Hunter Hines
- Thread starter JWSDawgs
- Start date
Bases loaded and takes a fastball down the middle of the plate then swings at two off speed pitches and hits into a DP
At this point even if Lemonis survives for another year, I don't see how you can bring back Gautreau. The offensive struggles and lack of development of our hitters is killing this team.
Neither of those survive unless we somehow miraculously host a Regional or win a Regional on the road.
At this point, chances of either happening are slim and 0
Lane Forsythe .340 avg, 1 hr, 9 runs, 12 rbi
Slate Alford .369 avg, 7 hr, 22 runs, 25 rbi
2022 Josh Hatcher .391 avg, 15 hr, 66 runs, 59 rbi
I know nothing about coaching baseball to anyone over 10 years old… but seems we’re doing the hitting part wrong when you see this kind of improvement from guys who transfer out.
Slate Alford .369 avg, 7 hr, 22 runs, 25 rbi
2022 Josh Hatcher .391 avg, 15 hr, 66 runs, 59 rbi
I know nothing about coaching baseball to anyone over 10 years old… but seems we’re doing the hitting part wrong when you see this kind of improvement from guys who transfer out.
Everyone said Foxhall was the problem. And he was. But he was far from the only problem. The one common denominator is the head coach.
I know I am a broken record but Hunter is too damn close to the plate. All his HRs go 40 feet foul. The only pitch he is hitting is something over the outside half of the plate. He can't possibly hit anything on the inner half hard into fair territory.
Can you take over for Goutreaux? Like tomorrow?
He’s a total yank hitter, needs to back off plate and spread out and use the other 2/3 of the field. It’s so obvious
Bats to damn heavy… several other players have the issue too. All trying to hit HRs.
Hines is what he is.. he's not going to change and why would he. Hes been vert successful at ever level he's ever played at. He'll be a high draft pick.
He's struggling right now... And i think a lot of is he has zero protection in the order. Teams are pitching him tough and he's b/t on his approach.
Due to the slow start his numbers might not be as good as previous years, but he'll hit before the season is out, and he'll be a high draft pick.
He's struggling right now... And i think a lot of is he has zero protection in the order. Teams are pitching him tough and he's b/t on his approach.
Due to the slow start his numbers might not be as good as previous years, but he'll hit before the season is out, and he'll be a high draft pick.
Numbers not telling the whole story here:
Forysythe has 2 extra base hits and is striking out 40% of his at-bats. The batting average will likely come back to the norm once conference play begins.
Hatcher dropped level. He went from seeing 92-95 on a regular basis to seeing 85-88. Anyone can see with that big long swing how that would be benefical to him.
Alford-- Everyone on this board hated. Alford posted a nearly 900 OPS and hit 7 homers (jordan hit 8) during conference play last year (one of our better hitters, put up better numbers than ledbetter did in SEC play). so its somewhat safe to assume he had already figured it out.. and now is using that to spring board into a great start at UGA.
Hunter is a major hole in our lineup. Get somebody anybody to play first that can hit. Stomach the errors that whoever comes in and takes that spot but at least hit the damn ball. Most first basemen are long ball hitters we need just somebody that can produce and hit in clutch situations.
The tv commentator in last nights game must be really good friends with Hunter’s dad. Because he kept going on and on and on that it is just a matter of time before Hunter starts hitting the ball. That may be true but how many games are we willing to lose because of his lack production.
Edited to say that it reminds me of another first baseman that Lemonis refused to bench. Luke Hancock.
The tv commentator in last nights game must be really good friends with Hunter’s dad. Because he kept going on and on and on that it is just a matter of time before Hunter starts hitting the ball. That may be true but how many games are we willing to lose because of his lack production.
Edited to say that it reminds me of another first baseman that Lemonis refused to bench. Luke Hancock.
