Community Projection Results: Daniel Descalso
Posted on February 4th, 2011 by azruavatar in community projections, Daniel DescalsoMost projections have Descalso holding pace from last year and performing a tick better. My personal line for him comes out to .276/.339/.391 as I think 2010 was probably about as good as we can expect from him. I’m n the minority there as the next closest projection still has .017 wOBA points on me — about 6 runs over the course of a season.
Full Results after the jump
| Abs | Hits | Doubles | Triples | HRs | BB | K | BA | OBP | SLG | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | |
| 490 | 140 | 33 | 3 | 10 | 50 | 55 | 0.285 | 0.351 | 0.426 | 0.141 | 0.305 | 0.343 | |
| 496 | 151 | 31 | 4 | 9 | 70 | 72 | 0.304 | 0.390 | 0.437 | 0.133 | 0.342 | 0.369 | |
| 495 | 155 | 38 | 4 | 11 | 56 | 60 | 0.313 | 0.382 | 0.472 | 0.159 | 0.339 | 0.375 | |
| 450 | 128 | 34 | 3 | 11 | 52 | 46 | 0.284 | 0.358 | 0.446 | 0.162 | 0.297 | 0.354 | |
| 506 | 139 | 38 | 5 | 6 | 60 | 54 | 0.274 | 0.351 | 0.405 | 0.131 | 0.298 | 0.337 | |
| 500 | 150 | 25 | 3 | 8 | 55 | 45 | 0.300 | 0.369 | 0.410 | 0.110 | 0.317 | 0.348 | |
| 490 | 140 | 33 | 2 | 12 | 55 | 50 | 0.285 | 0.357 | 0.434 | 0.149 | 0.299 | 0.349 | |
| 489 | 140 | 35 | 4 | 11 | 53 | 55 | 0.286 | 0.356 | 0.441 | 0.155 | 0.304 | 0.351 | |
| 465 | 145 | 25 | 2 | 8 | 55 | 45 | 0.311 | 0.384 | 0.425 | 0.114 | 0.332 | 0.362 | |
| 470 | 130 | 25 | 1 | 9 | 45 | 50 | 0.276 | 0.339 | 0.391 | 0.115 | 0.294 | 0.326 | |
| Average | 485.1 | 141.8 | 31.7 | 3.1 | 9.5 | 55.1 | 53.2 | 0.292 | 0.364 | 0.429 | 0.137 | 0.313 | 0.351 |
| AA | 479 | 132 | 32 | 3 | 9 | 47 | 48 | 0.281 | 0.349 | 0.42 | 0.172 | 0.377 | 0.413 |
Entries (RSS)
With so much talk of Descalso- why are we all assuming that he won’t spend the whole year in STL?
Punto and the fact that DD bats left-handed. If he was a potential platoon partner for Skip, I think his chances of making the 25 man would be much higher.
That assumption is expressly for projection purposes.
Short answer: TLR.
Agree, we must always factor in the TLR idiosyncrasies into our lineup projections. TLR loves old gritty players (especially short middle infielders who switch hit) and the slavish devotion to the lefty righty matchup. Both factors work against DD.
Not saying Descalso has a shimmering, otherworldy, sideral upside essence about him. What you see is what you get. He’s a steady player who does most things (solid on defense; makes decent contact on offense) fundamentally well and consistently. With the giant elephant in the room (Pujols’ contract, if we’re gonna keep him), seems to me it would be well to let cost-controlled assets gain playing experience (and not just the occasional cameo appearance when TLR decides to let the kid have the keys to the car). If, in fact, it IS going to be Pujols and “the seven dwarfs”, for our positional player situation (Holliday aside), isn’t it a good time now to get pieces in place, like Decalso, so we can get on with this thing??? Maybe Descalso IS only going to ultimately be a utility-type player. We don’t know. But we need to. Or, at least, it makes sense to find out.
