metafour

You guys would be a lot happier if you saw the gift of the #1 overall pick at the end of the tunnel

Amazing start, but I can't help but notice that 8 of his 11 HR's have been against the Reds....

First time I've ever seen Zeke use his head...

LOL he struck Carrera out twice in that at-bat...

Lane Thomas is quietly having a strong bounce-back season in Dunedin after struggling in Lansing last year. He's 2 for 3 with his 4th triple of the season tonight and had an .836 OPS going into today's game.

He's added a triple and a walk.

The constant arm injuries are still an obvious concern, but I'm not really sure why 1B is always the "other" position for Pentecost considering that he was always considered an above-average athlete. Unless he's somehow lost all athleticism, I find it hard to believe that he can't at least play LF.

We are in a very specific situation wherein our super-old and failing roster does not match up with the fact that our minor league talent is mostly spread apart with lots of it in the lower minors. In this situation, it makes every bit of sense to strip it down because it is the only sensible choice. We don't have near-MLB difference making talent that can "stretch" our current failing core roster. If you can't stretch what we currently have, then what the hell is the point of keeping them around anyway? Your other option is to sell your veteran players that you only have for 1-2 more years anyway and acquire MORE young talent which will naturally mesh better with what we already have in the minors from a pure timing standpoint. I can't believe that some of you are so blind to what kind of situation we are in. We are the oldest lineup in the league (or close to it) and we're dead-last in offense. There is no "quick fix" to the fact that our lineup consists of like 2-3 guys that you have any sense of confidence in. This would be somewhat fixable if we had a handful of guys in AAA all knocking on the door, but nope, we've got Rowdy Tellez who is in a huge slump....and thats it. By the time any additional pieces are even ready, the 2-3 guys we do have will either be gone or they will be crap themselves.

By the way, the fact that we've drafted literally 1 player worth a s*** in the first round (Stroman) in like the past decade+ of picking in the ~middle of the first round should kind of dispel the notion that its all meaningless and that it "doesn't matter" where you pick, much more so than the fact that you can name 2-3 guys who went first overall and failed.

Obviously; I'm not sure why these comparisons to hockey are even being brought up. No, you're not going to draft #1 overall in baseball and have that propel you into the playoffs two years later, but to pretend like "it doesn't matter" in baseball or that its a "total crapshoot" is pure crap. Yes, the MLB draft is more volatile, but like I said, you also can't scheme the draft in any of the other major sports like you can in baseball. Case in point: the Astros got Daz Cameron, a ~Top 15 talent, at pick #39 due to the sheer bargaining power they had in being able to talk him into scaring every other team off by flaunting a price tag that only the Astros could come even close to. Whether or not Cameron succeeds is irrelevant to the fact that you can't do that s*** in any of the other sports, which means that that there IS quite a bit of power that comes with picking #1 in baseball. To argue that picking #1 vs. #15 means nothing because Mike Trout wen't #25 one year is stupid, really stupid.

They've already done the research geniuses. Drafting #1 overall (or #1-5) gives you a significantly higher chance of finding a player that actually makes the league, as well as a significantly higher chance of finding an impact player. Yes, its an imperfect science. No s***. Its not as much of a crapshoot as you all seem to think however. You're also completely discounting the MLB's slotting system in which teams picking #1 overall are given massive advantages over every other team, which means that its not just about who you pick at #1, but also about the fact that you have an advantage in getting MORE players later as well if you play it smart. MLB drafts are a year-to-year case. For instance, I felt that last year was a very poor year to have the #1 pick. Why? No consensus top player led the Phillies into taking a somewhat-toolsy, somewhat-polished HS center fielder that doesn't exactly have superstar potential even if he makes it. Next year actually looks like a strong year to have the #1 pick as you already have several very good college prospects who have been performing at high rates much earlier than expected. Barring some sort of total collapse, whoever picks #1 next year isn't likely to be settling for a Mickey Moniak type player at #1.

I mean, you just kind of proved why you want to pick #1 overall LOL. Getting a Mike Trout at #25 is a freak occurrence and is pure luck; its not a case of "smart scouting" (ie: if it was obvious that he was that good, 24 other teams wouldn't have missed it). The draft that you just referenced had one sure-fire talent and that guy went #1 overall. Crapshoot? Not really.

