I loved hearing what Sandy Alderson had to say about center fielder Juan Lagares yesterday during his interview on WFAN with Mike Francesa.
Only one day earlier, I was having a back and forth on twitter with one of my followers who was very concerned that Lagares had just one walk in Winter Ball. I tried explaining that what was more important was that he was hitting, working the counts and most importantly – making contact.
Almost as if on cue, Alderson cited two reasons why he believed that Lagares could provide some offense as an everyday player.
“One is that he is trying to adapt. It’s very important to look at things below the surface. A lot can be predicted about a hitter based on when he hits in the count, early in the count or late in the count. You probably remember from last year, he was behind in the count all the time. He’s trying to make adjustments, mentally. It’s not about drawing walks, it’s about getting into hitter’s counts.”
“Another thing is that he does have a knack for making contact, even behind in the count. There’s not a lot of power there right now, but he definitely made an improvement as the season went on.”
Juan Lagares is smoking the ball for Las Aguilas in the Dominican Winter League and is now batting .406 with a .417 on-base and for all you walk enthusiasts, I’m happy to report he drew a walk last night. 🙂
Lagares extended his hitting streak to nine straight games and has eight hits in his last four contests. Overall, he’s racked up 24 hits, four doubles, nine runs scored, 11 RBI and four stolen bases in 69 at-bats with an .880 OPS.
I love this guy…
Thoughts From Satish R.
I think Lagares gets a lot of slack for the work he puts in. If you can let a player who provides great offense but horrid defense find his way into your lineup, why can’t a player like Lagares earn himself a starting job? Since defense is becoming more and more prevalent in analysis of players these days, you’d think a guy like Lagares would be able to find a statistic that says he deserves a starting job.
He’s also improving offensively, and it looks like he’s put in a ton of work in the Winter League to improve his ability to hit. He didn’t draw many walks during his time with the Mets down the stretch, but he did make solid contact. He’s kept that ability going in the DWL, so let’s see what it translates to when 2014 hits. A guy like Lagares can certainly be your starting center fielder if you have some offensive juggernauts at other positions.