P2F

Gross. Reported.

Do I really need to tell you why Nate Pearson is miles ahead of Patrick Murphy and Jackson McClelland?

Rodon suxxxxxxxxxxx. I wouldn't event think twice about that.

Yusei Kikuchi just hired Boras Corporation. Welp.

Because Saros is about to be the #1 goalie for that team.

We don't want Rinne.

If so, I'd be willing to put $50 on this once some ground rules are laid out, tercet.

A time-tested and successful business plan if there ever was one, you erudite sum'bitch.

Wouldn't Garrett Richards need to be signed to at least a 2-year deal since he's likely out all of next season recovering from TJS, or am I wrong?

What are you even 'no'ing?

Thanks mostly to the Fall Stars Game, I'm thinking the Nate Pearson hype train has officially begun in the public sphere. I expect he'll be a consensus top-60 prospect in all of baseball this offseason, which is saying a lot considering he missed almost the entire season.

I don't think so. It sounds like multiple guns had the same reading.

I use Headliner to make these audiograms and they attempt to automatically transcribe each sound clip. I'll go through the transcription to edit anything that needs to be changed and then export the video file and voila.

Vote, comment, retweet, whatever.

That's not an opening day lineup that I projected, it's merely the best/most likely lineup that we could see in 2019 from the players already in the system. Biggio and Bichette are definitely not making the opening day lineup. I agree in regards to Travis and Biagini, which was a subpoint of my post. When Biggio, Bichette, and Vlad all get promoted throughout 2019, roster moves will need to be made as a result. For example, sending Travis down to AAA (if he's even on the opening day roster in the first place) is a no-brainer, as he still has options. I also listed numerous players that I hope Atkins targets in the offseason, which, if acquired, would subsequently lead to fringe players like Travis and Biagini being optioned to AAA as a result. I don't think you read the whole post.

Looks like Nate Pearson is going to Driveline Baseball this offseason.

Sweet Jesus.

Vlad!

