juan francisco at short?

[dougdirt]

Francisco needs to do one of two things.... he needs to strike out less or walk more. Its really that simple. Since 1960 with players who have had over 200 at bats in a season, onl 15 with a 4 to 1 or worse K to BB rate have posted an .800 OPS in a single season. Francisco was at 122 strikeouts and 19 walks last year. Fortunately, there seems to be a little bit of hope with the winter numbers, where he was at least willing to walk some. Took a walk against Johnny Cueto today as well. In the end though, he needs to improve at least one of those columns by a decent amount or each by a little bit or he is facing extreme odds to be a productive major leaguer. Fortunately, he has plenty of age on his side.

[RED VAN HOT]

IMO the decision to move Frazier to LF and keep Francisco at 3B comes down to speed. Frazier is faster. At 3B, quickness and a strong are are relatively more important than all out speed. Given that they are at the same organizational level, this move seems logical.

My question is who plays SS for the Mudcats. Valaika will certainly be at AAA. Cozart is on the roster currently, but that seems to be a stretch. Frazier may stay at SS for the time being. We may all be reading too much decision making into the futures lineups.

[dougdirt]

IMO the decision to move Frazier to LF and keep Francisco at 3B comes down to speed. Frazier is faster. At 3B, quickness and a strong are are relatively more important than all out speed. Given that they are at the same organizational level, this move seems logical.

My question is who plays SS for the Mudcats. Valaika will certainly be at AAA. Cozart is on the roster currently, but that seems to be a stretch. Frazier may stay at SS for the time being. We may all be reading too much decision making into the futures lineups.

Cozart will be the SS in AA. Talked to Todd yesterday, he will be in left field for the Mudcats this season, it is a semi permanent move (semi because he can always move later, but the Reds are keeping him in LF for now).

[mth123]

Cozart will be the SS in AA. Talked to Todd yesterday, he will be in left field for the Mudcats this season, it is a semi permanent move (semi because he can always move later, but the Reds are keeping him in LF for now).

I like Frazier getting OF reps and if Cozart holds his own in AA, it will be a huge win for the organization.

[Benihana]

What I wonder is if Frazier could ever play CF? As a converted SS, one would think he has the athleticism (a la David Espinosa).

As far as Francisco goes, I've wanted them to turn him into a catcher for a long time. Keep Frazier at 3B if he can't play CF.

[camisadelgolf]

My eyes tell me that Frazier would be less-than-serviceable in center field. It sure would be nice if he could, though.