Official MiLB/Prospects Thread

[max silver]

At least Vladdy had the decency to not get injured.

 

He was starting to have knee problems actually, but luckily he avoided serious injury while he was lugging the extra pounds around.

[bronson44]

[saskjayfan]

$4.8M signing bonus. That's more than enough if you're smart with it.

 

Half gone to taxes and what teenager is smart with their money..lol

[AMS528]

I got mildly excited at Samad Taylor's numbers and then saw he's striking out 36% of the time.

[metafour]

Kevin Smith is 3 for 4 with another HR (7th on the season) and a SB. No strikeouts. Is he back LMAO?

[metafour]

I got mildly excited at Samad Taylor's numbers and then saw he's striking out 36% of the time.

 

6 strikeouts to 4 walks (albeit 3 of those came tonight) so far in June. It's possible that the extreme K-rate in May was rust-related. He's definitely still worth watching at just 22 with his power/speed combo.

[ShowtimeBelli]

Kevin Smith is raking. 7th homerun of the season. When does he get a shot?

[WryNGinger]

I am really hoping Murphy adjusts to his delivery charge. Looking forward to more updates on his season. I feel for the guy...going through a chunk of a season with good results and then being told to change your whole routine.

[Ray]

Max Meyer’s slider is SO filthy

 

 

Pretty much every mock had us getting him before Martin fell to us.

[Deadpool]

Kevin Smith is raking. 7th homerun of the season. When does he get a shot?

 

I'd be willing to DFA Panik to add Kevin Smith... But this team just f***ing loves Panik for whatever reason.

 

Also, glad to see Smith was able to revert the changes he made that never seemed to work for him (or he made them work for him, I don't know if he changed back or not...)

[Laika]

I'd be willing to DFA Panik to add Kevin Smith... But this team just f***ing loves Panik for whatever reason.

 

Also, glad to see Smith was able to revert the changes he made that never seemed to work for him (or he made them work for him, I don't know if he changed back or not...)

 

Let's not get carried away. It's nice that Smith is turning himself back into a future depth option but that's all he really is - a depth option. Smith has like a 40 hit tool at best. It's pretty likely that Panik is a better MLB hitter than Smith right now and Panik fits the roster better as a LHB. Smith is pushing Espinal on the depth chart, not Panik. Breyvic Valera and Cristian Colon are also hitting down there and if there are injuries those two might get a twirl before Smith.

[Krylian]

[The Cats Ass]

Let's not get carried away. It's nice that Smith is turning himself back into a future depth option but that's all he really is - a depth option. Smith has like a 40 hit tool at best. It's pretty likely that Panik is a better MLB hitter than Smith right now and Panik fits the roster better as a LHB. Smith is pushing Espinal on the depth chart, not Panik. Breyvic Valera and Cristian Colon are also hitting down there and if there are injuries those two might get a twirl before Smith.

 

People just like to hate on Panik, not sure why. He's good at what he's expected to do, be a bench player to give guys days off and keep them fresh. He's never had a negative WAR any year.

[Brownie19]

People just like to hate on Panik, not sure why. He's good at what he's expected to do, be a bench player to give guys days off and keep them fresh. He's never had a negative WAR any year.

 

I think the issue is that while he doesn't really kill you anywhere, he also doesn't do anything well. He doesn't provide great defense or versatility. He doesn't kill RHP or LHP (which would allow you to slot him into the lineup at more opportune times). He isn't a plus runner who can pinch run or reek havoc on the bases and he doesn't provide power off the bench for late inning pinch hitting situations.

 

He just is pretty blah all around and while he's never posted a negative WAR, the 0.4 he's accumulated since 2018 suggests he isn't overly useful. Personally, I prefer someone like Davis who provides you know is at least going to provide great defense and base running (despite his other flaws). If he could just hit lefties better (say wRC+ of 110-120) then you can give him his weekly start v. a LHP and continue to bring him in late in games for defense or base running. I think that provides more value to the team.

[glory]

People just like to hate on Panik, not sure why. He's good at what he's expected to do, be a bench player to give guys days off and keep them fresh. He's never had a negative WAR any year.

 

Panik has a 0.4 WAR and 77 wRC+ in his last 1111 plate appearances (2018-present). As mentioned, he provides no platoon value and defensively he's a 2B-only player who is negative value defensive player at third where the Jays are playing him/starting him with Biggio out. He's not an end of the bench guy on this roster, he's the primary utility player who the manager loves.

 

Yes, Panik is what he is and may not be a negative WAR player, but he's just not good. This time with Biggio out they could have started Espinal everyday at 3B and at least seen what he has rather than giving him one or two games a week against a LHP and expecting him to hit them because he's a RHB.

