Official MiLB/Prospects Thread

[Spanky99]

Here's hoping Vlady Jr takes full advantage of the high performance program to rid himself of the bad body label. He's so young I believe he can do it.

 

He's already changed dramatically since last season, same goes for Bo.

[Dr. Dinger]

He's already changed dramatically since last season, same goes for Bo.

 

He's still got a thick lower half and probably always will. I don't think it's an issue really at 3B, as long as he is athletic and has a quick first step.

[Jimcanuck]

I meant prime Edwin, but as promising as Vlad might look there's also a very real chance that he settles in as 2008 EE. Vlad is really far away.

 

Agree that would be the floor. EE is a good comp - good eye, immense power, borderline D. Whether we get 2008 EE or 10+ years of 2012 EE is the question.

[THANOS]

Must be projecting huge power and OBP from Vlad, averaging 50+ taters/yr?

 

I don't think theyre projecting Vlad as a 40 HR guy though. I think they're projecting him more of a 30 HR 40 doubles ceiling - which is still very jizz worthy. He doesn't have the mind boggling power of Judge or Sano, but he won't have all the Ks which will really pump those doubles out.

 

Scouts are super conservative with the power tool for everyone, but the way scouts discuss the sound off his bat make it sound like the power ceiling is virtually unlimited.

[P2F]

Tatis tonight against Lansing:

 

2-2, 2 R, 3B, HR, 2 BB, SB.

[Jimcanuck]

Tatis tonight against Lansing:

 

2-2, 2 R, 3B, HR, 2 BB, SB.

 

Yes saw that.... he's on my BORED draft list

[P2F]

Yes saw that.... he's on my BORED draft list

 

Good call, as he should be.

[Slade]

Here's hoping Vlady Jr takes full advantage of the high performance program to rid himself of the bad body label. He's so young I believe he can do it.

 

He's a big booty warrior, that's probably something that won't change but he definitely could get in better shape.

[Jonn]

He's a big booty warrior, that's probably something that won't change but he definitely could get in better shape.

 

They said the same about Kyle Lowry. His body transformation was incredible.

[Slade]

They said the same about Kyle Lowry. His body transformation was incredible.

 

Not really Lowry just lost weight. You can't really do anything about genetics but you can do a lot to get into better shape.

 

http://a3.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2016%2F0120%2Fnba_g_lowry_1296x729.jpg

[art_vandelay275]

 

[Jonn]

Edward Olivares putting together a nice season. Can't ignore 14 bombs. He might be due for a promotion himself.

[Jonn]

Not really Lowry just lost weight. You can't really do anything about genetics but you can do a lot to get into better shape.

 

http://a3.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2016%2F0120%2Fnba_g_lowry_1296x729.jpg

 

He didn't just lose weight he noticeably transformed his body. He's in peak condition now. He was always known for having a "different body type" for a point guard. It took ridiculous work and nutrition to get him in that shape. Vlady can do the same.

 

The research and information they have now is incredible.

[Captain Adama]

He didn't just lose weight he noticeably transformed his body. He's in peak condition now. He was always known for having a "different body type" for a point guard. It took ridiculous work and nutrition to get him in that shape. Vlady can do the same.

 

The research and information they have now is incredible.

 

I dunno, a few years ago I lost 30 pounds and my one of my best friends lost 120 pounds. And we both agreed it really wasn't too hard. Consistency is key. Just eat less garbage and move more, and the weight will go away. "Ridiculous" work and nutrition is going from obese to <7% body fat IMO.

[Candy Maldonado]

He didn't just lose weight he noticeably transformed his body. He's in peak condition now. He was always known for having a "different body type" for a point guard. It took ridiculous work and nutrition to get him in that shape. Vlady can do the same.

 

The research and information they have now is incredible.

 

It looks like he just lost fat.

[Jonn]

I dunno, a few years ago I lost 30 pounds and my one of my best friends lost 120 pounds. And we both agreed it really wasn't too hard. Consistency is key. Just eat less garbage and move more, and the weight will go away. "Ridiculous" work and nutrition is going from obese to <7% body fat IMO.

 

Well yes of course that would be more impressive. That would take years. Unless you're talking about someone who was skinny fat. And they virtually had no muscle mass.

