Tony-OH

One, I think Blood is overly enthusiastic about all of his players he talks about. Two, when it comes to evaluating players, he's more of a mouthpiece than a true evaluator. I was told the Texas player development people and scouts threw a party when he was hired away by the Orioles. Take from that what you want. I'm not saying everything he says is wrong, and I honestly like Cowser as well, but if it makes you happy to hear the Pollyanna version of every player, then who am I to tell you not to enjoy his stuff? Me, I've always respected the guys who told things straight and who communicated directly. It reminded me of Gary Rajsich. Now I think Rajsich was actually a pretty good Scouting Director overall, but the first time I talked with him about his draft picks was the last time because I knew it was going to be wasted time. Every pitcher had four pitches with multiple plus offerings even when they were drafted in the 7th round or later. To his credit, he did talk with me and did not send me to the PR department like this is current player development staff. I've been doing this since 1996. I've seen regimes come and go and I'll still be here when this one is gone as well. In the meantime, I have no interest in listening to fluff.

I do believe those big stars are what typically shine in the bright lights, and the Rays just don't really have them. They always have these inexperienced talented guys but ultimately, they've come up short year after year when it matters.

So you like hearing pure unadulterated propaganda? To each is own.

The one thing that is clear about the Rays formula, it works well in the regular seasons but until they can win a World Series, they're nothing more than the new Oakland A's. Only good enough to win in the regular season.

Literally there is just as much chance of you or I becoming a major league all-star player as there is for Ryan Ripken to become one.

A team may not think he's worth a 40 man right now, but after they look at their roster they could try and take him in the rule 5 draft since it's only a $50k gamble to take a look at a guy who might be ok in relief role. Saying that, my guess is he won't be protected and he won't be taken.

Valdez was a nice little story for a bit at least.

He's a got a good fastball that can reach 98 MPH, so a team could potentially take a chance on him as a reliever, which is probably where he future resides. Despite the velocity, he doesn't get a ton of swing and miss but on the plus side, batters don't hit him consistently either. But when they do, he has a high Line Drive rate which suggests his mistakes are fairly meaty. Like you said, any team could have tried to sign him and even offered a 40-man spot if they really liked him, so it's doubtful he will be protected. Saying all that, I haven't totally looked at the 40-man and players that need to be protected so I can't fully say he's worth a 40-man spot or not. My opinion now would be no, but there are some things to like with him now that his walk rate has come way down.

Why would it matter who else is sent to the AZ fall League when it comes to sending Stowers? I think they see Stowers as being very close to the major leagues so the at bats they can get him the better. Personally, I think he's very underrated by some due to his high strike out totals. The other guy I kind of liked this year is Cameron Bishop. When he's on, he's a four pitch lefty with a FB that sits 91-93. The injury really set him back this year, but he's interesting and they may be wanting to see more of him before deciding on the 40-man roster. He's a bubble guy and a guy I'd personally protect.

I think they are a lot closer than you think. They're both probably heading to relief though I still hold out some hope for Bradish as a starter.

This is an honest question. What did Matt Blood have to do with Bradish's similar years?

Vavra makes a ton of sense if he's healthy, but he only played 4 games in September and none after September 7th.

I'd put it at around 10 billion to 1.

I don't see him as a guy you protect. He's a lefty reliever type swing man for me at best.

I also heard Alan Mills was let go as well. Gary is an outstanding player evaluator and good manager who was probably a bit too old school for this regime. It's sad to see good baseball men get moved aside, but the organization is all about the new school. I hope they don't forget that some of the old school guys still have value as well. I certainly hope Gary lands on his feet somewhere.

I just wanted to publicly thanks Chuck Boemmel Jr for stepping up this season and doing every game and minor league summary recap this season. In the past, he's shared the duties with Weams who filled in when needed, but this year he did the entire season. While I know not everyone reads them everyday, its always good to see the front page updated every day and appreciate all of Chuck's hard work. Please throw chuck some rep!

Nice memory. He had him ranked #1 for player he would draft that one year if I remember correctly.

Meat Sauce may be a new Orioles legend!

My reverse jinx worked!!!

Holy crap, two out two strike walk off homer. Orioles have the first pick!

Imagine how mad their GM is that they scored three runs in the last two inning to to the game? lol

Only the Orioles can lose 110 games in year and only end up with the #2 overall pick.

Funny, I've done this as well. Definitely was not a good pick for lots of reasons. I would love to have a scouting director go through years later why they made certain picks.

Worth noting that Basallo led all of the Orioles DSL players in HRs and was at the playing age of 16 this year. It would really be interesting if they start him in the GCL next year.

Reliever was tough because most first year guys that are good were starters. I also would have swore Denoyer was one of those free agent signees after the 2020 draft. Thanks for the catch.