Connolly: Duquette's Minor League

[weams]

 

 

[Jammer7]

I did not read the article since I got rid of the Athletic. So my comment is general, not specific to the article necessarily.

Without a doubt, Duquette and Rajsich drafted some talented players, particularly in the last 3-4 years of their time in Baltimore. They deserve recognition for that, certainly. My thought is that these same players we see making splashes recently, who were acquired by Duquette and Rajsich, would they have developed as well under the old regime? I do not believe so. Many players have had dramatic growth in their games since Elias and staff have arrived. Perhaps you could argue Duquette wanted to make the changes on the player development side Elias has, but simply did not have the resources because he had to allocate so much of the budget to keep the competitive window open at the major league level. IDK, but I would say that our player development staff is leaps and bounds more effective than it was two years ago.

They made some questionable picks as well, Cadyn Grenier is one that comes to mind. And I wish Dan had kept the Comp picks he traded.

[beantownrefugee]

7 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

Many players have had dramatic growth in their games since Elias and staff have arrived. Perhaps you could argue Duquette wanted to make the changes on the player development side Elias has, but simply did not have the resources because he had to allocate so much of the budget to keep the competitive window open at the major league level. IDK, but I would say that our player development staff is leaps and bounds more effective than it was two years ago.

Out of the players who have made an impact at the major league level this year, seems to be a split verdict on 2018 vs. 2019.  Mountcastle and DJ Stewart had an appreciable gain in their 2019 minor league numbers.  Kremer, Akin and Mullins did not.  

But these guys all came up this year late and have been fantastic.  Is it the more hands-on instruction at Bowie?  Maybe an idea to consider going forward would be to not have the better minor league players in games every day, but rather have 2-3 days per week of hands-on instruction.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, beantownrefugee said:

Out of the players who have made an impact at the major league level this year, seems to be a split verdict on 2018 vs. 2019.  Mountcastle and DJ Stewart had an appreciable gain in their 2019 minor league numbers.  Kremer, Akin and Mullins did not.  

But these guys all came up this year late and have been fantastic.  Is it the more hands-on instruction at Bowie?  Maybe an idea to consider going forward would be to not have the better minor league players in games every day, but rather have 2-3 days per week of hands-on instruction.

I don't think he did.

He had an 806 OPS in Bowie in 2018 and an 871 at Norfolk in 2019.  I'm not seeing an appreciable gain.  Walk rate was worse at AAA as was K rate.

[BohKnowsBmore]

31 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

And I wish Dan had kept the Comp picks he traded.

It seems like double counting to use this as a critique of the players he did pick (or his performance with respect to the players he did pick, rather). 

[Philip]

41 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

I did not read the article since I got rid of the Athletic. So my comment is general, not specific to the article necessarily.

Without a doubt, Duquette and Rajsich drafted some talented players, particularly in the last 3-4 years of their time in Baltimore. They deserve recognition for that, certainly. My thought is that these same players we see making splashes recently, who were acquired by Duquette and Rajsich, would they have developed as well under the old regime? I do not believe so. Many players have had dramatic growth in their games since Elias and staff have arrived. Perhaps you could argue Duquette wanted to make the changes on the player development side Elias has, but simply did not have the resources because he had to allocate so much of the budget to keep the competitive window open at the major league level. IDK, but I would say that our player development staff is leaps and bounds more effective than it was two years ago.

They made some questionable picks as well, Cadyn Grenier is one that comes to mind. And I wish Dan had kept the Comp picks he traded.

Sedlock was also a questionable pick, and Sisco hasnt shown much yet. But the draft is not just about who you pick but who you don’t pick and why. That’s a deep and detailed analysis and there’s no need to go into it because Dan is gone. It’s just fluff.

[Jammer7]

3 minutes ago, BohKnowsBmore said:

It seems like double counting to use this as a critique of the players he did pick (or his performance with respect to the players he did pick, rather). 

