emmett16

I think the industry consensus is that Gibson should be better than Lyles. Remains to be seen. If Frazier is terrible AND Stowers is terrible, there are others behind them to step up and take a shot. I agree that I am assuming improvement. I have seen improvement throughout the system for the last 3 years, so I don't see any reason not to expect the same this year. The big 3 PLUS Stowers, Westburg, Ortiz, Cowser, and Hall will all get their shot. I'd say we get lucky on 1 out of 5.

I should have just written depth. The acquisitions were OK (by no means good) but the depth comes from existing players in the system. We have candidates to step in at multiple positions. I'd wager Gibson is better than Lyles. I think Lopez falls into the 'luck' and/or 'pumpkin" category and a replacement is likely within. Mancini's production can be replaced with a solid performance by Stowers and an uptick performance by Mountcastle.

Fair points. 1. I think the depth acquired helps supplement potential health problems. 2. see #1 3. Hard to quantify and could go both ways. But sure, they had some luck last year. 4. I think this is the main argument. Will our acquired depth and development of existing players be able to keep up with acquisitions of our rivals? That's why they play the games.

Here's a link with some more names. If y'all haven't had a chance to see Savacool, Shliger, or Shaw I highly recommend checking out a UMD game. They have a good squad this year. I'll be up in Minnesota at the Cambria Classic in a couple weeks and will try to post some pics & info on the top prospects playing there. Collegiate Preseason All-Americans | Perfect Game USA

So with acquisitions, development, additional depth and momentum (confidence) from the previous year, why would they not contend this year?

By your definition, do you think they contended last year in September?

11/30 current GMs have been with their team for more than 5 years.

I think we also have to give him some room to develop as a GM. It’s his 5th year as a GM. What he does years 6-10 should be quite different than what he did years 1-5.

That’s a fair take. I hope you are wrong.

I mean they have to, don’t they? Having a half dozen players blocked in AAA doesn’t do anyone any good. Elias can is on record saying they plan to use prospect capital to acquire outside talent. I don’t think he is lying.

I voted yes, based on the growth and improvement of the existing players. It's not just 1 or 2 guys, we have about 10 guys that have a good chance to make an impact. If we are close at the deadline, I imagine we make a blockbuster trade.

If we can get one of those guys, we are also going to get a fairly high pick when they walk. That replaces one of the prospects you lost. We need to do what we can to get a legit topflight starter to lead the rotation and I'd be willing to part with two top 10 prospects (not named Hendersen, Cowser, Rodriguez & Holiday) and another two top 40 prospects to get it done. If that's not their plan, then I'm confused as to what they are trying to accomplish.

1. Stowers mash and become permanent fixture in RF 2. DL Hall shove and start season in rotation. 3. Westburg mash and force his way on to the team.

Nomar Mazara Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com Jurickson Profar Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com Two guys that came into the league at very young ages. Profar has had a career resonance and become a valuable part time player in his late 20's. We haven't talked about Mazara much, but I'm excited to see what our player development can do with him. Profar .322/.708 career OBP/OPS Mazara .315/.729 career OBP/OPS Anyone else think he has a chance to surprise this year? He hasn't had an above average OPS yet. He spent his age 25 & 26 seasons in Det & Chi (two teams not known for their player development). Last year in SD he put up a respectable year at age 27. He will play this year at 28.

We've talked a good bit about what this regime looks for in players, but one thing I think has been a little overlooked is team speed. For a team that is trying to live in the margins and with a variety of new rules coming into play, speed has never been more important. Let's take a look where we are and where we are going. I pulled all info from Baseball Savant sprint speed stats measuring (ft sec) & here is how we stack up against the league (min 50 chances). For reference league avg. sprint speed is 27.0 and the fasted in the league is Bobby Witt Jr. @ 30.4. Here is the projected opening day line up and how they compare the fastest at their position: C - 10th of 50 (27.2/28.8) 1B- 9th of 44 (27.5/29.0) 2B- 43rd of 53 (26.8/29.6) SS - 3rd of 38 (30.1/30.4) 3B - 1st of 45 (29.1/29.1) 28th of 45 (26.7/29.1) LF - 24th of 49 (27.8/30.7) CF - 11th of 50 (29.4/30.4) 28th of 50 (28.4/30.4) RF - 32nd of 42 (27.0/30.1) 38th of 42 (26.4/30.1) It's interesting that the positions they are actively trying to upgrade are the slowest. The internal replacements for all those positions are all players with above average speed. The majority of the players drafted last year have plus speed. I was surprised to see that Frazier & Urias were the only players (besides Santander) below league average. I was also surprised to see that Hays isn't much faster than Mountcastle. Overall, we have a very fast team and it looks like that will only improve throughout the season.

I’d say that sounds about right. Maybe C- if you’re generous. You could easy defend a D-. Pretty disappointing after the build up last season.

Fair points. I’m in favor of anything that pushes action and makes the game more entertaining & attractive to potential new viewers.

I think it’s going to make watching the games just a bit more enjoyable. SB action will be up. I don’t think it will be up astronomically, but I think we see a significant increase. Good for the game IMO.

He has an insta. Pretty nice guy.

I noticed guys starting to time the clock. They'd take off when clock hit 1 second guessing the pitcher would not throw over and they'd take second base standing up. Good times.... especially when it's a fat C/1b.

Ask Nottingham if he thinks the new rules helped him swipe 12 bags last year.

I like how the bags are coming out of the van. They look great.

In a game of inches, that is going to make a fairly significant difference stealing second base. Add in the pitching clock and I think it will make for some exciting baseball. I enjoyed how the clock changed the game in AAA last year. I'm a sucker for Catchers getting a chance to steal bases My two cents.

I think they will shake the cobwebs out in ST and in April we might see some 'interesting' things but by May it should be business as usual.

If Adley is injured, I think they make a trade.