John_Havok

What's the NFL equivalent to "He gets on base." ?

Yeah. He just knew where it was going instantly. And he'd run through a wall to get it if he needed to, like we saw in the Series with the Triple Play that should have been, but was blown by the umps

I think routes and route efficiency can definitely be helped to a certain degree in players that dont have the instinct, but it's probably more in line with reading where the ball is going sooner, like... seeing it off the bat and knowing where it's going sooner, rather than breaking one direction for 10 steps, then altering course because suddenly you realize it's gonna drop 20 feet in front of where youre headed. And yeah, like you said, its more about repitition than anything else.

Man, I was so right. This was the most perfect Grant response ever. Doubles down on opinion even in the face of refuting facts. Denies even saying the thing he said (and easily demonstated that it was said, vitrually word for word) and then a personal attack on the poster. It checks all the boxes.

I really can't wait to get Grant's response on this. It's going to be amazing.

Yeah, Pinto lost a year due to COVID after his signing and coudlnt get to the states. They figure he'll be in Dunedin this season so they'll be able to get a much better read on his skillset.

https://bluejaysnation.com/2022/03/24/getting-to-know-the-blue-jays-new-20-prospect-adrian-pinto/ The 19-year-old second baseman was signed for $120,000 out of Venezuela in 2019. As you probably know, the 2020 minor league season was canceled, meaning that Pinto didn’t make his professional debut until 2021. Pinto’s 2021: Pinto played the entirety of the season with the Rockies’ Dominican Summer League (DOSL). He was 18-years-old for the majority of the 2021 season, which is about average for the age. However, he was far from average in the DOSL, as he won the MVP award for the league. Pinto’s bat: Firstly, his bat was insane. The then 18-year-old slashed .360/.486/1.029 in only 224 plate appearances. The 5’6, 156 pound second baseman also added an additional three home runs, which is quite a lot for the level. For context, he would have ranked second on the DOSL Blue Jays, one behind noted power hitter Cristian Feliz, and a head of #9 prospect, Manuel Beltre. Pinto also finished the season with 22 extra base hits, including four triples and 15 doubles. While the homers are impressive, especially for his smaller stature, Pinto also walked 17% of the time while only striking out 8% of the time. If you’ve been keeping up to date with these prospect reports, you know I look highly on prospects who walk more than they strike out, and Pinto is no exception. Batted balls: In terms of his batted balls, 19.4% went for line drives. This is a solid percentage for line drives, as that is the type of batted ball that results in the highest batting average. His ground ball percentage sat at 47.2%, but he has the ability to run it out with his great speed. In terms of his fly balls, he only hit 33.3% of batted balls in the air, or 48 in total. Interestingly, 35.4%, or 17 of those fly balls were pop flies. This is not uncommon for a player in the rookie leagues, but most players are not 5’6, 156 pounds. While he may have added on more muscle, the 19-year-old’s power may have hit its peak. One other interesting facet of his batted balls is his ability to go the opposite way. While he pulled the ball 49% of the time, he also went the opposite way 33.1% of the time, a pretty impressive number. This is to say he’s a spray hitter with sneaky power with the bat. It doesn’t end there though, as he stole 41 bases in 49 attempts, which is good enough for an 83.7% success rate. The young player has plus speed, a good eye at the plate, and sneakily good power for his size, but what about his defense? Pinto’s defense: Sadly, the minor leagues do not have advanced stats such as Defensive Runs Saved or Outs Above Average, so we’re stuck with using the good old fielding percentage. At second base, where he is projected to stay, he played 252 innings. Interestingly, he did not commit a single error throughout the season at the position. He did however, commit three errors playing shortstop in 86 innings. The Rockies noted that Pinto also had great speed with a plus arm, as they played him 42.2 innings in centre field. The Jays could potentially see him playing there. What the scouts say: According to MLB Pipeline writer, Keegan Matheson, Pinto just missed out on the Rockies top 30 list for MLB Pipeline. The diminutive second baseman also didn’t feature on Fangraphs top prospects list. With that being said though, he did place 19th on Baseball America’s list. They note that he has great hand-eye coordination and a short stroke. Coupled with his smaller stature, Pinto has a great eye at the plate, which you can see by the fact he walked 17% of the time. Despite being only 5’6, Pinto does have sneaky power as he hit those three home runs mentioned in the section above, which also notes his 22 extra base hits. I asked Francys Romero (@FrancysRomeroFR) for any information on the 19-year-old second baseman. To paraphrase, [Pinto] is a pure hitter, with great bat speed. He has a plus arm (60 grade) and plus speed (70 grade). He also has the ability for extra base hits. From that same article, he notes that while being listed at 5'6", that was what he was at signing, so is likely taller now. They didn't have an up to date height/weight

