Brendan Gawlowski Prospects Chat: 8/4/26

Brendan Gawlowski: Hello everybody

Brendan Gawlowski: Sorry for the slight delay, I was getting coffee

Brendan Gawlowski: I’d link to all the stuff we’ve done lately but, well, it’s a little overwhelming

Brendan Gawlowski: So let’s just get going

miggy80: Is Kane Kepleys stock increasing now that he’s showing some pop?

Brendan Gawlowski: Talked with a scout who said something along the lines of “I don’t normally like this type of player… but I like him.”

mrfister: I think the Tigers did great on the Skubal trade.  That is all.

Brendan Gawlowski: Seems like they got what they wanted.

Brendan Gawlowski: Big league ready pitcher

Brendan Gawlowski: It’s unfortunate that they and Milwaukee didn’t line up better

BaseballBundesliga: I was listening to a podcast where the conversation was praising a consistent organizational hitting philosophy from low minors to majors. It struck me that this could lead to simplified advanced scouting for opponents. How has your view of the individual nature of development changed over the years vs. org-wide dev goals?

Brendan Gawlowski: Interesting question, and one where the specifics matter a lot. How general is the philosophy here? If it’s “we want to get better at swinging at strikes and taking balls” that’s pretty applicable everywhere. If it’s “we want everyone to hit the exact same way” then that’s getting a little cookie cutter for my tastes.

fincampbell05: Am I wrong for thinking that Enddy Azocar is the prospect the Red Sox will miss the most? Witherspoon looks like a reliever (if that), Eyanson is good but has elevated injury risk due to his arm slot, his initial velocity gains seem to be fading, and he seems generally like the type of mid-rotation guy that they develop again and again. Azocar’s profile seems super appealing, 19yo CF with a 107 mph EV90?? Sign me up! Seems like his timeline would have fit well with Rafaela’s presumed decline years around age 28-30 too. But have to give to get, obviously.

Brendan Gawlowski: Highest ceiling in the group for me. I really like him.

Brendan Gawlowski: There’s hit tool risk there though, he’s expansive. He doesn’t have the highest floor of the group.

Pinstripe Power: Thoughts on Henry Lalane being the centerpiece of Heliot Ramos? While he’s had a resurgent year, the injury history, and the need to add him to the 40 man roster, made him a tough guy for the Yanks to hold on to. Was he a 40 man keep for you were he to remain in NY?

Brendan Gawlowski: The deal made so much sense for both sides. SFG gets to run some of their young OF’s out there, NYY gets a 45/50 kind of player, Lalane (probably a roster keep to answer your question) goes to a spot where there’s a little less 40 man pressure.

Brendan Gawlowski: Also, three cheers for SFG, of all the sellers I thought they really killed it

tdmoc: I’ve read at least one report that Boston tried to change Kyson Witherspoon’s delivery. Is it considered dangerous for Baltimore to try to tweak his delivery a second time in less than a year? Is it likely Baltimore will change it back to his college delivery or go a third way?

Brendan Gawlowski: Dangerous isn’t the word I’d use, particularly if you’re not playing around with arm action.

Nickname (required): With the deadline just passed, what is your gut-take sense of the top 5 farm systems at the moment?

Brendan Gawlowski: In no order, LAD, MIL, TBR, DET, BAL

Brendan Gawlowski: And now to check that against our rankings…

Brendan Gawlowski: BULLSEYE!

Brendan Gawlowski: https://www.fangraphs.com/prospects/farm-system-rankings

Person: why’d Detroit keep Hope at AA and why does that detract from my opinion of them making the trade?

Brendan Gawlowski: Because they thought a new level, in addition to all the other new stuff wasn’t necessary at this time; because you want to see the shiny new toy in Detroit and this makes it feel like you’re further away from getting to do that.

aglossman: Give me permission as a Red Sox fan to be excited about the acquisitions and not too demoralized about the cost.

Brendan Gawlowski: Feel as you like. You get a guy who was on a HOF track two years ago at a position of glaring need as you make a playoff push. Sounds pretty exciting when you put it like that.

