Jose Iglesias

[Station 13]

So Benny thinks Iggy is ready as a SS but will not commit to him starting the year yet. Good, this kid need to earn it by killing the ball a 'bit' for a SS in AAA. That means picking up more than 1XBH a month.

 

I'd sign Izturis to play SS and Ciriaco on the bench to begin the year.

[SCM33]

....is still not the future SS.

[mvp 78]

SCM, do you have a case of Xandermania?

[SCM33]

SCM, do you have a case of Xandermania?

 

Not as a SS. I see him as a Pujols type player defensively. Pujols was a SS in high school, played 3B after he was drafted, cracked the starting lineup as an OF and eventually ended up at 1B.

 

With Middlebrooks at 3B and no long term solution in LF or 1B, I could see him eventually ending up at one of those positions.

[mvp 78]

Not as a SS. I see him as a Pujols type player defensively. Pujols was a SS in high school, played 3B after he was drafted, cracked the starting lineup as an OF and eventually ended up at 1B.

 

With Middlebrooks at 3B and no long term solution in LF or 1B, I could see him eventually ending up at one of those positions.

 

Yeah, I find it interesting that there's more hype to "he'll stick at SS" this year which just so happened to correspond to Iglesias falling out of favor.

 

Could he play SS? I guess, but it seems like he'll most likely move on to another position.

[jung]

Ya' never know. Sometimes the way things go, nothing works out for a player all the way up until everything falls into place and works out for him. Maybe this injury to Drew coupled with Iggy's new swing will turn out to be just that sort of deal. I think it is really a long shot because Iggy has so much working against him here. He is nothing like the typical Sox SS.

 

What have they got to lose. I don't see them bringing somebody in to play SS at this point.

[Dojji]

I see a comp to Rico Petrocelli. Wound up at third, but only after he produced at SS for 3 years then slowed down too much as he filled out.

 

I think Bogaerts ought to be able to keep up at SS while he's younger, then as he fills out a bit, gains muscle and loses that spry, youthful energy, he shifts to the corners.

[SCM33]

I see a comp to Rico Petrocelli. Wound up at third, but only after he produced at SS for 3 years then slowed down too much as he filled out.

 

Petrocelli was a SS for 6 years. He played over 50% of his career games at SS.

 

Bogaerts will MAYBE play a year at SS IMO. He may not even crack the starting lineup as a SS.

[Dojji]

Disagreed. We just don't know that yet. He's athletic enough if his bat works out, the question is how hard he's prepared to work to remain light enough to play the position.

[SCM33]

Disagreed. We just don't know that yet. He's athletic enough if his bat works out, the question is how hard he's prepared to work to remain light enough to play the position.

 

That may be true, if they have no other options, he may stick around at SS. Jose Iglesias, who this thread was created about.....has zero shot of ever cracking the starting lineup. Neither does Christian Vazquez.

[Spitball]

Petrocelli was not a bad shortstop, but the Sox acquired Luis Aparicio who was way past his prime. They moved Petro to third, and Aparicio was merely a reputation at shortstop.

[SoxFanForsyth]

That may be true, if they have no other options, he may stick around at SS. Jose Iglesias, who this thread was created about.....has zero shot of ever cracking the starting lineup. Neither does Christian Vazquez.

 

League Average AL SS in 2012: .671 OPS.

 

To say that Iglesias can't develop into a league average (.300 OBP/.370 SLG) hitter is a bit obtuse.

 

You're very delusional in what you believe the requirement is to be a starting MLB player, and the progressions that players make.

[jacksonianmarch]

League Average AL SS in 2012: .671 OPS.

 

To say that Iglesias can't develop into a league average (.300 OBP/.370 SLG) hitter is a bit obtuse.

 

You're very delusional in what you believe the requirement is to be a starting MLB player, and the progressions that players make.

 

He might develop into a guy who can hit to a .670OPS at some point, but thus far in the minors, he hasnt come close to that. His MiLB career OPS is .626 and in 353AB last yr in Pawtucket, he had a blistering .624OPS. And for all the "added bulk" I doubt he all of a sudden starts crushing balls. He's got a career total of 39 extra base hits in 979AB with only 2 being big flies.

[jung]

Tallying up what Iggy has done so far with what he might do really does not amount to a stat worth talking about. Either he comes around or he does not. Holding developmental time against him does not make much sense. Once a guy actually gets to the majors and sticks, well then his stats from day 1 make some sense.

[a700hitter]

I will be glad if Iglesias finally gets his shot. I am already tired of Mr. Glass Part II with Stephen Drew. We should have never signed the fragile younger brother with the mangled ankle and eggshell skull.

[jacksonianmarch]

Jung, it is development time, but it'd be a little naive to completely disregard his putrid numbers below the bigs. That being said, I agree with the sentiment that its time to see what you have. The sox aren't good enough to win a title this yr, IMO, but if Iglesias comes out and shows he can hit a little then that sets you up for the future

[SCM33]

League Average AL SS in 2012: .671 OPS.

 

To say that Iglesias can't develop into a league average (.300 OBP/.370 SLG) hitter is a bit obtuse.

