Is Masyn Winn on the verge of Superstardom?

[sikeston bulldog2]

Interesting info on Edgar. I always loved that guy. As to my comments above on Winn, he has tremendous value on D. He is becoming the next Ozzie at SS on D. Yeah, I said that out loud. We all watch this kid daily and he is just nails on D. He is to SS what Nado was to 3B in his absolute prime. Winn has matured greatly in the past season. When he first arrived he would uncork that cannon arm on most every throw. Now he only throws just as hard as he has to on any given play. His range is superb and he gets to things in such a way that we take it for granted watching him. I think he is the best defensive SS in the NL that I see regularly, and there are some other very, very good ones. Because I wrote that he will make a key error tomorrow, but whatever.

At the plate, he makes adjustments. You can see it all the time. He started out the year trying to hit a 5 run homer most every AB. Then he dialed it down and now he is hitting, and only taking the home run swing when appropriate. Yes, moving him to the two hole seemed to really help him. He rarely has two bad ABs in a row. Yes, it happens, but he doesn't get a string of them in a row. He adjusts, which is the sign of a mature player. The kid seems to be entering his prime. I think if he just continues the D, and hits 15-20 dingers with high OBP that is all he needs to be to have tremendous value to the team. He doesn't need to try to hit dingers at the expense of line drives to all fields and high OBP. With RISP I will take a lined single to RF every time over trying to hit it out and failing.

I sure wouldn't want to have to choose the NL starting SS for the all star game. There are a few and Winn is in the conversation. It isn't all about hitting. The guy puts a defensive show on every night. He and VSII have been really fun to watch this season... and Herrera...that guy's ABs are not quite like Albert, but you always stop and watch him hit.

We’re going to have some very good SS’s who rarely have an AS appearance because the position is so deep.

Perdomo: 2.1 fWAR .287/.391/.447
Lindor: 1.9 fWAR .297/.364/.491
Winn: 1.4 fWAR .281/.371/.465
Betts: 1.4 fWAR .266/.343/.429
Abrams: 1.3 fWAR .311/.375/.525
Swanson: 1.3 fWAR .246/.306/.461
Turner: 1.1 fWAR .299/.357/.377
De La Cruz: 0.6 fWAR .250/.323/.407

And you’ve got players like Adames and Bogaerts as well.

Then consider in the AL where you’ve got Witts, Henderson, Seager, plus a guy like Jacob Wilson emerging. Volpe and Peña as well.

Agreed. Amazing how deep that position has become over the past decade really. The days of the great defensive SS who is a poor hitter are over. Now they do it all. Fans choose the guy with the offensive numbers for the ASG mostly. Winn has good numbers, but not top of the list. But his D is certainly top few in baseball at SS. For an old school fan like me... I know the value of that nightly. He can change the flow of a game with his glove.

He may be a player added by manager. Like you say his numbers probably won’t be league best.

[Strummer Jones]

Big Winn fan.

And it's cool to see him and Scott play with swagger, but not so much to be cringe-worthy. They play the game as hard as anybody, but they look cool doing it.

Can you guys imagine if Winn gets more larcenous on the bases, and having him and Scott 1-2 in the line-up? Both have shown some pop at times, but the speed! Get two guys on base who can burn, and some guy at 3 who can thump, and that's a line-up that will put up some crooked numbers in the first inning.

[bccardsfan]

Big Winn fan.

And it's cool to see him and Scott play with swagger, but not so much to be cringe-worthy. They play the game as hard as anybody, but they look cool doing it.

Can you guys imagine if Winn gets more larcenous on the bases, and having him and Scott 1-2 in the line-up? Both have shown some pop at times, but the speed! Get two guys on base who can burn, and some guy at 3 who can thump, and that's a line-up that will put up some crooked numbers in the first inning.

Yeah, I have had the same thought. Old school baseball, speed at the top. Hopefully VSII keeps developing and can take the leadoff role next season. Noot can be useful in other spots. But for now, VSII is developing nicely and has little pressure in the 9 hole...

[redbirdfan51]

Winn certainly has all the makings of a superstar.

[rockondlouie]

I wouldn't say "Superstardom", that's reserved for the elite of the elite.

But he's on the right path to perhaps make an all-star game (or two or more?) one day.

[Futuregm2]

Big Winn fan.

And it's cool to see him and Scott play with swagger, but not so much to be cringe-worthy. They play the game as hard as anybody, but they look cool doing it.

Can you guys imagine if Winn gets more larcenous on the bases, and having him and Scott 1-2 in the line-up? Both have shown some pop at times, but the speed! Get two guys on base who can burn, and some guy at 3 who can thump, and that's a line-up that will put up some crooked numbers in the first inning.

Yeah, I have had the same thought. Old school baseball, speed at the top. Hopefully VSII keeps developing and can take the leadoff role next season. Noot can be useful in other spots. But for now, VSII is developing nicely and has little pressure in the 9 hole...

Agreed, I like the way it’s set up right now because it doesn’t put added pressure on VS2, but he still has an important role as the “2nd leadoff hitter”. Noot is a great leadoff hitter as well with his ability to draw walks and hit XBH. Yea, he may not steal as much as you’d like, but he does a great job of getting on base.

[Futuregm2]

I wouldn't say "Superstardom", that's reserved for the elite of the elite.

