2019 Minor Leagues/Prospect Discussion Thread

dagger · Post #2701 » by **dagger** » Fri May 5, 2017 2:28 am

dagger wrote:
Schad wrote:
dagger wrote:We wax enthusiastic about some prospects but I have tp admit I am perplexed at the struggles at Double A of Sean Reid Foley. Didn't make it out of the first inning today.

The control problems that plagued him in a big way in 2015 have returned. He threw 37 pitches today, and failed to get out of the first, and he's averaging nearly 24 pitches per inning. That won't play.

On a positive note, I like what TJ Zeuch has been doing at Dunedin. He's tough to hit through his first five innings.

Also, my obligatory Canadian salute - Jordan Romano with a strong six innings - 4 hits, 0 walks, 1 unearned run, 9K. ERA down to 2.76.

fmradioguy · Post #2702 » by **fmradioguy** » Fri May 5, 2017 2:03 pm

Schad wrote:
fmradioguy wrote:
polo007 wrote:

Read on Twitter

It's amazing how similar a hitter he is to his father so far. Doesn't walk a lot, but doesn't strikeout a lot either. Vlad Sr often had more walks than k's. Sr was often criticized at the time for not being patient enough but he managed to turn a lot of balls into hits. He may not score as many runs (doesn't have dad's speed) but he's also going to knock in his fair share.

Vlad The Younger's walk total is actually very good...walking in 14.9% of his plate appearances entering today. For the sake of comparison, Bautista's career walk rate is 14.3% (though higher in his dominant seasons). Vlad Sr also didn't strike out a tonne for a power hitter, but his walk rate was quite a bit lower.

Vlad Jr has already gained a rep as a free swinger, but he must be laying off something, heh.

That's what I loved about Vlad Sr. Few K's and few BB's. Just tremendous contact. You're right about the walks for Jr. I think my perception of what constitutes a high walk % is off these days. I could be wrong, but but I don't think pitchers are issuing as many walks overall these days compared to Vlad Sr's era.

vaff87 · Post #2703 » by **vaff87** » Sat May 6, 2017 5:31 am

Is it safe to say Bichette has launched himself into the Jays top 3 prospects with his start to this season?

Post #2704 » by **JaysRule15** » Sat May 6, 2017 6:45 am

vaff87 wrote:Is it safe to say Bichette has launched himself into the Jays top 3 prospects with his start to this season?

I don't think scouts will ever like him because of that weird swing that he has. But he's definitely jumped into my top 3 along with Vladdy Jr. and Alford

Alford's been struggling a bit lately, but that was expected considering him facing AA pitching for the first time. Hopefully he finds his way out of it. Ditto for Urena.

dagger · Post #2705 » by **dagger** » Sat May 6, 2017 3:21 pm

vaff87 wrote:Is it safe to say Bichette has launched himself into the Jays top 3 prospects with his start to this season?

If Max Pentecost can catch, he may force his way into the conversation. He's hit well and shown power at every level. The bat will take him far, but if he can catch, well, a power-hitting catcher is a very nice get.

-MetA4- · Post #2706 » by **-MetA4-** » Sat May 6, 2017 5:26 pm

JaysRule15 wrote:
vaff87 wrote:I don't think scouts will ever like him because of that weird swing that he has.

No, they've turned already. His swing is unconventional but he's got plus or better bat-speed which makes it work.

Post #2707 » by **Schad** » Sat May 6, 2017 6:44 pm

Strange how quickly we flipped from having a farm system with endless arms and no bats into one with a bunch of high-end bats and no arms.

Is it time for an AA draft where we take about 35 different 18 year old righties?

dagger · Post #2708 » by **dagger** » Mon May 8, 2017 12:26 am

Speaking of high end bats, we have more projectable catchers now than we have good starters.

Dunedin - Lebron-ed a good Bradenton (Pirates) team today - 16-4. That 16 runs on 22 hits.

Danny Jansen was 4-5 with two home runs and 3 RBIs. averagge to .394
Max Pentecost caught the game, and 4-6 with a homer and 5 RBIs- average to .344

Post #2709 » by **JaysRule15** » Mon May 8, 2017 3:06 am

Has anyone seen any recent in-game footage of Pentecost catching? If so, how does his receiving/framing look and how strong is his arm at this point?

dagger · Post #2710 » by **dagger** » Mon May 8, 2017 3:36 am

JaysRule15 wrote:Has anyone seen any recent in-game footage of Pentecost catching? If so, how does his receiving/framing look and how strong is his arm at this point?

All I care about is his health. The rest comes with experience. It can be taught, and learned. But another major shoulder injury likely ends his catching career. So far, so good, but he hasn't had many opportunities to throw - I haven't seen a stolen base attempt on him yet at this level.

vaff87 · Post #2711 » by **vaff87** » Mon May 8, 2017 3:40 am

dagger wrote:
JaysRule15 wrote:Has anyone seen any recent in-game footage of Pentecost catching? If so, how does his receiving/framing look and how strong is his arm at this point?

