LookinUp

I don't know how to post nice little tables, but the run differential isn't close. We're at -133. KC is only -68. So they're theoretically much more competitive on a game by game basis. The next worse run differentials to us are Detroit (-113) and then Pittsburgh (-88). Nobody's really close. https://www.espn.com/mlb/standings/_/sort/gamesbehind/dir/asc/group/overall

I was pretty adamant about not moving Grayson R. above Hall in the prospect rankings. The level does make a difference, and Hall's raw stuff is really powerful and left handed. However, the continued command issues Hall is having, combined with Grayson's overall excellent profile, is beginning to change my mind. Where they're ranked in 2019 won't matter in the long run, but right now I think Hall probably slips to #3 in our system.

I think the tweet about Sedlock's elbow issue changes this conversation a bit. Lowther is a bit of a special case. His results and spin rates tend to belie what you would expect just from his velocity numbers. I tend to doubt that Zimmerman's profile has improved enough to top Lowther's, but there are much better people to answer that question than me.

Those policies don't offset the full amount, but they do help. He's making $11 million this year. If the policy offsets 20-30% of that amount, I'm sure ownership will be happy about that.

If he has developed a chronic injury that prevents him from playing baseball at a ML level again, I imagine the O's have some kind of insurance to offset a portion of costs. Since a trade isn't at all likely, that seems like the best case scenario for the O's at this point.

I think most on this site have written this guy off. The arm talent alone makes him a potential bullpen arm, IMO. I'm not optimistic, but he has a better chance to be a BP guy than most guys throwing in the upper 80's. I looked, but couldn't find, Luke's post about who needs to be placed on the 40-man roster this year. I fear he may be one of them. If so, I'd say he's a low priority to protect at this point. [Going back and reading this thread, it wasn't clear this post was about Tate. It is. Not about Kremer, who is still a guy to be very high on.]

Hmmm. Seems like the type of players we should be targeting in a trade. Would our entire bullpen net one of them?

He got many millions of dollars at a very young age. Now he's struggling at AA. I imagine he's going through a tough time.

His Bowie results haven't exactly supported your implication that he should be in AAA. I'm not sure how we'd expect him to do there when he hasn't done well in AA. This guy's prospect status is as precarious as anyone's. From my perspective, I need to see him hit and hit really well to justify remaining in our top 10. He's had plenty of excuses. Eventually he's either a stud hitter or he isn't (at this point).

Oh boy. If Austin Martin could stick at SS, or we see Gunnar over the next 12 months and see he could stick at SS, that could be a very nice left side of the infield of our future.

Former @AmericasBlazers SS Darell Hernaiz (@Darellbaseball2) tells me he will sign with the Baltimore Orioles. The 5th Round Draft Pick and Texas Tech signee is already in Baltimore and will have to undergo physicals before signing with the Orioles. #KFOX14Sports dont know how to post the tweet on my phone.

Seems fair, though I'm sure there are differences in the stuff of all three (of course).

Every level is hard and he's a guy without overwhelming stuff. Will the fastball still miss so many bats? Will his secondaries and/or location need to improve? Pitch sequencing? You don't know until you go up a level. He'll learn a lot about himself and we'll learn about him too. That's part of making sure he's actually ready for the majors, not just a kid who looks like he could probably handle it while dominating AA.

What's the rush? I'd let my non-prospects eat innings in the majors this year and let Lowther show he can perform at AAA first. My guess is he'll get a AAA chance in the next month-ish. Could get a cup of coffee in September, but likely not for a ton of innings after a long MiL season.

Might have a chance if that change-up could turn into a 60 pitch. At a 45, with a 50 fastball, and meh slider, location seems like it won't be enough.

Just curious, but what material are you reading? I'd be interested, but have no idea where to go other than this thread. Lol. If Elias does what we all hope, we'll want to become more familiar with the DSL talent over time for sure.

I think this is right. Assuming he keeps it up, his overall ranking will go up by a fair amount. I'm guessing he'd be low-mid teens in an improved system. That's a good thing. I want to believe there's still plenty of room for a guy like this in the majors. I feel like sometimes we compare a guy like Wells to a guy like Hall. They're two totally different types of pitchers though. How does Wells compare to the few successful soft tossers that are out there? In the absence of physical projection, that would be what I'd like to see to help me understand better whether his odds are good or whether his ceiling is something less than a ML-caliber starting pitcher.

I'll trust Elias on this one. Really hope he signs.

It doesn’t matter where he’s ranked or what us message board dudes think about him. He will get more love when he moves up and performs. Then he’ll get love when he does that again. Just like Means. If he’s that good, he’ll drag fans into his bandwagon.

I know it's been like a decade since he left, but does SportsGuy still have more posts on OH than any other poster? I'd almost not be surprised if he does.

Elias also spoke about the GCL on the radio this AM. He said that they'd usually want to send college players to Aberdeen and high school guys to the GCL. However, with the heavy drafting of college guys this year, it looks like many will also have to go to the GCL.

Elias was pretty effusive in his praise of Gray Rod this AM on 105.7 the Fan. Said he's beyond where we expected. Talked up his FB, CB, CH mix, but also cautioned this is low A and higher levels will tell us more.

And I wouldn't tweet out a picture either if I didn't have something relatively big planned.

I'm actually pretty shocked there are as many MiL affiliates as there are. Is it fair to assume that Aberdeen, Delmarva, Frederick, Bowie and Norfolk all bring in more revenue than it costs to pay the players and run the stadiums? Serious Q. I have no idea.