But he's on the right path to perhaps make an all-star game (or two or more?) one day.

He was 6th among NL players in bWAR last year and he’s taken the hitting game to another level this year.

Since April 1st Winn is hitting .320/.405/.530. Those are ELITE numbers. And he has 0 errors to boot with stellar defense.

[rockondlouie]

I wouldn't say "Superstardom", that's reserved for the elite of the elite.

But he's on the right path to perhaps make an all-star game (or two or more?) one day.

He was 6th among NL players in bWAR last year and he’s taken the hitting game to another level this year.

Since April 1st Winn is hitting .320/.405/.530. Those are ELITE numbers. And he has 0 errors to boot with stellar defense.

Superstardom players to me are S. Ohtani, A. Judge, ect...........

Winn's not in that class.

Stardom?

Perhaps

SUPERSTARDOM?

Nope

[Strummer Jones]

Big Winn fan.

And it's cool to see him and Scott play with swagger, but not so much to be cringe-worthy. They play the game as hard as anybody, but they look cool doing it.

Can you guys imagine if Winn gets more larcenous on the bases, and having him and Scott 1-2 in the line-up? Both have shown some pop at times, but the speed! Get two guys on base who can burn, and some guy at 3 who can thump, and that's a line-up that will put up some crooked numbers in the first inning.

Yeah, I have had the same thought. Old school baseball, speed at the top. Hopefully VSII keeps developing and can take the leadoff role next season. Noot can be useful in other spots. But for now, VSII is developing nicely and has little pressure in the 9 hole...

I like it. I'm not in any hurry to change the line-up now. It's working, and we've been scoring like gangbusters. Sometimes the best move is no move at all.

But next year, provided all keep going at a good pace this year, I'd like a Scott/Winn/Herrera (or a thumper from the outside) line-up.

I'd be curious to see Nootbaar at #4 in that situation. Not a classic "clear 'em all" hitter in that spot, but still has good pop, and gets on base well. Almost like another lead-off hitter to start the process over again. I'm just throwing spaghetti against the wall on that, though.

[Futuregm2]

I wouldn't say "Superstardom", that's reserved for the elite of the elite.

But he's on the right path to perhaps make an all-star game (or two or more?) one day.

He was 6th among NL players in bWAR last year and he’s taken the hitting game to another level this year.

Since April 1st Winn is hitting .320/.405/.530. Those are ELITE numbers. And he has 0 errors to boot with stellar defense.

Superstardom players to me are S. Ohtani, A. Judge, ect...........

Winn's not in that class.

Stardom?

Perhaps

SUPERSTARDOM?

Nope

So if Winn continues to hit like he has been and plays defense like he has been, you wouldn’t put him in the superstar category? He’s in his age 23 season so of course he’s still growing as a player. Nobody would call him a superstar right now, but if he continues to play this way then he could get there.

[rockondlouie]

I wouldn't say "Superstardom", that's reserved for the elite of the elite.

But he's on the right path to perhaps make an all-star game (or two or more?) one day.

He was 6th among NL players in bWAR last year and he’s taken the hitting game to another level this year.

Since April 1st Winn is hitting .320/.405/.530. Those are ELITE numbers. And he has 0 errors to boot with stellar defense.

Superstardom players to me are S. Ohtani, A. Judge, ect...........

Winn's not in that class.

Stardom?

Perhaps

SUPERSTARDOM?

Nope

So if Winn continues to hit like he has been and plays defense like he has been, you wouldn’t put him in the superstar category? He’s in his age 23 season so of course he’s still growing as a player. Nobody would call him a superstar right now, but if he continues to play this way then he could get there.

I'll have to re-visit this topic in three-four years when I have a true sample size before I'm going to say he's on the verge of SUPERSTARDOM.

I saw your Bobby Witt, Jr comp.

But if Winn ever gets to Witt's level (30 HR's/100 RBI's/35+ SB's/.900 OPS and a Gold Glove), then I'll concede he's reached SUPERSTARDOM level like Witt has.

[imetsatchelpaige]

He’s playing very impressive baseball right now. He is inclined to be very streaky, however, and the question will be can keep this up?

[Ozziesfan41]

I dont know about superstar but he can definitely be one of the better short stops in the majors. He hit 15 homeruns as a 22 year old so 20-25 Homeruns could definitely be achievable as he matures. He needs to work on stealing bases for sure. The big question on if it happens or not is is the back problem going to be something that pops up once or twice every season and lands him on IL or slows his production.

[sikeston bulldog2]

I dont know about superstar but he can definitely be one of the better short stops in the majors. He hit 15 homeruns as a 22 year old so 20-25 Homeruns could definitely be achievable as he matures. He needs to work on stealing bases for sure. The big question on if it happens or not is is the back problem going to be something that pops up once or twice every season and lands him on IL or slows his production.

Maybe his back issues factor into his non running.

[russellhammond]

He'll only be a superstar if he ends up in LA or NY. And by LA I mean the Dodgers of LA.

[Ronnie Dobbs]

I don't know about superstar, but I'd be really happy with the best Cardinals SS since Ozzie. Hasn't surpassed Renteria yet but seems well within reach.

Heck yea, sit back and don't worry about SS for the next decade. Who cares about what you wanna call him.