Kyle SEAger is raking fastballs!
and doing some other things

.

A story that lingers in the memory from one of the 80's Abstracts.  It was playoff baseball, George Brett steps in against Ron Davis or somebody, and (as James tells the story, watching the game on TV) somebody in the booth says "Brett can hit fastballs.  But he can't hit 95 miles an hour."

[Interlude:  95 was the old 99.]

Davis fired and CRACKKK! Brett pulled one off the right-center wall.

The color analyst protested, "THAT one wasn't 95."  You remember how the jocks used to be, before data existed.

But they called down to the truck, who had access to the gun.  The play-by-play guy said, "No, it was 97."

....

Have you guys SEEN what Kyle SEAger has been doing with high-90's fastballs?!  Another rip up the middle today for his second hit off a Ventura fastball that was (in 2016 metrics) 97 MPH.  It must have been five times in the last two weeks I've seen him just ROCK that kind of heat -- not flares the other way, but screaming meemies down into the RF corner, doubles into the gap, think I remember a homer.

Who was the guy throwing 100, 101 against us the other day ... he worked the count to 2-2, think it was, and then threw Seager 3 straight offspeed pitches to WALK him.  Turned to Cindy and said, the guy is throwing 100, and he's afraid to throw it to Seager.  At the time, Dr. D just chuckled that the guy must be a head case...

We were always a K-Swag fan.  In 2012 we made him a Best Bet.  But this thing about destroying Nolan Ryan velocity, it has hit critical mass for him in 2016.  Here, check out the trendline on these fastball pitch values, the ones that go from 0.12 to 0.45 to ... to ... to 2.39.

It was 'long about May or June 2016 that The Book around the league got an edit.  It says, be V-E-R-Y careful challenging Kyle Seager.  You and I aren't cc'ed on the scouting reports, so as SSI denizens we're behind the curve.  ;- )  Point is, next time Kyle Seager turns around a 97 fastball, heave a sigh like Po's dad with straw in his lip.

.....

He's batting .282/.363/.531 now.  

With much-improved EYE and OOZ%, so, chances are much of that 900 OPS is here to stay.  Did you see the cutoff he made in tonight's game to kill a runner at 2B?  He plays like this, he's as big a star as Robinson Cano ever was, in terms of value on the field.  (Cano's lifetime slash is .308/.356/.497 in easier parks.  Just saying.  Cano's lifetime runs per 27 outs, 6.1.  Seager's right now, 6.6.)  

Seager, this year, is playing as big as Longoria and Tulowitzki ever did.  He's running #12 in WAR in the league, by the way.  We're getting HOF performance out of third base.

......

Oh yeah.  "SEAger?"  At BJOL they're playing a game, finding players like Don MINcher who played for the Twins, Alberto CALlaspo who played for the Angels, Jeff BALlard, Yorvit TORrealba, RiCHIe Hebner, PHILlippe Aumont ...

Playing for one team your whole life is supposed to be a recipe for being overrated.  Edgar Martinez will tell you about the asterisk, though.

Enjoy,

Dr D

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Comments

1

Despite his tortoise-ian start, Seager has jackrabbited his way into full acclaim since. For years I, while appreciating Seager's contributions, have pushed back against the idea that his production was any more than that of a good player -- as opposed to a great player. This year he has made the transition from the "good" part of the continuum to the "great" part. So long as he avoids another prolonged slump, his production this year will speak for itself.

2

The contract they gave him is more in line with your previous-years impression DaddyO.  I think their wildest fantasy was for him to up his EYE, up his SLG, and give them what he's been this year - a contract that is the envy of baseball ...

A midseason BaseballHQ advisory would say nothing but "Buy, Buy, Buy if it's not too late already"

3

He's always had pretty large shoulders, bat-wise.  I mean he could always pack a team for a week or so.  Of course, he might go hide with the bat the next week, too.

But now he seems capable of packing a team for a month....or more......and the slumpy times seem to have mostly gone away.  I suppose the impoved eye contributes to both facts.  

He's always been a Joe Rudi/Tony Perez type of guy:  Dirtdog tough, a machine of consistency and a wonderful complement to the real heroes on the team.  

He's been promoted however.  He's now one of the heroes.

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