Done Deal: White Sox Obtain Youkilis

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dabynsky

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Kevin Youkilis Changes Sox | FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball

Youkilis hasn’t been himself this year. And while a trade to Chicago doesn’t guarantee his success, there are a few reasons for optimism. Given how well his new home park fares with home runs, there’s a chance for Youkilis to salvage his season. Now that he’s working with one of the best training staffs in the game, he should stay on the field long enough to provide that value. But if age has caught up with Youkilis, there’s little the White Sox can do to save him.

The whole article has some other information, but this is a little more positive than the first article on Youk.
 

onebud34

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I'll be looking forward to seeing him play Tuesday night.
 

dabynsky

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More thoughts on Youk deal from a couple of different sources.
Kevin Youkilis: Welcome to Mount Olympus | FanGraphs Baseball
Youkilis is traveling from a park that suppresses right-handed home run power — Fenway Park — to the homerist park in the league for right-handed batters — U.S. Cellular Field. By losing the Green Monster, he loses about 26 points of doubles advantage, but he simultaneously gains 28 points of home run advantage.

The troubling issues about Youk’s numbers: No walks (8.5% BB-rate, down from 12.4% in his career), lots of strikeouts (23.6% K-rate in 2012, 18.3% in his career), and a second-consecutive low BABIP year (.288 BABIP after a .296 mark in 2011 — despite his career .327 BABIP).

A quick look at his FI wOBA numbers suggest he’s not far from his xBABIP-adjusted production, but there are still signs that he has under-performed with respect to his ability, most notably his plate discipline numbers.

His swinging strike rate (6.8%) is unchanged from his previous season — and matches his rate from 2007 and 2009. His contact rate is at a career low (80.7% according to BIS, 81% according to PITCHf/x), but it is not significantly lower than his career total (83.5%) — a difference of 2.8 swings per 100 pitches. If he gets 4 PA with an average of 5 pitches per PA, then a 2.8% difference in contact rate with a 39% swing rate amounts to a change of just 0.2 swings per game. So over 5 starts, he has just 1 fewer foul balls / balls in play.

Meanwhile, his O-Swing% is at its lowest level in the last five seasons and his F-Strike% is below its career norm (by a mere 2%).

In other words, even if Youkilis is not hitting the ball hard, there is little reason to believe he should not be walking and striking out at his career rates. If we slap a 13% BB-rate and 20% K-rate into Youk’s FI wOBA (using slash12 xBABIP), we get a .341 wOBA. That would be more than enough to make Youk a viable, productive third basemen for an increasingly overwhelming White Sox lineup.

Add in the dramatic change in home parks, and Youkilis is looking like a massive catch for the south side. White Sox fans are getting a treat: A career 129 wRC+ / .380 wOBA hitter — with only 165 bad PAs in 2012 — who possesses many signs of pending positive regression.

Joe Blogs: Youk
Youkilis was traded to Chicago on Sunday, of course, and there’s no telling his future. He’s 33 and beat up -- he has never played 150 games in a season, and I suspect he never will. Since the beginning of the 2011 season, he’s hitting .251, and even though he has still found ways to not make outs, the question of whether his body will allow him to be an every day player again is an open-ended one.

But, it wouldn’t be right to underestimate Youk. Not after all the times he’s been underestimated before. Chicago is a good hitters park, a change of scenery gives him new motivation, and you never know.

I’ve read in place after place that Boston had to trade him, and I guess I can see that -- baseball, like all sports and businesses, are inevitably harsh and unsentimental. Careers end, and usually not in glory. But then, there’s glory afterward. Boston is a place like most American places that adores its old heroes. If Youkilis adds another chapter in Chicago, that will be great. If not, hey, it’s been a blast. There has been plenty of glory, and plenty of joy. Think how many times Kevin Youkilis came up in Boston, and fans shouted. “They’re not booing,” an announcer would inevitably says. “They’re saying Youk.”
Both are the most positives reviews I have read about the Youk trade so far from the perspective of the White Sox. I really like the second piece's beginning talking about out percentage, but both are well worth the read.
 

DewsSox79

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where will he bat?


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dabynsky

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I really want to see the base clogging Youk-Dunn-Konerko lineup...
 

ChitwnRyan60452

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1. De Aza
2. Beckham
3. Dunn
4. Konerko
5. Viciedo
6. Pierzynski
7. Youkilis
8. Ramirez
9. Rios
 

Tazer4mvp

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ESPN just to stir up the hornets nest cuz its dead in here.
 

dabynsky

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I'd also somewhat rather have Headley. Just don't want to give up too much. I don't even know what the Padres want in order to put a scenario together.

Kind of moot now but I remember someone saying something similar to this:thinking:
The Padres are getting calls on third baseman Chase Headley, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. San Diego will listen to offers but it will require "a lot" to part with him.
The switch-hitter quietly owns a career .300/.366/.444 batting line away from Petco Park and his defense at the hot corner is well-regarded.
Since he's a Super Two, he still has two more years of team control remaining before becoming eligible for free agency after the 2014 season.
Padres Getting Calls On Chase Headley, Will Listen: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com
 
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