Laika

so far so good here. he was a ball placement artist in 2021. it was beautiful.

Average exit velocity was 390th out of 404 hitters to have at least 100 batted ball events. His floor is pretty bad. Like, not in the MLB. Many pitchers hit the ball with more authority.

When you see something like Steamer projecting a 91 wRC+ for Espinal and 90 wRC+ for Wendle... ...you have to understand that EVEN IF you accept those mean projections as sensible, they don't say much about the error bars, or the range of outcomes. If we apply some common sense, you can all acknowledge that Santiago Espinal basically has s***** Ryan Goins downside. It is entirely possible that his offense in 2021 was a complete mirage; pure BABIP luck. To wit, his wRC+ and BABIP in 2021 in the MLB were both higher than his recent MiLB seasons, and we are talking about a small MLB sample size. He does not hit the ball hard. How many of his hits in 2021 were borderline bloops that just died in between the infield and outfield? So Espinal's, say, 10th percentile outcome is "below replacement level" and his 30th percentile outcome might even be something like "replacement level 70 wRC+ hitter". Compare to Wendle who has 1600 MLB PA and has never been a bad player. Wendle might actually have a decent chance to be replacement level or better, and his downside risks are not anywhere close to Espinal's. I suppose that Steamer is down on Wendle's bat because of age and 2021 K rate? It seems weird though that it even projects him for such a low mark. Some might reply that Espinal's 95th percentile outcome is better than Wendle's. Perhaps Espinal in a best case scenario is a defensive wizard with a sneaky good hit tool, like a poor team's Andrelton Simmons. I guess I could buy that argument even if it's fanciful.

I don't think they are that similar. Wendle is better. I don't believe in Espinal's stick at all.

He would be awesome.

Ray basically got the same $$$ and term as Gausman. But I guess Gausman + the comp pick is the better way to go. In terms of "value".

I'm not a huge Riley Greene fan but would still take that side. Marsh is a bust probably. Garcia good but he's a pitcher. Could probably trade Greene right away for a better MLB piece than Garcia.

No. Why would it be counterproductive?

The components are just so glaringly obvious that it's almost comical there is a debate. This guy has been on my fantasy baseball radar for years now because of the extremely good K/BB skills. He has produced as a good reliever in various stretches in his career. His velocity has trended UP over his career and seems to have taken a huge leap up in 2021. You'd thinking Toronto was paying him a $14M AAV based on the debate in here. $5.5M is precisely "perfectly cromulent middle reliever from free agency" money. Just because Shatkins CAN sign veterans to MiLB deals and milk production out of them does not mean they SHOULD do that. It's $5.5M bucks - that's gum on Ed Rogers' shoe.

Yimi Garcia 241 career games 3 walk games - 2 2 walk games - 5 1 walk games - 37 0 walk games - 197 Nearly an 82% chance to walk nobody in a given appearance. Seems enjoyable.

My thoughts exactly. How nice is that to read, after years of Toronto having to overpay everyone. Also f*** the Mets.

Garcia has been a K/BB elite at times. Should be such a welcome addition following the 2021 of Chatwood, Dolis, Borucki, etc.

no no no no no

Players like him only tend to get taken if they are good shortstops

Sad

Horrible for you.

Up by May. Book it.

This x1000000

Isnt this like, the exact opposite of true? Sure he has holes on his swing but he has been incredibly productive at times, hitting for power and getting on base. If he leveled out his swing and s*** he'd be worse. Bet.

seriously, I was a baby when this league started. Now I have grey hair, a job I hate, a wife, multiple children, ED, a huge barrel belly

Special we are all so f***ing old now

Biggio is the rare player with higher Game Power than Raw Power. The vast majority of players have the opposite going on. His Raw Power is probably 40 or 45.

