OT: Raise the Jolly Roger: Good Vibes Only

[DJ Spinoza]

Here's my best attempt at an optimistic gloss on Keller: early in the season, things were pretty much a mess all over the place. He had reliever level command and almost seemed to rely on his inconsistent slider (which has been hammered through the year and was the culprit last night) as his go-to pitch when things got tough. Some of this issue was mechanical, as his release points were not consistent.

The early work of the season has been to dial the fastball in and it has paid dividends. It plays a lot better when he takes some velo off in order to hit his spots, including at the top of the zone, where I think he mostly has to live. Besides the mistake pitch to Suarez, last night was fine until everything came unraveled on him.

I think the next hurdle is being able to bury that slider but make it a competitive pitch. They made a note on the broadcast of how it is getting crushed, but I think the big issue is not the pitch itself but him veering between either one that is so far away from the zone that he can't get changes or one that is a cement mixer in the zone which gets obliterated.

I've been appreciating Capps' calls on the broadcast but I am not sure I agree that the solution is for him to just keep living fastball. His fastball will play, and it has gotten a bad reputation as somehow horrendous, when even if you look at the statcast metrics, it's clear that it's above average. However, he needs a third pitch that can get him whiffs and keep the hitters mixed up. The curveball is ok but if he's just FB/CB, hitters are not going to get fooled and it will be more of the same, maybe fine on some nights where he can really dot the fastball.

My working theory is that Stallings/Marin's game calls are practically developmental, as Keller attempts to refine himself on the fly. Earlier in the season, it seemed like the plan was just to pound fastball after fastball in order to get the feel down, and this worked in the start vs. San Diego last week and then was fully clicking last night. Maybe I am projecting things, but it seemed like Stallings kept calling for sliders last night, and Keller could not command them. He then starting missing his locations badly on the fastball, and everything went to shit.

tldr; the slider doesn't play well but I'm not sure there's really any solution other than to try something similar in his next start. The only other option would be to increase the changeup use or work on some other third pitch. Where I'm slightly more optimistic is that the fastball has gotten much better and the results are starting to bear that out. Where I'm not so optimistic is that he will ever be able to miss bats at an above average clip. It sounds like an easy excuse but Keller is still effectively a rookie in terms of games stared. He should have plenty of leash to try and get things clicking, and the only way I can see otherwise is if he has 5 or 6 horrific starts in a row. Even though last night's start was essentially that – unequivocally, he lost the game for us – there were still some things to build on early in the game, and from the eye test I think he had one or two sliders which were really nice.

 

[Gallatin]

Yeah this lineup is horrifying. At least Brubaker is pitching tonight so they have a chance to be competitive.

Oh it's a thing of beauty for your's truly. That's the kind of lineup you need to catch Detroit for 1st overall.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Really excited for Conteras' start in Altoona today to see if he can follow up with more of the same.

Btw, don't want to get into any issues with sharing paywalled info, but McDaniel has a mock out as ESPN that has us taking Lawlar 1.1 and the Rangers taking Leiter 1.2. He gives the impression that they are firmly the top two prospects in the draft.

 

[WheresRamziAbid]

Here's my best attempt at an optimistic gloss on Keller: early in the season, things were pretty much a mess all over the place. He had reliever level command and almost seemed to rely on his inconsistent slider (which has been hammered through the year and was the culprit last night) as his go-to pitch when things got tough. Some of this issue was mechanical, as his release points were not consistent.

The early work of the season has been to dial the fastball in and it has paid dividends. It plays a lot better when he takes some velo off in order to hit his spots, including at the top of the zone, where I think he mostly has to live. Besides the mistake pitch to Suarez, last night was fine until everything came unraveled on him.

I think the next hurdle is being able to bury that slider but make it a competitive pitch. They made a note on the broadcast of how it is getting crushed, but I think the big issue is not the pitch itself but him veering between either one that is so far away from the zone that he can't get changes or one that is a cement mixer in the zone which gets obliterated.

I've been appreciating Capps' calls on the broadcast but I am not sure I agree that the solution is for him to just keep living fastball. His fastball will play, and it has gotten a bad reputation as somehow horrendous, when even if you look at the statcast metrics, it's clear that it's above average. However, he needs a third pitch that can get him whiffs and keep the hitters mixed up. The curveball is ok but if he's just FB/CB, hitters are not going to get fooled and it will be more of the same, maybe fine on some nights where he can really dot the fastball.

