metafour

Most of the draft and early scouting write-up's on Taylor that I remember indicated that he had surprising pop for such a small/slightly built guy. I think what you're seeing is a change in his swing profile which has enabled if not even upscaled his power output. He seems to be hitting the ball harder and with a better launch angle. As mentioned, these HR's he's hitting aren't "incidental" - he's crushing the ball. He is also a quick-twitch/explosive athlete, and those types of guys can often unlock a lot of untapped ability if/when they figure out how to actually hit the ball optimally.

Nobody forgot - it's just that Moreno looks like the better player to "keep". It's the same or better offensive profile with better defensive upside, better athleticism, and considerably less long-term physical risk. Kirk has barely been up at the MLB level and he's already out with a long DL stint, is that shocking for a 5'8 260 pound marshmallow? It was a hypothetical comment - if it comes down to choosing between those two, I can almost assure yo that the FO would tab Moreno as their guy. Kirk looks like a great player himself, but you're talking about a potential Top 10-15 type prospect in Moreno.

Who? Moreno? Prospects of this caliber don't really get moved that often anymore. If anything, they'd look to dump Jansen and even Kirk before Moreno.

Not sure if serious LOL. Scherzer would have smoked that old loser.

He looks like he has a better hit tool than Espinal. I've seen a prospect blurb from earlier this season - apparently his hit tool matches the output so far (ie: he can really hit).

It could be all sorts of things. Some people's bodies just aren't as resilient, whether its weaker bone density, smaller/weaker joints, ligaments, etc. You'll see some athletes who are extremely susceptible to minor things like muscle strains, whereas others aren't. Buxton might just be a guy who is extremely explosive/athletic but in a body that is a bit fragile. I don't think that his weight has anything to do with it, and really, Mike Trout's more robust frame just means that he's putting even MORE stress on his joints and tendons and ligaments any time he exerts himself.

What would being "more robust" have to do with anything? Baseball is a non-contact sport. There are 6'2 190 pound WR's in the NFL who get lit up. Some guys are just more injury prone and Buxton obviously falls in that category.

I don't think it's actually that out of the realm of possibility that Kevin Smith has a higher ceiling than Biggio. Biggio has the better eye and plate-discipline profile for sure, but he's a low-BA hitter and Kevin Smith has gotten to his power much easier than Biggio has. He's also the better athlete and should provide more defensive value. Of course his profile is more volatile as he's already shown that he's prone to collapse at the plate, but Biggio has clear flaws in his profile that really cap his offensive upside IMO.

This stuff is really overblown. JP Arencibia likely gets evaluated more properly under a more modern system of evaluation. He didn't fail because "oH No CaTchER pRosPEcT", he failed because the holes were obviously there the entire time. In a more modern model-driven system, who gets "hyped" for a guy who never walks, strikes out a lot, and has inflated numbers from playing in one of the most extreme hitting environments on the planet? Not only was he never anything special behind the plate, but he would have failed regardless of what position he played. The best teams today are all also extremely good at evaluating their own prospects. They trade very few guys who become superstars elsewhere, and they don't miss on evaluating which guys to keep very often either. Travis d'Arnaud was actually pretty legitimate, he just ended up getting hurt every year.

Kiley McDaniel just released a new Mock Draft and....we have a new surprise Jays pick/connection! https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/31651109/kiley-mcdaniel-2021-mlb-mock-draft-20-new-no-1-gets-jack-leiter-kumar-rocker

It was a continuation of the game yesterday. He pitched yesterday.

It depends on how much the "public rankings" are being affected by that development (him trying to push himself down to #4) if it's in fact true. I did find it kind of strange that all of a sudden ~2-3 HS shortstops are supposedly better than him.

He hit another double. 4 for 5, HR, 2 2B, BB Disgusting.

19 year old RHP Sem Robberse in Dunedin: 14.46 K/9 3.38 BB/9 0.48 HR/9 57.9% GB%

Samad Taylor: 3 for 4, 1 HR He's kind of killing the ball right now.

6 strikeouts to 4 walks (albeit 3 of those came tonight) so far in June. It's possible that the extreme K-rate in May was rust-related. He's definitely still worth watching at just 22 with his power/speed combo.

Kevin Smith is 3 for 4 with another HR (7th on the season) and a SB. No strikeouts. Is he back LMAO?

Jud Fabian concludes his 2021 season with an 0-4 day with 3 strikeouts against powerhouse South Alabama as Florida is embarrassed out of the tourny in a 19-1 loss. Going back to May 20th (game #1 vs. Arkansas) he has hit .147 (5 for 34) with zero extra base hits, 14 strikeouts, and 3 walks. He concludes 2021 with a .249/.364/.924 slash line with 79 strikeouts and 40 BB. His .249 BA is dead last on Florida's roster among hitters who meet minimum plate appearances.

Beltre will 100% play. He's very advanced for an IFA kid.

2020 3rd round pick RHP Trent Palmer is making his pro debut in Low-A Dunedin today. No idea if he was held back due to injury or just extended work - I don't think it was ever announced.

Also, Kendall Williams (the guy everyone was worried about us trading to the Dodgers for Stripling) has been very very "meh" so far in Low A.

Another Hagen Danner season watch update: 14 IP, 6 H, 0 HR, 5 BB, 17 K 1.93 ERA, .136 avg, 0.79 WHIP He's up to 3 IP in two of his last three appearances. He's 22, but High A is a pretty aggressive assignment for a guy going straight back to pitching after a few seasons of trying as a position player. They probably liked what he's showing and the numbers obviously suggest that as well. Should be a fun one to watch.

Except he didn't - hence why Ford is in play as high as the early teens. And again, the player you are referencing doesn't even need to play catcher. By hitting ~.250 with a 30%+ strikeout rate on the season? Or do you mean that you conveniently throw out his weeks of not hitting anything, and then conclude that his hot streak is "him hitting the best pitchers college has"? Even if you want to say something about him hitting Leiter, why wasn't he able to do that all season long? What explains the disconnect? Give me the actual list of players who "advanced" past striking out at an obscene rate in college to somehow not having that issue in the pro's? You literally haven't given a single counter-argument to anything I have said. You just parroted "lost development year" again. What lost development year? Was he sitting on his couch the entire year? He plays for one of the premier schools in the NCAA - in Florida nonetheless (YEAR ROUND BASEBALL). These guys all trained year round regardless of COVID. What a joke statement. How come the rest of his team isn't striking out 30%+ of the time? Did they not also "lose a year of development"? So many questions, with literally zero answers. Again, I've literally given you a list of comparable prospects who turned out to be the exact opposite of what you just stated. How many players who can't make consistent contact in COLLEGE have magically fixed that pitfall against superior pitching in pro ball? It doesn't happen very often at all - so you believe that a good use of money is to bank of the unlikely happening?