Deadpool and John_Havok are exactly the two guys who I would expect to get nostalgic over Weird Al

stfu King

Best Pure Hitter: The Blue Jays had a pitching heavy 2021 draft, so the winner here is outfielder Jaden Rudd (7), the only position player the team drafted among the top 10 rounds. Toronto scouts liked his contact ability and hit tool in high school and while he hit just .218 in his first taste of pro ball in the Florida Complex League, he showed solid zone control (15.5 BB%, 19.7 K%). Best Power Hitter: Power was Damiano Palmegiani’s calling card out of juco powerhouse JC of Southern Nevada this spring. He hit .389/.521/.867 with 26 home runs in just 203 at-bats prior to getting drafted. In pro ball, the infielder displayed loud exit velocity numbers and hit .333/.458/.997 with two home runs and two doubles as a 21-year-old in the Florida Complex League. Fastest Runner: Third baseman Riley Tirotta (12) went 43-for-52 (82.6%) in stolen base attempts during his four-year career with Dayton in the Atlantic 10 Conference. He wasn’t quite as aggressive during his pro debut, however, going just 4-for-6 (66.6%) in 30 games with Low-A Dunedin. Best Defensive Player: The Blue Jays believe in Tirotta’s athleticism and arm strength at third base, where he spent all of his time with Dunedin (outside of five games as a designated hitter). Tirotta managed a .931 fielding percentage in 207 innings at the position this summer. Best Fastball: This spring, lefthander Ricky Tiedemann (3) threw a fastball in the 89-92 mph range and saw the pitch touch 94 mph out of a difficult slot for hitters, but he made a jump in velocity during instructs where he topped out at 98 mph. He was one of the youngest college players in the class after being draft-eligible out of high school in 2021 and attending Golden West (Calif.) JC for a season, where he added plenty of physicality to his frame. Best Secondary Pitch: Righthander Gunnar Hoglund (1) made an early jump in velocity during the spring which improved his fastball and a slider that should be an above-average offering in the low 80s. Righthander Chad Dallas (4) showed a good slider during instructs that has a case for this category as well. Best Pro Debut: Rightander Hayden Juenger (6) took steps forward with his strikeout and walk rates during his pro debut. In 20 innings out of the bullpen for High-A Vancouver, Yuenger showed an above-average fastball and changeup, a developing slider and struck out 34 batters (45.9 K%) while walking just four (5.4 BB%). Best Athlete: Righthander Connor Cooke (10) stood out for his athleticism and took a step forward with his control for Louisiana Lafayette this spring. Tiedemann is also an impressive athlete. Toronto views both pitchers as above-average in this category. Most Intriguing Background: Catcher Juan Gonzalez (19) was born in Venezuela and played for Spain in the 2019 WBSC 18U World Cup in Korea. That event was the first time Toronto scouts saw Gonzalez play. Closest To The Majors: Juenger was the most successful member of the Blue Jays’ 2021 class this summer, and with his athleticism, fastball quality and control he could move quickly in a bullpen role. He was in his age-20 season this year and posting in High-A. Among relievers who threw 20 or more innings in High-A West, Juenger’s 41.3 K-BB% was best in the league. Among all pitchers with 20 or more innings, he was second behind only Cubs righthander Caleb Kilian (41.3 K-BB%) Best Late-Round Pick (Or NDFA): Righthander Matt Svanson (13) was a senior sign out of Lehigh who inked a $50,000 deal after a breakout spring, where he posted a 2.30 ERA in 70.1 innings while ticking his fastball up to 96 mph late in the year. The pitch is a heavy sinker and was in the mid-90s during his pro debut with Dunedin as well, where he posted a 2.30 ERA over 15.2 relief innings while also notching the best strikeout rate (13.2 K/9) of his career. The One Who Got Away: The Blue Jays tried to add another Canadian to their draft class by taking righthander Micah Bucknam (16) on the final day of the draft, but the No. 129 ranked prospect in the class didn’t agree to a deal with the team. Instead, Bucknam will again be draft-eligible in 2022.