How to fix the Slug problem?

[sikeston bulldog2]

On MLB today, there was a discussion of left-handed power mainly as a result of Murakami being posted. Included in this discussion was Schwarber and other free agent left-handed power hitters. Part of the discussion focused on their negative strikeout rates including Murakami's. My impression was the hosts were justifying these bad stats as long as these guys hit homeruns. As a result, Nolan Gorman came to mind as one who fits this justification too. As long as he hit homers, would the hometown crowd be satisfied? Batting average is now almost a forgotten stat and the focus now rests with power. Not my idea of excitement.

Gorman's struggles in 2025, primarily caused by ineptitude on the part of Super Slo Mo and The Marmot - and stubborn stupidity on the part of N/A - were somewhat overblown.
If he would have produced merely 10 more hits (one in every 2.5 weeks) in his foolishly restricted 402 PA's, his BA would have been .234 and his OBP would have been .321 - and there would not have been much objection to either figure.
Does he strike out too much?
Yes.
Is he one of the most productive hitters on the team when allowed to play?
Yes.
Give him 600 PA's and he will hit 25 HR, drive in 80+ runs, and score 80 runs.
Which would make him a top 5 3B run-producer in MLB and the #1 LH hitting run producer at 3B.
That is not an endorsement.
It is simply reality.

Can’t do it. Not at third.

[rockondlouie]

IH is helpless behind the plate. He can't frame pitches, he's not a good game-caller, and he can't throw the ball to second base.

And he's not a "work in progress." He's caught over 700 innings. He is what he is: terrible. Maybe you can hide bad defense in a corner of the OF, but you can't hide it behind home plate. The catcher is the backbone of the team.

The whole conversation is stupid. I hope this nothing but a PR move to boost his value in preparation for trade. If not, God help us.

Agree he's NOT a catcher.

But it would be stupid to trade him when he's the best DH (19 HR/.284 .373 .464 .837) we have on this team!

And I'm not sure they'll continue w/the corner OF experiment, one I first suggested in 2023 so you know I'm on board w/that.

Not my best case but I think they're going to give him another shot behind the plate (as well as give N. Gorman 3rd base as soon as NADO is dealt).

Get ready for teams to run like mad when Hererra is behind the plate.

[Melville]

On MLB today, there was a discussion of left-handed power mainly as a result of Murakami being posted. Included in this discussion was Schwarber and other free agent left-handed power hitters. Part of the discussion focused on their negative strikeout rates including Murakami's. My impression was the hosts were justifying these bad stats as long as these guys hit homeruns. As a result, Nolan Gorman came to mind as one who fits this justification too. As long as he hit homers, would the hometown crowd be satisfied? Batting average is now almost a forgotten stat and the focus now rests with power. Not my idea of excitement.

Gorman's struggles in 2025, primarily caused by ineptitude on the part of Super Slo Mo and The Marmot - and stubborn stupidity on the part of N/A - were somewhat overblown.
If he would have produced merely 10 more hits (one in every 2.5 weeks) in his foolishly restricted 402 PA's, his BA would have been .234 and his OBP would have been .321 - and there would not have been much objection to either figure.
Does he strike out too much?
Yes.
Is he one of the most productive hitters on the team when allowed to play?
Yes.
Give him 600 PA's and he will hit 25 HR, drive in 80+ runs, and score 80 runs.
Which would make him a top 5 3B run-producer in MLB and the #1 LH hitting run producer at 3B.
That is not an endorsement.
It is simply reality.

Can’t do it. Not at third.

Why not?
Again, objections to his defense are wildly overblown.
He has made exactly one fielding error in appearances at 3b over the past 3 seasons (537 innings).
He did have 7 throwing errors - but nearly all of those came in a 2-week period when he was summarily shuttered to 3b to fill in for N/A (see: "primarily caused by ineptitude on the part of Super Slo Mo and The Marmot").
It is a very different throw than from 2b, but once he made the needed adjustment, he was fine.
By the way, guess who was better statistically at turning DP's originated by a 3B in 2025 - Gorman or N/A?
It was Gorman (because he has a much stronger throwing arm).
Is Gorman in N/A's former class as a defender?
No.
Is he plenty good enough with the glove to handle 3B?
Yes.

