Henderson and Westburg promoted to Norfolk

[RZNJ]

Game not over but the new boys in town are making their presence felt.  Stay tuned!

[Brooks The Great]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

That's a bit strong.

There isn't normally a huge gulf between say #70 and #20.  Not with the bust rates of even highly touted prospects.

Let's revisit this discussion after the draft and after all the Top 100 lists are updated, shall we? If Jarren Duran can jump up to the Top 30 prospects for MLB Pipeline after a hot 3 months in the minors in 2021, then Gunnar has a good shot at the Top 10. He's doing things that very few prospects his age ever accomplish. The fact he has still yet to face a pitcher younger than him and he's a 20 year old in AAA is mind-boggling. Both the sharp analysts and dummies that put together the consensus prospect lists at the various publications WILL give Gunnar the respect he deserves later on this summer, barring a season-ending injury. Watch.

[JustLearning]

On 6/7/2022 at 12:26 PM, jamalshw said:

In the long run, probably, but it looks like Gutierrez is on the IL and with Nevin in Baltimore, there should still be ABs to be had though I agree Grenier and Martin will see less ABs and significantly less time at SS. Bannon will also be impacted.

When Gutierrez is back and when Vavra's rehab ends there will certainly be an infield roster crunch in AAA that will likely see Dorrian and Cullen as casualties (maybe along with Bannon, Grenier, and Long).  In the end, Henderson and Westburg are the priorities. Everyone else will be fitted around them and given ABs as they are available. Once Vavra is back, he is another priority to get ABs though he'll probably split time between 2B and CF which then cuts into an OF that will be light on ABs when/if Diaz and Neustrom come back off the IL. 

Dorrian and Cullen were moved to Bowie.

[Frobby]

Nice debut week for the boys.  .278/.519/.444 for Henderson, .444/.478/.908 for Westburg.  Keep it coming, we couldn’t have drawn it up much better!

[sportsfan8703]

8 BB and 3 SO for Gunnar in AAA so far. 

[higgybaby]

How’s their fielding so far?

[NCRaven]

In today’s update on Fangraphs, Longenhagen has moved Gunnar up to #22 and raised him from a 50FV to a 55FV.  

[NCRaven]

Also, Grayson Rodriquez dropped to #13 due tomorrow to injury and the possibility that he could miss the rest of the season.

[Can_of_corn]

6 minutes ago, NCRaven said:

Also, Grayson Rodriquez dropped to #13 due tomorrow to injury and the possibility that he could miss the rest of the season.

Where was he before?

I wouldn't think a grade 2 lat strain would result in much of a hit on prospect status.

[CharmCityHokie]

8 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Where was he before?

I wouldn't think a grade 2 lat strain would result in much of a hit on prospect status.

#3. The concern being a recurring injury (which others like Roch have mentioned in passing in reference to John Mean's back issues in the past): "Rodriguez’s injury, which might cost him the rest of the year, dictates he slide a little bit to reflect the risk that this is the start of persistent problems, as has been the case for many pitching prospects before him. "

 

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, CharmCityHokie said:

#3. The concern being a recurring injury (which others like Roch have mentioned in passing in reference to John Mean's back issues in the past): "Rodriguez’s injury, which might cost him the rest of the year, dictates he slide a little bit to reflect the risk that this is the start of persistent problems, as has been the case for many pitching prospects before him. "

 

Seems pretty steep to me for something that isn't structural but it's their list.

 

[MurphDogg]

1 hour ago, NCRaven said:

In today’s update on Fangraphs, Longenhagen has moved Gunnar up to #22 and raised him from a 50FV to a 55FV.  

Here is the link and blurb:

Gunnar Henderson has moved from the 50 FV tier into the 55s, as he’s cut his strikeout rate almost in half while walking more than he has punched out at Double-A Bowie ahead of a promotion to Triple-A. If we look under the hood, Henderson’s pitch selection appears even more impressive, as he’s only swinging at pitches in the strike zone that he can damage, often letting strikes on the outer third of the zone go past him early in the count. There are scouts and analysts convinced he can play shortstop for at least a little while, though I still have him projected as a plus third baseman. He’s now a top 25 prospect in baseball for me based largely on the improvements he’s made on the offensive end, improvements that have curbed the fear that may have popped up from his 2021 Double-A stint of him striking out at a worrying clip.

[Frobby]

On 6/8/2022 at 8:59 PM, Frobby said:

BA just updated their rankings and put him 37th, I think.   Eric Longenhagen was asked about Henderson in a Fangraphs chat a few weeks ago and stuck with his no. 68 ranking.  I’m not saying these guys are right, but there’s two prominent sources that haven’t moved him into the top tier when given the opportunity.  

 

On 6/8/2022 at 10:53 PM, Brooks The Great said:

Let's revisit this discussion after the draft and after all the Top 100 lists are updated, shall we? If Jarren Duran can jump up to the Top 30 prospects for MLB Pipeline after a hot 3 months in the minors in 2021, then Gunnar has a good shot at the Top 10. He's doing things that very few prospects his age ever accomplish. The fact he has still yet to face a pitcher younger than him and he's a 20 year old in AAA is mind-boggling. Both the sharp analysts and dummies that put together the consensus prospect lists at the various publications WILL give Gunnar the respect he deserves later on this summer, barring a season-ending injury. Watch.

From your mouth to Longenhagen’s ear:

“Gunnar Henderson has moved from the 50 FV tier into the 55s, as he’s cut his strikeout rate almost in half while walking more than he has punched out at Double-A Bowie ahead of a promotion to Triple-A. If we look under the hood, Henderson’s pitch selection appears even more impressive, as he’s only swinging at pitches in the strike zone that he can damage, often letting strikes on the outer third of the zone go past him early in the count. There are scouts and analysts convinced he can play shortstop for at least a little while, though I still have him projected as a plus third baseman. He’s now a top 25 prospect in baseball for me based largely on the improvements he’s made on the offensive end, improvements that have curbed the fear that may have popped up from his 2021 Double-A stint of him striking out at a worrying clip.”

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/tuesday-prospect-notes-a-few-top-100-tweaks/

[Just Regular]

At 30 PA they have surpassed even Austin Wynns to open 2nd and 6th in wRC+ for the moment in this year's International League.   Westburg just 1 walk in first 30 PA as looks like he is in attack mode, perhaps knowing there's a "he's patient" prior on him.     They might have been bored/overqualified with AA.     Any 30 PA could be Noise, but c'mon Signal.

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/minor-league?pos=all&level=0&lg=2&stats=bat&qual=30&type=1&team=&season=2022&seasonEnd=2022&org=&ind=0&splitTeam=false&players=&sort=19,1

Don't mess with Tim Beckham though, he's the 1-1 man.

[LookinUp]

I like both players a lot, but 30 PA is 30 PA. I'm much more interested in the combined body of work than what they've done in 10 days (or whatever it is) in Norfolk.