As things stand right now, the best-looking lineup for 2019 is probably something like: C-Danny Jansen 1B-Justin Smoak 2B-Lourdes Gurriel Jr./Cavan Biggio 3B-Vladimir Guerrero Jr. SS-Aledmys Diaz/Bo Bichette LF-Billy McKinney/Cavan Biggio CF-Kevin Pillar RF-Randal Grichuk DH-Kendrys Morales BN-Teoscar Hernandez BN-Brandon Drury BN-Russell Martin BN-Devon Travis (or Tulo if magically healthy) That's without taking into consideration any FA upgrades or possible trades. It's really hard to say what Atkins will do this winter, but I do hope signing or trading for an actually good OF is at the top of the priority list. Because unless Alford regains his previous form and/or Biggio really takes to LF and maintains his gains from 2018, OF is a bit of a barren wasteland in the organization. Sure, there are MLB-ready depth pieces like Davis, Smith Jr., and Ramirez, but none of those guys project to be more than a platoon/4th OF type in the majors. Grichuk is solid and, ideally, I'd really like to move him to CF where his bat would play up even more so. Fire Pillar into the sun for all I care. SP-Marcus Stroman SP-Aaron Sanchez SP-Ryan Borucki SP-Sean Reid-Foley SP-Sam Gaviglio/Thomas Pannone/David Paulino/Julian Merryweather This is the team's biggest weakness and, subsequently, the area in most dire need of improvement. Atkins needs to sign at least two starters this offseason. There isn't enough quality MLB-ready depth to make it through a full season without bringing in a couple of proven MLB starting pitchers. Young pitchers like Zeuch, Harris, Romano, and Waguespack are not the types we should rely upon for 2019, let alone expect them to necessarily contribute anything positive at the MLB level. RHP-Ken Giles RHP-David Paulino RHP-Ryan Tepera LHP-Tim Mayza RHP-Joe Biagini RHP-Danny Barnes LHP-Travis Bergen Giles is great and I still can't believe that trade. I don't think enough has been said about the great job Atkins did getting the pieces he got for Osuna. It would've been a great trade even without Osuna's legal issues, but it's full-on trape when you consider the circumstances. I'm not certain where Paulino will slot in next season, but he's probably a good-to-very-good relief pitcher and I feel comfortable relying on him to produce at the MLB level as long as he's healthy. Tepera and Mayza are nice BP pieces as well. After that, things get a little dicey. It's hard to put any faith into Biagini at this point, so it's probably for the best that we don't. Hopefully, Atkins feels the same way. I like Bergen quite a bit and hope that we see him at some point next season. This brings us to my wishlist: Sign one of A.J. Pollock or Michael Brantley to a 3 or 4-year deal, or Andrew McCutchen to a 3-year deal, or trade for one of Domingo Santana or Jose Martinez - both have upside and are superfluous and under-utilized on their current teams. Sign Yusei Kikuchi. This is risky, but it's a risk worth taking, in my opinion. Yes, Kikuchi battled a shoulder injury this season and saw his numbers subsequently dip a little bit in 2018 as a result, but he has the upside of a #2/3 if healthy and might prove to be the best FA value on the open market. Trade for Jon Gray. Honestly, just do it. It's tough to say what it would actually take to get Gray from Colorado, but you wouldn't be wrong to assume that it should require a haul. Having said that, we can't ignore the fact that the Rockies FO is probably dumb and unquestionably behind the Blue Jays in regards to analytics. So if an affordable opportunity presents itself, I truly hope the Blue Jays are the first team to call Jeff Bridich to acquire Gray's services. The upside with Gray is that of a true #1. If Gray proves to be too expensive, then I hope the Jays sign a pitcher or two like Matt Harvey and/or Trevor Cahill to provide MLB-calibre depth with the potential for contributing at an above average level if either can stay healthy for a full season. Harvey was excellent over this season's last couple of months. Here are his numbers over that timeframe, while also averaging 94.5 MPH on his FB and inducing swinging strikes at an 11.6% rate: Sign a potential bargain relief ace like David Robertson, Cody Allen, or Kelvin Herrera. This kind of signing speaks for itself, as all of these guys have previously pitched at an above average (or elite) level in numerous seasons. None are projected to earn more than 3/33 (Robertson), so I say get it f***ing done, Atkins. Fill out the bullpen with an astute signing or two of inexpensive pitchers like Jake Diekman, Drew Pomeranz, Oliver Perez, and Nate Karns. There are so many interesting relief pitchers available though, so my list extends out well beyond the above shortlist. These are just a few off the top of my head that are likely to be undervalued, inexpensive, and obtainable, while more likely than not to contribute positively for an MLB team next season. First and foremost, I'm all for the youth movement. Having some of our most promising prospects begin to reach the majors in 2019 is damn exciting, but that doesn't mean you stop spending money in free agency or trying to field a competitive roster in the meantime. Adding a few pieces like the ones above will allow for prospects like Bichette and Biggio to make the team organically, meaning that they can be given the opportunity to acclimate themselves to the major leagues when lineup regulars inevitably miss time with injury or underperform expectations. Vlad is a different story, of course. He's pretty much expected to be the team's best hitter immediately once he's up. While it's likely that he's promoted in mid-April, it's not completely out of the realm of all things possible that we don't see him until June, once the Super Two deadline has cleared. Either way, the Vlad era officially begins as soon as he gets the call from Buffalo in 2019. If you haven't seen it yet, Steamer has him projected to be a 138 wRC+ bat right away. If the Jays do sign a couple of starting pitchers, the AAA depth would almost become an actual asset, but I won't go quite that far. That being said, SRF, Gaviglio, Pannone, Paulino, Merryweather, Romano, Zeuch, Harris, and Waguespack are all close-proximity potential starting pitchers that could see some time with the Blue Jays throughout the 2019 season. Not only would this team be exciting to watch in 2019, but it could also realistically compete for a wildcard spot as well. It's highly, highly unlikely that the offseason will align exactly as I want it to, but if the Blue Jays are active in free agency and/or make a couple of sagacious trades to bolster their roster, the general premise that I've outlined above remains the same. With Martin's contract off the books after 2019 and Tulo's after 2020, and coupled with the fact that this offseason's free agency class is unprecedentedly deep, the time is right to add to this team and position it to be competitive for both the future and even right now. There's no reason why this Blue Jays team shouldn't be better than last year's iteration and why it couldn't realistically compete for a playoff spot. 2019 marks the beginning of the perpetual wave of young minor league talent contributing at the major league level. If Atkins plays his cards correctly, a sustained winner is already in the making and the rebuild turnaround time will be very minimal or virtually non-existent.

