2012 Eduardo Nunez Performance Thread

[gold23]

he has the range and maybe athleticism but his hands are not 'soft', at least when consistency is a part of that consideration

In the scouting parlance of soft, they are. Of course, he boots a lot of balls and airmails or spikes a lot of throws. He is, by any definition, a horrible fielder at this point in his career. However, there are horrible fielders due to lack of athleticism (look at the Tiger infield, for example) and there are horrible fielders for other reasons.

He will make a dozen highlight reel plays on short hops or charging plays, and his hands have a gentle and soft accepting of the ball. When he boots them it's generally a situation where he's rushing the play, off balance, or has too much time. In essence, he makes most of his errors on fielding plays because of mental or mechanical flaws, not plainly physical.

I'm not saying he will fix it. All I'm saying is that he has the physical tools to be a perfectly competent fielder.

[Mr Coffee]

Things I've learned at NYYFans:

Nunez can become a good fielder, but Cano is incapable of running hard to first.

[ThePinStripes]

In the scouting parlance of soft, they are. Of course, he boots a lot of balls and airmails or spikes a lot of throws. He is, by any definition, a horrible fielder at this point in his career. However, there are horrible fielders due to lack of athleticism (look at the Tiger infield, for example) and there are horrible fielders for other reasons.

He will make a dozen highlight reel plays on short hops or charging plays, and his hands have a gentle and soft accepting of the ball. When he boots them it's generally a situation where he's rushing the play, off balance, or has too much time. In essence, he makes most of his errors on fielding plays because of mental or mechanical flaws, not plainly physical.

I'm not saying he will fix it. All I'm saying is that he has the physical tools to be a perfectly competent fielder.

This is where I realized this post made a lot of sense.

[sjb23]

Given Nunez' lack of consistency @ SS, the size of Jeter's contract and ego, and the possible open outfield slot, I just don't understand why there's no plan in place to have Nunez learn to play RF this offseason and have a real opportunity to win the spot in 2013.

[unfamous loser]

I'd like to think it's because the Yankees are smart enough to realize Nunez doesn't have the bat to be an everyday corner OF (and his glove, to be realistic, isn't going to be good enough to at least make up some production ground there).

if he has any real value to anyone, here or in a trade, it's as a middle IF.

[sjb23]

I'd like to think it's because the Yankees are smart enough to realize Nunez doesn't have the bat to be an everyday corner OF (and his glove, to be realistic, isn't going to be good enough to at least make up some production ground there).

if he has any real value to anyone, here or in a trade, it's as a middle IF.

IMO, he can be a .270 hitter, 15 HR guy,30+ SB, .350 OBP immediately....whatever productivity they don't get from him in RF is more than made up for at 2B with Cano.....

[unfamous loser]

there is absolutely nothing to suggest Nunez would put up a .350 OBP, immediately or otherwise.

15 HR is probably unlikely as well, though perhaps less so.

[False1]

IMO, he can be a .270 hitter, 15 HR guy,30+ SB, .350 OBP immediately....whatever productivity they don't get from him in RF is more than made up for at 2B with Cano.....

The point of having advantageous production from 2B relative to the competition is not so that it can be offset by less favorable production from other spots.

If Nunez can just make routine plays in the middle IF, I think he has significant value. Unfortunately for him and the Yankees, he was about as bad as could possibly be imagined in that regard in '12. I like his bat more than some here, so I wouldn't consider him a throw-in for an upgrade somewhere else on the roster but I certainly wouldn't let him hold up a deal either. My guess is that the Yankees still hold him in higher regard than other organizations do, so they're unlikely to trade him unless it's part of a package for a significant piece. They're probably hoping that he will show a different level of capability with the glove next season and will be of value to the roster or on the trade market.

[eaganmafia]

IMO, he can be a .270 hitter, 15 HR guy,30+ SB, .350 OBP immediately....whatever productivity they don't get from him in RF is more than made up for at 2B with Cano.....

