Tony-OH

I haven't caught a broadcast that showed velocity the whole time since early this year, but in that one his velocity rally falls off after the 2nd or 3rd inning. It was interesting that they brought him out of the pen after being a primary starter all year. In his previous nine starts he pitched to a 6.14 ERA with a 21 to 42 BB t K ratio over 36.2 IP. Batters slashed .280/.364/.460/.824 of him over this stretch. Now I will say the biggest difference I saw yesterday was his command was much better. they had him at 96 in his first inning of work, but not sure after that. I did see he was working in his change more though it's not good. He definitely has a reliever vibe for me.

As much as I love the minor leagues, I'm going to say no to the college leagues, but yes to advanced rookie leagues, but I'm also going to caveat this with I think the rookie leagues should be full seasons. What is missing in my mind is the league for the high school and international players the year after they debut in the FCL. Not every 19-year old is ready for Low-A, and returning to the FCL is deflating for most players. Playing in extreme heat and humidity in front of few fans during the day is not the best environment after that initial pro debut. What they need is advance rookie full season league that would allow 19 and 20 year old to have a league where they can compete a bit and develop without being overwhelmed. As for the college players, after a little adjustment period from their time off (perhaps a quick week in the FCL), they should be able to compete in Delmarva. Right now, you can look at Delmarva and even Frederick and see a lot of org guys starting everyday. The college guys should be able to come and fill those spots. This would be my ideal system with key age groups. 2 x DSL team: 16-19.. 2 x FCL (R) - 17-19 year olds, rehab guys, newly signed draftees initial placement) Advance Rookie: Full season - (19-20) Low A: 19-22 High A: 20-24 Double-A: 21-25 AAA: Your marginal major leaguers, AAAA guys and last stop for real prospects.

Rutschman deserves some kudos for sure, but Kyle Bradish looked as good as I've seen him this year.

Fontana is one of those guys that physically looks like a guy. He brings some raw tools to field like a little pop and speed, but he hasn't ever really been able to tap into the power during game time very often. He did pretty well against righties as a 24-year old in Aberdeen, but he really doesn't have any part of game that stands out. Defensively he's fine in RF, but not a plus defender there and while he runs effectively, it's not game changing speed on the bases. He's a nice 23rd round pick since he's an effective org guy with some tools to work from, but he's an org guy for me still.

Yes, I would say that's a good assessment from my perspective though Hays was seen as corner guy who could play CF. I liked Hays bat a lot more though. Watson to me just looks like he's going to be low OBP guy with some pop of a solid, but not CF type defensive outfielder with a slightly below average arm. This is only his first full season so I will not count him out, but at 24-years old, I think he is who he is at this point when it comes to the kind of player he's going to be. Can he improve, sure? Does having a little pop make him interesting a bit and worth seeing how it looks over the next few years, sure. But as you can see in my power rankings, he's more of a 4th outfielder type.

I'm actually enjoying it more than i have the last few years where I was getting burnt out. Luke's really as allowing me to take a step back for awhile but once he left (for good reason) I just kinda said to myself either this is over or I gotta step up. The MiLb broadcasts really allows me to not feel that I have to get to the games so much so that helps. It's hard to build those relationships that I used to make due to COVID over the last two years, but honestly I really think I've seen more with the broadcasts then I have since the early 2000s when I used to go to 60-70 games a year.

Thanks for the kind words, they're appreciated. Losing Luke made me double down on my own minor league coverage and with so many minor league broadcasts getting really good with centerfield cameras for the batter/pitcher matchup (minus the Orioles affiliates besides Norfolk), it's easier to do the scouting from home. Losing weams from the site has made me double down on my Orioles coverage, moderation and site administration. Thankfully @cboemmeljrhas been doing a great job with doing the major and minor league recaps. With my weekly gig on 105.7 on Thursdays at 12:30, i also need to make sure I'm totally up on the system. It's a lot harder to get information from the organization now so I have to rely on my other sources and my own video scouting now more. But again, I appreciate you noticing the effort I've been putting in to give fellow Orioles fans as much accurate, non-orange colored glasses, information about the system as possible.

I just haven't seen it myself. He doesn't look like he covers all that much ground and his routes need to improve. Defense though can be the hardest to judge on minor league broadcasts because most of the time you can't see the jumps, but he looks more like Austin Hays playing center than Mullins. He won't kill you out there, but he looks below average range wise to me.

