FS: What's Driving Mercedes' Power?

[Rankin]

Yermin can swing it, but was last year an offensive anomaly? 

Our Ken Sawilchik wrote about the polarizing figure that is Yermin Mercedes. 

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

The author has every right to question the output of Mercedes especially since the Sox didn't pay $50M for him or draft him high. He still has plenty of obstacles in his way to ever getting ML AB's ,

I sometimes get annoyed that everyone wants great production but when we get it then it's analyzed  on how sustainable it is, It's like he isn't producing he sucks . Then he's producing but all these numbers say its unsustainable or it isn't what he's shown in the past.  I always kind of take the whole development isn't linear concept to heart and just want to believe it's real development and just enjoy it for a bit.

We all get it. No matter how well he hits he cant play D very well and he's 26 so no will put him in the Sox top 30 prospects.

I'm rooting for the kid to get a shot somewhere sometime. It was a huge accomplishment just to get to the 40.I'm no exception to liking the underdog;

it's nice to know he seems popular with Sox fans. He's bashed his way into our consciousness and maybe he can stay there for a little while longer.

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/yermin-mercedes-is-the-feel-good-story-of-the-40-man-roster-deadline/

Edited February 18, 2020 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside

[GermanSoxFan]

Mercedes hit well at every stop in his White Sox minor league career. He mashed in his first stint at Birmingham where Sox hitting prospects go to die.

 

Quote

Location didn’t have much impact on his home run output, as Mercedes hit nine in Charlotte and eight on the road. However, other metrics show a different view. At the Triple-A level, he slashed .356/.406/.711 with an OPS of 1.117 at home, contrasted with .268/.370/.588 with an OPS of .957 while on the road.

That .957 road OPS looks pretty damn fine to me.

[SoxAce]

I'm not sure Mercedes has much of a future here but he absolutely deserves a big league shot somewhere. I know the Sox weren't just gonna let him go for nothing, but I think they should do their due diligence and trade him to a place where he can get playing time. I won't be greedy.. give me a reliever prospect with good stuff and upside and I'll be happy.

[GreenSox]

I hope he makes the 26.

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

23 minutes ago, GreenSox said:

I hope he makes the 26.

Not a chance unless Encarnacion gets injured and they ignore Collins. Even then i'd be skeptical. After all they didn't bring him up last year when it meant nothing.and gave AB's to Castillo and Yolmer even though we all agreed they were out the door after the season while not giving  more AB's to Mendick and Collins.

[GreenSox]

1 hour ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

Not a chance unless Encarnacion gets injured and they ignore Collins. Even then i'd be skeptical. After all they didn't bring him up last year when it meant nothing.and gave AB's to Castillo and Yolmer even though we all agreed they were out the door after the season while not giving  more AB's to Mendick and Collins.

Not bringing him up last year was curious. He can hit -but also he's an OBP guy and the Sox have never valued that.  But if they want Collins to develop the defensive skills,  he's better off in AAA.   They'll never get a thing for Mercedes in trade...a Rule 5 guy at best, but probably an org. guy.

Yes, I hope he makes the 26...simply hope.

Edited February 18, 2020 by GreenSox

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

26 minutes ago, GreenSox said:

Not bringing him up last year was curious. He can hit -but also he's an OBP guy and the Sox have never valued that.  But if they want Collins to develop the defensive skills,  he's better off in AAA.   They'll never get a thing for Mercedes in trade...a Rule 5 guy at best, but probably an org. guy.

Yes, I hope he makes the 26...simply hope.

I'll make a hot take on Mercedes which we will never know.

I'd think if he and Robert both were on the opening day 26 I'd say he would hit just as well as Robert in an equal amount of PA's. He's K'd less and walked more at the same level and has had years to get to where he is.  Of course Robert would be 4 X as valuable due to defense and speed but for hitting alone I think it would be close .

[tray]

Collins is only 25 years old  and has more trade value than Mercedes given the hype about Collins since he was Drafted 4 years ago.

Mercedes is the perfect under the radar minor league catcher who can be called up in case of an injury to McCann or Grandal . Mercedes would be beyond grateful  to fill that emergency role and wouldn't constantly squawk about not getting a chance to be on the major league roster.

[NCsoxfan]

Seems like a bad decision to not give him a shot last year. What if he ends up being a great big league hitter and we didn’t even give him a chance despite amazing MILB numbers? would look really foolish.

