Jim'sKid26

If you want to rag on an MLB GM the guy to focus on is Chris Getz. What's this dude thinking? Fangraphs just did a review of their farm system and it is pretty bad. Their #1 prospect is a AA SS who is unlikely to stick there and likely plays an average 3B. They have 2 other SS in their top 10 at A ball and Rookie ball who both have FV < 45. Only 2 of their 10 guys in the top 10 are at AAA and their both pitchers. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/chicago-white-sox-top-27-prospects/ He needs to trade for a few high value prospects to start a rebuild. Why in the world is he holding on to Cease? You can give him a pass if Cease stays health and brings something back at the deadline but why take that risk. Obviously we don't know what Elias is offering for Cease but if Getz gets nothing or very little for Cease he's made a big mistake, IMHO.

It would appear the O's are kicking a lot of tires. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/blue-jays-orioles-have-shown-interest-in-domingo-german.html

Pardon my ignorance but what is it about this guy that makes you feel he will be successful in the AL East? Looks like he has a good slider. 2SFB seems a bit underwhelming. What am I missing?

You are correct on Tucker, my mistake. I also forgot that Framber was a super-2. https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/houston-astros/payroll/ is a little confusing that way. Thanks for the correction.

So does the recent signing of Josh Hader make it more or less likely the Astros look to move Framber? They are currently estimated to have a payroll of $239 MM for 2024. Valdez will receive $12.1 MM for 2024 and then be a FA in 2025. He will earn the most out of all of their Arb eligible players. They have also not attempted to extend Bregman, Altuve, Tucker or Kendall Graveman. All of whom will also be FA in 2025. Seems like they might need to shed a little salary.

In general, when a 4SFB has arm side run it indicates a mechanical flaw. This is not always the case but it might be in Grayson's case. Most elite pitchers don't want arm side run on their 4SFB. The most typical flaw that causes this is opening up too soon which is common when you overthrow. Grayson admits to that in the article. My suspicion is that he got away with it in MiLB because of his elite velocity. Guys were starting their swing early and he would beat them up and in without throwing the pitch in the zone. In the MLB, hitters are much more selective and scouting reports are much more detailed. He can't get away with not locating his 4SFB. Hence the desire to eliminate the unpredictable and uncontrollable movement. Now, why the 2SFB? Well maybe he throws it in breaking ball counts to LH hitters? If he can tunnel it with his SL release point and have it break in the opposite direction it can be a very impactful pitch. Down and in to RH batters is also a great way to get GBs. We will just have to see how he uses it.

My sincere hope is that there is a very special place in hell for all the people who scam families with children with disabilities.

As opposed to 160ish games at 1B?

^^^^^^^^ What she said. Awesome post.

Well, the gold standard for catchers might be Pudge Rodriguez who debuted at 19 and was a GG/AS at 20. But I don't think Basallo stays at C.

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. I'm going to guess and say Grayson is working with this guy in Ft. Worth. https://teamapec.com/trainers/connor-green/ One has to wonder how much influence Chris Holt et al have on this decision to throw a 2SFB. I found these two quotes to be at odds with one another. "As a result, Rodriguez is tinkering with adding another fastball to his repertoire. This offseason, Rodriguez has begun to throw a two-seam fastball — unlike the cut of a four-seamer, Rodriguez’s two-seamer has more arm-side run that could jam a right-handed batter." "When Rodriguez overthrows his four-seam fastball, the pitch’s movement actually mirrors that of a two-seam fastball. That is, once the four-seamer leaves his hand, it has arm-side run. That made it difficult to control." Seems a little strange that you would choose to throw a pitch that does the exact thing you don't want your overthrown 4SFB to do. My suspicion is there is more to this story.

Is his next blog post going to be directed at the White Sox front office. It takes two to tango...

Hmmm... Sounds like you would be paying for 2021-22 Alcantara without any guarantee he's going to fully recover from TJS. He was rode pretty hard by the Marlins and broke. For a youngish power pitcher, he has had a substantial workload the last 3 years. How many bullets are left in that gun? And can he replicate the freakish combination of velocity and movement he had prior to surgery? Should the O's risk $38.3 MM to find out?

