Puig-Mania Thread

[Kyyle23]

right now, he is COLd fIRE

[caulfield12]

right now, he is COLd fIRE

 

 

Lukewarm Fire the last week or so...at least not down in the 220's.

 

 

from thepilot.com

 

Puig = Phenom

 

Perhaps — if you have been away at sea or stuck in some out-of-the-way cave -- you don’t know it yet, but Major League Baseball has its newest media sensation.

 

He plays for right field the Los Angeles Dodgers and wears No. 66.

 

His name is Yasiel Puig and as soon as he was called up to the big leagues he made an immediate, immense impact.

Two things indicate straight-off to me that Puig is a future MLB superstar -- his numbers and his passion.

The gusto with which he plays the game is refreshing and reminiscent of Pete Rose and Ty Cobb.

 

Everybody knows those names.

When interviewed he shoots straight too which I like.

 

After being asked if he worries abouting coming off and if he will ever consider toning down his style of play his answer was priceless

“That's my game," he said, “I'm going to play my baseball the way I play.”

 

Although some MLB players have went on the record accusing him of arrogance, and dubbing some of his on-field actions “stupid,” Puig remains undaunted.

 

"I learned to play that way as a kid," said the rookie from Cuba. "I always like to play aggressive and always try to put on a show for the fans. They [the fans] come to spend their time and lose sleep watching us play. It is one, to me, of the more emotional things in baseball."

 

After looking at his first-month stats in the big leagues -- his game, as Puig calls it, is pretty darn good, having already etched his name in the record books.

 

In a historic June the 22-year old Dodger outfielder batted .436.

 

The .436 mark is the highest batting average in any calendar month (minimum 100 AB) by a player 22 years of age or younger since Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx hit .462 in May 1929.

 

The list of players under 22 in since 1920 to bat at .430 or higher in a calendar month also includes: Ted Williams, Alex Rodriguez and Joe DiMaggio.

 

Take all that and add to it the fact that the kid is a great defender with a cannon-like throwing arm, and All-Star or not, he is a player to keep a close eye on.

Edited July 18, 2013 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/07/yasiel-pui...on-chris-brown/

 

I guess not the worst consolation prize for not being in the All-Star Game.

 

 

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/dish/20130...playboy-mansion

 

 

Then he had to be out on the East Coast for the ESPY's on Wednesday night.

 

 

from fangraphs.com

Under Team Control Through 2019: $2M, $5M, $6M, $7M or Arb, $8M or Arb, Arb

 

From the start, I’ll say that I have no real conviction about Puig’s placement here. I could make a compelling case that he doesn’t belong on the list. I could also make a compelling case that he belongs in the top 10. There are teams that would go bananas trying to acquire him right now, and there are teams that would show little interest. Puig’s value is not cut-and-dried.

 

Since arriving in the big leagues, he’s been remarkably good, but he’s succeeding in a way that simply isn’t sustainable. His contact rate is worrisome, and his approach at the plate is exploitable. Take away the .472 BABIP, and what’s left is the skillset of a low OBP slugger. That may very well be what he is for the rest of the season.

 

But, as we acknowledge the coming regression, let’s not overlook the fact that he’s a 22-year-old who was forced to take over a year off from competitive baseball. In terms of development, most players with Puig’s background would probably be in A-ball. It’s okay that he’s not polished; it would be a miracle if he was. The physical skills are carrying him, but that’s true of pretty much every kid this age. And Puig’s physical skills look pretty special.

 

Complicating factors is the contract he signed with the Dodgers. It was widely reported as a seven year, $42 million deal, but that’s probably not what it’s going to end up as. That was basically the guaranteed floor, but the deal also allows Puig to opt out of the negotiated salaries and choose arbitration if he so desires. Depending on how well he performs, the 2017/2018 salaries could easily go up, though there’s no ability for the Dodgers to renegotiate those numbers down if he doesn’t perform well.

 

So, while Puig comes with six more years of team control, they are considerably more expensive than other rookies called up this season. His three pre-arb years will cost $12 million in total, and he’s setup for higher arbitration salaries than players coming into the system making six figures. There’s definitely clear downside here, as he comes with a real cost if the regression comes and he never adjusts. But, Puig is also a 22-year-old who is already showing MLB power and is under team control through most of the rest of the decade. He is both very risky but also very valuable.