My working theory is that Stallings/Marin's game calls are practically developmental, as Keller attempts to refine himself on the fly. Earlier in the season, it seemed like the plan was just to pound fastball after fastball in order to get the feel down, and this worked in the start vs. San Diego last week and then was fully clicking last night. Maybe I am projecting things, but it seemed like Stallings kept calling for sliders last night, and Keller could not command them. He then starting missing his locations badly on the fastball, and everything went to shit.

tldr; the slider doesn't play well but I'm not sure there's really any solution other than to try something similar in his next start. The only other option would be to increase the changeup use or work on some other third pitch. Where I'm slightly more optimistic is that the fastball has gotten much better and the results are starting to bear that out. Where I'm not so optimistic is that he will ever be able to miss bats at an above average clip. It sounds like an easy excuse but Keller is still effectively a rookie in terms of games stared. He should have plenty of leash to try and get things clicking, and the only way I can see otherwise is if he has 5 or 6 horrific starts in a row. Even though last night's start was essentially that – unequivocally, he lost the game for us – there were still some things to build on early in the game, and from the eye test I think he had one or two sliders which were really nice.

In my very inexpert opinion he has no pitches that are actually good but enough that each coukd be situationally good IF he had a real primary pitch that he can confidently throw for strikes without fear.

Thats why i really believe he should add a cutter.

If he had a cutter that was good (huge if, i know) he could play all of the shitty pitches (4 seamer, slider and change) off of it in certain counts and spots in the zone to give them a chance situationally.

 

[MrBrightside]

Oh it's a thing of beauty for your's truly. That's the kind of lineup you need to catch Detroit for 1st overall.

I get this thinking to a point, but absent the few unique years where there's a clear-cut #1, picking #1 hasn't really been all that beneficial. The last #1 overall pick that has been anything close to a star was Correa in 2012 (yes, it's early on the last 2-3 guys and Rutchsman and Torkelson are very good prospects), and guys like Moniak and Swanson and Mize and especially Aiken and Appel are looking like picks that would cause Steelers fans to yell for Colbert to get fired.

All that isn't to say it's not better to pick first than not to pick first, but the MLB draft is such a crapshoot that unless it's a year where there's the absolute can't miss prospect like Harper and Strasburg were, it doesn't really matter all that much.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

In my very inexpert opinion he has no pitches that are actually good but enough that each coukd be situationally good IF he had a real primary pitch that he can confidently throw for strikes without fear.

Thats why i really believe he should add a cutter.

If he had a cutter that was good (huge if, i know) he could play all of the shitty pitches (4 seamer, slider and change) off of it in certain counts and spots in the zone to give them a chance situationally.

I like the idea and it's definitely not working for him in general right now. I wonder if he'd need to ditch the slider in order to go cutter. That might not be a bad thing, given how it's playing, but I'd like to see us charge ahead for 3 or 4 more starts with a similar plan. The fastball isn't worldbeating but it's good enough to play and give him a foundation. I think if he can get the slider dialed in, things could click for him quite a bit.

If you go back and look at his 2019 slider, it was actually a really effective pitch. 47% whiff percentage. He just doesn't seem to have any feel for it whatsoever this year, which is somewhat why I am guessing Stallings may have wanted to force him to throw it a bunch. Maybe there was some calculation that the Reds are too good at hitting fastballs to be so heavy on the second time through, but just from eye test, it seemed like Stallings was trying to go back to it a whole lot.

I do think there's also a mental hurdle for him in some ways, and he showed progress here as well until the inning where it came undone. That's the worrying part of where I am at with it all - if he doesn't focus and throw the fastball with conviction, he'll lose the progress he's made this year. I think the slider was the big culprit last night, but you could see him no longer be able to execute the fastball in the same way, as he was missing his locations by a ton. The biggest example was Stallings' body language when Barnhart crushed that pitch into the notch. Strange as it is to say, if Keller could have just executed and escaped that inning with some damage, but stayed in for 5-6 runs, even if he gave up another run or two and still put us way out of the game at 6-1 or something, it would have been some more progress despite a no good line.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Conteras is utterly dominating again. 6 Ks through 4 innings so far on just 37 pitches. He is mixing his pitches and the batters look completely overwhelmed.

 

[Gallatin]

Big prospects night. Exciting

Contreras came one out away from taking a perfect game into the 6th. Cruz with a monster homer. Swaggerty homered. Bunch of good stuff tonight.

