Which player would you be most/least excited about?

[7Mo]

12 minutes ago, 7Mo said:

I really liked Collier until reading the Fangraphs link above that said he's going to grow into a 1B/DH.

Maybe accurate, maybe not but it altered my view of him. 

I can't edit or delete  so let me just say my mistake, I read it wrong. That's NOT what it says. 

[7Mo]

Despite being this size at this age, which might typically cause long-term 1B/DH projection, Collier's defensive feet, hands, actions, and arm strength are all excellent, and might make him a future plus third base defender. 

[Jammer7]

2 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

Nah I’m good.  

Appreciate you. I found the ignore feature helpful recently. It’s all good. 

[7Mo]

4 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

Appreciate you. I found the ignore feature helpful recently. It’s all good. 

You have a good appreciation for what college hitting coaches teach. Do you have an issue with the idea that Druw Jones did not pull a ball to the left side of left center field in advanced competition?

To me, he's followed what his Dad has preached to him about up the middle and going the other way. 

One article talks about him having an arm bar preventing him from pulling the ball and describes it as possibly a simple mechanical fix. Your thoughts?

[Sports Guy]

54 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Where did I say Lee is the top guy?  Try paying attention.  I don't talk out of both sides of my mouth like some people. 

You said you are good with him being the Os pick..that he is one of your 3.  But that’s against the experts and you are crying when people do that.  None of these guys are justifying him as the first pick.  You are telling jammer, myself, etc..that obviously Jones isn’t clear cut or that Johnson isn’t worth the first pick or whatever because that’s what the experts say.  

So either you are a hypocrite or just a troll.  

 

[NelsonCruuuuuz]

20 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

You said you are good with him being the Os pick..that he is one of your 3.  But that’s against the experts and you are crying when people do that.  None of these guys are justifying him as the first pick.  You are telling jammer, myself, etc..that obviously Jones isn’t clear cut or that Johnson isn’t worth the first pick or whatever because that’s what the experts say.  

So either you are a hypocrite or just a troll.  

 

Oh come on, RZNJ is not a troll lol. That’s not nice:)

[Jammer7]

22 minutes ago, 7Mo said:

You have a good appreciation for what college hitting coaches teach. Do you have an issue with the idea that Druw Jones did not pull a ball to the left side of left center field in advanced competition?

To me, he's followed what his Dad has preached to him about up the middle and going the other way. 

One article talks about him having an arm bar preventing him from pulling the ball and describes it as possibly a simple mechanical fix. Your thoughts?

I can’t speak to what dad taught him, but you are likely correct. That’s a common teaching. It’s easier to teach a hitter to pull the ball than it is to teach an opposite field approach, IMO. He will do a lot of work on his swing and get much stronger. He has no issues with bat speed as far as I know. His hit tool grades range from 55-60 from what I’ve seen.

I had heard the concerns about his use of the opposite field in preseason, but it was widely reported that he used the whole field more so this Spring. I’ve not seen the arm bar, but I honestly am not concerned about it. There are prominent major league hitters who have an arm bar. Very fixable, though. 

Any good hitting coach will tell you that they would rather have great rhythm and timing than great mechanics. When you look at many of the stars in the game, coaches will tell you that this flaw or that flaw are wrong in their mechanics. But it works for them. The main thing is to compete. Druw is a tremendous competitor. He grinds. The more I read and watch, the more I just love that young man’s game.

A while back on Twitter, I think it was Tom House put a video of a friend’s son hitting in the cage. He asked for people to give feedback. Coaches, a bunch of them, were coming out of the woodwork to critique the kid’s swing and how it would never work, no way. Well, that kid was Mike Trout. There are so many experts out there…

[Sports Guy]

14 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

I can’t speak to what dad taught him, but you are likely correct. That’s a common teaching. It’s easier to teach a hitter to pull the ball than it is to teach an opposite field approach, IMO. He will do a lot of work on his swing and get much stronger. He has no issues with bat speed as far as I know. His hit tool grades range from 55-60 from what I’ve seen.

I had heard the concerns about his use of the opposite field in preseason, but it was widely reported that he used the whole field more so this Spring. I’ve not seen the arm bar, but I honestly am not concerned about it. There are prominent major league hitters who have an arm bar. Very fixable, though. 

Any good hitting coach will tell you that they would rather have great rhythm and timing than great mechanics. When you look at many of the stars in the game, coaches will tell you that this flaw or that flaw are wrong in their mechanics. But it works for them. The main thing is to compete. Druw is a tremendous competitor. He grinds. The more I read and watch, the more I just love that young man’s game.