Jonathan Adelman: It looks like some of the Yankees’ prospects were updated on the Board, maybe in conjunction with Eric working on them last week/weekend? I see Yostin Pena got a 40+. Wilberson De Pena’s grade hasn’t moved and is still a 40 FV. Does that reflect what you guys currently think, or was the Board update only partial for the Yanks?

Brendan Gawlowski: We did some tweaks to NYY and CHC before the deadline, there was a piece to run in conjunction with that, it may still go live at some point but it got backburnered with all the deadline stuff

Brendan Gawlowski: We both really like what Pena has done this year, that’s a really intriguing guy to monitor down the stretch

Brendan Gawlowski: De Pena we felt comfortable where he was

CC AFC: Best single trade for a selling team for me was Cards getting Frias and Ragsdale for May and Romero.  Agree/Disagree?

Brendan Gawlowski: It’s certainly up there, that and the Adley deal were the ones that made me go “WHOA!”

triplesandtea: Slow week at the office for you, right? Nothing going on lately?

Brendan Gawlowski: heh

dan norman lear: Tigers’ OF by end of 2027 of Greene/Clark/Hope sounds pretty fun, no?

Brendan Gawlowski: It’s certainly in play.

second-pot: Big fan of Zeferjahn, but does the Cubs sending off Moises Ballesteros for a reliever say more about their view of him, or about their belief in Owen Ayers?

Brendan Gawlowski: They need the reliever and Ballesteros isn’t really an everyday catcher. The deal makes sense even without thinking too much about Ayers, whom we like a good bit.

nebravesfan33: I’m disappointed that Alex did not trade for an impact starter, that said, I thought the prospect prices for rentals were higher this year than in years past. I don’t want to say he was unprepared, but it feels like he assumed DeGrom would waive his no trade and they’d be able to get him without giving up prospects of significance with his salary attached. Thoughts?

Brendan Gawlowski: I’m surprised they mostly sat that one out too, think it’s fair to be a little disappointed. It’s possible the playoff rotation will be fine anyway, maybe AJSS is great down the stretch, but seems like a missed opportunity for a veteran club to not make a real push.

slicedfriedgold: Looking at the Farm System Rankings post-trade deadline, the top 15 contains a fascinating polar opposite in that Baltimore is #2 with a boatload of solid prospects while Seattle is #14 with the highest average value per prospect but the third lowest count in the league. Obviously you want it all (like the Rays), but gut instinct, would you rather have more lottery tickets or “better” ones if you were building a team?

Brendan Gawlowski: All else being equal, gimme the dudes.

leoneforthird: Do you think Boston Smith can stick behind the dish if so he seems like a good get for the Ms.

Brendan Gawlowski: I think it’s a solid upside play. There’s precedent for catchers getting better in Seattle. Raleigh and to a slightly lesser extent Ford improved a lot defensively in that org, and the stuff that Smith isn’t great at — framing in particular — is teachable. He’s a good athlete too.

kcshankland: The Royals ended up with over 800k of unspent draft $$$. Are there any UDFA they could splurge on, or is this just another disappointing miss by the front office?

Brendan Gawlowski: Great question, theoretically they’ve got a lot of money to throw at the best undrafted high schoolers. Otherwise, that’s not great resource management.

Charles Bengal Tiger: Should Anthony Eyanson and Alexander Frias now be viewed with a more skeptical eye since their teams were willing to move them?

Brendan Gawlowski: My head went there with Frias when the deal was announced, but couldn’t we have said the same thing about James Wood a few years ago? Or Tait last year?

dan norman lear: Kevin Alcantara did not get traded to the Angels. Kevin Alcantara did not get traded. What are the Cubs going to do with Kevin Alcantara?

Brendan Gawlowski: Yeah, that’s an interesting subplot. I assume they’re going to let him make a real run at the Iowa Cubs all time home run record at this point.

tdmoc: Enddy Azocar is noted to “[…] catch elite velocity at and above the top rail” and have “[…] enough bat control to stay competitive on pitches upstairs.” Do you have early splits on anything >94 mph, and anything at the top of the zone? Do you have his z-con% as well?

Brendan Gawlowski: I have his z contact, which was a hair above 80% as of the ASB

phillyg: Any prospects moved at the deadline you think notably improved their stock based on what system they’re entering may be good at developing?

