Why Micah Johnson should not be moved to the outfield

[Señor Ding-Dong]

My conclusion is the same as it was when they DFAd him: he'll be traded for a dead veteran.

What are you talking about?

[ChiSoxFLFan]

Great article. He can't be moved to the outfield for all the reasons you suggested. It's interesting how Micah has gone from being a savior type (Hawk's hype last year) to somebody considered laughably bad defensively and not even much of a hitter on the big league level. A month or so of big-league ball took the luster off Micah. Does anybody actually expect anything from him now? His reputation now seems to be a horrific defender with fantastic speed yet limited hitting skills as well.

 

How can you say not much of a hitter at the big league level? He was only in the big leagues for about a month and hit .270. I would not consider that bad at all for a rookies first month in the bigs. Carlos Sanches has had more then double the at bats and is only hitting .190. Yeah he needs some work defensively but he definitely deserves another shot in the big leagues. His bat will continue to get better and better. Look at every level he has been at in the minors. He has struggled in the beginning and has went on to hit well over .300 with every team. I hope the sox give him another chance and don't trade him away. Even with his defensive liabilities I would much rather have him the Sanchez.

[Señor Ding-Dong]

His reputation now seems to be a horrific defender with fantastic speed yet limited hitting skills as well.

The first part of that statement is true, but I wouldn't say Micah has limited hitting skills by any means. While the sample size was small, he more than held his own with the bat in the majors and showed a nice approach at the plate. He's also tore it up during his time in the minor leagues.

 

Micah's speed and hitting skills are why so many are high on him despite his terrible defense.

[Señor Ding-Dong]

I'm glad Micah's destroying AAA, but his bat wasn't the reason he was demoted in the first place.

 

We all know how horrid he was defenisvely during his brief stint in the majors and sending him down to work on that was obviously the right move. If he can be just below average defensively at 2B instead of in the running for worst defensive 2B of all-time then his speed and hitting skills will make him a real weapon. He has the range and athleticism to be a solid defender, so let's hope he can improve his footwork and other mechanical issues.

 

From what I can tell the reports on his defense in AAA have been positive, but is 56 games really enough time for him to improve his defense by any notable margin? I think it's going to take more than two months in the minors to get his defense to at least playable at the major league level.

 

To put it simply, he's a threat on the basepaths and his bat is major league ready, but his glove is no where close. The opposite could be said of Cleuluis Rondon, but you don't hear anyone clamoring to call him up to the bigs anytime soon and for good reason.

[fathom]

Isn't this just following the same path Johnson's always taken? Go to one level and do solid, not great. Repeat the level and dominate. Offensively, he has little left to prove in AAA.

[BigHurt3515]

I'm glad Micah's destroying AAA, but his bat wasn't the reason he was demoted in the first place.

 

We all know how horrid he was defenisvely during his brief stint in the majors and sending him down to work on that was obviously the right move. If he can be just below average defensively at 2B instead of in the running for worst defensive 2B of all-time then his speed and hitting skills will make him a real weapon. He has the range and athleticism to be a solid defender, so let's hope he can improve his footwork and other mechanical issues.

 

From what I can tell the reports on his defense in AAA have been positive, but is 56 games really enough time for him to improve his defense by any notable margin? I think it's going to take more than two months in the minors to get his defense to at least playable at the major league level.

 

To put it simply, he's a threat on the basepaths and his bat is major league ready, but his glove is no where close. The opposite could be said of Cleuluis Rondon, but you don't hear anyone clamoring to call him up to the bigs anytime soon and for good reason.

 

Is it also not fair to say he was a horrible defender in the majors based off of 27 games in the MLB. Who says he wouldn't have improved while up he was up here and getting more comfortable?

[Whisox05]

Isn't this just following the same path Johnson's always taken? Go to one level and do solid, not great. Repeat the level and dominate. Offensively, he has little left to prove in AAA.

 

Ya he does that alot at the levels. That's why when people were saying that he needed to prove his bat more in AAA this year cause he didn't do alot last year I was like have you seen what he's done in the minors. I figured he was ready offensively for the majors this year and might do a better job when he comes back up hopefully really soon.

[Whisox05]

Also he's 2-2 sofar today with a home run and single with his average up to .332.

