This week’s mailbag will get into Dalton Speeding’s future with the Dodgers, the Phillies’ rotation, Kyle Tucker’s incomes energy, the Giants’ offense, the Rockies’ potential run at historical past, and far more.
Matthew asks:
Since they’ve performed Dalton Speeding within the outfield and 1st base, why do not they place him at third? Johnny Bench performed third and catchers generally make a superb transition to that place.
Speeding is alleged to have “above-average arm energy” and “dependable fingers,” per Baseball America. He by no means did dabble at third base on the College of Louisville, regardless of spending his first two years there backing up Henry Davis at catcher. This 12 months at Triple-A, Speeding has spent 102 innings at catcher, 26 at first base, and one in left discipline. Speeding did see ample time at each catcher and left in 2024.
It is often an absence of vary that leads to a catcher transferring to first base reasonably than third. BA famous a 28.4 toes per second dash pace for Speeding in Triple-A final 12 months, so he is quicker than most MLB third basemen. In fact, dash pace isn’t vary, and I simply do not understand how Speeding would fee in that regard at third.
Johnny Bench by no means actually did make the transition to 3rd base. He solely topped 319 1/3 innings there as soon as, when he reached 858 2/3 as a 34-year-old in 1982.
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