[FunSeeker]

Pour table salt on them. They dry up quick.

[Melville]

IH is helpless behind the plate. He can't frame pitches, he's not a good game-caller, and he can't throw the ball to second base.

And he's not a "work in progress." He's caught over 700 innings. He is what he is: terrible. Maybe you can hide bad defense in a corner of the OF, but you can't hide it behind home plate. The catcher is the backbone of the team.

The whole conversation is stupid. I hope this nothing but a PR move to boost his value in preparation for trade. If not, God help us.

Agree he's NOT a catcher.

But it would be stupid to trade him when he's the best DH (19 HR/.284 .373 .464 .837) we have on this team!

And I'm not sure they'll continue w/the corner OF experiment, one I first suggested in 2023 so you know I'm on board w/that.

Not my best case but I think they're going to give him another shot behind the plate (as well as give N. Gorman 3rd base as soon as NADO is dealt).

Get ready for teams to run like mad when Hererra is behind the plate.

STL does not have the overpowering pitching staff which might be able to compensate a little for Herrera behind the plate.
The team's POBO is not a blooming idiot.
He knows Herrera can't be the primary catcher when both Pages and Crooks are vastly superior.
DH, with turns at corner outfield and possibly 1B at some point, is Herrera's future.
Or, in the right scenario, he is a trade piece at some point.

[sikeston bulldog2]

Pour table salt on them. They dry up quick.

The salt creates osmosis causing fluid to exit their bodies hence the melting affect. They actually are dehydrated and then die.

Saucer of beer works. They love beeer. They drowned in it.

[FunSeeker]

Pour table salt on them. They dry up quick.

The salt creates osmosis causing fluid to exit their bodies hence the melting affect. They actually are dehydrated and then die.

Saucer of beer works. They love beeer. They drowned in it.

Thank you, makes sense. I must be a slug.

[sikeston bulldog2]

Pour table salt on them. They dry up quick.

The salt creates osmosis causing fluid to exit their bodies hence the melting affect. They actually are dehydrated and then die.

Saucer of beer works. They love beeer. They drowned in it.

Thank you, makes sense. I must be a slug.

Yea I looked it up the other day. Neat little bar room tidbit.

[rockondlouie]

IH is helpless behind the plate. He can't frame pitches, he's not a good game-caller, and he can't throw the ball to second base.

And he's not a "work in progress." He's caught over 700 innings. He is what he is: terrible. Maybe you can hide bad defense in a corner of the OF, but you can't hide it behind home plate. The catcher is the backbone of the team.

The whole conversation is stupid. I hope this nothing but a PR move to boost his value in preparation for trade. If not, God help us.

Agree he's NOT a catcher.

But it would be stupid to trade him when he's the best DH (19 HR/.284 .373 .464 .837) we have on this team!

And I'm not sure they'll continue w/the corner OF experiment, one I first suggested in 2023 so you know I'm on board w/that.

Not my best case but I think they're going to give him another shot behind the plate (as well as give N. Gorman 3rd base as soon as NADO is dealt).

Get ready for teams to run like mad when Hererra is behind the plate.

STL does not have the overpowering pitching staff which might be able to compensate a little for Herrera behind the plate.
The team's POBO is not a blooming idiot.
He knows Herrera can't be the primary catcher when both Pages and Crooks are vastly superior.
DH, with turns at corner outfield and possibly 1B at some point, is Herrera's future.
Or, in the right scenario, he is a trade piece at some point.

I wouldn't deal him given the dearth of hitters on this roster and in the system, the kid can hit and hit for power.

