2017 Prospect/Minor League/Draft Thread.

Outlander · Post #81 » by **Outlander** » Sat May 6, 2017 5:21 pm

It is hard to put into words how good Gatewood has been and how much he has improved in one year. I mean he was borderline top 25 in the Brewers system and can make a case he is top 5 or 10 guy now, younger than highly rated guys like Ray and Erceg and at the same level. He has to prove it all season but he has excelled offensively and defensively after his switch to 1B.

bizarro · Post #82 » by **bizarro** » Mon May 8, 2017 7:07 pm

Man, Colorado Springs have been raaaaaaking at the plate. An incredible offensive run here as of late. They're the class of AAA right now. Every other team in our ml system have been scuffling as of late. And, boy, did Woodruff throw an absolute gem yesterday. He is probably supplanting Hader as our #1 pitcher. This is good.

Kerb Hohl · Post #83 » by **Kerb Hohl** » Mon May 8, 2017 7:42 pm

bizarro wrote:Man, Colorado Springs have been raaaaaaking at the plate. An incredible offensive run here as of late. They're the class of AAA right now. Every other team in our ml system have been scuffling as of late. And, boy, did Woodruff throw an absolute gem yesterday. He is probably supplanting Hader as our #1 pitcher. This is good.

The usual disclaimer comes along with CS hitting very well that their home park/altitude and league are hitter's havens, so it's always hard to tell. Woodruff dominating may be the most encouraging part. I'm glad to see Phillips is hitting the ball well again and Brinson (the only 2 that matter on the AAA roster) but it's hard to tell when Eric Sogard, Yadiel Rivera, and Ivan De Jesus are basically pacing with them in hitting statistics.

bizarro · Post #84 » by **bizarro** » Mon May 8, 2017 9:08 pm

Kerb Hohl wrote:
bizarro wrote:Man, Colorado Springs have been raaaaaaking at the plate. An incredible offensive run here as of late. They're the class of AAA right now. Every other team in our ml system have been scuffling as of late. And, boy, did Woodruff throw an absolute gem yesterday. He is probably supplanting Hader as our #1 pitcher. This is good.

The usual disclaimer comes along with CS hitting very well that their home park/altitude and league are hitter's havens, so it's always hard to tell. Woodruff dominating may be the most encouraging part. I'm glad to see Phillips is hitting the ball well again and Brinson (the only 2 that matter on the AAA roster) but it's hard to tell when Eric Sogard, Yadiel Rivera, and Ivan De Jesus are basically pacing with them in hitting statistics.

You forget Cordell - another key player there who is versatile and playing well. Perhaps, more interesting, is the strength of their pitching staff given the same conditions. They've been really steady all season long. Led by Woodruff and Hader, but getting steady bullpen work and strong performances throughout the starting rotation at different times.

The real letdown so early in the ml season is the Mudcats. Their offense, outside of Gatewood, has been so up-and-down with a lot of down from key prospects like Erceg, Diaz, and Ray. Trent Clark has heated up a bit as of late. And, then there's the scuffling pitching staff - particularly the bullpen after some questionable outings from their best starters seemed to regulate some.

wichmae · Post #85 » by **wichmae** » Mon May 8, 2017 11:11 pm

Yeah Carolina has been the disappointment. The Erceg spring training shine has dulled a bit. I think both Clark and Ray are a little overplaced tbh. Diaz has also rebounded a little bit. I agree on Cordell. Hes massivley underated I think he'll have a Jayson Werth type career.

Gianstoppable · Post #86 » by **Gianstoppable** » Tue May 9, 2017 12:07 am

wichmae wrote:Yeah Carolina has been the disappointment. The Erceg spring training shine has dulled a bit. I think both Clark and Ray are a little overplaced tbh. Diaz has also rebounded a little bit. I agree on Cordell. Hes massivley underated I think he'll have a Jayson Werth type career.

Clark is raking lately, needs to work on cutting down his strikeouts. Ray will figure it out, he has a beautiful swing. He's only been held hitless in 4 games so far this year and hes riding on a 7 game hit streak right now. We're only a month into the season so waaaay too early to tell whos for real right now. Michael Reed should get a call up soon if we trade away an outfielder. Keep Brinson at AAA to work on his K's but I think Reed will be a pretty good 4th/5th OF

wichmae · Post #87 » by **wichmae** » Tue May 9, 2017 2:33 am

Reed has been pretty awful tbh

Kerb Hohl · Post #88 » by **Kerb Hohl** » Tue May 9, 2017 3:56 am

I've never understood the hype for Reed. Is he a stud defender or something? He's never really been a great hitter in the minors.

