Eric Thames’ agent, Adam Karon, was the driving force behind the now-Brewers’ slugger’s decision to sign with the Korea Baseball Organization in 2013, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. “My view was, ‘Look, you’ve always been successful when you’ve played every day, and you’re not going to get the opportunity here,’” Karon said. “He was the last man on the 40-man roster of the worst team in baseball.”
Then a member of the Astros organization and a participant in the Venezuelan Winter League, Thames scoffed at Karon’s suggestion initially. However, he had a change of heart and ended up inking a two-year deal with the NC Dinos. Thames became a sensation in Korea, where he toyed with the KBO’s offspeed-heavy pitchers from 2014-16. He parlayed that success into a three-year, $16MM pact with the Brewers this past winter, and the first baseman has certainly done his part to justify that investment so far. The 30-year-old entered Saturday leading the league in both home runs (11) and ISO (an absurd .506), and he has swung at just 19.8 percent of pitches outside the strike zone – down from 36.3 percent with the Mariners and Blue Jays from 2011-12. There is skepticism toward Thames’ success, though, evidenced in part by the fact that the league administered him a random drug test for the third time in a 10-day span on Friday, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Thames seems more amused than bothered by the testing, but he’s not sure how “random” it actually is, relays Haudricourt (Twitter link).
More from the National League:
- Giants catcher Buster Posey has long been a workhorse behind the plate, and while moving the 30-year-old to a different position could possibly help prolong his effectiveness, it’s not on the team’s agenda, details Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. “When you have a guy that’s led us to three titles, a lot of it is because of his preparation and guidance of the starting rotation and the bullpen,” said general manager Bobby Evans. “I think it distinguishes him from other positions — and other guys. My mindset is we’re a better team with Buster back there, and as long as we can keep him back there, we want to do it.” Posey wouldn’t fight a position change down the line, saying that “it’s about winning ballgames,” but he notes that “there’s value in having a good hitter behind the plate and being able to put a bat at first base as well.” The Giants plan to start Posey 115 to 120 times at catcher and in 15 to 20 games at first/designated hitter, per Crasnick, potentially putting him on track for a sixth straight 140-plus-game season.
- The Dodgers have considered shifting the blister-plagued Rich Hill to the bullpen, but manager Dave Roberts announced Saturday that the left-hander will return to their rotation when they activate him from the DL, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. Hill, who landed on the shelf April 17 (already his second DL stint of the year), will throw a four-frame, 60-pitch rehab outing with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday.
- Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola isn’t making ideal progress in his recovery from a lower-back strain. Nola threw a two-inning simulation game Friday and then complained of back discomfort, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com was among those to report. That means Nola won’t come off the DL when he’s first eligible on Monday. When asked if Nola suffered a setback, manager Pete Mackanin said: “If you want to call it that. We’re being cautious with him this early in the season.” Mackanin added, though, that Nola is “improving.”
How bout dem Astros?
Their rebuild is working, haha.
Maybe by around 2020, the Padres will become Astros 2.0.
Padres have a lot of really nice pieces between Myers, Margot, Renfroe, Hedges, etc. but they need to get some pitching or they’ll be the Twins West.
Padres need to shore up defense. Myers is clunky at 1B
Not sure what testing Eric Thames constantly proves.
I don’t think anyone (serious) is accusing him of being on PED’s currently. The implication is that he used them for years in Korea and is now benefiting from the body he built with them.
Neither the people defending him or accusing know the real truth, but I”m not sure what having him pee in a cup twice a week solves.
There is no evidence he used. It’s unlikely there ever will be.
I have no idea if he used peds in Korea, but dude has always been a beast. I remember, as a jays fan, that a few years back he slowed down on the weights one winter to concentrate on flexibility. He was getting so big he was losing some throwing ability from the outfield. Always hoped Thames would workout as a blue jay. He just couldn’t lay off pitches outside of the zone back then.
He also had a very bad swing.
Like I’m in college and I’m pretty confident in saying I have a better swing than Thames did as a blue jay. His batting and launch angle was just absurd, and he could not hit a change up (or any off speed for that matter) anywhere, add that with his preference for swinging at pitches that weren’t strikes and you get a player who could barely play in the majors let alone in the minors.
Basically he just hit up the KBO and learned to hit off speeds since the KBO is so off speed heavy. Routinely Korean pitchers only top low nineties, they are focused more on deception and location over overpowering hitters. That’s why it is so batter friendly over there, not only are the parks hella short, but the pitching is far inferior to any sort of MLB pitching.
So it wasn’t steroids, it was Thames straightening (literally) his swing, learning to see what was a strike and learn to actually sit on a curveball that is causing his success right now.
Very well put. I remember watching a game where he hit 2 monster shots both on sliders around the knees. He smashed off speed stuff now. Guys will start to beat him if they have good hard stuff though.
Look at his baseball card and the listed weights ,, he was not always a beast he was like Sammy Sosa with the white sox, then he was like Sammy Sosa with the Cubs
joshbelltrolls: What about his funny name? Any thoughts on that?
Three tests in ten days is some BS
Three tests in 10 days is serious BS. The players association should be in the Commissioners office Monday morning. Random test? Ha. Not if all the redneck pitchers make a stink about the new guy.
I don’t quite understand the logic of testing someone three times in a ten day span. Do they think they will obtain a different sample in such a short time span? Like after the first test, do they think the player would think he was in the clear and immediately juice up?
Rich Hill should go work construction for a couple weeks. Toughen up, butter cup.
With all this back-and-forth insulting, nobody seems to have identified the only things that actually matter: It is not up to Rich Hill to figure out how to cure his medical problems, no matter what they may be, it is entirely up to the team trainers and doctors. And it is certainly not up to him to decide when or how he will be able to pitch again, that’s entirely up to the coaching and management. Otherwise, spot on analysis. Very relevant. Well done.
Ready, fire, aim.