Once Bloom see's him in action behind the plate he's sure to remove him if his throwing is still putrid.

(the auto strike zone when eventually fully incorporated could actually work in his favor when it comes to his weak framing)

He then becomes the DH, sometime corner OF'er.

(And if they decide to keep Burleson LT, then he's the backup at 1B for WillyC and his likely successor)

[Youboughtit]

On MLB today, there was a discussion of left-handed power mainly as a result of Murakami being posted. Included in this discussion was Schwarber and other free agent left-handed power hitters. Part of the discussion focused on their negative strikeout rates including Murakami's. My impression was the hosts were justifying these bad stats as long as these guys hit homeruns. As a result, Nolan Gorman came to mind as one who fits this justification too. As long as he hit homers, would the hometown crowd be satisfied? Batting average is now almost a forgotten stat and the focus now rests with power. Not my idea of excitement.

Gorman's struggles in 2025, primarily caused by ineptitude on the part of Super Slo Mo and The Marmot - and stubborn stupidity on the part of N/A - were somewhat overblown.
If he would have produced merely 10 more hits (one in every 2.5 weeks) in his foolishly restricted 402 PA's, his BA would have been .234 and his OBP would have been .321 - and there would not have been much objection to either figure.
Does he strike out too much?
Yes.
Is he one of the most productive hitters on the team when allowed to play?
Yes.
Give him 600 PA's and he will hit 25 HR, drive in 80+ runs, and score 80 runs.
Which would make him a top 5 3B run-producer in MLB and the #1 LH hitting run producer at 3B.
That is not an endorsement.
It is simply reality.

As long as it’s at DH only. I have seen enough of him at 3B and then that creates another need because he is LH. Need more RH bats than just Contreras and Hererra.

[Melville]

IH is helpless behind the plate. He can't frame pitches, he's not a good game-caller, and he can't throw the ball to second base.

And he's not a "work in progress." He's caught over 700 innings. He is what he is: terrible. Maybe you can hide bad defense in a corner of the OF, but you can't hide it behind home plate. The catcher is the backbone of the team.

The whole conversation is stupid. I hope this nothing but a PR move to boost his value in preparation for trade. If not, God help us.

Agree he's NOT a catcher.

But it would be stupid to trade him when he's the best DH (19 HR/.284 .373 .464 .837) we have on this team!

And I'm not sure they'll continue w/the corner OF experiment, one I first suggested in 2023 so you know I'm on board w/that.

Not my best case but I think they're going to give him another shot behind the plate (as well as give N. Gorman 3rd base as soon as NADO is dealt).

Get ready for teams to run like mad when Hererra is behind the plate.

STL does not have the overpowering pitching staff which might be able to compensate a little for Herrera behind the plate.
The team's POBO is not a blooming idiot.
He knows Herrera can't be the primary catcher when both Pages and Crooks are vastly superior.
DH, with turns at corner outfield and possibly 1B at some point, is Herrera's future.
Or, in the right scenario, he is a trade piece at some point.

I wouldn't deal him given the dearth of hitters on this roster and in the system, the kid can hit and hit for power.

Once Bloom see's him in action behind the plate he's sure to remove him if his throwing is still putrid.

(the auto strike zone when eventually fully incorporated could actually work in his favor when it comes to his weak framing)

He then becomes the DH, sometime corner OF'er.

(And if they decide to keep Burleson LT, then he's the backup at 1B for WillyC and his likely successor)

I advise caution before reaching any conclusions about his power.
No doubt he can hit for average and have a quality OBP.
The power may be real - or maybe not.
In his 4 seasons, he demonstrated power in a 48 hour window early last year, and again in the last 4 weeks of the season when pitching was diluted.
That is it.
Outside of that very small window he has shown no more power than a typical backup shortstop.
Folks have repeatedly made the mistake of getting too excited, too convinced, too invested, too soon with previous STL hitters.
I warned about DeJong, Martinez the baseball clown,The Paper Tyler, The Poser, and others - and was correct every time.
I do know that Herrera is a better hitter than any of that group and barring injury that will continue to hold true
But a power hitter?
A RH middle order bat?
There is still a huge question mark about that.
We shall see.