 

[Gallatin]

I get this thinking to a point, but absent the few unique years where there's a clear-cut #1, picking #1 hasn't really been all that beneficial. The last #1 overall pick that has been anything close to a star was Correa in 2012 (yes, it's early on the last 2-3 guys and Rutchsman and Torkelson are very good prospects), and guys like Moniak and Swanson and Mize and especially Aiken and Appel are looking like picks that would cause Steelers fans to yell for Colbert to get fired.

All that isn't to say it's not better to pick first than not to pick first, but the MLB draft is such a crapshoot that unless it's a year where there's the absolute can't miss prospect like Harper and Strasburg were, it doesn't really matter all that much.

Green is one of the best prospects in recent memory.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Another very good start for Brubaker.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

The hype train should be in full swing for Contreras. It was video game level stuff, just every pitch doing exactly what he wanted. Had a hiccup in the 6th with two walks but then punched the guy out on three pitches to end the inning. 11 Ks, no hits, just ridiculous. We are again taking him out somewhat conservatively with just 70 pitches, but I don't mind that approach throughout the organization.

And I think it's time to get pretty excited about Swaggerty. It's maybe a little bit too aggressive to say just from a handful of looks, but his plate discipline is really good and the swing will play. He makes good contact and runs fast while playing high level defense at a premium position. In his HR AB tonight, he watched a couple of borderline pitches (I think one for a strike and two for balls) that he couldn't do much with, and then had the timing perfect for the HR, and absolutely ripped it.

He needs a healthy amount of ABs at AAA just to stabilize and have pitchers attack him in certain ways, etc., but I am optimistic that we'll see him for more than a cup of coffee this year. Depending on how things go, I think maybe you look to add him a week or two after the trade deadline for a solid 6 weeks of MLB ABs. But first he has to keep it going.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Raise it!

 

[Gallatin]

A big night inn the minors for sure.







Contreras is totally taking the sting out of Priester having a slow start, at least for me.

Hudson Head was 2-3 with 2 BB & a SB

Endy Rodriguez continues to tear it up going 2-4 with a HR

Maikol Escotto went 2-4 with a BB again

Canaan Smith-Njigba went 3-4 with a HR

I really like the Marauder's lineup this year. That's a fun group of kids with nice ceilings.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Sounds like Priester is just needing to dial in the FB command, so nothing too worrisome yet. Cannot tell anything from this, obviously, but it seemed from Gameday like he was right on the edges of the zone a decent bit but not getting calls.

Contreras is definitely making a huge case to be a breakout player this year, and when you combine that with Yajure's steady path to mid-rotation starter, the Taillon trade is really looking like it's going to pop. We need to see Contreras give consistency (though obviously not in the sense that he should pitch 6 no hit innings with double digit Ks every time), but he's just overwhelming hitters right now. I do think there could be some general reason to pump the brakes a little bit, since so many minor leaguers had a long layoff, and may be out of sorts still.

That said, his first appearance had Rutschman in it, who he carved up, and although Binghamton's roster doesn't look too impressive, they have had a 5-game series to get their legs under them a bit. I don't mention this to dampen enthusiasm about him, but just to note it.

In fact, if you look back at FG lists and reports over the years, Conteras' inclusion really looks like a head scratcher. The trade was effectively made possible by a 40-man crunch, but the combination of players makes less and less sense. Smith-Njigba is a nice player but easily understandable in a deal like this, since he's driven by a hit tool with above average power, but no defensive projection really. Yajure looks to be at worst cheap starter depth, which is where the trade starts not making much sense. He's basically MLB ready, and I guess if you are the Yankees, you could look at him and see stuff that isn't overwhelming and think he won't fare as well in the AL East, so he's expendable in that sense for the ceiling of Taillon.

But then you add Contreras, who very clearly does have ceiling. It looks like the Yankees kind of had him grouped with Gil and Medina, with those two also having some reliever projection due to a standout pitch. But if you look back at the FG stuff, Kiley especially was on Contreras for several years. He was just off the 2019 picks to click list, and he mentions liking him repeatedly throughout 2018 and 2019 seasons. It's not like he's a slam dunk guy, and maybe some of the issue was the lost 2020 season and having better contacts/projections for their own guys, but the starter ceiling that Contreras has is something that every team covets.