All I know is, that the ONLY thing Schumaker brings to the table is the ability to hit right-handers (has never hit left-handers and can’t filed the position). In this scenario, even if Descalso has similar offensive deficiencies, at least the team is still one-up on defense. I know it’s only a million for Schumaker here and a million for Theriot there, etc. etc. But as the late Senator Everett Dirksen once famously said, ” A few million here and a few million there…soon adds up to real money.” Especially if you’re trying to keep the player of our generation.
I have to disgaree with you.
Descalso is not a steller defensive player. But to also simply assume that Descalso would jump up to the majors and hit .290 with a .350 OBP.
It seems this conversation was beaten to death before with Jarret Hoffpair.
You’re right. He may well be another Hoffpauir. I don’t necessarily think he’s anything spectacular, for certain.
Long term, though, we seem to want to resign Pujols, add these dollars to the existant Holliday contract, be in the conversation with Wainwright when his contract is up, and, of course, a Rasmus payday will slip up on us all too quickly. A watershed, of sorts, is being reached by the organization. We are, understandably, loathe to part with A.P. Yet, if we retain him, the results on total payroll and, as a result, future maneuverability will have a profound effect on the team for most of the next decade. Sooner or later we may want to stop being dismissive of some of our more humble homegrowns, if, in fact, they’re viable options. Of course, maybe Descalso isn’t one of those. In which case, you point stands.
I guess it’s a small item, but last year we had: Miles 139 AB; Winn 144 AB; Feliz 120 AB. Now this year, for the extra cash, we have the likes of Theriot, Punto, and Laird. I just sometimes wish we thought about the fringes of our positional roster a little differently. But, like the conversation about Hoffpauir, this lament has become pretty common around here.
So, of course, you’re right. We’ve already “beaten to death” most of this. Stale it is. So, I refrain further.
I agree. In the future, they might have to play it a bit riskier.
But I think the cards have done fairly well at mixing in the younger guys. And too a fault they have shown suprising patients (Freese). Working the young guys into middle releif has also been successful.
But it seems like many fans want to beleive that every prospect is a MLB player and should easily be penciled in on the roster. But you are right with the cards having to drop that threshold if Pujols commands nearly 30% of the payroll.
Also, I have and always disagree on using younger players as bench/utility. Its fine if they are out of options, but I don’t think it serves a guy well to be used on such limited basis. Younger guys need to play. So I would rather have Anderson in the minors working on his defensive game and letting Laird rarely get playing time. Then if Molina gets hurt, call Anderson up for that stretch of time so he gets playing time.
Jarret Hoffpauir was interesting as a lead-off option because of his high OBP. Most regarded him as undersized and limited as an everyday player. Descalso is a legit option as at least a utility player, and despite the fact he’s not a stellar defensive player, he’s projected to be better than Schumaker, who nose-dived last year. Yes, projection isn’t the same as reality, but the problem with that is projections never will become reality unless the player is given the opportunity. That is the issue and that it continues to be discussed–there are prospects who may be a cheap contributor to the mother club and a possible improvement over more expensive options, but there’s a sense there is not an interest in the organization of developing solid complimentary players, which will be imperative to keep the club competitive given the projected salary structure vs. budget.
Also, the conversation keeps coming up because the situation of the Cardinals’ infield is deteriorating defensively. Schumaker is a minus defensive second basemen, Theroit has limited range and couldn’t stick at short last year, and Freese is playing on two fragile ankles that will limit his playing time and may hinder his normally solid defensive play. For that reason, I agreed with getting Punto as defensive insurance, but it also would help if guys like Descalso, who have had solid success in the minors and have actually done decent in their brief callups, to get longer looks rather than scrap the bottom of other organization’s barrels for bench replacements.
I think if you have a contendint team, its better to go with the safer bet than hope that a prospect could provide the same. I am not talking about obvous talent such as a Rasmus of course.
I think in this situation, it safer to stick with Skip at second and Descalso in the m inors. If skip starts of disasterous, then you can make the move. IF you do it the other way around, you really don’t have an option if Descalso turns out to be a disaster.