[rockondlouie]

IH is helpless behind the plate. He can't frame pitches, he's not a good game-caller, and he can't throw the ball to second base.

And he's not a "work in progress." He's caught over 700 innings. He is what he is: terrible. Maybe you can hide bad defense in a corner of the OF, but you can't hide it behind home plate. The catcher is the backbone of the team.

The whole conversation is stupid. I hope this nothing but a PR move to boost his value in preparation for trade. If not, God help us.

Agree he's NOT a catcher.

But it would be stupid to trade him when he's the best DH (19 HR/.284 .373 .464 .837) we have on this team!

And I'm not sure they'll continue w/the corner OF experiment, one I first suggested in 2023 so you know I'm on board w/that.

Not my best case but I think they're going to give him another shot behind the plate (as well as give N. Gorman 3rd base as soon as NADO is dealt).

Get ready for teams to run like mad when Hererra is behind the plate.

STL does not have the overpowering pitching staff which might be able to compensate a little for Herrera behind the plate.
The team's POBO is not a blooming idiot.
He knows Herrera can't be the primary catcher when both Pages and Crooks are vastly superior.
DH, with turns at corner outfield and possibly 1B at some point, is Herrera's future.
Or, in the right scenario, he is a trade piece at some point.

I wouldn't deal him given the dearth of hitters on this roster and in the system, the kid can hit and hit for power.

Once Bloom see's him in action behind the plate he's sure to remove him if his throwing is still putrid.

(the auto strike zone when eventually fully incorporated could actually work in his favor when it comes to his weak framing)

He then becomes the DH, sometime corner OF'er.

(And if they decide to keep Burleson LT, then he's the backup at 1B for WillyC and his likely successor)

I advise caution before reaching any conclusions about his power.
No doubt he can hit for average and have a quality OBP.
The power may be real - or maybe not.
In his 4 seasons, he demonstrated power in a 48 hour window early last year, and again in the last 4 weeks of the season when pitching was diluted.
That is it.
Outside of that very small window he has shown no more power than a typical backup shortstop.
Folks have repeatedly made the mistake of getting too excited, too convinced, too invested, too soon with previous STL hitters.
I warned about DeJong, Martinez the baseball clown,The Paper Tyler, The Poser, and others - and was correct every time.
I do know that Herrera is a better hitter than any of that group and barring injury that will continue to hold true
But a power hitter?
A RH middle order bat?
There is still a huge question mark about that.
We shall see.

2025 is a solid sample size and the kid had a .464 slg% while whacking 19 HR's.

His 2024/2025 combined 617 AB's produced 24 HR/93 RBI's.

On THIS TEAM, that constitutes hitting for power.

He's never going to be among the league HR leaders.

But certainly if healthy he could easily reach 25+ HR's/90+ RBI's so yes, he is a middle of the order (3-5) RHHer.

JMO

[Melville]

IH is helpless behind the plate. He can't frame pitches, he's not a good game-caller, and he can't throw the ball to second base.

And he's not a "work in progress." He's caught over 700 innings. He is what he is: terrible. Maybe you can hide bad defense in a corner of the OF, but you can't hide it behind home plate. The catcher is the backbone of the team.

The whole conversation is stupid. I hope this nothing but a PR move to boost his value in preparation for trade. If not, God help us.

Agree he's NOT a catcher.

But it would be stupid to trade him when he's the best DH (19 HR/.284 .373 .464 .837) we have on this team!

And I'm not sure they'll continue w/the corner OF experiment, one I first suggested in 2023 so you know I'm on board w/that.

Not my best case but I think they're going to give him another shot behind the plate (as well as give N. Gorman 3rd base as soon as NADO is dealt).