Brendan Gawlowski: I don’t know if guys moved their stock, we have to see them actually get better first, but I am very curious to see what happens with Kash Mayfield outside of SD.

war2d2: Owen Ayers’ name had been thrown around a lot yesterday, with the Cubs seemingly unwilling to move him regardless of who asked. In my head he was still a 40fv guy, but it looks like he’s jumped to the 50fv grade on The Board. What changed that led to the new valuation?

Brendan Gawlowski: I took a look at him as we were doing NYY/CHC names in the last week and graded him as a 50; Eric seemed happy with that so we bumped him.

Tyler Banks: Thoughts on Conor Essenburg helium? K rate declining, BB rate increasing, SLG and ISO through the roof. Now in AA as a 19yo after a 175 wRC+ in last 40ish games

Brendan Gawlowski: Very exciting prospect, deserves the helium. The Braves are pretty good at finding high school bats with a chance to jump.

oaktownblues: It feels like the A’s are woefully behind most teams when it comes to pitching development – would you agree? They keep targeting pitchers in sell-off trades who  seem to inevitably become injured or ineffective after being acquired

Brendan Gawlowski: Yes they’re towards the back of the pack

yochuckie: If Kade is first on the short list, how much further behind is Sloan?

Brendan Gawlowski: Mid to late 2027. Again, part of this is context. Seattle can’t find room for Kade even though he’s the most obviously ready pitching prospect in baseball.

Wexlerrules: Thoughts on the Mets haul? Stafura believer?

Brendan Gawlowski: Rojas is the get. I am not a big Stafura believer, big leaguer but I don’t see a regular.

Vogt your conscience: What’s your coffee situation? Any good beans to let the world know about, or are slinging grocery store stuff?

Brendan Gawlowski: Treated myself to a latte from the Skog Haus in Mountlake Terrace. Great little cafe if you’re in the area, good coffee, and they’re super nice. I work there a fair bit too.

Charles Bengal Tiger: Ethan Salas has had an encouraging first several games at Triple-A. Odds that he’s called up in 2026?

Brendan Gawlowski: When you’re in AAA and performing, you’re an injury away, so it’s in play. That said, I don’t think he’s in line for a big role, Campusano is playing well and as a general matter teams would prefer not to shake things up at that position in the midst of a pennant race. Could he have the September that Harry Ford did last year? Sure.

Robert: Good probability that Edward Florentino, Murf Gray and Ethan Holliday are each MLB 30 HR guys IN 5 years?

Brendan Gawlowski: They all could do that but if you’re intrigued by that parlay you should stay outta Vegas

Andre Mouchard: I’ve read some analysis that says Skubal boosts the Dodgers shot at a WS win by 5%. That feels like a huge shift from one player. Other than, say, Ohtani, is any other player that valuable?

Brendan Gawlowski: Aces have outsize influence in the tournament, particularly when you’re replacing someone you’d really rather not start in that format.

sliderinthedirt: Where would Ramon Marquez be ranked if his delivery wasn’t so violent? He kind of looks like Seth Hernandez with better command to me

Brendan Gawlowski: Doesn’t have anything approaching Seth’s breaking stuff

Jay: When a smart FO like Milwaukee is willing to part with a player like Frias for somewhat marginal rentals does that cause you to reassess the player? Especially considering his age and limited minor league experience.

Brendan Gawlowski: It makes me wonder what they know that I don’t

Brendan Gawlowski: But it’s not gonna make me chop a grade off his hit tool or anything

Brendan Gawlowski: The flip side of this is that the Cardinals are good at this too and they’re thrilled

yumo22: Disappointed that the Diamondbacks didn’t do more but understanding that the state of the farm is bleak, they didn’t have a lot of options. What did you think of their deadline? The report about the Mets almost sending Clay Holmes to Arizona before being scared of a prospect’s medicals is interesting

Brendan Gawlowski: Nootbaar is a solid acquisition but yeah, they could’ve used a little more help. The farm is obviously not in great shape but they’ve got more than enough to be buyers

Brendan Gawlowski: As for the Holmes deal specifically, I have no inside intel on who the prospect was.

Andre Mouchard: A lot of chatter, pre deadline, was that the Dodgers would trade seemingly AAAA player Ryan Ward. That didn’t happen. Is that a lack of interest from other teams or did the Dodgers not market him?

