Going to the Aberdeen game tonight (8/5). Feel free to ask me questions about players.

[sportsfan8703]

I've never been so this should be cool, and it's bobblehead giveaway day. Just checking some box scores it looks like Cosme will start and I should see Love, Turnipseed,Pinales,Baker out of the pen. I'm really hoping to see Leyva and Cleavinger but it looks like they go a few days between outings.

So if anyone wants to ask about a player or wants me to get a video of a pitchers wind up or a batter's AB's ask before game time and I'll post them when I get home(this is where I'm going to need Weams or another mod to help).

[sportsfan8703]

Good ole Dan Stewart. Thanks iPhone.

[sportsfan8703]

That crouch. That's going to have to change.

[Thats Baseball]

Mullins looks like he's hitting just right at someone

[sportsfan8703]

Both video were of DJ Stewart, he's just that small that you might have him confused with Mullins. Here's a few of my untrained observations.

DJ Stewart: Was DH'ing so I didn't get to see him in the field at all. I went into this really liking him and ignoring the cons of his draft day reports. Well quite frankly I can see those cons holding him back. The guy on the mound for the opposing team was a 2nd rd pick of the Tigers this year out of TCU. Stewart's crouch is actually a two part crouch. He gets into a very wide stance, then does this downwards dip with his core to bring his torso/butt even lower. Then while the pitch is coming he comes up from his 2nd crouch and decides what he's going to do. I'm not an expert but common sense tells me he's trying to shrink the strike zone as being as small as possible. It's obvious that he has a strategy up there. That is refreshing to see and stood out at that level. My concern is that at higher levels pitchers will have better location and he won't just be able to get ahead in the count and just draw walks using his stance. The stance kind of came across as a gimmick. I'm a little down on him now. For a guy that was drafted in the first round, with an "advanced" hitting approach, he looked like a speed guy just trying to shrink the strike zone and draw walks. Explains why his walks are up and his avg is so low.

Gassaway: Looks like Jermaine Dye out there in RF. I thought he was going to be still very raw, like when we drafted him. He looks like a ballplayer now. Good fielder. Can move in the OF. Strong arm. Had a guy thrown out at 2nd but was called safe on a bad call. Tried to throw someone out at home and threw it to the cut off guy, 1B(Laurino), but for some reason Laurino didn't cut it and it bounced about 15 times to the catcher. He's long and lean. His swing looked good, just he's tall. I wouldn't give up on him. Still only 20. 2016 would be his JR year of college.

Cosme: The guy had some stuff. The gun was all over the place but when it settled down his FB was 86-91. He had a really nice breaking pitch that he was throwing in the zone for strikes and then out of the zone for K's. I'm thinking he had a CB and a Changeup. For only 19, and a 17th rd pick last year, he looked pretty good. The defense didn't do him any favors. Was wild but just like bouncing a few breaking balls and only throwing past the catcher once during warm-ups. Nothing too crazy. They have him listed at 6'2'' 165. So he does have a projectible frame.

The rest: I'm really rooting for Mullins. He has some skills. Shaw had a hard time throwing the ball back to the pitcher in between pitches. G.Davis was there on rehab from Bowie so of course he looked bigger, stronger than most of the players. Probably the last time anyone will ever say that about Davis.

[eb45]

Thanks for the video. Stewart definitely looks like he's wrapping his bat around his head more than he ever did at FSU. Look where the barrel is when he starts his swing in the video above, versus where it starts in

: a good foot, maybe a foot and a half lower. That adds significant time to his load and obviously makes it harder for him to catch up to pitches.

He's also not trying to shrink the zone with the crouch. The crouch helps him see the strike zone and reduces the distance the bat has to travel. The question is whether he can generate enough loft out of the crouch, but I'm confident he'll be able to. Even with this slump, he's still driving the ball when he makes contact.

What I'm trying to say is that everyone needs to stop blaming the crouch. The crouch is not the problem, guys.

[sportsfan8703]

I'm planning on going to the game on 9/2. I'll try and get some better angles on more players. Like Gassaway too. Hopefully Mountcastle and some GCL guys might be up there by then. I'm not really a big MILB guy, in terms of going to games, but at the level the guys that are "prospects" stand out big time.

[Frobby]

Thanks for the video. Stewart definitely looks like he's wrapping his bat around his head more than he ever did at FSU. Look where the barrel is when he starts his swing in the video above, versus where it starts in

: a good foot, maybe a foot and a half lower. That adds significant time to his load and obviously makes it harder for him to catch up to pitches.

He's also not trying to shrink the zone with the crouch. The crouch helps him see the strike zone and reduces the distance the bat has to travel. The question is whether he can generate enough loft out of the crouch, but I'm confident he'll be able to. Even with this slump, he's still driving the ball when he makes contact.

What I'm trying to say is that everyone needs to stop blaming the crouch. The crouch is not the problem, guys.

Is there a problem, other than that he had a slow start? He's been pretty decent for a while now. Aberdeen is a pretty tough place to hit.

[eb45]

Is there a problem, other than that he had a slow start? He's been pretty decent for a while now. Aberdeen is a pretty tough place to hit.

People seem to think there is one. I don't like the bat wrap, personally, but I don't really think that's a long-term concern.