Ackley and Franklin

[Logicallylethal]

July 5th Dustin Ackley's batting avg was at .194 (ouch). The popular consensus with most of us was that he that he cannot hit major league pitching. Since then he has hit .338 and has raised his avg to .256.

On July 2nd Nick Franklin's batting avg was at .299 (whew). Many of us believed that we had found our starting second basemen for years to come (someone even said he was going to dethrone Cano next year). He was hitting for power, showing good patience, and an above average glove as well. Well...since then he has hit .179 and has lowered his avg to .227.

Smoak has also struggled these past couple of weeks...


Personally...I'm more excited about Ackley finding his stroke than I am concerned about Smoak and Franklin. Smoak is still showing good patience at the plate...and there's been a couple balls where he's just barely missed. He'll get it going again in Sept. Franklin...the strike out rate is a bit concerning...but he's young so the slump was to be expected.

As for Ackley...what a tear he is on right now. He looks absolutely locked in at the plate. You can just see it in his eyes...the confidence is there...he's aggressive...hopefully this means we can pencil in Ackley as a starting outfielder next year

 

[unlvmariners]

It is good to see Ackley hitting better. I really hope he can keep it up and carry it over to next season.

I am not worried about Franklin yet, a slump isn't a big surprise.

What I really want to see is a full season of success from these guys not a weeks or a month at a time. These guys are showing they can hit for periods of time but can't put it together for a full season.

 

[hawkfan1073]

anyone else notice Ackley is really bulking up in his upper body? Crazy if he went from this light hitting 2nd baseman to this power hitting centerfielder....lol

 

[unlvmariners]

anyone else notice Ackley is really bulking up in his upper body? Crazy if he went from this light hitting 2nd baseman to this power hitting centerfielder....lol

I don't know if Ackley will ever be much of a power bat. In a good year I think he could be in the 15 homerun range. What I would like to see out of Ackley is a high average.

 

[hawkfan1073]

I don't know if Ackley will ever be much of a power bat. In a good year I think he could be in the 15 homerun range. What I would like to see out of Ackley is a high average.

I think he is bulking up to improve his arm in the OF and a byproduct of that I think is he is hitting the ball alot harder. I've been impressed the last month of so.

 

[seattlefan75]

personally i gave up on smoak and ackley and ive labeled both of them as busts. i wouldnt be opposed to having them compete for their jobs next season. I was hoping with the walls being brought in at safeco that smoaks power numbers would come up but thats just not the case, and there is nothing about ackleys game that excites me. time to just see what zunino, walker, and hulzen can do next season

 

[johnfree63]

personally i gave up on smoak and ackley and ive labeled both of them as busts. i wouldnt be opposed to having them compete for their jobs next season. I was hoping with the walls being brought in at safeco that smoaks power numbers would come up but thats just not the case, and there is nothing about ackleys game that excites me. time to just see what zunino, walker, and hulzen can do next season

I feel like a team can get by with a light hitting CF so, if Ackley can keep getting on base, he might be an asset. A light hitting 1B like Smoak on the other hand (his .409 SLG ranks towards the bottom of 1B in the league), the M's could probably do better.

 

[NWinAZ]

You can get by with a light hitting CF, but he better be that exceptional defensive CF (Ackley is not) and you better have a strong core of hitters (which M's do not). If Ackley was the defensive CF version of Ryan, then I would agree 100%, but he is average at best out there so he better be able to hit and with consistency. I always pictured him as a LF myself because of his bat and his defensive abilities/liabilities.

 

[Logicallylethal]

You can get by with a light hitting CF, but he better be that exceptional defensive CF (Ackley is not) and you better have a strong core of hitters (which M's do not). If Ackley was the defensive CF version of Ryan, then I would agree 100%, but he is average at best out there so he better be able to hit and with consistency. I always pictured him as a LF myself because of his bat and his defensive abilities/liabilities.

I think we are all spoiled to have the likes of Ken Griffey jr and Mike Cameron in center during our years watching the Ms. But you guys have to realize...not every cf is going to be a Griffey/Cameron or even a Guti.

Ackley has proven himself to be better than an average cf. Did you see his range when he tracked down that flyball against Houston during his 4 hit game?

Not sure what it is with Ackley...but Franklin is struggling way worse than Ackley had when he hit his slump yet everyone still loves him...and Ackley is actually turning it around now...and he's still receiving hate?

 

[dude82]

I think we are all spoiled to have the likes of Ken Griffey jr and Mike Cameron in center during our years watching the Ms. But you guys have to realize...not every cf is going to be a Griffey/Cameron or even a Guti.

Ackley has proven himself to be better than an average cf. Did you see his range when he tracked down that flyball against Houston during his 4 hit game?

Not sure what it is with Ackley...but Franklin is struggling way worse than Ackley had when he hit his slump yet everyone still loves him...and Ackley is actually turning it around now...and he's still receiving hate?