Get ready for teams to run like mad when Hererra is behind the plate.

STL does not have the overpowering pitching staff which might be able to compensate a little for Herrera behind the plate.
The team's POBO is not a blooming idiot.
He knows Herrera can't be the primary catcher when both Pages and Crooks are vastly superior.
DH, with turns at corner outfield and possibly 1B at some point, is Herrera's future.
Or, in the right scenario, he is a trade piece at some point.

I wouldn't deal him given the dearth of hitters on this roster and in the system, the kid can hit and hit for power.

Once Bloom see's him in action behind the plate he's sure to remove him if his throwing is still putrid.

(the auto strike zone when eventually fully incorporated could actually work in his favor when it comes to his weak framing)

He then becomes the DH, sometime corner OF'er.

(And if they decide to keep Burleson LT, then he's the backup at 1B for WillyC and his likely successor)

I advise caution before reaching any conclusions about his power.
No doubt he can hit for average and have a quality OBP.
The power may be real - or maybe not.
In his 4 seasons, he demonstrated power in a 48 hour window early last year, and again in the last 4 weeks of the season when pitching was diluted.
That is it.
Outside of that very small window he has shown no more power than a typical backup shortstop.
Folks have repeatedly made the mistake of getting too excited, too convinced, too invested, too soon with previous STL hitters.
I warned about DeJong, Martinez the baseball clown,The Paper Tyler, The Poser, and others - and was correct every time.
I do know that Herrera is a better hitter than any of that group and barring injury that will continue to hold true
But a power hitter?
A RH middle order bat?
There is still a huge question mark about that.
We shall see.

2025 is a solid sample size and the kid had a .464 slg% while whacking 19 HR's.

His 2024/2025 combined 617 AB's produced 24 HR/93 RBI's.

On THIS TEAM, that constitutes hitting for power.

He's never going to be among the league HR leaders.

But certainly if healthy he could easily reach 25+ HR's/90+ RBI's so yes, he is a middle of the order (3-5) RHHer.

JMO

4 HR in 48 hours in April.
8 HR is September - against watered down pitching in meaningless games.
But other than that, a mere 7 from April 5th through August 31 - a span of 131 games.
And just 13 doubles in 452 Pa's this past season.
Those are the bias-free facts.
Not remotely close to being a middle order hitter.
Might he become one?
Perhaps.
Perhaps not.
But it would be foolish to make assumptions at this point.
Everyone was over-heated and over excited about The Paper Tyler after his highly suspicious 6-week power surge in late 2021.
"MVP talent" and "perennial all-star" were phrases being bandied about with reckless abandon.
By everyone except me.
I was the only person on the planet who said it was a mirage and that Paper would never again in his career produce a similar stretch.
Everyone without exception said I was wrong.
I was, of course, correct.
Be careful with Herrera.
Many run the risk is repeating their mistake.
I run the high probability of repeating my accuracy.
Let's give Herrera next year to see what he can do before dismissing an overwhelming body of evidence from the last 4 seasons.
Maybe the 30 game breakout is real.
Maybe not.

[hmoss859]

Move the Fences in 10-15 feet from bullpen to bullpen

[rockondlouie]

IH is helpless behind the plate. He can't frame pitches, he's not a good game-caller, and he can't throw the ball to second base.

And he's not a "work in progress." He's caught over 700 innings. He is what he is: terrible. Maybe you can hide bad defense in a corner of the OF, but you can't hide it behind home plate. The catcher is the backbone of the team.

The whole conversation is stupid. I hope this nothing but a PR move to boost his value in preparation for trade. If not, God help us.

Agree he's NOT a catcher.

But it would be stupid to trade him when he's the best DH (19 HR/.284 .373 .464 .837) we have on this team!

And I'm not sure they'll continue w/the corner OF experiment, one I first suggested in 2023 so you know I'm on board w/that.

