Jammer7

The glove/hands are actually pretty good. He has made some fantastic picks in the past few weeks. The few errors I have seen have been on throws. Sometimes, he throws with poor footwork. Especially from the hole, I’d like to see him stick the right foot and step into a throw. He seems to have about an average arm, but settles for a quick release often over a power step. His feeds to 2B are not really poor, but better feeds would have had 3-4 more double plays in the past week. The range is about average, maybe just a tick below. Overall, he makes the plays he should make. Not really a slick defender, but more solid average.

Well, there goes the Galvis for Leyba thought. Leyba is overweight, and has no range. He has taken the most disinterested swings I have seen in a while. They took a rightful look, and it’s not good. So, now what? Do they just bring up Richie? Mason McCoy?

Rajsich did a good job as scouting director. Some early round misses, but many lower round hits. Jordan had some hits, and some high pick misses that really set us back. But, what if these scouting directors had our current player development staff and the organizational relationships that exist now? Were the picks bad? In some cases, yep. Could others have been developed better? Yep. We’ll never know, but I never blame the scouting director as much as I do the GM’s. I often wondered how much those scouting directors dictated the first few rounds. Or was it ownership, McPhail and Duquette trying to address team needs. Elias gutted the organization and built it back up with the idea that scouts and PD folks work together through the entire process. They know what kinds of players they develop best and present value for this organization. And they seem to have autonomy to make baseball decisions without ownership interference.

Pavolony played much of the season with a hairline fracture in his hand. He hit better with the injury, mostly against SEC competition. Some big game performances. He had a good offensive line going in 2020 before COVID and they played very good competition early. Connor was the 91st ranked HS player in the country, according to Perfect Game, out of Woodstock, Ga.. He was a 2nd team College pre-season All-American according to D1 Baseball. I watched some video on him. His pop times are consistently around 1.8. Quick hands and feet. He is about a 7.0 60 yard runner, which is not bad at all for a catcher. He could play corner INF or OF with that. The swing is smooth with some loft. No longer collapses the back side. He can get more from his lower half. I like this pick very much for a 7th rounder. I think he’ll hit fairly well for a catcher, not just a defense guy. https://www.perfectgame.org/Players/Playerprofile.aspx?ID=419661 https://youtu.be/F70JxDUE3Jg https://utsports.com/sports/baseball/roster/connor-pavolony/13175

I agree with most of this. I’d like to see Westburg get to AA in the next week or two. It will be interesting to see what happens with Grenier and Ortiz, who are better defenders with emerging bats. Curious how much the organization values defense over offense at SS. Minor thing, but Westburg is 22.4 years of age according to Fangraphs.

Lawlar has not signed with Arizona. Rocker has an elbow issue. Maybe Elias and Ciolek know what they’re doing after all.

This whole discussion of different balls for MLB and AAA vs. the other MiLB leagues is odd. An MLB ball is used for an average of what, two pitches? How many balls do they go through in a game? It’s ridiculous how much money they spend. MLB BP/cage balls are reused, but they are actually cleaned by a machine often. I know this because I have gotten hundreds of these BP balls, which are of a slightly lower grade than game balls, from guys that work for clubs in MLB Spring Training complexes. I still have several buckets of them. The balls take a pounding for months. You would think that teams would want their prospects to make it easier for pitchers to ascend to MLB.

I would be angry if they tried him at both. A good recipe for a TJ surgery. Stick the big fella at catcher. Some 1.8 pop times and pretty good feet back there. We’ll see if that lasts.

Yes, I know. Wrong thread, but thanks for putting that IN CAPS.

Wrong thread, sorry. Lol

Yep, LOL. He now says he doesn't like the players they drafted and spent the money on. All opinions are welcome. I just have to laugh when it unravels, and he sticks to his guns.

I think they will sign each of the draftees. Pavolony is well thought of, and probably would have gone in rounds 3-4 if not for the hand injury. Craig might get around 500k, maybe a bit more. And not that I expect it, the Orioles could go over their slot amount by 5% with no penalty. COC would absolutely be beside himself looking for something else to complain about.

Coby Mayo switched teams yesterday and hit two homeruns and a single, going 3 for 5.

Roger that. I am just curious how adept he is at pulling his hands in and getting short to the ball and catching the inside pitch with the barrel out front. You don't need to swing hard there, just be on time with the barrel, and the ball will go. It used to be, not long ago, that major league pitchers would bust you inside with a big swing like that, although I do not see that as much anymore for some reason.