I think it's too early to make a call on Ackley's defense in center one way or the other. He's got the speed for the position and we've seen his range out there. What he doesn't have right now is a lot of recent experience playing the position and with experience will come more familiarity with the position and how to play it in different ballparks. I remember there being questions about his defense at second base when he was first called up too, but he played it better than anybody thought he would, though possibly to the detriment of his hitting, which doesn't seem to be an issue since his switch to center. As long as he hits like he's been hitting since he made the move to center, he doesn't have to be the second coming of Griffey, Cameron or Guti defensively... he just has to play solid center field, and I think we need to see him out there for significantly more than 40 games to come to a decent conclusion about whether he can do that or not. As long as he's hitting and isn't kicking the ball around, they're gonna find a spot for him defensively.

 

[NWinAZ]

Ackley making one play in center does not make for a gold glove future. Even Raul has made plays in the OF over his career and I still wouldn't use him as a defensive replacement. My point being with Ackley is that if he continues to hit in the .230's his defense is in no way able to make up for that. Cameron could get away with it, and a modern guy like Peter Bourjos could as well. If he hits next year like he has the second half this year, even w/o the power, then you can live with his defense (which I see as average to maybe one step below average at this point. His reaction off the bat is still slow, he is still learning good route running to the ball, and I have yet to see him unleash a solid throw to a base). Just my opinion.

 

[cezero]

Like I've said in other threads, I don't know what to make of Ackley just yet. He's fine in CF, but the M's should really be focused on really upgrading the outfield overall.

If Ack continues to excel offensively, which I am dubious about, and Franklin doesn't improve, then it might be better keeping Ack at 2B. Can't believe I'm saying that. It's going to be a very interesting offseason and 2-2014 spring training.

 

[wazzu31]

I don't know if Ackley will ever be much of a power bat. In a good year I think he could be in the 15 homerun range. What I would like to see out of Ackley is a high average.

Which is exactly what a club need to get from a CF. A CF is a position that is designed for great defense, a solid average and power after that is a plus

 

[wazzu31]

I think he is bulking up to improve his arm in the OF and a byproduct of that I think is he is hitting the ball alot harder. I've been impressed the last month of so.

But bulking up hurts your arm. Taking steroids to build upper body strength was stupid for pitchers because you could not throw as hard. Guys like Clemens took them and did leg workouts to build the muscles that can help you throw harder with less of a chance of injury.

 

[hawkfan1073]

But bulking up hurts your arm.

You must get your information from the crazy store.
Building muscle is EXACTLY how you get a better arm. Now you alluded to using steroids....THAT is not how you do it.
Building muscle and working on mechanics is the only way.

 

[blstoker]

You must get your information from the crazy store.
Building muscle is EXACTLY how you get a better arm. Now you alluded to using steroids....THAT is not how you do it.
Building muscle and working on mechanics is the only way.

I'm with Wazzu on this one. The power comes from your legs. If you throw with your arm, it's only a matter of time before you have no arm left. That's exactly how I ruined my arm, hence ruined my chances of ever developing a career.

 

[wazzu31]

You must get your information from the crazy store.
Building muscle is EXACTLY how you get a better arm. Now you alluded to using steroids....THAT is not how you do it.
Building muscle and working on mechanics is the only way.

I got my information from professional scouts and why during the hay day of roids quad workouts were the primary focus of pitchers. The more mass you build in your biceps the less you can extend it to throw and use the real "whip" Look at every single professional pitcher that can hit 100, he is either slightly built with a nice wing span or a pitcher with massive quads. Heck, how many ripped fielders have you ever seen with cannons, I'm sure you remember Boone with his weak arm.

 

[wazzu31]

You must get your information from the crazy store.
Building muscle is EXACTLY how you get a better arm. Now you alluded to using steroids....THAT is not how you do it.
Building muscle and working on mechanics is the only way.

And mechanics is the 2nd most overrated myth about pitching behind innings. Mark Prior was bred to be the greatest pitcher of all time with his perfect mechanics and he blew out his arm. Noone can ever predict or stop an injury from happening.

Guys like Nolan Ryan and Jim Palmer pitched massive amounts of innings because on their off days they drank and ran instead of throwing bullpen sessions. Sandy Koufax did not throw one bullpen session when he pitched for the Dodgers, mostly because of a destroyed elbow, but he was able to throw more because he did not waste his the tearing of his ligaments on worthless bullpen sessions. In baseball you build an arm to throw, not to flex.

Next time you are out with your son, stand in front of him stick your arm out and elbow up and just throw. Do the same exact thing while flexing and see which throw you threw harder.

 

[hawkfan1073]

And mechanics is the 2nd most overrated myth about pitching behind innings. Mark Prior was bred to be the greatest pitcher of all time with his perfect mechanics and he blew out his arm. Noone can ever predict or stop an injury from happening.

Guys like Nolan Ryan and Jim Palmer pitched massive amounts of innings because on their off days they drank and ran instead of throwing bullpen sessions. Sandy Koufax did not throw one bullpen session when he pitched for the Dodgers, mostly because of a destroyed elbow, but he was able to throw more because he did not waste his the tearing of his ligaments on worthless bullpen sessions. In baseball you build an arm to throw, not to flex.

Next time you are out with your son, stand in front of him stick your arm out and elbow up and just throw. Do the same exact thing while flexing and see which throw you threw harder.

You are wrong

 

[cezero]

You are wrong

Incredibly wrong.

It's rare that somebody who knows so little is so willing to demonstrate his ignorance at such length.

Wow.