The myth about JJ's batting average in ST determining whether he makes the team

[Ronnie Dobbs]

Others have said the same and they may be right. He certainly has the pedigree. I’m just tired of people over justifying his performance to date and making him a star because of a coupe of walks and the fact he has made contact.

No one is doing that.

[45s]

Anyone who thinks JJW's not going to be the opening say 2nd baseman is a clueless moron.

Once he gets that first spring hit it will likely open the flood gates.

But I could care less if he hits .190 this spring, he's going to be the OD 2nd baseman and he's going to hit......always has everywhere he's played.

I agree.....performance is irrelevant

all about selling tickets

meet the new boss.......same as the old boss

[ramfandan]

Much is made of his walks and three runs scored. My question. How did he get in scoring position from a walk. One run came on a Gorman homer. Did he steal second the other two times. Did we play small ball.

The fact that he has scored three times on walks in three games goes to the hitters who have driven him home.

Can help answer your question on the other two times. The first walk this ST , JJ advance to 3rd on a Fermin double .. then JJ scored on a wild pitch. The other time he did steal 2nd base and scored.

So yes once he stole 2nd , the other time not and of course then scored on the Gorman homerun.

[ramfandan]

More than one poster stated on CT that if JJW has a poor batting average in ST , he won't (or should not ) make the final roster and be sent back to Memphis. Bloom , on the other hand, stated long before camp that "JJ's batting average in ST will not be a determing factor.'

Well, thus far Bloom is spot on and a few posters way off target .

Offensively , JJ has a batting average of .000 . He is yet to get a hit but look how productive he has been despite that fact.
In 3 games he has drawn a walk in every game. He has scored a run for his team in each of those 'walks' . Twice from 3rd base and today part of Gorman's 3 run homer.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe JJ has struck out yet this spring. On each of his outs, he has put the ball in the field of play .
His bat to ball skills are playing as advertised. In 2025, JJ had a low 14.7% strike out rate with Double A and Triple A combined.
So don't get too hung up on batting average in ST. JJ has been productive in his starts this year .
With drawing three walks and scoring all 3 times, one can see why many want him to continue as a leadoff hitter for the 2026 squad as he mostly did in 2025 in the minors. Low strikeout rate, putting batted balls in play , and drawing numerous walks are ideal characteristics for leadoff spot not to mention speed to steal 2nd base.
Finally ,someone said if JJ only bats .100 in ST no way he makes the team . Think again !

He will make it by default but if he does not improve you can’t really say he earned it.

Improve ? Meaning what ..He has either walked or put every ball in play . How does one change where the ball goes in the field of play to get a hit.S For example, one can hit 4 hard hit grounders but right at the fielders ..all outs ..other times the grounders go between the fielder. A batter can hit 5 line drives to the outfield either right at the OF or a running catch .. other times the balls go down the line or safely go in the gaps.
This has been a very small sample size . In what way does JJ need to improve his batted balls that have been all outs ?

And, if hes had 4 broken bat bloops over the second baseman head, this thread would have gone in a completely different direction.
I agree that you cant judge him right now by BA. He hasn't struck out, and he walks. If that keeps up, hes right where he belongs, and in the lineup every day.

Excellent point ! If a couple of JJ batted balls in play had been Texas league bloopers and he had a .500 batting average because they dropped in there between two fielders diving for the 'tweener' blooper , the discussion would be much different.
Hope he continues to have a very low strikeout % as he has done in the past . That translates usually to better batting averages, more hits .
Donovan was a good example of that .. Donnie ranked 14th in MLB with just a 13% strikeout rate. That enabled him to have the 18th best batting average in the MLB with a .287 average.

[ScotchMIrish]

Wetherholt at SS yesterday. Not in the lineup today.

[ramfandan]

Wetherholt at SS yesterday. Not in the lineup today.

Winn was off yesterday so JJ was given a day at SS. Thus far Oli has played him every other game. He has done that with most of the guys .

[ScotchMIrish]

Wetherholt at SS yesterday. Not in the lineup today.

Winn was off yesterday so JJ was given a day at SS. Thus far Oli has played him every other game. He has done that with most of the guys .

If he is going to play 2B in St Louis in 2026 wouldn't it be a good idea to have him learn the position in spring training? Why was he at shortstop?

[woofy25]

The scrutiny and overanalyzing of 7 PAs in February is unreal.

[Ozziesfan41]

The scrutiny and overanalyzing of 7 PAs in February is unreal.

lol no kidding. Not only that but Batting average is kind of irrelevant in judging a player in spring training they get 40 maybe 50 at bats if a player is taking good quality at bats drawing walks and hitting the ball hard they don’t care about the batting average also a guy can have a higher batting average but not be hitting the ball hard maybe getting a few bloop hits or soft ground balls that get through A ball players playing in the games for hits might keep the average up and they aren’t hitting the ball hard at all. Heck a player could get robbed on scorched hits that a defender makes great plays on that can kill your average in such a limited amount of at bats

[11WSChamps]

The scrutiny and overanalyzing of 7 PAs in February is unreal.

It's CT.

Everyday is a box of chocolates

[woofy25]

The scrutiny and overanalyzing of 7 PAs in February is unreal.

It's CT.

Everyday is a box of chocolates

Except you know exactly what you’re going to get

[2ninr]

I've learned through the years not to get wrapped up in ST stats. For instance....I believe Contreras tore it up in Florida last spring and went on to go something like 4 for 50 with no power to start the season. Might have been the year before. ST= practice.....nothing more....nothing less.

https://share.google/XBdF5Dc0Z7KKncr4z

[Jatalk]

Others have said the same and they may be right. He certainly has the pedigree. I’m just tired of people over justifying his performance to date and making him a star because of a coupe of walks and the fact he has made contact.

No one is doing that.

Please see thread Second Coming of Joey Votto and get back to me.

[Bully4you]

Others have said the same and they may be right. He certainly has the pedigree. I’m just tired of people over justifying his performance to date and making him a star because of a coupe of walks and the fact he has made contact.

No one is doing that.

Please see thread Second Coming of Joey Votto and get back to me.

Dude, he'(poop) at every level.
I think it's a safe bet he continues to hit.
JMO

[Jatalk]

Others have said the same and they may be right. He certainly has the pedigree. I’m just tired of people over justifying his performance to date and making him a star because of a coupe of walks and the fact he has made contact.

No one is doing that.

Please see thread Second Coming of Joey Votto and get back to me.

Dude, he'(poop) at every level.
I think it's a safe bet he continues to hit.
JMO

I think it is a good bet he does but at this point it is a bet.

[Bully4you]

Others have said the same and they may be right. He certainly has the pedigree. I’m just tired of people over justifying his performance to date and making him a star because of a coupe of walks and the fact he has made contact.

No one is doing that.

Please see thread Second Coming of Joey Votto and get back to me.

Dude, he'(poop) at every level.
I think it's a safe bet he continues to hit.
JMO

I think it is a good bet he does but at this point it is a bet.

I must have mistyped hit for [shirt]!!!!
I meant hit.
Sorry about that.