If he continues to struggle he will not be a top 10 round draft pick - below average arm, below average defense, below average speed
if he doesn’t improve his hit and hit for power attribute- he’ll be left behind
Below average arm and speed doesnt matter for a 1b. First base isnt a defensive position so being below average there isnt a big mark. He's got off the charts power. He's a big bodied kid. He's athletic for his size.
There are people with his exact skill set littered all over the big leagues. He's been a 300 hitter with 38 homers in his first two seasons.... He was a projected top 5 round pick out of high school... Think the pro scouts will go on that history more so that 18 games.
But again.. he will bust out at some point. His numbers may not be as good due to his slow start, but he'll hit before its all said and done
People need to learn scouts done care about numbers. They care about tools. Eric Cerantola couldnt hit the broad side of a barn and barely pitched for us... ended up getting drafted in the 5th round.
I have paid attention because of your comments and I have been surprised at the number of batters that stand on the line of the batters box. I get crowding the plate I guess but I don't understand how you can be over six feet tall and hit an inside pitch if your back food is centered across the line of the batters box.
So we want to bench Hines. Someone that has hit 38 homers in 2 seasons for us.
While letting guys like: Cupp, Chance, Koehler, and every catcher on the roster continue to hit and start daily? Boy thats a great idea. Keep in mind a struggling Hines is still hitting better than everyone listed above, numbers wise.
You want to move him down in the line.. Im OK with that. But who hits 4th?
Hines is 1 of like 3.5 players in our lineup that actually has SEC talent. I hope he hits sooner rather than later. But you arent benching him.
And comparing Luke Hancock to Hines isnt even a real thing. Hancock NEVER hit, was recruited as a catcher, and moved to 1b for some unknown reason. He was productive for like 3 weeks during the natty run, and lemonis never took him out of the lineup again. Kid was a platoon guy at best, that we let start for 4 years.
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I know we don’t bench him. I’m just frustrated as heck with this team and coaches. I’m angry that he wasn’t better prepared.
I think Hancock led us in OBP or was second behind Tanner Allen every year he was here? Never was a big hitter but drew a lot of walks and basically never struck out. Probably not exactly what you want out of first baseman or DH or a catcher that can't control the run game, but it's not like we had some great offensive weapon on the bench.
Right. Hes a guy that sounds a lot like a platoon guy. Not a guy that should be penciled into the middle of the order weekly. When compared OPS wise to 1b he was alwasy one of the worst. I acutally think he mightve been THE worst ever day regular 1b last season in the SEC.
His SEC numbers were also some of the worst on the team throughout his career, because SEC teams didnt walk him.. and when the walks dried up.. his numbers didnt add up.
End of day. Average player. Was recruited as a catcher, couldnt catch even average at this level. Should have been a role type guy for us. And we handed him the 1b position and he proved to be one of the worst hitters at that position in our league... and when it mattered (SEC play) he was one of our worst hitters as well.
As for did we have anyone on the bench. Wonder how much better Hunter Hines would be right now, had He been the every day 1b the last two seasons... like he should have been.
This year's roster has him listed the same as last year's - 6'3" 210 lbs. That weight may be correct for now, but there's no way he was 210 last year. The height may be stretching it a tad as well.
I don't agree with benching Hines, but he CANNOT stay in the lineup directly behind Jordan. Nobody is going to throw to Jordan with Hines hitting behind him. I would leadoff Mershon and put Larry behind DJ if you want to keep Larry high in the order.
1 Mershon
2 DJ
3 some combination of Larry, Hujsak, Stevens/Chance
6 Hines
7 Kohler
8 Catcher of the day
9 Cupp
1 Mershon
2 DJ
3 some combination of Larry, Hujsak, Stevens/Chance
6 Hines
7 Kohler
8 Catcher of the day
9 Cupp
Doesnt matter whose behind Jordan at this point. He's not going to be pitched too. Even with a blistering Hines behind him, teams are going to tread lightly With how hes going at the moment.