 

Losing weight is easy. Losing fat and keeping it off is hard.

[Orgfiller]

Well yes of course that would be more impressive. That would take years. Unless you're talking about someone who was skinny fat. And they virtually had no muscle mass.

 

Losing weight is easy. Losing fat and keeping it off is hard.

 

Lowry is a professional athlete though, and has access to a top of the class training facility with expert trainers and his own chef if he wants. That takes a bit of the impressiveness away, though it doesn't make his hard work any less commendable.

[gruber92]

Edward Olivares putting together a nice season. Can't ignore 14 bombs. He might be due for a promotion himself.

 

Doesn't he have like 13 or 14 OF assists and a SB threat? This kid could turn into something.

[John_Havok]

He didn't just lose weight he noticeably transformed his body. He's in peak condition now. He was always known for having a "different body type" for a point guard. It took ridiculous work and nutrition to get him in that shape. Vlady can do the same.

 

The research and information they have now is incredible.

 

You'd be surprised how little information and actual help propects in baseball get from their parent clubs. It really is quite pathetic how they treat their minor league teams and players in baseball.

[John_Havok]

Doesn't he have like 13 or 14 OF assists and a SB threat? This kid could turn into something.

 

Could be the next Pillar-type breakout.

[Jonn]

You'd be surprised how little information and actual help propects in baseball get from their parent clubs. It really is quite pathetic how they treat their minor league teams and players in baseball.

 

Well that's kind of the point of the high performance program. They wanted to preach fitness and nutrition throughout the organization. Getting the most of its players. It might take a few years to see the fruit of that labour. But its only going to get better when they finally renovate Dunedin and Shapiro's vision starts to take shape. It would be nice to see Vlady Jr. take full advantage. It will only help his case to stay at third base. Hes noticeably leaner than where he was when he first signed. Maybe he's finally trimming the baby fat. I would like to see take the next step physically and I'm sure that's the plan.

[John_Havok]

Well that's kind of the point of the high performance program. They wanted to preach fitness and nutrition throughout the organization. Getting the most of its players. It might take a few years to see the fruit of that labour. But its only going to get better when they finally renovate Dunedin and Shapiro's vision starts to take shape. It would be nice to see Vlady Jr. take full advantage. It will only help his case to stay at third base. Hes noticeably leaner than where he was when he first signed. Maybe he's finally trimming the baby fat. I would like to see take the next step physically and I'm sure that's the plan.

 

Yes, clubs are definitely improving in this area. It's weird how long it took to recognize as something they should be actively investing in though.

[admin]

Well that's kind of the point of the high performance program. They wanted to preach fitness and nutrition throughout the organization. Getting the most of its players. It might take a few years to see the fruit of that labour. But its only going to get better when they finally renovate Dunedin and Shapiro's vision starts to take shape. It would be nice to see Vlady Jr. take full advantage. It will only help his case to stay at third base. Hes noticeably leaner than where he was when he first signed. Maybe he's finally trimming the baby fat. I would like to see take the next step physically and I'm sure that's the plan.

 

I called this out atleast ten years ago and can't/couldn't believe how poorly the minor leagues are being ran by organizations. You have 18,19,20 year olds still maturing and growing, getting paid peanuts (most of them), more often then not, they can't afford healthy food and/or don't know how to prepare it. You can pay a guy $20M/year but can't drop a million or two on a chef and food for your minor leagues? This is your future you're investing in, why would you neglect it.

 

Now I'm not sure how much it's changed over the past few years but years ago there was no investment in nutrition and fitness at the minor league level.

[Stoneyen]

Lets get prospect porn day started:

[vdubmvp]

Lets get prospect porn day started:

 

The sound makes it kind of creepy. I like it.

[Orgfiller]

Lets get prospect porn day started:

 

They couldn't remove the audio?

[burlingtonbandit]

I called this out atleast ten years ago and can't/couldn't believe how poorly the minor leagues are being ran by organizations. You have 18,19,20 year olds still maturing and growing, getting paid peanuts (most of them), more often then not, they can't afford healthy food and/or don't know how to prepare it. You can pay a guy $20M/year but can't drop a million or two on a chef and food for your minor leagues? This is your future you're investing in, why would you neglect it.

 

Now I'm not sure how much it's changed over the past few years but years ago there was no investment in nutrition and fitness at the minor league level.