Not sure that I understand what "double counting" is? But wishing that they kept the picks is an endorsement, of sorts, of their ability to draft fairly well. 

[weams]

6 minutes ago, BohKnowsBmore said:

It seems like double counting to use this as a critique of the players he did pick (or his performance with respect to the players he did pick, rather). 

 Think trying for the World Series the year that Chris Davis cost it was a gamble he had to take. 

[Can_of_corn]

4 minutes ago, weams said:

 Think trying for the World Series the year that Chris Davis cost it was a gamble he had to take. 

And the three he traded away?

[weams]

3 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

And the three he traded away?

Remind me. 

[LookinUp]

57 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

They made some questionable picks as well, Cadyn Grenier is one that comes to mind. And I wish Dan had kept the Comp picks he traded.

From the article, here are a couple of things I found interesting..

Guys Duquette/Rajisch drafted/acquired - Mountcastle, Hays, Stewart, Mullins, Nunez, Sisco, Akin, Kremer, Means, Scott, Tate, Harvey, Santander, Mancini, Grayson Rodriguez, DL Hall, Baumann, Diaz, Hader, Yastrzemski, McKenna

2013 draft produced 11 major leaguers. That's crazy good, even if many aren't going to be studs.

I think player development has always been the issue here. Our draft guys weren't served well by that side of the house. It genuinely seems like that's the difference between Elias and the predecessors.

 

[weams]

5 minutes ago, LookinUp said:

From the article, here are a couple of things I found interesting..

Duquette/Rajisch guys - Mountcastle, Hays, Stewart, Mullins, Nunez, Sisco, Akin, Kremer, Means, Scott, Tate, Harvey, Santander, Mancini, Grayson Rodriguez, DL Hall, Baumann, Diaz, Hader, Yastrzemski, McKenna

2013 draft produced 11 major leaguers. That's crazy good, even if many aren't going to be studs.

I think player development has always been the issue here. Our draft guys weren't served well by that side of the house. It genuinely seems like that's the difference between Elias and the predecessors.

 

I assume you mean drafted/acquired? Tate, Nunez, Kremer, and Santander were all drafted/acquired elsewhere first. Diaz was a 30 million dollar plus 10 million penalty International signing by the Dodgers. 

[Can_of_corn]

6 minutes ago, weams said:

Remind me. 

Matusz, Norris and Webb trades.

[Jammer7]

3 minutes ago, Philip said:

Sedlock was also a questionable pick, and Sisco hasnt shown much yet. But the draft is not just about who you pick but who you don’t pick and why. That’s a deep and detailed analysis and there’s no need to go into it because Dan is gone. It’s just fluff.

I don't think Sedlock was a bad pick, necessarily. He logged a lot of innings in college, though. But he was a power arm and well thought of. 

I was ready to give up on Cisco last year, honestly. He was out of shape and just looked lost in all phases. Based on what I have seen this year, I think he has turned his fortunes around to at least a back up role. I think he can certainly hit. His swing decisions are much more controlled. He looks much more fit and confident. 

I thought DJ Stewart was a questionable pick, and I was among many many fans who were critical of it at the time. He has certainly had a hot few weeks here, but his mechanical changes look to be outstanding and might just have saved his career. He's got T-Rex arms, so a one handed finish makes a lot of sense to get extension through the ball.  We'll see.

I thought Mountcastle was a great pick, since I have seen him several times live. He lives ten minutes from me. The defensive position change should have taken place sooner. 

Josh Hart (2nd round 2013) was a bust, but I did not think he was a bad pick at the time. There was some red flags, but based on what I had read at the time, I thought it was a decent pick. 

[LookinUp]

1 minute ago, weams said:

I assume you mean drafted/acquired? Tate, Nunez, Kremer, and Santander were all drafted/acquired elsewhere first. Diaz was a 30 million dollar plus 10 million penalty International signing by the Dodgers. 

Yes, meant that. Will edit.