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

On 2/18/2020 at 5:03 PM, NCsoxfan said:

Seems like a bad decision to not give him a shot last year. What if he ends up being a great big league hitter and we didn’t even give him a chance despite amazing MILB numbers? would look really foolish.

The Twins didn't value David Ortiz very highly and he became a legend in Boston . That was after 6 seasons and around 1600 AB's in Minnesota, He wasn't a high contact good defense guy like Manager Tom Kelly preferred and some injuries always seemed to come right as he was looking ready to break out and the Twins ended up releasing him after his best season with them because they tried to trade him and found no takers and didn't try to negotiate a contract with him and didn't want to pay him $2M dollars for a DH who couldn't hit lefties.

He started his Big Papi glory years with the Red Sox at the age of 27. The next 5 years in a row starting in 2003 he never finished less than 5th in MVP voting. Fellow Dominican Pedro Martinez was always in Ortiz corner.He requested the Red Sox sign him. After Ortiz was frustrated early in his 1st year with the Red Sox and was beefing to the media Pedro got him to keep quiet and asked that he always be in the lineup when he pitched. The rest is history.

Just imagine if he was the DH for the White Sox all those years he played for the Red Sox.

Edited February 21, 2020 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside

[NorthSideSox72]

I think we need to pump the breaks a bit on Yermin.

First of all, he's a DH who maybe, occasionally, can catch at the MLB level. Hahn is talking up his defensive skills but in my viewing, and talking with people who have also seen him, they consider him a non-prospect behind the plate. He's pretty bad there. Also, he's built like a beer league softball player, which usually (though not always) doesn't bode well for the future of a guy who is 27 years old. So I just don't see him having much ceiling room there. And no he's not a 3B. Not sure about 1B but there is a traffic jam there anyway.

So what role does he play? As a DH prospect, he would need to be a world-beater at the plate in the minors. He's spent 9 years getting to AAA, so I would be very skeptical of his numbers. Watching him hit, yeah he certainly can hit, maybe even competently in the majors. But I am not sure he rises to the level of professional DH prospect because that is such a high bar.

I personally would try to use him as trade bait. There is always a slim chance that stings later, but more likely he's not going to be a significant contributor in the majors.

 

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

7 minutes ago, NorthSideSox72 said:

I think we need to pump the breaks a bit on Yermin.

First of all, he's a DH who maybe, occasionally, can catch at the MLB level. Hahn is talking up his defensive skills but in my viewing, and talking with people who have also seen him, they consider him a non-prospect behind the plate. He's pretty bad there. Also, he's built like a beer league softball player, which usually (though not always) doesn't bode well for the future of a guy who is 27 years old. So I just don't see him having much ceiling room there. And no he's not a 3B. Not sure about 1B but there is a traffic jam there anyway.

So what role does he play? As a DH prospect, he would need to be a world-beater at the plate in the minors. He's spent 9 years getting to AAA, so I would be very skeptical of his numbers. Watching him hit, yeah he certainly can hit, maybe even competently in the majors. But I am not sure he rises to the level of professional DH prospect because that is such a high bar.

I personally would try to use him as trade bait. There is always a slim chance that stings later, but more likely he's not going to be a significant contributor in the majors.

 

I don't think anyone is hitting the gas pedal on him. He's just an intriguing guy who just pounded AA and AAA pitching last year . There's really no doubt he is just a DH moving forward and the most likely scenario is he never gets a chance with the Sox .

[tray]

Northside72:

 OK,  you convinced me that Mercedes is next to worthless. Given that we can't have it both ways, unless some team thinks an empty "beer can" is worth something in trade. ;-)

 Meanwhile, some of us think still think  Collins could make it as a starting mlb catcher even though he has lingered in the Minors for 4 years. So we talk him up  and he may have trade value.

We do not need Collins as a starting catcher for several years....if he even works out.  Meanwhile we could Draft a catcher like Patrick Bailey in this years mlb Draft to possibly take over when Grandal's contract nears its end.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

9 minutes ago, tray said:

Northside72:

 OK,  you convinced me that Mercedes is next to worthless. Given that we can't have it both ways, unless some team thinks an empty "beer can" is worth something in trade. ?

 Meanwhile, some of us think still think  Collins could make it as a starting mlb catcher even though he has lingered in the Minors for 4 years. So we talk him up  and he may have trade value.