 

Combining the risk and rewards, I ended up with him here, but if you think he should be 20 spots higher or lower, I won’t argue with you. This is a tough nut to crack.

 

Edited July 19, 2013 by caulfield12

[Noonskadoodle]

Dodgers rookie sensation Yasiel Puig is being sued for $12 million by a man in Cuba who claims Puig made false allegations against him that resulted in a seven-year prison sentence, the Los Angeles Times reported.

 

 

Lawyers for Miguel Angel Corbacho Daudinot filed the suit in federal district court in Florida, according to the paper. The suit claims that Corbacho Daudinot was subjected to "prolonged arbitrary detention and torture" after Puig and his mother testified against him in a 2010 human-trafficking trial that centered around Puig's alleged plan to escape from Cuba.

 

The complaint also refers to Puig and his mother as "informants" for the government.

"This is not something we're going to comment about," Jaime Torres, Puig's agent, told the newspaper.

 

Torres added that Puig is aware of the lawsuit and has hired a lawyer.

 

Lawyers representing Corbacho Daudinot, who remains in Cuba, filed similar lawsuits last year against Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman on the behalf of different plaintiffs, the paper reported.

 

Puig has been a huge spark for the resurgent Dodgers since making his major league debut on June 3, batting .381 with eight homers and 19 RBIs entering Saturday.

 

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_...-lawsuit-report

[Jake]

I don't think the skillsets of Francouer and Puig are as different as we'd like to think. Better hope Puig's hit tool is better, because I don't think his D is better and the arm can't be enough better to matter. I think they have similar raw power. Yoenis Cespedes told me so.

[chw42]

I don't think the skillsets of Francouer and Puig are as different as we'd like to think. Better hope Puig's hit tool is better, because I don't think his D is better and the arm can't be enough better to matter. I think they have similar raw power. Yoenis Cespedes told me so.

 

The lack of plate discipline is alarming.

[hammerhead johnson]

The lack of plate discipline is alarming.

 

There's not enough to go on. In the minors, these were his walk percentages (spread out over 162 plate appearances):

 

16.7% (Rookie Ball)

10.2% (High A)

9.0% (Double A)

 

And now there are only 165 plate appearances to work with on the major league level. A 4.2% walk rate obviously sucks, but it's still based on an extremely small sample size.

 

I'd be skeptical of people who hate for no reason whatsoever. What are their motives? People have fun watching this guy, and it pisses them off? It doesn't seem sane. Not that I'm a beacon of sanity.

[LittleHurt05]

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_...-lawsuit-report

 

Sounds legit to me.

[hammerhead johnson]

NO SNITCHING!

 

This guy wouldn't last in Aaron Hernandez's old neighborhood (the mean streets of Bristol, Connecticut).

[Kyyle23]

@TheFakeESPN: SportsCenter confirms reports they have fully developed a taste for Yasiel Puig's ass.

[LittleHurt05]

No post from caulfield yet?

[caulfield12]

He can speak for himself.

 

But just got back from five days without internet camping in the Serengheti. Seeing a pride of lions on the hunt, even more amazing than puig's season so far.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

He can speak for himself.

 

But just got back from five days without internet camping in the Serengheti. Seeing a pride of lions on the hunt, even more amazing than puig's season so far.

 

Still not as amazing as seeing a pride of Puigs on the hunt though

[LittleHurt05]

He can speak for himself.

 

But just got back from five days without internet camping in the Serengheti. Seeing a pride of lions on the hunt, even more amazing than puig's season so far.

 

How many of those lions were wearing Puig jerseys?

[caulfield12]

How many of those lions were wearing Puig jerseys?

 

 

Mostly lionesses. The leopards with Puig alternate road khaki/camouflage jerseys were DEFINITELY hard to spot in the trees, except for using the binoculars.

 

Just missed another homer last night in the first inning by a foot or two.

 

Hitting a pretty unsustainable (but nevertheless amazing) 14/20 (.700) when putting the first pitch of an at-bat into play.

[caulfield12]

http://wapc.mlb.com/cutfour/2013/07/31/554...wesome-juggling

 

Puig juggles soccer balls with Christiano Ronaldo, hangs out with Nick Fury in the dugout.

[caulfield12]

Still doing okay with nearly 200 at-bats now.

 

 

1.022 OPS, would rank him 3rd behind Cabrera and Chris Davis.

 

Ortiz 4th, Trout 5th.

 

 

 

Only ten players in baseball at a 900 OPS or above.

