He’s 18-85 over these two seasons and is one of three guys to start every game. Other two are Waddell and Compton - two of the best hitters on the team.
You don’t think it’s worth giving somebody else a look in a midweek game? Off a roster that’s busting at the seams with talent?
What’s your counter argument?
Colin is an average hitter. He’s proven that over 3 years. His best attribute as a hitter is being patient and extending at-bats as well as drawing walks. His strikeout numbers are a little high, but this is mainly due to the fact that the vast majority of his at-bats are drawn out to 4, 5, 6+ pitches. He sees more 2 strike pitches than most other hitter do, which makes him statistically more likely to strikeout more. He could probably benefit from being a little more aggressive early in counts, but it appears that he and Ramsey have both come to the conclusion that he contributes more when he is a patient hitter. Driving up pitch counts is a hidden intangible that will not show up anywhere on a stat sheet, but makes a definite difference in the game. Extended ABs that result in hits, especially hits that drive up runs, are even more important. It’s demoralizing for a pitcher to throw 6+ pitches to a guy just to give up an RBI knock. Plus, his ability to draw walks makes up for his lack of hitting to an extent. His OBP currently sits basically 150 points higher than his BAVG. He’s got 6 walks in 7 games. He’s yet to have a game where he didn’t have a hit
or a walk. Colin is not a .180 hitter. He’s going to hit .270+ with power in the gaps, drive up pitch counts, and get on base. The lineup is dangerous enough that Colin doesn’t need to be a great hitter, but doing what he does best is good enough.
You also didn’t account for his defensive abilities. He’s easily the best OF on the roster. He’s got the strongest arm from the OF, and while he’s not up to par with Nick Wilhite’s ability in center, he’s more than solid out there. He’s already made a couple of plays in the OF that were not easy, and had he not made them it would’ve led to extra bases and runs for the other team. Tres is solid in LF, and Reid is serviceable in RF because of his bat, so Colin needs to be out there to cover as much ground as possible. Deleo is the only other option in the OF, and he’s 3-13 with 0 BBs and not nearly as good of an OF as Colin is.
Probably the most important intangibles Colin brings to the lineup though is intensity and energy. Colin and Luke are similar in that they have swagger, but aren’t outwardly cocky. They’re both pretty quiet, but when something big happens they’re always the most fired up. Taking Colin out of the lineup subtracts a lot of that energy.
I’m not saying Deleo or anyone else shouldn’t occasionally get ABs, especially in blowouts or midweek games, but taking Colin out of the lineup completely changed the dynamic of the team. Not only would it have a pretty drastic effect the mentality, it would effect strategy on offense as well. If Colin faces a starter 3 times, you can pretty much guarantee he’ll see 15+ pitches. There’s not many hitters that can do that consistently, especially at the college level.
I think you also may be missing the most important component in all of this:
It’s early. A sample size of 28 ABs is nothing. MLB broadcasts probably wouldn’t even flash an average up on a players introduction with that few ABs. They’d just give a H-ABs ratio.
Oh, and just an FYI. Colin started 2019
exactly 5-28, same as he stands currently. He ended that year hitting .307 with 18 doubles and 4 HRs. That last name snippet of your post is a little too snarky for my liking
