Welcome to Boston, Daniel Nava

[Dojji]

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=8928383&query=%26game_pk%3D264739

 

he may not have come up with much fanfare, but he sure made some of his own.

 

Everywhere he's gone in his career, no one thought he would hit, and he did it anyway. The guy isn't really much taller than Pedroia, but all he does is put the bat on the ball.

 

Good for you, Daniel. No matter what happens from here on out, you have a place in the Fun Facts lorebook and a spot on the statsheets. Let's hope this kid gets a good long chance to pass or fail based on his own skills, because I think he can help us.

[Dipre]

My post on the GT was dead on.

[ORS]

He seemed pretty competent in LF too. There was an early ball he kind of misplayed, but the played two later caroms just right.

[Dipre]

I can only hope a good performance from Nava can help placate the incessant bitching.

[Dojji]

My post on the GT was dead on.

 

:harhar:

 

C'mon, I was preaching the kid when it wasn't popular, let me have my little moment.

 

I think he could be a .270/.340/.420 hitter or better in the big leagues. Not much stretch of the imagination involved in projecting that and throw in the switch hitting and good 2-corner D and that's a useful backup.

[ORS]

I can only hope a good performance from Nava can help placate the incessant bitching.

Are you kidding? He's a scrub from AAA. You'll hear all about that the first game he struggles in, and you know it.

[Dojji]

Are you kidding? He's a scrub from AAA. You'll hear all about that the first game he struggles in' date=' and you know it.[/quote']

 

Oh yes, and it'll never really go away, but Nava's been proving the doubters wrong for his whole pro career. What remains to be seen is does he have the talent to match the attitude and sustain production at the big league leve.

[Dipre]

Are you kidding? He's a scrub from AAA. You'll hear all about that the first game he struggles in' date=' and you know it.[/quote']

 

One can hope.....

 

Well, either that or he can't field his position, he's weilding a banjo etc etc etc.....

[Rdsxmbnt]

I'm a believer in Nava and think he's much better than a "AAA-scrub" he's hit well (amazingly well) at every level in the minors. Some were against younger players but once you start hitting AA/AAA pitching real well then there's a good chance you can hit MLB pitching at a good rate, age be damned. I think he'll be a .800+ OPS hitter in the majors in due time

[example1]

I'm a believer in Nava and think he's much better than a "AAA-scrub" he's hit well (amazingly well) at every level in the minors. Some were against younger players but once you start hitting AA/AAA pitching real well then there's a good chance you can hit MLB pitching at a good rate' date=' age be damned. I think he'll be a .800+ OPS hitter in the majors in due time[/quote']

 

I'm optimistic about him too, though I don't know what to expect. His numbers have been good at every level and he clearly can do things that much more highly touted players with better "tools" fail to do. I'm sure he'll occasionally look as bad as anyone else, but from what I've read/heard he consistently puts good swings on the ball and has a very good approach at the plate. If nothing else he's a great story to root for when the Sox could use a few more of those.

[Palodios]

The only question I have is... with the numbers he's had in AA and AAA, why isn't he a top prospect?

[diony]

The only question I have is... with the numbers he's had in AA and AAA' date=' why isn't he a top prospect?[/quote']

 

You might get that question answered if he gets regular playing time.

[jacksonianmarch]

He's old for the league and he plays a position that typically requires more power. If he were a 2B, then things would change a bit.

[ORS]

Old for the league? It's AAA, which is filled with everything from 20-21 year olds who have graduated from AA, to 30 y/o AAAA players stashed as injury replacements. He's middle of the road in terms of age.

 

And, the only reason he's old in the sense that you are using it, ie "it took him until his age 27 season to reach AAA", is because of his unique career track taking him through the Independent Leagues. After that: one year in A ball, one year in A+/AA, one year in AAA. No stumbling along the way.

[Dojji]

You can't look at Nava like a conventional drafted prospect. His age was high, but as ORS mentioned, his career track was fine

 

Not all of the issues he's had are drawbacks either -- if nothing else, this is a kid that has had to struggle, I mean really struggle, to get recognition. That he's in the majors at all with the obstacles put up against him is pretty solid evidence that this is a kid that knows how to work and that can atone for a lot.

