Merkin article on Collins D

[bmags]

I'm not particularly convinced by this article, but it is an update of sorts:

https://www.mlb.com/news/white-sox-prospect-zack-collins-improving/c-290586256?tid=151437456

I found this part especially annoying (to be clear, I generally like Merk's work fine)

"Any doubts of Collins sticking at catcher have been erased. Just ask pitchers Dylan Cease, Jimmy Lambert, Dane Dunning and Bernardo Flores, all of whom have done high-level work with him."

He proceeds then not to quote or back up that claim at all, as if I actually should just go and ask them ?

[flavum]

Yeah, I don’t know what to make of Collins- you get so many mixed opinions. And you don’t know what to make of his offensive stats and skill set and how it will translate at the big league level. 

As far as getting quotes or opinions from his pitchers- that would probably be mostly irrelevant anyway...what else are they going to say besides something positive? 

I guess he’ll be at Charlotte next season, and hopefully the catching picture becomes more clear as the season goes on. This is where the Sox self-scouting has to be good because they absolutely need a competent catcher in 2021-2025.

 

[southsider2k5]

I was thinking the same thing as I read it.  It would have been nice to see some unnamed scouts or managers talking about his defense instead of what we got.

[footlongcomiskeydog]

2 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

I was thinking the same thing as I read it.  It would have been nice to see some unnamed scouts or managers talking about his defense instead of what we got.

This is a fluff piece and nothing more. No Merkin article is ever going to be erudite or thought provoking. 

No one outside the organization thinks that this kid is gonna stick at catcher. In fact, Keith Law gave him a 10% chance of sticking behind the plate during a chat a few months back. 

[southsider2k5]

2 minutes ago, footlongcomiskeydog said:

This is a fluff piece and nothing more. No Merkin article is ever going to be erudite or thought provoking. 

No one outside the organization thinks that this kid is gonna stick at catcher. In fact, Keith Law gave him a 10% chance of sticking behind the plate during a chat a few months back. 

Is this another one of those positive posts?

[footlongcomiskeydog]

2 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Is this another one of those positive posts?

It is just a post.

What facts and figures did Merkin use in his assessment that Collins will stick behind the plate? I didn't see much evidence for any of his claims. 

Just clicking your heels three times and hoping that all these prospects turn into quality ballplayers is a fools errand. That seems to be what the Sox are banking on and it scares the hell out of me. 

I remember all the fluff pieces on Carson Fulmer sticking as a starter too. That worked out just as planned. 

[southsider2k5]

1 minute ago, footlongcomiskeydog said:

It is just a post.

What facts and figures did Merkin use in his assessment that Collins will stick behind the plate? I didn't see much evidence for any of his claims. 

Just clicking your heels three times and hoping that all these prospects turn into quality ballplayers is a fools errand. That seems to be what the Sox are banking on and it scares the hell out of me. 

I remember all the fluff pieces on Carson Fulmer sticking as a starter too. That worked out just as planned. 

Yes.  The Sox aren't working with their minor leaguers at all to try to teach them skills or anything.  Speaking of fluff...

[Balta1701]

1 hour ago, southsider2k5 said:

Yes.  The Sox aren't working with their minor leaguers at all to try to teach them skills or anything.  Speaking of fluff...

grumble grumble marcus semien grumble grumble grumble grumble ... 

[ChiSox1917]

I'm more worried about his ability to hit lefties than I am about his defense.  

[Jake]

That was indeed a weird article because it doesn't really include any new information from anyone about his defense other than Collins saying he has improved his work with the pitchers, whatever that entails. If you're going to puff, at least get somebody to say that he's doing X Y and Z. FWIW, I think we kind of screwed the pooch by having him catch fewer games this year than he did last year. This was because of the time-sharing with Zavala, but it has to have been a negative for Collins who has talked in the past about being affected by the heavy catching load. His offense has trailed off a bit since he's taken a larger share of the catching duties as well, suggesting the need for acclimating him to the workload.

[southsider2k5]

11 minutes ago, Jake said:

That was indeed a weird article because it doesn't really include any new information from anyone about his defense other than Collins saying he has improved his work with the pitchers, whatever that entails. If you're going to puff, at least get somebody to say that he's doing X Y and Z. FWIW, I think we kind of screwed the pooch by having him catch fewer games this year than he did last year. This was because of the time-sharing with Zavala, but it has to have been a negative for Collins who has talked in the past about being affected by the heavy catching load. His offense has trailed off a bit since he's taken a larger share of the catching duties as well, suggesting the need for acclimating him to the workload.

This is the danger of having too many quality players clustered together.