PlayerHader

I think every scout and baseball talent evaluator would disagree with you. Your ability as an athlete contributes to how good (or bad) you are at accomplishing some task or feat or skill - whatever you want to call it. It's certainly not the only thing, but it's a huge deal. And in professional baseball, athleticism is what teams will bank on when looking at a player's upside - particularly position players. It's why you can take dozens of 15 year old kids who have been playing a particular sport (baseball, basketball, whatever) for 10 years, and have one kid who has never played the sport walk in and be better than all of them in short order. I saw a quote from one scout who said something to the effect of he would almost always bet on the athletic kid with great raw skills over the polished kid with low athleticism (he was talking about minor league prospects). Why? The good athlete is the one who will be able to keep up to the 100 mph fastball or adjust to the improving change ups and curves or whatever other pitches that a player faces as they head up the minor league ladder. Athleticism allows a player to hit the ball harder, run faster, react quicker. It's why when we hear descriptions of exceptional players you sometimes have terms like 'quick twitch' or 'twitchy' used to describe them. Again, athleticism is not the only thing. Being a baseball player is so much more - practice, intelligence, etc. But athleticism is often what helps a player rise above other guys. Scouts love athletic guys because they are the ones that often have the best chance to be difference makers in the big leagues. Sorry, but Ray isn't a great athlete, if he was he'd be a SS. He's not even an infielder. Arcia is a great athlete, Ray is just fast, he doesn't have coordination or body control. Ray is also not young, he's 23. He's just a few months younger than Phillips and Brinson. However, he's years behind them developmentally, and hasn't progressed at the plate. MLB Pipeline is just sloppy. Their writers are hype men who no longer put in their time on the rankings. This makes almost no sense.

Hader out. Woodruff in. I don't see reason to do it any other way.

I'm pretty sure he was trying to get released, still would have collected a check for the season. Surprised Brewers brass didn't have the balls to release him. Just keep him and send him to the instructional league for the whole year. I read on Twitter (probably somebody on here) that Cravy had been live-tweeting the Rams/49ers game, and that comment was in reference to that. I'd hope that's the case.

Well, you can't really blame them! They lost TJ Watt and Vince Biegel(who everyone loved telling you was more productive than Watt...which he was). I actually think I said every single one of those things sans the OLB'ers outloud watching the game at my Dad's house today. Of course I started out the game saying if Hornibrook looks bad for another week or 2 Coan might get a shot(so maybe tomorrow I'll talk about how Hawkins might get a shot if our starting corners struggle!). The OL needs to get squared away a little bit...they just need to be healthy and they need continuity in there. Get guys healthy and keep them together for a stretch. WR'ers/TE-Loaded, they have young guys they don't even need. And you can put the TE's in there. Penniston is super talented and would be a great #1 TE most years, but we have the best in CFB this year. Cephus and Peavy are stepping up big. AJ Taylor is a really talented young guy. Davis is a big play threat. RB-Taylor looks as good as anyone not named Gordon has looked since Dayne as a young guy. He IS a really quick guy with great speed, but he'll run you over also. Shaw and James are solid, nothing special for a UW back, but Taylor is really the game changer. All their DL is back and they have more depth...their MLB'ers are among the best in the country there as well. The only questions I have is just how good the secondary is...only because we haven't matched up against a good QB and WR'er corp like we'll see vs Michigan and hopefully vs OSU in Indy or in a playoff. Just hope Hornibrook can get his confidence, keep going to the WR'ers more to open it up for Fumigalli and Penninton underneath and Taylor can keep hitting those lanes...this could be a year to remember for the Big Red! Lots of good stuff in here. But you actually believe that Biegel was more productive than Watt? Biegel never had a single season that approached what TJ did when he settled in for his ONE season as a starting OLB. And I was/am a huge VB fan.

I thought they'd have Trent Clark and Gatewood higher.

You just listed a bunch of close games that Hader came in and delivered a scoreless performance...and that is your evidence that he isn't very valuable?

Deceptively impressive, I probably should have said. I feel pretty good about him right now.

Can you define for me what is not a "major" disappointment? If a 20% walk rate and a 125 wRC+ as a 20 year old in the leagues most pitcher friendly park (while stealing 23 of 26) is a "major" disappointment, Im not what will make you happy. Im glad Im not your son. This. If you spend just a few seconds looking beyond batting average, Trent Clark is put together a very impressive season.

Egnatuk looks like he has his weight back on his front heel rather than on the instep/toes. Tough to hit consistently when you have a poor launch position. Definitely a lot of work to be done in that swing.

Egnatuk looks like he has his right back on his front heel rather than on the instep/toes. Tough to hit consistently when you have a poor launch position. Definitely a lot of work to be done in that swing.

What about a .752 OPS a couple weeks later? Has your tune changed?

What about a .752 OPS a couple weeks later? Has your tune changed?

Gatewood worked with Matt Lisle in the offseason, a hitting instructor who is really starting to make a name for himself. He was my pick for bust out player this year.

I am confused about his power description on the report. So he currently has homerun power but it projects as double power in the future? How does that work?

Dinger tonight. Hitting .545 now.

Clint Coulter dinger. Maybe the change of scenery was all that was needed!

Wake me up when he becomes Randy Johnson. People always go straight to the "it's too early to bail on him as a starter" response. Then when is it ok to bail? People also act as if the pen doesn't play a critical role in a team's success. He's almost through his 3rd level as a professional with terrible BB/9 ratios at every level, has given up more hits than IP every level except last year. His ERA hasn't been good at any level so when he allows guys on base he can't shut the door and prevent them from scoring. Change his entire routine and mind set and get him ready for the pen to move quickly through the system given he has the stuff to be very good there. Instead of throwing 90 pitches per game he can focus on 12-15. He has the potential to be much better because he hasn't flashed anything yet for a 1st Rd pick. People are already expressing concerns about Ray after 100 pro ABs but we should give Kodi a pass? Umm...maybe when he's like 23 or 24?

Where?

Might mean something, but I can't imagine he'd describe a PTBNL as a "thrown-in" or "lottery ticket" even if that was the case.

I'll throw Clancy a bone and go with Brent Suter.

He bailed because people were not bowing down to his inside information.

Ummm...no. Love Frazier, but a 5'10" pitcher doesn't move the needle for me.

Frazier and Sheffield + 2 more pieces. Is a relief pitcher really worth more than an all star catcher?

Not cool.

Nobody is surprised, I'm sure.