Ruzious

There's something really comforting about having such a high floor prospect like Westburg. I hope to see him in Baltimore in mid 2022.

He's living the dream - playing baseball for a living while earning millions of dollars - and has a beautiful family. He can comfortably retire in his mid 30's. It's crazy to feel bad for Trey.

Right, everyone should get 9 right when the time comes. 10 is where you can start playing all kinds of games on us. Looking forward to it.

Agreed on the top 9 - not going to say who 8 and 9 are, but I think it's clear.

I was pretty sure Westburg would be 7, so I gotta stick with him at 8.

I guess I'm not as optimistic after seeing someone who had similar SO issues - Travis Demeritte - fail to make it. But Travis had an even more all or nothing approach at the plate - where it was too obvious that he was going for homers, so maybe my comparison was off.

So that's why I saw your picture at the post office.

Right. He mentioned there were several different balls. But the proof was in the pudding - He finished the season very strongly, so presumably he was able to get used to the ball he'll be using in MLB. Tbh, if some are trying to paint him having a bad attitude from that interview... I think that's an enormous stretch.

Right now - 51 votes for Westburg and 20 for Stowers. We're good at this!

Realistically, I don't think Dorrian's any more of a prospect than Nevin. He's older than Nevin and did all his hitting in AA. There's no reason to protect any of these guys, imo.

Still, based on all I've read, I'd bet on Kjerstad having at least as much power as Stowers in the majors. And while Kjerstad might end up with a similar SO problem, it's more clear that Stowers has that problem. And where they were picked - fairly or not - is going to affect their ratings. If I'm starting a team that won't play until 2 years, I pick Kjerstad over Stowers.

So, over the years - from 2019 in the minors to now - his average fastball has gone from roughly 90 to 95 - mainly from weight lifting and cleaning up his mechanics. His fastball also has some cut to it - adding late movement. Feels very confident in his slider, but not with his curve - because of the grip on the new ball. Like JR said, sounds like continued development of his changeup is a big key. Looking at his game log, look how he finished the season - In his last 6 games - a total of 33 K's and only 6 W's - that's huge, imo - especially getting the W's down. He absolutely crushed it at Bowie to start the season - in 3 games had 26 K's and only 5 W's. It's the middle of the season that was the problem. No doubt, a lot of that was getting used to different balls. Seems like he's got a good head on his shoulders - he reminds me of TJ Oshie of the Caps - which is a good thing.

I went with Westburg - admit I don't have any feel for where Bradish should go.

I think people are being a bit overly submissive of Culser in this thread. He had a helluva year, and relievers are becoming more and more important. Just look at all the reliever games the Braves have had this postseason - including last night and probably tonight. Does he have a ton of trade value? No, but I think he has some.

I wonder if the O's might project Westburg to 2nd base - in the Jonathan Schoop mold - a big guy with a strong arm expert at turning the double play. He's never going to be looked at as a flashy SS, but let's not just assume he needs to go to 3B.

Interesting - I think I'd rather get an award voted on by my peers rather than by sportscasters. Then again, what do sportscasters know about taxes?

Is there some distinction between "Outstanding Rookie" and "Rookie of the Year"?

I think the problem with putting Basallo in the top 10 is - even if he does become a good MLB player - how long does that take - considering he's a 17 year old catcher in the DR? It's not just that he's got to learn so much; he also has to stay healthy at a position that takes a lot of wear and tear. Otoh, good catchers are particularly valuable.

I also chose Gunnar for the big upside - though I think Westburg has a significantly higher floor. It's fun to have Basallo as one of the options.

Finding our Nimmo; unfortunately, pitched balls found Nimmo too often - he led the NL in HBP's in 2018 with 22 and has been injury-prone since then. A healthy version of Nimmo would be excellent.

Granted, Hall hasn't pitched anywhere near as many innings as we'd like - and only 31.2 innings last year - and walks more than he should, but some of his numbers are... striking. He struck 56 in those 31.2 innings and gave up 16 hits - so more than 3 times as many SO's vs hits given up. For his career; 284 SO's in 217 innings vs 147 hits given up (just 14 of them homers). Granted, 122 walks are too many, but batters don't hit him. Even if he doesn't make it as a starter, he could be Haderish. Hader might be a good comp for him, imo.

Right, it would be good to get their thought processes regardless of whether you agree with the decision.

I also think it's between Hall and Gunnar. I went with Hall, because lefties with his kind of stuff are golden, so even if he doesn't stick as a starter, he's a valuable player, and he could very well stick as a starter. He's a valuable commodity.

And It's vital to have reliable 6th, 7th, 8th inning relievers and closers - not just closers.