What to expect from Ross?

[dunner13]

Looks like David Ross is going to have the starting job to lose. He put up great numbers last year so the question is what will he do with awhole season this year? Some people think last year was a fluke, I do not.

My guess is
.260 31HR 94RBI

[mth123]

Looks like David Ross is going to have the starting job to lose. He put up great numbers last year so the question is what will he do with awhole season this year? Some people think last year was a fluke, I do not.

My guess is
.260 31HR 94RBI

I hope you are correct. If he does that, the offense will be OK. Counting on it is a mistake though.

[Highlifeman21]

Looks like David Ross is going to have the starting job to lose. He put up great numbers last year so the question is what will he do with awhole season this year? Some people think last year was a fluke, I do not.

My guess is
.260 31HR 94RBI

.260 seems accurate

31 HR is ridiculously high

94 RBI? Is the sun in your eyes?

.260 25 80 seem to be a lil more realistic, and I still think these might be high

[pedro]

.245 19 Hr 67 Rbi

[mth123]

.260 seems accurate

31 HR is ridiculously high

94 RBI? Is the sun in your eyes?

.260 25 80 seem to be a lil more realistic, and I still think these might be high

I'm expecting .240/12/55. Hence my continued cries for more power. Even .260/25/80 might be enough to provide the missing threat.

You guys are making me feel a little better about the offense. If Ross can be the power threat suggested here, then carrying Hatte at 1B is less a problem.

[dunner13]

Last year .255 21 HR 52 RBI in 247 at bats and not all of that with consitent playing time.
In only 671 career AB hes got 40 Homeruns. With our ballpark and his power I think 30 homeruns is reachable.

[Highlifeman21]

Last year .255 21 HR 52 RBI in 247 at bats and not all of that with consitent playing time.
In only 671 career AB hes got 40 Homeruns. With our ballpark and his power I think 30 homeruns is reachable.


The RBI number was the one that really concerned me. It would take him 1.5 seasons to sniff 90 RBI.

I also have a feeling we'll be seeing far too much Chad Moeller in 2007, which will limit Ross' at bats.

[RedsManRick]

.240/19/62

The guy has legit power, but I don't think we can expect him to hit for average at all. He'll take a walk, but his contact rate is pretty low and he'll strikeout a ton. He reminds me a lot of LaRue offensively, only with a bit more power.

[Dracodave]

Optimistically.

.270/30/80

Pessimistically.

.240/10/30

Mean.

.250/20/50

Thats my call.

[WVRedsFan]

I'm expecting .240/12/55. Hence my continued cries for more power. Even .260/25/80 might be enough to provide the missing threat.

You guys are making me feel a little better about the offense. If Ross can be the power threat suggested here, then carrying Hatte at 1B is less a problem.

I think you hit it on the head right there. He's not a high average hitter and is terribly streaky. My guess is just between your .240 and .260. I'll call it about .250. I think 15 HR is about right with 55-60 RBI.

I'm certain that Krivsky and Narron think he'll continue with his power numbers, but for a team so occupied with defense these days, it's surprising they are putting all their eggs in the Ross basket. I found him more unacceptable as a defensive catcher than Junior as a defensive center fielder, contrary to most on here.

[Dracodave]

I'm certain that Krivsky and Narron think he'll continue with his power numbers, but for a team so occupied with defense these days, it's surprising they are putting all their eggs in the Ross basket. I found him more unacceptable as a defensive catcher than Junior as a defensive center fielder, contrary to most on here.

Aw you mean when he "dropped" the balls on head-on collisions to avoid getting hit? Yeah I screamed "BRING BACK LARUE!!!" on plays like that.

[RollyInRaleigh]

Watching Larue stabbing and trying to receive the baseball for the majority of his career will not be missed from where I sit. Not to mention the prolonged, "I don't have a clue periods at the plate."

[johngalt]

I think to expect anything near what he did last year is way too optimistic.

Career minor league line: .259/.351/.431

That includes exactly one good season in a full-season league...which happened to be the PCL (shocker) where he hit .297/.384/.519 in 2002 as a 25-year-old.

Ross can take a walk and has shown some power, but I would be absolutely shocked if he produces anywhere near his 932 OPS of last year at any point the rest of his career. Everything points to last year being a complete anomoly.

[Joseph]

.244/9/34

[edabbs44]

.240/14/60

[Superdude]

I think he'll hit 20-30 homers with consistent playing time, but I wouldn't be surprised to see his average dip a bit.

[Joseph]

I think he'll hit 20-30 homers with consistent playing time, but I wouldn't be surprised to see his average dip a bit.

Like everyone else, I hope you are right, but his numbers towards the end of the season, and of course the back of his baseball card tell me last year was a fluke.

[Handofdeath]

Watching Larue stabbing and trying to receive the baseball for the majority of his career will not be missed from where I sit. Not to mention the prolonged, "I don't have a clue periods at the plate."

Ross slugged .556 in 2003 for the Dodgers in 124 AB's so I think the power is there. I think Ross will about equal or surpass what Larue did offensively in 2004-05.

[Degenerate39]

Since we have 3 catchers how much playing time will he get. A little more than he did last year. I'd say 25 homers or so

[pedro]

Watching Larue stabbing and trying to receive the baseball for the majority of his career will not be missed from where I sit. Not to mention the prolonged, "I don't have a clue periods at the plate."