And then on top of this, you add Escotto at the end of the deal, a guy who has a lot of people saying he will breakout and is nowhere near needing 40-man protection.

End of the day, to rest on a cliche, this is the exciting part of having a bunch of high variance prospects added all at once, but not everybody is going to work out. Contreras, Rodriguez, Escotto, Peguero, etc., all off to a great start is terrific, and I think Contreras especially really breaking out is a huge story for us, given that he's probably one of the "bridge guys" between Yajure/Swaggerty and the lower minors guys.

 

[WheresRamziAbid]

Sounds like Priester is just needing to dial in the FB command, so nothing too worrisome yet. Cannot tell anything from this, obviously, but it seemed from Gameday like he was right on the edges of the zone a decent bit but not getting calls.

Contreras is definitely making a huge case to be a breakout player this year, and when you combine that with Yajure's steady path to mid-rotation starter, the Taillon trade is really looking like it's going to pop. We need to see Contreras give consistency (though obviously not in the sense that he should pitch 6 no hit innings with double digit Ks every time), but he's just overwhelming hitters right now. I do think there could be some general reason to pump the brakes a little bit, since so many minor leaguers had a long layoff, and may be out of sorts still.

That said, his first appearance had Rutschman in it, who he carved up, and although Binghamton's roster doesn't look too impressive, they have had a 5-game series to get their legs under them a bit. I don't mention this to dampen enthusiasm about him, but just to note it.

In fact, if you look back at FG lists and reports over the years, Conteras' inclusion really looks like a head scratcher. The trade was effectively made possible by a 40-man crunch, but the combination of players makes less and less sense. Smith-Njigba is a nice player but easily understandable in a deal like this, since he's driven by a hit tool with above average power, but no defensive projection really. Yajure looks to be at worst cheap starter depth, which is where the trade starts not making much sense. He's basically MLB ready, and I guess if you are the Yankees, you could look at him and see stuff that isn't overwhelming and think he won't fare as well in the AL East, so he's expendable in that sense for the ceiling of Taillon.

But then you add Contreras, who very clearly does have ceiling. It looks like the Yankees kind of had him grouped with Gil and Medina, with those two also having some reliever projection due to a standout pitch. But if you look back at the FG stuff, Kiley especially was on Contreras for several years. He was just off the 2019 picks to click list, and he mentions liking him repeatedly throughout 2018 and 2019 seasons. It's not like he's a slam dunk guy, and maybe some of the issue was the lost 2020 season and having better contacts/projections for their own guys, but the starter ceiling that Contreras has is something that every team covets.

And then on top of this, you add Escotto at the end of the deal, a guy who has a lot of people saying he will breakout and is nowhere near needing 40-man protection.

End of the day, to rest on a cliche, this is the exciting part of having a bunch of high variance prospects added all at once, but not everybody is going to work out. Contreras, Rodriguez, Escotto, Peguero, etc., all off to a great start is terrific, and I think Contreras especially really breaking out is a huge story for us, given that he's probably one of the "bridge guys" between Yajure/Swaggerty and the lower minors guys.

It makes sense in this way:

If the Yankees believe Taillon is a 2/3 then giving up Yajure and Smith is a slam dunk. Worst case you gave up a #3 and a ok outfielder and thats worst case/ coat of doing business. Now to make the other guy take the deal adding an upside guy pushes the deal through but give some chance of getting burnt. But 2 high upside guys seems like a real coup for BC.

Now cashman might just be at the point where he doesnt care but it is sure a 180 from the guy that wouldnt beat Musgrove/Moran for Cole.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Yeah, I think that's exactly right. Yajure and Smith are an easy starting point for the Yankees. I guess Contreras was somebody who I didn't quite realize had the upside that he does. I knew Medina and Gil both had great upside and some risk, but it seems like Contreras has more upside than them because he's always been tabbed as a starter. He might be the most obvious definition of a guy who is rising that we acquired at the right time. Easy to say given that he's been so dominant, but if he even approximates this for another 6 weeks in AA, he'd be the kind of guy that becomes impossible to acquire in a deal.

