Contrasting the draft with everything since

[Frobby]

I find it pretty interesting that Elias didn’t draft a single pitcher in his first 8 picks, and yet since then has been stockpiling pitchers everywhere he can find them.    Our J2 class was pitcher-heavy, and now we’ve acquired about 8 pitchers in the two trades, the Rule 5 draft, and a waiver claim.     It’s going to be fascinating to see how the pitching (mostly minor league) shakes out next year.    

Moreover, a lot of the pitchers Elias drafted after his first 8 picks performed extremely well.    

 

 

[7Mo]

Add to that the idea that improvements continue to progress. They don't happen all at once. The articles on the Astros talk about things taking 2-3 years to click.

I think stockpiling pitchers now is evidence of his confidence in the developmental program. He's picking out guys with the traits he wants, guys he believes can improve.

I'm looking forward to tracking the minor league guys next year.

[Scalious]

Dumb down answer: 

Hitting prospects: Quality.

Pitching Prospects: Quantity.   

Not sure if this is by design though. We know that pitching prospects have a poor attrition rate. We also know they can molded with the right development.

Edited December 13, 2019 by Scalious

[Luke-OH]

19 minutes ago, Scalious said:

Dumb down answer: 

Hitting prospects: Quality.

Pitching Prospects: Specific desirable traits

Not sure if this is by design though. We know that pitching prospects have a poor attrition rate. We also know they can molded with the right development.

Fixed it.

[Scalious]

3 minutes ago, Luke-OH said:

Fixed it.

Well, it's both. I've got to get better at communicating my thoughts.

[sportsfan8703]

8 hours ago, Frobby said:

I find it pretty interesting that Elias didn’t draft a single pitcher in his first 8 picks, and yet since then has been stockpiling pitchers everywhere he can find them.    Our J2 class was pitcher-heavy, and now we’ve acquired about 8 pitchers in the two trades, the Rule 5 draft, and a waiver claim.     It’s going to be fascinating to see how the pitching (mostly minor league) shakes out next year.    

Moreover, a lot of the pitchers Elias drafted after his first 8 picks performed extremely well.    

 

 

I was thinking the same thing. Look at the 2019 draft from pick #8 on. We also picked up Hanhold and Sulser at the end of the year. Now we’ve added these 8 pitchers. All NCAA pitchers with the exception of Diplan. 

Its clear that we have a plan. It will make the losing at the mlb level easier next year. We’re going to see some deep staffs from Delmarva - Norfolk.

Two thoughts... we still have trade chips, and we still have waivers. Last year we picked up Alberto and Austin Brice off of waivers. Both had huge years. It’s just a shame we let go of Brice, but that was before Elias had a chance to evaluate our pitching.