Joey Meneses - follow a major leaguer

[imref]

“By FanGraphs WAR, Meneses has been twice as valuable as Soto and more than three times as valuable as Soto and Bell combined.”

https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2022/9/2/23334457/joey-meneses-washington-nationals-juan-soto-trade

Meneses is set to reach rookie of the year eligibility this week.

[Duke of Earl]

https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2022/9/2/23334457/joey-meneses-washington-nationals-juan-soto-trade

Meneses is set to reach rookie of the year eligibility this week.

As I understand it there is no eligibility requirement per se. He could be rookie of the year if the season ended today.  What he will reach is the point at which he cannot be considered a rookie next season (and therefore cannot win the rookie of the year award). 

In other words, if he reaches 130 at bats, then if he does not win rookie of the year this season then he can never be rookie of the year.  If he does not reach 130 at bats (or the 45 day threshold) then he will be eligible next season, as long as he doesn't win it this season.

[imref]

As I understand it there is no eligibility requirement per se. He could be rookie of the year if the season ended today.  What he will reach is the point at which he cannot be considered a rookie next season (and therefore cannot win the rookie of the year award). 

In other words, if he reaches 130 at bats, then if he does not win rookie of the year this season then he can never be rookie of the year.  If he does not reach 130 at bats (or the 45 day threshold) then he will be eligible next season, as long as he doesn't win it this season.

https://www.mlb.com/glossary/rules/rookie-eligibility

A player shall be considered a rookie unless he has exceeded any of the following thresholds in a previous season (or seasons):

• 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues.
• 45 total days on an active Major League roster during the Championship Season (excluding time on the Injured List).

A player must have rookie eligibility to be considered for any MLB rookie awards -- such as the American League or National League Rookie of the Year Award -- or appear on any MLB Pipeline prospect lists.

[Duke of Earl]

https://www.mlb.com/glossary/rules/rookie-eligibility

The quote confirms what I said, doesn't it?
i.e.
 he is already considered a rookie, i.e. already meets the requirement (because he never had 130 at bats or 45 days on a roster in a previous season).

[imref]

The quote confirms what I said, doesn't it?
i.e.
 he is already considered a rookie, i.e. already meets the requirement (because he never had 130 at bats or 45 days on a roster in a previous season).

You are correct, he will reach rookie caps this year.

[DPMOmaha]

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cif0jhOuaoZ

[UMDNats]

I didn't think this guy would keep it up at all past a week or so, this has been an awesome story.

[Slateman]

I dont think its sustainable, but his statcast numbers are good. His xBA is .267, with xSLG of .464.

His average EV is 91.4 with a launch angle of 10 degrees. Small sample size, but thats right around what Acuna and Rodriguez have done.

.320+ may not be sustainable, but I see a guy who could sustain .285 with .470+ slugging.

Or maybe I'm just stupidly optimistic

[imref]

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cif0jhOuaoZ

Joe Meneses is so classy, he steps out of the shower to pee.

[Senatorswin]

There was some kind of stat in the game tonight where it said he was 4th in hard hit velocity this month. Not sure if it was MLB or National League.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Speed merchant.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Bolt

Speed merchant.

[hotshot]

Bolt

4-4 against the Braves last night. With the Nats horrendous season, makes you wonder who else is languishing down on the farm. in Japan or Korea, or wherever -- out of sight apparently meaning out of mind.

[Smithian]

4-4 against the Braves last night. With the Nats horrendous season, makes you wonder who else is languishing down on the farm. in Japan or Korea, or wherever -- out of sight apparently meaning out of mind.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

so, as of the 7th inning of today's Barves / Nats game, Joey has a .329 / .366 / .566 line (.932 OPS). His wRC+ is 155, and his wOBA is .394.  For comparison, Soto's career, including this year, is .287 / .425 /. 528 (.953 OPS). wRC+ is 153, wOCA is .402.

[welch]

Soto and Bell were blocking Joey this season. Good trade, Rizzo. And good spotting by the Nats organization to pull Joey from oblivion.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

In Meneses's career, at 1st base, he's been behind Freddie Freeman up to 2017, then behind Carlos Santana (while he was still good) and Rhys Hoskins in 2018, then behind Dalbec/ Schwarber and blocking Tristan Casas in Boston in 2021.  I also think Darrin Ruf and Nick Markakis probably were in the ATL and PHI corner OF when he was coming through their systems.  I imagine there were a few times when it was said, "he's not going to beat out this other guy" so we can let him walk.

[Senatorswin]

This from the Nats site:

"The right-handed hitter blasted a 420-foot two-run homer with an exit velocity of 106.7 mph"

"In Wednesday's game, Meneses had three balls hit over 105 mph. On Tuesday, he had three balls hit over 100 mph, with his lowest exit velocity being 99.3 mph. In Monday's appearance, he had three balls hit over 100 mph, with his lowest exit velocity being 97.8 mph."

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Mashing Meneses

[English Natsie]

Meneses the Menace...(from MLB.com - '22 weird stats')

21

Extra-base hits for Nationals first baseman/outfielder Joey Meneses. The Nats made the biggest trade of the year when they sent both Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres, and Meneses -- a 30-year-old journeyman Minor Leaguer -- was one of the players they called up to fill out the lineup. Turns out, 40 games later, Meneses has more extra-base hits than Soto and Bell have for the Padres -- combined (18)!

[Smithian]

Meneses the Menace...(from MLB.com - '22 weird stats')

21

Extra-base hits for Nationals first baseman/outfielder Joey Meneses. The Nats made the biggest trade of the year when they sent both Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres, and Meneses -- a 30-year-old journeyman Minor Leaguer -- was one of the players they called up to fill out the lineup. Turns out, 40 games later, Meneses has more extra-base hits than Soto and Bell have for the Padres -- combined (18)!

[JCA-CrystalCity]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/22/joey-meneses-nationals-home-runs/

As for his continued production, Meneses is crushing breaking balls in September — really, really crushing breaking balls.

What most attracted the Nationals to Meneses was his contact ability, feeling it was a jumping-off point to unlock more power. In past seasons, Meneses slumped when he hit too many groundballs. His bat stays in the strike zone for a while — a great trait for any hitter — but a flatter swing path made it hard to elevate contact to line drives and flyballs consistently.

The equation, then, is simple in theory if not in practice: Meneses has improved the vertical angle of his swing, thus upping his launch angle to the point of hitting more line drives without popping balls straight up, thus increasing his chances of doing damage when he does make contact. A less flat bat path is also connected to his early success against sliders and curves.

In August, Meneses posted a .211 slugging percentage against sliders. But in September, that number has ballooned to .579, with pitchers faring even worse when they throw curveballs. Month to month, he has cut his whiff rate on sliders by about eight percentage points. He has a .526 batting average against curves this season.

[Slateman]

Could this swing improvement be more permanent?

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I sort of hate to be the skunk at the party, and his power improvement started before he went to Japan, but the steroid bust in 2018 is a bit of a 

[Slateman]

Send Robles to Japan