A .350 OBP?!?! Just to put that into context he had a career .314 OBP in the minors. A .350 OBP would have been 3rd on the Yankees (for players with enough AB)

[Mr. Mxylsplk]

IMO, he can be a .270 hitter, 15 HR guy,30+ SB, .350 OBP immediately...

Not to pile on, but what on earth is this expectation based on?

[Mr Coffee]

Is Scott Boras Nunez' agent, and if so, does Boras' middle name begin with 'J'?

[False1]

A .350 OBP?!?! Just to put that into context he had a career .314 OBP in the minors. A .350 OBP would have been 3rd on the Yankees (for players with enough AB)

Not to pile on, but what on earth is this expectation based on?

I know this wasn't posed to me, and I wouldn't call it likely... but it's not as outrageous as you might think. He had 100 PA this year, and 2 singles replacing outs would have put him at .350 OBP.

At age 25, he has ammassed ~450 AB and a .272 BA. I think he handles the bat a bit better than some here do, and don't ask me why but I think he can improve - particularly around plate discipline. If he can get that BB rate up at all he could be a .350 OBP candidate. Wouldn't shock me honestly, but I'm not ready to make huge wagers on it or anything.

I'm surprised there are so few here who like him. He's off the charts in a lot of clutchy-stats, had 4 of the team's 49 SF this year, actually hit a few hard in the playoffs...

[Chacon]

We tear down our stars and pump up the likes of Eduardo Nunez

NYYFans as its best

[False1]

We tear down our stars and pump up the likes of Eduardo Nunez

NYYFans as its best

We do? Who? Where?

[sjb23]

Putting Nunez in RF accomplishes a few different things:

1 - Gives him valuable experience playing everyday at the ML level, preparing him for taking over Jeter's spot at SS in 2015, or at least giving the Yanks time to determine whether he's
their man.

2 - Keeps another right-handed bat in the lineup and the outfield.

3 - Assuming Jayson Nix can fill the role of utility IF/5th Of, opens up another spot on the bench for a DH/Hairy Monster.

4 - Saves the team quite a bit of money as they go into payroll budget cuts in 2014.

They've already said they like his bat and the intangibles he brings to the team, but that they're not quite sure where they can play him. I'm just stating what I think may be the obvious solution.

[sweet_lou_14]

Is Scott Boras Nunez' agent, and if so, does Boras' middle name begin with 'J'?

So much had to line up for this post to fulfill its destiny. Well done.

[SatchelPaigeYankee]

So much had to line up for this post to fulfill its destiny. Well done.

wow. just got this. nice.

[ArodEra]

IMO, he can be a .270 hitter, 15 HR guy,30+ SB, .350 OBP immediately....whatever productivity they don't get from him in RF is more than made up for at 2B with Cano.....

[eaganmafia]

I know this wasn't posed to me, and I wouldn't call it likely... but it's not as outrageous as you might think. He had 100 PA this year, and 2 singles replacing outs would have put him at .350 OBP.

At age 25, he has ammassed ~450 AB and a .272 BA. I think he handles the bat a bit better than some here do, and don't ask me why but I think he can improve - particularly around plate discipline. If he can get that BB rate up at all he could be a .350 OBP candidate. Wouldn't shock me honestly, but I'm not ready to make huge wagers on it or anything.

I'm going to call the small sample size police on this one. He's put up solid numbers in limited play against LHP, but you get him 500 at-bats with a majority of those coming against RHP pitching and those numbers are going way down.

I'm surprised there are so few here who like him. He's off the charts in a lot of clutchy-stats, had 4 of the team's 49 SF this year, actually hit a few hard in the playoffs...

I don't know or care what clutchy-stats are and the small sample of the postseason doesn't change what we he's shown in over 2700 MiLB career at-bats.

[Abe Frohman]

I'm going to call the small sample size police on this one. He's put up solid numbers in limited play against LHP, but you get him 500 at-bats with a majority of those coming against RHP pitching and those numbers are going way down.

