TheHurl

I want to watch the Raptors but I can't miss any part of this series in case Matt Bush debuts. Seriously I might shed a tear.

March 20th TJS...any idea if he's going to pitch before the draft?

Will have...future tense. 96 works in to one last tank....it's the 130+ next year I look forward to.

Better fantasy prospect Gallo or Moncada?

Addy Russell up to a 115 wRC+. Some comparables to the age: Hanley 116 wRC...next season 144 Ripken 116 wRC...next season 146 Trammell 115 wRC...next season 97, but a 142 age 25 season. Tulo 109 wRC...next season 83, but then 138 the following. I'm going to go ahead and say it! For the first time ever in a dynasty pool I will have an elite SS. Now I'll go back to talking about how s*** my team is.

just an article on some fast or slow starts that might not reflect true talent...somehow TRM will make this about Robles of course. Last week we featured standout numbers from the first month-plus of the Minor League season and how we're beginning to get out of small-sample-size territory. We also posed the question, "Are any early-season numbers definitive? Of course not." Let's expound on that. There are a couple of MLB.com's top 100 overall prospects who have gotten off to incredibly good or incredibly poor starts based on traditional stats such as batting average and ERA. But dig a little deeper into the peripherals and you'll realize that things may get much better -- or worse -- as the season progresses and "luck" turns around. We've talked about prospects like Rafael Devers and Dan Vogelbach's unsustainable starts in recent daily roundups. Below is a closer look at five others. (Note: All stats are through Monday's games, unless otherwise noted.) Rockies RHP Jeff Hoffman, No. 48 overall, Triple-A Albuquerque: By usual standards, Hoffman's first full season in the Rockies system is off to a great start as he's gone 2-1 with a 1.96 ERA. Go a little deeper, and that's when things start to look a little less rosy. Hoffman's put up a fairly average 7.4 K/9 over his six starts (36 2/3 innings) with the Isotopes, and that, combined with a relatively high 1.0 HR/9, leads to a rough 4.53 FIP. No pitcher in the PCL has a bigger gulf between his ERA and FIP than Hoffman's 2.56. A big part of that is Hoffman is fairly contact-reliant as a groundball pitcher, and if his defense can help keep his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) low, then the ERA should follow. Hoffman's .228 BABIP is second-lowest in the PCL, and while Hoffman's ability to limit extremely hard contact in the early going is laudable, until he starts missing bats at impressive levels, don't get too caught up in thinking he's been especially dominant based on ERA alone just yet. Cardinals RHP Jack Flaherty, No. 76 overall, Class A Advanced Palm Beach: It's the opposite issue for Flaherty, who hasn't taken kindly to the Florida State League so far. The 20-year-old right-hander is 0-3 with a 6.08 ERA and 1.61 WHIP through six starts (26 2/3 innings) with Palm Beach, and that could be potentially worrisome if it were over a larger sample. However, there are still reasons for optimism when it comes to the 2014 first-rounder. First, let's set aside but acknowledge that seven of his 18 earned runs came in one disastrous April 19 outing that lasted just 1/3 of an inning, Second, consider that he's still striking out 9.1 batters per nine innings and has posted a fairly solid 3.48 FIP. If you took those two numbers alone, you'd