A while back on Twitter, I think it was Tom House put a video of a friend’s son hitting in the cage. He asked for people to give feedback. Coaches, a bunch of them, were coming out of the woodwork to critique the kid’s swing and how it would never work, no way. Well, that kid was Mike Trout. There are so many experts out there…

I remember seeing that Trout thing.  It was funny stuff.

[7Mo]

25 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

I can’t speak to what dad taught him, but you are likely correct. That’s a common teaching. It’s easier to teach a hitter to pull the ball than it is to teach an opposite field approach, IMO. He will do a lot of work on his swing and get much stronger. He has no issues with bat speed as far as I know. His hit tool grades range from 55-60 from what I’ve seen.

I had heard the concerns about his use of the opposite field in preseason, but it was widely reported that he used the whole field more so this Spring. I’ve not seen the arm bar, but I honestly am not concerned about it. There are prominent major league hitters who have an arm bar. Very fixable, though. 

Any good hitting coach will tell you that they would rather have great rhythm and timing than great mechanics. When you look at many of the stars in the game, coaches will tell you that this flaw or that flaw are wrong in their mechanics. But it works for them. The main thing is to compete. Druw is a tremendous competitor. He grinds. The more I read and watch, the more I just love that young man’s game.

A while back on Twitter, I think it was Tom House put a video of a friend’s son hitting in the cage. He asked for people to give feedback. Coaches, a bunch of them, were coming out of the woodwork to critique the kid’s swing and how it would never work, no way. Well, that kid was Mike Trout. There are so many experts out there…

Perfect. Thanks for the detailed response. 

[RZNJ]

1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

You said you are good with him being the Os pick..that he is one of your 3.  But that’s against the experts and you are crying when people do that.  None of these guys are justifying him as the first pick.  You are telling jammer, myself, etc..that obviously Jones isn’t clear cut or that Johnson isn’t worth the first pick or whatever because that’s what the experts say.  

So either you are a hypocrite or just a troll.  

 

If you had brains you'd be dangerous.  

Many experts have him top 5, anywhere from 2-5.  I believe Law has him 5 and although Jones is #1, he could justify any going #1, especially if it saved some money.

[Sports Guy]

2 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

If you had brains you'd be dangerous.  

Troll it is.

[RZNJ]

2 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Troll it is.

Whatever makes you feel better.   I'm worried about you. 

[panick]

3 hours ago, RZNJ said:

If we're talking about swings, I like Brooks Lee.   Uses the whole field from both sides.   Bat stays through the zone.    Power from both sides.   It's a little bit different but I like it.

Yeh, but don't forget about those ankles.

[Jammer7]

Someone asked which experts agreed with me that Jones is on a tier by himself. Well, MLB Pipeline and BA have him at an overall 65 grade, the others linked to the 1-1 pick at 60. BA defines that grade as a “Perennial All Star.” Fangraphs also has him at 55 FV, all others 50. So, that’s a tier all his own, unless I misunderstand the term.

He isn’t Ken Griffey Jr., or Adley, but he has tremendous tools, blood lines and competitiveness. Unless there is something of an issue we don’t know about, he would be my choice. What they project he’ll be in 3-5 years is the issue. 

I don’t know who they’ll take, and I’ll support whomever they draft. I may prefer Jones, but if they go under slot and then over to get other big talents, fine. Elias has proven to me that his process and judgement works well. I remain hopeful that they take the best talent at 1–1, and I think SG and I have laid out ways they can do just that.

This is going to be a lot of fun. Try to enjoy it. These are good times to be an Oriole fan again. 

[Oroscos Slider]

My ranking is (1) Holliday, (2) Lee, and (3) Jones. 
Holliday appears to be above average in every tool but with his greatest strength being his hit tool. He also looks the least physically mature and may have the greatest room for growth.  Lee likely has the best developed hit tool but is also close to fully matured physically and doesn’t have flashy talent or speed.  Jones’s greatest tools are speed and defense, but there appears to be more of a question mark on his hit tool. When drafting a hitter number 1, you have to maximize your chance of landing an impact bat (while not completely neglecting fielding). Speed and a great glove are nice bonuses, but I would need complete confidence in the hit tool.

I’d also ding Jones if his contract demands greatly exceed the others.

I’d be interested in knowing where Jones would rank on a 2019 draft board, a draft that looks like a really good draft from today’s perspective.