Brook Jacoby has been shitcanned. mrburnsexcellent.gif

So the Dodgers basically added an additional year of Kershaw at $28M, IIRC. If he plays out the duration of this contract in his current role, I'll be shocked. His back looks like it's f***ed - or, at least, he's pitching like it is.

Do you think you could do the honourable thing and slap an NSFW tag on this thread, BTS? Some of us are at work.

It's now later. Heeeeeeeere's YouTube!

That's weird. To me, it feels incredibly right.

2019 Toronto Blue Jays Top 10 Chat Ben Badler: Happy Halloween everyone! A lot of talent throughout the Blue Jays' farm system, even beyond the obvious 1-2 prospects. Let's get started. Keith (Delaware): Shapiro is convinced his farm system is top 5 overall. Would you concur? Ben Badler: Yes, I think that’s a fair assessment. They’re not No. 1 or 2, but they’re definitely within that 5-ish overall neighborhood. J.P. (Springfield, IL): Thanks for chatting, Ben. At this point, is health the only thing standing in Alford's way? Will we see him in the early teens in the Handbook? Ben Badler: Staying healthy is a big one for Alford, but when he was on the field this year, he also just didn’t perform very well. His timing just seemed to be off the whole year, and with that his strikeout rate went way, way up. When you’re 24 years old in Triple-A, you’ve just got to hit better than .238/.314/.339. I do you think you can look at the talent and the track record up through Double-A with Alford and see reasons why he could rebound, so he’s not far off the top 10, but as someone who’s been fairly high on Alford before, right now it’s hard to feel comfortable betting on him as an everyday regular. Fenrir (Toronto): Did the lack of result in AFL hurt Pearson's prospect standing? He hasn't shown the ability to command his FB Ben Badler: If I remember right, by the time I finished the list, Pearson had only one AFL outing, but I wouldn't change anything based on shaky command in the AFL from a pitcher who essentially missed the entire 2018 season. He's a tricky one to rank given his circumstances and I think you could make a reasonable case to bump him up even a couple spots higher than where he is on the list, but the good thing on Pearson out of the AFL is the stuff all seems to still be intact. Warren (New London): Cal Stevenson had a .511 on base percentage and scored 73 runs in 59 games, but one would have liked to see him against better competition. Are observers buying into him yet? Will he make the 30? Ben Badler: I am. Probably one of my favorite sleepers in the system. Love the plate discipline, hitting approach and he runs well too . . . need to see him replicate it beyond rookie leagues, but I think that could prove to be a great pick out of the 10th round. Mike (Tampa, FL): Is it safe to assume the CBA was solely responsible for preventing Vlad Jr from getting a September call up, or are you buying the story about his defense being the deal breaker? If it's the latter, will his defense *magically* improve enough by, say, mid-April? Ben Badler: They are planning to keep him in the minor leagues for the beginning of the season to manipulate his service time and gain an extra year of team control. Same thing the Braves did with Ronald Acuña and the Cubs did with Kris Bryant, among other examples. Andrew (Alberta): Are there any pitchers in the lower levels that we should be keeping an eye on come 2019? Thank you. Ben Badler: Adam Kloffenstein didn't pitch this year after the draft, but he's someone who got top 10 consideration and could quickly jump into that group in 2019. Frank (Indianapolis, IN): How many of these guys are likely to make the top 100? Ben Badler: I think 5-6, maybe 7, with the top eight all belonging in the Top 100 conversation. Norm (Texas): Ben -- Bichette has all the ear-marks of a developing hitter. But, what does his defense look like? Can he play an effective shortstop in the big leagues? Ben Badler: Yes. He put a lot of time into working at his defense over the last couple of years and you could see the results show on the field this season. Good hands, feet work well, body control, ranges well on plays up the middle, smooth on the double play turn. I don't see any need for him to change positions. Oren (Oshawa, ON): What