Changing a top prospects position -- Can Bo Bichette play third?

rink23 · 02-06-2019, 08:35 PM

I have a fictional team (St. Louis River Walkers) in a fictional league (Midwest Baseball League) that uses real (2018 season) as dispersed through a draft.
I'm in the 2019 season, dominated the league and won the championship in 2018 and should at least have the best record in my league in in 2019. We're in early September.

My top prospect is Bo Bichette. IRL, he's the Blue Jays No. 2 prospect behind Vladdy Jr.
His strength is his bat, and position wise he's a second baseman and shortstop.
I already have a 5-star second baseman on a long-term contract.

In how I run my team, Bichette's glove doesn't rate as a starting shortstop. I want an at least a 65-rated defender or a 60 with a Machado type bat. He checks in at 45.
Due to that I'm thinking of moving Bichette to third base. He has no rating there, but his range (60) and error ratings (55) are both better than my current third baseman (Nicky Delmonico). He's at 45-50.
Only in arm strength (55), does he seem to lack. Delmonico's is 65.
The plan is to groom him for the 2021 season.
Delmonico has done just fine -- he's currently hitting .268 with 28 homers and 88 RBIs -- but I think in the long-term Bichette's bat will play much better.
In the 2020 season, if I would use him at third in spring training and in AAA give me an idea of how that might play out?
Also, when it comes to spring training, if you do not play someone like Bichette in the actual games -- does the game put him into backfield games just to get him reps?

NoOne · 02-06-2019, 11:41 PM

he could play SS if you wanted to.

he's probably best at 2nd. he can do third. arm is a bit average to below average for a 3b i bet, but that's not horrendous either.

use him based on what other guys you can get or have... i like guys liek this... i can look for a 2/3/ss and he can float around giving me 3x the choices. even if you don't like him at SS, it can be a 1year stopgap in time of need... even if unlikely to be needed. for a guy that can play more than 1 spot, i like to let my best opportunity to sign or whatever is in pipeline to make the decision for me.

i fi can get a better 3b than a 2b that year or if i think a good one will be in next year's FA or a up and coming prospect etc etc... that determines what i do, becaue it gives me a greater opportunity to make a better choice and greater overall synergy relative to those "2" players and whatever positions they are.

jimmysthebestcop · 02-07-2019, 05:33 AM

What's he look like in the OF? His arm is pretty weak for my teams at 3rd. And his Turn DP is pretty weak for 2B on my teams. Usually speaking. Range is really low for a SS.

Does depend on his bat. If he hits 130 OPS+ or more I even play him at 1st. But sometimes players have sneaky average OF stats. And you can hide him there.

His bat is MLB ready for sure in 2020.

02-06-2019, 08:35 PM	#1
rink23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 23,430	Changing a top prospects position -- Can Bo Bichette play third? I have a fictional team (St. Louis River Walkers) in a fictional league (Midwest Baseball League) that uses real (2018 season) as dispersed through a draft. I'm in the 2019 season, dominated the league and won the championship in 2018 and should at least have the best record in my league in in 2019. We're in early September. My top prospect is Bo Bichette. IRL, he's the Blue Jays No. 2 prospect behind Vladdy Jr. His strength is his bat, and position wise he's a second baseman and shortstop. I already have a 5-star second baseman on a long-term contract. In how I run my team, Bichette's glove doesn't rate as a starting shortstop. I want an at least a 65-rated defender or a 60 with a Machado type bat. He checks in at 45. Due to that I'm thinking of moving Bichette to third base. He has no rating there, but his range (60) and error ratings (55) are both better than my current third baseman (Nicky Delmonico). He's at 45-50. Only in arm strength (55), does he seem to lack. Delmonico's is 65. The plan is to groom him for the 2021 season. Delmonico has done just fine -- he's currently hitting .268 with 28 homers and 88 RBIs -- but I think in the long-term Bichette's bat will play much better. In the 2020 season, if I would use him at third in spring training and in AAA give me an idea of how that might play out? Also, when it comes to spring training, if you do not play someone like Bichette in the actual games -- does the game put him into backfield games just to get him reps? Attached Images

02-06-2019, 11:41 PM	#2
NoOne Banned Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7,273 Infractions: 0/1 (3)	he could play SS if you wanted to. he's probably best at 2nd. he can do third. arm is a bit average to below average for a 3b i bet, but that's not horrendous either. use him based on what other guys you can get or have... i like guys liek this... i can look for a 2/3/ss and he can float around giving me 3x the choices. even if you don't like him at SS, it can be a 1year stopgap in time of need... even if unlikely to be needed. for a guy that can play more than 1 spot, i like to let my best opportunity to sign or whatever is in pipeline to make the decision for me. i fi can get a better 3b than a 2b that year or if i think a good one will be in next year's FA or a up and coming prospect etc etc... that determines what i do, becaue it gives me a greater opportunity to make a better choice and greater overall synergy relative to those "2" players and whatever positions they are. Last edited by NoOne; 02-06-2019 at 11:46 PM.

02-07-2019, 05:33 AM	#3
jimmysthebestcop Banned Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 1,727 Infractions: 0/2 (5)	What's he look like in the OF? His arm is pretty weak for my teams at 3rd. And his Turn DP is pretty weak for 2B on my teams. Usually speaking. Range is really low for a SS. Does depend on his bat. If he hits 130 OPS+ or more I even play him at 1st. But sometimes players have sneaky average OF stats. And you can hide him there. His bat is MLB ready for sure in 2020.