[Señor Ding-Dong]

Is it also not fair to say he was a horrible defender in the majors based off of 27 games in the MLB. Who says he wouldn't have improved while up he was up here and getting more comfortable?

Okay, that's a fair point.

 

Micah likely would have improved with more time to get acclimated to playing defense in the majors. By how much though? Maybe slightly, but even then his defense still likely would have been unplayable given how bad it was to begin with. Defense has always been the big question mark for him, even in the minors, so it's not like his stint in the majors was the first time he's struggled defensively.

 

Besides, I don't think the difference between playing defense in AAA compared to MLB is anywhere near as drastic as the difference between hitting in AAA compared to MLB. Based off what I've seen, defense more or less translates from AAA to MLB. Maybe there's a slight adjustment period, but nothing too drastic.

 

My reasoning is based off of: I've seen great AAA hitters struggle in the majors. Some eventually figure it out, some never do. But players who are viewed as good/great defenders in the minors typically prove to be at least average in the majors. I don't recall seeing too many players who were touted as good/great defenders in the minors turning out to be below-average in the majors.

 

In the case of Sanchez, I would say it's the opposite. He was viewed as a good defender in the minors (most scouts and experts rated his glove as a 55), but he's been a great defender since joining the Sox IMO.

 

Then again, I'm no scout nor do I have any first-hand experience of the difference between AAA and MLB, so I may be way off the mark.

[Señor Ding-Dong]

I think we have enough at bats to go around at 3B / SS / 2B if the Sox thought they saw enough in these guys and were ready to acquire someone else at one of those positions depending on how they evaluate everyone based upon their collective minor league careers to date, tools, and of course what they show at the major league level. This of course is dependent on moving Ramirez.

If we wanted to, we could definitely go young in the infield and put Micah at 2B, Saladino at 3B, and Sanchez at SS. Sanchez and Saladino are obviously already in the majors, and Micah's done enough with the bat to justify putting him in the lineup.

 

In the big picture though, would that move be in the best interest of Micah or the Sox?

 

I know everyone wants to see Micah back up because his speed and hitting potential are very intriguing, but personally I'd rather not see him back until rosters expand in September because he needs as much time as possible to iron out his defense. AAA is the perfect environment for him to do that as it's low-pressure and winning isn't the first priority. Put him in the majors right now and not only would he run the risk of costing us games, but his confidence could take a hit if his defense hasn't improved to at least playable.

 

Unless he truly has improved his defense to below-average or better over the course of the past two months, what would be the point of calling him back up? It would be the same as before: solid bat, great but undisciplined speed, and poor defense. What was the point of sending him down in the first place if we're not going to patient with him and wait until his defense is more acceptable?

 

Let him continue to work on his defense in the minors where he can receive individual, personalized coaching that he would be unlikely to receive in the majors. If he contnues to rake in AAA, great.

 

He has a lot of potential, and I would prefer not to rush him when it's clear that half of his game is not major league ready.

[Balta1701]

If we wanted to, we could definitely go young in the infield and put Micah at 2B, Saladino at 3B, and Sanchez at SS. Sanchez and Saladino are obviously already in the majors, and Micah's done enough with the bat to justify putting him in the lineup.

 

In the big picture though, would that move be in the best interest of Micah or the Sox?

 

I know everyone wants to see Micah back up because his speed and hitting potential are very intriguing, but personally I'd rather not see him back until rosters expand in September because he needs as much time as possible to iron out his defense. AAA is the perfect environment for him to do that as it's low-pressure and winning isn't the first priority. Put him in the majors right now and not only would he run the risk of costing us games, but his confidence could take a hit if his defense hasn't improved to at least playable.

 

Unless he truly has improved his defense to below-average or better over the course of the past two months, what would be the point of calling him back up? It would be the same as before: solid bat, great but undisciplined speed, and poor defense. What was the point of sending him down in the first place if we're not going to patient with him and wait until his defense is more acceptable?

 

Let him continue to work on his defense in the minors where he can receive individual, personalized coaching that he would be unlikely to receive in the majors. If he contnues to rake in AAA, great.

 

He has a lot of potential, and I would prefer not to rush him when it's clear that half of his game is not major league ready.

I don't think that calling him up now would be "rushing" him any more. He's actually getting on the verge of a full year in AAA which is what should have happened with him in the first place.