[Spanky99]

People just like to hate on Panik, not sure why. He's good at what he's expected to do, be a bench player to give guys days off and keep them fresh. He's never had a negative WAR any year.

 

He'd be fine maybe in Espinal's role as a 26th man, we still see way too much of him. I guess that problem goes away when Biggio comes back shortly.

[max silver]

He'd be fine maybe in Espinal's role as a 26th man, we still see way too much of him. I guess that problem goes away when Biggio comes back shortly.

I'd like to think that would happen but Charlie still goes out of his way to get Panik regular playing time even when everyone is healthy.

[Spanky99]

I'd like to think that would happen but Charlie still goes out of his way to get Panik regular playing time even when everyone is healthy.

 

True, annoying.

[Daniel Labude]

Eric Pardinho

 

[metafour]

Samad Taylor: 3 for 4, 1 HR

 

He's kind of killing the ball right now.

[gruber92]

Samad Taylor: 3 for 4, 1 HR

 

He's kind of killing the ball right now.

 

.302 AVG .949 OPS 8 HR 11 SB in roughly 110 PA.

 

Moreno 2-4 with a double. Now hitting .375 with a 1.032 OPS

[glory]

Taylor is like 8 months older than Austin Martin. He’s still very young. The K% has to come down obviously but pop/speed combo is intriguing.

[Sorrow]

That K% and the BABIP are both concerning for Taylor, but he's really young so who knows how he turns out.

[Sammy225]

.302 AVG .949 OPS 8 HR 11 SB in roughly 110 PA.

 

Moreno 2-4 with a double. Now hitting .375 with a 1.032 OPS

 

Moreno looks like Moreno is going to have a decent bat but what is his Catching like i have never really heard too much on him defensively

[Daniel Labude]

[Olerud363]

Kevin Smith is raking. 7th homerun of the season. When does he get a shot?

 

I was looking for comparable players, minor league hitters who had decent numbers outside a unbelievable disaster of a season.

 

Smith's disaster was 2019 .209 .263 .403

 

Compare to

 

Teoscar Hernandez 2015 (22 years old) .219 .275 .362

 

Or Rowdy Tellez 2017 (also 22) - .222 .295 .333

 

Of course there may be differences in Strike-out rate and such.

 

I think if Smith keeps it up for a season (it's only been 1 month) you can start projecting him as a hitter somewhere at the Tellez/Hernandez level.

 

At the major league level Smith will probably (like Tellez and Hernandez) be a 5 week cold stretch from having a 'send to Korea' thread started, and a 5 week hot stretch from hitting clean up...

 

That could be valuable if he can play decent infield defense.

[Daniel Labude]

Orelvis Martinez was 3-6 with a 1B, 2B, and 3B last night and 1-4 with a HR tonight

[Mikeleelop]

Moreno looks like Moreno is going to have a decent bat but what is his Catching like i have never really heard too much on him defensively

 

Last night in the same inning he Threw out two guys trying to steal

 

Don’t know any more than that

[Spanky99]

Moreno looks like Moreno is going to have a decent bat but what is his Catching like i have never really heard too much on him defensively

 

Full Report

Lansing is the most hitter-friendly park in the Midwest League and it aided Moreno's 2019 power output. You can't fake an 11% strikeout rate, though, which was especially impressive considering he made that much contact as a teenager in full-season ball. Even though he is young, I thought it was unlikely Moreno would develop much more raw power, both because catching takes such a physical toll on the body that it often dilutes offensive production, and because Moreno is a smaller-framed young man. But his max exit velos at the 2020 alt site were up above what they were in 2019, which appears to be the result of added mass rather than a swing alteration. It's an encouraging sign and part of a pretty impressive 2020 for Moreono during which he was seen on alt site video, during instructs, and then later in the Venezuelan Winter League, where he hit .373/.471/.508. I think the length of his year is as close as any catching prospect has come to being forced to replicate an actual full season behind the dish in 2020. Defensively, he catches on one knee until there are runners on or there are two strikes, then sets up really wide in his crouch regardless of the pitch coming, which prevents runners from being able to signal pitch type to the hitter. He can sometimes be preoccupied with framing and whiff on a pitch he should be able to handle, but he's a capable if unspectacular defender and framer. Even with the little extra juice, Moreno's offensive profile is still all about hand-eye/bat-to-ball, punching airborne contact to all fields. He does enough of that to project as an everyday catcher. The Jays were compelled to add him to their 40-man this offseason, and he's one of five catchers they have rostered, making Moreno a potential trade chip if the competitive Blue Jays want to add to their roster. (Alternate site, Fall Instructional league, Venezuelan Winter League)

[Daniel Labude]