 

You're very delusional in what you believe the requirement is to be a starting MLB player, and the progressions that players make.

 

Im delusional because I dont think Vazquez and Iglesias should be starting positional players?

 

At least there are numbers to show that they are nowhere near MLB ready.

 

You are projecting him (Iglesias) to be league average based off of nothing. "League Average" doesn't scream top MLB prospect to me, as everyone touts him as. Maybe you are delusional one?

 

FWIW, I would not mind seeing Vazquez as the backup catcher at some point down the line. Its too bad he cant hit.

[BSN07]

Im delusional because I dont think Vazquez and Iglesias should be starting positional players?

 

At least there are numbers to show that they are nowhere near MLB ready.

 

You are projecting him (Iglesias) to be league average based off of nothing. "League Average" doesn't scream top MLB prospect to me, as everyone touts him as. Maybe you are delusional one?

 

FWIW, I would not mind seeing Vazquez as the backup catcher at some point down the line. Its too bad he cant hit.

 

Who is calling Iggy a top MLB prospect? I don't think either camp, even the side that likes him has ever called him a top prospect. Everyone has pretty much known from the start he was a defensive whiz with a huge ? with the bat. In fact most of the argument between the two sides is if he will hit above the Mendoza line or not. I think you are the only one to ever put Iglesias and top prospect together in the same sentence.

[Palodios]

Who is calling Iggy a top MLB prospect? I don't think either camp, even the side that likes him has ever called him a top prospect. Everyone has pretty much known from the start he was a defensive whiz with a huge ? with the bat. In fact most of the argument between the two sides is if he will hit above the Mendoza line or not. I think you are the only one to ever put Iglesias and top prospect together in the same sentence.

 

MLB.com had him in their top 100 prospects this year.

[Dojji]

FWIW, I would not mind seeing Vazquez as the backup catcher at some point down the line. Its too bad he cant hit.

 

Who says Vazquez can't hit? He's not a candidate to bat in the middle of the order, but I'll take a guy with that glove and a .250 batting average as my starting catcher, and you can have Salty or Lavs or VMart, and we'll see who wins more games. There's so much more to catching than being able to hit 20 HR's.

 

We really got spoiled by Tek in his prime if we expect every "starting catcher" to both hit and field at an all star level.

 

Besides, for his level and his age, Christian Vazquez has shown some prowess with the stick. Again, not an all star, but he's shown real progress with his ability to work the count and his knowledge of the strike zone offensively. Combined with the fact that he's been about a year underage for the level of the minors he's playing at all along, besides the obvious challenge of learning to hit while also working on everything else a catcher needs to master, and I think there is some solid potential there, as long as you can put up with a catcher whose definition of "offense" is a medium-solid OBP and a few gap doubles.

 

That said, he needs to produce this year, and produce next year, as he moves up the ranks, which I expect him to do rather slowly. This team will take its time with Vazquez, and they should. But when all's said and done, he has to be a dark horse in the mix for the catcher of the future debate -- even if he runs clean counter to what sox fans or the FO expect their COTF to look like.

[BSN07]

MLB.com had him in their top 100 prospects this year.

 

Well I kinda meant around here. I don't honestly recall anyone here touting the kid as a "top" prospect". And that is the way SCM33 was making it sound.

[SCM33]

Who says Vazquez can't hit? He's not a candidate to bat in the middle of the order, but I'll take a guy with that glove and a .250 batting average as my starting catcher, and you can have Salty or Lavs or VMart, and we'll see who wins more games. There's so much more to catching than being able to hit 20 HR's.

 

We really got spoiled by Tek in his prime if we expect every "starting catcher" to both hit and field at an all star level.

 

Besides, for his level and his age, Christian Vazquez has shown some prowess with the stick. Again, not an all star, but he's shown real progress with his ability to work the count and his knowledge of the strike zone offensively. Combined with the fact that he's been about a year underage for the level of the minors he's playing at all along, besides the obvious challenge of learning to hit while also working on everything else a catcher needs to master, and I think there is some solid potential there, as long as you can put up with a catcher whose definition of "offense" is a medium-solid OBP and a few gap doubles.

 

That said, he needs to produce this year, and produce next year, as he moves up the ranks, which I expect him to do rather slowly. This team will take its time with Vazquez, and they should. But when all's said and done, he has to be a dark horse in the mix for the catcher of the future debate -- even if he runs clean counter to what sox fans or the FO expect their COTF to look like.

 

 

Its hard to listen to projections/predictions from you. You are wrong 99.9% of the time.

[redsoxfan3]

Who says Vazquez can't hit? He's not a candidate to bat in the middle of the order, but I'll take a guy with that glove and a .250 batting average as my starting catcher, and you can have Salty or Lavs or VMart, and we'll see who wins more games. There's so much more to catching than being able to hit 20 HR's.

 

We really got spoiled by Tek in his prime if we expect every "starting catcher" to both hit and field at an all star level.

