Brian Sabean gabbed it up this weekend about Emmanuel Burriss, saying next year’s shortstop gig is the 23–year-old rookie’s to lose.
I recently opined that Ivan Ochoa was better suited to start next year because of his stellar D, and that it wouldn’t hurt to give Burriss another year at AAA. Since then, however, Burriss has gotten most of the reps at short and maintained his respectable OBP — it currently stands at .353 — while Ochoa’s bat has quieted to a whisper.
Apparently that’s enough to elevate Burriss, even though he still has major holes in his offensive game. With his speed, he should be a better basestealer. Since Aug. 1, when he basically became an everyday player, he’s only swiped 4 of 7. The Giants should ask Dave Roberts to work with the kid as much as possible, just as Maury Wills once worked with Roberts to turn him into a base stealing force.
The Giants also want Burriss to add power. He doesn’t have to hit home runs, but he needs the muscle to shoot balls into the gaps now and then. Hitting coach Carney Lansford identified this problem early in the year, but the added power hasn’t yet appeared. Since Aug. 1, Burriss has had three extra base hits in 111 at-bats. Keep that up, and it’s likely his OBP will start to drop. Pitchers who don’t fear a batter’s power will simply throw balls down the middle. The outfielders will play in, taking away bloops and a few line drive hits, and the player’s walk rate will plummet.
I like Burriss’s skills. I would love to see him “plug that position,” as Sabean said yesterday. But first I’d love to see him hit a few balls up the alley this month, not to mention make all the easy plays on defense and a lot of the tough ones, too.
Before we take Sabean’s word for it and write Burriss’s name into the 2009 opening day lineup, let’s not forget Dan Ortmeier, who was anointed starting first baseman in spring training this year. The Giants don’t have a stellar track record of keeping the faith on these types of promises.
But wait, there’s more! Sabean also told the Chron that Pablo Sandoval “will be on the field somewhere next year as a starting player.” The nutty Sandoval experiment, rotating him between catcher, first base, and third base, despite nearly zero pro experience at the latter position, has been a huge hit — or 28 hits, eight of them for extra bases, and most of them line drives. Sandoval hits the ball hard and to all fields.
The sample size is too small to judge defensive acumen, but at least he hasn’t done anything embarrassing with leather strapped to his hand. (For what it’s worth, Baseball Prospectus’s “Rate 2” defensive metric has him below average at first base, way below average as a catcher, and slightly above at third. As a catcher he’s only caught one of eight base stealers.)
At this rate, all of next year’s roster slots will be spoken for by mid-October. And if he keeps hitting 96–MPH fastballs into the right-center field arcade seats, a destination few lefties can reach, Nate Schierholtz might be the next to receive a vote of confidence from Sabes.
