Why does Tug Hulett suck?

by eponymous_coward on Oct 17, 2008 1:17 PM PDT

I've been trying to figure this out from his minor league stats, and drawing a blank.

He has a minor league OBP of around .400, and he's consistently beaten his league's OPS in every league he's played in (OK, well, not the American League, but that has a pretty serious Small Sample Size Theatre problem).

On top of that, he's hit for OK power the last couple of years- not great, but 25 HRs means he flashes SOME power. Beats what Princess Willie did in the minors, anyway.

Oh, and he steals bases at a decent clip- about 20 a year at a 76% success rate.

So what's the deal- why does everyone think he's the new WFB? Terrible defense? Bad breath? I don't get it- this guy looks to me like he could give you a year of .270/.350/.380, 15 steals and tolerable defense in the majors for 300 K at 2B. Sign me up, please.

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His defense is eh, and he had a 108 wOBA+ in AAA as a 25 year old and a wOBA+ in AAA as a 24 year old.

I think he’s useful, but I don’t think he’s a starter by any means.

J.K.L.

by Aaron Campeau on Oct 17, 2008 1:14 PM PDT reply actions

Well, people seem to be willing to let Jeremy Reed stay in the OF, at least part time...

And let’s see:

Reed, 2007: .300 /.354/.452
Tuglett, 2008: .298/.380/.518

Reed’s a year OLDER, btw. So if Reed can pull a .680 OPS through his MLB career…

My other observation is middle infielders quite often take longer to mature as hitters- guys like Mark McLemore, Omar Vizquel, Ozzie Smith, David Eckstein, Rich Amaral come to mind.

Tuglett also draws walks through his minor league career- something that’s also similar to Eckstein.

by eponymous_coward on Oct 17, 2008 1:28 PM PDT up reply actions

This statement applies to Reed as well:

I think he’s useful, but I don’t think he’s a starter by any means.

J.K.L.

by Aaron Campeau on Oct 17, 2008 1:46 PM PDT up reply actions

Reed could be well served as an Ellison-type guy.

A defensive replacement.

I suffer for baseball so damn much.

by .Taylor on Oct 17, 2008 5:02 PM PDT up reply actions

Reed is much much much better than Jason Ellison.

J.K.L.

by Aaron Campeau on Oct 17, 2008 9:56 PM PDT up reply actions

Because Tug is a horrible name in every way possible.

by Sec 108 on Oct 17, 2008 1:25 PM PDT reply actions

It's not a name, it's a command.

And thus it sucks.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Oct 17, 2008 1:41 PM PDT up reply actions

My view has always been that certain names just can’t be successful.

Can you hear any announcer saying with a straight face, "The Rangers have Hamburger warming up in the pen?"

by oc on Oct 18, 2008 10:41 AM PDT up reply actions

He has a beard with poop in it

by DarkLou on Oct 17, 2008 2:01 PM PDT reply actions

At 2B over Lopez?

Where is my pitchfork…

by Slica on Oct 17, 2008 2:06 PM PDT reply actions

Maybe I missed something but is anyone really saying Tug Hulett sucks?

He seems like he would project as a below average but well above replacement 2B. In 2008, the average AL 2B hit 282/339/410 (749 OPS). The suggested 270/350/380 line above would make him about league average with the bat, as it is almost exactly what Aki Iwamura hit (274/349/380), which was good for a .338 wOBA and 1.1 BRAA (706 PA). His defensive reputation is below average for a 2B, so if that means -5 runs below average, you could live with it, but if that means more than -10 runs below average, it cancels out most of his bat. He had a huge platoon split this year (543 v. LHP, 987 v. RHP), but his career minor league split is not as drastic (745 v. LHP, 830 v. RHP). And at least it is the more favorable side of the platoon.

Overall, assuming his defense is merely below average and not lousy, he sounds like more of a platoon or heavily-used bench player than a full-time starter.

He might take over Bloomquist’s role on the team, but he would not be the next Willie Bloomquist.

by G_ on Oct 17, 2008 2:25 PM PDT reply actions

Willie Bloomquist will likely be the next Willie Bloomquist.

I suffer for baseball so damn much.

by .Taylor on Oct 17, 2008 5:03 PM PDT up reply actions

Not TUG's fault ...

… that he was effectively swapped for Asdrubal Cabrera + Shin-Soo Choo. But I think that grates on some fans,. I alsothink that many of us fear that somehow the Mariners will try to project Hulett as a front-line player in an attempt to feel as if they salvaged something from those ill-conceived trades.

by Steve Nelson on Oct 17, 2008 2:38 PM PDT reply actions

I though he was swapped for Ben Broussard...

BOOYA! You got Slurved!

by Slurvey on Oct 17, 2008 2:51 PM PDT up reply actions

And Broussard/Perez were acquired for Cabrera/Choo.

J.K.L.

by Aaron Campeau on Oct 17, 2008 2:58 PM PDT up reply actions

Ah I see...

BOOYA! You got Slurved!

by Slurvey on Oct 17, 2008 3:21 PM PDT up reply actions

The pain resurfaced for a second there.

I suffer for baseball so damn much.

by .Taylor on Oct 17, 2008 5:03 PM PDT up reply actions

Tuglett's in the same boat as Willie

He’s probably, at his best, a great backup utility infielder, and honestly he’s got the makeup of a decent one as those go… but people buy into his hustle, grit and whiteness and may begin believing he deserves more than that.

I wouldn’t be opposed to Tuglett getting a spot on next year’s Mariners bench.

by Gomez on Oct 17, 2008 3:30 PM PDT reply actions

I'm sorry, but who believes his grit and whiteness means he's deserving of something?

Anybody here? Probably not. General fans? No, they’ve probably never heard of him.

I agree that he’s a decent utility IF candidate, but I don’t know who’s arguing differently.

by marc w on Oct 17, 2008 4:07 PM PDT up reply actions

You're missing my point

Public perception may shade that way, which increases the risk that management may think of him as more than he actually is.

Everyone here should know better.

by Gomez on Oct 17, 2008 4:53 PM PDT up reply actions

Ah, a pre-emptive strike against anticipated fan reaction.

by marc w on Oct 17, 2008 5:03 PM PDT up reply actions

Needs More High Socks...

This signature space for rent.

by PositivePaul on Oct 17, 2008 3:56 PM PDT reply actions

Like others have said, I don't think many people think he sucks, it's just

that the M’s have Jose Lopez – who has more offensive potential – and Luis Valbuena behind him. Valbuena could develop into a hitter with a higher true-talent OBP and comparable power. He’s also a better defender at 2B.

Tug’s value was that he could play a not-vomitous shortstop. As a 2B, he’s far enough down the depth chart that it doesn’t really matter. I like Hulett; he’s fun to watch, he plays both MI positions, he’s got decent gap power. I’m just not really sure how he contributes unless it’s as a stop-gap utility infielder or 2b assuming Lopez gets traded in the off-season.

by marc w on Oct 17, 2008 4:05 PM PDT reply actions

Valbuena would be a fantastic replacement for Willie B.

I suffer for baseball so damn much.

by .Taylor on Oct 17, 2008 5:05 PM PDT up reply actions

How about Tuglett over Yuni?

Given his recent trends to shit the bed on offense and defense. Obviously, unless we get a GM who truly understands how valuable defense is and realizes how bad yuni is,* we’re not going to see this happen. But as a SS, would you guys consider Tuglett above yuni’s level? Certainly the fact that he can actually walk gives him some edge, although I don’t know any actual numbers.

*We won’t

by mariners124m on Oct 17, 2008 6:14 PM PDT up reply actions