TwistedLogic

Oh and I will take it to the bank in 2015, the same way I "took it to the bank" in 2014, back when you were the f***tard that said Stroman, Hutch, Happ and co. would have a hard time combining for 1 WAR.

Shields threw 100 more MLB innings because Shields first game was pitched in March; Stroman didn't get his first start until May 31st, exactly two months later. He had 20 games started in 2014 as opposed to Shields' 34. The fact that the club didn't give him the opportunity to start soon enough to reach the innings Shields' threw is not a mark against Stroman. He was as valuable as Shields in 100 less innings pitched. Moron.

Actually, Stroman was way better than Shields last season.

Bane him.

How can anyone paint the Victor Martinez signing, of all things, as a point of disappointment. Only a moron would pay that guy that much money (especially with a draft pick attached), and only morons would be disappointed that their team wasn't the one to do it.

The Jays made a good offer. Far more often than not, player's initial asking prices get knocked down considerably by the time they sign. If his starting price is $50M, I think with the added compensation pick, it's actually a somewhat legitimate possibility that he could return to the Jays for 3/39. Or offer him 4/40. There seems to be this idiotic notion in baseball where more years = profit, even if the extra years come at nearly no additional cost.

Just a note, the whole MLB.com thing where they ranked him #9 in the Jays system, I'd take that with a grain of salt. If he's really in the top 100 MLB prospects (I read he was #84 a few times, not sure what list those people are going by) that puts him more around the #5 territory, around Hoffman and Pompey.

Very positive report written by Clint Longenecker from a year ago this time; information still pretty much relevant, looks even better after another great year in the minors. http://i.gyazo.com/70c2753a0bdff7770cf0344ab30d7df8.png PHOENIX—A year after being drafted in the 13th round, Tigers second base prospect Devon Travis posted one of the top statistical seasons in the minor leagues this year, narrowly missing out on the minor league batting title. His cumulative .351/.418/.518 line across both Class A levels was 65 percent (weighted runs created) better than the league averages and the second best of any full-season middle infielder. A three-year starter at Florida State, Travis exemplified the Seminoles’ offensive approach—as Florida State has led the ACC in walk rate six of the last eight seasons—with just as many walks as strikeouts and an ACC-leading 50 doubles over his final two seasons in Tallahassee, despite battling injuries. Despite his consistent offensive production, Travis went in the 13th round, signing for an above-slot $200,000, in part because of a tough profile as a 5-foot-9, 185-pound righthanded-hitting college infielder likely limited to second base. Travis, 22, began the 2013 season in the Midwest League, where he walked more than he whiffed and struck out in less than 10 percent of his plate appearances, posting a .352/.430/.486 line. Upon a promotion to the Florida State League, Travis, who has a strong, compact build, posted an isolated slugging percentage (.210) nearly twice the league average (.115) and hit 10 home runs in 237 plate appearances. Although some scouts grade his power as a 30 in the 20-80 scouting scale, Travis finished with 16 home runs in home run-suppressing ballparks in two pitcher’s leagues. Travis, an above-average straight-line runner with good instincts, stole 25 bases in 30 attempts. Travis earned the Tigers minor league player of the year honors for his strong first professional campaign and was sent to the Arizona Fall League. He has made a substantial overhaul to his hitting since college that helped enable his season. Before Wednesday’s AFL game, I had the opportunity to sit down with Travis to discuss his season and his altered mechanics. Travis looked at side-by-side photos of his collegiate and professional swings in three separate phases—his stance, his load/stride and his swing/follow through—and described the differences in the following interview. Stance Differences as a professional: Travis has a much narrower, more upright stance with a more even weight distribution in his lower half after being more spread out in college. His hands are starting well below his shoulder after starting significantly higher in school, and he ditched his open stance in favor of one squared with the pitcher “The most difficult adjustment to pro ball was getting to the inside pitch. So I had to figure out a way to help me to get there. I couldn’t figure it out last year when I got to Connecticut (the Tigers’ New York-Penn League affiliate). It was like everybody was throwing 90-plus on the inside corner and I couldn’t get to it. So this offseason I went home to my hitting coach and I told him I was really struggling to get to the inside pitch with the wooden bat. So he asked me how I have been holding my hands and I showed him up here (shoulder height). And he said ‘That’s tough.’ So the first thing he told me was to lower my hands and make my barrel more vertical to the ground. It was a little weird at first and my hands would drift up a little bit. “Instead of focusing on trying to pull the inside pitch, I focused on the middle of the field, and the barrel will take care of itself. Still to this day it is a pitch I struggle with, but I am thinking more about the middle of the field. When I tried to pull the inside pitch my front shoulder flied open pretty quick, and if I don’t get the barrel there, I struggle. I squared my stance to work on keeping my front shoulder closed. I used to be open and wider and it made more sense with the metal bat because you can still get a little juice on it even if you don’t hit it well. Now with a wooden bat if you don’t get it on the barrel, especially with them throwing 95, you are in trouble. Getting ready on time and getting ready early is something I shoot for.” Load/stride Differences as a professional: Travis’ load is not as deep, his bat angle is now more vertical, pointing at 1 o’clock, as opposed to 2 o’clock in college, and his stride is shorter, softer and more direct to the pitcher “As you can see in college, that fastball was in there and that pitch was pretty tough because I almost wrapped a little bit. My (front) arm was a little locked and it was tough to get to the inside pitch. If I did get to it, it was more luck than anything. So instead of trying to go so far back with my load, I am trying to go more upright than anything, so it is a quicker path to the ball. The bat angle is more vertical. So that is definitely the biggest adjustment.” Swing/follow through Differences as a professional: Travis’ bat path is more direct, as it had length in college because of his deep load. His front foot is getting down earlier, and his lower half has better balance with a better weight transfer. He would occasionally hit with a soft front side because of how wide his stance was, but his front side is much firmer as a professional. “In college my load would get so far back that everything would have to fly forward and open. But here, because guys are throwing harder, I wanted to minimize the motion and get my hands going back a little. For me now it’s just a matter of getting my hands ready in a comfortable position and taking a direct path to the ball. I was not as balanced in college.” Although his walk rate fell in the FSL, Travis maintained a high contact rate and attributes his advanced approach to his tutelage in Tallahassee. “The biggest thing at Florida State is that they get their guys to believe in the system that is in place,” Travis said. “If I am not being patient and getting good pitches, especially being a smaller guy, I can handle (that) I am going to struggle a lot because I don’t have the extra pop of the bigger guys to be able to hit pitches that are out of the zone and get them through holes.” His offensive outburst was complimented by strong keystone defense. Although minor league error totals only tell part of the story defensively, Travis displayed soft, dependable hands, finishing among the MWL (.982) and FSL (.979) league leaders in fielding percentage. Couple Travis’ soft hands with his above-average speed and range, and average arm, Travis could be an above-average defender.