Brendan Gawlowski: How aggressively should other teams target a 28-year-old, not especially proven corner outfielder who can’t hit lefties?

Brendan Gawlowski: I like Ward just fine, I think he’d be an interesting guy to give 200 at bats if I’m, I don’t know, the angels, but he’s not someone you go out of your way to get

Chuck Berry: Should Guardians fans start getting excited about Reiner Herrera?

Brendan Gawlowski: You should get excited about whoever you want to get excited about.

Brendan Gawlowski: Herrera himself doesn’t have a lot of power and is succeeding in part by being passive

second-pot: Alcantara has 39 HR in AAA, 49 to go to tie Iowa Cubs Legend Jason Dubois

Brendan Gawlowski: I believe in him

hibbert: Can you think of many other trades like the Rays getting Michael Forret from BAL and flipping him back within the year?  It would be funny to basically tell other teams “trade us your guy, we’ll make him better and trade him back to you.”

Brendan Gawlowski: We need soccer style loans with an option to buy

canderson20: How much of Eagen’s struggles (1.85 HR/9) is the direct result of him playing in Amarillo this year? Am I on the right track in thinking that playing in a pitcher’s park like STL could help mitigate that specific issue or does his fastball play down a bit and is more hittable because of that?

Brendan Gawlowski: The park is a huge part of it, he wouldn’t be giving up that many homers in most places. That said, it’s a light fastball and his command of that pitch hasn’t come along a ton this year. I think it’s still in play, I like the delivery, I’d still project on that, but he’s going to be vulnerable to getting hit around if that doesn’t get a fair bit better.

earthmover: Do you have a favorite archetype of player to watch?

Brendan Gawlowski: Fast players. Strike throwers with pretty curveballs.

Brendan Gawlowski: Or pitchers with diabolical changeups

Brendan Gawlowski: Luis Castillo has been my favorite player for about a decade

apeloton: Safe to say Angeibel Gomez is the consensus DSL standout so far this year? Anyone else in his league in your view?

Brendan Gawlowski: If I had to pick one guy off the cuff I’d take him. Was pretty intrigued by the SS SFG just acquired, Joniel Hernandez. The DSL is tough to follow midstream, I’m not as plugged in there as I am everywhere else.

Big Fan: As a Braves fan I’m crushed that we didn’t do more yesterday.  What might an equivalent package for Kevin Gausman have been?

Brendan Gawlowski: Atlanta definitely had the pieces to beat that, but among positional players, the Braves are stronger in guys who have power but also hit/strikeout risk. Toronto went the exact opposite direction.

Brendan Gawlowski: And they’re presumably a lot higher on Southisene and Bateman than we are

Brendan Gawlowski: It’s possible that the fit just wasn’t right for what TOR wanted

mspir: I appreciate the chats and the effort you guys put into providing us transparent and timely content, but i’ve been trying to get a question answered about grant taylor for like 6 weeks now. he’s a recent former t100 with under 100 innings facing a role change that would need a trained eye to help project out. seems like a completely reasonable question.

Brendan Gawlowski: I try to answer a variety of questions. That said, I don’t know everything or have a strong opinion on every single player, and try to avoid questions where I’m just speculating without conviction or don’t really know.

Brendan Gawlowski: and also, complaining that a question hasn’t been answered is not going to help

JayGray007: is Lonnie White Jr on your radar at all?  Destroyed A+ ball this yr, as a 23 yr old should.  Then is also destroying AA albeit with elevated K’s.  Probably just a non-prospect still?

Brendan Gawlowski: I wouldn’t say he’s a non prospect, he’s got real tools and is performing.

Brendan Gawlowski: The hit risk is so substantial that he doesn’t look like an especially impactful player/prospect but NP’s are definitionally guys who would get run over at the upper levels; that’s not White

jordanm1031: What is Jesus Mades player comp? Also what position do you see him sticking at the MLB level?

Brendan Gawlowski: Top prospects are inevitably really tough to find a good comp for, their blend of skills and tools defies easy comparison. I don’t see any reason he can’t stick at short for a while though.

shortstoppin_: Parks Harber has got to take one of the vacated SFG roster spots, right?