I don't know or care what clutchy-stats are and the small sample of the postseason doesn't change what we he's shown in over 2700 MiLB career at-bats.

Whoa whoa ... who gives a balls what happened in the minors ? Nunez wouldnt be the first player to put it together at the ML level, and he wont be the last ... if that is indeed what is happening.

Nunez can handle the bat.

This isnt some notion a few rogue fans on this site made up. We arent seeing something no one else is seeing. The NYY think he can hit as Well.

Sorry that nunez isnt some star we handed out a 100 mil dollar contract to.

He'll get more AB' s next season and i hope he does well.

[snapple]

wow. just got this. nice.

it's lost on me. a little help?

[MTYankee23]

I'm going to call the small sample size police on this one. He's put up solid numbers in limited play against LHP, but you get him 500 at-bats with a majority of those coming against RHP pitching and those numbers are going way down.

Yeah, this season, he had 100 PA....and 55% of them were against LHP. Overall, about 35% of the team's PAs came against LHP.

His platoon split is the less than ideal one if you wanted to protect somebody. Also doesn't really help him that A-Rod and Jeter are also RHB.

His best fit might be IF (not advocating for this at all) the Yankees turn to A-Rod and say, forget training for the flexibility of being a 3B, focus on strength and hitting, you're a DH now, and went with a platoon of Nunez/Chavez at 3B. Nunez would get all of the starts against LHP at 3B, and some more games at SS against righties who don't have pronounced righty-killing abilties when Jeter needs a full day off.

Nunez would get exposed badly as a full time player though getting 55-60% of his PAs against righties. IMO at least.

[eaganmafia]

Whoa whoa ... who gives a balls what happened in the minors ? Nunez wouldnt be the first player to put it together at the ML level, and he wont be the last ... if that is indeed what is happening.

Nunez can handle the bat.

Who cares what he does in the minors, are you kidding me? Yes there's going to be the .1% who outperform there minor league numbers. But for 99.9% of player, there's minor league numbers reflect what they'll do in the majors. The bottom line is he didn't hit for crap in the minors then throw in the fact that he's a butcher with the glove. Sorry but that doesn't exactly scream "everyday player" to me.

This isnt some notion a few rogue fans on this site made up. We arent seeing something no one else is seeing. The NYY think he can hit as Well.

Sorry that nunez isnt some star we handed out a 100 mil dollar contract to.

He'll get more AB' s next season and i hope he does well.

That's great the Yankees think he'll hit. Doesn't change the fact that he's shown nothing to say that he will hit enough to be an everyday player or even hit enough to cover the fact that he's a crap-ass defensive player.

[False1]

I'm going to call the small sample size police on this one. He's put up solid numbers in limited play against LHP, but you get him 500 at-bats with a majority of those coming against RHP pitching and those numbers are going way down.

I confessed to SSS in my post. 100 PA. Was just pointing out that the .350 OBP wasn't as outlandish as folks were implying given his results this year. SSS and splits are fine counters to that POV, but still I'd say its not crazy to think his game can continue to improve. Not all players stop developing in the minors. Like I said, I'm not overly optimistic but I just don't get the extreme pessimism as it relates to his offense specifically. Defense is another matter.

I don't know or care what clutchy-stats are and the small sample of the postseason doesn't change what we he's shown in over 2700 MiLB career at-bats.

My comment was somewhat tongue in cheek. But he has (SSS ALERT) done very well with RISP, man on 3rd with less than 2 out, late and close, etc. he has 4 sac flies in limited time. He puts the ball in play. A lot of the things that better hitters on this team get criticized for not doing.

[False1]

That's great the Yankees think he'll hit. Doesn't change the fact that he's shown nothing to say that he will hit enough to be an everyday player or even hit enough to cover the fact that he's a crap-ass defensive player.

i don't think they're alone though. Prior to him going Knoblauch-style, Nunez was asked for in numerous deals that (unfortunately) never materialized. I think that there is some optimism beyond Yankee land about his bat - assuming he can field at SS.