TheWall

I'm not arguing that the K rate doesn't need to come down in order for him to be promoted or successful. I just think its hilarious that people make claims like "this guy will never get above AA" in a season where he's already gone up a level. He obviously needs to adjust and work on things in the offseason - the hit tool was always the question mark. Maybe he doesn't. Maybe Jud Fabian is Zach Watson. Maybe Jackson Holliday is Jurickson Profar. I hope not for both.

If Felix doesn't give up a Grand Slam against Houston we're 2-1 against them. That's how small sample sizes work and we hit fine in that series. We have easily the 2nd best record in the Majors against teams above .500 and if your cherry picked stats are noteworthy than every team except for Atlanta is in trouble.

Pretty sure they've mentioned that they could potentially move it back in a bit. Either way, Mountcastle's problems don't stem from missing out on HRs due to the wall. When he gets ahold of one it's gone.

Definitely agree with this sentiment. It was certainly convenient when JJ Hardy was poking balls out in LF, but it was at the expense of our entire pitching staff.

The person above me said "I wonder if he ever gets much beyond Bowie". Fabian is at AA in his first season of pro ball and he plays good CF defense. He's obviously eventually getting promoted. Might never make the show, but he's certainly got a shot and his K rate this year doesn't lead me to believe he won't ever get out of AA.

That's one way to look at it. Another way to look at it is he's the rare type of elite power RHH that will actually be able to hit the ball out of Camden Yards consistently. Mayo has been asked about it and he isn't concerned. He hits nukes.

I would bet a substantial sum of money that he makes it to AAA.

Holy small sample size Batman. We have one of the best records in the MLB against teams above .500, but for some reason you think the team inherently struggles against good NL teams?

Big fan of Cowser, but this is obviously the right move. Wouldn't be surprised to see Kjerstad get the next shot (sort of similar to the Ortiz / Westburg situation even though Ortiz never really got a shot).

That list really isn't complicated to understand. They are ranking the excitement around the guys they have had as the number 1 prospect in baseball since they started doing the list in '04. There are only 21 guys on the list, because up until recently they would only do a pre-season update every year (now they do a mid-season as well). They sort of cheated putting Ohtani as the top prospect in pre-season 2018, but he was at the top of their list so he needs to be on this one. Harper was never their top ranked prospect, because he was behind Trout in '11 and Matt Moore in '12.

I think it absolutely was a concern with how they managed Gunnar. Holliday has 16 games at AA, while Gunnar had 52 at AA and 65 at AAA. Holliday is obviously moving faster, but what people are suggesting would be unprecedented for our front office. I'm incredibly bullish on Holliday and think he has all-world potential, but I remain skeptical that he would be an improvement this year over our other more experienced infield options. On top of that - the extra year they would be giving up by pushing him could be worth upwards of $50M by the time he's a free agent.

I think they'll be way more concerned with Holliday's development / the extra year of control vs. the potential draft pick. Would be really shocked to see him spring past Ortiz and would be equally surprised to see him break camp with the team next year. They'll be looking to bring him up after the super 2 deadline.

I'd be pretty surprised if Holliday ended up in LF over Westburg. Seems like they could both do it if needed. Either way, all of this is a good problem to have.

The rumors have been that he is not.

Lets see how he does against a team that isn't Houston.

Baserunning has been terrible and the commentators haven't said a word. Almost like they are afraid to criticize anything. Wonder why?

I am always confident in Felix. Cano has been hit and miss, but I still feel good with him out there.

I think Melanie is improving, but she only works if you have someone really strong next to her like Ben or Palmer. Otherwise, it devolves into this.

I've been plenty critical of Frazier at times this year, but that was an awesome play.

Really nice job by Dean there. Hope the bats can get him some more support.

I know the rules have changed, but Fabian is already closing in on Grenier's SB total as well. I guess if every glove first guy with hit tool issues is an apt comparison to Grenier than Fabian fits the bill, but they seem like very different players.

I'm aware. I'm responding to the poster that asked if he is the Cadyn Grenier of CF.

He has 18 HRs so far this year. Grenier had 23 in 4+ seasons.

It just seems wild to me that you'd be considering moving on from elite prospects after 60 PAs regardless of how they go. I'd assume there is about a 0% chance our front office (or any other competent org) shares that view. Short sample size + a rookie adjusting to a new level means things aren't always going to be pretty.

I haven't seen anything from him that has indicated he'd ever need to be relegated to a DH role. His defense hasn't look fantastic and he probably isn't a CF long term, but I never really expected him to be. The bit about needing to see plus defensive contributions from struggling rookies seems really off-base. Not every top prospect offers a plus glove. Gunnar was a negative defensively while he was struggling since his throws were off, but that didn't mean he couldn't be an elite player. Are you going to give up on Kjerstad or Mayo if they struggle in their first 60 PAs, because they are bat-first prospects?