Comments on: Johnny Giavotella Returns Amidst Confusion

By: jim fetterolf

jim fetterolf — Thu, 10 May 2012 00:53:04 +0000

@michael.allen.engel Gio is a very poor defensive 2nd baseman, has been his entire minor-league career and his brief major-league career. With Gio’s iron glove he has to hit like Dan Uggla and has never shown any signs of that. I thought I was being generous using MLE and conceding .280 with some pop. I don’t think that is near enough to compensate for his glove. Opinions might vary. Royals seem to think Gio is a platoon 2nd baseman, as they are bringing up a supposed prospect to sit on the bench the majority of the time. That suggests they are looking a little deeper on the depth chart. Gio’s glove is what will hold him back.

By: michael.allen.engel

michael.allen.engel — Thu, 10 May 2012 00:19:23 +0000

@jim fetterolf 187 plate appearances, with maybe a third to half of those with a hip injury, is enough to tell us who Gio is as a player? I disagree with that notion.

On August 8 last year, Moustakas had 186 plate appearances and was at .185/.245/.238, so thank goodness they didn’t give up on him and start platooning him, too. If Gio were a 17th round pick, that’d be one thing, but he’s a second rounder. He needs more time.

Colon may turn out to be the future 2B for this franchise, but he has to show something in Triple A first. Colon has struggled at parts or most of every year in the minors so far at the plate. Gio hasn’t. Colon has to be a Gold Glover to overcome what that may project to at the big league level.

By: jim fetterolf

jim fetterolf — Thu, 10 May 2012 00:11:09 +0000

Gio is coming back to platoon, as Getz’ new stance is weak against LHP, batting .200 against them this year. According to Clint Scoles at Pine Tar Press, who watches ‘Chasers games in Omaha, Gio’s defense is same old, which makes him about a hit worse than Getz per game.

Royals have a real good idea of what they have in Gio and in Getz, so now the hope is that Colon’s revived hitting sticks or that Tony Abreu can transition to 2B. The good news is that Giavotella’s hip seems to be rehabbed now, so the hope is no repeat of last year’s .255. His MLE has him around a .280 hitter with some pop, so he’ll help til the future player arrives, if ever.