Kam James to CF?

[BrunswickDawg]

Interesting. Slater is going to be a really good player for us and is our third baseman of the future.

That said- the outfield takes an adjustment if you are Kam James. Especially if we put him in CF where he would have to be the lead outfielder on fly balls and has to be a good communicator. It's not as easy as a lot of people think- ask Chipper Jones. And Jones went from third base to left field. It can be done- I'm not saying it's impossible. But we may have some communication issues and some missed cut off men early in the year.

Lemonis will find a way to get our best lineup on the field. I have no doubts about that.

Your SS is your key infield communicator - and Kam has played that enough to know how to communicate in the OF. And having played travel ball, I guarantee he he has some OF experience not that long ago. Making a position switch at the MLB level is usually difficult because most players are locked in in the low minors and it had been years - over a decade or more in Chipper's case - since they played anything else. Kam will be fine.

[Todd4State]

Your SS is your key infield communicator - and Kam has played that enough to know how to communicate in the OF. And having played travel ball, I guarantee he he has some OF experience not that long ago. Making a position switch at the MLB level is usually difficult because most players are locked in in the low minors and it had been years - over a decade or more in Chipper's case - since they played anything else. Kam will be fine.

Completely different reads on the ball in the outfield vs shortstop. Shortstop has to be able to communicate with second baseman on potential throws to second, among other things. It's completely different. Kam is capable of making a change but I'm just pointing out there may be some growing pains. See Luke Hancock last year when we switched him to first base during the Ole Miss series because Hatcher was struggling. He made a couple of key errors and mistakes and we had to go back to Hatcher for a little bit until Hancock was ready.

If the Freshman are ready, will we see Hunter Hines @ 1st. Slade Alford @ 3rd, and Hancock DH?

A lot of options. Could see Hines DH and Hancock at first. Could see Hines and Alford platoon at DH depending on how they perform. Could see us bring in Davis or Skinner as a defensive replacement late for Kam.

It's all dependent on how they perform. What will tell the tale is how well Alford and Davis hit. Same with Hines really. Just never know with freshmen and transfers how long it will take them to adjust.