The Tigers have announced that they’ve hired former utilityman Don Kelly as a pro scout and assistant to player development. It would appear, then, that the 37-year-old Kelly, who played briefly for the Marlins in each of the last two seasons, has retired, or at least put his playing career on hold. He spent much of last season with Triple-A New Orleans, batting a modest .198/.284/.233. Kelly is best known for his six-year tenure with the Tigers from 2009 through 2014, during which he played mostly outfield, first and third while serving as one of Jim Leyland’s favored bench pieces. In nine years in the Majors, Kelly has batted .230/.294/.334. Here’s more from the AL Central divisions.
- Twins scouting director Sean Johnson plans to incorporate analytics into his team’s draft process, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press writes. The Twins have the No. 1 overall pick in June. Exactly how they plan to use analytics to inform that pick is unclear, but Berardino’s piece still demonstrates what appears to be a change in outlook from the Twins’ mostly traditionalist front office under Terry Ryan. Johnson was with the Twins under Ryan, previously serving as their West Coast supervisor, but new Twins front office honchos Derek Falvey and Thad Levine appear to be emphasizing a different approach. “At the heart of it, it’s always going to be about our scouts: who they like, who they want to draft,” says Johnson. “And then you layer on different things to make sure you’re on the right track. It might be numbers or psychological testing. It could be a makeup call. There are numerous things we want to implement.” Still, Johnson adds, “Broadly speaking, we’re going to use more of the metrics. We’re going to have more of the numbers, but not to drive the guys we go evaluate and who we want.” In contrast, Johnson says the Twins didn’t even discuss the spin rate on Tyler Jay’s well-regarded slider before selecting him sixth overall in 2015.
- The Royals plan to use Alex Gordon at all three outfield spots during Spring Training, and perhaps in the regular season also, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan writes. “Every scenario is open,” says manager Ned Yost. “I’m going to move Gordy around. I’m going to play Gordy in right, Gordy in center. Just to see what we got.” Gordon has won four Gold Gloves as a left fielder, but it appears the Royals won’t be shy about experimenting, at least for now. The idea, it seems, is to see how best to utilitze Gordon along with new additions Jorge Soler and Brandon Moss, although Yost does note that he views Soler mostly as a right fielder. Moss played 58 games in left field for the Cardinals last season, although his defense there does not rate as highly as Gordon’s.
Don Kelly Baby! LOL
Don Kelly rocks!
The hot foot that JV gave him was epic!
That line for Kelly isn’t “modest” its awful.
Modest is usually used in this context as a nice word for bad.
Batting lines don’t matter when you are the best player on the field.
(And yes, this is sarcastic)
Welcoming to hear the Twins have joined the 21st century.
Almost a fifth of the way into the 21st century, but better late than never I guess
I thought analytics was only for “fantasy baseball” though. How on earth can team admit that they use them
Every team has a pretty huge analytics component now. For example, there’s this team in the NL Central that has a huge analytics department. The Chicago Cubs. They seem to have had a good season last year. The last two teams to incorporate analytics into their front offices are the Diamondbacks and the Phillies, each of whom were doing terrific before incorporating advanced analytics into their evaluations. Every team has an analytics department now, and most of them are hiring people from the same websites you think aren’t “real” baseball.
Pretty sure everyone in the NL central has a massive analytics department. Whole reason why Cutch batted second last year, and why he’s moved to right this year.
Okay Dave Stewart
Gordon in center? So Lorenzo Cain is getting traded by opening day then?
That’s a pretty huge leap in your logic. Let’s review the offseason OF moves: Dyson traded away, Soler obtained in trade, Moss signed as FA.
Last year, when Cain was hurt or needed a day off, Dyson filled in for him. Who’s going to do that this year? It would behoove KC to find out if Alex can do that during ST before they have to figure out their 25-man roster. Otherwise, they have to use a roster spot on someone who can only be a backup CF, like Gore. If that’s the case, they’re carrying someone who can’t hit, which makes them worse.
Billy Burns or Bubba Starling as backup CF or even Whit M.
Whit probably isn’t going to be seeing any time in CF. They would throw Billy Burns out there as the 4th OF
Maybe, just maybe they give Bubba Starling a shot, but that’s very unlikely.
I believe this whole thread is forgetting a certain Orlando, Paulo
Possible, but not likely. He could however be gone by the trade deadline or a month into the season. A team like the Cubs with a fairly obvious hole in CF could call on him
The Cubs have Almora and Jay platooning in CF. Gloves very good; bats not Trout-level, but CF is not an obvious hole. Also have Szczur and Heyward who have played well there with above-average gloves. They’re not going to trade for someone like Cain, as good as he can be, without a rash of OF injuries causing drastic change.