The Curious case of Jose Caballero

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D-train
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The Curious case of Jose Caballero

Post by D-train » Tue May 23, 2023 3:18 pm

dt

Big_Maple
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Re: The Curious case of Jose Caballero

Post by Big_Maple » Tue May 23, 2023 3:47 pm

Not sure if you all can read this or not - it's an Athletic article. I don't have a subscription, but the full article came up for me. If you can't read it, let me know and I'll post full text:

https://theathletic.com/4542108/2023/05 ... caballero/

I'm a Caballero fan. So far!

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Re: The Curious case of Jose Caballero

Post by Juliooooo » Tue May 23, 2023 3:48 pm

Big_Maple wrote:
Tue May 23, 2023 3:47 pm
Not sure if you all can read this or not - it's an Athletic article. I don't have a subscription, but the full article came up for me. If you can't read it, let me know and I'll post full text:

https://theathletic.com/4542108/2023/05 ... caballero/

I'm a Caballero fan. So far!
I can’t.
The poster formerly known as Kingfelixk. With a new forum comes a new boardname. Julio is my guy, plus we share a birthday, so that's Culiooooo

Adopt a Mariner-Julio Rodriguez

Big_Maple
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Re: The Curious case of Jose Caballero

Post by Big_Maple » Tue May 23, 2023 3:54 pm

Is Mariners’ rookie José Caballero for real? ‘I think it’s going to take off for him’

On Sunday afternoon in Atlanta, Mariners’ rookie infielder José Caballero hit his first big-league home run and stole three bases in a 3-2 loss to the Braves. Then on Monday night, Caballero slugged a three-run home run in his first plate appearance against the A’s.

These two games marked the latest in a run of strong all-around games for the 26-year-old, who has essentially taken over the second base duties from veteran Kolten Wong. Caballero is hitting .342 this month with two homers and nine RBIs. Overall, Caballero is hitting .276 in 24 games with eight walks and six stolen bases.

Chances are you’re going to see a lot more of Caballero as the Mariners, a team starving for offensive consistency, can certainly benefit from his bat. Case in point: His three-run homer against Oakland opened up a game that the Mariners went on to win, 11-2.

“He’s been terrific in every way,” Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said Monday.

Going into Monday’s game, Caballero had the fourth-highest fWAR (0.9) on the team, trailing only J.P. Crawford (1.0), Cal Raleigh and Jarred Kelenic (both at 1.3). I mean, who saw that coming?

Baseball is a funny sport. You build your roster for a season and then, well, you-know-what can — and often does — hit the fan. Wong’s struggles have certainly been well-documented. He’s hitting .177 in 32 games.

As for Caballero, his story hasn’t been well-documented. He was the player the Mariners acquired from Arizona at the trade deadline in 2019 for pitcher Mike Leake. At that point, Caballero was just in his third season of professional baseball after being selected in the seventh round in 2017 by Arizona out of Chipola College, a two-year school in Marianna, Fla.

Caballero hit .401 in the spring of 2017 for Chipola, which went on to win the NJCAA National Championship. He was one of 11 players who were drafted that spring off that team (and 13 eventually drafted).

Longtime Chipola coach Jeff Johnson — who has coached future major leaguers like Jose Bautista, Russell Martin and Adam Duvall — said he admired Caballero’s game and his infectious attitude. Caballero made a difference on that 2017 team in a lot of ways.

“He could play shortstop, second base or third base, and he was just a guy who did everything well,” Johnson said Monday. “He could move guys over, he could hit for power, he had great instincts. He executed the game well.

“He was just a complete player. Of the 63 RBIs he had that season for us, 42 of them came with two outs.”

When it came time in 2019 to trade Leake, the Mariners didn’t exactly have a lot to go on in terms of scouting reports on Caballero, who was hitting just .268 in the then-High-A California League.

“Frankly, we only had one report to work with at the time,” Dipoto said. “So the only report we had was in 2018, which identified him with a strong feel for the strike zone and a high ‘he can play’ factor.”

