Eric Longenhagen Prospects Chat, Extended Spring Edition

Eric A Longenhagen: Good morning from lovely Tempe.

Eric A Longenhagen: The Mariners list went up today: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/top-16-prospects-seattle-mariners/

Eric A Longenhagen: Houston’s went up yesterday: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/top-21-prospects-houston-astros/

Eric A Longenhagen: I’ll be wrapping up Texas and Oakland tomorrow and Thursday so they should be up either late this week or Monday next.

Eric A Longenhagen: Also, this just went up: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagraphs/tuesday-cup-of-coffee-411/

Eric A Longenhagen: OKay, we chat.

Greg: Where would Luiz Gohara and Austin Jackson have fit into the Seattle list?

Eric A Longenhagen: Gohara would have been #2, Jackson somewhere among the 40s.

G Money: Remember when you said Cornelius Randolph had 20 game power and then he went out and dropped 3 massive tanks in the season’s first series?

Eric A Longenhagen: Remember when “present game power” is what the prospect would do in the Majors right now?

Eric A Longenhagen: But yes, Randolph has doubled his career home run total this week.

Erik: What are your thoughts on Brock Stassi? He didn’t make your list, but he did make the Phillies’ opening day roster. Is he good enough to push Tommy Joseph for a starting spot, or is he not even as good as Darin Ruf?

Eric A Longenhagen: It’s great for the kid. He was a 4A type for me and I don’t know that he’s going to have a long term big league role but I’m wrong and he does, cool. He’s a 55 glove at first, at least, in my looks.

Bleh: Best hit tool you’ve ever seen?

Eric A Longenhagen: Posey? Seager?

My United States of Whatever: Jo Adell – bat or arm for you?

Eric A Longenhagen: Bat for me but you’re not wrong to ask and it sounds like there are teams on him as a pitcher.

forever it: How much do MLB bloodlines factor into your player evaluations? Thinking of guys like Vlad Jr. who are constantly compared to their dad in approach and/or body type.

Eric A Longenhagen: Info on parents, in general, is useful. If a prospect had a parent that played high level sports then it’s an indication of athletic genes but it’s a binary distinction for me, not colored by the quality of the parent’s career.

Mike: Kind of surprised Rogelios Armenteros didn’t get a mention in the Astro’s list. Why not?

Eric A Longenhagen: Was 88-90 with a fringe breaking ball in the Fall League. I like the changeup. You could have put him on the HM’s and I wouldn’t have argued.

Mike: What % of your questions are about Tim Tebow (excluding this one)?

Eric A Longenhagen: 0%, I’m so proud

Tim: Tim Tebow?

Eric A Longenhagen: RUNED

Big Joe Mufferaw: What would a tooled up prospect not in the top 100 (Lets say Estevan Florial) have to do to reach top 10 prospect status in 2017?

Eric A Longenhagen: Rake? I don’t have objective criteria for that sort of climb and haven’t been doing this long enough to identify trends from past examples of guys who have made that sort of ascent.

Hugh: Any Giants prospects that you reviewed doing things that cause you to reconsider their FV?

Eric A Longenhagen: Good question. hmm….

Eric A Longenhagen: Oh, Stephen Woods looked good this spring. Didn’t throw strikes in college but looks better now, still 90-93, t94, flashing a plus curveball. Looks good.

Eric A Longenhagen: Also this spring made me happy with how aggressively I ranked Fabian.

Burt Macklin: In your Monday Notes from yesterday you mentioned that Ryan McMahon started at 2B, do believe he has the ability to profile there? Also, will that column become a weekly thing?

Eric A Longenhagen: Not sure, can only let him play a bit more there and then see if any scouts I know have seen enough to have an opinion. That’s hopefully going to be a daily thing.

Aaron: Is swing and miss a concern for Acuna or not?

Eric A Longenhagen: Perhaps a bit because there’s effort to the swing but there’s bat control too and even if he K’s a bit I don’t think it will be so much that it undoes everything else.

To the Victor . . .: Victor Robles looks amazing on paper. Is he going to be the best offensive prospect in the minors by the start of the 2018 season?

Eric A Longenhagen: Probably on a short list of candidates, yeah.