Thanks, that was a typo.

His low OBP is concerning even though he's showed some pop. He's also not a CFer and probably belongs in LF.

I was asked my thoughts on Diplan in the game thread and thought I'd post it here as well. He's pitching better than he did in AAA with is a good thing. Some guys handle that pressure better than others. I've seen a guy who has done a very good job of staying out of the middle of the strikezone and gets some late movement, even though that movement overall is below average on most of his pitches. The curveball has very high spin rate but it has below average movement for a pitch at the 80-81 MPH range. He had a 1.627 WHIP in AAA so while his start to his major league career has been impressive, I'm going to take a wait and see approach.

He's pitching better than he did in AAA with is a good thing. Some guys handle that pressure better than others. I've seen a guy who has done a very good job of staying out of the middle of the strikezone and gets some late movement, even though that movement overall is below average on most of his pitches. The curveball has very high spin rate but it has below average movement for a pitch at the 80-81 MPH range. He had a 1.627 WHIP in AAA so while his start to his major league career has been impressive, I'm going to take a wait and see approach.

A typical outing for the hard thrower in his AAA debut. Walked a guy (got squeezed on several calls) Hit a guy (nicked him on the uniform sleeve) Meanwhile went about striking out the side on 97-99 MPH fastballs and an 81 change that is almost unfair.

I'm looking forward to watching Carlos Del Rosario pitch in Delmarva. I heard he has some big velocity numbers.

I'm just glad to see him healthy and playing again. Hopefully this is not something that will end up chronic.

Exactly. Beane is very good at what he does yet he's hamstrung by the economics of his situation. He does a great job of keeping the A's fairly competitive year in and year out, but there are no World Series appearances. He's also not competing in the AL East every year. Again, I'm not saying a well run team can't find ways to compete, but the fact that baseball allows or haves and have nots is part of the reason baseballs popularity has been falling. Most team's fans know their teams have very little chance year in and year out.

Fixed that for ya. Trust me, I agree with those that think tanking is not good for the game, particularly over a long stretch of time like Elias is putting us through. This is why I believe things have to change next year. The Orioles have to start trying to win. We can't go into the 2022 season with another embarrassment of a team.

Oh, you were talking about comparing him to Traber. Got it. DJ will always have that 9-game stretch where he was as good as anyone in the game. Take that stretch away and his stats at the major league level look pretty darn bad.

This is a flawed concept as well. The Dodges do draft and develop well, but they also bring in high paid super stars to augment those inhouse players which allows them to compete year in and year out. The Red sox and Yankees can retool every once in a while but get right back in the game because again they can afford those high priced players and if they screw up, it doesn't matter, they just get rid of the guy, eat the contract, and move on to the next superstar. Tampa drafts and develops as good as anyone and how many World Series have they been in and won? If you don't think having almost unlimited payroll to develop a team does not give them an advantage, I just don't know what to tell you other then I wholeheartily disagree. Does it make it impossible to win without all that cash, no, but it's a lot harder.

100% correct. Unless this is taken into consideration in the next CBA, baseball will continue to be the haves and have nots. Sure there's a Tampa in there running two steps ahead of everyone just to try and stay competitive in the AL East, but it's really ridiculous. They need to change the system of the Divisioning each season into something that resembles equal market shares.

You gotta lighten up and learn to take a joke.

I just don't see it, and besides, Stewart is never going to have any defensive value so it will need to come from DH, and teams don't seem to want full time DHs anymore.

What's harsh about what I said? It was a very factual stat based assessment of Stewart's defense along with my assessment that I don't think he will still be on the 40-man when it's set this off season. As for Traber, Stewart was a similar overall player besides he fact that Traber was a first baseman mostly and Stewart is an outfielder. Traber obviously didn't K as much do to the difference in the game, but they both ended up a low batting average, occasional pop with no defensive value players.

Really nice start for the 16-year old Basallo (he's hit of late after a slow start) but an equally disappointing start for Hernandez even though his 9-8 BB-K ratio is obviously excellent. But, like you said it's early and numbers in the DSL always should be taken with a huge grain of salt. Hopefully they are both pushed to the FCL next year.