Can we form a Brock Bond fan club?

by joe t on Jun 11, 2010 12:56 PM PDT

the guy gets on base a lot and works a ton of walks, and you would imagine that he has some speed. Granted, his power numbers are poor and he is more Duane Kiper than Dwight Evans (you see what I did there? Both names start with "D") but I have to believe there is some value in a guy that can get on base, work some walks, and in general be a pain for opposing teams to pitch to. As a leadoff hitter, you would imagine that he will be able to take enough pitches in the first ab so that the 2 and 3 hitters can see every pitch the opposing pitcher has.

What sort of OBP does a guy like Bond have to post in MLB to be worth keeping in the lineup, given the lack of power? Will big league pitchers knock the bat out of his hands?

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Eh

My guess is major league pitchers would attempt to knock the bat out of his hands given that he can’t hurt them with XBH. That’s probably going to knock the walk rate down a fair amount. For waht it’s worth, in 1200 minor league PA, he has 70 XBH (16% of his hits). That’s…not good.

Might be a good utility guy, but I don’t see how he could stay in the everyday lineup without even a bit of pop. Especially since he isn’t known to be a wizard defensively.

by KCE on Jun 11, 2010 1:30 PM PDT reply actions

I want to start a Brock Band.

Ask me about my blog.

by xanthan on Jun 11, 2010 1:32 PM PDT reply actions

Nope. You can't.

by chilibean_3 on Jun 11, 2010 1:33 PM PDT reply actions

GUITAR PLAYING GAMS SEZ SO!

Ask me about my blog.

by xanthan on Jun 11, 2010 1:33 PM PDT up reply actions

PET-TER GAM-MONS!

PET-TER GAM-MONS!
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSS

by chilibean_3 on Jun 11, 2010 1:40 PM PDT up reply actions

That

sounded like the Cookie Monster gone Metal! GAAMMMMMMMMOOOOOONNNNNNNSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Uncle Sabes...How much longer til we get there?

by NorCalGiant on Jun 11, 2010 10:41 PM PDT up reply actions

FWIW, his MLE now stands at .247/.343/.307.

by KCE on Jun 11, 2010 2:44 PM PDT reply actions

Can we? Yes.

Should we? Ehhh….

"I never think I’m a good player or a bad player. This is what I’m thinking: I can play. And I want to play." - Juan Uribe

by EliminateMe on Jun 11, 2010 3:05 PM PDT reply actions

Liked him awhile

His best attribute is his middle name, which doesn’t bode well, but I’ve wanted to see him up since his CT performance. Also…wanted to adopt him but was beaten to the punch.

Fathaigh go mbuaimid!

I AM PAT BURRELLZ'Z DADDY! (wait, that doesn't sound right)

by bigboneded on Jun 12, 2010 4:19 AM PDT reply actions

His power:

I doubt that his low PF is owing to an actual lack of muscularity. When a man has a PF that low, it is a virtually certain mark of a specific hitting style, what we might call the Duane Kuiper (or Joe Strain, or Billy North) style. The man doesn’t get XBH because he is not trying for them; he is slapping the ball after Wee Willie Keeler’s famous advice.

Two questions thus arise: one, how much would his hitting, or his walks, decline—if at all—did he try for more line drives? And two, if he simply stays with this style, how well can he bring it to the majors? I know what MLEs are, and in general I trust them, but I wonder sometimes if some approaches are less well translated than others, and this is one.

In any event, I’d say he deserves a real look of some sort, meaning a reasonable period of steady play. How he gets that, I am less sure.

Professional baseball analyst since 1980.

by owlcroft on Jun 12, 2010 12:06 PM PDT reply actions