Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Of course, if we somehow knew there would be two 100 RBI guys in the middle of the lineup, we probably would have predicted the team would do better than .500
The thing I never expected was two homegrown 100 RBI guys in the middle of the lineup. That tilts the landscape.
2B Bryan Torres L
C Ivan Herrera R
1B A. Burleson L
RF J. Walker R
DH Leo Bernal S
3B Nolan Gorman L
LF Joshua Baez R
SS T. Saggese R
CF N. Church LWe need to avoid thinking of 3B as a way to get a helpful bat into the lineup. It was looking like Blaze would be good enough defensively, but with room for improvement if the right candidate came along. I don’t think there is any room to go down from Blaze defensively in exchange for more offense from the position.
27 it seems like all of those you mention will be worthy of a AAA slot next spring, which points up crowded conditions at the top of the system if there is no lock out, or once it lifts. There are only so many rotation slots between ML and AAA, and lots of worthy names. Of course, there are likely to be injuries, but also injury returns.
I admit to not following Jesus closely yet, but that will change once he is in AAA. I sense that power focused hitters coming out the top may look different than some we’ve seen. More bat control and less reliance on a repeatable swing optimized to vaporize meatballs. Perhaps it is an evolution in how to use emerging technology to produce results on a ML field.
I have been trying to watch Josh Baez at the plate closely, even playing back PAs. Less than 100 PAs in, it is obvious opponents are keeping it out of his wheelhouse only to find that he has a bigger wheelhouse than, say, Gorman. So I am excited to see what happens with Jesus.
Young pitchers can look a lot different from one year to the next. We are likely to have some surprises.
Have fun Mike. I still haven’t got out there to take in a game at the ‘new’ stadium. I still remember the first time I ever saw a defensive shift put on was at Candlestick when I was there as a kid. Somebody put it on vs McCovey and I thought it was cheating.
It is nuance perhaps, but I think system strength relates not to how good the current prospects pan out on paper, but rather to how much impact they will eventually have in MLB. So, how to see into the future and predict what impact is going to come out the end of the pipe? Your idea is to look at spreadsheets, mine is to look at results that the system has been achieving. Results identify a bad system or a good one.
An aspect of a roster and system full of controllable and affordable players is they are not going anywhere any time soon. They will all be present and in time piling up near the top. Yes, there will be injury layoffs, but also injury returns. As soon as spring 2027 filling out the ML and AAA pitching staffs will be an unfamiliar sort of process for the organization. For one thing, there should be no need to scrape around for 4A types for the Memphis staff. It should be a fun spring.
A run would be fun. But what we have seen is games where we look great, and games where we don’t look great. Exactly as expected of a young team. I expect that to continue. But you never know. We have seen games where we stunk but our opponent stunk worse.
I think you cannot see my point. Impact players have been coming from other systems more than from ours, therefore other systems are better than ours. As of this moment. A year from now, our system might be one cranking them out. Then it will be better than the others. Effectiveness is my measure, not adding up WAR of teens in A level, or whatever it is they think matters.
Rincon is back in Memphis. I am not overly familiar with him. How much should we excuse the meltdowns? I am guessing we will see him again this season.
It would benefit Hjerpe to follow a RHSP so the lineup would likely be lefty heavy, like today. If he is the listed starter, it would be stoked with right handed batters.
I get your point Brian, but try to imagine looking at it from the vantage point of someone who knows next to nothing about the other 29 systems. I have to equate top ranked with effectiveness. MLB is full of stars, of impact players, of top end starters, good relievers and they all came from somewhere. As I have said, I am hopeful and optmistic about the system, but I am not putting the cart before the horse. That somewhere I mentionaed is looking like it could soon be here rather than somewhere else. When is the last time we had two homegrown 100 RBI guys in the middle of the lineup? I like the starters coming. The results could be top ranked before too long. But that last hurdle is high and is yet to be cleared.
They should consider cutting Leahy back further. I think he’s cooked. He’s done enough. Amazing job this year giving the team something it desperately needed.
If Hjerpe stays in STL now and takes a regular turn as a starter or piggy back, then if he looks anything like today, there is no reason he shouldn’t be in the opening day rotation. I was pretty much shocked, to be honest.
The depth is finally growing into measurable depth.
Yes the system is moving in the right direction for sure. By next year it could start becoming a top system in real life land rather than just in wonk spreadsheet land. It does still remain to be seen what guys are going to look like when they pop up on the ML roster. So far there has been both reason for optimism and reason for concern in that regard. I am confident the best is yet to come, soon hopefully.
