2019 #3 Prospect DL Hall - LHP

[Philip]

So about command...assume for a moment that it never changes.

what then? We’ve had successful pitchers who walked a lot of guys. But he wouldn’t be TOR and probably wouldn’t be a reliable reliever either, would he?

but still he could be a valuable contributor right?

[Luke-OH]

56 minutes ago, Philip said:

So about command...assume for a moment that it never changes.

what then? We’ve had successful pitchers who walked a lot of guys. But he wouldn’t be TOR and probably wouldn’t be a reliable reliever either, would he?

but still he could be a valuable contributor right?

Command isn’t throwing strikes, that’s control. Hall is enough of a strikethrower to be a reliable reliever without improvements. He’d just throw more fastballs since he’d only see hitters once.

No improvements would be a really low percentile outcome, because he’s young, moves well, and is athletic. He wouldn’t even be draft eligible yet if he went to college.

[Frobby]

Another team’s scout’s take on Hall:

“Hall’s ceiling is really high because he is more athletic [than Rodriguez] and he is left-handed. Hall seems really motivated to be good and to be a big leaguer. I think he is almost too driven. He does everything 110 percent. His tempo and delivery at times can be a little too fast.

“But in terms of his pitches, he’ll flash you plusses across the board. But he doesn’t always have the body control and is not always in synch on the mound. He’ll yank a pitch to the glove side and then overcompensate the other way. It can impact his command and hurt his consistency. He’s very coachable, but sometimes can almost try too hard. But it’s hard to find athleticism in left-handed pitchers like him.

“He showed 94 to 96 with a real plus changeup and good arm speed and nice arm-side life. His curve was scraping 80 mph and he threw it with real power. I like Rodriguez better, but still like Hall quite a bit.”

https://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2019/12/part-two-a-scouts-take-on-os-prospects.html

Overall, you have to like the comments on both pitchers.    

[LookinUp]

Not to re-start a debate that isn't really a debate...

but I think Hall is the guy I want for the future, whereas Rodriguez might be the guy I want starting a game tomorrow. That scout's opinion was interesting. Looks like Hall is essentially less physically (probably better said as mechanically) mature. It's not a given that he gains that body control and consistency of mechanics to develop much better command, but I'm less worried about it than I would be a 25 year old, for example.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, LookinUp said:

Not to re-start a debate that isn't really a debate...

but I think Hall is the guy I want for the future, whereas Rodriguez might be the guy I want starting a game tomorrow. That scout's opinion was interesting. Looks like Hall is essentially less physically (probably better said as mechanically) mature. It's not a given that he gains that body control and consistency of mechanics to develop much better command, but I'm less worried about it than I would be a 25 year old, for example.

I see it this way: both players have high ceilings, but Hall’s is probably a bit higher.    But Rodriguez appears to have the much higher floor.      If Rodriguez’s ceiling is a 9, perhaps Hall’s is 9.5; but if Rodriguez’s floor is a 7, then Hall’s is a 5.    (Caveat: to a large degree, every pitcher has a floor of zero.    But you know what I’m saying.)

[joelala]

Curious as to how these two compare as prospects to Arietta et. al when when they were of similar ages/levels. I was not following our minor league system closely back then. 
 

In other words, is this the highest upside (and I stress upside) PAIR of starters we’ve had in a long, long time? 

[backwardsk]

59 minutes ago, joelala said:

Curious as to how these two compare as prospects to Arietta et. al when when they were of similar ages/levels. I was not following our minor league system closely back then. 
 

In other words, is this the highest upside (and I stress upside) PAIR of starters we’ve had in a long, long time? 

Matt Riley?

[Can_of_corn]

1 hour ago, joelala said:

Curious as to how these two compare as prospects to Arietta et. al when when they were of similar ages/levels. I was not following our minor league system closely back then. 
 

In other words, is this the highest upside (and I stress upside) PAIR of starters we’ve had in a long, long time? 

Bundy and Harvey.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, joelala said:

Curious as to how these two compare as prospects to Arietta et. al when when they were of similar ages/levels. I was not following our minor league system closely back then. 
 

In other words, is this the highest upside (and I stress upside) PAIR of starters we’ve had in a long, long time? 

 

15 minutes ago, backwardsk said:

Matt Riley?

Reading comprehension?

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, joelala said:

Curious as to how these two compare as prospects to Arietta et. al when when they were of similar ages/levels. I was not following our minor league system closely back then. 
 

In other words, is this the highest upside (and I stress upside) PAIR of starters we’ve had in a long, long time? 

 

25 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Bundy and Harvey.

We had Matusz, Tillman and Arrieta all in our system in 2009.    The first two might not seem to have high upsides in hindsight, but Arrieta was ranked behind them at the time.   

[joelala]

23 minutes ago, Frobby said:

 

We had Matusz, Tillman and Arrieta all in our system in 2009.    The first two might not seem to have high upsides in hindsight, but Arrieta was ranked behind them at the time.   

Ooo yea, forgot about Matusz. 
 

Also forgot how elite of a prospect Bundy was. And then Gausman. I guess Bundy and Gausman easily rivals this pair. Aaaand I’ve successfully tempered my own expectations!

[Philip]

8 hours ago, Frobby said:

Another team’s scout’s take on Hall:

“Hall’s ceiling is really high because he is more athletic [than Rodriguez] and he is left-handed. Hall seems really motivated to be good and to be a big leaguer. I think he is almost too driven. He does everything 110 percent. His tempo and delivery at times can be a little too fast.

“But in terms of his pitches, he’ll flash you plusses across the board. But he doesn’t always have the body control and is not always in synch on the mound. He’ll yank a pitch to the glove side and then overcompensate the other way. It can impact his command and hurt his consistency. He’s very coachable, but sometimes can almost try too hard. But it’s hard to find athleticism in left-handed pitchers like him.

“He showed 94 to 96 with a real plus changeup and good arm speed and nice arm-side life. His curve was scraping 80 mph and he threw it with real power. I like Rodriguez better, but still like Hall quite a bit.”

https://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2019/12/part-two-a-scouts-take-on-os-prospects.html

Overall, you have to like the comments on both pitchers.    

 Wasn’t Rodriguez picked in the top 10? Eight or nine? I really don’t think the Orioles have to worry about their draft pick being number one or number two. I think there’s going to be good guys usually in the first dozen or so choices. 

[Frobby]

39 minutes ago, Philip said:

 Wasn’t Rodriguez picked in the top 10? Eight or nine? I really don’t think the Orioles have to worry about their draft pick being number one or number two. I think there’s going to be good guys usually in the first dozen or so choices. 

No, Rodriguez was 11th.    And many people preferred others in that spot at the time.   The pick looks extremely good so far, but we’re still years away from knowing how he’ll pan out.    

Here’s the reaction to the Rodriguez pick at the time:

 

 

[Luke-OH]

12 minutes ago, Frobby said:

No, Rodriguez was 11th.    And many people preferred others in that spot at the time.   The pick looks extremely good so far, but we’re still years away from knowing how he’ll pan out.    

Here’s the reaction to the Rodriguez pick at the time:

 

 

I wanted Logan Gilbert. 

[Philip]

36 minutes ago, Luke-OH said:

I wanted Logan Gilbert. 

Do you still? I know nothing about him, but GRod certainly seems like a good pick so far. We were lucky? Or maybe it was just a really deep draft?