 

Besides, for his level and his age, Christian Vazquez has shown some prowess with the stick. Again, not an all star, but he's shown real progress with his ability to work the count and his knowledge of the strike zone offensively. Combined with the fact that he's been about a year underage for the level of the minors he's playing at all along, besides the obvious challenge of learning to hit while also working on everything else a catcher needs to master, and I think there is some solid potential there, as long as you can put up with a catcher whose definition of "offense" is a medium-solid OBP and a few gap doubles.

 

That said, he needs to produce this year, and produce next year, as he moves up the ranks, which I expect him to do rather slowly. This team will take its time with Vazquez, and they should. But when all's said and done, he has to be a dark horse in the mix for the catcher of the future debate -- even if he runs clean counter to what sox fans or the FO expect their COTF to look like.

 

Let's not get carried away with Vazquez. He does have good instincts and seems to be a hell of a defensive catcher. He is starting out in AA and if for some reason Lavarnway gets promoted or gets hurt, then Vazquez will be in AAA. At this point it is useless to project what happens with Vazquez. We have Lavarnway, Vazquez, and Swihart all in the minors. We just have to wait it out. All I will say is that I would be happy if Vazquez can someday be our backup catcher if he develops and proves himself enough just based on the fact of how good he is defensively and how strong his arm is. I think it is fair to say his ceiling is as a backup catcher. Let's not start saying how Vazquez is going to be a .250 hitter. The guy has only played in 20 AA games and hit only .205.

 

Now back to Iglesias. Iglesias is in the same boat. We have Bogaerts, Iglesias, Marrero, and Vinicio who are all talented at SS. Iglesias does not have too much time. His stick better start to come around fast before Bogaerts is ready. I do not see Iglesias as the SS of the future. I know nothing is a guarantee, but things are not in Jose's favor.

[jacksonianmarch]

I agree RSF. I think Bogaerts is in your lineup come 2014 in some capacity (assuming good health) so if Iglesias cannot carve his niche in 2013, he's likely to be dealt or relegated to utility work, which is what I think he ultimately ends up being to be totally honest

[jung]

I have always thought Iggy would be dealt and I still think he will be dealt.

[Dojji]

If Iggy is our UT-INF, I'm happy with that.

[seabeachfred]

Let's not get carried away with Vazquez. He does have good instincts and seems to be a hell of a defensive catcher. He is starting out in AA and if for some reason Lavarnway gets promoted or gets hurt, then Vazquez will be in AAA. At this point it is useless to project what happens with Vazquez. We have Lavarnway, Vazquez, and Swihart all in the minors. We just have to wait it out. All I will say is that I would be happy if Vazquez can someday be our backup catcher if he develops and proves himself enough just based on the fact of how good he is defensively and how strong his arm is. I think it is fair to say his ceiling is as a backup catcher. Let's not start saying how Vazquez is going to be a .250 hitter. The guy has only played in 20 AA games and hit only .205.

 

Now back to Iglesias. Iglesias is in the same boat. We have Bogaerts, Iglesias, Marrero, and Vinicio who are all talented at SS. Iglesias does not have too much time. His stick better start to come around fast before Bogaerts is ready. I do not see Iglesias as the SS of the future. I know nothing is a guarantee, but things are not in Jose's favor.

 

In my opinion this constant talk about Iglesias is a study in silliness. We have Boegarts about a year to a year and a half away. The guy is projected to be a tough hitter and coupled with Milebrooks at third gives us a solid combo on the left side of the infield diamond for years to come. Iglesias cannot hit; all this talk about his progress in the Spring and against minor league pitching he is now hitting a robust 217. To put him as our regular SS for the future could and would cause a ripple effect within our infield. It means either or both Middlebrooks and Boegarts would have to be moved to another position and that would weaken our defense in maybe two spots, certainly in one of them.

 

We have a surplus of young SS prospects as we do catchers. Maybe it would be in Cherington's best interests to maybe trade one or two of these for a young pitching prospect or two.

[BSN07]

In my opinion this constant talk about Iglesias is a study in silliness. We have Boegarts about a year to a year and a half away. The guy is projected to be a tough hitter and coupled with Milebrooks at third gives us a solid combo on the left side of the infield diamond for years to come. Iglesias cannot hit; all this talk about his progress in the Spring and against minor league pitching he is now hitting a robust 217. To put him as our regular SS for the future could and would cause a ripple effect within our infield. It means either or both Middlebrooks and Boegarts would have to be moved to another position and that would weaken our defense in maybe two spots, certainly in one of them.

 

We have a surplus of young SS prospects as we do catchers. Maybe it would be in Cherington's best interests to maybe trade one or two of these for a young pitching prospect or two.

 

I don't see having a defensive whiz at SS while having Middlebrooks and Bogaerts bats at the corners as a bad thing if it came to that.

 

Iggy looks like he's going to get a shot with Drew out. We will just have to wait and see what he does with it.

[SoxSport]

It won't make any difference if Iglesias hits .200 or .300 on the Red Sox this year. They will live or die on their starting pitching. Iglesias glove might make some difference on the pitching, however.

[BSN07]

It won't make any difference if Iglesias hits .200 or .300 on the Red Sox this year. They will live or die on their starting pitching. Iglesias glove might make some difference on the pitching, however.

 

That's another way to look at it.