CheezWizHed

BA always talks about changing the strike zone but as it's been pointed out to me that rule was never approved. You mention that to the umps. The rule might not have changed, but it sure seems like the umps did. Davies also seems to have struggled a bit due to this. I'm not blaming all of his struggles here, but certainly a few games that I've seen, he is getting squeezed at the low end. Forcing him to elevate his pitches is a recipe for disaster.

Or just consecutive hits in official ABs (noting that walks don't count as ABs)

Brooks Kieschnick says hi!

I've given up on Neuhaus. Every time I think he is going to finally show off his potential, he gets hurt or goes cold. Third year at Wisconsin and he is hitting 233/287/436, which is pretty close to his career MiLB numbers. Hope I'm wrong, but I don't see it. Too far away and just no improvements.

I don't think your threshold is any higher than that of anyone else. I just think your definition/evaluation of a prospect is based almost entirely on a stat line, which is fine. You're not the only one by a long shot. Others tend to give some, or more, weight to things like tools and upside. This is why most top prospect lists made by folks who do that sort of thing for a living will have a McClanahan ranked much higher than a Gabe Garcia. A board like this one, where all we really have are stat line and the occasional scouting report, will probably look at a Garcia more favorably than those other lists. Folks who do this type of thing for a living are often incorrect or disagree. And no, my opinion is not based solely on stat lines. Yes, McClanahan was drafted a little higher and given a much larger signing bonus. But once in house, Garcia had some pretty nice scouting reports too. McClanahan obviously didn't play great year last year, but also had some reports that he was farther away than hoped. So yes, its a combo between the two. Reality is both have a long way to proving their prospect status. Having Garcia at fringe and McClanahan just outside doesn't mean there is a chasm between the two. If you think McClanahan is better, you could've simply said so instead of being derisive. So where does Ernesto Martinez, Jr. fit here assuming he is not an OF I think he is more of a 1B than an OF? I generally wait for them to at least hit Helena before I pay much attention. So many kids fail out of DSL or AZL, I just don't have the bandwidth to watch and read that deep about them unless they are are a big signing like Lara or McClanahan (He and Henry were the only ones in AZ that followed last year).

The system is vastly different than it was a few years ago. Multiple guys at every level from MLB down to A ball already are, or could play 1B. Maybe my prospect threshold level is higher, but I don't see a legit MLB 1B prospect at each level, let alone multiple. Cooper at AAA has hit his way to be considered as a prospect. He deserves a shot to become Overbay, even if his OPS away from CS is only 800. No one else should be considered at 1B. Demuth is a poor-man's Cooper. He has done better than expected, but I wouldn't consider him a legit prospect. I suppose Nottingham is the other 1B possibility. Gateway is a legit prospect. And if he can continue anywhere close to this year's production is probably the 1B of the future. Ghelfi has been playing C, but I'm not sure his bat plays at 1B. Erceg could be considered, but I think he has proven enough to say he will stick at 3B defensively. And his bat will determine if he makes the MLB level. Ronnie Gideon hit the cover off the ball last year, but he needs to do it against players his age before I consider him a prospect. And he isn't doing it this year. No one else at A ball is considered a 1B. Gabriel Garcia is interesting to me. Came out of no where, but hit well against players his age and doing so again this year (limited ABs). Chad McClanahan is another possibility if he can't manage 3B defense. But at best, both are fringe prospects. So, by my count, there is Gatewood, Nottingham, Cooper, and Garcia as prospects in my eyes. Gideon, McClanahan, and Ghelfi have some more to prove before I put them in prospect status. We aren't flush with prospects, but still much better than before, especially at MLB/AAA level.

That was generally how I've seen the 1B future also (probably with Santana moving to 1B). But its interesting how, in less than a season we suddenly have 3 players contending for playing time at 1B (including Cooper deserving to be promoted here). I doubt all three will be legit long term 1B and time will flush out which are the pretenders, but its still a better situation than last year when we were just happy to have CC breaking even (positive O, negative D). 1B has been a massive hole since Prince left and its good to see we finally have some legit options. So who do people see as the favorite to play 1B long term? Certainly Thames' contract gives him the upper hand, but its not a massive contract to eat (or bench) if he is outplayed.

So, we start the year by not re-signing Chris Carter, but instead sign Thames and claim Aguilar. Then Cooper goes off on AAA. Add in Jake Gatewood's eye exam and suddenly meeting his draft promise. Gabriel Garcia and Ronnie Gideon add some more interest from the draft last year. That is quite a turn around at the 1B depth in the organization.

He is a light hitting 2B-only player. We have a lot of these type of players (Betancort, Neuhaus, Mallen, York). You hope one of these guys improves to become Scooter Gennett, but its doubtful. Even being a Yadiel Rivera or Allemond have better prospects as they can play SS defensively. Nate Orf is probably the top of this category, but he plays more positions defensively and has hit better. I'm not sure if Orf is even top 30 in the Brewer's prospect list.

Mediocre is rather generous. I mean he was no jimmy haynes. Wes Obermueller was just unlucky all the time.

Try three. The thread was created for one play that I unfortunately missed. But there have been two WOW plays since then that I have seen. Last night's was almost a double WOW. One for just getting to the ball and preventing the guy on 2nd from scoring, but then he got to to first for the out ending the game. Update: I edited the title to make it reflect the continuing string of WOW plays.

The main reason that he was inefficient last night is he didn't have control of his CB and Pittsburgh rightfully laid off it. So he was left to his FB. And while no one was centering on his FB, they were fouling off a lot of pitches. I was actually surprised that he finally got the K on a FB. Later in the inning, his CB started coming in.

Garden State bored me to tears. But speaking of documentaries, Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey is really worth seeing. Its the story of how they found Filipino Arnel Pineda to be their next lead singer. Very impressive and entertaining story.

Unbelievable. I was amazed that he got it in the first place. But then making the out at first was just showing off... I missed his starting point, but he was a good 10 feet past the middle of the infield.

I've heard again & again that this is one of the strongest draft classes in a long long time [sarcasm]What are we doing in first place??? Tank! Tank! Tank![/sarcasm]

Defense wins championships...

Now he is getting a few across.

Knebel is struggling without his curveball

[sarcasm]Looked good to me![/sarcasm]

Maybe he can throw underhand from 2B. Well, Wisconsin can certainly use his offense. I wonder what they will do with Tucker Neuhaus. Looks like Braun and Villar are going to rehab in WI also. I wonder if that is intentional.

Thanks. I wasn't going to bother with the playground. If we wanted that, we would go to a park. I was thinking more about baseball experiences. The fiberglass sausages, meeting Bernie, stuff like that would make an impression on her. Meeting Bob Eucker would probably be wonderful. She has been able to recognize his voice for 3 years now. FYI, she is 9 years old.

Several guys on that list I can't see a team committing to put on their 25-man roster for the entire 2018 season. Kyle Wren might be the closest due to defense capabilities, but it would be a small loss. Devin Williams has the most potential and could be grabbed. Missaki might be something, but too far from the MLB to be worth trying.

thanks for the advice everyone!

Wes Obermueller was just unlucky...

2 walks for Jimmie today. Big part of his success. And controlling that little curve was a big part too.