Nah, at worst, it's a push for the roster. Tapia is faster and left handed, Grichuk more power and .... would replace virtually nobody in a pinch hitting or running situation given the RH heavy roster. Save a few milion, get a lotto ticket prospect in the process... overall it's a win, but not truly needle moving for 2022

Atkins: You can't put Grichuk in the lineup tonight Montoyo: All respect, don't tell me who to play. Atkins: No, I mean you can't put Grichuk in the lineup tonight. I traded him to Colorado. Montoyo: ......

Inigo’s lesser know cousin who plays the bongos.

Didn't the Leafs get Giordano? Dude is one of the best locker room guys in the sport and still a great defender and puck mover. He won't be playing 20+ a night probably, but that's a pretty good addition to a team that doesnt need more offense. That pickup was really good.

Well, more specifically, IF someone like Vlad ever got an arbritration hearing, the arbitrator would be looking at all years prior when rendering a decision on whether to rule in favor of the player's # or the teams #. So... yeah, true talent of course he's worth more than 7.9 million, but those first two seasons (or in his case, the first full season of control that spanned 2019 and 2020) Vlad sucked. Had he raked in those years he likely would have just set a new 1st year arbitration record.

With expanded rosters in April i think it's pretty much guaranteed he will be - unless Morontoyo does what he does best and make dumb lineup decisions.

Yes, but his 1st 2 seasons were.... less than stellar. 1st arb contract takes all 3 years into account, not just the most recent one.

Grichuk missed that hanging slider... damn.

Yeah, he fouled off Montgomery into making a mistake. What was that 4 or 5 fouls after 2 strikes?

True. And if the price tag centres around Kirk, and doesn’t include Moreno, it doesn’t really damage the long term outlook at C. Obviously there would be more to the trade than just Kirk, but even if it’s Kirk + Orelvis + lottery ticket…..Groshans or any of the other IF prospects could very well be ready to take over from Chapman in 2 years, or even Moreno if they feel he’s better suited to 3b than catcher. Would I want to give up both Kirk and Orelvis? Not typically, but if you can get JRam for 2 years at his money to play 2b, which still leaves flexibility to sign other guys (IE pen help) in the upcoming offseason…I’d be hard pressed not to pull that trigger.

I like the line, but was he actually nasty? Of was it a case of kids swinging at stuff way out of the zone because they dont know any better yet? Genuinely curious as I missed the game but i've seen this type of line from him before when the reality was he was all over the place and just bailed out by undisciplined hitters.

Interesting pitches. Looked like sinker(maybe 2 seamer), 4 seam FB, curve and 2 seam FB.

Not if he keeps turning 3-0 counts into strikeouts on very hittable fastballs

Anyone know if spats in in Florida again this spring? Always nice to get first hand info from the bleachers

And FFS would it have killed one or two of these kids to have been left handed hitters? Stupid birth….

Fair point. It's hard to want nice things, when you know the manager would f*** up the nice things and use them wrong

Oh no doubt, Bird (if he made the team) would be nothing more than a pinch hitter off the bench that if he made it on base would be lifted for a pinch runner, a guy you put in after the 7th in any kind of blowout win/loss to protect Vlad from pointless injury, and maybe 1 start every 10 games. like... 200ish PAs would be the hope and that he hits like Matt Stairs did when he was here.