LookinUp

So, it's starting. The Yankees announced major changes this weekend. Got rid of two affiliates, added others. https://twitter.com/KyleAGlaser/status/1324857627537416192?s=20

I use this line all the time. ha

I can't believe how old that list is. Even the young guys are old. I'm getting old.

Isn't it easier to stash a good arm at the back of the bullpen than an extra player off the bench? If so, that argues that any tough choices should favor keeping our pitchers over guys like Bannon, IMO. He's just as likely to be sent back to us, and not a huge loss if he isn't. That said, I agree with SG that we won't likely have that kind of roster crunch. Also, Hanifee and Peralta are the upside guys down that list, right? Anyone else? Seems like they're in a bit of a different category.

I'm not trying to be morbid, but does this indicate anything about Peter's health?

Am I misreading this or was the original argument about who has more value (Valaika or Nunez), but now about who has more value "to us?" Either way, the answer in both cases is likely Nunez. I think SG's argument is right. It's not about who is most versatile, it's about who is most easily replaced. Teams claim guys like Valaika all the time. Nunez is better at his price than what is easily claimed, so even if he's redundant on our roster without injuries, he's still the more valuable player to have.

This threat title kind of cracks me up. Why would groups be lining up their bids if there wasn't a strong sense that the O's would be on the market? There has to be smoke somewhere, otherwise it's as worthwhile as me getting my 3 best friends together in an attempt to buy google.

This is 100% true. All it takes is ownership that's willing to see past the short term and accept some near term financial risk. And we have owners who are probably about to sell, so it's just not going to happen. Another missed opportunity, IMO, but in this case, probably completely reasonable.

Not that Elias should make or break a sale, but I do hope any new owner appreciates what he's bringing to the table for this franchise. He should be given the chance to see this rebuild through, IMO. I only mention that because I'm not sure Cal sees things the same way. I really don't want him to be part of ownership based on my impressions of his old school approaches. I could definitely be wrong on that, but it's my read on him.

Where there's smoke, there's probably some fire.

So he'll be making his MiL debut in 2022. Tough break. It'll be a long while before he's relevant from a prospect ranking perspective.

I used to think that too until Xavier Avery lit the world on fire for a while. When you're hot in baseball, you're hot. You can put up stats really fast. You need to be able to 1) sustain it against the same competition and 2) do it as the competition gets harder. McKenna hasn't done either. I know I keep mentioning Yaz, but absent a Yaz-like hitting profile change, I just don't see it with this kid. I wish I did because his speed is off the charts.

It's about time someone liked this post. Or at least laughed at it, lol.

Every year I have to remind myself that ceiling isn't really the absolute best we can hope for if everything goes as good as it can. It's more like the 90% probability. What this guy would be if he gets as good as he can without really changing his fundamental profile (e.g., he starts throwing 100 and holds it for 5 innings, a la Baumann). For example, I think Yaz has eclipsed his ceiling. Nobody saw his game having this upside. In theory, just about everyone could do that, especially hitters who aren't in the AR category and pitchers who aren't Gray Rod and Hall. Practically, ceiling is trying to project what he could be if he can work through his control issues and develop that 3rd pitch.

99% sure I'm wrong, but I went with Cumberland. I liked the reports on him when we first got him and it seems like he actually gained in Bowie this year based on the short stuff I saw. McKenna's enticing here for sure. You still hope that he can gain some consistency at the plate and let his speed play up. He'll be in the majors at some point for sure, but I just think it's as a 4th/5th outfielder. But you can make a strong case for Bannon and Pop here for sure. They're here or close to here and might be able to stick on the ML team. That has value. Stauffer's still an unknown to me. Has some arm talent, I think, but not sure if he's developed anything. Heck, here you can make a case for Nevin too, so it seems like we're into another tier in a way.

#25 has a solid chance of being a useful contributor to our ML team, and soon. Gotta like that. He's a good arm to have in the system for sure.

Manfred pulled some kind of trump card this year didn't he? Was there ever really an agreement or was he able to use his existing authority to essentially force the solution on the players? My guess is that's the plan again for next year absent a change in Covid (which could happen too).

As always, I'm learning a lot from this list. We really get a sense of the player's profile. From there, it's all about whether there's projection and actual development. Stowers seems to project. It's anyone's guess whether he can develop.

As do the players. When the pot to share from is half full, the people sharing are fighting over less. Fighting. Will get as ugly in MLB as any sport.

Good athlete. Power potential. If he can make consistent contact, he could end up a good ML player. It's all about whether they can change his college swing into a pro swing. Who knows, but there's talent in there. That's why he was drafted in the 2nd round and why he's on this list. That's a lot of what you get in the draft. The difference is age, but the other side is Stowers has done more against better competition than real young guys like Mayo have ever had the chance to do.

I'm not saying that either way really. It's just that these college guys who got a cup of coffee in the minors and then lost a season to Covid are in a weird spot. He was already playing in a league where most of the real prospects are younger. Now he lost a season through no fault of his own. So he'll be another year older, likely still at a lower level, or promoted because of age but without minor league ABs working on his swing. You just never know how that'll affect a guy who needs to change his approach to fit against better competition.

Yeah. This is about cable and mlb.tv contracts. It's maddening.

I'm assuming this is Zimmerman, which makes Servideo the next up. I could imagine McKenna here as well I guess.

Not young. Hopefully he can figure out that swing relatively quickly.

I say 177, give or take a game 7.