From the Yankees POV, I guess you could just say they felt the squeeze of the 40-man crunch and then are indifferent about a guy far away like Escotto, because they sign so many talented young guys like that year after year. The lingering Cole trade is also a good point. I do think Taillon is increasingly getting better for the Yankees and so may work out well for them


This is neither here nor there but I just spent some time in a rabbit hole with the Angels system, on the assumption that they make way too much sense as a team that should be acquiring Anderson. A guy in their system who popped out was D'Shawn Knowles, a toolsy OF originally signed out of the Bahamas, which is now getting more and more hype as a hotbed with the number of Bahamas-born top prospects popping up.

He needs to be added to the 40-man this December but still looks to be pretty young/raw. He's barely 20 and in low-A. The Angels are also stacked with OF prospects, between having Trout in MLB and then Adell, Marsh, and Adams. The Pirates may have an impending 40-man crunch this winter (more probably next winter), but he seems exactly like the kind of talent to see if you can get an anxious team to give up in a rental deal.

There's gotta be like a 0.00001% chance I can just vaguely do some clicking around and find a viable idea like this, but in any case I am still of the mindset that Cherington should move swiftly to capitalize on Anderson. Then give Ponce, Crowe full cracks in the rotation for a bit. With Brault and Kuhl due back relatively soon, it shouldn't get too thin. Also could stretch out Underwood, or even Holmes if you want to get crazy, and there's De Jong and Poppen in very bad mid-summer scenarios. A few more turns would cement Anderson's value even more, but BC should be putting his name out there aggressively, and the Angels are the most obvious candidate in the sense of always trying to get to the next level, having a meddling owner, and now potentially getting a career year out of Ohtani. Their end goal should probably be trying to get Scherzer at the deadline, but Anderson and maybe Frazier or a reliever is the kind of boost they might need in June in order to be able to make that trade in July.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Contreras with 22 Ks/2 Bs in 11 innings is some video game shit, especially with only 5 hits and 0 runs on the line.

That's encouraging to say the least, especially considering the whole 0 competitive innings logged in 2020 issue that so many have to work through.

Of course the long lay-off benefits the pitchers more than batters, but that's still two utterly dominant starts to go with a stat line one would expect out of an elite closer during a blazingly hot streak. Two games. Just two games. Gotta keep it in perspective.

Still great to see.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

 

[Empoleon8771]

Late on this but I'll be moderately annoyed if the Pirates take Lawler at #1. I don't think there's a really stand out prospect right now, and when that's the case, I think you should pick based on need. The Pirates absolutely need high end pitching prospects more than they need another high end middle infield prospect.

 

[MrBrightside]

Late on this but I'll be moderately annoyed if the Pirates take Lawler at #1. I don't think there's a really stand out prospect right now, and when that's the case, I think you should pick based on need. The Pirates absolutely need high end pitching prospects more than they need another high end middle infield prospect.

I don't think you should ever draft for need, especially in baseball. The guys are too far away and the development curve is too varied to pick someone based on position.

 

[bigdaddyk88]

Late on this but I'll be moderately annoyed if the Pirates take Lawler at #1. I don't think there's a really stand out prospect right now, and when that's the case, I think you should pick based on need. The Pirates absolutely need high end pitching prospects more than they need another high end middle infield prospect.

Just stack talent if we become Toronto and have infielders playing OF to get there bats in the line up so what

 

[ImporterExporter]

You take the best player at 1.1

Drafting for need in baseball certainly happens (look at the draft last year w/ the P). Sure we grabbed Gonzo but that was easily BPA and someone who shouldn't have been on the board when we picked.

The problem is in baseball so much of that depends on "projection". ESPECIALLY HS players. I don't get taking Lawler at 1 unless you think he's a perennial AS who can impact the game on both sides. He's an older draftee already for a HS player and if people want to compare him to Bobby Witt, fine, but Witt wasn't even a 1.1 and he was considered a more advanced hitter than Lawler is now. It stinks of desperation if you pull the trigger on a HS shortstop. Especially when you are quite loaded down the middle in the organization, especially if you think Cruz can stay at SS (I don't). I guess I wouldn't despise the pick so much if you didn't have a dominant SP sitting there in the same class. Someone who can help you long before Lawler will.

I keep hearing Leiter has out pitched Rocker from these so called experts. It's rubbish, outside a 17 inning stretch, no matter how great that 2 game stretch was. I've beat the horse to death already but Rocker has improved his command. He's added legit pitches to his arsenal. His rough outings are nowhere near as bad as Leiter's. And watching the 2, I just prefer Rocker. And you already see Leiter shut down for an extra week? Meh. Teams are adjusting to him and he can't even take the ball every 5th day as a sophomore? Rocker doesn't have that issue. Never has.