think Flaherty was off to an OK start. Instead, he's hurt by a .372 BABIP and a low 59.7 percent left-on-base percentage. Those stats were at much more normal levels at .331 and 72.3 last season at Class A Peoria, where he had a 2.84 ERA and 2.83 FIP. If there is anything worrisome with Flaherty, it's that his control is hurting him as his BB/9 has jumped from 2.9 in 2015 to 4.1 in 2016, but expect better numbers from St. Louis' No. 2 overall prospect going forward. A's 1B Matt Olson, No. 96 overall, Triple-A Nashville: Turning our attention to hitters, Olson hasn't exactly hit the ground running in his first season at the Triple-A level with a .167 average and .591 OPS through 28 games. But it gets better from there. He's still the same Olson of years past in that he's taking plenty of walks, namely one in every 14 plate appearances. That's led to a .280 OBP that seems palatable next to his average. What's more, even that stat should improve going forward as the A's prospect's .211 BABIP is third-lowest among all PCL batters. Consider this: when Olson hit .249 last season at Double-A Midland, he had a .311 BABIP. So that average should rise significantly, even if it never gets all that high, and his OBP should look even more impressive as it makes the turn for the mid-.300s. The next thing that'll need to come is his plus power, typically seen as his best tool. The 22-year-old has gone deep just three times and owns a fairly pedestrian .144 ISO, down from .189 in the Texas League. If he can't provide some pop, it may not matter how much of an excuse he has for his lower average. Astros 1B A.J. Reed, No. 36 overall, Triple-A Fresno: Reed is in a similar situation to Olson, albeit not as extreme a case. The Astros' No. 2 prospect is hitting just .223 over his first 27 games in the PCL, one year after he hit .340 at two levels in his breakout first full season in the Houston system. The peripherals, however, are much rosier. His 20.8 strikeout rate is almost identical to his numbers at Double-A (20.7) in 2015, while his walk rate has jumped from 11.4 to 13.3, leading to a more respectable .325 OBP. What's more, he's still bringing some decent power with six homers and a .233 ISO. The whole package has resulted in an above-average 111 wRC+, despite the low average that is hurt by a .233 BABIP, a number that should rebound as the summer progresses. If you need more convincing: Reed hit just .208 during the first month of the 2015 campaign with Class A Advanced Lancaster, and that was with a much more helpful .261 BABIP. You know how that ended, so Reed should be fine. Pirates C Reese McGuire, No. 94 overall, Double-A Altoona: McGuire has always been considered a defense-first catcher, so whatever offense he can bring in the Pittsburgh system is generally a bonus. The problem is there hasn't been that much of it in the early going in the Eastern League. The 21-year-old backstop is hitting just .222 through 21 games, and even with the 16 hits he has collected, only two have gone for extra bases (one homer, one double). He's run into same bad luck at least in the first department, though, with just a .234 BABIP. The news gets even better from there as McGuire's walk total (14) is double his strikeout total (seven) through 86 plate appearances. That knowledge of the strike zone -- perhaps unsurprising for someone who makes a living behind the plate -- has led to a salvageable 92 wRC+, and that number should rise as BABIP normalizes.[/b]

