Elias answers some questions.

[Roll Tide]

4 hours ago, DrinkinWithFermi said:

I'll have what he's having lol.

Yeah ... Unless he develops Greg Maddux like control there isn't a chance that Means has the stuff to be a TOR. Now that doesn't mean he can't be a number 1 starter here for a while until guys like G Rod get here.

[Moose Milligan]

9 hours ago, wildcard said:

Biggest surprise for me is that he mentions Mountcastle as a starting corner outfielder.  I know many have thought that would be the case but I thought he fit better at first.   So I guess I have to adjust my thinking a little.

I think he was better than advertised in LF last year.  He'll be fine.

[wildcard]

4 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

I think he was better than advertised in LF last year.  He'll be fine.

IMO Hays in LF and Mullins is CF at least vs righthanded pitching is a much better defensive alignment than Mountcastle in LF and  Hays/Mullins in CF.   But I don't make those decisions.  Its up to Elias/Hyde.

I guess how much they want Stewart or Shaw at DH plays into the decision.

[Roll Tide]

21 minutes ago, wildcard said:

IMO Hays in LF and Mullins is CF at least vs righthanded pitching is a much better defensive alignment than Mountcastle in LF and  Hays/Mullins in CF.   But I don't make those decisions.  Its up to Elias/Hyde.

I guess how much they want Stewart or Shaw at DH plays into the decision.

We should dispose of limited defensive players as part of the new process. I think Mountcastle should go to 1B if/when they move on from Trey

[Sports Guy]

10 hours ago, wildcard said:

Biggest surprise for me is that he mentions Mountcastle as a starting corner outfielder.  I know many have thought that would be the case but I thought he fit better at first.   So I guess I have to adjust my thinking a little.

Mancini is still on the team.  Not sure why you would think Mountcastle would start at first over him?

[Sports Guy]

TOR starter is such a broad term.  It could mean a lot of things. 
 

I am not sure they are even 10 true aces in the game now.  An ace is rare..An ace being defined as truly elite and guys who have been elite for several seasons. Your DeGrom type guys.

After that, you have your #1 and #2 starters.  I think Means can be looked as a TOR guy on at least some teams.  He certainly is for us.  So, by definition, he is at the “top of our rotation”.
 

But, is he that guy throughout MLB?    Means had several issues in 2020 which hampered him for a while But he turned it on late.

In his last 4 starts, he went at least 5.2 IP and gave up 1 run.  He went 23.2 IP,  struck out 30 and walked 3.  He had gotten healthy, got past some personal issues and started to lock in.  The other thing we saw in 2020 was the increase in velocity.  If he is truly going to throw in the 93-96 range going forward, that is a game changer for him because his CU is one of the best swing and miss pitches in the game.  He ended up with a solid K rate that was much better in 2020 vs 2019 and his BB rate was below 1.5 last year, although it was one 2.2 the year before.  He threw over 65% of his pitches for strikes and saw his swingstr% go from 17 to 20%.  Of course, these numbers are in SSS, so we can only do so much with them.  He also only had a 216 BABiP, so that will normalize as well.

All of that being said, I don’t think you can call him a TOR guy yet.  First of all, he gives up way too many homers.  He has given up 36 homers in 202 iP.  That’s a 1.6 HR rate, far higher than you would like to see.  You certainly can be a TOr starter and give up homers but Means isn’t at that point yet.  
 

In his career, he has 37 ML starts and has thrown 191 innings in those starts. That is basically 5 IP per start.  He needs to get another 3-4 outs a game to be a TOR guy imo.  Now, that definition may be changing in today’s game but in 2019, we still saw 33 starters pitch at least 180 innings, with 22 of those going at least 190 innings and 15 of them went 200 innings.  So, for me, Means needs to get into that 180+ IP and still carry over good stats before anointing  him a true TOR guy.

He has a chance though.  If the increase in velocity is here to stay, his secondaries play up even better.  He is a good command and control guy, so that is always necessary.  Get more outs, keep the ball in the park a little more and keep your stats headed in the direction they are and we might have a TOR guy on our hands. 

[ChosenOne21]

1 hour ago, Moose Milligan said:

I think he was better than advertised in LF last year.  He'll be fine.

Yeah, he's not going to win a Gold Glove out there, or even be much of a plus defender, but with his bat he's definitely valuable as a left fielder

To those making Trumbo comparisons, come on. Mountcastle isn't nearly that bad, and I'd be shocked if he ever gets that bad while in his 20's. Mountcastle is probably like a -2 left fielder, Trumbo was probably a -18

[VaBird1]

2 hours ago, Roll Tide said:

Yeah ... Unless he develops Greg Maddux like control there isn't a chance that Means has the stuff to be a TOR. Now that doesn't mean he can't be a number 1 starter here for a while until guys like G Rod get here.

I think it depends on what he does this winter.  If he is still working on pitch design he can keep improving his pitches and create new ones.  If he doesn’t go back to P3, who knows.

[Sports Guy]

2 hours ago, Roll Tide said:

Yeah ... Unless he develops Greg Maddux like control there isn't a chance that Means has the stuff to be a TOR. Now that doesn't mean he can't be a number 1 starter here for a while until guys like G Rod get here.

Yea this is wrong.  Saying he doesn’t have the stuff to do it flat out incorrect.  

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, Roll Tide said:

Yeah ... Unless he develops Greg Maddux like control there isn't a chance that Means has the stuff to be a TOR. Now that doesn't mean he can't be a number 1 starter here for a while until guys like G Rod get here.

Maybe you guys are being too tough in your definition of TOR.   What do you consider Dallas Keuchel to be?   His fastball doesn’t overwhelm anyone yet he’s won 20 games and a Cy Young, and has had a 21.9 rWAR career through age 32.    To me he has been a TOR starter.   

[VaBird1]

3 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Maybe you guys are being too tough in your definition of TOR.   What do you consider Dallas Keuchel to be?   His fastball doesn’t overwhelm anyone yet he’s won 20 games and a Cy Young, and has had a 21.9 rWAR career through age 32.    To me he has been a TOR starter.   

I would say the top 60 or so starters in MLB are TOR.

[wildcard]

1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

Mancini is still on the team.  Not sure why you would think Mountcastle would start at first over him?

Less stress on Mancini if he is a DH and backup 1B.  Its a long hot summer.  Season will probably not start until mid May or early June.    I want Mancini to save all his strength for hitting. Endurance could be a issue for Mancini after being off for a season and going through chemo.

[Can_of_corn]

2 hours ago, Roll Tide said:

We should dispose of limited defensive players as part of the new process. I think Mountcastle should go to 1B if/when they move on from Trey

And replace them with what?

With K and hr rates at record levels defense has never been this unimportant.

[Sports Guy]

11 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Less stress on Mancini if he is a DH and backup 1B.  Its a long hot summer.  Season will probably not start until mid May or early June.    I want Mancini to save all his strength for hitting. Endurance could be a issue for Mancini after being off for a season and going through chemo.

I’m sure Mancini will get time at DH and days off but he is the primary first baseman.  That was always going to be the case.

The real question is, what do you do with them when Diaz is up?  Probably splitting between first and DH.

[Sports Guy]

Elias talking about how they are still in the mode of trading vets for young assets makes me wonder if he is indeed shopping Santander.