RealGM

http://www.forums.mlb.com/ml-mlbevent/chat?redirCnt=1
I'll try updating this thread with whatever Blue Jays questions he answers in the chat and also questions people answer that stand out.

Someone please ask him about Hutchison and Norris not being on the list.

Also ask him if he works for the Yankees part time.

bautista23: Q: Most websites that I've read have Justin Nicolino ahead of Noah Syndergaard. Why did you include Syndergaard in your top 100 and not Nicolino?

Jonathan_Mayo: Well, I'm not most websites, am I? In all seriousness, there isn't that much separating the two of them. Syndergaard's pure stuff -- mainly his fastball -- grade out a bit better. But you could certainly make the argument that Nicolino is right there

apage: Q: D'Arnaud at 25 was his long term health a concern in your rankings?

Jonathan_Mayo: Not at all. His injury with Team USA was just one of those things that happens. He's fine and doesn't pose a long-term injury risk. That's just where the scouts I polled placed him

Scrapper007: Q: Who is the fastest prospect in MLB, after Billy Hamilton?

Jonathan_Mayo: Gary Brown

I wonder what Anthony Gose has to say about that?

bautista23: Q: Why wasn't Adeiny Hechavarria in the Top 10 SS prospects let alone the top 100 Prospects?

Jonathan_Mayo: Scouts are afraid he won't hit breaking stuff at the next level

snoochies8: Q: when do top team prospects come out?

Jonathan_Mayo: Excellent time for a plug. Here's the schedule for the new team top 20s (yes, that's right, 20 instead of 10):
Jonathan_Mayo: NL East -- Feb. 6; AL East -- Feb. 7; NL Central -- Feb. 8; AL Central -- Feb. 9; NL West -- Feb. 10; AL West -- Feb. 11

tapurdy: Q: Your thoughts on Kyle Drabek? Last year was a disaster, but do you still hold out hope for him?

Jonathan_Mayo: Honestly, I don't have any... seriously, there's time for him to turn it around. Still has great stuff.

This just further cements my opinion that Hech doesn't have a full-time MLB future. I've never understood the hype. How many full-time shortstops can't hit? Do we really want to have an Alcides Escobar Part II?

Skin Blues wrote:I've never understood the hype. How many full-time shortstops can't hit?

Most of them?

There's a reason Omar Vizquel is still playing SS at 45 years of age. Hech doesn't have to be a world beater with the bat to have a long, productive career at SS.

That said, I'm with you in being concerned about his bat. He would be so much more valuable if he could get on base at a decent rate.

The ones that can't hit don't last long or they fill a utility role. How many valuable shortstops can't hit? I guess I should have asked that instead. After all, we're not all clamoring for the next Alcides Escobar or Cesar Izturis here, are we? Or a slick fielding Yuniesky Betancourt. I see people around here act like he's one of our top prospects and I just don't see it, at all.

Vizquel wasn't terrible at the plate in his prime (by which I mean ages 25 through 40); .282/.349/.370 for an 89 OPS+ plays at shortstop. It's a sizable gap between that and an Escobarian OPS in the low .600s, though, and that's the worry with Hech...if he's a really poor hitter, he's a low-end starter at best.

Never was a huge Hech fan, but the pop was starting to show finally this year at both the promotion to the PCL and into the AFL, and has been on a small upward trend since his debut.

thanks for the recap!

If Hech can ever find ANY consistency at the plate, he instantly become one of the games better SS's. His bat did start to show some signs of life towards the end of the season. Let's hope that wasn't just a blip on the radar and that he can continue his development at the plate, because in the field he's already a stud.

Skin Blues wrote:The ones that can't hit don't last long or they fill a utility role. How many valuable shortstops can't hit? I guess I should have asked that instead. After all, we're not all clamoring for the next Alcides Escobar or Cesar Izturis here, are we? Or a slick fielding Yuniesky Betancourt. I see people around here act like he's one of our top prospects and I just don't see it, at all.

Agreed re: him not being a top prospect, and I actually think most people would agree with us. He won't be a top prospect until he shows something with the bat.

That said, by all accounts he's an elite defensive player at a prime defensive position. That's worth a lot, and he wouldn't have to contribute much with the bat to be valuable. If he could get on base 35% of the time he'd be incredibly valuable for his position.

blackflash234 wrote:

tapurdy: Q: Your thoughts on Kyle Drabek? Last year was a disaster, but do you still hold out hope for him?

Jonathan_Mayo: Honestly, I don't have any... seriously, there's time for him to turn it around. Still has great stuff.

I love how "honestly" and "seriously" in Mayo's world are the complete opposite.

another thing ive learned over the years, yankee prospects are consistenly overhyped future busts who are always traded while other yankees prospects like nova, cano and posada are always relatively unknown and become future all stars.


they got the media and baseball america on lockdown.


boo baseball america again

agkagk wrote:another thing ive learned over the years, yankee prospects are consistenly overhyped future busts who are always traded while other yankees prospects like nova, cano and posada are always relatively unknown and become future all stars.


they got the media and baseball america on lockdown.


boo baseball america again

Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain say hi.

My only point is it's hardly consistent between keepers and traders. All Yankees prospects are overhyped and they trade far more prospects than they keep in general as they should (long-term cheap control is worth less to them than every other franchise), so often the ones who they keep had little trade value before they broke out. I don't think the Yankees scouts and system are able to hide Cano or Nova from BA, nor that BA is colluding to hide them, but their prospects do usually get a certain bit of extra grade somehow.