MLB posted this earlier in the week. I think all of their packages are light. Cubs They've already built a super team, so why not a super-duper team? The Cubs have more than enough young talent to turn the Angels organization around quickly in a deal for Trout, without completely abandoning their own plan of sustained success through player development. And because they are in the National League, the Angels won't have to compete with them for playoff positioning down the road, which definitely helps. We'll start with Kyle Schwarber, who can clearly rake, but is a poor fit for a team that has a star first baseman and no DH spot. (For the purposes of this exercise, we'll assume that Schwarber comes back healthy from his knee injury, and there is currently no reason to think he won't be an impact hitter when he returns.) The Cubs would have to add another impactful Major League-ready piece like Javier Baez, who has 30-homer power like Schwarber. Chicago could also throw in outfielder Jorge Soler or Willson Contreras, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the best backstop prospect in the game. That package of three young, big league-ready, controllable players would make the Cubs a front-runner in any potential deal Red Sox Boston president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has a had a long history of making bold trades, having been in charge of the Marlins when they traded for Piazza from the Dodgers and then flipping him to the Mets a week later. He was also in charge of the Tigers when they traded Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller -- then two of the best prospects in baseball -- to the Marlins in the Miguel Cabrera deal. There would be no better way for Dombrowski to put his stamp on this Red Sox team for the foreseeable future than by bringing in Trout to lead the team just as David Ortiz says goodbye. For the Red Sox to be included in this type of trade, they would have to include top prospects like Yoan Moncada -- the No. 5 prospect in MLB, per Pipeline -- and Andrew Benintendi (No. 22), and then also throw in the likes of outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. and lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, who would help the big league club now. That package would get them in the conversation with the Angels while Sox fans could watch a dream lineup of Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia, Trout and Xander Bogaerts for the next several seasons. Mets Trout is from New Jersey, so there would certainly be some "local kid comes home" appeal here. Of course, to swing the deal, the Mets would probably have to part with southpaw Steven Matz, another local boy who grew up on Long Island. New York would also have to include Michael Conforto, which would give the Angels two potential stars with less than two years of service time, while the Mets could put Trout in center and move Yoenis Cespedes back to left field full time. It would certainly hurt the Mets' rotation depth in the short term, but they could piece things together until Zack Wheeler returns in July. Alternatively, the Mets could trade Wheeler and Conforto and add first baseman Dominic Smith (No. 47 prospect in MLB) and shortstop Amed Rosario (No. 75) to round out a robust package. Rangers The Rangers' front office made a major trade at the Trade Deadline last July when they acquired Cole Hamels from the Phillies for four of Texas' top 15 prospects, including outfielder Nick Williams, catcher Jorge Alfaro, and right-handers Jake Thompson and Jerad Eickhoff. Trading for Trout would require more overall talent than that, but the Rangers certainly possess the system and aggressive mindset to pull off such a deal. Jurickson Profar, who is fully healed from shoulder issues, and top prospect Nomar Mazara, who just won AL Rookie of the Month honors for April, would both need to be a part of any deal. Profar would fit perfectly in Anaheim, as the former shortstop's arm woes make him better suited for second base at this point, and he would pair nicely with Andrelton Simmons in the middle of the diamond. To complete the deal, Texas would need to include a third piece, either Joey Gallo (Pipeline's No. 7 overall prospect) or outfielder Lewis Brinson (No. 13). The Rangers certainly have the talent, and the biggest obstacle here might be the fact that these two clubs are division rivals. Dodgers The Dodgers have put a premium on acquiring top young players through the Draft and internationally, and they have the depth necessary to make a deal for Trout. Now, a Trout trade between the two L.A. teams would take significant nerve and patience on both sides to pull off, but the Angels could certainly deepen their roster and reload with an eye toward the 2018 free-agent class, which could include the likes of Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. The Dodgers would need to include outfielder Joc Pederson -- who Trout would replace in center -- and Julio Urias -- the top left-handed pitching prospect in the game -- and one other upper-level prospect like righty Jose De Leon (L.A.'s No. 2 prospect) or Frankie Montas (No. 4), who could be an impact closer down the line. There's also Austin Barnes, a catcher who could probably start for a number of teams right now but is sitting in Triple-A behind Yasmani Grandal and A.J. Ellis. It would be a heavy price for the Dodgers, but acquiring a superstar like Trout would be the baseball equivalent of the Lakers signing Shaquille O'Neal in 1996.

I think he means the strategies around double switches. I honestly have zero issue with the two leagues having different rules.

I think NCAA adopted the DH in 2004

is it 9 free agents this year? Saunders makes so much sense to trade if they stay in the middle. There is a replacement available and his value is at an all time high.

Shrimp time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj-yAHTfVeE

get to two out and then queue up the shrimp?

who'll give me 100-1 on the Jays getting out of this without giving up a run. I'll take a $5 wager on it.

and why wouldn't you. He's completely useless. You think he goes around saying "I'm better than Aybar"

it's a joke dammit...

poll?

Remember that time I said that if Ryan Tepera ever gets a save in his career I'd run naked...oh nevermind

probably a bad call

He's so f***ing slow

Bautista shouldn't see anything over the plate

The control and velocity surgery...that one is my favourite

How dare you make up stuff KingKat.

funny stat...RA's career OBP is 5 points shy of Goins OBP this year

I'd rather see RA hit away...it's f***ing Goins on deck

Always love seeing Goins in to pinch hit.