 

As far as I'm concerned the only question is talent, and that's been on display every time he's gotten a chance to play I'm pulling for him and I bet he'll turn out well.

[yeszir]

http://www.talksox.com/forum/red-sox-minor-leagues/13107-does-daniel-nava-have-chance.html

[Youk Of The Nation]

Daniel Nava is the Steven Strasburg of his generation.

[SoxSport]

Nava joins McDonald--two guys who came out of nowhere to help the Red Sox in unexpected ways.

McDonald has turned out to be a better 4th outfielder than anybody the Red Sox have in their farm system--and maybe on their roster as well. Maybe it shows how thin the Red Sox are in outfield depth--with all their focus on a bullpen the size of Los Angeles. The whole concept of relief pitchers in baseball needs to be rethought again--gross overuse of mediocrity--but that's another topic.

 

You have to hope Tito will give Nava the same opportunity he has given McDonald. He tends to reward players who give him big hits. A lot of people don't realize that heart is at least 50% of an athlete's performance. Just like race horses. These guys both have heart.

[Peter Backgammons]

This team can't keep relying on scrubs. Eventually they're going to play like we expect them to play. Hopefully our injured players are back to 100% by then but I'm expecting problems down the road.

[yeszir]

3 SO's tonight....is the honeymoon over?

[Dipre]

Putiing way too much pressure on the kid hitting him leadoff.

 

*Puts on couch GM jacket*:

 

What was Tito thinking?

 

He could have hit Pedroia or Drew leadoff for a day.

[YAZMAN]

3 SO's tonight....is the honeymoon over?

 

Pfft, not his first hat trick, certainly not his last either.

[Dojji]

AAAA scrub doing a nice little job for himself.

[Spudboy]

AAAA scrub doing a nice little job for himself.

 

But he's still not doing it among his age group!!!!:D

[Dojji]

Honestly, how the hell did this guy not get drafted as a late round flier? Every level he's played contact skills are freaking obvious, you mean to seriously tell me no one who scouted him picked up on that? There's nothing more fundamental than hitting the baseball with the bat, and Nava's always at least done that at an elite level, should have been enough to get someone to take him in the 40th round even with his age factored in.

[Palodios]

And Tom Brady was a 6th round pick.

 

All those teams projected him poorly because of his size, so he went undrafted. But in the end, he was good enough to make it here, so let's be happy for him, and for what he does for the team.

[Dojji]

I've been kind of afraid to climb fully onto the Nava bandwagon because of some of the snarkmasters in the forum, but I might just have to throw caution to the wind if he's going to keep hitting like this.

 

Every now and again, something just plain works well.

 

I still expect his end-of-year average to be closer to .280 than the .444 he's rocking now but he sure has been a pleasant surprise.

[Dojji]

Pre-game line, .360/.407/.680. Could wish for more walks but why walk when you can hit everything? When he comes off his hot streak and settles back down into the .280 range, I think he'll get his walks in at that point.

 

Went 1 for 2 with a HBP tonight as well. It's way premature, but right now this guy is sticking. I can't see even Theo, who likes to stick to Plan A whenever possible, sending this kid down at this point.

[Spudboy]

I've been kind of afraid to climb fully onto the Nava bandwagon because of some of the snarkmasters in the forum, but I might just have to throw caution to the wind if he's going to keep hitting like this.

 

Every now and again, something just plain works well.

 

I still expect his end-of-year average to be closer to .280 than the .444 he's rocking now but he sure has been a pleasant surprise.

 

Agreed. Good call.

[Spudboy]

Pre-game line, .360/.407/.680. Could wish for more walks but why walk when you can hit everything? When he comes off his hot streak and settles back down into the .280 range, I think he'll get his walks in at that point.

 

Went 1 for 2 with a HBP tonight as well. It's way premature, but right now this guy is sticking. I can't see even Theo, who likes to stick to Plan A whenever possible, sending this kid down at this point.

 

Yup. It's's too early to say, but this kid appears to have good skills across the board.

 

Sometimes good s*** just happens.