2019 Minor Leagues/Prospect Discussion Thread

[emptytheclip]

His K and BB numbers are pretty consistent @ 16.6% and 8.1%. He’s never been a guy that walks a lot.
His BABIP went from .452 (A) to .360 (A+) to .300 (AA), which contributes to his drop in batting average down to .264.

From what I see, his approach hasn’t changed much other than he’s trying to lift balls up more for homers rather than settle for clean solid contact. He’s being challenged in AA, which is normal for an aggressively promoted 20 year old.
But his power stroke just doesn’t seem to be making quality contact.

The thing is, he doesn’t really have to sellout for power so much. He has so much bat control and pop with his regular swing. I’ve seen him make line drives that hit the wall with his 0-2 contact swing. Just that swing alone he could likely bat .300 in AA and run into 15 homers and 30 doubles.

If he really wants to make that violent wild power swing ‘a thing’ against the better pitchers in AA/AAA, the quality of contact has to improve. But its got so much bat speed at such a sharp angle, the bat doesn’t stay in the zone for very long. Sitting on fastballs with it is perfectly fine. But other teams will pickup on it and throw him offspeed pitches in FB counts and mess with him. He’s definitely seen a heavy dose of sliders and changeups.

He also need to learn to play without Vlad behind him. Teams are more willing to walk him and throw him junk. But he’s never been the type settle for walks. Vlad will likely reach Buffalo and Toronto sooner than Bo.

There will be some growing pains with Bichette, will benefit offensively with another full season in AA/AAA before getting the call.
But it’s good to see his defense and base running making strides this year.

[Schad]

People are getting way too riled about Bo. He has had a couple slumps, but Bichette is Fine. We have gotten spoiled by guys who just seem to hit .300/.400/.550 while being underage for their level; there's absolutely nothing wrong with his numbers at 20 beyond needing to turn a few more grounders into lifted balls.

[vaff87]

Yennsy Diaz hs been pretty good.

[Schad]

I don't really post enough about Danny Jansen given that I've been crushing on him since he was a 16th round pick and he's actually doing baseball things now. Reason being that he's exceptionally consistent and it's somewhat boring to post that he has gone 1 for 3 with a walk again, but ye gods there aren't a lot of young catchers with a 1:1 K:BB in the IL and an ISO approaching .200.

[Lateral Quicks]

Jansen is the second best prospect in the system IMO. There aren't many guys who can do what he's done at AAA, let alone at the C position.

[dagger]

He also need to learn to play without Vlad behind him. Teams are more willing to walk him and throw him junk. But he’s never been the type settle for walks. Vlad will likely reach Buffalo and Toronto sooner than Bo.

This is going to be a fun thing for everyone who bats 3rd and 5th in a lineup with Vlad batting cleanup. It instantly creates opportunites - for the #3 hitter, better pitches so they don't have him on base when Vlad comes up and for #5, the prospect of having multiple guys on base when they pitch around Vlad. Groshans got a taste of that batting behind Vlad in the latter's first rehab game in the GCL. Had a 5 RBI game

[Schad]

Jansen is the second best prospect in the system IMO. There aren't many guys who can do what he's done at AAA, let alone at the C position.

Still third behind Bichette, I'd imagine (Bichette hasn't done anything to hurt his status as a top 10 prospect), but he has probably leapfrogged over Pearson/Warmoth/Alford.

[vaff87]

Jansen is the second best prospect in the system IMO. There aren't many guys who can do what he's done at AAA, let alone at the C position.

Still third behind Bichette, I'd imagine (Bichette hasn't done anything to hurt his status as a top 10 prospect), but he has probably leapfrogged over Pearson/Warmoth/Alford.

Yeah. Bo is three years younger than Jansen. Bo at 23 would probably be the best player in the minors.

[vaff87]

He also need to learn to play without Vlad behind him. Teams are more willing to walk him and throw him junk. But he’s never been the type settle for walks. Vlad will likely reach Buffalo and Toronto sooner than Bo.

This is going to be a fun thing for everyone who bats 3rd and 5th in a lineup with Vlad batting cleanup. It instantly creates opportunites - for the #3 hitter, better pitches so they don't have him on base when Vlad comes up and for #5, the prospect of having multiple guys on base when they pitch around Vlad. Groshans got a taste of that batting behind Vlad in the latter's first rehab game in the GCL. Had a 5 RBI game

It’s funny seeing Vlad in the GCL line up. He’s still younger than half the guys.