Don : Which international prospects made the biggest leap forward last year in terms of separating themselves from the rest of the pack?

Eric A Longenhagen: Here they are for reference: http://www.fangraphs.com/scoutboard.aspx?draft=2016int&type=0&pos=all

Eric A Longenhagen: I’m happy with where everyone was ranked after the fall and spring when many of them played here in the states

Eric A Longenhagen: Barley looks better, Ona looked better than he did last fall

Eric A Longenhagen: Lazarito probably in the same spot even though he’s just been okay

SideshowEno: I’m concerned for your and Carson’s definition of fortnightly, please allay my fears.

Eric A Longenhagen: Spring training is nuts, friend.

Sterling Mallory Chris Archer: If I wanted to go to Colorado Springs, which players should I be going to see?

Eric A Longenhagen: The entire outfield, Hader, Woodruff and I guess Wang if they start, and Nate Orf. Orf just hits, he always hits, and might sneak up on us.

Michelle: Will Brendan McKay be a hitter or pitcher in pro ball?

Eric A Longenhagen: I prefer him as a LHP but that is not a unanimous sentiment in the industry

Zock Jr.: So Jay Groome last night. Just the minor lat injury or should I freak out and set the house afire?

Eric A Longenhagen: For those that don’t know, he was removed after 1.1 IP with, what Globe reporter Alex Speier reported, was a lat strain. The kid’s post game tweet was a little more ominous than that.

bear: How did you view Jorge Polanco as a prospect? How do you view him now?

Eric A Longenhagen: Preferred him at 2B where he’d have been a 45 due to a lack of power with a chance he hits enough to be an average every day guy at some point.

Eric A Longenhagen: And basically the same right now.

My name is Eloy Jimenez: Is Eloy’s bat MLB-ready today?

Eric A Longenhagen: No

Matt : Loved your Red Sox writeup, who do you see from the lower level/other interesting prospects list jumping up the list soon for a team that lost much its top level talent?

Eric A Longenhagen: Of all the really young guys I think Kervin Suarez has the most present baseball acumen.

Chris: Who are the most exciting prospects to see in Arizona Extended Spring Training

Eric A Longenhagen: Kyle Lewis whenever he gets going, Adrian Morejon, Jose Albertos, the entirety of Oakland’s J2 class from last year, Osvaldo Hernandez, all the young Angels arms…

Dann: As a Cubs fan, I can see the starting rotation being the main risk this year. What tier of SP would a mid-season package centered on Happ+Candelario bring back from a rebuilding/tear-down team?

Eric A Longenhagen: I think the club has been conscious about building depth at Triple-A in case there’s a rash of injuries to the big club and that they’ve been hunting for potential reinforcements since last summer.

Eric A Longenhagen: If they have to make a move, they have the pieces to get whoever they want, but it’s too early to speculate who might be available other than Quintana, and I’m not sure I see them making a deal with the Sox.

37: You mentioned last week that you were surprised by the assignment of Dodgers SS prospect, Oneil Cruz. Real talent there?

Eric A Longenhagen: Yes, watched him rip two well-struck opposite field fly balls last week. He’s a legit 6-foot-8 right now.

Sonny: What version of Jordan Montgomery, that you’ve seen, was capable of jumping the line to claim the 5th spot in the Yankee rotation?

Eric A Longenhagen: Low-90s, might touch 94 or 95, excellent changeup and command, some early-inning deception from the delivery. I wrote him up as a #4/5 starter on the Yankees list so this is rather unsurprising in my opinion.

Sonny: Mitch Haniger FV accidentally listed at 45 in your report, still time to change to 70

Eric A Longenhagen: He’s a fascinating player.

Jack J: Jake Rogers is most interesting prospect for astros in my mind. You said in write up he’s best defensive catching prospect you have ever seen and that isn’t the first time i’ve read that by someone. His defense and framing alone is worth 2-3 wins in MLB right now according to stat cast comparisons in MLB and based on what i’ve been reading would be top 3 defensive catcher in MLB currently. Will they fast track him with that value?

Eric A Longenhagen: I think he could catch in the Majors right now but barring an injury epidemic I don’t think they’l rush him. It makes sense to try to develop the bat because, if they do, Rogers is an every day player instead of a backup.