El Duderino · Post #89 » by **El Duderino** » Tue May 9, 2017 8:39 am

Outlander wrote:It is hard to put into words how good Gatewood has been and how much he has improved in one year. I mean he was borderline top 25 in the Brewers system and can make a case he is top 5 or 10 guy now, younger than highly rated guys like Ray and Erceg and at the same level. He has to prove it all season but he has excelled offensively and defensively after his switch to 1B.

I wasn't paying attention to the move of Gatewood to first base. Was anything said why he was moved there? His height?

Gianstoppable · Post #90 » by **Gianstoppable** » Tue May 9, 2017 12:11 pm

Kerb Hohl wrote:I've never understood the hype for Reed. Is he a stud defender or something? He's never really been a great hitter in the minors.

He takes walks and plays good defense with a great arm. He's even got 5 homers so far this season. IDK seems like a solid 4th/5th OF to me. While hes not a great hitter he does plenty of other stuff well, he also has a nice line drive swing, he could put up a .250/.340 line in the majors and I dont have any problem with that

Gianstoppable · Post #91 » by **Gianstoppable** » Tue May 9, 2017 12:12 pm

wichmae wrote:Reed has been pretty awful tbh

Your definition of awful would mean over 80% our minor leaguers are "awful"

wichmae · Post #92 » by **wichmae** » Tue May 9, 2017 1:41 pm

Gianstoppable wrote:
wichmae wrote:Reed has been pretty awful tbh

Your definition of awful would mean over 80% our minor leaguers are "awful"

I expect more from a 24yr old at AA than a .250 average. He strikes out quite a bit. Isnt a plus defender. Doesnt run well and overall just isnt very good. Kyle Wren is a much better option.

Kerb Hohl · Post #93 » by **Kerb Hohl** » Tue May 9, 2017 2:45 pm

wichmae wrote:
Gianstoppable wrote:
wichmae wrote:Reed has been pretty awful tbh

Your definition of awful would mean over 80% our minor leaguers are "awful"

I expect more from a 24yr old at AA than a .250 average. He strikes out quite a bit. Isnt a plus defender. Doesnt run well and overall just isnt very good. Kyle Wren is a much better option.

Yeah, I am admittedly judging a lot of these guys from a fantasy baseball perspective, but I do a lot of fishing on minor league stats and usually when a guy can't crack an .800 OPS in the minors he's going to be a trash hitter in the majors. When a guy can't OPS .850 or better in the PCL, especially with his home field in Colorado Springs, he's pretty much garbage. I see Brady Clark as his ceiling but I don't really expect him to do anything in the majors at this point.

Wren may at least have a role as a speed guy that for a few years gets on base a lot given his speed and bat skills, though I'm not necessarily as high as him as you are, I agree that he's a much better prospect than Reed.

wichmae · Post #94 » by **wichmae** » Tue May 9, 2017 3:07 pm

Kerb Hohl wrote:
wichmae wrote:
Gianstoppable wrote:
Your definition of awful would mean over 80% our minor leaguers are "awful"

I expect more from a 24yr old at AA than a .250 average. He strikes out quite a bit. Isnt a plus defender. Doesnt run well and overall just isnt very good. Kyle Wren is a much better option.

Yeah, I am admittedly judging a lot of these guys from a fantasy baseball perspective, but I do a lot of fishing on minor league stats and usually when a guy can't crack an .800 OPS in the minors he's going to be a trash hitter in the majors. When a guy can't OPS .850 or better in the PCL, especially with his home field in Colorado Springs, he's pretty much garbage. I see Brady Clark as his ceiling but I don't really expect him to do anything in the majors at this point.

Wren may at least have a role as a speed guy that for a few years gets on base a lot given his speed and bat skills, though I'm not necessarily as high as him as you are, I agree that he's a much better prospect than Reed.

IM not high at all on Wren but at this point he's a much better option than Reed. At least he provides something other than a warm body.

Gianstoppable · Post #95 » by **Gianstoppable** » Tue May 9, 2017 4:27 pm

Kerb Hohl wrote:
wichmae wrote:
Gianstoppable wrote:
Your definition of awful would mean over 80% our minor leaguers are "awful"

I expect more from a 24yr old at AA than a .250 average. He strikes out quite a bit. Isnt a plus defender. Doesnt run well and overall just isnt very good. Kyle Wren is a much better option.

Yeah, I am admittedly judging a lot of these guys from a fantasy baseball perspective, but I do a lot of fishing on minor league stats and usually when a guy can't crack an .800 OPS in the minors he's going to be a trash hitter in the majors. When a guy can't OPS .850 or better in the PCL, especially with his home field in Colorado Springs, he's pretty much garbage. I see Brady Clark as his ceiling but I don't really expect him to do anything in the majors at this point.

Wren may at least have a role as a speed guy that for a few years gets on base a lot given his speed and bat skills, though I'm not necessarily as high as him as you are, I agree that he's a much better prospect than Reed.

