Samuel Basallo 2023

[Sports Guy]

27 minutes ago, brucewayne said:

Basallo, no brainer. The big hub hub around Salas is that hes 17. His actual production is entirely mediocre. I know, hes 17 so the upside is out of this world, but I like to combine upside and production.

And this is an absurd take.

In A ball, at age 17 (several years younger than league average) he posted an 837 OPS with a slugging near 500 and an OBP of 350..he showed good power and took a lot of walks.

At age 17, Basallo was in the DSL posting a 748 OPS.

At age 18, he was posting a 774 OPS in the FCL.

There is no comparison right now. Salas is way ahead of where Basallo was and that’s saying something because Basallo was a good prospect then and he’s an even better one now.

But to act like Salas isn’t producing is both ignorant and quite frankly uneducated, not that any of us should be surprised considering the source.

[Sports Guy]

1 minute ago, btdart20 said:

I honestly think it's pretty close for who I'd rather have.  Salas is a legit prospect too (and as @Sports Guysaid, a likelihood for #1).  Build-wise, Salas looks like he's a C (even if that could change as he grows).  In other words, some of Salas' value is positional.  But I'm less concerned about sticking at C (though it's a nice luxury).  Both have immense power upside.  Basallo's BB% and K% is strong.  I suspect Basallo gets a healthy bump in the offseason re-evaluations.  Partially because Basallo has answered some hit tool questions this year but he's been solid C behind the plate this year too.

There is also the wonder of how much more does Basallo have to grow/fill out vs Salas.

[btdart20]

1 minute ago, Sports Guy said:

There is also the wonder of how much more does Basallo have to grow/fill out vs Salas.

Right.  I think Basallo fills out more and what makes me think he won't stick at C.  Salas looks like he more of a C frame and won't fill out quite as much.  That gives the nod to Salas at the national level because he'll actually stick at C.  If Salas isn't projected to stick at C, then his ranking stature takes a hit. 

But in answering the question of "who I would prefer" (I focused on having as an O's prospect now), sticking at C doesn't matter to me.  It would be nice, but not necessary.  Basallo filling out more (and not sticking at C) could/should add more power and make him a better MOO.  

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, btdart20 said:

Right.  I think Basallo fills out more and what makes me think he won't stick at C.  Salas looks like he more of a C frame and won't fill out quite as much.  That gives the nod to Salas at the national level because he'll actually stick at C.  If Salas isn't projected to stick at C, then his ranking stature takes a hit. 

But in answering the question of "who I would prefer" (I focused on having as an O's prospect now), sticking at C doesn't matter to me.  It would be nice, but not necessary.  Basallo filling out more (and not sticking at C) could/should add more power and make him a better MOO.  

I'd rather have the future catcher over the future non-catcher.  If Basallo doesn't stick at Catcher where is his future?  1B?  Right Field?

That's a pretty big difference.

And the O's are going to need a catcher in a few years.  (Creed Willems is having a rough time in Aberdeen ATM)

[glenn__davis]

Very impressive, he got off to a pretty miserable first few weeks at Aberdeen and here he is with 5 multi-hit games in his past 7 and an OPS of 0.859.  And he just turned 19.

If he closes strong here in Aberdeen I don't think starting next year at Bowie is all that far-fetched.

[btdart20]

2 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I'd rather have the future catcher over the future non-catcher.  If Basallo doesn't stick at Catcher where is his future?  1B?  Right Field?

That's a pretty big difference.

And the O's are going to need a catcher in a few years.  (Creed Willems is having a rough time in Aberdeen ATM)

That's fair.  And agreed it's a big difference.  I'll take the MOO 1B/DH who's making noise at A+ even if he's nearly two years older.  Salas can make adjustments, but there's a lot to like about Basallo's hit tool/profile.

My 'best guess' is 1B/DH/back-up C.  If he fills out there will be better RF options.  There's been 6'2" 220# C's before, so he may even stick at C.

 

A little more context:

California League (A) average OPS this year is .728.  Salas (17) posted a .837.  Salas was .109 better.

Carolina League (A) average OPS is .686.  Basallo (almost 19) posted a .887.  Basallo was .201 better.

Salas projects very well for sure (and I'm not trying to take away from his projectability).  Being better significantly better than league average at a much younger age says a ton about what he can be.  But the Carolina league is a tougher league to hit in.  And to post an OPS .201 higher than average is impressive in its own right.  (I have no clue about home park factors for either field which would be a head/tail wind as well.)

[CaptainRedbeard]

Best case scenario Basallo ends up good enough defensively to be a starting C, and he either is here when Adley leaves or they trade one of them. However if he can get to a point where he is just sufficiently passable defensively to tolerate as a backup C, that would provide a lot of value with Adley. Sort of like a Danny Jansen / Alejandro Kirk situation. Wouldn’t make a lot of sense if his C defense was a real asset, but it could happen given he’s a bat-first guy. 

I’ve never really understood the idea that prospects can outgrow C if they’re too big. Basallo is 6’3. Matt Wieters and Joe Mauer are 6’5”. Maybe big guys can’t stay at C into their 30’s, but Basallo is 18. If he’s good enough technically to play C his size shouldn’t be a factor.

[Sports Guy]

40 minutes ago, btdart20 said:

That's fair.  And agreed it's a big difference.  I'll take the MOO 1B/DH who's making noise at A+ even if he's nearly two years older.  Salas can make adjustments, but there's a lot to like about Basallo's hit tool/profile.