Brendan Gawlowski: Selfishly I want to see it. More interesting than seeing Koss for awhile.

Brendan Gawlowski: He can thump. Good pregame worker too, very diligent prep. He’s not great at third but he’s made himself playable, chance there’s another half gear in him.

Big Fan: I was really surprised to see Arjun Nimmala moved at the deadline.  Think the Blue Jays were worried about him?  Or did they like Soriano that much?

Brendan Gawlowski: Could be a little of both. Soriano’s a real prize though, with control. You have to pay for that.

Baby Yoda: Is there any way to source who the PTBNL is in the Nootbaar deal?

Brendan Gawlowski: It’s (likely) a package of players and the Cards now have a window to pick who they want

ankoalec: Devil’s Advocate question on the Tigers moves given how the offense has played recently: how many relievers would they have needed to acquire at the deadline to rationalize NOT selling and rather pushing their chips in with Mize and Skubal rostered for one more season? If they had acquired, say, three high-leverage relievers yesterday would that have bolstered their weakest link enough to make going for it in a weaker AL this year worth it? What would playoff/pennant odds need to be in your opinion to take the shot?

Brendan Gawlowski: This just gets to what’s so tough about the modern playoff landscape. They definitely could’ve justified improving the team and giving it one last go with Skubal/Mize/etc. The way that teams (mostly) aren’t valuing the opportunity to compete for a third wild card suggests we have too many playoff teams

yumo22: Will you guys be doing the analysis of prospects traded at the deadline (or I guess near it) again?

Brendan Gawlowski: Yeah, we’ll have the usual “rankings of the prospects who got dealt” post

Brendan Gawlowski: Eric and I still need to hammer out the exact order and finish up the one sentence summaries of the guys

Brendan Gawlowski: We talked about it yesterday and decided it was best to let some of the other content breathe for a bit on the site

djtofu: If the Giants were to trade Webb to the Dodgers, what would be a package that’s fair to both side, based purely on talents and ignoring division rivalry?

Brendan Gawlowski: Extremely high. An ace/good no. 2 on a very affordable deal with 2.5 years left… It’s hard to find a recent precedent for that deal. Three T100 types at a minimum and probably also one of the dodgers backend guys in the big leagues

ImKeithHernandez: I think Weaver was the only contract the Mets paid down to get a better return. What do they like about Stafura?

Brendan Gawlowski: Stafura is a middle infielder with power and he’s on a heater right now. I see the appeal.

CC AFC: If there were a loan system, the Dodgers could loan out an entire 5 man rotation that’s better than how many current teams major league rotations?

Brendan Gawlowski: None? Eric Lauer is in the rotation, the depth they’ve accumulated is mostly hurt.

millvillemeltdown: how do the deadline articles get assigned? is there a kanban board linked somewhere buried in the fangraphs slack? is it first to publish? do you call dibs to teams? a secret, arcane fourth option?

Brendan Gawlowski: If someone doesn’t claim a deal right when it comes through, Meg will post that these “these moves are available” in Slack and someone takes them. Occasionally something gets assigned directly. Nothing special.

willt: Is it too early to read into the Giants acquiring bigger named prospects over the last 2 deadlines? Looks like the Mets haul from last year has not worked out that well

Brendan Gawlowski: I’m still on Tidwell a little bit. And Gilbert’s fine, he’s probably not a regular but he’s a 40-something

Brendan Gawlowski: For a reliever on an expiring contract that feels pretty good

Justin Krupp: Do you have a lesser known stat or metric that you like to use in your evaluations? Like pitches seen per plate appearance, pull rate, mother’s maiden name, favorite ice cream?

Brendan Gawlowski: No, not really, nothing that you don’t see me/us cite all the time. The closest thing to a secret sauce is just watching video on these guys.

cfarese: What do you make of Brandon Compton’s past month and a half? Do you think he’ll be in AAA by the end of the year?

Brendan Gawlowski: He’s hit the dogshit out of the ball, AAA soon wouldn’t surprise me. Still concerned about the swing and miss but one of a couple Marlins I don’t feel great about right now.

