Bobthe4th

Ohtani ranked #1

I figured the Giants were no longer looking for a defensive CF after signing Austin Jackson, but apparently they intend to use him to rotate through all their OF spots, and then play more than a strictly backup 4th outfielder.

Haha, well that likely explains the "I love you" part!

In all fairness, sports stars can be heroes to people and if Ryan Goins had the decency to sign a poster for this fan, it likely had a big effect on him (especially if others at the time didn't take the time to walk over). We all have players we irrationally favour (or disfavor - hello RA Dickey!) to some extent, though admittedly not to this level.

Interesting question - IMO it’s worth giving him another year to see if he can make adjustments.

A VR mode similar to the retro mode they introduced might work! Man, VR in ten years could be amazing.

Why isn’t that a thing for the Show and PS4 VR??

Depends on the cost, on a short term contract at a relatively low AAV we could do a lot worse IMO. But yes I agree we should be looking for a Cobb level player, in part as insurance for when Happ and Estrada are gone next year.

Strongly behind the Jason Kidd firing - the Bucks should be way better than where they are.

Jim exaggerating to try and prove a point - who could have guessed?

While you have a good point, Ohtani is 23.

TBH if he failed a medical I’d be ok with that - I'd rather Hernandez start than Granderson.

They said at the time their analysis on him saw potential. It's been pointed out before, but it gives me hope for the Morales contract too. They obviously have access to more in depth data than Fangraphs and Steamer, haha.

I haven't seen anything that low on him hitting, but I've seen a lot of hype - and his stats in Japan are ridiculous. His rank for 2016 and 2017: Batting average: second (.322), second (.332) On-base percentage: fourth (.416), fifth (.403) Slugging percentage: first (.588), fifth (.540) OPS: first (1.004), fourth (.942) Survey of MLB executives - link "There's no word yet on whether Ohtani is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. He has yet to play in a single game in the United States after starring in Japan and signing with the Angels for $2,315,000 in December, and he had a platelet-rich plasma injection in his pitching elbow in October. That didn't stop a group of club executives from anointing Ohtani as baseball's best overall prospect and best pitching prospect, making him the first player to earn both distinctions in MLB Pipeline's third annual survey. Ohtani, who is ranked No. 1 on the Top 100 list and the Angels' Top 30 list, earned acclaim as the Babe Ruth of Japan, and there's less hyperbole in that statement than might be expected. While he was limited in 2017 by a right ankle injury that necessitated surgery in October, he won Japan's Pacific League MVP Award when fully healthy the year before. He went 10-4 with a 1.86 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 140 innings while batting .322/.416/.588 with 22 homers in 104 games in 2016. "Ohtani's talent, athleticism and makeup are beyond compare," an assistant GM with an American League club said. "He's a once-in-a-generation player capable of things on the field we really haven't seen before." While most teams think the 23-year-old Ohtani has more upside on the mound, there are clubs who prefer him as a position player. "His present repertoire and polish make him a potential top-of-the-rotation starter already in 2018," a baseball-operations official with an AL team said. "If that wasn't enough, the offensive potential as a two-way player makes him easily the best prospect in baseball." Random hype article: link The first scouting director said he'd put Ohtani's raw power among the best of any player at any level currently. "I've been doing this 26 years, seen as many players as anybody, but I've never seen a skill set like this," the first director said, noting that the only real negative has been some nagging injuries that have made it a bit more difficult to see him. "This guy is polished like McKay with Greene's tools, but he's faster than Greene. There should be giddiness; no one has ever seen it. We'll see how it turns out."

Braves are still stacked despite their forfeiture of 13 international prospects: 8 = Braves 6 = Brewers, Padres, Rays, Yankees 5 = Phillies, Twins, Reds, White Sox 4 = Astros, Athletics, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Dodgers 3 = Angels, Orioles, Rockies, Tigers 2 = Indians, Marlins, Nationals, Pirates, Rangers, Red Sox 1 = D-backs, Giants, Mariners, Mets 0 = Cubs, Royals

Well yeah, but Ohtani is unique. He's a really, really good pitcher prospect (top 1), and also a really good hitter prospect (top 10).

How is Ohtani not number 1?

Apart from the Pannone story, some other interesting things to come out of winterfest:

A couple of months ago I'd have said Liriano will get a major league deal as a reliever, but with the market this slow who knows?

I'd be all over a minor league deal for Hutchison with an invite to spring training. A bit surprised the Pirates released him, he had a pretty solid year at AAA. He'd be a good depth piece if nothing else.

I see the main difference of opinion as whether a rebuild right now is “smart” punting the next 4+ seasons, when we could be contenders within a couple of years without one.

Only if a rebuild happens, which isn't happening right now. Alford isn't going anywhere and can easily be given a role if he does well in AAA. That's from the point of view of you have to trade him. However, unless you're getting back 4-6 WAR for the next 2 years from a trade, there is no point. It's irrelevant if we get nothing in a trade for him in 2 or 3 years if the only thing we'd get now is a bullpen piece and some lottery tickets.