest stories

surprisingly, we never really heard much about him personally one way or the other. He has no known problems in that regard, at least that I know of.

Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the war room!

by KeepItCopacetic on Nov 17, 2011 5:55 PM EST up reply actions

he loves cioppino

that’s all i remember

by BeauJackson on Nov 17, 2011 6:15 PM EST up reply actions

My Wife Loved

To make that. I never really liked it that much, but I didn’t tell her.

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Nov 17, 2011 9:43 PM EST up reply actions

I kind of liked Blanco

Fields CF OK, fast, much better than Willie Bloomquist and Joey Gathright, though he has no power. He didn’t really play all that much here. Realistically, he’s a 4th OF. Might be useful in the National League. He was in AAA last year because Melky was the CF and Maier was the 4th OF. He never got in trouble, so he’s not likely to be a jerk in San Fran. He may not speak any English; I’ve never seen an interview with him.

If we can interest you in any more ex-Royals outfielders, how about Mitch Maier? Or you could make Dayton Moore an offer for Frenchy. It’ll have to be good due to Dayton’s Frenchy-love.

"All the boys think she's a guy
She's got crazy Frenchy eyes."

by Juancho on Nov 18, 2011 4:59 AM EST reply actions

Out Of Nowhere

Blanco hit a HR to right CF once. It wasn’t a tape measure shot, but it wasn’t a wall scraper. The power is there, but his approach minimizes it.

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Nov 18, 2011 9:27 AM EST up reply actions

I was at both that game and the game where Dyson hit one. Both were extremely shocking.

Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the war room!

by KeepItCopacetic on Nov 18, 2011 9:36 AM EST up reply actions

I never took to Blanco

Because he was clearly just good enough to hold down a roster slot on an MLB team, and because he was “stealing” at bats from my favorite Royal, Mitch.

As for next year with the Giants, Blanco is a harmless addition and he might have a randomly good +2 WAR year. Those things happen, but I saw nothing in Blanco to justify more the the standard amount of groundless hope of this coming to pass. But who knows, Melky ’11 proves that positive things can come from the most unlikely sources.

www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage

by James Quinn on Nov 18, 2011 10:28 AM EST reply actions

Hey, buddy!

Great to see you here! Wacky!

I’m here to kick ass and drink sweet tea, and dammit, I’m all out of sweet tea.

by TheLetter2 on Nov 18, 2011 4:44 PM EST reply actions

/pretends not to know TheLetter2

So I guess this means the Phillies making it past the 1st round of the 2010 post season was a fluke.

by Goofus on Nov 18, 2011 7:22 PM EST up reply actions

Small world, huh?

by !Vive la Francoeur! on Nov 21, 2011 3:38 AM EST up reply actions

I thought his arm was pretty bad

by WURoyal on Nov 20, 2011 7:06 PM EST reply actions

I miss him, sometimes.

As a Braves fan, I got to see him in action for 2 seasons. I remember going into the 2008 season the great debate was which one of Gregor Blanco, Josh Anderson, or Jordan Schafer would be our starting CF…..In retrospect, I suppose one could argue that Gregor Blanco was the best CF we’ve had since the heyday of Andruw Jones. This is less a testament to Gregor’s skills and more an indictment of the Braves’ Turnstile of Fail in CF….
Mark Kotsay, Josh Anderson, Gregor Blanco, Nate McLouth, Melky Cabrera (2010 version, not 2011) Blech. Bourne hasn’t exactly been overly impressive in his short time with us, either.
….Hmm. I got off topic. Anyways, back to Blanco. You know how there are those players who you watch and say, “The eye test doesn’t really match up with the numbers.” Well, Gregor is not one of those players, the numbers are a pretty good indicator of what he is. .258/.358/.324 OBP is boosted by his patience at the plate evidenced by his career 12.8% BB rate. He might even be too patient and take too many strikes. An 18.9% K rate is absolutely horrendous for a player with absolutely no power. His career ISO is a Juan Pierre-esque .066 I’m too lazy to look up defensive metrics right now but from what I remember he is a capable defender at all 3 OF positions. I also seem to remember him being a fast runner but never stealing any bases, though I blame that on Bobby Cox.

by !Vive la Francoeur! on Nov 21, 2011 3:36 AM EST reply actions

Again, small sample size,

but I remember him not being bad at all at stealing bases when he was here. The statistics show he was 10/12 in attempts here, which about matches up with what I remember.

Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the war room!

by KeepItCopacetic on Nov 21, 2011 6:23 PM EST up reply actions