OTOH, at least Larue could catch the ball when thrown from the OF.

[Dracodave]

OTOH, at least Larue could catch the ball when thrown from the OF.

Thats been my point.

Ross can recieve and call a better game than Larue, but from blocking the plate. Ross ran scared at every chance, balls thrown directlty TO his glove, he botched the play on. Dropped the ball, didnt have the ball, or avoided the runner all together.

Ross pulled his best Stewart "Don't touch me!" impression everytime a runner came towards the plate. :help:

[pedro]

Thats been my point.

Ross can recieve and call a better game than Larue, but from blocking the plate. Ross ran scared at every chance, balls thrown directlty TO his glove, he botched the play on. Dropped the ball, didnt have the ball, or avoided the runner all together.

Ross pulled his best Stewart "Don't touch me!" impression everytime a runner came towards the plate. :help:

I don't necessarily think Ross calls a better game than Larue either. I think Larue will bounce back and have a decent year next year and if Ross doesn;t pan out or gets hurt the Reds are really going to miss him.

[remdog]

Ross has always had decent power so I see him in the 15-18 HR range. But I think his BA will be in the .240-.250 range and I think he'll be good for 60-65 RBI.

Personally, I'd rather have LaRue overall.

Rem

[Dracodave]

I don't necessarily think Ross calls a better game than Larue either. I think Larue will bounce back and have a decent year next year and if Ross doesn;t pan out or gets hurt the Reds are really going to miss him.

Well we both think Larue was more nessicary than Chad is and will ever be. We can agree to disagree on the reasons why but we have the same end result. Larue's gonna be missed, atleast Im not the only one who thinks that. :thumbup:

[vaticanplum]

I don't necessarily think Ross calls a better game than Larue either. I think Larue will bounce back and have a decent year next year and if Ross doesn;t pan out or gets hurt the Reds are really going to miss him.

I fully expect LaRue to have a better year next year (in no small part due to regular playing time), but I think Cincinnati won't miss his contract. Though it certainly would help if they managed to find a cheap way to replace LaRue's better years of production (and yes, I'm expecting ross to decline).

I also think that Larue always took a lot of unnecessary hammering in his calling. He was stubborn at times, but he was a professional.

[RollyInRaleigh]

OTOH, at least Larue could catch the ball when thrown from the OF.

The ones thrown from the pitcher happen way more often.:evil: Larue regressed in every aspect of his game, except maybe catching those tosses from the outfield.

[redsmetz]

.260 seems accurate

31 HR is ridiculously high

94 RBI? Is the sun in your eyes?

.260 25 80 seem to be a lil more realistic, and I still think these might be high

I would be satisfied with those numbers though, as I suspect you would too. I'm still highly doubtful that we'll actually carry three catchers this season, but we'll see.

[remdog]

......but I think Cincinnati won't miss his contract.

The Reds won't miss his contract because, for the most part, they are paying it anyway. They sent KC $3M in the deal and spent a minimum of $400K on Chad Moeller. (shrug) Anyway you look at it, they're paying for LaRue this year.

Rem

[MWM]

Larue might not be a great defensive catcher, but Ross was just bad. And I completely disagree that Larue regressed. I can evaluate a catcher's defense as well as the next guy and he got markedly better throughout his career from where I was watching. He still might not have been great behind the plate, but he made progess and wasn't a liability his last few years defensively. And that jives with most of what I read and heard. The problem was that he was pretty bad early in his career, developed the reputation as a bad receiver, and carried that with him even when he mad measurabel progress.

[RollyInRaleigh]

And he still is a bad receiver. I thought Ross was better behind the dish than Larue, last season, and that isn't saying much.

[RollyInRaleigh]

Not to mention that he didn't have a clue at the plate all of last season.

[guttle11]

Watching Larue stabbing and trying to receive the baseball for the majority of his career will not be missed from where I sit. Not to mention the prolonged, "I don't have a clue periods at the plate."


I like to call those "August".

With Ross likely being the 3/5 starter he'll get more AB's. More AB's can be a catch 22. Sure his production could stay the same meaning his numbers would improve, but he also is going to give pitchers a lot more chances to find and exploit his weaknesses.

I don't think 30 home runs is even anywhere near the realm of a "reach", but I also am not naive enough to think that it will happen.

[Joseph]

And he still is a bad receiver. I thought Ross was better behind the dish than Larue, last season, and that isn't saying much.

I don't think you'd find many who agree with you, outside those who look at it based strictly on the contract. LaRue was in the upper 1/3 of MLB while Ross was in the lower 1/3, thats a big gap.

[Ron Madden]

I don't think you'd find many who agree with you, outside those who look at it based strictly on the contract. LaRue was in the upper 1/3 of MLB while Ross was in the lower 1/3, thats a big gap.

Right On. :beerme:

[dunner13]

From MLB.com

"Grade "A" Upgrades
By trading Jason LaRue to the Royals, the Reds unclogged their logjam at catcher, which in turn gives power-hitting backstop Dave Ross a chance at building upon the 21 homers he mashed in just 247 at-bats last season. High strikeout totals and a long swing suggests that his .255 batting average is unlikely to pick up anytime soon, but it may not matter all that much if he manages to duplicate his unbelievable .829 slugging percentage against left-handers as a full-timer. Playing more games at homer-happy Great American Ball Park, Ross easily climbs into the top-10 offensive catchers"