Were the cards need to improve on is that middle of the rotation starter. The cards now have $20 million in 2 middle of the rotation pitcher in westbrooke and Lohse. I am not saying that is a bad investment as those spots are very valuable. But they are expensive. The cards are going to need the lance Lynn’s moving forward. The skip/Descalso stuff I am not too worried about.
The “safer bet” is not a guaranteed thing, as the past several seasons have shown with the Cardinals’ veteran complimentary players being far less than inspiring. Schumaker, by any stretch of the imagination, was not a legit second baseman last year, yet he is being handed the job next season with *no* competition. The idea that he’s “safe” is an extreme fantasy. There’s already a disaster at the position, and there’s no season-long possible replacement behind him because the organization has not bothered to test cheap replacements. Descalso will not be relied upon to replace Schumaker if he continues to fail, because he has not been given the opportunity to play the position in St. Louis for any length of time in the first place. Plus, your argument also completely ignores that if Pujols signs his projected deal, the Cardinals will not have the budgeted funds to spend on filling other positions with “safer bets.”
And nobody is saying to rely on a Descalso to take the starting position and dump Schumaker. Notice I said “bench replacements” and called for guys like Descalso to get “longer looks” in St. Louis. What I was saying was that there’s been no real development of depth players and a distinct lack of competition for a veteran’s spot who completely failed. Which is why it’s worrisome that when Descalso does get his call-up, he winds up playing a position he’s rarely played (3B) instead of his normal position, which also happens to be where the veteran is failing. Which also is why the Cardinals flail when their starters get injured or falter. It’s a failure of player development due to disinterest–if you can’t have somebody step in for long term, which has led management to scramble for other clubs’ scraps.
And you should worry about the middle infield, considering that the rotation’s pitching philosophy is still based around ground-ball inducement and relies on the infield’s defensive play and range. Their performance is directly linked to the infielders’ defensive play.
because tlr
is pretty much it
I hold out some confidence that Schumaker will improve both defensively and offesively over last year but agree that Descalso should be the go to guy if he doesn’t. “Due to disinterest” as you say he won’t be. I’m higher on DD than most but even I don’t think he’ll be a world beater. He could, however, be an immediate upgrade if Schu continues to disappoint and ultimately be an average 2b until someone better comes along. The failure to take advantage of what cost effective usefulness the system offers is a continuing frustration.
Schumaker’s defense is terrifying. It really is. I wonder what the pitchers think every time a ball is hit his way.
I think the issue with playing the young guys, or playing Descalso in general, is a fundamental question of what is the best team that the Cardinals can field right now. Make no mistake, if the starting rotation is healthy and Loshe grabs some of his shine back, this is a World Series contender. However, if injuries force changes in the rotation, or everyday lineup, it is quite possible that we are looking at a finish similar to last year. As long as we are contenders, I would like to see the best lineup on the field, and I don’t think that includes Descalso at this point.
At this point, once the guaranteed money owed to Schu is paid, there’s no reason to keep Schu around next year over Descalso. Descalso is a better defender, is cheaper, is younger (and in his prime, while Schu should be declining) and Descalso even has higher Marcel/Zips projections.
Agree. It will be interesting to see the kind of contract skip gets next year. He could be a valuable guy on the right team.
and whether mr t gets a contract next year, or is it a greene-dd a middle infield
dd strikes me as a poor man’s polanco
Never understood the LaRussa doesn’t like young player comments. Currently on this team 2/5 of the rotation. 4/5 of the infield, 1/3 of the outfield and 3/6 of the bullpen came through the system. LaRussa has coached something like 8 ROYs.
I think the problem comes down to is people overhype prospects…such as DD.
I just don’t get why people assume a fringe/average prospect who isn’t even all that great defensivly can step in an do better that a proven major league player. I think WAR projections have confused people into thinking that every player is a replacement quality, which isn’t true.
Fact is, in 2010 the cards are probably better starting the season off with skip at second. 2011…different story.
Have you guys been watching Descalso this year? He has outstanding defense and has made some stellar plays. His batting average is also creeping up.