My 'best guess' is 1B/DH/back-up C.  If he fills out there will be better RF options.  There's been 6'2" 220# C's before, so he may even stick at C.

 

A little more context:

California League (A) average OPS this year is .728.  Salas (17) posted a .837.  Salas was .109 better.

Carolina League (A) average OPS is .686.  Basallo (almost 19) posted a .887.  Basallo was .201 better.

Salas projects very well for sure (and I'm not trying to take away from his projectability).  Being better significantly better than league average at a much younger age says a ton about what he can be.  But the Carolina league is a tougher league to hit in.  And to post an OPS .201 higher than average is impressive in its own right.  (I have no clue about home park factors for either field which would be a head/tail wind as well.)

All of that matters..but Salas being 17 and doing what he is doing trumps all of it.

[Can_of_corn]

49 minutes ago, btdart20 said:

That's fair.  And agreed it's a big difference.  I'll take the MOO 1B/DH who's making noise at A+ even if he's nearly two years older.  Salas can make adjustments, but there's a lot to like about Basallo's hit tool/profile.

My 'best guess' is 1B/DH/back-up C.  If he fills out there will be better RF options.  There's been 6'2" 220# C's before, so he may even stick at C.

 

A little more context:

California League (A) average OPS this year is .728.  Salas (17) posted a .837.  Salas was .109 better.

Carolina League (A) average OPS is .686.  Basallo (almost 19) posted a .887.  Basallo was .201 better.

Salas projects very well for sure (and I'm not trying to take away from his projectability).  Being better significantly better than league average at a much younger age says a ton about what he can be.  But the Carolina league is a tougher league to hit in.  And to post an OPS .201 higher than average is impressive in its own right.  (I have no clue about home park factors for either field which would be a head/tail wind as well.)

And I'm not dismissing Basallo at all.

Outcomes like this are why some of us were so frustrated by the lack of resources allocated to this market.

[brucewayne]

51 minutes ago, btdart20 said:

That's fair.  And agreed it's a big difference.  I'll take the MOO 1B/DH who's making noise at A+ even if he's nearly two years older.  Salas can make adjustments, but there's a lot to like about Basallo's hit tool/profile.

My 'best guess' is 1B/DH/back-up C.  If he fills out there will be better RF options.  There's been 6'2" 220# C's before, so he may even stick at C.

 

A little more context:

California League (A) average OPS this year is .728.  Salas (17) posted a .837.  Salas was .109 better.

Carolina League (A) average OPS is .686.  Basallo (almost 19) posted a .887.  Basallo was .201 better.

Salas projects very well for sure (and I'm not trying to take away from his projectability).  Being better significantly better than league average at a much younger age says a ton about what he can be.  But the Carolina league is a tougher league to hit in.  And to post an OPS .201 higher than average is impressive in its own right.  (I have no clue about home park factors for either field which would be a head/tail wind as well.)

Basallo can hit. And yes, Salas is younger and projects to stay at catcher, but the name of the games is to hit a baseball. 

[Moose Milligan]

I get these random emails from MLB in my inbox.  Some are team specific (pretty sure I never signed up to be on any Braves newsletters) but this one is from MLB Pipeline.  It was written by Jonathan Mayo, and he's projecting who the top 10 prospects will be in 2025:

Quote

1. Ethan Salas, C, Padres
2. Max Clark, OF, Tigers
3. Walker Jenkins, OF, Twins
4. Wyatt Langford, OF, Rangers
5. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Twins
6. Samuel Basallo, C, Orioles
7. Adael Amador, SS, Rockies
8. Andrew Painter, RHP, Phillies
9. Noble Meyer, RHP, Marlins
10. Travis Bazzana, 2B, ???

He assumes that Skenes and Crews will have graduated by next year and have lost rookie status by then.  

Anyway, nice to see Basallo getting some recognition.

[Sports Guy]

21 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

I get these random emails from MLB in my inbox.  Some are team specific (pretty sure I never signed up to be on any Braves newsletters) but this one is from MLB Pipeline.  It was written by Jonathan Mayo, and he's projecting who the top 10 prospects will be in 2025:

He assumes that Skenes and Crews will have graduated by next year and have lost rookie status by then.  

Anyway, nice to see Basallo getting some recognition.

Wonder why he thinks those guys will have graduated but not Langford.

[Can_of_corn]

16 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Wonder why he thinks those guys will have graduated but not Langford.

Maybe he was having trouble coming up with names?

With how the Padres are playing Salas I wouldn't be shocked to find him not rookie eligible for the 2025 season.

[emmett16]

3 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Would you rather have Basallo or Salas?  Salas is almost two years younger.

 

I saw you posted as I was posting, I figured you'd beat me to the Salas reference as I was checking stats.

Tough call.  Both will be good.  Hard not to say Salas @ 6'2'' and 17 y/o.  A lot can, and will, happen in the next 2 years.  Will be interesting to see how these two compares as they go through their careers.  

[emmett16]

1 hour ago, brucewayne said:

Basallo can hit. And yes, Salas is younger and projects to stay at catcher, but the name of the games is to hit a baseball. 

Salas hit 9 dingers and OPSd .837 while playing mostly as a 16 y/o this year.  He's 6'2'' ~190 an he turned 17 72 days ago.  He's gonna hit.  If you haven't seen his stroke, it's a thing of beauty.