Not my best case but I think they're going to give him another shot behind the plate (as well as give N. Gorman 3rd base as soon as NADO is dealt).

Get ready for teams to run like mad when Hererra is behind the plate.

STL does not have the overpowering pitching staff which might be able to compensate a little for Herrera behind the plate.
The team's POBO is not a blooming idiot.
He knows Herrera can't be the primary catcher when both Pages and Crooks are vastly superior.
DH, with turns at corner outfield and possibly 1B at some point, is Herrera's future.
Or, in the right scenario, he is a trade piece at some point.

I wouldn't deal him given the dearth of hitters on this roster and in the system, the kid can hit and hit for power.

Once Bloom see's him in action behind the plate he's sure to remove him if his throwing is still putrid.

(the auto strike zone when eventually fully incorporated could actually work in his favor when it comes to his weak framing)

He then becomes the DH, sometime corner OF'er.

(And if they decide to keep Burleson LT, then he's the backup at 1B for WillyC and his likely successor)

I advise caution before reaching any conclusions about his power.
No doubt he can hit for average and have a quality OBP.
The power may be real - or maybe not.
In his 4 seasons, he demonstrated power in a 48 hour window early last year, and again in the last 4 weeks of the season when pitching was diluted.
That is it.
Outside of that very small window he has shown no more power than a typical backup shortstop.
Folks have repeatedly made the mistake of getting too excited, too convinced, too invested, too soon with previous STL hitters.
I warned about DeJong, Martinez the baseball clown,The Paper Tyler, The Poser, and others - and was correct every time.
I do know that Herrera is a better hitter than any of that group and barring injury that will continue to hold true
But a power hitter?
A RH middle order bat?
There is still a huge question mark about that.
We shall see.

2025 is a solid sample size and the kid had a .464 slg% while whacking 19 HR's.

His 2024/2025 combined 617 AB's produced 24 HR/93 RBI's.

On THIS TEAM, that constitutes hitting for power.

He's never going to be among the league HR leaders.

But certainly if healthy he could easily reach 25+ HR's/90+ RBI's so yes, he is a middle of the order (3-5) RHHer.

JMO

4 HR in 48 hours in April.
8 HR is September - against watered down pitching in meaningless games.
But other than that, a mere 7 from April 5th through August 31 - a span of 131 games.
And just 13 doubles in 452 Pa's this past season.
Those are the bias-free facts.
Not remotely close to being a middle order hitter.
Might he become one?
Perhaps.
Perhaps not.
But it would be foolish to make assumptions at this point.
Everyone was over-heated and over excited about The Paper Tyler after his highly suspicious 6-week power surge in late 2021.
"MVP talent" and "perennial all-star" were phrases being bandied about with reckless abandon.
By everyone except me.
I was the only person on the planet who said it was a mirage and that Paper would never again in his career produce a similar stretch.
Everyone without exception said I was wrong.
I was, of course, correct.
Be careful with Herrera.
Many run the risk is repeating their mistake.
I run the high probability of repeating my accuracy.
Let's give Herrera next year to see what he can do before dismissing an overwhelming body of evidence from the last 4 seasons.
Maybe the 30 game breakout is real.
Maybe not.

For the record Hererra hit September HR's off L. Gilbert & future first ballot Hall of Famer J. Verlander who was pitching very well at that time.

Like many hitters his HR's come in bunches during hot streaks, nothing unusual here.

He had left knee inflammation in early April, which sidelined him for over a month.

He was later placed on the injured list again in mid-June with a left hamstring strain.

Certainly this doesn't equate him to your "Paper Tyler" theory.

MLB players suffer hundreds of injuries during a 162 game season, he's not different.

And any hitter who can produce 25+ HR/90+ RBI's/800+ OPS/130 wRC+ is absolutely a MOTO (3-5) hitter (again) ON THIS TEAM.

[BrummerStealsHome]

The solution to the slug problem is to fire the slug. I'll leave that one right there.