Rays vs Jays, Sept 27-29: The Final Countdown

[GoRapstheoriginal]

Wow we actually won tonight! Hooray! Lolz

[dagger]

I confess I didn't see this whole "Reese McGuire is an all-star calibre catcher" thing coming. Will be interesting to see what he can do next season when the league pays a bit more attention to him.

[fbalmeida]

So... this means our infield is essentially set. Tellez, Biggio, Bichette, Guerrero, and McGuire, with Smoak as our DH. Going forward, these guys are likely to be as good or better as a group than any other team's infield.

Now we need two decent outfielders to go along with Gurriel and a starting rotation.

[dagger]

So... this means our infield is essentially set. Tellez, Biggio, Bichette, Guerrero, and McGuire, with Smoak as our DH. Going forward, these guys are likely to be as good or better as a group than any other team's infield.

Now we need two decent outfielders to go along with Gurriel and a starting rotation.

I don't think much is set except Bichette at SS. I'd take the over on Vlad being moved to 1B at some point, though it might not be for a couple of years. Groshans is an excellent candidate to push him out of 3B. Or half a dozen other quality infield prospects like Martinez. Tellez is power and little else, and unless he can do more, you can find a half dozen candidates on the current 40 man roster who can do 1B. Biggio might stick at 2B, we'll have to see how his bat matures. McGuire is a surprise at catcher, but let's see if this surprising offence carries over to next season when every opponent will have a good scouting report on him. He does seem to make Danny Jansen a trade chip, at least when one of our other catching prospects is ready to challenge him. Smoak won't likely be back; he's an FA, over 30 now, and while the team has room financially to bring him back for another season or two, I just don't see it

[BigLeagueChew]

SS Bo Bichette R
2B Cavan Biggio L
3B V. Guerrero Jr. R
DH Rowdy Tellez L
RF R. Grichuk R
LF T. Hernandez R
CF J. Davis R
1B B. Drury R
C Danny Jansen R

Now Teoscar moves to LF with Davis in CF.

Hurry up October.

[Schad]

So... this means our infield is essentially set. Tellez, Biggio, Bichette, Guerrero, and McGuire, with Smoak as our DH. Going forward, these guys are likely to be as good or better as a group than any other team's infield.

Now we need two decent outfielders to go along with Gurriel and a starting rotation.

I don't think much is set except Bichette at SS. I'd take the over on Vlad being moved to 1B at some point, though it might not be for a couple of years. Groshans is an excellent candidate to push him out of 3B. Or half a dozen other quality infield prospects like Martinez. Tellez is power and little else, and unless he can do more, you can find a half dozen candidates on the current 40 man roster who can do 1B. Biggio might stick at 2B, we'll have to see how his bat matures. McGuire is a surprise at catcher, but let's see if this surprising offence carries over to next season when every opponent will have a good scouting report on him. He does seem to make Danny Jansen a trade chip, at least when one of our other catching prospects is ready to challenge him. Smoak won't likely be back; he's an FA, over 30 now, and while the team has room financially to bring him back for another season or two, I just don't see it

I'm not ready to buy McGuire as a starter yet. He did this back in 2018 in AA, as well: had zero power, then suddenly exploded with XBHs for days, only for it to disappear as quickly as it appeared. Even with the rubber ball in AAA, he posted a .119 ISO, and while the aggressive approach has helped, I'm not sure how long he can continue swinging at 45% of pitches outside the zone without it becoming a problem.

Which is fine, really. If he's a defense-first catcher that hits a little, he has a role, albeit as a backup. Jansen should be the prohibitive favourite to start still, as while his numbers are terrible, there's also still absolutely nothing in his components that suggest that they should be terrible, and he's an elite defensive catcher.

[dagger]

So... this means our infield is essentially set. Tellez, Biggio, Bichette, Guerrero, and McGuire, with Smoak as our DH. Going forward, these guys are likely to be as good or better as a group than any other team's infield.

Now we need two decent outfielders to go along with Gurriel and a starting rotation.

I don't think much is set except Bichette at SS. I'd take the over on Vlad being moved to 1B at some point, though it might not be for a couple of years. Groshans is an excellent candidate to push him out of 3B. Or half a dozen other quality infield prospects like Martinez. Tellez is power and little else, and unless he can do more, you can find a half dozen candidates on the current 40 man roster who can do 1B. Biggio might stick at 2B, we'll have to see how his bat matures. McGuire is a surprise at catcher, but let's see if this surprising offence carries over to next season when every opponent will have a good scouting report on him. He does seem to make Danny Jansen a trade chip, at least when one of our other catching prospects is ready to challenge him. Smoak won't likely be back; he's an FA, over 30 now, and while the team has room financially to bring him back for another season or two, I just don't see it

I'm not ready to buy McGuire as a starter yet. He did this back in 2018 in AA, as well: had zero power, then suddenly exploded with XBHs for days, only for it to disappear as quickly as it appeared. Even with the rubber ball in AAA, he posted a .119 ISO, and while the aggressive approach has helped, I'm not sure how long he can continue swinging at 45% of pitches outside the zone without it becoming a problem.

Which is fine, really. If he's a defense-first catcher that hits a little, he has a role, albeit as a backup. Jansen should be the prohibitive favourite to start still, as while his numbers are terrible, there's also still absolutely nothing in his components that suggest that they should be terrible, and he's an elite defensive catcher.

