68 replies to this topic

[AnonymousRob]

If this guy hits second, he'll have Trout ahead of him and will have Pujols/Hamilton to drive him in. Yes, please, and thank you.

If he hits in the bottom of the lineup, this becomes a lot more meh.

He has limited power, doesn't strike out much, and is apparently allergic to walks. But he has good speed (15 sb is his floor), and hits for a solid average (290 last year, 278 career). If he hits in the second spot, he could approach and exceed 100 runs.

What do folks make of this guy and more importantly, where will he hit in the lineup?

[Thespis721]

Nobody knows where he'll hit. Lots of guys vying for that spot. He kept being bounced around last year and the year before. Not sure why this year would be different.

[lassetjus]

Agreed. They could put Kendrick in the 2-hole for all we know. I'm staying away from Aybar this year. He doesn't steal enough bases anymore.

[AnonymousRob]

 lassetjus, on 29 January 2013 - 03:59 PM, said:

Agreed. They could put Kendrick in the 2-hole for all we know. I'm staying away from Aybar this year. He doesn't steal enough bases anymore.

???

He stole 20 bases last year. He's had years of 14, 22, 30, and last year's 20. Looks to me like he's stealing enough bases.

[Travis Burten]

Hushhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[Blood Brother]

After a really slow start in April-most of May, he went on a tear for the remainder of the season. From May 15th - end of season, he put up a slash line of .319/.355/.470 in 108 games to go along with 8 HR and 18 SB

I think he'll be the one who hits 2nd when the season starts with Kendrick hitting 6th or 7th(he K's way more than Aybar and Sosh loves those contact hitters at the top of the lineup)

[Slatykamora]

 Blood Brother, on 29 January 2013 - 07:17 PM, said:

After a really slow start in April-most of May, he went on a tear for the remainder of the season. From May 15th - end of season, he put up a slash line of .319/.355/.470 in 108 games to go along with 8 HR and 18 SB

I think he'll be the one who hits 2nd when the season starts with Kendrick hitting 6th or 7th(he K's way more than Aybar and Sosh loves those contact hitters at the top of the lineup)

Who got the Majority of AB's in the 2 hole last year?

[Theoneupper]

The second man in the order fluctuated a bit last year. I remember Izturis, Callaspo, Hunter did so last year a lot as well. If this guy can hit there and stay there he will be valuable.

[Theoneupper]

This article is relevant to this discussion as well.

http://mlb.mlb.com/n...ws_ana&c_id=ana

[Blood Brother]

It fluctuated a lot. Through ST and the start of the year, they had Aybar hitting leadoff with Kendrick hitting 2nd. Obviously, once Trout was up, he was the leadoff guy for the rest of the year. Kendrick hit 2nd after that, Callaspo a few times before they finally settled with Torii, who benefited a lot from that spot

If I had to guess, it would either be Aybar or Callaspo at this rate.

[jsp2014]

I would be pretty surprised if Aybar doesn't hit 2nd.

he is the quintessential Scoscia guy. he doesn't strike out much (= productive outs) and he's a very good baserunner. he can't take a walk either, which is good considering Scoscia has a hard-on for players who don't walk. just going off the top of my head, I think Aybar has hit at the top of the order a lot more than Callaspo over the years too.

Edited by jsp2014, 29 January 2013 - 09:46 PM.

[2ndCitySox]

Hmm...he could be great value, when everyone's sleeper is Alcides Escobar.

Gimme the guy hitting #2 for that Angels lineup

[Brewcrewfan]

In 10 games batting 2nd last year Aybar hit .432 with an obp of .475. In 96 of his game last year, he batted 7,8,9.
Callaspo hit 2nd 19 games last year, Kendrick hit 2nd 21 games, Maicer Izturis hit 2nd 24 gms, Torii Hunter hit 2nd 85 games.

You have to assume Trumbo will most likely be the DH, so Bourjos should start in center. So the lineup could be: Trout, Aybar, Pujols, Hamilton, Trumbo, Kendrick, Iannetta, Callaspo, Bourjos

[cymbaline]

Bump.

Slated to hit 2nd, at least until the Aybar mediocrity takes hold.  Sandwiched between Trout & Pujols.  It is hard to imagine a better lineup spot to hit.

Torii Hunter excelled in that lineup spot last year.

