Early Impressions

[Edgy MD]

There are a lot of new kids in school.  Use this thread to let everybody know what you think of them!

 

Jorge Polanco: Small for a firstbaseman, and certainly unrefined, but athletic, and apparently is willing to grind through injuries.

Marcus Semien: The defense is still there.  He may be hitting ninth in six weeks, but seems to be in good shape and have a healthy enough mindset that he could be getting nothing done for a month but still be a threat to have a torrid week.  Somewhere between late-stage Willie Randolph and late-stage Rickey.

Louis Robert: Rock hard.  Slow swing, but a lot of strength there.  Better plate discipline than I expected.  Has a powerful arm that baserunners respect, but he tends to arc it way over the cutoff man's head, so I imagine he will air-mail a few way off target.

Bo Bichette: He keeps getting that topped-over slow bouncer to his backhand hit to him — the sort of play he almost never saw at shortstop — so I imagine he'll figure it out eventually.  Still the position seems pretty foreign to him.  Hard to say if that is affecting his slow start at the plate, but not getting guys home from third with less than two out is a dealbreaker with my heart.

Speaking of my heart — and this isn't really fair — but it is unsettling how much like Jeter he looks like from certain angles.  Has a nerdy voice, and I can roll with that, but the Jeter thing is going to be a tougher pull.

Freddy Peralta: Ask me after start #2.  That's a lot of talent to give up for one season of a guy — any guy.  And with pitchers, any season is one pitch away from ending.  But that's not on him, so ask me after start #2.

Devin Williams: Hard to get my head around a closer whose signature pitch is a changeup.  Seems to have a good idea where the ball is going, though, which is nice to see in a closer.  I hate that they were reluctant to use him in consecutive games early in the season (working through those periods is what Spring Training is for), but I gather that is based in part on his bad start in 2025.

I don't have any read on Luis Garcia or Tobias Meyers yet.  I'm actually still having trouble remembering which Luis Garcia we got.

[Gwreck]

Myers is exciting to me because relievers who can go multiple innings are a very useful thing to have on the roster.  Looked good his first two outings.

Weaver also looked ok his first two outings but it’s very early.

[MFS62]

2 hours ago, Edgy MD said:

 

Devin Williams: Hard to get my head around a closer whose signature pitch is a changeup.  

There have been many successful relievers whose primary out pitch was a changeup, from Stu Miller to Eric Gagne to John Franco.

Yes, we'd love to see our closer blow them away with a blazing fastball. But an out is an out.

I'm not putting Williams in their league, but as long as he is successful, we'll be happy.

Later

[Edgy MD]

I can only speak for myself, and not "we."

I wasn't suggesting I reject a closer because his signature pitch is a changeup.  I was only writing that it is hard to wrap my head around because it is a-typical.

[metsmarathon]

As a closer, Trevor Hoffman did pretty well for himself with the changeup, I think. 

[Frayed Knot]

Mary Leaky found these very early impressions.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Last night I was getting Eduardo Escobar vibes from Jorge Polanco. Switch-hitters who can play different infield positions with surprising 20+ homer pop and, I think, both were a little underrated.

[metirish]

I am really hoping Semien gets going on offense, Robert Jr looks decent,so far I'm happy enough 

[A Boy Named Seo]

Devin Williams chucking it (effectively) at like 93 MPH had me feeling like he's a bit more Kenley Jansen than Edwin Diaz. Not necessarily a bad thing, just a little scary when 95 is clearly a distant memory for a 31-year-old closer.

[The Hot Corner]

I think his change up makes the 4 seam fastball look faster.  The change up is his best and most effective pitch.  If hitters get looking for the change, the fastball can surprise them.  

Hitters are taught to look for the hard stuff (2 seam/4 seam/slider) and adjust to the off-speed stuff (change/curve).  If the hitters is looking/guessing on the slow change, the fastball often beats them. 

[duan]

I'm a fair way from being convinced by Williams, but it's way too soon to be too worried either.