How is Wren a better prospect than Reed? He has no pop. Hes 26 and has an .805 OPS in a hitters haven, I know Reed doesnt put up huge offensive numbers but he does get on base a lot (he's already drawn 25 walks this year to Wrens 7) guys with good OBP skills usually translate that to the majors. Guys like Wren are solid and have some value no doubt, either of them deserved a shot over Kirk and whatever other garbage we put out for a 4/5th OF

Kerb Hohl · Post #96 » by **Kerb Hohl** » Tue May 9, 2017 4:34 pm

Gianstoppable wrote:
Kerb Hohl wrote:
wichmae wrote:I expect more from a 24yr old at AA than a .250 average. He strikes out quite a bit. Isnt a plus defender. Doesnt run well and overall just isnt very good. Kyle Wren is a much better option.

Yeah, I am admittedly judging a lot of these guys from a fantasy baseball perspective, but I do a lot of fishing on minor league stats and usually when a guy can't crack an .800 OPS in the minors he's going to be a trash hitter in the majors. When a guy can't OPS .850 or better in the PCL, especially with his home field in Colorado Springs, he's pretty much garbage. I see Brady Clark as his ceiling but I don't really expect him to do anything in the majors at this point.

Wren may at least have a role as a speed guy that for a few years gets on base a lot given his speed and bat skills, though I'm not necessarily as high as him as you are, I agree that he's a much better prospect than Reed.

How is Wren a better prospect than Reed? He has no pop. Hes 26 and has an .805 OPS in a hitters haven, I know Reed doesnt put up huge offensive numbers but he does get on base a lot (he's already drawn 25 walks this year to Wrens 7) guys with good OBP skills usually translate that to the majors. Guys like Wren are solid and have some value no doubt, either of them deserved a shot over Kirk and whatever other garbage we put out for a 4/5th OF

Wren has "no pop" but has essentially the same slugging percentage as Reed through the minors (garbage). Wren just gets on differently and hits doubles with his speed.

If you think Kirk is trash, then we should probably just cut Wren and Reed. Kirk was putting up an .800+ OPS with nearly a .500 SLG when he was 22 and 23 years old. Reed and Wren and are in their mid/late 20s and can't even hack that in Colorado Springs where everyone bats .330 in the cavernous park.

Gianstoppable · Post #97 » by **Gianstoppable** » Tue May 9, 2017 5:12 pm

Kirk was garbage because he is basically 30 and has never had MLB success (I know Thames was the same way), at least these guys havent had a shot yet. You never know who will actually play well when given the chance. We arent talking about having them be our starter but just a cheap bench bat.

Gianstoppable · Post #98 » by **Gianstoppable** » Tue May 9, 2017 5:13 pm

Cordell would be the obvious choice if we called up a OF right now

Kerb Hohl · Post #99 » by **Kerb Hohl** » Tue May 9, 2017 5:18 pm

Gianstoppable wrote:Kirk was garbage because he is basically 30 and has never had MLB success (I know Thames was the same way), at least these guys havent had a shot yet. You never know who will actually play well when given the chance. We arent talking about having them be our starter but just a cheap bench bat.

I was the one banging the drum of the "Kirk is an undervalued 4th OF" because he came up in a tough park and had good splits against RHP and apparently was wrong about that.

All of that said, I'd imagine the reason that most of these guys aren't up is because they aren't that good and we are overloaded in the OF so they'd be on the bench. They'll all probably get a chance to close this season out, but for now, we have at least 3 OF that we want to play in Santana, Broxton, and Braun and you've also got to get Perez some ABs. Those guys may one day be 4th OF, but we might as well let them keep getting everyday ABs in the minors for now.

Gianstoppable · Post #100 » by **Gianstoppable** » Tue May 9, 2017 5:22 pm

Kerb Hohl wrote:
Gianstoppable wrote:Kirk was garbage because he is basically 30 and has never had MLB success (I know Thames was the same way), at least these guys havent had a shot yet. You never know who will actually play well when given the chance. We arent talking about having them be our starter but just a cheap bench bat.

I was the one banging the drum of the "Kirk is an undervalued 4th OF" because he came up in a tough park and had good splits against RHP and apparently was wrong about that.

All of that said, I'd imagine the reason that most of these guys aren't up is because they aren't that good and we are overloaded in the OF so they'd be on the bench. They'll all probably get a chance to close this season out, but for now, we have at least 3 OF that we want to play in Santana, Broxton, and Braun and you've also got to get Perez some ABs. Those guys may one day be 4th OF, but we might as well let them keep getting everyday ABs in the minors for now.

This is true, if Braun and/or any other OF is traded we might see them. I'd rather see Cordell at the 4th OF right now anyway. I think he will be a damn solid 4th OF.