What might happen if McGuire can show some offensive chops next season is a left/right platoon which does the catching position fine at the plate. Both are good pitch framers and blockers, both can throw out runners at a reasonable clip. That would be a pretty nice outcome.

[gundysmullet]

Looks like two inning Will and TT are pitching a gem tonight.

[GoRapstheoriginal]

HOLY SMOKES BACK TO BACK WINS! 8-0 SHUT OUT! WOWOWOWO! ! ! Lolz

[dagger]

HOLY SMOKES BACK TO BACK WINS! 8-0 SHUT OUT! WOWOWOWO! ! ! Lolz

Firing Dombo really seems to have sent the Sox the message that they can take September off. They had the body language of a group of guys who really want to go fishing.

[fbalmeida]

Did someone order pitching? How about Thornton, eh?

Was last night's game a glimpse of our near future, or a fluke deviation from the Gaussian norm? Stay tuned folks.

[The_Hater]

I don't think much is set except Bichette at SS. I'd take the over on Vlad being moved to 1B at some point, though it might not be for a couple of years. Groshans is an excellent candidate to push him out of 3B. Or half a dozen other quality infield prospects like Martinez. Tellez is power and little else, and unless he can do more, you can find a half dozen candidates on the current 40 man roster who can do 1B. Biggio might stick at 2B, we'll have to see how his bat matures. McGuire is a surprise at catcher, but let's see if this surprising offence carries over to next season when every opponent will have a good scouting report on him. He does seem to make Danny Jansen a trade chip, at least when one of our other catching prospects is ready to challenge him. Smoak won't likely be back; he's an FA, over 30 now, and while the team has room financially to bring him back for another season or two, I just don't see it

I'm not ready to buy McGuire as a starter yet. He did this back in 2018 in AA, as well: had zero power, then suddenly exploded with XBHs for days, only for it to disappear as quickly as it appeared. Even with the rubber ball in AAA, he posted a .119 ISO, and while the aggressive approach has helped, I'm not sure how long he can continue swinging at 45% of pitches outside the zone without it becoming a problem.

Which is fine, really. If he's a defense-first catcher that hits a little, he has a role, albeit as a backup. Jansen should be the prohibitive favourite to start still, as while his numbers are terrible, there's also still absolutely nothing in his components that suggest that they should be terrible, and he's an elite defensive catcher.

What might happen if McGuire can show some offensive chops next season is a left/right platoon which does the catching position fine at the plate. Both are good pitch framers and blockers, both can throw out runners at a reasonable clip. That would be a pretty nice outcome.

Obviously if McGuire can keep hitting like this, he’s a LH platoon catcher and a pretty good one with his defense. But that minor league track record is certainly spotty.

I was once fooled into thinking that Ryan Goins has found a new level when he got hot for 60 days during a pennant race. People warned me, including you I believe, but I won’t be making that mistake again.

[BigLeagueChew]

He's currently the Adam Lind of catchers.

[phillipmike]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[Schad]

That's hilarious.

Also doesn't really hurt Richard...his season is over, and he isn't coming back next year. So basically, his birthday present is to go home to his family and get paid, though it would have been nicer if we had done this *before* his birthday so that, y'know, he could be there.

[dagger]

I'm not ready to buy McGuire as a starter yet. He did this back in 2018 in AA, as well: had zero power, then suddenly exploded with XBHs for days, only for it to disappear as quickly as it appeared. Even with the rubber ball in AAA, he posted a .119 ISO, and while the aggressive approach has helped, I'm not sure how long he can continue swinging at 45% of pitches outside the zone without it becoming a problem.

Which is fine, really. If he's a defense-first catcher that hits a little, he has a role, albeit as a backup. Jansen should be the prohibitive favourite to start still, as while his numbers are terrible, there's also still absolutely nothing in his components that suggest that they should be terrible, and he's an elite defensive catcher.

What might happen if McGuire can show some offensive chops next season is a left/right platoon which does the catching position fine at the plate. Both are good pitch framers and blockers, both can throw out runners at a reasonable clip. That would be a pretty nice outcome.

Obviously if McGuire can keep hitting like this, he’s a LH platoon catcher and a pretty good one with his defense. But that minor league track record is certainly spotty.

I was once fooled into thinking that Ryan Goins has found a new level when he got hot for 60 days during a pennant race. People warned me, including you I believe, but I won’t be making that mistake again.

Yes, that's certainly my concern. Luke Maile had a career year last year, but reverted to form this season. Dan Jansen is still the guy most likely to stabilize at something closer offensively to the major league average, at least for catchers, and one of Kirk/Moreno could well supplant either down the road. Still, the mere fact McGuire isn't an automatic out makes the games in this lost season a little more watchable.

[BigLeagueChew]

Final game of the year for the Red Sox against us, would there be anyone that we could realistically trade for from them if they go into sell mode this winter?

[Schad]

Eduardo Rodriguez is really the only one I could think of, and that'd be pretty iffy as he only has two years of control left. Everyone else is too old/expensive, approaching FA, or off-limits.

[BigLeagueChew]

Vlad removed his batting gloves, fighting things a bit right now.

[Skin Blues]

Damn, too bad I wasn't able to tune into this showdown. 15 different pitchers, 8 of which have an ERA > 5.00. Thank god the ridiculous expanded rosters are going away next year.