7Mo

I hope next year matters in terms of Rutsch and a veteran defensive catcher helping the young pitching staff start to find their way. To me, that could make a much bigger difference than a backup catcher getting 1-2 more hits a month.

Not 95 but a good assortment. Not sure how accurate "prep baseball report" is. Young is imposing as he looks down on hitters from this 6-foot-6, 210-pound frame. He has simple mechanics, making it possible for him to repeat with his long frame. He has a short, compact arm action with a clean and continuous arm circle that comes through a high-3/4 slot. He has a low- to mid-90s fastball, getting some arm-side action on a two-seamer while the four-seamer plays better at the top of the zone. He’s always had feel for an average changeup with solid command, but he made a big step when he added a slider this spring. It’s average at this point, but has good spin and solid depth, working down and away from right-handed hitters. Young is an intense competitor and profiles as a No. 3 starter, but would fit nicely in a bullpen role where his stuff would play up in short stints. https://www.prepbaseballreport.com/news/NC/2020-MLB-Draft-Others-To-Know-1549368270

Good post Wildcard. I agree with most. Where I disagree, we've discussed and I'm not arguing that you're wrong, just giving my thoughts. I think Mancini is traded this offseason. I think Severino is DFA'ed. I think the focus at catcher will be to bring in a solid, veteran defensive catcher to help teach Rutschman. And if he hits .172, you live with it for the defensive knowledge and tips. And that won't cost more than $1M. I don't think $40M is spent, but likely $15M to $20M. More a year later. This is the first step. I don't really think... I don't really believe...but I hope we sign 4 FA pitchers that are hybrid guys who can go get 9-12 outs. Not starters with the price tag they carry but bulk guys. Not guys who cost $5M but guys that cost $2M. Add a SS, maybe even Iglesias at $2M or so. I just don't see this as being a year they sign ANY FA to a high dollar deal. If a good package is offered for Santander, I think he's dealt but I think his value today is such that you bring him back with the belief that he can build value by the trade deadline. If the idea is you're trying to build assets so you can trade, I like Urias and Mateo. I think you need to give them chances to prove they have value. That would mean you only sign one infielder. Do we believe Mateo can play short or do you sign a SS and let Mateo build value elsewhere? You've outlined the pitchers coming back. IMO, Lopez can become valuable as a 3 inning guy. Give Ellis time to prove he's valuable or not. We'll have a long offseason to discuss back and forth.

For reasons I don't understand, the Cardinals love Bader so they're not looking for a CF'er. But I'd take the prospects coming back in either of those deals. I don't think either team would offer that much. Means to the Cards might make more sense. They have a lot invested in Goldschmidt and Arenado and they need cheap pitching. Their defense allows them to pitch Jon Lester and JA Happ effectively so Means could really be special for them. While Gorman is blocked by Arenado, they've decided to try to convert him to second. They really covet Gorman. I don't think he's available. I really hope Mullins has that much value to where deals like this are possible.

No doubt the returns this year have been poor. I see other organizations saying they feel like 2020 had a more detrimental affect on pitchers than hitters. The loss of the MiLB season has been harmful. And as both you and Wildcard have pointed out, some of these guys could come back stronger. Zimmerman looked good before injury. Akin has looked good lately. I also think it's fair to look at how big a load the O's are asking these guys to carry. I have no doubt that any other team in baseball would have yanked Akin when he gave up the first hit. I doubt many teams at all would have sent him back for the 7th but for the no-hitter. Tampa is asking their young guys to get 3 outs ,4 outs, 9 outs. We're asking our guy to go finish the 7th because we don't have anyone reliable to finish for him. You say you want more out of Holt, Elias and the organization. That's fair. I doubt anyone on this board would disagree with that. But other organizations have guys up and down too. Developing pitchers isn't a straight line of progress. It's not uncommon for young guys to come up, get kicked around, go back to AAA, figure some stuff out and come back. Again and again. When you focus on the O's, it's easy to lose sight that other teams don't have that straight line progress all the time. Other than Rodriguez, I'm not sure we have pitchers who are going to come up and dominate. I think all will take their lumps, to one degree or another. Elias said the other day that he wanted this year to evaluate who he has. I hope they look at it and realize they've put a lot on the young guys and take the offseason to bring in 3-4 guys who can go get 9-12 outs to help the prospects. I'd feel pretty good about asking Akin or Zimmerman to go get 9-12 outs. To do that, we need some more guys who can be counted on. Asking Akin and Zimm to go finish 7 innings is a pretty big ask to me at this stage.

