2019 Break Out Player

[guyofthetiger]

What player breaks out of Spring Training this year as the player to watch? I'm not too impressed with Senzel yet. I like Perazza this year so far. I'm thinking he will have a great year. He's my pick.

[fredtoast]

Luis Castillo had good minor league numbers but he did not spend much time developing.  He went from single A to the majors in less than 4 seasons.  He never pitched at the AAA level and only had 94 innings at AA.  I am hoping this means he is still learning and improving.

His last minor league stint was in 2017 (AA).  He had a 2.59 ERA and 1.008 WHIP.  He averaged 9.1 strikeouts per 9 innings and only 1.5 walks.

[*bengalfan74*]

Jesse Winker

He was well on his way to a breakout season last year before having his season cut short by injury. Winker has stayed a consistent .300 hitter wherever he's at and has a .397 career OBP. He has some sneaky pop that seems to be improving.

Batting 2nd as a LH in front of Votto, Puig, and Suarez would put him in position to really fly this season.

[*psychdoctor*]

I will go with Perazza but also think the lights go on for Castillo.

I think if Gray is healthy, he will surprise this year. Just hoping anyway.

[Goalpost]

Schebler might be an overlooked type. I'll go with him. Hit 17 homers last year in only 380 ABs

[grampahol]

Just you guyses wait till they re-sign Homer and he blows everyone away.. 

OK, that ain't happening..

I'd love to see Siri break in, but somehow I don't think he's ever going to find that plate discipline to allow him to break through to his potential. Peraza pretty much proved his ability last year and did well. For me it's those guys still in the minor leagues trying to get to the bigs..  Senzel, Santillian, Siri, Gutierriez and a few others.. I'm still hoping for some absolute nobody out of the minor league system to take everyone by storm.. It happens every 20 years or so..

[*bengalfan74*]

(02-26-2019, 03:29 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Luis Castillo had good minor league numbers but he did not spend much time developing.  He went from single A to the majors in less than 4 seasons.  He never pitched at the AAA level and only had 94 innings at AA.  I am hoping this means he is still learning and improving.

His last minor league stint was in 2017 (AA).  He had a 2.59 ERA and 1.008 WHIP.  He averaged 9.1 strikeouts per 9 innings and only 1.5 walks.

Good call Fred

Castillo is tied for the lowest ERA 0.92 ! in MLB with Shoemaker of Toronto among starters with 3 starts and 15+ innings pitched.

Castillo has given up only 5 hits, best in the majors among starters with 15+ innings pitched. He's tied for 3rd in K's with 25. 

It's way early but we just might have that ACE we've so badly needed.

[jmccracky]

Yeah, so far, that's been a good call, Fred. I've always liked the kid. It's still early, but he has been exciting to watch.

[grampahol]

Still pretty raw in the minor leagues I'm looking forward to seeing how well Joel Kuhnel develops .. He can easily throw 100 mph, 83-93 mph slider and low 90's change.. Up until last year he was pretty much unnoticed, but then it all seemed to click. 
So far this season at Chattanooga he's gone 5.2 innings, 0.00 era w/ 10 Ks.. He was drafted in the 11th round in 2016
With the big league staff doing well for now he may just get the extra time to develop his skills instead of the usual trial by fire..
I think the place to watch for break out players is in the minor leagues. Once they reach the bigs in a small market they typically don't stick around long with the club if they're posting big time numbers. Right or wrong most players are going to elect for free agency and big salaries. One promising sign though is the drop in free agency signings. I'm not sure if it's ownerships conspiring or if it's something else, but it sure is disheartening when a great player has to be traded simply because the team can't compete financially with the big market teams. 

[guyofthetiger]

Well, a few weeks into the season it looks like Peraza is not doing well at all. Dietrich and Winker have finally stepped it up. Pitching is good and Castillo is an ace now.

[grampahol]

(04-21-2019, 01:33 PM)guyofthetiger Wrote: Well, a few weeks into the season it looks like Peraza is not doing well at all. Dietrich and Winker have finally stepped it up. Pitching is good and Castillo is an ace now.

He is off to a horrible start, but so is pretty much everyone else too. It seems every player is now swinging for the fences instead of just contact. Pete Rose in this game would look like a complete fluke with his bland hitting style of merely getting hits.
Reggie Jackson on the other hand would fit right in. He has the all time lead in strikeouts.
Perazza was hitting the ball pretty well last night even if it seemed he too was trying for the fences. We really do need a good, solid contact hitter or so.. Maybe 5 of em.. 5 hitters with .300 BAs and a few who can knock em out would win more games than just homer run hitters who strike out 60% or more of the ABs.