Blaine Knight 2019

[ChuckS]

Knight to Frederick and Baumann to Bowie by mid-May.  Arguments could be made that both should have started at those levels.  

The rest stay where they are for most or all of the season.  I don't see GrayRod getting a first half promotion unless he is just putting up nothing but goose eggs and double digit K performances.  

[Luke-OH]

25 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Age is one reason I've been hesitant to jump on the Blaine-wagon.  I like my prospects like Elvis liked his girls.

I think people are too in love with his SEC performance. If he sit 91-93 as a starter, he won't be one, the fastball is too hittable there and I don't think he has the level of command of his other pitches to get ahead without it. I think he's a solid prospect with a good chance to be a reliever of some value and there is a chance for as much as mid-rotation upside if he can hold mid 90s, command his offspeed better, improve the changeup. Those are pretty big ifs though, so people who are assuming that he's a future rotation staple are getting ahead of themselves. 

[Frobby]

Knight had another outstanding game tonight:  5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K’s, in a tidy 74 pitches, 51 for strikes.    He’s not long for Delmarva, I don’t think.   

[Luke-OH]

42 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Knight had another outstanding game tonight:  5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K’s, in a tidy 74 pitches, 51 for strikes.    He’s not long for Delmarva, I don’t think.   

Agreed, he’s on the Lowther promotion track.

[LookinUp]

As he should be. I get the questions about his future ML value. They certainly have merit. He needs to improve, but he has quality innings under his belt and is good enough now to compete at higher levels. I'd have him in AA, or A+ at a minimum, but I defer to smarter people about where it's best to work on the developmental stuff he's working on.

[Jammer7]

On 4/17/2019 at 5:33 PM, Luke-OH said:

Someone on twitter said something about how old Ofelky Peralta was for Low A , I told him that Knight was almost a year older. 

That should not be a knock on Blaine, respectfully. Ofelky spent what, three years in high A Frederick? This is Blaine’s first full year. I get that 22 and 10 months is just a bit old for the Sally League, but his first full year in pro ball...so what. Let’s see where he is this time next year before we fault him for age. So far, looks like he has some stuff that plays well at higher levels...no?

Blaine never pitched in any summer ball before signing with the O’s; so the arm is comparatively fresh and he needs to get bigger and stronger,  build up his stamina.

[Frobby]

19 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

That should not be a knock on Blaine, respectfully. Ofelky spent what, three years in high A Frederick? This is Blaine’s first full year. I get that 22 and 10 months is just a bit old for the Sally League, but his first full year in pro ball...so what. Let’s see where he is this time next year before we fault him for age. So far, looks like he has some stuff that plays well at higher levels...no?

Blaine never pitched in any summer ball before signing with the O’s; so the arm is comparatively fresh and he needs to get bigger and stronger,  build up his stamina.

I think putting Knight in Delmarva to start the year was a conservative placement, but he will move to Frederick before the end of May.    Hopefully he does well there and is slated for Bowie next spring.     He was older than average when drafted, but that doesn’t mean we can rush him.     

I’d like to see Peralta back in Frederick too before too long.    But obviously there would need to be moves made to make room for both Knight and Peralta, so it’s not that simple.   

[Jammer7]

29 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I think putting Knight in Delmarva to start the year was a conservative placement, but he will move to Frederick before the end of May.    Hopefully he does well there and is slated for Bowie next spring.     He was older than average when drafted, but that doesn’t mean we can rush him.     

I’d like to see Peralta back in Frederick too before too long.    But obviously there would need to be moves made to make room for both Knight and Peralta, so it’s not that simple.   

He was 21 when drafted, and turned 22 three weeks later. I agree with what you wrote, I just do not see age as a factor at this point. Relatively speaking, he is a little behind stamina wise. I think slowing his progression in the beginning is smart. I think he may end the year in AA. Perhaps starts at Bowie in 2020 at the age of 23, and then we’ll see.

[Luke-OH]

11 hours ago, Jammer7 said:

That should not be a knock on Blaine, respectfully. Ofelky spent what, three years in high A Frederick? This is Blaine’s first full year. I get that 22 and 10 months is just a bit old for the Sally League, but his first full year in pro ball...so what. Let’s see where he is this time next year before we fault him for age. So far, looks like he has some stuff that plays well at higher levels...no?

Blaine never pitched in any summer ball before signing with the O’s; so the arm is comparatively fresh and he needs to get bigger and stronger,  build up his stamina.

I didn't mean it as such, it was more pointed towards the bias people tend to have against prospects who have failed at a level. It was about Peralta still having promise, not Knight being old for the level. 

[Frobby]

18 hours ago, Jammer7 said:

He was 21 when drafted, and turned 22 three weeks later. I agree with what you wrote, I just do not see age as a factor at this point. Relatively speaking, he is a little behind stamina wise. I think slowing his progression in the beginning is smart. I think he may end the year in AA. Perhaps starts at Bowie in 2020 at the age of 23, and then we’ll see.

Just curious, why do you say he’s a little behind stamina wise?

[Jammer7]

On 4/28/2019 at 7:58 AM, Frobby said:

Just curious, why do you say he’s a little behind stamina wise?

Because he has never pitched through a summer. He pitched the college seasons and that was it. He never played travel ball. His dad would not allow it. Saved his arm, and I like it. Just needs to go through the long grind of a season.

[Jammer7]

On 4/28/2019 at 12:15 AM, Luke-OH said:

I didn't mean it as such, it was more pointed towards the bias people tend to have against prospects who have failed at a level. It was about Peralta still having promise, not Knight being old for the level. 

I gotcha. I guess what I am trying to say, overall, is that I love that Blaine has not pitched year round. He is not the typical pitching prospect these days. I hope he succeeds, and perhaps more kids will pitch less throughout the years. Save the arms, push back all the TJ surgeries. I have seen so much abuse over the years, and it’s heartbreaking. All for what, win some meaningless tournament? Light up a radar gun at 15-16? Silly, and it hurts the game overall. But companies like PG, and so on, make a ton of money off these kids’ urgency. 

I really like this kid’s chances. I hope for many more like him.

[LookinUp]

Interesting nugget re: travel ball. I can see several pro's and con's of playing it for a pitcher, particularly year round. In MD, even most travel teams get decent breaks. My son's travel coach is really cognizant of wear and tear. They don't play too many games. They do play multiple sports and he's very careful about over-taxing their arms. Hopefully that's becoming the norm.  

[Ruzious]

Optimism is nice, but how much projection is there on his fastball at his age with his skinny frame?

[Can_of_corn]

38 minutes ago, Ruzious said:

Optimism is nice, but how much projection is there on his fastball at his age with his skinny frame?

I think the dream is he fills out some.