The only other player I could conceivably understand at 1 is Henry Davis, C, out of Louisville. It's a huge need for us and the dude can absolutely rake while having a cannon for an arm and solid defensive skills already. I talked about him before the season even started as the C watch and he's exploded. I don't see much difference between he and Adley Rutschman.

D1Baseball

You need a bonafide ace though. Maybe someone in the system currently will reach that level (Contrares is intriguing, Preister you hope but he's so far away) but outside of C, SP is quite weak, at least until the recent draft picks start to pitch some and show us what they may or may not have.

Pump the brakes on Swaggerty please.

I think Peguero is going to be ranked #1 by the end of the year for us. Gonzo #2. Hope Cruz proves me wrong.

Polanco continues to prove me right 9 times out of 10. Been saying it for years and people still don't listen. Whatever.

Alex Mojica (from a good friend in Florida) has superstar offensive potential.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Davis can definitely rake but he's nowhere close to Rutschman and his receiving skills are poor. He's probably the only player who I'd be upset with taking 1.1 at this point.

We'll see how the Vandy pitchers do down the stretch. Rocker showed clear fatigue to me in the last start, with the wheels coming off against a pretty mediocre opponent. I'm not going to all the way go with the consensus that seems to exclude Rocker from even being considered 1.1, but Leiter is still the clear favorite to me with his dominant fastball.

With Lawlar, there's not quite the same kind of projection that existed with Correa, and in any case I don't think he signs under slot. If you think he's the best player, then you take him, but I agree, we need to be sold that he'll become a big impact player on both sides of the ball. While we have some talented shortstops, it's just by definition not a problem to have too many, and the true big hit rate (in the sense of a Machado) is obviously pretty thin.

The better bet for that kind of thinking (under slot + continued projection) is Mayer, and really IMO the even better one is Watson, whose primary knock is going to be that he didn't start playing quite as early. Unless he shows some bad signs, the tools are outrageous there, so I like him the most out of the prep options while still preferring 1a. Leiter 1b. Rocker, with Frelick as a bold #2 behind them that checks a number of boxes. But I am pretty much shooting in the dark with preferences about any of the prep guys, so if we are really convinced that one of them is the guy, I don't have much I can say.

IE, at the end of the day I think you are still really overselling Leiter's bumps in the road. While the earlier point you've made that people haven't fixated as much on Leiter as they have on Rocker is a fair one, they've both had one pretty bad start and another mediocre start, depending on how you see 5 IP 4 ER (Leiter) vs. 5 IP 6 ER (Rocker) as that mediocre start (maybe Rocker has had 2 bad starts, or you can argue both were bad). The walks are more of an issue for Leiter but I don't think they are at any kind of alarming point just yet.

I think the it's practically coming down to a philosophical approach, and a lot of the guesses are just sort of defaulting to the idea that Cherington prefers to gather talent and athletes and isn't really on any kind of a rushed timeline. But I don't think that necessarily tells us a whole lot, and we don't exactly know what kind of pitching emphasis we want to have. We went pitching heavy last year and you can probably look at Mlodzinski to say we'd be totally fine taking the prototypical power pitcher in Locker or look at Jones and say we'd be fine with the slightly "smaller" Leiter (while there's definitely a difference, I put it in quotes because 6'1" is not 5'9").

The big x-factor for them is what they'll do down the stretch after a bumpy couple of outings. How does Leiter fare in the CWS? What kind of dominance is Rocker showing? Both could put an exclamation point on their campaigns by finishing out their final few starts well and then performing in the tournament.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Leiter has given up 8 home runs in his last 3 starts. His command is very average and teams have started to turn on the fastball.

He is not outpitching Rocker. Numbers don't support it and the eye test doesn't.

Whatever. I'm not going to convince you on this debate just as you won't consider that Polanco isn't an MLB player despite it being proven over and over and over when he steps on the field.

Keller? Same thing. If people can't see he's shot, at least on this team, I don't know what else to say.

Take Rocker at 1 or miss out on the guy who will be the best player to come out of this class.

That's where I am. Where I'll be until proven otherwise.

 

[ImporterExporter]

I will be seeing Contrares in 2 weeks @ Harrisburg (provided he doesn't go up to AAA before then lol). I will have a full game report. Looking forward to him. His stuff has looked incredible to say the least.