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Comparisons are always fun. Not always realistic but fun nonetheless. Makes looking ahead much nicer! Then think of how long the M's made Edgar hang out in AAA....
Charlie Hustle
Hang with me for a bit....
Pete Rose played three seasons in the minors ('60-'62), two seasons of D ball and one at the A level. His last season at A he hit .330-.431-.500. The Reds then saw some magic the next spring, certainly most/much of that in his willingness to get his uni dirty, and kept him up. He was their fulltime 2B that year ('63), batting at the top of the order (almost 700 PA's in 156 games)What a brazen move by the Reds, jumping a young guy three levels, putting him in a critical IF position and at the top of the order. His first two years in the bigs he hit .273-.334.371 and .269-.319-.326 (OPS+ of 101 and 80). He was...over his first two years a league average..or slightly below bat...with little pop. However in his third year he exploded, .312-.382-.446. He had figured out the MLB zone, and as such probably had more pitches to drive. He hit 16 homers twice and 15 once...but spent the bulk of his career between 6 and 11 homers. He was a two-bagger machine, however. During one 16 year span ('65-'80) he was over 31 doubles 15 times (and had 27 the other year). He led the league in doubles 5 times during that streak, 3 consecutive.
He was incredibly versatile. He was a 2B from 63-66, an OF (even played some CF) from 67-74, a 3B from 75-79 and a 1B from 80-86.
Would a year of AA ball and a year of AAA ball have made him anybetter of a hitter his rookie year in the bigs? Probably not.
The rest is history. Oh...he was 5'11 and 192 lbs.
Dustin Ackely is 6-1 and 185 lbs.
Call him up.
Tacoma (now that Capr is around for 15 days) for a cup of tea....then LF/1B/2B in Safeco. Pencil him in for the next 14 years.
And I don't think he has a jones for betting the ponies nor major league games.
moethedog
Comments
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I adore Ackley, but Rose comparisons may be premature. ;)
Also, for as many great players that did not struggle and require some extra minor league time there's a corresponding great player who did. Or who should have been in the minors but struggled for a bit in the majors instead.
Alex Gordon, a former #2 selection back in 2005 and best-college-hitter just like Ackley, STILL hasn't taken off for the Royals. Any time they want to part with him I'm fine with taking him, because I still think he's gonna be very good, but those George Brett comparisons folks were making on draft day are pretty non-existent right now.
He had one full season at AA, then struggled with injuries and performance for 2 years in the bigs (not that he was terrible, he just wasn't special) and then had playing time cut and reappeared back in the minors last year and this year. His minor league OPS is 1.045 in 900 ABs. Are the Royals mishandling him? Probably. I'd definitely do it differently, but I guess there's a reason they're the Royals.
What's our excuse? And how do you handle a talented batter still making adjustments in his game, who will have to make many more at the big league level?
I say Ackley is ready for promotion. Just don't expect a lot of power for a while, if ever. If he smacks lots of doubles, that'll be as much as I expect on the power scale until his mid-20s.
But in the same way Edgar could have been contributing with average and OBP until his power came later in his 20s, Ackley's contributions would be welcome as soon as we feel he can make them.
I expect us to promote him to the bigs sometime after May next year, so we can save another year of service time. That's how the game is played.
Let him run around AAA for a bit in the meantime, that sort of thing.
But if they want him in AA because they like his situation there with his hitting coach (or for any other reason) then that's fine too. He'll be promoted soon enough. I'd love to see him on the Mariners sooner rather than later, but if they'd boost him up to Tacoma before, say, next week so I can see him when the Rainiers come to town, that'd be great to.
Just sayin.
~G
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I really WASN'T comparing Ackley to Rose.....They certainly broke the mold on that one.
But I was trying to say that Rose made a very unorthodox leap tht worked out just fine.
A guy who commands the strike zone, takes a bunch of walks, and sprays the ball will always be a valuable hitter....find him a position and he's a real keeper. Ackley gives every indication that he is that now.
Moe
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I'm Ok with the arguments on bringing up Ackley, while maybe moving Figgy to LF. But where are the big bats? Bradley needs to deliver, but 1B has been a black hole. Johnson/Moore have failed this year, and need to take a back seat to Alfonzo/Bard as long a they keep producing a pulse.
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The interesting thing about Johnson is that both Lee and Felix prefer to throw to him. There is some kind of dynamic working there that the rest of us don't quite see, I think.
Figgins has been a pedantic 2B, UZR-wise anyway, this year. He has shown much better...in briefer flashes in the past. I'm not surrendering that he isn't a 2B guy.
I missed Saunders tater last night...but saw a couple of other AB's, the jury is still (way) out on him, I think. People once spoke of 25 homer type power from him. I'm not seeing it, personally.
I still think you assume that Ackley is a 1b, LF, 2b guy. Let him find his position...largely based on who else you have, Pete Rose style. When you have a guy that can hit and play several positions let him find a position based on what you need.
Re: Rose
Rose came up a 2B because the Reds were fairly established at other IF positions. For example in Rose's3rd season, his breakthrough season, they had a .307 avg. at 1B and 32 homers at 3rd.
In '66 they added Tony Perez, so 3B and 1B were going to be well manned for a while. In '67 the Reds had Perez now , full time,at 3B and a slick fielding and not bad-hitting Tommy Helms at 2nd. Rose moves to the OF and plays Rf then LF until '75 as the If is pretty well manned (To say the least...Joe Morgan coming on board in '71. Morgan, I think, is the best 2B of the last several generations...perhaps ever).
In '75 Rose goes to 3B because the Reds now have two young corner OF's named George Foster and Ken Griffey. ('75 team had Bench, Morgan, Rose, Perez, Foster, and Griffey...sheeeeesh. Only 108 wins!)
In '79, now with the Phillies, Rose goes to 1Bbecause some hack named Mike Schmidt (the best 3B guy ever) plays third for them. (Hadn't really thought about it before...but Rose played with Bench, Morgan and Schmidt..and an argument can be made that they were the best ever at their respective positions...a very strong argument)
You get the point. Rose was used were most needed. He was versatile in the field.He walked a bunch, sprayed the ball, had a base hit or two, a bunch of them gappers.
Ackleylooks to have something like that upside.
Let's find out soon.
Enough Pete Rose, I know....but it seems to be a not to weird comparison.
moe