Like A-Rod?

When do you guys plan to start the forum Top 30 prospect rankings for the off-season?

Not that I care about either side of the Melky debate, but I also wanted to note that I'm not sure if it's been confirmed anywhere whether or not his height/weight really is 5'10 / 215. A lot of places have him at 6'0 / 200, which is far better shape than people are taking into account.

Asdrubal Cabrera is not a very good player.

http://i.gyazo.com/b8a87a2c6326ddf7c22783f18186c3c5.png http://i.gyazo.com/a47e1827a5c0a75a008f9cb6b6dbc8b8.png By Jim Callis / MLB.com | @JimCallisMLB | 9:53 AM ET There's a good amount of subjectivity regarding baseball prospects. With the evaluation of talent being in the eye of the beholder, finding consensus is often difficult. Even Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLBPipeline.com don't always see eye to eye. They discuss their viewpoints regularly in a feature called Pipeline Perspectives. Submit a topic for them to debate. The Arizona Fall League is known for speeding talented prospects to the Major Leagues. Chris Cron, last year's AFL batting champion, became a key cog in the American League West-champion Angels' lineup this season. Andrew Susac won a World Series ring with the Giants a year after topping the league in on-base percentage. Pitchers Kenny Giles and Marcus Stroman overpowered hitters for the Phillies and Blue Jays just as they did in Arizona the previous offseason. This year, the league is also known for its speedsters. Scottsdale Scorpions center fielder Roman Quinn (Phillies) tops the league with 13 steals and might be the fastest player around, though he has plenty of competition. Surprise Saguaros center fielder Mallex Smith (Padres) led the Minors with 88 swipes during the regular season. Glendale Desert Dogs shortstop Tim Anderson (White Sox) and Saguaros shortstop Trea Turner (Padres) were first-round Draft picks in large part because of their speed. Peoria Javelinas left fielder C.J. McElroy (Cardinals) turned down a scholarship to play wide receiver at the University of Houston and collected 60 infield hits this season. But none of them is the best speed-oriented player in the league. That distinction belongs to Mesa Solar Sox center fielder Dalton Pompey, a Blue Jays prospect. He may not be as quick as Quinn, who is Jonathan Mayo's choice as the best speedster in Arizona, but Pompey has a broader base of tools and skills. Drafted out of an Ontario secondary school in the 16th round of the 2010 Draft, Pompey signed for $150,000 and developed slowly. He didn't graduate to full-season ball until his fourth year as a pro and he didn't truly break out until his fifth. He began 2014 in high Class A and earned a promotion to Double-A in June, a trip to the Futures Game in July and a boost to Triple-A in August, hitting a combined .317/.392/.469 with nine homers and 43 steals. The Blue Jays called up Pompey in September and eased him in slowly before starting him in the final 10 games of the season. He homered off the Mariners' Felix Hernandez on Sept. 23 and doubled once and tripled twice against the Orioles' Chris Tillman three days later. With Colby Rasmus departing as a free agent and Anthony Gose and Kevin Pillar yet to prove they can consistently hit big league pitching, Toronto's center-field job is Pompey's for the taking. A switch-hitter, he has a sound swing and is equally adept from both sides of the plate. His quickness helps him beat out hits, and he also controls the strike zone nicely and draws his share of walks. While he's not a slugger, the 6-foot-2, 195-pounder has more power than the typical speedster -- as Hernandez and Tillman learned firsthand. He'll be just 22 next season and will need more time to develop, but once he settles in he projects to be a .280 hitter with double-digit home run power and 30 steals a year. That said, his best tool may be his defense. Pompey enhances his plus speed with quality reads and jumps, making him a potential Gold Glover in center field. He throws better than most players at that position, a testament to his hard work considering that he had below-average arm strength when he turned pro. His instincts in all phases of the game and his makeup earn positive reviews as well. "He's very respectful, very intelligent," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said in September. "Carries himself like a pro, and you combine what he's doing on the field -- he's flew through the system this year at a young age." Quinn has true 80 speed on the 20-80 scouting scale, so he'd beat Pompey in a footrace. But Pompey is a better hitter, has more power and plays better defense in center field. And it's not a matter of age, because he's just five months older than Quinn despite finishing this season three levels ahead of him. Pompey has continued to stand out with the Solar Sox, batting .283/.358/.417 with six extra-base hits and eight steals in 15 games through Wednesday. He's the most talented speedster and best all-around player in the Fall League. Jim Callis is a reporter for MLB.com and writes a blog, Callis' Corner. Follow @jimcallisMLB on Twitter. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

The Dodgers have somehow managed to recruit my two favorite baseball executives in the same month. A few weeks ago, I probably would have put Zaidi, Friedman and maybe Epstein as dead last in terms of executives I could see changing ball clubs.

Ahead? Throughout the entirety of his existence, I seriously doubt there's ever been a moment where Gruber could have been considered "ahead".

Still Stroman.

Logging into this forum right after the game ended and still seeing several people raging within the last three pages of this thread, even after a game like that http://i.imgur.com/py2PxcN.gif

So I literally opened this thread, and right as I clicked the link that implied he was done for the year, he hit a homer in the top of the 10th against the Rays on the stream in my other tab. *shrug*

I personally was for the Bickford pick most of the way, because I wanted them to punt that pick. Meadows was the only guy in that area of the draft that I wanted, and when he was gone, it felt like just a whole bunch of meh. Regardless of how it plays out, I'm really happy with the Pentecost pick.

You're not talking about Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies are you? The shortstop at the top of his game, with a long history of lower body injuries, a lifelong NL player, who'd transfer into an AL, turf-based stadium, has a huge financial commitment attached, and would also cost a premium in prospects? Yeah, your sarcasm was totally warranted there, since he sounds nothing like Jose Reyes circa 2012. Lol, you're better than that, G.

Maybe you should embrace some sunlight first.

It's hilarious that people are actually surprised about this.

I feel like Valencia/Franco will give the Jays a lot more value than Headley will give to the Yankees. Our platoon only cost Kratz and Hendriks, and there isn't a big injury concern there. Feel like Jays made out better overall. McCarthy is the only thing I consider a mistake, but every time McCarthy ever gets moved and it isn't to the Jays, I feel like it's a mistake.

I play this game app on my iPad where you kill zombies and s***, it's called Beyond the Dead. Fun game. Two days ago, literally within minutes of each other, I saw two player accounts named King and Dogg.

Alex mentioned that as well and it's a genuine concern, but I think teams do tend to somewhat avoid the strategy of claiming someone you have no intention of adding with the sole intention of grieving other teams. Things like that probably piss off another team and sour trade relations, and in a game where it's already clearly hard to get a good deal, I don't think many clubs want to risk closing any doors or burning any bridges. You know that if you start being a waiver ****, it'll just enable teams to do it back to you, so it's probably a bit of an unspoken truce for the sake of etiquette.