Jeff: You have Hunter Renfroe at 50 FV. Is that a good outcome for someone drafted at 13 (i.e., would you go into the drafting thinking if I can get an average regular at 13, I’ll be happy)?

Eric A Longenhagen: Yeah, 60s and 55s up top in the 10-12 range are good, 55s and 50s in the middle of the first round and by the back of round 1 it’s a lot of 50s and 45s. Typically.

Jewel: Long term, who do you like more, Mazara or Conforto?

Eric A Longenhagen: Mazara

Daniel: Was Cotton weirdly underrated by the Dodgers? He’s looking good now and last year the Dodgers even traded for Bud Norris instead of giving him a shot

Eric A Longenhagen: I remember seeing Cotton in the Fall League and wondering why the hell Mike Bolsinger was getting big league innings.

The Average Sports Fan: Lorenzen and Iglesias have been excellent multi inning relievers for the Reds. Who are some other borderline SP’s that you think would benefit from a similar conversion?

Eric A Longenhagen: Good question.

Eric A Longenhagen: Carson Fulmer, Conner Greene, maybe Taylor Hearn?

Eric A Longenhagen: There are lots of guys, and I’m not advocating the three I mentioned move to the bullpen, those are just three guys I think would thrive in the role you’re describing

Jim: I was surprised at the Garrett Stubbs comp as Russel Martin, thoughts? I’m assuming that is hitting stat comp?

Eric A Longenhagen: Yes, it’s just a stat-based comp and Mitchell picks a relevant big leaguer that gets spit back at him by the algorithm.

Nolan: I’ve been pretty impressed with Margot so far. If he taps into his power and manages to be a 15-20 HR threat, how valuable is he? Also, if he’s the only guy who hits from the Kimbrel trade…still a pretty great trade, right?

Eric A Longenhagen: Yeah the power is in the body just not the swing. If he ever gets to it I guess it would be like that one crazy Lorenzo Cain year from 2015? Which is a superstar.

Babe Lincoln: How do you think Amed Rosario would do if called up today?

Eric A Longenhagen: Play fine defense, do the occasional incredible thing, largely be carved up at the plate.

Scott: Why didn’t Colin Moran get a mention in the Astros list?

Eric A Longenhagen: He’s a corner-only guy with 40 game power and didn’t hit in the PCL last year? I guess you could slip him on the HM’s as a 1b/3b pinch hitter?

Leo: What are your thoughts on the power questions Leody Taveras has answered this first week of games?

Eric A Longenhagen: I mean, it’s the first week of games.

Eric A Longenhagen: He’s really, really good and some scouts think he might grow into 15-20 homers annually, which would make him a star. But he’s already a potential plus hitter with potential plus defense in CF so I don’t need the power to come to think he’s really good.

Gavin: When you talk about a prospect’s bat speed, is that based off the naked eye, getting the bat speed with a radar gun, or video analysis? It seems to me it would be difficult to evaluate bat speed just from watching a player live.

Eric A Longenhagen: Naked eye and repotrs from scouts and yes, it’s difficult and easy to make mistakes in evaluating it.

Josh R: Hi Eric. Any thoughts or ratings on Drew Jackson who we missed in both the Mariners and Dodgers lists?

Eric A Longenhagen: Good question, he’s a 40 for me, likely utility man. 70 arm, at least 60 run, not sure he ever hits.

JourneyMan: Should the pirates just give up on Glasnow as a starting pitcher and develop him similarly as Andrew Miller?

Eric A Longenhagen: Not yet.

Lunch Angle: What are the odds that Seth Beer goes 1-1 in the 2018 draft?

Eric A Longenhagen: 15%? We’re usually pretty bad at calling 1-1 this far out.

Eric A Longenhagen: Unless it’s a Harper type

Nathan: When Kyle Lewis is healthy in June/July where do you expect him to go first to start playing in games?

Eric A Longenhagen: Here in AZ, at least for a little bit.

Eric A Longenhagen: (definitely not biased)

Eric A Longenhagen: Affiliate-wise I think they’d send him to Everett again once he’s shown he’s healthy down here.

John S: Eric Lauer… concerns regarding his velocity legit or wait and see?

Eric A Longenhagen: He was 85-89 for me in the spring

Riley : Domingo Acevedo, legitimate starting pitching prospect or reliever with intriguing high leverage potential?

Eric A Longenhagen: Has always been the latter for me.

Scot: Hey Eric- I was curious how you handle prospects who may have slipped through the cracks during the write-up process due to trades between clubs. For example, a Mitch Haniger write-up was included with both the AZ and the SEA posts, but someone like Ketel Marte was not included in either.

Eric A Longenhagen: Marte exhausted rookie eligibility way back in 2015 but you’re right, we should come up with a way to fill holes next year. Going back and re-writing the lists was no bueno. Doing so with the White Sox list set me back time-wise much more than is acceptable.

odapm: in the past couple of chats, you’ve provided examples of 80 bat speed. miguel cabrera has been absent from those examples. does he have 80 bat speed, despite making it look much more effortless than say javy baez, mccutchen, etc. How do you judge bat speed relevant to effort? Also, if he (cabrera) doesn’t have 80 bat speed, does he have 80 bat control? Does he have the highest combination of bat speed and bat control in MLB?

Eric A Longenhagen: You’re right that effort can color perception of bat speed, and yes Cabrera has some of the best barrel feel of our generation, in my opinion. He’s incredible.

Donuts?: Which type of donuts would you put in Tier 1

Eric A Longenhagen: Brand or style?

Eric A Longenhagen: I go to Bosa, a local chain, when I need a donut (or three)

Eric A Longenhagen: I get buttermilk or old fashioned donuts.

Tooch: Do you have a college prospects edition chat? I don’t want to ask off topic questions in this forum if you’re ever going to do something like that.

Eric A Longenhagen: You can fire away here.

Riley : Is Alec Hansen more of the guy we saw at Oklahoma last season, or the guy we saw in White Sox farm? His most recent start wasn’t especially tantalizing, but it was just one start

Eric A Longenhagen: Yes

Sam: How does Kyle Higashioka’s reasonable floor and ceiling compare to what Austin Romine is right now?

Eric A Longenhagen: More power than Romine, I like him. Qeustions about the arm strength. Wrote him up here: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/top-33-prospects-new-york-yankees/

Andrew: Daniel Johnson has three dingers in his first few games at Hagerstown, is he a name to remember?

Eric A Longenhagen: Yes. Tooled-up college outfielder whose college stats were exaggerated by the hitting environment. He’s a plus-plus runner.

Bert Campaneris: Marcos Diplan had a phenomenal outing last night. That was something.

Eric A Longenhagen: Yes. Covered in today’s Cup: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagraphs/tuesday-cup-of-coffee-411/

Eric A Longenhagen: 91-94 late in the spring

StrosFan: Stephen Wrenn hit for power tool seems to be lot higher than what you had him graded at. He hit ton of bombs last year in short season i thought.

Eric A Longenhagen: College guy in short season. He has some raw but scouts don’t see him getting to it in games

Aaron: Seems like Hunter Greene and McKay are the consensus top two right now. Who are the handful of guys behind them for the third spot?

Eric A Longenhagen: I’m in on Bukauskas, I still like Wright and Kendall, DL Hall might be up there, too.

John S: I’m trying to come up with reasons that Bukauskas won’t be the first college arm to come off the board in June. Help?

Eric A Longenhagen: Because he’s 6′ tall and his delivery is a bit violent.

JB: Small sample size aside, Ian Happ has put up some awfully interesting numbers since AFL. Assuming the glove plays at 2B or a corner OF position, what are your thoughts on him long-term?

Eric A Longenhagen: I like him a lot, think he hits from both sides of the plate and a team will be able to hide him at 2B even if he’s just a 4 there.

DB: Eddie Butler or Brandon Woodruff — who do you think has a better chance at this point of being a successful mlb starter?

Eric A Longenhagen: Woodruff

Tim Tebow: How did you get into baseball? Have you ever worked for a major league team?

Eric A Longenhagen: Same as you, I just followed my dream

Marshall Sheckles: Monte Harrison is off to a good start, strong break-out candidate this year?

Eric A Longenhagen: The tools for stardom are there, he has either been hurt, not made contact or both.

John: One guy generating some early season buzz is Dodgers farmhand Carlos Rincon. What can you say about him?

Eric A Longenhagen: Aha! Yes, Rincon has some power.

Eric A Longenhagen:

Eric A Longenhagen: He started off last year in the DSL on a tear and came to the states late in the summer.

Eric A Longenhagen: Scouts who saw him here weren’t sure how much he’d hit but he’s off to a good start in the midwest league.

Erik: Should your opinion on whether Vlad Jr’s approach will work be affected by the fact that Vlad Sr’s approach definitely worked? It doesn’t really make sense that approach would be genetic in the same way that purely physical tools like power and speed are.

Eric A Longenhagen: No, I wrote it that way on the Blue Jays list because I thought because I thought it added color to the piece.

Jimmy the Geek: Is there anyone you weren’t paying attention too, that now has your complete attention?

Eric A Longenhagen: Once the lists get done this week, my wife.

Eric A Longenhagen: and hygiene

Eric A Longenhagen: Prospect-wise? I liked what scouts said about Ben Gamel when I did the Mariners list. I expected to have him in the HM section but now I’m closely monitoring his progress at Tacoma

OklahomaBrave: Side note- You easily do the best and most in depth prospect chats, and it isn’t close. Thank you

Eric A Longenhagen: Thank you. I appreciate the support and will try to keep improving and get creative with this here job, which still feels new.

Sam: Have you talked to any scouts that don’t buy Amed Rosario as a top 10 prospect? If so, for what reason?

Eric A Longenhagen: Yes, they just don’t see the bat developing into what many others do.

Nate: In a recent morning prospects notes you mentioned Sam Haggerty. Is there anything there? I follow the Indians system pretty closely and never considered him a prospect.

Eric A Longenhagen: I liked him in college and he dealt with oblique issues the last couple years that may have colored his performance. Interesting bat to ball guy in the mold of many prospects in that system, just hasn’t been healthy. Certainly worth following, if nothing else.

Logan Davis: Mariners fans are in love with Mitch Haniger, not least because he already has 1 WAR in his first 160 MLB PA – already above his 50% KATOH projection. But projection systems and prospect experts seem to like him less. Why? He’s shown speed, defense, power, and discipline in MLB, and he was supposedly the best hitter in the minors last year. Is the optimism disparity really all just age-arc?

Eric A Longenhagen: Wrote about how he slipped under the radar on the Dbacks list back in November. He was demoted to A-ball at age 24 (I think) and at that point people like me are just off it. But he went down there to play every day because Arizona had too many outfielders in the Mobile. He made a swing change there and, boom.

Alex: What are the chances Joan Gregorio and Jaime Schultz end up starting?

Eric A Longenhagen: Like 30-40% on Gregorio? Unlikely but possible. Schultz is relief-only.

Johnny5Alive: Quantrill looked good and I know you like him. How quickly can he realistically move?

Eric A Longenhagen: Changeup/command guys can move pretty quickly but keep in mind there’s probably an innings limit there because he spent most of last spring rehabbing from TJ and didn’t get going in games until after the draft. Makes sense for SD to slow cook him, Lawson, Thompson, etc.

Bleh: How do you identify a player’s first step/reaction on defense? It seems like it would be difficult to rate unless you happened to be watching the player prior to the pitch specifically to gauge his first step

Eric A Longenhagen: Yes it’s hard, but the angle scouts sit at behind home plate allows for terrific depth of field and there’s an interpolation aspect to it as well. Good question.

Jake: Is Cody Reed’s relief performance yesterday indicative of anything?

Eric A Longenhagen: I saw he was throwing hard, what else did he have going on? I’m still in on Reed, btw.

Kristen: Scott Heineman – how much was he the beneficiary last season of playing in High Desert vs. having actual skills? Could he be a late blooming power-speed guy?

Eric A Longenhagen: Yeah, I’m writing the Texas list now and there has been some sentiment among scouts that that was the case and the ones that saw him here in the Fall League were not as into him as the ones who saw him in the Cal League were, which I think is a sign. Some scouts like him as a 4th outfielder.

Bert Campaneris: Thoughts on Christin Stewart?

Eric A Longenhagen: Big raw power, I thin he gets to enough of it, but no position.

YKnotDisco?!: FV of Greifer Andrade? I didn’t see him on the M’s list. Does that mean his FV is <40?

Eric A Longenhagen: Yeah, I know I typically shove young Latin American infielders but other than his approach, scouts weren’t sure there’s much else in the way of tools there.

Eric A Longenhagen: Really great strike zone feel though, which is especially useful in the AZL where strikes aren’t a given. Not a SS for anyone I spoke with.

Big Joe Mufferaw: Is Justus Sheffield under rated? We never hear about him

Eric A Longenhagen: Just lost amid one of the game’s best farm systems

Jobu: If Buehler pitches in the majors this year, it’ll be as a reliever, right?

Eric A Longenhagen: I=That’d be my guess

Guest: D.J. Peters – similar type of profile to a guy like Jayson Werth?

Eric A Longenhagen: Not really. Peters just looks like Werth.

Eric A Longenhagen: Same hair, build, position. But very little similarities beyond that.

Bleh: You mentioned Nate Orf. I watched him hit a walk-off in Biloxi a couple years back but paid him no attention. What does he look like now?

Eric A Longenhagen: He’s the same little 2B with great feel to hit and has already surpassed many expectations by getting to Triple-A this quickly/at all.

Lon: Should we be concerned about the Royals farm system? Where are we going here? I feel like we’re all in a tailspin after losing Yordano…

Eric A Longenhagen: hold on…

Bert Campaneris: Nicky Lopez and DJ Burt are two interesting players. I got to watch them on their home opener, and it was crazy the keen eye that they display. This is obviously an analysis from a non-scout. My question: can such skill be built upon? Both showed great selectivity (eye), but lack contact skills. What do you do when evaluating that type of player, and projecting into the future? I am guessing that they are more difficult than a Ramon Laureano type. Sorry for the long message. Thanks for chatting.

Eric A Longenhagen: ^ The Royals have interesting low-level guys. Khalil Lee, Seuly Matias, Lopez Meibrys Viloria. Burt is a lot of fun, too.

Eric A Longenhagen: The Ashe Russell pick hasn’t panned out as hoped so far but it’s still early for him, too.

Eric A Longenhagen: To Bert’s question, it’s hard evaluating strike zone recognition with the naked eye because it’s just better done over a huge sample and scouts are usually sitting on a series or team for 3-5 days.

Eric A Longenhagen: And of course it’s even harder at the lower levels because pitchers aren’t as polished.

Eric A Longenhagen: If a player has shown high-level walk rates for 2+ years, full seasons, I thin kit’s fair to say it’s a skill.

JDubz: Cedric Mullins filled up the stat sheet last year in A-Ball and is 12-22 with 3 HR and 10 R thru 5 games at AA. Is he really this good or just a nice start?

Eric A Longenhagen: He’s definitely a prospect but obviously nobody is THAT good.

Phil’s Guy: Should I miss dinner at home to watch Bailey Falter, Moniak, Brito, Gamboa and the rest of the Blueclaws take on the Suns? My wife is an excellent cook.

Eric A Longenhagen: I’d say hell yes but I’m a horrible person

Matt Damon: MATT. DAMON.

Phil Maton: Phil Maton!

Jason: Between Judge, Rutherford, and Frazier who has the best chance to play CF assuming NYY will make a play for Harper in a couple of years…

Eric A Longenhagen: None?

Eric A Longenhagen: If you made me pick I’d throw Frazier out there.

Yuen: Eric, this is off-topic a bit, but where can one go to look up UZR data, and can it be a reliable tool for MiLB players?

Eric A Longenhagen: I’m a DRS guy and it’s on our very site, sir.

Eric A Longenhagen: Oh not for MiLB players. I don’t know.

LudeBurger: Re: Oneil Cruz, he grew 7 inches in how much time as a oldish teen???

Eric A Longenhagen: He hasn’t grown THAT much. He was 6-4 last year, though.

Brendan: You gave Bichette a 20/40 grade on his hit tool on your prospect evaluations. Another evaluator recently commented that Bichette has some of the best bat speed in the minors. I’m assuming you are low on his hit tool due to his eccentric/noisy swing. I would just like to know what it would take for you (in terms of production or swing improvements?) for you to revise your opinion of Bichette.

Eric A Longenhagen: Probably an especially low strikeout rate and, more importantly, scouts who see him this year who think he’s going to hit anyway. Or a mechanical adjustment of some kind, though it doesn’t make sense to do that until Bo shows he can’t hit with what he’s currently working with.

Eric A Longenhagen: BTW, the difference in opinion on Bichette between are a great example of why it’s great that different publications list/grade prospects differently. It shows the reader something that is entirely unique to prospect coverage: that differences in opinion are extant and legitimate. And it can be done without the two publications explicitly saying so. It’s really cool.

Aaron: When do the Braves starting trading prospects for big leaguers? Is that anytime soon?

Eric A Longenhagen: Not yet, not in a meaningful way, anyway. You can kind of tell how teams feel about their competitive position based on how they deploy their scouts.

Erik: There’s a 6’8″ SS prospect? How does that even work? Is he a sure thing to move to an outfield corner and strike out 35% of the time?

Eric A Longenhagen: It’s friggin crazy.

Eric A Longenhagen: I don’t know how it works because I’ve never seen it before.

Eric A Longenhagen: Well, I saw it for two games last week.

Alex: You just said Oneil Cruz, a SS, was a legit 6 foot 8. Am i missing something?

Eric A Longenhagen: You’re missing video I didn’t get because he swung too early in the count for me to get down the line and take some.

Anthony: Looking at Fabian and Guerrero, they seem to be similar players. Why the huge discrepancy in the way they’re seen by the scouting community (age and genealogy only, or am I missing something)?

Eric A Longenhagen: Vlad? They’re way different. I’d say they both have similarly advanced feel to hit but physically, very different.

Mike: Anything new on Colin Holderman?

Eric A Longenhagen: You’re the second person to ask about him in my queue and so I’ll try to find out. Nothing that I have currently.

Eric A Longenhagen: Other than I can say my phone tries to autocorrect it to Spiderman.

bruins: Does Hagen Danner wind up the mound or at C? Also, any chance he makes it to UCLA?

Eric A Longenhagen: I liked him at C at Area Codes and I do think there’s a chance he ends up at school but neither of those are locks.

Big Tuna: Daniel Palka is off to a good start for MIN. Is he a legit power prospect?

Eric A Longenhagen: There is power there, yes. Lots of K’s, too. I think he fits into more of a platoon role.

Anthony: What ever happened to Yoan Lopez? Did he retire, injury? Weird career for that dude

Eric A Longenhagen: I last saw him here in the Fall. He was 88-92, touching 93 with an average curveball and a new delivery. Haven’t heard a peep about him since. I just hope he’s at peace, he had a rough career.

Jason: Are you buying the Austin Beck hype and do you think he is worth a top 5 pick at this point?

Eric A Longenhagen: I’m buying that he has monster tools but there are a few things (that have more to do with scouting processes than the kid himself) that might push him past that a little bit. Especially with clubs who value showcase performances against elite pitching, because Beck hasn’t had much of that.

ChiSox2020: Can a 23 year old pitching prospect increase his velocity? Asking for a friend.

Eric A Longenhagen: Yes, it seems as though science has made that possible.

Eric A Longenhagen:

CaptainPeanutbutter: If you were given 200 points (on the 20-80 scouting scale) to build a pitcher, how would you distribute them? For sake of this exercise you can’t choose knuckleball

Eric A Longenhagen: So there are other things I’d like to control (height, weight, delivery, etc) but let’s just say that all of that stuff is average (so 6’2 or 6’3, 200 or so with a standard delivery)

Eric A Longenhagen: Let’s also say that this is NOT a prospect and instead a MLB ready pitcher.

Eric A Longenhagen: Because if it were an 18 year old these would look different:

Eric A Longenhagen: 60 FB, 60 CH, 80 CMD

Eric A Longenhagen: I couldn’t figure out a way to have a fringe breaking ball and enough of anything else

Eric A Longenhagen: So with 200 points, that’s what I’d say

Eric A Longenhagen: If it were an 18 year old prospect it’d look like this:

Eric A Longenhagen: 55 FB, 55 CRV, 45 CH, 45 CMD

Eric A Longenhagen: Okay folks, I’m gonna get writing the Rangers list. Thanks for stopping by, see you next week.