Chance shouldnt be anywhere close to the middle of any order. Hes hit 3 homers in 191 college plate apperances and hitting a robust 232 this year. Im actually having a hard time figuring out why he's even got the playing time hes gotten so far.
But id actually do the opposite. I'd move Hines INFRONT of Jordan. And let hines get really pitched too and see if that jump starts him. Hard to argue that its worked well for Mershon.
Our team is proof you can't.
You really have to manipulate your hands to do it and it is a fine approach for some hitters. Gene Clines was a minor league hitting instructor and was the first guy that talked to me about being close to the plate and showed me drills to hit in that fashion. He was a good hitter for the "We are family" Pirates. Pete Alonso has a move in his practice swing that reminds him to get his hands in and out in front before releasing the barrel. I noticed Nolan Stevens doing that same move at the plate. Hunter does not pull his hands in and therefore to hit the ball with the barrel of the bat, it has to be out in front of him instead of within his frame.
I don't understand giving a pitcher a place to throw a strike on you where you can't hit it hard in fair territory. It's like they are so worried about a strike on the outside corner. The thing is if you move off the plate, first it is hard for an ump to call that pitch because it seems to be so far away from the hitter. Second, If you just try to hit that outside pitch deep in the strike zone to the opposite field you can cover that pitch when it is over the plate.
Explain how a guy who has an absolute ceiling of being a platoon DH will be a high draft pick?
Hines has nothing going for him except dead pull power to RF on inside pitches from righties. Cannot hit lefties, cannot hit stuff on the outer half the other way, and cannot hit off-speed stuff. Also has no real marketable skills defensively and isn’t that fast. One-tool position players are rarely guys that go high in drafts.
They are all doing it to try and draw walks. Name of the game these days. Go up there with hulkbuster armor on half your body - your ankle guard, elbow guard, wrist guard, shin guard, face guard, etc.….stand as close to the plate as you can, then challenge pitcher to throw inside. They hit their spot, it’s a strike. But miss 6” to one side and its an HBP, miss 6” to the other and its a meat pitch that gets deposited into the seats.
Trouble is, we get the inside pitch, and instead of taking, we are rolling over weak contact and giving them a free out whenever we offer at the pitch. The approach we have with our stance isn’t matching what we’re doing execution wise. If you’re going up there to hang 10 on the inner chalk of the batter’s box, then FFS do not EVER swing at an inside pitch. Make the pitcher throw 3 in a row on that corner to get you out.
But if you hit that pitch deep in the strike zone to the opposite field, most people can't hit it for a homerun and I think that they would rather strike out trying for a home run than hit a single to left.
pretty sure professional scouts takes on his talents are much different than yours. Again he was a projected top 3 round pick out of high school and there is nothing he’s done outside of these past 18 games to deter that projection that much.
As you know many draft picks don’t pan out. The fact Hines has tools that are proven to be valuable in the big leagues, again there are tons of people just like you described in the big leagues right now, is a big thing.
wont argue. But I’ll bet any amount you are comfortable with that he’s a top 10 round draft pick. I’ll double what I owe if he’s outside of 15, and you can double what you owe if he’s 5 or lower. Name your price…
I never had a problem doing it and neither should a guy as strong as Hunter.
I noticed quite a few of our guys getting jammed up by inside pitches during the two midweek games. Also noted that the outside corner pitches were called strikes every damn time.
I'm not calling for Hines to be benched but he really needs to look at how he approached the plate last year as opposed to this year. He's gone from being one of our top hitters to a liability.
You said “Hines’ tools are valuable in the big leagues” like he has more than one tool. Unless you’re talking about his johnson (NTTAWWT), he only has one tool that he excels in. Singular. He can, under the right circumstances, hit for power to RF. That’s not a special ability for a LH hitter. That’s it.
You think he’s a Top 10 round pick? Great. That’s not what I’d call a high draft pick but whatever. He can certainly get taken in the Top 10 rounds if he’ll sign at a discount. Doesn’t make him a generational talent or anything.
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