Ruzious

It is annoying that they've been playing 1 game every 3 days. Phoenix and Milwaukee basically have no offseason - and they still have to prepare for the draft - not to mention the players representing the US.

Somewhere between Pat Valaika and Rogers Hornsby.

Yeah, I think there's a better chance that they non-tender him than offer him an extension.

Yes, we need more OFers for the minor leagues. He might end up failing at 2nd base, but... he might not, and we got nothing else to try at the moment, so... see what he can do in Baltimore. Yardball said it best.

Meh, why bother with a 23 year old 2nd baseman with a .400 OBP in AAA, 15 XBH's in 133 at bats, 7 steals in 8 attempts, improving defense, and all kinds of tools? Afterall, we've got Valaika.

Well, the Braves did trade for someone kinda similar to Trey - going for Joc Pederson - though Pederson's having an awful year. Braves give up 2019 24th round pick Bryce Ball - a huge 1st baseman who pleasantly surprised them but has been ordinary at best this year in A ball at 23 and likely did not fit into their plans.

And Means gets a double-play grounder from the next batter.

The ump is squeezing him in the 2nd inning. He should have gotten strike 3 on the leadoff batter, but the ump walked him.

Not to mention "Randall".

The O's didn't go after it because that allowed them to keep his baseball rights through 2020. Most people did not expect him to stick in the NBA.

Yeah, he's a key player in the NBA Championship series - made a huge 3 late in last night's game. I never thought he'd be this good as an NBA player. As an added bonus, I'm a life-long Bucks fan, so I get to be thrilled by his success.

Wait what?

I'd like to see 4 inning piggy-back starters - with guys like Lopez, Akin, Kremer, and Kevin Smith. They're most likely not going to make it as traditional starters, but this might be a way of getting them to be useful major leaguers. And maybe Lowther and both Wells and Zimmerman should be included with that group. When you know the traditional method won't work, try something else that has a legit chance.

A college OFer picked 5th... really should start at Aberdeen with the thought of getting him some time at Bowie before the season ends.

Very well said. .956 OPS at Bowie, but he struck out 2 more times last night. It's definitely a concern. I remember the White Sox back in the day had a SS prospect named Brandon Wood - put up great numbers in the minors except that he'd strike out a ton, and he never did have success in the majors. Stowers is striking out this year at a higher rate than Wood used to. A player like that now is Travis Demeritte - has an all or nothing approach at the plate that works in the minors but not in the majors.

In all fairness, Atlanta and Cincinnati also gave up on Gauman - the Braves losing him on waivers and the Reds non-tendering him. SF was the winner - like they were with Lil Yaz. We got Brett Cumberland, Jean Carlos Encarnacion, Evan Phillips, Bruce Zimmermann, and... international signing money.

And when you draft a college OFer 5th in the draft, you're kind of expecting him to be part of your future. Not to mention, they haven't given up on Heston and have other OFers currently in AA that could factor in by then.

Presumably the O's are looking 2 years ahead.

And Ian Anderson might go on the injured list after they look at his shoulder. I can't see the Braves being buyers. Of course, if someone gives them an offer they can't refuse, that's another story. Anyone think the O's draft is an indication that the O's are looking to trade an OFer - particularly for a pitching prospect?

Boded well. Knock on wood. What more can you ask for from the guys who have taken us this far? They checked the boxes. More strikeouts than walks - yes!

Wow, sounds like a real sophisticated system. What kind of liquor does it involve?

I'm not gonna give them a low grade because I'm so far below being an expert, but... there was an obvious imbalance as far as picking OFers, and they went too old overall, imo. Just picking Rocker would have taken care of the balance problem, and just picking one of the HS SS's would have helped with the age problem and helped with the position balance. And while I don't believe they took the BPA in round 1, I do think they got a very good player. And I like the 2nd round pick. Not getting pitching is a big negative. I'm being very generous with a B-.

He actually does seem like a good prospect. Too bad he's not a pitcher. Gotta wonder if he chooses to go to college because of all the OFers the O's picked ahead of him.

Meh, he's also too small to be over slot.

If I'm running the O's (sorry, I'm not), I'm making a big free agent signing this offseason - getting at least a #2 starter - just to give the team some credibility and something for the fans to cheer about. Remember when the Braves were in the beginning stages with kids like Glavine, Smoltz, Avery, etc, the guy that really jump-started their rebuild was Maddux - signed as a free agent after shining with the Cubs.