At the time of the deal, Caballero’s ceiling might have been organizational depth in the middle infield. Today, though, it appears that he’s going to get a longer look on the club’s active roster. Not bad for a guy who was promoted from Triple-A Tacoma on April 15.

“What’s stood out for me is that from the day he showed up, he was not in awe of anything,” Mariners manager Scott Servais told reporters Sunday. “He understands how to play and doesn’t back off. He continues to play really well.”

Johnson made the four-hour drive from his home in Florida to Atlanta for this weekend’s game and to catch up with Caballero. He thinks his former player is in a really good place and foresees better days ahead.

“He’s just the ultimate baseball player,” Johnson said. “I think things are going to take off for him.”

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Re: The Curious case of Jose Caballero

Post by Sexymarinersfan » Tue May 23, 2023 11:08 pm

I've been saying he reminds me if a young Jose Bautista. Especially when he went from Pittsburgh to Toronto. This kid plays with a chip on his shoulder. He is a spark at the bottom of the batting order that is essential for turning over the lineup. Hitting is contagious and he could be just the spark we are looking for. This was about the time last year when we turned on the switch. We've already got one if the best if not THE best pitching staffs in all of baseball. We just need this lineup to play to their norms. Geno, Teoscar, and France, I'm looking at you.

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Re: The Curious case of Jose Caballero

Post by Coeurd’Alene J » Tue May 23, 2023 11:48 pm

Good story hopefully Cab figures it all out and we don’t look back

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Re: The Curious case of Jose Caballero

Post by D-train » Tue May 23, 2023 11:55 pm

Sexymarinersfan wrote:
Tue May 23, 2023 11:08 pm
I've been saying he reminds me if a young Jose Bautista. Especially when he went from Pittsburgh to Toronto. This kid plays with a chip on his shoulder. He is a spark at the bottom of the batting order that is essential for turning over the lineup. Hitting is contagious and he could be just the spark we are looking for. This was about the time last year when we turned on the switch. We've already got one if the best if not THE best pitching staffs in all of baseball. We just need this lineup to play to their norms. Geno, Teoscar, and France, I'm looking at you.
I don't know, Cabby hit 21 HRs in 6 minor league seasons. 3.5 per season. Bautista hit 54 HRs in 2010.
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Re: The Curious case of Jose Caballero

Post by D-train » Tue May 23, 2023 11:56 pm

Coeurd’Alene J wrote:
Tue May 23, 2023 11:48 pm
Good story hopefully Cab figures it all out and we don’t look back
He has been benched for his good deeds.
dt

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Re: The Curious case of Jose Caballero

Post by desbcoach » Wed May 24, 2023 12:23 am

D-train wrote:
Tue May 23, 2023 11:56 pm
Coeurd’Alene J wrote:
Tue May 23, 2023 11:48 pm
Good story hopefully Cab figures it all out and we don’t look back
He has been benched for his good deeds.
You mean benched wongfully

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Re: The Curious case of Jose Caballero

Post by Sexymarinersfan » Thu May 25, 2023 1:07 pm

D-train wrote:
Tue May 23, 2023 11:55 pm
Sexymarinersfan wrote:
Tue May 23, 2023 11:08 pm
I've been saying he reminds me if a young Jose Bautista. Especially when he went from Pittsburgh to Toronto. This kid plays with a chip on his shoulder. He is a spark at the bottom of the batting order that is essential for turning over the lineup. Hitting is contagious and he could be just the spark we are looking for. This was about the time last year when we turned on the switch. We've already got one if the best if not THE best pitching staffs in all of baseball. We just need this lineup to play to their norms. Geno, Teoscar, and France, I'm looking at you.
I don't know, Cabby hit 21 HRs in 6 minor league seasons. 3.5 per season. Bautista hit 54 HRs in 2010.
Bautista didn't have a whole lot of pop down in the minors either. I'm not saying Cabaerllo is going to be the next Jose Bautista. He just reminds me of his coming out party.

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