happened to Logan Warmoth? What are the chances he can rebound? Ben Badler: A very vanilla look this season. If you liked him coming into the year, it was more about the sum of the parts than any loud tools—the tools were more a bag of 5s or a tick under—but this year he just didn't hit either. He'll still be in their top 30 but it's not pointing in the right direction. Mike (Toronto): Settle a debate I’m having with my buddy: Gabriel Moreno or Riley Adams? Will we see either in the top 20? Ben Badler: I'd take Moreno. Athletic catcher with terrific hand-eye coordination, rarely swings and misses. Now he has to make better decisions on when to swing, because right now he's a free-swinger who can get away with it because he can still make contact even on pitches he should lay off, but I'll take the starting ingredients of a catcher who has a preternatural knack for putting the barrel to the ball. Kingsley (Toronto): Doesn't the lack of height from Pardinho scares you? I think he projects similarly like deivi Garcia Ben Badler: It doesn't. If he were an amateur pitcher who was touching 92 and I had to project whether he would throw harder, maybe that would come into play, but he's already reaching the mid-90s. And he's backing it up with swing-and-miss breaking pitches, with excellent control for his age coming out of a free and easy delivery. It's a lot of signs that point to a potential midrotation or even frontline type of starter. Ty (Edmonton): Of all the current Jays prospects who didn't make the top 10, who do you see as most likely to make the jump next year? Ben Badler: Kloffenstein I mentioned earlier, but I think Gabriel Moreno, Orelvis Martinez, Griffin Conine and Cal Stevenson are others I could see making that leap. Jack (Toronto): How far out is Orelevis Martinez from the top 10? Ben Badler: Not too far. I thought there was a clear group of 8-9 guys at the top of the system, with a lot of different ways you could go at the back of the list. I went with Miguel Hiraldo over Orelvis Martinez because Hiraldo was one of the best hitters in a pretty stacked 2017 international class, then went out and backed that up with pro performance on the field, hitting and hitting with some impact too. Orelvis might end up being just as good or better than Hiraldo when we're talking again this time next year, but right now that extra certainty in Hiraldo gave him an edge for me. Craig Borden (Rochester, NY): There were plenty of standouts this season but who shocked you with their performance this season. Who surprised you? Brock Lundquist caught me off gaurd and was really fun to watch as were most of the Lansing Lugnuts. Ben Badler: Cavan Biggio. Coming into the season I thought he was longshot type prospect, but he made some legitimate swing adjustments that helped, he's an extremely patient hitter and the power will translate. Still some questions he's going to have to answer but I definitely did not expect him to have this loud of a season. Clinton (BC, Canada): Looking at this top ten list where do you think the Jays farm system ranks overall? I've read in various places it's top heavy and it's been a stated goal of Atkins and Shapiro to build the depth, do you think they have? Ben Badler: It's one of the better systems in the game. Obviously Vladdy Jr. alone carries an enormous amount of value and Bichette does as well, but it's a pretty balanced system from top to bottom. You've got those guys, Jansen, Reid-Foley, Biggio in the upper levels, players like Smith and Pearson in that next wave, then Pardinho and Groshans were two of the most exciting players in short-season/rookie leagues this year, plus more draft/international talent on the way up with players like Hiraldo, Kloffenstein, Conine, Orelvis, Moreno, Jimenez, among others. Karl of Delaware (Georgetown, Delaware): Guerrero, Bichette, Kacy Clemens, Yuli Gurriel - all these guys have dads or brothers who made the big time. Does this indicate that the Blue Jay's scouting machine pays more attention to linage than the typical scouting department? Ben Badler: Plus Biggio and Conine too. It definitely sticks out. Bloodlines are something they look at, but I don't know that it's something they weight any more heavily than most clubs. One thing most of those players