microline133

Annual reminder.....scouting comps are physical comps, not performance comps.

I watched Manning three times in AA in 2019....Crazy reliever risk smacked you in the face every time you saw him.

In addition to the perceived depth of the draft class, MLB clubs are starting to adjust to the impacts of NIL on their draft strategies. In year's past you could keep a guy from campus with a $500k bonus or if you pop a guy early and give him $1M, it was a no brainer he was signing. Now, with the amount some of these high caliber prep players can get in NIL over three years on campus, combined with the length of time it takes them to make real money on an annual basis coming through the MiLB/MLB rabks, the calculus has shifted and those players can no longer be bought out of college for the sums of past. That factors in heavily in terms of who is available later that you may be able to spend bonus savings to sign over slot

Nope. He's a below average defender at both second and third. Same as Keith. Both have to hit a bunch or they are of little big league value.

In the first few rounds, yes, you have stated it correctly. You will see minor deviation from this if a team is trying to manipulate their draft bonus pool, but in those instances they still will not draft for positional need early in the draft; shifting focus to some blend of potential ability and bonus demands. Late in the draft they will grab guys at a specific position to fill out low level rosters rather than strictly BPA (e.g., we still need a shortstop to put on 'X' team)....less so with the contraction of the minor leagues, as they don't have as many rosters to fill, but it still occurs.

Just because you keep saying it and apparently believe it to be true, doesn't mean it is in any way true. It's simply not. That's not the way the league operates relative to the draft and any impact on MLB player valuation. The Tigers could draft another first baseman at 1-1 this year and it still wouldn't signal to the rest of the league what they think of Tork. It would simply signal that based on their scouting and modeling, they felt that player was the best available in the draft. Nothing more.

That's just because you're old, Lee. 😃

He's more than just odd....he's nuts. Listening to him out here all the time, he's off the reservation.

Good luck with the utility infielder "stuck" in AAA.

Because he has zero pitch recognition ability.

All three prospects are intriguing on the merits of their ability. Their minor league stats have absolutely nothing to do with it.

The average OPS in the Florida State League so far this season is .663. Clark is fine.

You don't have to root for the Leafs, just root for the Bruins to lose.

Big parks, typical weather conditions, more consistently advanced pitching than most teenagers have ever faced, physical maturity, skill/approach development.....it's all of those things for a teenager in A-ball. Depends who is saying he's maxed out....some armchair scout looks at some pictures or some video and see his listed characteristics, then I'd say they are full of ****. If it's a real scout with some experience....a guy that's met the family and seen the physical maturity of parents, siblings, close relatives, etc., and been able to see his physical development over time, then if they're saying he's maxed out, I'm more inclined to listen. From what I know....I wouldn't say maxed out. I would say physical development is not going to be the biggest contributor to his development. He will still make some physical gains with overall maturity, but his ultimate ceiling will be dictated by bat to ball dev, pitch rec, lifting the ball, etc....you're not projecting stardom because he looks like a young Aaron Judge and you think he will be a physical monster and has skill projection. You're projecting stardom for him because he's got good now skills, has skill projection, and the present physicality doesn't need to progress for his skills to develop.

Hitting for power in the FSL as a teenager would be a momentous achievement.

The concerns I've heard with Quebec City revolve around having a sufficient fan base to support the team day-in and day-out. Highly educated hockey people have expressed this concern repeatedly. Expansion will probably venture back into the Atlanta market, and I'd wager Arizona still gets a team back eventually. Give them lead time to acquire land and build a proper stadium (both of which are already in the works) and that market can support a team.

Ding, ding, ding. This is akin to trying to blame greenhouse gas emissions on cows and beef consumption. Focus on the actual significant contributors.

I shouldn't do this because I'm just beating my head against the wall, but for those interested in how the situation can actually be read by fans.... The argument was never that the Tigers were demonstrating an interest in moving Madden to the bullpen today. They are not and they should not. The argument was quite clearly that the club's actions speak pretty clearly about how they view Madden as a long-term prospect, and that view is divergent from most of the online fan base you will read. The point of bringing that observation to the fore was simply to help folks here adjust expectations for the player accordingly. If you choose not to, no skin off my back. Not moving him to the next logical level, as a starter, to face more advanced competition after having extended success at the prior level, is quite telling. There was room to move him there to start the season if they chose to do so. They didn't and as I said in my original post, team's actions align pretty closely with their view of a player, if you're willing to listen. So, yes, they will continue to get him starter's innings for the foreseeable future, just not at the next logical developmental level, because they apparently didn't prioritize his development as a starter over a minor league vet and some bullpen days.

If you don't like the way the board is moderated, you are free to leave. If you choose to stay, then you are obligated to abide by the established rules and preferences of those that are tabbed with moderating the forum. With that, this matter is closed and I expect no further debate regarding the moderation of this thread.

Willful ignorance....I'm not sure why I even bothered.

No, they have not. My assessment is based on years of scouting players, including many like Madden, and speaking with industry professionals that have spent plenty of time watching Madden and formulating their own opinion. It's also based on years of talking with teams about their players, assignment decisions, and how they develop players. The overwhelming consensus in Madden's case? He's a reliever at the highest level. Sure, you can label it speculation, but it's a helluva lot more informed speculation than what you're tossing around.

I'll elaborate a bit.... Teams are really good at telling you what they think of prospects if you are willing to listen. When they conduct minor league roster construction to start a season, they place their "priority" prospects first and then place everyone else around them. Guys they view highly aren't squeezed out of a spot unless there are somehow more "priority" guys at a position than they can fit on a roster. That's not the case here. After 30+ starts at Double-A, if Madden was a "priority" starting pitcher prospect, he would be in Toledo; there's room for him there.....if they wanted him there. That they chose to send him to Erie is telling you how they value him as a starting pitching prospect. Either they believe he's not a starter but they're not ready to make the conversion, or they think he's a starter prospect, but not one of significant long-term value to make his placement a priority over others. Neither is a ringing endorsement. Noting roster crunches is a cover long used when asked about such assignment decisions. For me, when I see an assignment decision like this for a player that I've always viewed as a relief prospect, I connect the dots. He's not a long-term starter in their eyes, they just may not be ready to make the conversion for whatever reason.

Because that's where he's going to end up at the big league level.

I don't understand dragging the hiring process out....in any field, and I'm a huge culture/fit guy. I don't think it makes the hiring organization look good....you really need all this time to make a decision? What's business decision making look like for you? I say this as someone that works for the federal government with a painful hiring process. I did a phone screening with a guy two weeks ago, panel virtual interview with him last week, and flew him here from the UK this week to put a bow on things. We had drinks tonight to talk ancillary stuff (towns to look for houses, commutes, the non-work side of the process) and he'll come into the office tomorrow to talk nuts and bolts, potential project assignments, and next steps....it'll be a done deal by Tuesday and we will just have to figure out his start date with the move back to the States factored in.

Typically use one.