WarrenJ: Re the Michael Forret question, the White Sox drafted Gio Gonzalez 38th overall in 2004, traded him and Aaron Rowand for Jim Thome 18 months later, reacquired him with Gavin Floyd for Freddy Garcia a year after that, then traded him to Oakland with Ryan Sweeney for Nick Swisher, where he finally made his major league debut in 2008.

Brendan Gawlowski: Good example. Jackson Wolf on a much, much lower scale

riceball: is the astros inability to acquire a starter at the deadline the last couple of years just more proof that the farm is barren and the dark night on the horizon is closer than ever

Brendan Gawlowski: They’re tricky to deal with

Brendan Gawlowski: They’re the fantasy owner trying to trade their trash for your treasure

Hazmat Corntail: Thoughts on Jonathan Long going to Miami? For someone whose power still hasn’t progressed, this seems like a bad fit for him.

Brendan Gawlowski: They can’t all go to Colorado

Brendan Gawlowski: For his sake, easier to route to the big leagues in Miami than Chicago

willt: Would Boston have been better off packaging the best of in the Adley/Mead/Miller deals and go after an Elly-superstar type, or make the moves that they made?

Brendan Gawlowski: Sounds like they tried

Brendan Gawlowski: You can understand why Cincy might just not be in the mood to trade Elly regardless

Brendan Gawlowski: Or say we need Arias + __ and __

nancy rules: Lot of smart teams have targeted Dustin May seeing a ton of people freakout out about Frias and Ragsdale but maybe we are under appreciating May? I think the Brewers added two playoff usable relievers and someone who might start a playoff game. Shouldn’t people be happy they added the way they did? perfect is the enemy of good

Brendan Gawlowski: I think all three of “the team got better,” “the price seems kinda high for what they acquired,” and “the double whammy from not landing Skubal and seeing him instead go to your biggest competitor for the crown is devastating” coexist comfortably

millvillemeltdown: i am in bed with cold, apologies in advance for any errors. in your self-evals, what do you see as your systematic strengths or weaknesses as a scout? probs external feedback will weigh into things (lol, “drunk on tools”), but wanted to hear your thoughts

Brendan Gawlowski: Strengths: Lot of passion, shown ability to improve/make adjustments, no glaring weakness in evaluating position players vs pitchers

Areas for improvement: Everything, nobody has this figured out

Brendan Gawlowski: I’m also finding that, shockingly, there were advantages to sitting on a team for a full week vs. just looking at numbers/video

Smith_Brickner: I always remember Andrew Friedman saying, “If you’re rational on every free agent, you’ll come in third every time.” Of course, it’s an executive’s task to correctly identify players worth “overpaying” for. Outside of Soto, it feels like the Yankees have been in this camp for too long and it’s largely prevented them from making huge splashes at the deadline. Agree/disagree?

Brendan Gawlowski: They’ve signed a lot of free agents and done pretty well with them. Fried, Cole, Bellinger, even Rodon have all worked out to varying degrees.

Brendan Gawlowski: I liked the Weathers trade for them too

Brendan Gawlowski: More broadly, they never have a bad year and are almost always in the playoffs

Brendan Gawlowski: It’s not the late-90s dynasty Yanks, and the Dodgers have passed them as the sport’s premier franchise. I get why that’s frustrating for Yankee fans

Brendan Gawlowski: But you don’t have to look far to see how “tons of money, big market” doesn’t guarantee anything resembling the success the Yanks have had over the last decade

Brendan Gawlowski: It’s a well run franchise that wins a lot of games. At the end of the day, the results are more akin to the 90s Braves than the 90s Yankees, but there are 27 or 28 other fanbases that would/should sign up for that right now

Brendan Gawlowski: Sorry, I’m riffing

emanredsfan: Sal freakin Stewart

Brendan Gawlowski: Good player

emanredsfan: Why in the world would the Reds keep Singer, Stephenson, Burke, and Johnson? They’re out of it and all those guys are gonna walk for nothing when they all would have brought back “something”

Brendan Gawlowski: The “something” would’ve been pretty light

Brendan Gawlowski: Is Brock Burke returning much more than what you got for Caleb Ferguson? Probably not.

Brendan Gawlowski: Stephenson is the best guy there and it’s tough to trade catchers at the deadline. Do you maybe get a 40 FV type for him from Texas if they win five instead of lose five right before the deadline? Maybe.