 

Agree 100%. Its still terrible even now. 90% of the players get fed Peanut Butter Sandwiches before the games. As far as I can tell the Jays minor leaguers are included in that group.

[TheHurl]

Agree 100%. Its still terrible even now. 90% of the players get fed Peanut Butter Sandwiches before the games. As far as I can tell the Jays minor leaguers are included in that group.

 

This was an article in BP talking about it 5 years ago. Still crazy that despite these numbers it still isn't a thing.

 

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=18777

 

You have six minor-league teams (AAA, AA, High-A, Low-A, short-season A, and rookie). Let's assume that the parent club is spending nothing on providing food.

 

On each, there will be 35 or so folks to feed, including the players, coaches, and the clubhouse guy.

 

They are on company time 180 days out of the year (or so).

 

You will feed them a nutritious lunch and dinner, whether you are at home or on the road. This will probably involve interacting with several local catering companies or a national food service company that's big enough to have offices in places like Rancho Cucamonga. You can do it buffet style, and you don't need table linens. You might also want to look into specialty catering that is savvy to the dietary needs of athletes.

 

Let's say that you have to spend $25 per head per meal. That's around what I saw for a one-off, full service, on-location buffet style dinner with set up and tear down. Seeing that this would be a very large contract, there's probably some room to negotiate. You can also stop giving out meal money and count that as a net savings.

The exact numbers would be a little more fluid, but under these assumptions, the final cost would be $1,890,000 per year. Plus, you'd probably have to hire someone in the office to serve as a culinary logistics coordinator. With that salary and benefits and overhead, let's just call that an even $2 million in costs. Whether or not the exact dollar amount is correct, that's at least the correct order of magnitude.

 

Two million bucks is a lot of money. And there's more bad news. Just providing meals will not solve all of your food-related problems. There will still be players who eat their way out of baseball. People over-eat for all sorts of reasons, including emotional reasons (anyone on the team homesick?) or just not being very educated about eating. It’s not like 21-year-old men in general—or come to think of it, the people of the United States as a whole—are known for their ability to construct a healthy diet, and you can't stop them from eating after they leave the park. There are some additional cultural issues with which to contend. In United States culture, men, especially when around other men, often over-eat as a matter of trying to gain status. Then there's the realization that some players can be perfectly fed and it won't make a difference... some guys just have a bad attitude. And, to top it all off, even if this works, you probably wouldn't see any results at the major-league level for a few years.

 

It's tempting to want to solve the whole problem right now, but that's not how public health works. I'd love to convince everyone to quit smoking, but if I can show a project I worked on stops 100,000 people from starting, then I will do a little dance of joy. What $2 million really buys in public health terms is replacing a structural obstacle to proper nutrition with an easy access point to that nutrition. Most players understand that they need to eat right (or can be taught). When you combine increased access to something good with an understanding that it is good, good things happen.

 

While we're at it, the program would probably provide some additional fringe benefits. Players who don't have to wander in search of food have one less opportunity to be doing something that will get them in trouble. (Remember: 21-year-old males.) Word would probably get around, and players might figure that all else being equal, they’d rather go to the organization with the better food (hey, one less thing to worry about!). Plus, the meal would probably be served in the clubhouse. People bond over food. It's hard to be angry at someone when you break bread with them. It makes for a nicer place to work. Maybe that makes your organization a destination that people take a second look at. Come for the food, stay for the seventh inning.

 

Let's look at those $2 million from the point of view of a return on investment. I'm assuming that the cash would have to come out of some other pot of money. The draft bonus pot and the international signing budgets are both capped in the new CBA, and it doesn't make sense to take from there anyway. But the free agent budget...

[Ray]

Not sure if this was posted, but Tim Mayza was promoted from AA to AAA.

[burlingtonbandit]

This was an article in BP talking about it 5 years ago. Still crazy that despite these numbers it still isn't a thing.

 

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=18777

 

Yeah its quite remarkable. I think the Dodgers are the only team that does it across all minor league levels. But its funny that teams will spend $3-4 Million on a s***** relief pitcher yet won't pay for good food to prospects they value in the tens of Millions.

 

Its like buying a Ferarri and putting the shittiest fuel in the gas tank.