Edit: Also, some guy named Roberto Osuna pitched for the GCL Jays today.

[vaff87]

Rays 17 year old phenom prospect Wander Franco, was 5-6 tonight, hit 2 home runs, and hit for the cycle.

[Schad]

Rays 17 year old phenom prospect Wander Franco, was 5-6 tonight, hit 2 home runs, and hit for the cycle.

Should've gotten him, because he's all the bloodlines. Son of Wander Franco, brother of Wander Franco and Wander Franco...the Wander Franco line is strong.

[vaff87]

Rays 17 year old phenom prospect Wander Franco, was 5-6 tonight, hit 2 home runs, and hit for the cycle.

Should've gotten him, because he's all the bloodlines. Son of Wander Franco, brother of Wander Franco and Wander Franco...the Wander Franco line is strong.

Haha, yeah, I found that hilarious when I saw that. Erick and Willy Aybar are his uncles, too. So even more bloodlines.

Speaking of bloodline players and siblings with the same names. Vladimir Guerrero’s other son’s name is Vladdy Miguel.

[-MetA4-]

Rays 17 year old phenom prospect Wander Franco, was 5-6 tonight, hit 2 home runs, and hit for the cycle.

He came from the same academy as Orelvis Martinez.

Speaking of IFA, there's a kid next year that supposedly has a ~$5 mill deal with Oakland and is getting hyped as one of those "best in a few years" prospects.

[polo007]

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[vaff87]

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To put that in MLB perspective, the only people I can see who have reached that, are the most dominant, unhittable relievers: Kimbrel, Chapman, Josh Hader, ?. I can’t find any season from a starter that comes close to that. But for Randy Johnson and Pedro, fangraphs only has their swinging strike numbers back to 2002. But for the years they do have, they’re not close.

That’s just to put a 19.1% swinging strike % in perspective.

[polo007]

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The expectation is Jansen will soon become the second player drafted by Penick to reach the majors — left-hander Matt Dermody is the other — by September, at the latest. An earlier arrival is unlikely with both Russell Martin and Luke Maile on the roster, but the Blue Jays have received some interest in Martin ahead of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Whether that translates into anything more than chatter is another matter, as the $20 million Martin is owed next year is a major hurdle for any deal, and an acquiring team would obviously want the Blue Jays to help pay that down.

Either way, Jansen continues to push at triple-A Buffalo, where he is batting .286/.409/.482 with 35 walks against 35 strikeouts in 270 plate appearances over 65 games. Just as critically, he’s continued to develop his work behind the plate, focusing on better footwork to become more efficient in his throwing.

“A lot of that is to do with the cheat, as I call it, the way I would turn with left knee to get momentum going instead of just catching it, turn, make it really blocky, get something going, be fluid,” explained Jansen. “For some reason I didn’t do it before, but when I get the ball going, I become a thrower, just throw it, let it go. Accuracy comes with that, just trusting it, just trusting your body.”

His receiving and blocking have long been considered strengths — one of the things that attracted Penick to him was the belief that his six-foot-two, 225-pound frame could handle the rigours of catching — and both those elements continue to develop at Buffalo, too.

“Everybody always wants to move up, but you’ve got to steal Joel Embiid’s ‘Trust the Process’ — it takes a lot of development, it really does,” said Jansen. “I can say for myself as an example, I’ve spent a lot of time struggling and trying to get better, spiralling down and up, and finally something clicks. So there shouldn’t be a rush for anybody to be going up and down. You can’t control that. You’ve got to play.”

[JaysRule25]

At least Jansen is mature enough understand the process, and isn't impatiently pressuring the team to call him up because of his numbers.

[BramptonYute]

About time to call up Jansen

Wouldnt hurt for him to learn some things on the defensive side from Martin too.

[JaysRule25]

I've been reading that Martin has been drawing some trade interest. Hopefully we can move him if we eat enough of his salary.

[vaff87]

Wanted to post this gem from the comment section of an article on Sportsnet.ca about Bo Bichette: