The Red Sox should call up Che-Hsuan Lin

[Dojji]

Proposal: Lin is a righthanded CF who is astounding defensively, has nearly Ellsbury like wheels and a good discipliine, making him a great choice for a 4th outfield role on a team with 3 righthanded outfielders. He should be called up immediately to replace Mike Cameron as our bench outfielder.

 

Arguments against

 

-- He's only 22, he does have time to refine his game and may develop into a better overall player if we don't jerk him around and bench him in the big leagues.

 

-- He just cleared AA and could probably stand at least a little more seasoning in regular at bats in AAA

 

-- He is not on the 40-man roster yet and we would have to release someone to make room for him, compounded by the fact that our 40 man roster is fairly crowded with guys with some usefulness and it's hard to decide who to drop.

 

-- What the heck do you do with Cameron? If you waive or release him without a viable Plan B (and if you're calling up Lin, you have no viable Plan B ) you could be up **** creek if Lin can't get 'er done.

 

Arguments in favor

 

-- While Lin is young, he's been in system for awhile and we have a pretty good idea what he is.

 

-- Lin may never develop the power to perform as a true starting Boston outfielder. If he cracks the roster it's going to be in exactly the role he'd fill right now, as a So Taguchi type, and any starting gig he earned would be based on what he did with his time after the callup

 

-- As we have a crowded outfield with more young players than slots, letting other big league teams see the kid in action is probably the best way to inflate his value as a trade piece.

 

-- Lin, as a player who's been in our minor league system for 4+ years, is vulnerable to Rule 5 Draft soon IIRC and would have to be added to the 40-man roster by the end of the year anyway.

 

-- Don't forget, if anyone claims Cameron they have to pay his contract, it is very likely that we can stash him in the minors in case the experiment doesn't work or he gets his stroke back.

[snydersminipretzels]

I don't see him on soxprospects. Did they promote him already?

[a700hitter]

I can't believe Doji is beating this drum again.

[SCM33]

I can't believe Doji is beating this drum again.

 

I know, I was cringing while I read the thread title.

 

 

Dojii, no way in hell man.

[Dojji]

I don't see him on soxprospects. Did they promote him already?

 

Soxprospects is overreacting to Lin's lack of developed power and forgetting that as a speed burning defense guy, he's a type of player that least NEEDS power to be a useful big leaguer.

 

He's a big league elite defensive centerfielder right now and his hitting discipline is very very solid (more walks than strikeouts each of the last 3 years). He could play right now in the big leagues as a So Taguchi type, that really should be somewhere in the top 10 prospect because most of the guys in that list won't do even that.

 

That and he's our only seriously advanced RHH OF at the moment. Considering that he has wheels, I'm not prepared to say that he can't round out into a really good leadoff hitter if he can adjust to the bigs well enough.

 

I will never quite understand why big league D with no offense is enough to get people steamy about Iglesias, but a guy who adds high level hitting discipline and much more speed to the same mix doesn't do it for people with Lin.

[italstallianion]

Soxprospects is overreacting to Lin's lack of developed power. He's a big league elite defender right now and his hitting discipline is very very solid. He could play right now in the big leagues as a So Taguchi type, that really should be somewhere in the top 10 prospect because most of the guys in that list won't do even that.

 

That and he's our only seriously advanced RHH OF at the moment

 

 

That was all I needed to read.

[Spudboy]

Just not ready.

[Dipre]

Oy vey.

[Spudboy]

Oy vey.

 

:lol::lol::lol:

 

 

Got to love Dojji and his bum of the month club!

[Cocos Disciples]

Dojji, I have to admit I don't know much about the guy, but just looking at his reports and stats, I have to disagree. With guys like Kalish and Reddick, I don't see Lin having much of a future with the team. He seems like just a worse version of Kalish, with no power. Plus he's only been in AAA for 6 games. I doubt he is ready.

 

The rest of the board, this was a legitimate thread topic. Don't derail it by making fun of it.

[Dipre]

You don't say?

 

I'd agree with you if this wasn't the third thread he has made about Lin made this year. We've come to the same conclusion in all of them.

 

Look them up.

[a700hitter]

You don't say?

 

I'd agree with you if this wasn't the third thread he has made about Lin made this year. We've come to the same conclusion in all of them.

 

Look them up.

This is true. We beat this dead horse before the season started. Nothing has changed since then.

[Dojji]

Dojji' date=' I have to admit I don't know much about the guy, but just looking at his reports and stats, I have to disagree. With guys like Kalish and Reddick, I don't see Lin having much of a future with the team. He seems like just a worse version of Kalish, with no power. Plus he's only been in AAA for 6 games. I doubt he is ready. [/quote']

 

And the reason I disagree is because we aren't looking at Kalish to become a roleplayer, while with Lin we probably would settle for that. Also as a righthanded bat off the bench with a good batting eye he provides utility as a roleplayer that Cameron hasn't.

 

Lin's a guy who hits from the right side, takes walks, and has nearly some pretty serious speed, and provides elite defense at all 3 outfield positions. I could buy that it's premature given his age, but with soooo many lefties in the outfield I think there's a niche for him. And Cameron is entirely worthless. I could stand an argument for bringing in a waiver claim guy, but we need to not have Cameron.

[Cocos Disciples]

You don't say?

 

I'd agree with you if this wasn't the third thread he has made about Lin made this year. We've come to the same conclusion in all of them.

 

Look them up.

 

This is true. We beat this dead horse before the season started. Nothing has changed since then.

 

This is a baseball forum, and a thread about baseball should be met with other posts about baseball.

[Dipre]

And expressing disdain for the idea of calling up a player who's not ready is talking about what subject?

 

Lin's upside is not that of a fourth OF, but rather a legitimate MLB lead-off man if he can improve his contact rate. Why screw with that by calling him up to fill a need that doesn't exist? Let him show he can handle AAA pitching, then he can win a spot on the roster for next year with Cameron and Drew both going bye-bye.

[yeszir]

This is a baseball forum' date=' and a thread about baseball should be met with other posts about baseball.[/quote']

 

Agreed, especially since he clearly spelled out "arguments against" and "arguments in favor".

[Will617]

Arguments in favor

 

-- While Lin is young, he's been in system for awhile and we have a pretty good idea what he is.

 

Shouldn't this be a reason against calling him up? The Sox would know where he's at in his development best, and leave him where he is.

Also, Cameron plays at least league-average CF, has some power, has a .170 BABIP, is the fourth OF, etc etc etc. There is literally no reason to rush his development for very marginal potential returns.