 

Still making lots of baserunning mistakes, though. He got picked off between 1st and 2nd because he got a horrible read/jump off Travis Wood, and ended up getting Punto in a pickle between 3rd and home with only one out, but Wood fell apart that inning and gave up four walks and that was all she wrote.

[Balta1701]

Still doing okay with nearly 200 at-bats now.

 

 

1.022 OPS, would rank him 3rd behind Cabrera and Chris Davis.

 

Ortiz 4th, Trout 5th.

 

 

 

Only ten players in baseball at a 900 OPS or above.

 

Still making lots of baserunning mistakes, though. He got picked off between 1st and 2nd because he got a horrible read/jump off Travis Wood, and ended up getting Punto in a pickle between 3rd and home with only one out, but Wood fell apart that inning and gave up four walks and that was all she wrote.

.789 OPS in July for Puig.

[caulfield12]

.789 OPS in July for Puig.

The last week or ten days he has recovered...definitely struggled for a couple of weeks there as pitchers made some adjustments in attacking him

[Brian]

Some of my friends who are Cubs fans are wondering why Junior Lake isn't getting the same pub as Puig. SMH

 

Lake looks legit to me, but come on.

[Chicago White Sox]

Lake looks legit to me, but come on.

An .803 OPS isn't very good for the Pacific Coast league. I wouldn't overreact to a limited major league sample.

[caulfield12]

http://wapc.mlb.com/cutfour/2013/08/03/558...foul-ball-catch

[caulfield12]

26 multi-hit games in his first 57.

 

1.023 OPS at the moment, still hanging in the 370's at .374.

 

Trout's catching up on him, though, having had a very strong July/early August.

 

 

Would be quite a spirited debate about what player you would build your franchise around of Trout, Puig and Harper. Trout has the major advantage of being able to play a very good CF...whereas Puig is better suited for the corners, especially if he keeps growing and putting on weight with that large frame.

Edited August 9, 2013 by caulfield12

[Chicago White Sox]

26 multi-hit games in his first 57.

 

1.023 OPS at the moment, still hanging in the 370's at .374.

 

Trout's catching up on him, though, having had a very strong July/early August.

 

 

Would be quite a spirited debate about what player you would build your franchise around of Trout, Puig and Harper. Trout has the major advantage of being able to play a very good CF...whereas Puig is better suited for the corners, especially if he keeps growing and putting on weight with that large frame.

[caulfield12]

AL MVP: Uh-oh. Here we go again. If you enjoyed that vintage, old-school/new-school Miguel Cabrera-versus-Mike Trout debate last year, get ready for Round 2. As Jared Cross wrote the other day, Trout has injected himself into what once looked like a Cabrera-Chris Davis MVP conversation by charging up those AL leaderboards. But if this keeps up, some great sabermetric minds are going to have to explain to the masses how it's possible that Trout leads Cabrera in offensive wins above replacement, but is trailing Cabrera overall because of (gulp) Cabrera's defense. Incredible, huh? But let's save that issue for another day.

 

AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez can tell you all about how Cy Young voters have finally learned to de-emphasize wins. But let's see them try to factor out wins this year, when King Felix is leading the league in ERA but trying to make his case against a guy who is 16-1 (Max Scherzer) -- and first in his league in WHIP, lowest opponent average and lowest opponent OPS. Can't wait for that debate.

 

NL Cy Young: With all due respect for the awesome seasons of Adam Wainwright, Matt Harvey, Madison Bumgarner, Patrick Corbin, Francisco Liriano, Craig Kimbrel, etc., all Kershaw does every five days is remind us that he's the best pitcher in baseball. Still. Just so you know, if Kershaw can finish with the ERA (1.91), WHIP (0.88) and opponent average (.188) he has now, the only pitchers in the live-ball era who have ever been in that neighborhood (or better) over a full season are Bob Gibson, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez, Sandy Koufax and Luis Tiant. Whoever they are.

 

Rookies of the Year: In the AL, Jose Iglesias has a shot to become the first rookie of the year ever to get traded in midseason. But Wil Myers can screw up that claim to fame. And in the NL, this remains one of the wildest rookie-of-the-year free-for-alls ever, with Jose Fernandez, Shelby Miller, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Julio Teheran, Evan Gattis and Yasiel Puig all making cases for themselves that are going to require many, many Advil for the ROY electorate.

 

 

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