[Señor Ding-Dong]

Very happy to see Micah's development in AAA after being sent down. I really cannot take anymore

Carlos Sanchez. He's a great little fielder but he just doesn't have the bat speed to be an everyday player. He has a .214 wOBA which, if he had enough PAs, would be the worst among MLB players. He also had the fifth worst percentage of hard hit balls according to Fangraphs.

I believe Sanchez has the potential to be a future Gold Glove winner at 2B and if the White Sox feel the same way then the extended oppurtunity they've given him is well warranted IMO. Just as Micah has game changing speed, Sanchez has game changing defense, which we've seen plenty of this season.

 

Sanchez has been young for every level and has hit at every level. Even during his cup of coffee with the Sox last season he hit a respectable .250. While he's primarily a slappy singles hitter and will likely never be dynamic with the bat, all he has to do is get on base once per game. If the Sox were as good at hitting as they were projected to be this season then they easily could afford to sacrifice offense for defense at 2B.

 

Besides, it seems as if Sanchez is finally starting to become comfortable with major league pitching as he's been in a groove the past few weeks. He is now hitting .192 after dipping to as low as .141 at one point. He is hitting .262 so far in the month of July, .333 over his last 7 games, .260 over his last 15, and .227 over his last 30.

 

His BABiP is also .241, which suggests that he's hit into some bad luck and eventually some of those outs will turn into hits. Most projections believe he'll hit around .250 the rest of the season, which will be more than acceptable given his defense if those projections due indeed prove true.

[Señor Ding-Dong]

I don't think that calling him up now would be "rushing" him any more. He's actually getting on the verge of a full year in AAA which is what should have happened with him in the first place.

If his defense is not significantly better than it was during his short time with the Sox, then he's not ready yet IMO. The exception to that I guess would be if we had enough good defenders around him to make up for his sub-par defense.

 

It's too bad he's not really a candidate to switch positions or be a full-time DH as a fallback if he never improve his defense enough, as it'd be a shame to not utilize his speed and hitting skills.

[Quin]

Isn't this just following the same path Johnson's always taken? Go to one level and do solid, not great. Repeat the level and dominate. Offensively, he has little left to prove in AAA.

 

Granted, Sanchez always seemed to suck when moving up a level and then becoming very good.

[oldsox]

Isn't this just following the same path Johnson's always taken? Go to one level and do solid, not great. Repeat the level and dominate. Offensively, he has little left to prove in AAA.

Absolutely true about Micah. He had to adjust to both AA and AAA. Maybe even High A, can't remember. Bodes well for 2016.

[harfman77]

I think Johnson could be a similar player to Scott Podsednik in LF, his speed gives him range to make up for bad reads. The more experience he receives in the OF the better he will get at making jumps and fielding fly balls and he can be at least an average defender in the OF.

 

With Sanchez entrenched at 2B, Johnson's only real path to the majors is LF unless the Sox want to dangle him as a trade chip.

[NorthSideSox72]

I think Johnson could be a similar player to Scott Podsednik in LF, his speed gives him range to make up for bad reads. The more experience he receives in the OF the better he will get at making jumps and fielding fly balls and he can be at least an average defender in the OF.

 

With Sanchez entrenched at 2B, Johnson's only real path to the majors is LF unless the Sox want to dangle him as a trade chip.

I don't see Sanchez being entrenched at all. In fact I'd say his grip is quite tenuous. And if you are saying he might, over time, get to Pods level, then imagine just how bad he'll be in the years before then.

 

[Balta1701]

I think Johnson could be a similar player to Scott Podsednik in LF, his speed gives him range to make up for bad reads. The more experience he receives in the OF the better he will get at making jumps and fielding fly balls and he can be at least an average defender in the OF.

 

With Sanchez entrenched at 2B, Johnson's only real path to the majors is LF unless the Sox want to dangle him as a trade chip.

Move Alexei.

 

Sanchez takes over SS for the year. Possibly shares it with Saladino.

 

Micah takes over 2b.

 

Sanchez moves into either SS or Utility Player role depending on whether you think it's worth it to spend a bit of money on the SS position in the offseason.

 

Johnson works in as your 2b, Saladino and Sanchez see what they can do in a season along with maybe a stopgap, and then whoever is the weaker of the 2 gets out of Tim Anderson's way in 2017 and we see if we can actually produce a decent top of the order/middle infield pair.