have in common is that they're just good prospects, and they've done a good job identifying amateur players in both the draft and the international market, regardless of bloodlines. Mike (Ottawa, ON): Assuming health issues can be avoided, where do you see Nate Pearson's potential? Thanks. Ben Badler: Could be a midrotation starter, and depending what he shows next year I might even upgrade that. He's a tricky one to evaluate, because he looked so good after signing last year, to the point where we jumped him into our Top 100, but it's difficult to have a lot of confidence in both nailing down his present ability and basing a projection off that given how little he's been on the mound this season. But obviously what he's flashed going back to last year has been exciting. Greg (Saskatchewan): How good can Jordan Groshans become in your opinion? Thanks. Ben Badler: Heard great things on Groshans from evaluators who saw him in the Gulf Coast League this season. If I had to bet, I'd say he's probably a third baseman in the end rather than a shortstop, though I wouldn't rule out shortstop yet either, but the offensive game projects at either position. Advanced approach, potential plus bat/plus power combination if everything clicks. Arrow-up guy for sure. Jeff (Calgary): Of the two, which one of Kevin Smith or Biggio has the best chance to be an above avg regular? Here is hoping the swing changes Smith made are legit. Ben Badler: Kevin Smith. Biggio's done it at a higher level on the offensive side, but Smith's ability to play shortstop while Biggio still is working to either stay at second base or move around the field is an edge for Smith. Jeff (Mississauga, ON): Hi Ben, Is Chavez Young or Ryan Noda anything to get excited about? How about Samad Taylor? Ben Badler: There's something there with Ryan Noda. It's a three true outcomes profile, a lot of walks, home runs and strikeouts, with defensive limitations. He is extremely patient and it's legit plus power. By the time he gets to Double-A, I think we'll have a better sense of how much of this is going to translate, but you have to like the value to get a player like that in the 15th round. Jeff (Calgary): People were shocked when the Jays took Groshans as high as they did. Is he the type of athletic kid that can hit for both average and power? Ben Badler: I think he can. And I think it's always important to be updating our reports and projections as new information comes in, especially as players go from competing against other amateur players to having to do it with wood bats against professional competition, whether that's for draft picks or international signings. Bo Bichette is another example of that. The Blue Jays drafted him in the second round, but by the time he was done in the GCL, it was pretty clear to scouts who saw him there that he was a first-round caliber talent. The buzz isn't quite as electric on Groshans as it was at the time on Bichette, but the point is more that we always have to be incorporating new information as it comes in, and there's a good amount of evidence since the draft that Groshans' talent fits in at the top of that first round. Fonz (Milwaukee): Is TJ Zeuch someone who would have been in the back end of the 10 if you had weighted factors differently? To you, is he most likely (1) a future MLB back end starter, (2) a future MLB long guy out of the bullpen, or (3) a AAAA-type pitcher who fills whatever holes the big league club requires? Ben Badler: Probably somewhere between 2 or 3. It's heavy sink dropping down from a skyscraper frame, but the lack of an out pitch among his secondary stuff is a big concern. Grant (Kingston, Ontario): What position should the front office look to draft in the upcoming draft? Thank you. Ben Badler: Just take the best players available. The Astros had Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve, but they still took LSU shortstop Alex Bregman at No. 2 overall in 2015. Too many setups for mistakes when you narrow your focus to certain positions. Ben Badler: Thanks for all the questions. You can drop some in my IG story tonight too and I'll try to get to some of them there during trick-or-treating. And if you see anyone walking around tonight with a Vlad Jr. costume, please stop me and say hello.