We can't. He's been cleared to sign as a 2016/2017 IFA. We are still under penalty for that period and can't sign anyone for more than $300K.

His confidence is lacking because he had the ability to control the at-bat previously. When pitchers made mistakes, he crushed them, which meant that he could be much more selective as pitchers were naturally afraid to challenge him. Now that his bat-speed is gone it is clear that pitchers aren't afraid anymore, which means that they are attacking him. He's now playing from behind and doesn't know how to react.

No, there is a tweet stating that he pulled up running to first base before being taken out.

Greene supposedly hit 101 mph in the 4th inning today. Hot stadium gun? Probably, but that is still slinging it.

Bichette 2 for 3 with two line drive singles and a walk.

But but but David Cooper with a bad back would be a better option right now!

Its kind of comical that people are still complaining about Smoak when he's like 3rd on the team in wRC+ LOL. I mean yeah he probably still sucks, but at least go and crucify one of the many hitters who are actually s***ing the bed.

Hit it right at the 3B. Only reason why that was a hit is because they've got a lard-ass orbiting around third base.

Its just a weird post considering that Drew Hutchison is currently sitting in AAA with a 7.84 ERA.

Yup. The entire notion of "building around a player" in baseball is absurd. This isn't like basketball or football wherein you can get one player that alone automatically puts you into playoff contention (like a star QB, or a superstar player in the NBA). One player in baseball doesn't mean s***, even a player like Donaldson. The question therefore becomes whether or not you can build a NEW worthwhile core that includes Donaldson and contend before he declines to the point wherein you would have been better off just trading him and getting younger players that fit better from a timeline perspective. To me, if you are talking retooling, it makes much more sense to sell high on Donaldson and let someone else worry about paying him $200 million or whatever for his decline years while stockpiling youth that will in theory allow you a much longer period of production. This is actually the situation that AA ran into as he was "rebuilding" but then had Bautista and Encarnacion blow up, at which point he felt pressure to win right away with those two which led to a bunch of haphazard moves to "build around them" (some of which worked well, others which didn't work quite as well). It worked in launching us into the playoffs, but the end result was a very short window as Bautista and Encarnacion were both already well past 30...just like Donaldson is now. The other option at the time would have been to sell Bautista and Encarnacion for ransom at their peak value and supplement what we already had in the minors with several other elite prospects. If you think about it, we could be sitting with Syndergaard/Sanchez/Stroman/Osuna/d'Arnaud/etc. with god knows what else we could have received in prospective trades for Bautista/EE. Would we have two ALCS appearances by 2017? Maybe not, but we'd be in a position for much more prolonged contention. I think we're at the same crossroads again, and I don't want to get into a scenario wherein we're taking a huge risk in giving Donaldson a huge contract and then forced to scramble around to "build around him" because he's already 32+ with only a few years of production left.

It comes down to simple semantics. History has shown that regardless of how many playoff spots there actually are, the rough number of wins needed to actually make the playoffs on a given season doesn't really change. Therefore the logic that there were less teams making the playoffs before and thus those comparisons are rendered irrelevant isn't exactly accurate. We are already frighteningly close to the point wherein it would take an elite pace throughout the remaining 9/10ths of the season just to hit that minimum number of wins. While you can say "anything is possible!" you also have to look at reality at which point you will realize quickly that this roster simply does not have the ability to go on any long-term prolonged run. By the way; the computerized simulations aren't unanimous either. BaseballProspectus has the odds at only 10.4% for example.

How about Anthony Rendon? Future HOF'er since his Freshman year, "lock to go #1", until he slips to #6 by his draft day. The vaunted offense of Rendon never fully materialized (he's been a very good hitter at times, although has shown inconsistency). Rendon is at least helped by the fact that he produces plus defensive value at 3B, which is something that Beer can't even hang onto. Rendon posted a .407 ISO in his Sophomore season.

Its called a prediction. You act like not being a #2-3 pick is some sort of death-wish...as if being picked #4 overall means that you're trash. I said much more than bringing up his batting average (which was a throw-away comment); most notably that he's got little positional value and that that profile tends to be scrutinized heavily. If you want to go deeper, he's also a very average athlete.