 

And then maybe you also find a 3b candidate in a trade this year on top of that.

[LDF]

Move Alexei.

 

Sanchez takes over SS for the year. Possibly shares it with Saladino.

 

Micah takes over 2b.

 

Sanchez moves into either SS or Utility Player role depending on whether you think it's worth it to spend a bit of money on the SS position in the offseason.

 

Johnson works in as your 2b, Saladino and Sanchez see what they can do in a season along with maybe a stopgap, and then whoever is the weaker of the 2 gets out of Tim Anderson's way in 2017 and we see if we can actually produce a decent top of the order/middle infield pair.

 

And then maybe you also find a 3b candidate in a trade this year on top of that.

 

i like it. but would saladino be a better option for ss??

[Balta1701]

i like it. but would saladino be a better option for ss??

Potentially yes, but I don't think I'm ready to count on either of them as a starter long term. I think Micah has a much better chance of being a starter than either of them do, but I'm ok with giving them both a chance for a year to see if either can hold down the spot, given how weak the FA market is, how much money the White Sox have invested elsewhere, and how many other underperforming players they have. Worst case scenario we play through the season with them next year and pick the better of the 2 as the 2017 utility guy, maybe best case scenario we can actually turn one of them into a tradeable asset next year.

 

I'd like to see both Sanchez and Saladino in the lineup most days for the rest of the year and if Micah is called up that means one of them must play 3b and the other plays SS. Play em both and see how things shake out. If one of them is terrible, oh darn, we might end up a below .500 team. Then figure out if we want to add a cheap veteran somewhere in the mix next offseason based on that.

[ILMOU]

I don't see Sanchez being entrenched at all. In fact I'd say his grip is quite tenuous. And if you are saying he might, over time, get to Pods level, then imagine just how bad he'll be in the years before then.

Yeah, nothing in the same area code as entrenched. And I don't think he brings as much to the table, tools or versatility-wise, as Saladman, for the utility role. So I wonder if there's a future for him on the South Side, or should be

 

In hindsight, Sanchez should have been traded already.

 

If he's a starter, he'll have to do it at SS as the stopgap/bridge between Lexi and Tim A, imo.

Edited July 21, 2015 by Stan Bahnsen

[Balta1701]

Yeah, nothing in the same area code as entrenched. And I don't think he brings as much to the table, tools or versatility-wise, as Saladman, for the utility role. So I wonder if there's a future for him on the South Side, or should be

 

In hindsight, Sanchez should have been traded already.

 

If he's a starter, he'll have to do it at SS as the stopgap/bridge between Lexi and Tim A, imo.

I think Sanchez's trade value in the minors was probably comparable to what Leury Garcia's was when the White Sox dumped Rios's salary for him. To get something decent for him we've got to get him to produce decently in the bigs.

[ILMOU]

I think Sanchez's trade value in the minors was probably comparable to what Leury Garcia's was when the White Sox dumped Rios's salary for him. To get something decent for him we've got to get him to produce decently in the bigs.

Oh I know. The emoticon was to indicate a half-joking stance.

 

He may get semi-competent with the bat after enough MLB AB's. But that semi-competent bat will best play at SS, if he's up to it defensively.

[Balta1701]

Oh I know. The emoticon was to indicate a half-joking stance.

 

He may get semi-competent with the bat after enough MLB AB's. But that semi-competent bat will best play at SS, if he's up to it defensively.

This is exactly why I want to see us move Alexei. I think picking up Alexei's option is crazy with how he's played this year, so play the kids. See if you can manufacture either a cheap utility guy or maybe even a starter/trade candidate out of one of them. Worst case scenario...Tim Anderson takes the position in 2017 and we still need to find a utility guy. Big loss.

[ILMOU]

This is exactly why I want to see us move Alexei. I think picking up Alexei's option is crazy with how he's played this year, so play the kids. See if you can manufacture either a cheap utility guy or maybe even a starter/trade candidate out of one of them. Worst case scenario...Tim Anderson takes the position in 2017 and we still need to find a utility guy. Big loss.

Agreed on moving Alexei, and now's as good a time as any. I like Sanchez and Salad both as utility guys, and I suppose I could deal with ONE of them as a stopgap starter next year if enough other improvements are made.