6/28/23

Tom Brennan- Low Ks for Minors Hitters Give Them A MLB Chance

Hall of Famer Joe Sewell, along ago, fanned just 3 times in 2 different seasons

Very few hitters force their way onto a major league roster.

If you’re a pitcher, you’re decently talented, and your arm isn’t detaching, you have a much better chance than a similarly talented hitter of making the bigs.

So far this year, 19 hitters have been used by the Mets, but a far higher 25 pitchers have been used.

So, hitters’ flaws like excessive Ks can keep your hitter’s glass ceiling intact - for all your efforts, high Ks damage your big league chances, perhaps fatally.

Which is why a player like Branny de Oleo makes me smile. 

de Oleo, in the DSL, is a young SS (recently turned 18) who has been to the plate 58 times through Tuesday and is hitting .365, in part because he has fanned just 3 times, or roughly once every 20 times up.  Hall of Famer Joe Sewell, 100 years back, fanned just twice in 2 different seasons - it worked for him.

Branny still has to fill out, as he is listed at 6’1”, 156.  

But he is off to a superb low minors start, a big part of which is rarely striking out.

And that low K rate just may propel him to very high places in 4 or 5 years.

8 comments:

Mack Ade said...

On my radar

Tom Brennan said...

Speaking of high contact guys, McNeil (.206, 5 RBIs in June and just 16 more before June) hit .365 in August and September last year. Will we ever see that McNeil again? Should he be considered tradeable, too?

Gary Seagren said...

Jeff is a real puzzle because of his high contact I didn't see this coming. We all thought the no shift would make him a .340 hitter so is it the big contract? Puzzled also why Lavender Blue didn't get a call up.

Tom Brennan said...

Gary, I do not know if Jeff got lots of shift-aided hits in 2022 that he is not getting now, or changed his hitting approach to deal with it, and that has been detrimental …or is just pressing. He has a hard mental time when not hitting.

Each game, once played, is over. Forget it.

Lavender? That would be a real rush. My guess is they’d like him to dominate AAA for a while longer.

Mack Ade said...

Gawd

He was the batting champion last year

You can't trade everyone

Mack Ade said...

Jeff is a very emotional man

Hates when he makes out

Let's give him a break and let him fight thru the fog of a very bad Mets year for both him and the team

Tom Brennan said...

Mack, Jeff sizzled last 2 months of 2022. If he can just hit .300 the next 3 months, this team will get a boost.

Mack Ade said...

IMO

Too darn late for a boost

Just don't get injured and reboot in 24