So Bradish actually throws his 2SFB (Sinker) harder than he throws his 4SFB; 94.4 mph vs. 95.0 mph. Thats a little unusual. Cease did throw about 30 sinkers in 2022 (he didn't throw any in 2023) and threw it about the same speed 4SFB= 96.8 vs 2SFB= 96.5. Of note, his 4SFB in 2023 was 95.6 mph. Seems like he could throw the Sinker if he wanted to.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/jordan-hicks-is-like-the-first-half-of-arcade-fires-third-album-a-modern-man-ready-to-start/ "So now we have not two classes of important pitchers, but at least five. There are full-time starters and one-inning relievers, but also innings-eaters who float the team through the regular season but barely see any action in the playoffs. Then we have the reliever version: High-usage but low-leverage bulk bullpen arms. And finally, there is the emerging hybrid role for which Hicks and López have seemingly been groomed. It’s now acceptable for a starting pitcher to turn over the lineup twice and bail, because that’s all he’ll be needed for in the playoffs anyway. And who cares if he can only do it 20 times in the regular season? If he can do it three or four times in the playoffs, that’s worth $10 million all on its own." This is a fascinating article on how pitchers are currently used in both the regular season and, most intriguingly, the post season. If, in fact, there are 5 different categories of pitchers, do the O's have the right mix to compete in both the regular season and the playoffs?

@Tony-OH thanks for this. If I might ask a question, why is Koby Perez singled out as the guy who made it all happen? Is he really that special or is this more of an entire organizational shift toward finding talent in all venues? Honest question, I don't know much about the Orioles DR operation. My sense is the shift is much bigger than one guy but I'm interested in your insight here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrecking_Crew_(music) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_Shoals_Rhythm_Section (the Swampers) Interesting fact: Glen Campbell was an original member of the Wrecking Crew and later played with the Swampers as well.

And the Wrecking Crew did all the instrumentals.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/central-notes-guardians-cubs-cease-gorman.html White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease has been the topic of plenty of trade talks throughout the offseason, and WEII’s Rob Bradford recently spoke to the hurler about the barrage of rumors about his future this winter. Cease told Bradford that he takes most rumors “with a grain of salt” and noted that he hasn’t spoken with the club’s front office about the possibility of a trade, though he did acknowledge that “Publicly saying it’s an option is like an indirect way of letting me know.” Cease added that whether or not he’s traded has no impact on his offseason work, saying that “At the end of the day, it really isn’t my job… My job is to perform wherever I go and be a good player.” It doesn't sound like Cease is planning on returning to the South Side....

Do you think the Sigbot has them ranked? What would the criteria be? I suspect it's a scatter plot with multiple contingency scenarios.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/orioles-interested-in-james-paxton.html https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/orioles-interested-in-robert-stephenson.html Let's say that the market for Stephenson didn't materialize at 4/$36 MM. If you could get him for 2/$20 with an option and an opt out and Paxton at 1/$13 with an option based on IP, would you be ok with that? You could always chase down Dylan Cease at the deadline.....

Thanks. Appreciate the clarification.

Comparing DL Hall to Blake Snell seems a bit mesmerizing until you get into the numbers and realize that they are very different pitchers. The similarities: 1. Both LH 2. Both 1st round picks out of high school. 3. Both debuted in MLB at age 23. 4. Both struggle to stay healthy. 5. Both throw 4SFB at about 95.5 mph. The differences: 1. Snell has been able to pitch 180 IP twice in his career, (both were CYA years) while Hall's career high is 94 when he was 19 in A ball. 2. Snell throws 4 pitches effectively. 4SFB (48.6%), CB (19.8%), CU (18.4%) and SL (13.1%). Hall throws 4 pitches but really is a 3 pitch guy, 4SFB (53.6%), SL (25.9%), CU (16.4%), CB (4%). Snells whiff % on his breaking and off speed pitches are CB (56.3%), CU (46.8%) and SL (53.6%). Hall's whiff % SL (31%), CU (36.4), CB (0%). There is a reason he doesn't throw the CB much. 3. Snell is 31. Hall is 25. However, Snell had made the AS team and won his first CYA in his age 25 season.

I watched him play CF at UNC and thought he might be able to play there as a pro. He had reasonable instincts out there and the speed to make up for a small mistake with his first step. I think he throws better from the OF than he does from the infield. My too early to legitimately say comp is Adam Jones. Big time pull power. A bit of swing and miss. Good but not great speed. Not a natural CF but enough of an athlete to become a very good one. He might not have AJ's arm, however. Question for @Tony-OH: it seems like a very common criticism of young hitters that they struggle with elite velocity up in the zone. I mean, unless you are Jackson Holiday, can't we make a similar critic of most of the guys making their transition to pro ball? I think that is a very common place to go to get guys out now that the common teaching of young hitters is to get the ball in the air. It seems to me this goes all the way back to the Science of Hitting by Ted Williams.