Jay Bruce, how good will be be?

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by princeton

try to make better points

What?

No centerfielder in baseball is going to make a Griffey/Dunn outfield really work. No one in baseball can cover enough ground to make up for the crappiness they provide in the corners. My point was that you need a centerfielder who is going to be a good overall player not just a guy who can run everything down.

[TC81190]

Here's a thought on Bruce's walk rates...but...has anyone considered that maybe his high BA may have something to do with his low walk rate? It's not just Bruce I've seen this with, I've noticed this with other players in the majors and such but...

If you're getting all kinds of good pitches to hit, why take? Maybe up until this point, Bruce hasn't really needed to be selective yet. The more challenging the pitchers become, the more selective he'll have to be and so on and so forth.

But I don't know..maybe I'm wrong. But it's something to consider, maybe.

[mlbfan30]

Originally Posted by TC81190

Here's a thought on Bruce's walk rates...but...has anyone considered that maybe his high BA may have something to do with his low walk rate? It's not just Bruce I've seen this with, I've noticed this with other players in the majors and such but...

If you're getting all kinds of good pitches to hit, why take? Maybe up until this point, Bruce hasn't really needed to be selective yet. The more challenging the pitchers become, the more selective he'll have to be and so on and so forth.

But I don't know..maybe I'm wrong. But it's something to consider, maybe.

I see this point. But then look at his SO rates. If he's been getting good pitches to hit, therefore not needing to walk, he should also not be striking out often because of the good pitches he's been getting. The SO indicate he's been swinging through good pitches, or at bad pitches.
This method of thinking can't work both ways for BB and SO.
The high SO and low BB do concern me a little, but it's not a big of enough deal to assume that will cause him to fail. Many great hitters SO a lot, and Bruce is young enough to improve his BB. Even if Bruces increases his BB by just a little, that's good enough to have solid OBP stats.
Think of hitting stats similar to Aramis Ramirez over the past 4 years.

[TC81190]

Originally Posted by mlbfan30

I see this point. But then look at his SO rates. If he's been getting good pitches to hit, therefore not needing to walk, he should also not be striking out often because of the good pitches he's been getting. The SO indicate he's been swinging through good pitches, or at bad pitches.
This method of thinking can't work both ways for BB and SO.
The high SO and low BB do concern me a little, but it's not a big of enough deal to assume that will cause him to fail. Many great hitters SO a lot, and Bruce is young enough to improve his BB. Even if Bruces increases his BB by just a little, that's good enough to have solid OBP stats.
Think of hitting stats similar to Aramis Ramirez over the past 4 years.

His K rate was really the only thing keeping me from thinking that definitively was the reason behind his low walk totals.

Still, I think his ceiling is above a RF-playing Aramis Ramirez, even if that is most likely what he becomes.

[mlbfan30]

His ceiling is higher obviously.
But translating his overall minor league stats into a ML player, that's a very close comp.

[TC81190]

Originally Posted by mlbfan30

His ceiling is higher obviously.
But translating his overall minor league stats into a ML player, that's a very close comp.

Agreed.

[dougdirt]

One extra walk every two weeks (which really could easily come with some experience) and this isn't a problem at all. We are looking at about 20 points for just one extra walk every two weeks. I don't think that kind of improvement is something extremely out of line to expect.

[camisadelgolf]

Is it true that next year, Jay Bruce's opponents are going to intentionally walk Bruce and proceed to intentionally walk the three guys who hit behind him just so they can get Jay Bruce's inevitable run over with?

[Cyclone792]

Jay Bruce will be the only position player in the history of baseball to make the Hall of Fame without ever having at least one official at bat. Bruce will be intentionally walked every plate appearance during his career. He will have 10,000 career plate appearances, 10,000 career intentional walks, a 1.000 lifetime on-base percentage, and he will also shatter the single season and career all-time runs scored record.

[TC81190]

Also,

Jay Bruce's bat is merely an extension of his arm. On a related note, Jay Bruce also cannot feel pain.

[Caveat Emperor]

Jay Bruce's service clock will always be at 0, because Jay Bruce serves no man.

Jay Bruce was forced to turn down a scholarship to Tulane University because, per the terms of the Geneva Convention, he is specifically banned from every picking up or holding an aluminum bat.

Before going to sleep at night, pitchers check for Jay Bruce under the bed.

[cincyredsone]

I got to see jay bruce play at louisville last year. This guy has a great plate presence. Some players you can look at and, say "wow" this guy is gonna be great. I think jay bruce is one of those few players. The sky is the limit for him. I look forward to seeing him in center field for many years to come.

[kentjett]

We need to do something about Griifey or Dunn. We need at least one above average OF.