Paging Yonder Alonso...

[Scrap Irony]

Doug, you addressed this a little bit, but I think you are the only one who can give us a real answer to this question.

Compare him to Gomes in LF. Better? Worse? The same? A lot worse?

I've seen him live in LF about 15 games.

Good news: He catches what he gets to, most of the time. His arm isn't horrible-- accurate, though a bit short. He has a nice, quick release on his throw. He isn't afraid of the wall and plays the ball well on a carom.

Bad news: He has no instinct for OF play. He reacts to the ball very, very poorly and has absolutely no catch-up speed. His routes are probably the worst I have seen from anyone in AAA in 20 of watching minor league ball. He circles balls rather than going at a line (which adds to the appearance of his being slow). Too, he sometimes airmails throws to the cut-off (though he's better at hitting the cut-off than is Sappelt).

In short, Gomes is the better OF and by a fair margin.

Now, Alonso might improve. His route-taking has already improved some this year over last. His OF speed is also improved. But the best he can hope for is a Ryan Braun/ Greg Luzinski/ Adam Dunn type of glove out there.

Basically, he's a DH with a glove on his hand.

[_Sir_Charles_]

I've seen him live in LF about 15 games.

Good news: He catches what he gets to, most of the time. His arm isn't horrible-- accurate, though a bit short. He has a nice, quick release on his throw. He isn't afraid of the wall and plays the ball well on a carom.

Bad news: He has no instinct for OF play. He reacts to the ball very, very poorly and has absolutely no catch-up speed. His routes are probably the worst I have seen from anyone in AAA in 20 of watching minor league ball. He circles balls rather than going at a line (which adds to the appearance of his being slow). Too, he sometimes airmails throws to the cut-off (though he's better at hitting the cut-off than is Sappelt).

In short, Gomes is the better OF and by a fair margin.

Now, Alonso might improve. His route-taking has already improved some this year over last. His OF speed is also improved. But the best he can hope for is a Ryan Braun/ Greg Luzinski/ Adam Dunn type of glove out there.

Basically, he's a DH with a glove on his hand.

This is what I've seen too. But like I said earlier, I haven't seen him THIS season. Just based on the speed aspect alone, I can't see him being as good as Gomes right now. And I totally agree with his routes....yikes.

[KronoRed]

So we should petition to move to the AL?

[reds44]

He's just such a pure hitter though. And he'd only be a 7 inning defender anyways depending on the score.

With how bad Gomes has been, I think it's almost now or never.

[Blitz Dorsey]

I've seen him live in LF about 15 games.

Good news: He catches what he gets to, most of the time. His arm isn't horrible-- accurate, though a bit short. He has a nice, quick release on his throw. He isn't afraid of the wall and plays the ball well on a carom.

Bad news: He has no instinct for OF play. He reacts to the ball very, very poorly and has absolutely no catch-up speed. His routes are probably the worst I have seen from anyone in AAA in 20 of watching minor league ball. He circles balls rather than going at a line (which adds to the appearance of his being slow). Too, he sometimes airmails throws to the cut-off (though he's better at hitting the cut-off than is Sappelt).

In short, Gomes is the better OF and by a fair margin.

Now, Alonso might improve. His route-taking has already improved some this year over last. His OF speed is also improved. But the best he can hope for is a Ryan Braun/ Greg Luzinski/ Adam Dunn type of glove out there.

Basically, he's a DH with a glove on his hand.

This is more in line with what I've heard. Doug, you are rock solid buddy, but if Alonso's defense was equal to Gomes', I think Alonso would have been called up already. (And I can't believe I'm using Gomes' defense in a "positive" light in this instance.)

Another thing to remember is Gomes has better speed than Alonso. I've never seen Alonso play left, but I've seen him run and I know Gomes is faster.

But even as someone who has supported Gomes, he can't be a starting LF any longer. Maybe against lefties only, but not every day. At least Fred Lewis is now healthy and can platoon with him as many of us expected when Lewis was signed. But I would love to see Alonso up here if he can play "Gomes-esqe" defense ... because I have no doubt he would help this team offensively.

[RedEye]

Can Alsonso play 3rd base? I'd have him working at 3rd. Why not? Unless he cannot play it at all. If he cannot, then get something for him.

Austin Kearns says "hi."

[KronoRed]

Austin Kearns says "hi."

Wily Mo as well.

[11larkin11]

I think Todd Frazier stole Yonder's pager...

[mdccclxix]

I'm thinking we'll see Yonder and Frazier in Cincinnati in September, but no sooner without injury in the OF.

At least for now Fred Lewis and Heisey look good at the plate and in the field, while Gomes is still Gomes, which has always been good enough to play a significant role on this team.

Money and experience come into play in LF right now. Yonder and Frazier don't have much of either. Even next year is an enigma for Yonder in LF, as Gomes resigning always seems imminent. Now, Gomes might get antsy and want 2-3 mill from Seattle or some place, but we'll see what his ceiling is this year.

The upside of Yonder and Frazier in AAA this year is they can continue to build confidence and receive excellent coaching. When they arrive, they will be solid assets.

[redsmetz]

Thanks to all who added input about Alonso's defense, breaking it out more for those of us who haven't actually seen him play, particularly LF.

[Homer Bailey]

i believe in the minors his OPS vs RHP was ~920 which was higher than his OPS vs LHP. i personally want to see what Heisey can do with some consistent ABs. I like him better than Gomes (just my opinion).

going off memory here. Heisey vs. Lhp in the minors .921, vs. Rhp, .799.

Sent from my HTC Incredible using tapatalk

[Joseph]

I've gone to a bunch of Bats games this year. He's not Corky Miller out there. He's a little better than Dunn, probably around Gomes, perhaps a bit better in my estimation. If he hits, he'll play in LF.

[Caveat Emperor]

Now, Alonso might improve. His route-taking has already improved some this year over last. His OF speed is also improved. But the best he can hope for is a Ryan Braun/ Greg Luzinski/ Adam Dunn type of glove out there.

It's important to remember that he's a 1st baseman transitioning to a new position. It's not like he's an OF who "is what he is" at this point. I think there's probably room for improvement as he gets more innings under his belt, works with major league coaches and has guys like Jay Bruce he can talk with about defensive positioning and getting the proper break on a ball.

[Caveat Emperor]

Yonder Alonso went 3-5 tonight with a walk, including his 5th HR of the year. He's raised his BA up to .341.

Just sayin'...

[reds44]

Something has to give at this point. Either he'll be called up soon or he'll be dealt.

The longer he stays in AAA the more I think he'll be traded.