Do you agree that there's a difference in what Hyde does and what the front office does?

Who should he be pitching?

So you want the media to ask Hyde why his roster sucks?

Sorry, I'll leave it so you can discuss with Wildcard. IMO, Elias has drafted well. Looking at what a guy is doing at A+ or AA is fun, but it really doesn't mean anything yet. They still have big steps to take. But I don't think there's any question that prospects have been upgraded substantially. And I think that has been the goal rather than some rule where you have to choose this many from Column A and this many from Column B. I'd guess if we look at pitchers about to start games for playoff teams, less than 24% were drafted by the team they start for. In 2 years, are we going to have 5 starters going 6 innings? Or 2 with 3 openers/bulk guys? In 2 years, this roster will turnover in a big way. To think you have to be able to look at A+ or AA and identify our next 5 starters is silly.

And I didn't look at one pick and declare Elias a genius. But I can see where Mayo is your worst nightmare because he would cut the legs out of your speech against an underslot approach. Should we look at pitching that Elias has brought into the MiLB system, or only what he's drafted? I'm on board with Elias drafting assets, valuable players, without regard to position. Players that other organizations will pay a premium for. No organization develops a major league roster simply from draft picks.

Well, in fairness, you're against everything, no matter what.

I think Darell Hernaiz bears watching also.

Haha. Very nice!

He'll have a spread sheet with footnotes by morning.

I was going to ask if you were on a bucket!! Outstanding. At age 10, as you know, you've got a minimum of 8 very enjoyable years ahead. Hope both of you have a blast. With you having been through it, you'll have a lot of experience and knowledge to help him make good decisions. Best of luck to both of you.

I think Dorrian is evaluated based solely on Dorrian. If Bannon hits 50 home runs this year, it doesn't affect how much value Dorrian has.

Really good post. Playing after high school is very, very different than playing in HS. It's easy to believe that coaches beyond HS will be so much better. It's not always the case, in college or pro baseball. I personally know some guys who had that bad coach experience post HS. And it is most definitely a full time job after HS, and without the pats on the back or praise lavished on high school kids. All the guys I'm aware of that played in college or were drafted fairly high played more than one sport in high school. It's not insignificant that all were good athletes with that natural athletic ability allowing them to be good at more than one sport. And you're 100% accurate with the year round stuff. Kids with the ability to play in college or be drafted have events at least 10 months a year they could enter or should enter. Late October, November and early December seem to be the only non-active months. Colleges have showcases in late December where they're trying to get the HS kid on their campus during Christmas break. It's hard to turn down those "invitation only" showcases when that college coach is calling you personally. Thanks for your post and good luck to your youngest guy. Hope he loves playing.

Painted fingernails are next level stuff.

Would it shock you if DeLauter is in the conversation for first overall? -- @Nucklecurve James Madison outfielder Chase DeLauter ranked sixth on our new college Top 20 prospects list for next year's Draft but he definitely could factor in the discussion for the top pick (which belongs to the Diamondbacks as of now). There's no clear frontrunner to go No. 1 overall and he has a lot to offer. DeLauter is a physical athlete with a 6-foot-4, 235-pound frame, well above-average left-handed raw power, solid speed and arm strength. He also has one of the most disciplined approaches among the best prospects in the 2022 Draft. After hitting .386/.508/.723 in 26 games during the spring, he switched to wood bats this summer and topped the Cape Cod League in slugging (.589) while tying for the home run lead (nine in 34 games). The highest picks in Dukes history are left-handers Brian McNichol (1995) and Dan Meyer (2002), who both went 34th overall en route to reaching the big leagues. DeLauter should surpass both of them and become the first James Madison first-rounder ever next spring. https://www.mlb.com/news/pipeline-inbox-prospects-who-may-be-traded?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

Really appreciate the videos. Thanks.

Brooks Lee is a name to remember. https://www.mlb.com/news/best-2022-college-draft-prospects?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

It's my understanding that his "injury" would have caused the O's to pay even in the event of a work stoppage. In other words, his representation was certain they could show he was medically unable to play and therefore unaffected by a work stoppage.

Mason Janvrin to Aberdeen.

Haha, Parke actually was. ....."White Sox scouts clearly saw enough in Parke to grab him in the 21st round of last year’s MLB draft. After receiving a $30,000 signing bonus, " Turley is the classic high spin rate guy...."Turley has elite spin rates on his curveball and particularly on his four-seam fastball"

Sorry to disagree. I know you feel strongly about this. I think he winds up non-tendered and a strong defensive guy is signed in late January.