All I care about is his health. The rest comes with experience. It can be taught, and learned. But another major shoulder injury likely ends his catching career. So far, so good, but he hasn't had many opportunities to throw - I haven't seen a stolen base attempt on him yet at this level.

He should be promoted to AA. He's clearly there as a hitter, why can't he continue to work on his catching while in AA?

dagger · Post #2712 » by **dagger** » Mon May 8, 2017 4:09 am

vaff87 wrote:
dagger wrote:
JaysRule15 wrote:Has anyone seen any recent in-game footage of Pentecost catching? If so, how does his receiving/framing look and how strong is his arm at this point?

All I care about is his health. The rest comes with experience. It can be taught, and learned. But another major shoulder injury likely ends his catching career. So far, so good, but he hasn't had many opportunities to throw - I haven't seen a stolen base attempt on him yet at this level.

He should be promoted to AA. He's clearly there as a hitter, why can't he continue to work on his catching while in AA?

He hasn't caught that many games in A ball, and the weather is warmer there right now. Cold and often damp in NH. I'd think they would keep him in Dunedin until he has a larger sample size catching, and the training staff at the Jays complex has a good read on the state of his shoulder. Also, why not promote Jansen? Clearly, the Jays are being cautious. When AA catcher Reese McGuire went down with an injury, the Jays promoted Dunedin's third string catcher Mike Reeves to fill in. So they have their strategy with Jansen and Pentecost, and it's clearly not to rush either.

Post #2713 » by **JaysRule15** » Mon May 8, 2017 9:08 pm

Jansen has also dealt with injuries, nothing serious like Pentecost, but I guess the Jays want them both to have a long healthy run at A+ before promoting them further. Jansen is just 22 and still has lots of time.

I still think Pentecost ends the season with a month or two at AA if he stays healthy. He'll be 25 at the start of next season. I know catchers take longer to develop, but 25 is still a significant age. Ideally you'd want Pentecost in the majors by 2019 when he's 26. That means he needs to spend all of next season in AA/AAA ball. Just hoping he stays healthy throughout though.

vaff87 · Post #2714 » by **vaff87** » Tue May 9, 2017 3:57 am

Vlad and Bo are 2 and 3 in the Midwest League in OPS, respectively.

dagger · Post #2715 » by **dagger** » Tue May 9, 2017 12:22 pm

JaysRule15 wrote:Jansen has also dealt with injuries, nothing serious like Pentecost, but I guess the Jays want them both to have a long healthy run at A+ before promoting them further. Jansen is just 22 and still has lots of time.

I still think Pentecost ends the season with a month or two at AA if he stays healthy. He'll be 25 at the start of next season. I know catchers take longer to develop, but 25 is still a significant age. Ideally you'd want Pentecost in the majors by 2019 when he's 26. That means he needs to spend all of next season in AA/AAA ball. Just hoping he stays healthy throughout though.

It's possible, I think he has to demonstrate he can catch four or five games in a row multiple times, and until things warm up in New Hampshire - literally - they aren't going to consider it. But July and August - well within the realm of possibility if he holds up behind the plate.

super_balls · Post #2716 » by **super_balls** » Tue May 9, 2017 4:41 pm

Any updates on Rowdy?

vaff87 · Post #2717 » by **vaff87** » Tue May 9, 2017 7:00 pm

Looking at Guerrero and Bichette's fangraphs pages, Vlad has a 32.4% LD%, while Bo is at 31.0%. That's a lot of line drives! Might need to get the ball in the air a bit more, but I'm sure that will come over time.

Post #2718 » by **JaysRule15** » Wed May 10, 2017 11:25 pm

super_balls wrote:Any updates on Rowdy?

He's done ok in the last 10 games and rebounded a bit from his mid-April struggles. Slash line of .344/.432/.438 since April 29. But no homers and just three doubles in that span. In fact, he's hit just one homer after hitting two homers on opening day on April 8.

With the way it's currently going for him (and the fact Smoak has been productive up here), Tellez is likely not getting promoted this year. Although if we sell at the deadline and some team takes Smoak, I guess Tellez would be promoted unless he's completely fallen off in Buffalo.

vaff87 · Post #2719 » by **vaff87** » Thu May 11, 2017 12:45 am

Sean Reid-Foley finally had a good game today. 5 inn 3 hits 1 run 0 walks 7 k's

dagger · Post #2720 » by **dagger** » Fri May 12, 2017 2:49 am

Schad wrote:Strange how quickly we flipped from having a farm system with endless arms and no bats into one with a bunch of high-end bats and no arms.

Is it time for an AA draft where we take about 35 different 18 year old righties?

Okay, you want arms, you get arms!

Justin Maese - 9IP, 5H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 7K

Connor Greene - 6IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 4BB, 3K

TJ Zeuch, 7IP, 9H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 4K

Zeuch was strong through six, before giving up two runs on three hits in the seventh

And on Wednesday

Sean Ried Foley 5IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 7K