The unofficial online home for fans of the Kent State University Golden Flashes. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(04-02-2017 11:51 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  The Brewers will be interesting to watch for Kent/Indians fans this year. I'm intrigued to see what Shaw does without being saddled with a platoon or constantly having to worry that a cold stretch will land him on the bench.

Their first base situation is intriguing too. They brought Eric Thames in on a three year deal to start at first after he spent the last few years in Korea. Then they claimed Jesus Aguilar on waivers from the Indians and he basically forced them to keep him on the active roster in camp. He just missed out on the spring training triple crown hitting .452 (1st), 7 HR (3rd), and 19 RBI (3rd) and they started toying around with playing Thames in the outfield. I always really liked Aguilar's upside with the Indians but obviously he was never going to get a chance once Encarnacion signed. It'll be interesting to see what he can do if he's given an opportunity to play every day.

I think Shaw handled his slump and subsequent benching poorly. Honestly, John Farrell (his manager in Boston) really liked him, so he wasn't screwing with him, he just didn't hit after a certain point last year and, with Boston in the playoff contention, they felt they had to do something at third to get some offense. The Brewers won't be in contention for anything, so Shaw will get a very fair chance. Honestly, he has vastly exceeded my expectations from a few years ago so I am hesitant to bet against his success.

For Aguilar, he really struck me as a "quadruple A" type. He is good enough to be in the bigs, but probably would be in the bottom quarter of regulars if given a chance. I'd be really surprised if he turns into something. For Thames, he did cream the ball in Korea, but I have no idea how to translate performance in Korea to the big leagues.