I'd push his projection conservatively to 90 runs if he sticks.

[Wombat]

He's really streaky but not in a traditional way like the power hitters- he goes months at a time of being an absolute trash can (first couple months of last year, random month in the middle of 2011 too IIRC) then can get red hot at times and usually sustains it for a long period of time.  If he comes out of the gate hot this year hitting 2nd he has a lot of potential to score a boatload of runs and go 10/30 or so.  Or, he could go into scrub mode and be moved down to 8th within 2 weeks of the season..

[lipitorkid]

According to the LA Times today, in a conversation with Mike Scioscia, Mike said Aybar will bat 2nd to start the season.

[klove42]

I bought in last year because of his lineup spot, and he struggled and was bumped from that spot. I could see this happening again, but he wasnt bad the second half. I also don't think he runs much with Hamilton and Pujols behind him just because he doesn't have elite speed like Trout does. In a way I want to buy in again, but I think his ceiling is still basically a lesser version then Andrus, and this year in ESPN leagues there isnt that much of a difference in their price tag. I would rather have Escobar because he steals more bases and will post similar runs. One of the reasons I also like Escobar more is because he grew as a player where Aybar regressed. Escobar can continue to improve.

[poopdungbeatle]

 klove42, on 23 March 2013 - 08:22 PM, said:

I bought in last year because of his lineup spot, and he struggled and was bumped from that spot. I could see this happening again, but he wasnt bad the second half. I also don't think he runs much with Hamilton and Pujols behind him just because he doesn't have elite speed like Trout does. In a way I want to buy in again, but I think his ceiling is still basically a lesser version then Andrus, and this year in ESPN leagues there isnt that much of a difference in their price tag. I would rather have Escobar because he steals more bases and will post similar runs. One of the reasons I also like Escobar more is because he grew as a player where Aybar regressed. Escobar can continue to improve.

I did the same thing.  Was excited about Aybar leading off last year and got burned.  He started slow and got moved off since he sucked early on and Trout's promotion.  But it's a new year and hitting 2nd, he's in a great spot.
Even with Pujols and Hamilton behind him, Soccia will still give him the green light.  Soccia is not the type of manager that slows the game down, he's all about putting pressure on the opposing team.
The negative is that Soccia will make changes to his lineup without thinking twice.  Aybar needs to come out and hit like the second half of last year.  If he does, he'll be great value.

[valensi24]

It makes the most sense for Aybar to bat 2nd because:
1) he's a switch hitter who hits a lot better batting lefty and this breaks up the bats perfectly from Trout (righty), Aybar (switch), Pujols (righty), Hamilton (lefty), and Trumbo (righty).  If they went with Kendrick in the #2 spot, it'd be righty, righty, righty, lefty, righty.  I could see arms like Matt Moore, David Price, etc destroy the Angels on certain nights.  this worked with Torii last year but kendrick has shown that he has been a better hitter hitting lower in the order.
2) he's got 30 stolen base speed. and he's very good at bunting. he doesn't have callaspo's patience, but trout hardly needs any batter's patience to steal his own 50+ bases.  it's much better to have aybar's speed at the top of the order to ensure tons of runs being scored with Pujols/Hamilton/Trumbo each knocking in 100+ RBI's.
3) he actually has some pop in his bat, hitting 8-10 HR's in the past two seasons. He can also hit 35+ doubles and plenty of triples.  something callaspo (no speed) can't do.
4) he's a contact hitter who doesn't walk much but he makes up for it with plenty of hits.

If Aybar gets 550AB's, sticks in the #2 hole, and hits .290AVG+, then I could realistically see him totalling:  .290AVG / 10HR / 55RBI / 95R / 35SB.  that looks eerily similar to Jose Reyes' #'s from last year.

We all expect Pujols, Hamilton, and Trumbo to reach 100 RBI's.  and all those runs batted in need to be scored by somebody.  and i'm guessing it's gonna be a lot of Trout and Aybar crossing the plate.

Typical scenario that could happen a lot this year?
Trout - lead off double
Aybar - RBI single
Aybar - steals 2nd base
Pujols - ground out to 1st, Aybar goes to third base
Hamiltion - 2-Run HR
In one inning, Aybar racks up a hit, a steal, an RBI, and a run. All because of the lineup around him.

[cymbaline]

0-6 with an error.

I hate him already.