Stowers development is definitely something to be excited about. We heard nothing about him for a year, and I was very curious why he was coveted by Mike Elias. Seems as though drafting unrefined college hitters with plus tools and projection might work out for this organization, at least so far in this case.

That is very true. At least they move on to the next thing when their prior comments are proven wrong. I think some are not happy unless they are complaining. In their defense, we have seen some really poor front office and ownership since 1983. A few years of Pat Gillick being the only other time I believed the GM would lead the organization toward a championship. I get the skepticism.

These are two young guys who do an ok job, honestly. They have opinions, and they are sometimes critical of the organization, but it isn’t way out of the company line. I listen to them each week, but honestly, they’re not that knowledgeable or insightful compared to others out there. The On The Verge Pod is much much better. Those three guys have been great covering the minor leagues. I don’t always agree with everything, but they are very good. And Locked On Orioles Pod is a good solid daily pod Monday through Friday.

Money is money. If you invest it poorly, and do it repeatedly, management notices. I don’t think Elias has to worry about his job any time soon. I doubt he worries about his reputation at all, honestly. I think his strong conviction in what he and Sig and the rest of his staff are doing prevents him from having much doubt. That said, they still have much to prove. And I am sure he understands that GM’s are hired to be fired, generally. I doubt he loses sleep about it. He is all-in because he believes in it. And he has surrounded himself with good respected people who feel the same way. That is one of the things that impresses me. When the whole story of these prospects comes out, and the player gets to actually play and develop, the criticism will go away. We are used to having a certain, more conventional, draft philosophy. It seems like The current regime is extremely thorough and well-prepared. Player development appears to be the best it has ever been in Baltimore. We’ll have to wait and see if they are astute in judging talent based on their value judgements.

Willems’ slot is $187,700 in round 8. I have to think he gets a good amount of the savings to forego TCU. But I was wrong on what it would take to sign Trimble, so who knows.

I will say that since I wrote that on 7/14, Lamar Sparks has proceeded to go on a HR tear. I think it is 4 in the past 4 games, including a grand slam. Good for him! That kid has been through quite a bit these past few years. Like Tony said about the blowouts, we need better talent in the pitching. I know there is a process they have developed. That process defines certain learning goals and showing things like FB command and so on. But blowouts like that have become common in the past month. And that cannot happen in a good system. Winning isn’t that important, but you cannot be getting destroyed like that. That is not in the development plan.

Franco provided more pop that Gutierrez likely will, but Gutierrez' defense is much better. I would not be opposed to cutting Franco at this point. He has been a huge disappointment with the bat for me. Gutierrez has some things about him that make him a little intriguing to me. Needs a lot of work on his approach and mechanics though. Kind of reminds me, physically anyway, of a young Jose Bautista. An athletic 3B who struggled until he found a swing change that made him a star, albeit a hated one outside of Toronto. Leyba is another guy that can play 3B. Leyba isn't pretty over there, but at least he will make the routine plays and has had some solid at bats since being recalled. It also looks like Bannon is getting back on track since coming back from the IL.

Wood is a guy that has a good bit of swing and miss. At 6'-06" 215lbs. he has a ton of athleticism. One scout said he was in consideration for 1-1 if not for the swing and miss. This is an extremely high risk pick, not very Elias-like. Obviously, Sig and Elias' model values less risk and more stability in the first few rounds. I will be curious to see if that changes when there is more depth to the system and the international guys start proliferating through the system. Ideally, I think you have to have a mix and take a chance on a higher ceiling guy with extreme risk. Maybe now is not the time. I agree with SG, in that I was a little surprised by how it shook out this time as well. I thought they might have taken a shot at Bubba Chandler, Wood or the Clemson football kid from South Carolina. That said, after learning a lot more about the Trimble and Rhodes picks, I am elated at what they did.

I agree. I like what he is doing this year. In the video I have seen, it looks like he gets long, at least sometimes. I hope he tightens that up and perhaps it’s an approach thing for him. How is he on inside fastballs? Is there available data on AA guys like that?

It’s a fair question. And it’s a great problem to have. It is not as simple as statistical analysis for me. I think I still go with Adley because of what he has been, and will be for many years to the Baltimore organization. He plays nearly every day, whereas Grayson pitches about five innings every five days. Adley is probably banged up pretty good by now. I wonder how much Adley has helped Grayson and the rest of the Bowie pitchers this season. To what degree has Adley helped Grayson achieve what he has become this season? And it isn’t like they have figured him out and shut him down. He will be a dominant force in the lineup again soon.

Many journalists who know his situation are saying it will be. I would also think that before Elias drafted him, they had an agreement on a number.