Woody1937: What was the trade deadline like on your end in Pittsburgh? All hands on deck and available for a call to discuss players, or did you have reports and targets submitted well in advance that the decision makers would draw from?

Brendan Gawlowski: Reports submitted as quickly as I could get them, off the road and home and ready to dig on guys by the last few days before the deadline

Brendan Gawlowski: Lot of thumb twiddling, honestly

Brendan Gawlowski: Followed by spasms of “WE NEED A VIDEO REPORT ON ___” or “can you makeup dig ___?” once or twice a day

adamakbani99: What do you and Eric need to see from Ragsdale for him to be a 45 or higher?

Brendan Gawlowski: More contact, more conviction in his glove in CF

opifijikl: How is Mickey Romero doing? He’s walking a bit more than last year, striking out 7pct less than last year. Both those things seem good. But it looks like he’s hitting the ball on the ground more which is causing a low WRC+?

Brendan Gawlowski: No real change for me, as you noted, lot of contact on the ground and still a big gap between the raw and game power

dgelt: How worried about Christian Oppor are you? Command was always a problem for him but this feels like a sudden end

Brendan Gawlowski: Pretty worried

wheelhouse: With how dire their farm system is, plus everything pointing to Judge not making it back this season, should the Yankees have dealt rentals like Jazz and Bednar?

Brendan Gawlowski: No

jameswoodfan: Based on where prospect writers had Ballesteros it seems like a lot for the Cubs to give up for Zeferjahn. Do you think the league was lower on Ballesteros than prospect outlets before the season or has his stock fallen that much this year?

Brendan Gawlowski: Little of column A, little of column B, maybe even more of column Z: Zeferjahn is an interesting reliever who’s already good, has paths to more, and is under control forever

Brendan Gawlowski: I still like Ballesteros, think he can hit, let’s see what it looks like when he can play everyday for a while.

yumo22: Speaking of the Rangers, do you have any info about what this financial situation is about? Looks like the FO were looking to shed salary by trying to dump deGrom and Eovaldi before both invoked the no-trade

Brendan Gawlowski: I’d have liked to see them go for it one more time, but I get their approach. They have a ton of money committed to guys going down the mountain. It was worth it, they got a WS title but seeing if they can clear some of the cash while those guys still have trade value makes sense.

Darren Knowles: Thoughts on Sean Gamble? His numbers have been better the past couple of months… thanks!

Brendan Gawlowski: They’ve been a lot better, and credit to him, he fought through it without needing to take a step back at the complex. He’s not taking as big of a stride, and maybe that’s helping, he was caught in between a lot early this season and very off balance on good spin. He’s still lunging at it, and the way his front hip leaks early is pulling him off the plate pretty significantly. So, to summarize, he looks more comfortable, he’s making quality contact more often, but it still looks a little funky.

Darren Knowles: Thoughts on Luke Pelzer—hit pretty well in high A and starting well in AA?

Brendan Gawlowski: Might just be a hit collector type. Sources have liked, if not loved, the guy

fincampbell05: Given the choice between trading what he did for Rutschman and doing nothing, what would you have done as Craig Breslow? I think the extent to which we overpaid is probably being exaggerated, but I still might have done nothing.

Brendan Gawlowski: It just feels like a “you better be right…” kind of trade

Brendan Gawlowski: I like Eyanson and Azocar a lot. But they know more about those two. If they think Azocar’s approach is a capital P Problem, or they have compelling reasons to think Eyanson’s stuff isn’t going to play like more than a 3/4, well, the price isn’t that bad for an all star caliber catcher.

tdmoc: Brandon Butterworth real or no real? mashing in a band box, pull-heavy, good FB rate, but he’s a little guy mostly playing up the middle

Brendan Gawlowski: I did not have “getting questions about Brandon Butterworth’s bat” on my bingo card coming into the year. It’s totally fair, he’s been good, but I tend to think the report on him from the O’s list covers him well

Baseball: Will you guys still be posting the yankees farm system update?

Brendan Gawlowski: Yeah, not sure exactly when.

Brendan Gawlowski: Okay folks, I’m going to shut it down here, we went pretty long today. Thanks as always for the questions, we’ll do it again next week.