Non roster invites to ST

[Just Regular]

5 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

They have basically already said they would be playing him on RF.

A good nosy journalist question as camp opens would be asking Coby Mayo what percentage of training hours he put in at various defensive positions this offseason, and seeing if he can cliche his way out of it, or if there's an easy straight answer like "100% 3B" or "they told me in my 2023 exit to prepare as an outfielder".

[Spy Fox]

1 minute ago, Just Regular said:

A good nosy journalist question as camp opens would be asking Coby Mayo what percentage of training hours he put in at various defensive positions this offseason, and seeing if he can cliche his way out of it, or if there's an easy straight answer like "100% 3B" or "they told me in my 2023 exit to prepare as an outfielder".

"Y'know I just try to do what's best for the team, putting in work all offseason, talking to coaches. Y'know, working on hitting, working on fielding, trying out various things. We've got a great group of guys here."

[86this]

Uniform #'s for everyone! 

 

[interloper]

37 minutes ago, Just Regular said:

One of my takeaways from Burnes' interview was him talking about the crash course aspect of getting to know his catchers.

Before Burnes, I'd wondered if Basallo would get a lot of Adley/McCann time and attention.    I still think he'll get some, but certainly Burnes crashes the pie chart of how time and energy is allocated.

Lot of responsibilities on a franchise catcher, all the way through seeing if they can help "LHP Ronald Guzman" harness anything.

He put a not insignificant amount of emphasis on the catcher thing in two interviews I saw with him after the trade. I found that interesting, and I wonder if it's been an issue for him in the past. 

I think he will approve of Adley, and Adley will probably learn a thing or two in the process. 

[btdart20]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Agreed.  It’s already plenty crowded.  

Pretty much everyone I was hoping to see this spring is on there.  I have some interest in Alex Pham, but can understand his omission, and if they want to bring him over for a look, they can do it anyway.  
 

 

Pham was the one I thought of too.  But agreed, no biggie either way.  

[survivedc]

31 minutes ago, interloper said:

He put a not insignificant amount of emphasis on the catcher thing in two interviews I saw with him after the trade. I found that interesting, and I wonder if it's been an issue for him in the past. 

I think he will approve of Adley, and Adley will probably learn a thing or two in the process. 

He was throwing to Pedro Severino for a while there…

[interloper]

Just now, survivedc said:

He was throwing to Pedro Severino for a while there…

Well that could be a piece of the puzzle for sure...

[nvpacchi]

1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

Obviously lots of exciting names there but an under the radar guy who could really help his case is Armbruester. I know at @nvpacchi has done a really nice job of breaking down his fastball and why he likes him.

With the BP in such flux, he really may be able to open eyes and while he may not make the pen out of ST, he could put himself in position to be in it quickly.

I do think Armbruester gets slept on a lot.  He doesn't have the big fastball velo, but it plays up thanks to some really nice ride.  Perfect for a cavernous ballpark if you're willing to live and die by the HR - very Wellsian.

He gets good extension for a guy who's fastball rides up as much as it does.

For example over the top king Justin Verlander gets 6.1' of extension with a fastball spinning in at 12:45 as you're looking at the clock.  Armbruester spins in similarly (barely has an horizontal break on it), but he gets nearly half a foot more of extension than Verlander.  Probably helps the perceived velo tick up 1-2 MPH on top of some supreme ride.

What will potentially make him a dude is if his secondaries follow suit - Eno's stuff+ ranks his full arsenal 30th among all pitchers that threw 100 AAA pitches last year, that's encouraging!  And Prospectslive stuff model gives him 3 above average pitches (4S, slider, CB) and a cutter just below average. 

But can he throw them for strikes?  Is he the 12% BB guy he was at AAA or the less than 8% at other stops in the minors?  Finding success with either the curve or slider will prolly be the defining factor on him as a swing guy or a nice innings eater mid-to-back rotation.  Not McDermott levels of upside (who interestingly rates worse than Armbruester in stuff+, but the models probably miss something in his profile - 30% K-rates everywhere suggest a guy who doesn't have average stuff).

 

[oriolediehard]

2 hours ago, Frobby said:

He’s on the 40 man roster.  

Stowers could not hit when he got his chance!!

[interloper]

2 minutes ago, oriolediehard said:

Stowers could not hit when he got his chance!!

What chance? He got 30 AB last season. 

[oriolediehard]

5 minutes ago, interloper said:

What chance? He got 30 AB last season. 

He had 92 AB in 2022 and hit .253 with 3 HR's.  An outfielder needs to hit alot better than that, he hits what a catcher on an average team should hit. He already 26 years old and his minor league BA wasn't anything to write home about. 

[interloper]

1 minute ago, oriolediehard said:

He had 92 AB in 2022 and hit .253 with 3 HR's.  An outfielder needs to hit alot better than that, he hits what a catcher on an average team should hit. He already 26 years old and his minor league BA wasn't anything to write home about. 

Would you give up on Cowser or Kjerstad after 92 AB? 

[HandsomeQuack]

2 hours ago, 86this said:

Uniform #'s for everyone! 

 

Something about Bradish being number 38 is upsetting. It's a low-tier number, for the Jimmy Paredeses of the world. Should have gone for 37.

[oriolediehard]

6 minutes ago, interloper said:

Would you give up on Cowser or Kjerstad after 92 AB? 

Kjerstad hit good when he had his chance. Cowser didn't hit good when he had his chance, but he hit real good in the minors, a heck of a lot better than Stowers.  Would you be happy if Burnes and other starters were pitching after 6 innings and Stowers repeatedly would fail to hit in clutch situations and we lose 2-1 or 3-2 because Stowers a AAA player in the MLB can't come through.

[Frobby]

16 minutes ago, oriolediehard said:

He had 92 AB in 2022 and hit .253 with 3 HR's.  An outfielder needs to hit alot better than that, he hits what a catcher on an average team should hit. He already 26 years old and his minor league BA wasn't anything to write home about. 

His first audition was pretty good in my opinion: .253/.306/.418.  He hit .300/.333/.550 over his final 40 PA, so he was getting his land legs.   He was awful in 2023, but it was a very small, sporadic sample so I haven’t given up on him at all.  Problem is, it’s a crowded field.