We do not need Collins as a starting catcher for several years....if he even works out.  Meanwhile we could Draft a catcher like Patrick Bailey in this years mlb Draft to possibly take over when Grandal's contract nears its end.

 

Well, he's not worthless. He's a solid choice for a AAA backup in case of injuries, and meanwhile some lower tier team desperate for a power bat might be interested in him and that can help you get a reliever at the deadline or whatever. And there is that tiny chance he actually turns into something valuable - a chance another team that doesn't already have a host of better C and 1B options might be willing to take.

Collins I think can slot well in like an Evan Gattis role (sort of) where he catches sometimes, but also DH's and can play first (assuming he can work out some swing issues). Yermin can be the emergency backup to that very role.

 

[NCsoxfan]

It’s unreal to see people come up with long winded stories on why guys stink who are crushing it on the actual field. Sometimes things should be about common sense. Let’s see if he gets a shot and what happens long term.

[NorthSideSox72]

33 minutes ago, NCsoxfan said:

It’s unreal to see people come up with long winded stories on why guys stink who are crushing it on the actual field. Sometimes things should be about common sense. Let’s see if he gets a shot and what happens long term.

I never said the guy stinks. And the entire discussion is about what happens on the "actual field". What I am pointing out is mostly that you cannot get a reliable read on the future of a player just by looking at a slash line. Anyone who scouts players will tell you this. Context of the performance is important, as are position and defensive ability.

Enjoy what he's doing! Really, that is a good thing. But if we are talking about MLB potential, it cannot be just about a minor league player's core numbers.

 

[NCsoxfan]

24 minutes ago, NorthSideSox72 said:

I never said the guy stinks. And the entire discussion is about what happens on the "actual field". What I am pointing out is mostly that you cannot get a reliable read on the future of a player just by looking at a slash line. Anyone who scouts players will tell you this. Context of the performance is important, as are position and defensive ability.

Enjoy what he's doing! Really, that is a good thing. But if we are talking about MLB potential, it cannot be just about a minor league player's core numbers.

 

I think all anyone is saying is that he should get a chance otherwise risk him turning into a really good DH

[Squirmin' for Yermin]

On 2/17/2020 at 8:25 PM, GreenSox said:

I hope he makes the 26.

Mercedes > Collins.. oops, sorry I said it, CRUSIFY ME!!! ****If Collins can't catch.

Edited February 19, 2020 by cjgalloway

[Bob Sacamano]

16 hours ago, NCsoxfan said:

I think all anyone is saying is that he should get a chance otherwise risk him turning into a really good DH

The time for that was last year honestly. If they didn't sign Edwin, he would at least be competing with Collins for DH/third catcher spot.

[Panerista]

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

New article on Yermin .

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/white-sox/bowling-ball-minor-leaguer-nobodys-talking-about-could-be-white-sox-26th-man

[Squirmin' for Yermin]

I am in love with Yermin. I admit it.

[Squirmin' for Yermin]

Wild predictiction: We will trade Yermin Mercedes for Int pool money/low prosect. Yermin will go on to be a top 5 DH in the league.  I will be a sad boy. The trade will happen this spring/april after he has a killer spring but the FO sends him down/have no interest in putting him on the MLB roster.  

Edited February 21, 2020 by cjgalloway

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

On 2/17/2020 at 9:06 PM, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

I'll make a hot take on Mercedes which we will never know.

I'd think if he and Robert both were on the opening day 26 I'd say he would hit just as well as Robert in an equal amount of PA's. He's K'd less and walked more at the same level and has had years to get to where he is.  Of course Robert would be 4 X as valuable due to defense and speed but for hitting alone I think it would be close .

 

21 hours ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

New article on Yermin .

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/white-sox/bowling-ball-minor-leaguer-nobodys-talking-about-could-be-white-sox-26th-man

SInce someone got a kick out of my hot take and the article about Yermin came out a few days later , I now have support of my hot take in writing  from that article. Of course I knew their number were pretty similar in AAA before I said that .

Let’s start with what Mercedes did last season when he was promoted to Triple-A Charlotte and compare him with one of his Knights teammates, the guy who will likely be the big league team's Opening Day center fielder:

— Mercedes: .310/.386/.647 in 53 games

— Luis Robert: .297/.341/.634 in 47 games

Edited February 22, 2020 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside