Eric Longenhagen Prospects Chat: On Short Rest

Eric A Longenhagen: Hi, everyone

Eric A Longenhagen: Let me plug some stuff then get to your questions

Eric A Longenhagen: Kiley wrote the Jays list: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/top-22-prospects-toronto-blue-jays

Eric A Longenhagen: I wrote Cleveland: https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/top-22-prospects-cleveland-indians/

Eric A Longenhagen: okay, let’s roll

Jack: Any chance we see Luzardo in the majors in 2018?

Eric A Longenhagen: I doubt it but I guess there’s a small chance

Greg: Any new draft buzz in the top 10 since your updated list and mock?

Eric A Longenhagen: I think we’d mock Swaggerty #2

skwalla: Miguel Andújar is absolutely raking

Eric A Longenhagen: Indeed

Paul: I’m a Braves fan who has been extremely skeptical of Austin Riley being the starting 3B at any point. I’m starting to come around a little bit. What do you expect his batting average to be? Is he a .250-260 guy or is there more in there?

Eric A Longenhagen: Close to  you range, enough power that that’s fine

Blakata: Every year there seems to be a prospect or two who just “figures it out” and blows up on the scene. Kind of like Hoskins not being a top tier guy through most of his years in the minors. Who could be some this year that are one adjustment away from All-Stardom.

Eric A Longenhagen: Franchy, but it doesn’t look like he’s made them

Reggie: Not necessarily asking if he’ll start out as well, but is Acuna a better hitter than Bellinger?

Eric A Longenhagen: I think Bellinger’s style of hitting (much like Joc’s) might be subject to dry spells

Noah: What do you see differently mechanically with Corey Ray? Personally I’m gonna need to see him slump a bit and break out because that’s where he’s had trouble in the past. He’s starting to excite me though.

Eric A Longenhagen: Timing just looked better this spring but I didn’t notice anything overhauled mechanically, just a better rhythm. Still swung through stuff in the zone.

Wes: Do you consider the current J-2 Draft a success? If NCAA overhauls their basketball recruiting process, should they model after baseball?

Eric A Longenhagen: I was thinking about what the NBA might do to change things since it seems they want to and I do think baseball’s model has the best combination of benefits for labor (since the kids ready coming out of HS can get paid right away) and for NCAA basketball which gets kids for 3 years if they aren’t.

The Man With No Name: In your preseason write-up, you said Yordan Alvarez could move his way up the Astros list this summer.  He was already at #3, behind Whitley and Tucker.  Seems like you see a high ceiling.  Is his performance so far this year as a 20-year-old in AA justifying that view?

Eric A Longenhagen: Meant up the overall 100

Big Cheese: Yennsy Diaz as a sleeper in the Jays system? Looking electric right now in A Ball.

Eric A Longenhagen: Probably a reliever but he’s on the Jays list so not a ‘sleeper’ for us, an actual dude

Bravesy McBravesface: Which teams are the best at developing pitchers?

Eric A Longenhagen: NYY and it isn’t close

LudeBurger: Sharks sharks sharks

Eric A Longenhagen: I do like sharks

Paul: What’ll be the Braves approach to the draft under a new GM?

Eric A Longenhagen: Perhaps. Part of the recent approach was based on the number of selections ATL had and where they fell in the draft, so because that’s different this year (only two top 50 picks) I expect the strategy to be different regardless of who’s running it

Sean: Forrest Wall seems ready for AA. He fell off with injuries and stalled high-A development, but could he still make an impact in the majors?

Eric A Longenhagen: Yeah, think he hits enough to be a big leaguer of some kind

Anthony: Did you happen to catch Robinson Ortiz at extended last week?

Eric A Longenhagen: Nope, not yet

Tim: You’re not Kiley

Eric A Longenhagen: Oh yeah, I should mention we swapped today so Kiley could hit a day FSL game. He’ll be chatting in my time slot tomorrow

Yo-Yo: Man, Jordan Hicks looks terrible. Nobody is swinging and missing at his stuff, and he’s got the lowest O-Swing% of all RP with at least 10 IP. His control is awful. He shouldn’t be anywhere near the majors, right?

Eric A Longenhagen: Yeah, his peripherals aren’t great. One cannot live on velo alone.

Slurve: Who has been the most exciting prospect since the last chat?  Why?

Eric A Longenhagen: George Valera. Looks better in CF than I expected. By a lot.

Slippery Pete: Are you buying Sean Murphy’s early performance with the bat in Double A?

Eric A Longenhagen: He was on our overall 100, so yep.

Brian: How long before we see Corbin Burnes in the Brewers’ rotation?

Eric A Longenhagen: Longer than you think. Several other options on the 40-man.

Alec Asher Wojciechowski: Brandon Bielak’s dominant summer has spilled over into the early season at high A. Has his profile changed any?

Eric A Longenhagen: Same as I wrote on the ‘Stros list. HOU starting to have a strong track record of developing guys with good trackman readouts to do things that make them successful

Bill: Have you seen Alex Verdugo this season, or heard anything about him taking a different approach that will allow him to tap a little more into his raw power. He has a couple of home runs already, but his walk % is down and strikeout % is up. SSS or something different.

Eric A Longenhagen: Still SSS but that kind of change to peripherals is indicative of an approach change that taps into more power. More aggression, higher effort to the swing, etc.

Hinkie: Do you like Gage Canning as a prospect ?  Does he last until the fourth round ?

Eric A Longenhagen: Kind of, still think he’s a 40 bat. Fourth round feels close to his floor since he does a lot of other stuff and is performing

Bored Employee: Which of the Reds young starters do you still hold some hope for?

Eric A Longenhagen: Castillo looked like a freak last year, but he looked awful last I watched him.

Brad: Griffin Canning has made 2 starts in AA. Does he stay the remainder of the season? Will the Angels continue to push him?

Eric A Longenhagen: I bet they continue to push him. Look at the big league rotation and its history of health. There’s a chance he’s one of their 5 best guys at some point this year.

Dunt: How does Bobby Witt Jr compare to Brice Turang?

Eric A Longenhagen: More power and general explosiveness, not as graceful defensively

Benny Agbayani: It feels like the Rosario vs. Torres debate is over before it even really started. What happened to Amed to cause such a fall in less than a year?

Eric A Longenhagen: Needs swing adjustments but Mets PD doesn’t exactly have a great track record.

A big dumb idiot: Since Kiley handled the Jays list do you have a guy you’re higher on than his appearance on the list?

Eric A Longenhagen: The rankings are done collectively on all the lists, Kiley just wrote the words

Kip Wells: Do you think Max Schrock has enough hit tool to overcome his lack of power? Kolten Wong is off to his traditional slow start…

Eric A Longenhagen: No

Trey: Hi Eric- do you think Garrett Hampson will hit enough to be an above average regular at either 2nd or Shortstop

Eric A Longenhagen: No but I know scouts who do

Luke: Hi…thanks for this. What is Michael Baez ETA? Looks dominant.

Eric A Longenhagen: ETAs are on The Board : https://www.fangraphs.com/scoutboard.aspx?draft=&type=&pos=&team=sdp

RQIII: Does the breakout of Andrew Knizner make Carson Kelly expendable?

Eric A Longenhagen: It eventually makes Molina expendable

Jean Casanova: up to 95 in his last start

Eric A Longenhagen: One hell of a 35th round pick

Erik: Hoskins never “figured it out” though, did he? He could always hit, there’s just always skepticism about first basemen, even if they’re hitting. Is there a next Hoskins in the minors somewhere? Someone who has hit and continued to hit but is still for some reason not very high on lists?

Eric A Longenhagen: Yeah I agree Hoskins was just good and it took us too long to buy in because r/r 1b don’t make it and Reading kept everyone skeptical for a little while longer than it does with other hitters. The next guy who could mirror that is Peter Alonso, I guess.

Ptown: If Swaggerty went 2nd, and Madrigal 3rd, would the White Sox target Bohm or Kelenic?

Eric A Longenhagen: If Bohm is on the board I think PHI takes him. I think CHW takes the college hitter who is left for them.

Erik: Who is the worst active player who teams would have been perfectly satisfied to have taken number one overall based on how his career has panned out so far? And how about the worst player who would have nevertheless been a perfectly fine end of round 1 pick?

Eric A Longenhagen: Uhh, someone like Heyward who is a good all-around big leaguer and who had some huge years but isn’t a true star.

Bryce: What do you think of Jeimer Candelario so far? Does he keep hitting at this rate?

Eric A Longenhagen: Really like him and yeah, think this is Candy

Scott: I remember at one point you refusing to put comps on Albies and Bellinger saying both were just unique. At the time I thought it was kind of a cop out. Having seen a good bit of both at the pro level now – you were totally right. Guess I’ll just, you know, actually trust the professionals from here on out when they give their well-informed opinions haha

Eric A Longenhagen: So trust me when I say comps, themselves, are cop outs.

Eric A Longenhagen: Or click bait

JR: Would Cleveland benefit in the next year or two putting guys like Morgan or Civale in the pen to get an additional tick on their fastball as they both already have one plus secondary pitch? Also where would Merryweather be if he was healthy? 40? 45?

Eric A Longenhagen: No / a 40

Matty: Brice Turang is currently ranked as the 17th best prospect on the latest draft board. But what’s the likelihood that he actually lasts that long on draft day? Billy Eppler would be doing backflips right?

Eric A Longenhagen: I think there’s a strong possibility he lasts that long. College hitter move up on draft day, not struggling prep guys

Kiermaier’s Piercing Green Eyes: Do you ever go to independent league games? What do you look for?

Eric A Longenhagen: When the Cuban National Team comes to the U.S., I do. Same stuff you look for at any game, maybe you’re more open minded about a guy doing something weird that gets results.

Jack: What do you think Acuna’s stolen base total could be by the end of the season? I’m considering dropping Hamilton in roto league. Apologies if this isn’t the right setting to ask.

Eric A Longenhagen: It’s fine. I don’t think he’s going to steal may bases and that his speed plays down in games due to poor instincts.

bILLY: Has Enyel De Los Santos had his stuff tick up or is he just going through a SSS hot streak? 36.1% in AAA is way above what he’s posted at any other level.

Eric A Longenhagen: Stuff doesn’t sound different than last year, but I agree that he’s pretty good.

John: As a cubs fan how encouraged should I be about Ademan hitting .255/.323 as a 19 year old in A+ who’s known for having a good glove? Seems pretty legit given the age difference even if you factor in the large uptick in k’s. If that type of performance continues how high would he feasibly go in top 100?

Eric A Longenhagen: He’s a 50 FV guy so already essentially on the 100

Anthony: Heard anything new on Vasil? How far do you think he falls now

Eric A Longenhagen: Sounds like he’s shut down for a couple weeks and we’ll see. I was going to see him mid-May but have no idea if he’ll be back by then. He could still pitch before the draft as it doesn’t sound like the MRI revealed something terrible based on what teams have heard from Vasil’s camp. But details are still fuzzy.

Slurve: Which players are the highest rated defenders in the minors right now?

Eric A Longenhagen: https://www.fangraphs.com/scoutboard.aspx?draft=2018prospect&type=1&po…

Gest : I didn’t see any of ohtanis start, not sure if you did either, but is his slider coming around?

Eric A Longenhagen: Didn’t watch last night but it hasn’t been there. It was there this spring. Saw him twice and it was consistently a 70. He’s been hanging it since the season started. He’ll get it sorted out eventually.

Yo-Yo: What did you think of the Pirates’ Million Dollar Arm plan, and would you recommend trying something similar again, maybe in China or all over Europe?

Eric A Longenhagen: Yes, I want to see the game grow everywhere and think looking for talent in odd places is a great way to get ahead of other teams

Danny: Thoughts on Jeren Kendall so far? Lots of swing-and-miss issues…

Eric A Longenhagen: Same as college. Give Dodgers PD time, though.

Jason N: Wow on Christian Villanueva out of nowhere.  Has his FV changed?  What can he be on a scale of “The Hammer” Hamelin to Mike Trout?

Eric A Longenhagen: Between Solarte, Pirela and Villanueva, the Padres have manifested some good big leaguers out of nowhere. Kudos to whoever is responsible for those acquisitions.

Sean: Is Nick Decker trending towards being a 1st rounder?  Seems like an exciting profile.

Eric A Longenhagen: Maybe not rd 1 but has power and bat control, and so I’m in

Wayne: Which Indians prospect with 45 FV do you think can jump into the 55+ tier?

Eric A Longenhagen: Bieber

Randy: Mize seems to be a bit underwhelming as a 1-1 compared to the likes of Cole, Strasburg, and Price. Have you heard anyone else mentioned as the #1 talent (not as the potential #1 pick)?

Eric A Longenhagen: Agree. I think Madrigal is the best guy independent of injury.

Xolo: Thoughts on Bryan Mitchell? You wrote about him in your post-prospect article and you said that he could be an adjustment away from a breakout but he seems to have taken a big step back.

Eric A Longenhagen: Velo is down

Xolo: What’s the best way to approach a player like Tatis this season? He’s been terrible but he’s also 19 and skipped High-A. Should we just check out until June or July or is there something worrisome there?

Eric A Longenhagen: I’d chill, he’s younger than some of the high school guys drafted last year and already at Double-A.

I want to believe: Franchy is so tantalizing… and yet that K%… Any recent players with his profile who were able to improve their approach when they hit the bigs?

Eric A Longenhagen: Good question. Cesar hernandez? Not remotely like Franchy in any other way but all we want is precedent that your discipline can improve into your mid-20s, right? I mean, Votto’s approach has gotten better over a decade, too.

Sean: Any reports on targets for the Tigers with their second rounder?  Curious if there are any rumors of trying to get a player to them with extra pool money.

Eric A Longenhagen: No specific names yet. They don’t pick again until 44 so they don’t have great control over the situation.

scioscia: What do you project from Justin Anderson this season? Showed off some impressive stuff his first 2 appearances with a solid slider and a fastball that tops out at 99

Eric A Longenhagen: 99? Hadn’t seen that. Was like 92-94 last fall so that’s new.

Aven: Describe Willie Calhoun using only three words.

Eric A Longenhagen: Hit ball far

Hans Gruber: Has Josh Naylor figured something out?
in 68 AB: 7 HR, 13 BB, 7 SO, .706 SLG

Eric A Longenhagen: I’m cautiously optimistic

Gregory: Other than Canario, who is another under the radar J2 guy signed in the last year or two that could make a splash in the States

Eric A Longenhagen: I think it’ll be Trent Devaux

Mike: How’s the Brendan McKay experiment going? Seems like the Rays are starting to extend him a bit on the mound, and the results are great.

Eric A Longenhagen: So far so good

Dan: Any other Cubs you saw in extended?

Eric A Longenhagen: Luis Verdugo and Fernando Kelli. Also Benjamin Rodriguez as a name of note to watch grow and develop the next two years.

Hans Gruber: Why are ya’ll low key hyped on Tirso?

Eric A Longenhagen: I don’t know what this means

Eric A Longenhagen: low key hyped is an oxymoron, right?

Eric A Longenhagen: I like Tirso. I think we’re the high guys on Tirso. There are 6,000 minor leaguers and we like a lot of them and can’t be a hype man for all of them

Buehrleseque: Could Madrigal capably handle SS or is significantly better suited for SS?

Eric A Longenhagen: He can handle it but I’d leave him at 2B

Brandon J: Did you get a chance to watch Walker Buehler’s first start? If so, what were you impressions?

Eric A Longenhagen: Some. Stuff is as it has been since he was back from TJ, command was bad but isn’t usually that bad.

Brad: If the White Sox draft Nick Madrigal at 1-4 this year, where does he play once he gets to the majors? Does he push Moncada off of 2B to 3B? Would he get the Scott Kingery treatment? Does he get reps in center?

Eric A Longenhagen: Madrigal > Moncada at 2B and it’s not close

Eric A Longenhagen: I’d run Moncada around in CF

jimmy: What would Teoscar Hernandez’s scout grades be now if he were still prospect eligible?

Eric A Longenhagen: I think the same as when he was eligible, a bunch of 50s and 55s, good chance to be an everyday player

Guest: Just bought the Orioles.  Who am I trying to get for Machado from the DBacks Indians or Cards?  I need quantity, right?

Eric A Longenhagen: Should be asking the Dbacks for Robinson+, scouring CLE’s backfields for their best J2 guy from last year and some of their superfluous upper level guys like Bradley and Chang and asking for 3 or 4 guys from STL’s upper levels

Scott: If a player had a single 80-grade tool and was average to below average on the others, which would get them the furthest in pro ball?

Eric A Longenhagen: Hit

Joey: Is today the last day we can talk about Ronald Acuna?  He will no longer be a prospect by the end of the day!!

Julian: Beede or Suarez?

Eric A Longenhagen: Suarez

Bored Employee: Just a heads up-you guys don’t seem to have profiles for George Valera or Jose Israel Garcia.

Eric A Longenhagen: Valera hasn’t played a game yet which is why he doesn’t have one. Garcia’s is here: https://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=sa3005385&position=2B

Big Joe: O.k, I am really looking for an answer to this: You guys gave Florial a 40/50 on his D, yet every other publication has been at LEAST avg current and plus to plus plus future. What did you guys see that makes you believe he is only an Avg defender? Especially with Plus speed and Arm.

Eric A Longenhagen: Thought he was just okay in AFL. Speed grades and arm grades are separate things. Also have him projected in CF, others maybe have him projected in a corner.

Scott: As a rule, I’m basically rooting for every prospect to pan out and every player be awesome. Have you ever met a legitimate prospect who was so off-putting in person that you wanted to see them flop? Not asking for names, just curious.

Eric A Longenhagen: Nah.

McGrey : When guys mash in AAA but flail in the majors, what are the most common reasons why> Is it physical? Mechanical? Pitch recog?

Eric A Longenhagen: The jump is difficulty is larger than you think

Big Joe: Miguel Andujar has looked awesome, what are you most suprised about?

Eric A Longenhagen: We ranked him 14th overall so I guess none of it?

Sandy Ravage: LOVE LOVE LOVE the BOARD. Is there a way to create a list of prospects we can track on it? Like the custom stat dashboards on player pages?

Eric A Longenhagen: Not yet but that’s a great idea and if any of you have other ideas like this you should say so because we’re keeping a list of all of them

Thai: Thoughts on Connor Wong? His early stats don’t suggest what the scouting reports say on him (lots of pop, lots of k’s)

Eric A Longenhagen: LAD coaxed more power out of Will Smith last year, too….might jsut be taking Wong some time to get used to whatever is new, hence the K’s.

White Sox fan: Best HS 2018 draft prospect in Illinois?

Eric A Longenhagen: Alek Thomas

Georgy Porgy: Freddy Peralta has been pitching great at the PCL, hasn’t even allowed a HR so far. Do you think we see him this year?

Eric A Longenhagen: Yes

Tommy Lasorda: Time to start believing in Caleb Ferguson, no?

Eric A Longenhagen: Somewhat. We have him as a viable MLB depth arm.

Alonzo MOURNing: My sports team was eliminated from playoff contention last night. Please ease my pain with positive comments about baseball.

Eric A Longenhagen: https://gph.is/2yEZil2

Joe: Is Tayron Guerrero for real?

Eric A Longenhagen: That stuff has always been in there and it looks like he suddenly knows how to use it. SO I guess yes? The one caveat is sometimes relievers like this have a few weeks, a few months maybe, where it all clicks and then goes away again. Betances is that guy, Phillipe AUmont was that guy. It happens a lot.

2-D: Has Brady Aiken thrown at extended yet? Are you going to see him when he does?

Eric A Longenhagen: Haven’t seen him and won’t go specifically to see him. But if he throws when McKenzie does then great, I’ve run into him.

Ash: Do you see Garrett Stubbs as an MLB option for HOU as a C or somewhere else?  What are your thoughts on Ibandel Isabel?

Eric A Longenhagen: Think Stubbs will be a good timeshare catcher with Stassi. Isabel has 80 raw but I don’t think he’s gonna hit.

Eric A Longenhagen: And he’s 1B/DH onnly

Matt: I saw Michael Perez make the big board as a fringe Dback prospect. Has his offensive profile changed after last year or did he make it just because he can catch?

Eric A Longenhagen: Think he’s a bunch of 45s and 50s on offense, maybe 55 bat control, and can catch.

Morbo: Following up on RQIII’s question: What kinda of return could be expected for a Carson Kelly trade?

Eric A Longenhagen: He’s a 50 FV so straight up for a cost-controlled avg big leaguer is possible, you can adjust up or down as you factor in more expensive salary

Stevil: Seattle has the worst collective group of starting pitching prospects, right? They have a handful of interesting relievers, but beyond Sam Carlson, the starting pitching is so thin, it’s acrylic.

Eric A Longenhagen: And it doesn’t sound like Carlson is totally healthy

DTH: Hey Eric – some of the top Cubs arms have come out of the gate looking really ugly (De La Cruz and Albertos, namely). Have you heard anything long-term concerning, or is this just normal early season small sample stuff?

Eric A Longenhagen: ODLC’s stuff was down this spring, Albertos I didn’t see but it’s not like control hasn’t been an issue for him before

Odapm: The Board is pretty freakin’ sweet! Can’t say enough about all the work you guys do related to prospectdom. Thanks

Eric A Longenhagen: Gracias, the two of us finally have a shared infrastructure built and running, and we feel like we’re getting some tread so hopefully we can keep doing weird new things.

Puffinstuff: Do you like Wyatt Mills and Matt Festa?  Do you think they appear in Seattle this year?

Eric A Longenhagen: Like them both but Festa’s velo was down during a rehab outing I saw like 2 weeks ago. I doubt Mills gets there that fast.

Jays Fan Matt: Eric how’s your cat? I ask because mine just recently got sick. It’s so heartbreaking to see them go from effervescent to weak and barely able to walk in a split second. I feel your pain. 🙁

Eric A Longenhagen: Mo died on Thursday. We’re bummed. I had just taken him to the vet when Carson and I recorded the pod and his prognosis at that time (while expensive) was pretty good. He got progressively worse all week and it was clear on Wednesday he wasn’t going to make it. We took him to a specialist that day just to give it one last shot but it wasn’t happening.

Jon: “Reading kept everyone skeptical for a little while longer than it does with other hitters.” – reading?

Eric A Longenhagen: Reading, PA. A town where the Double-A affiliate plays.

Eric A Longenhagen: Not literacy

Puffinstuff: Even though a player like Carlos Correa (and to some extent Francisco Lindor) was drafted 1-1, it was speculated at the time he was signed there because he’d sign for less, allowing the Astros to pursue other risky pitchers with higher asking prices later (McCullers?).  Is it your opinion that Houston would have had him on top of their board at 1-1 even without the sign ability benefit?

Eric A Longenhagen: No and they would have taken Max Fried is the price was right

Dees: Name some 80 grade bat control guys: Ichiro?  Altuve?  Are there others?

Eric A Longenhagen: Victor Martinez, Miguel Cabrera, Mookie…you can probably guess most of them

Me: Do you know any female scouts? Best wishes to the cat.

Eric A Longenhagen: 3 who are scouts or do scouting for teams, a few others who want to (though one is like 14)

Wayne: Best beard in the MiLB?

Eric A Longenhagen: Taylor Davis?

Babe Lincoln: Is a slurve a real thing?  I feel like people used to talk about it 10-12 years ago.

Eric A Longenhagen: I think it’s a useful way to describe a pitch’s shape but I don’t think pitchers call it that if they throw it.

DBRuns: Eric, you project Shane Bieber to have three average pitches, one plus, and 70-grade command. How does that equate to a 45 FV?

Eric A Longenhagen: What do you think Josh Tomlin’s command grades out as?

Wes: Jairo Solis is listed on THE BOARD as having 0 FV CMD. Probably a typo but what would 0 command actually look like?

Eric A Longenhagen: 50 Cent’s first pitch

jett: what do you think of anthony alford?

Eric A Longenhagen: A stud when healthy

Dave: Is Soroka an Ace?

Eric A Longenhagen: Probably not

Guest: Royce Lewis seems like he could leap into an end of year top… 15?

Eric A Longenhagen: Sure, that’s not crazy.

Vinbaka: Why don’t other sports use the 20-80 scale when scouting?

Eric A Longenhagen: Good question. I guess components of talent eval in other sports don’t lend themselves to that scale as easily, in part due to the sport’s inherent lack of individuality.

Buster and the Sleep: Do you think there is a drawback/advantage to how the MLB draft is during the season compared to the NBA and NFL drafts?

Eric A Longenhagen: It is when it is due to school schedules, which is why every draft in every sport is around the same few weeks. I think it has zero benefit for baseball and would be much better if it were during the offseason, but I;m not sure it can be.

Jason N supporter: You didn’t actually answer the Villanueva question

Eric A Longenhagen: You can slap a 45 on him right now, I guess

stephanie clifford: So the Cardinals “Aren’t even close” to developing pitchers as well as NYY?  Considering Martinez, Weaver, Rosenthal, Lynn, (young) Waino, I think I have to disagree there.

Eric A Longenhagen: You’re looking at the tip of the iceberg and not beneath the water

ithrow103: Is there a good argument for letting Ray Black throw in a major league bullpen? SFG seems unlikely to bring him up, but maybe somewhere else.

Eric A Longenhagen: The argument is he has rare stuff, like stuff that would make your head explode if you saw the pitch metrics.

Puffinstuff: Did you see any Mariners in extended or did they cancel all the games you planned to attend because they have literally no pitchers?

Eric A Longenhagen: I’ve seen three M’s games (i’m missing Lewis right now, actually) and was told yesterday by scouts (who did have the rug pulled out from under them) about the cancellations.

GRUMPY TURNER: Are Connor Wong and Seuly Matias breakouts for real?

Eric A Longenhagen: Wong we identified as a breakout candidate here: https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/heres-some-lower-ranked-prospects-we-l…

Eric A Longenhagen: Still concerned about Seuly’s K’s but the power is real

Jarious: For about half a decade of bottom dwelling, why is the Twins farm system not better?

Eric A Longenhagen: Meh, I think it’s pretty solid.

Slippery Pete: If you’re the Rockies, aren’t you tempted to kick the tires on  Machado? And wouldn’t Story + Desmond get the job done?

Eric A Longenhagen: Yes, no.

Fancy Man: Imani Abdullah has been down recently, but do you think there’s anything there?

Eric A Longenhagen: Stuff was way down this spring, looks like he’s just gone backwards

Vinícius: For the future, Khalil Lee or Juan Carlos Negret?

Eric A Longenhagen: Lee but Negret is interesting

Eric A Longenhagen: Okay, we’re nearly at two hours already so I’m gonna split. Thanks for coming. Kiley chats in my spot tomorrow if you’ve got more questions.