Mike Newman Prospects Chat – 8/9/12
Mike Newman is the Owner/Managing Editor ofROTOscouting, a subscription site focused on baseball scouting, baseball prospects and fantasy baseball. Follow me onTwitter. Likeus on Facebook.Subscribeto my YouTube Channel.
Am I supposed to be seeing a chat yet or just these poll questions?
The chat should be there. If the whole chat was only poll questions, that would get really boring.
On Evan Gattis: “Are the Braves playing in the AL?”
I assume this means his defense is terrible, even for a Left Fielder…this is news to me, as I’d heard he was pretty athletic and becoming decent if unspectacular there. Can I ask what you’ve heard/seen?
Hugely high on Gattis: .908 OPS since coming back from a significant injury!?
He’s almost 26 and in AA for the first time. Even if you’re correct that he’s not terrible in the field, he still has no defensive value. Those are some big issues you’re ignoring if you’re “hugely high” on him. Somewhat optimistic? Sure.
There are extenuating circumstances. Possibly his history of drug abuse will make him fragile. But the bat seems legit, and considering the Braves vacancy in LF for 2013, I’m excited. This is the kind of story that makes me a baseball fan, so rationally or not, I am very high on him.
Hearing he’s a truly terrible LF would be a blow to this, however, so I’m keen to know more.
It’s pretty amazing to me when people can’t fathom how Gattis’ situation would be atypical from an ARL standpoint.
This guy,
You can’t just say, “he had problems, so age doesn’t matter”. Age does matter. Full physical maturity doesn’t stop because of off-the-field issues. Plus, Gattis missed quite a bit of development time during said issues. Is he developing atypically, maybe, but one can’t simply dismiss the missed time.
I spoke a little more about Gattis later in the chat. If you are expecting a guy like Hinske who can play a few corner spots and chip in some offense, then be excited. If you are expecting a LF who will log 600 plate appearances and be the answer, then you may be setting yourself up for a fall.
One of the connections few readers make is draft round vs. expectation. For Gattis, being a 23rd round pick who was old when he was drafted, him being this successful in Double-A is a HUGE WIN for the Braves org. For organizations, it’s not all about MLB success. Finding strong org. players is also a goal and guys picked that low are expected to be just that. If/when he logs his first MLB at bat, the scout who signed Gattis deserves a raise. It will be a HUGE return on the investment in terms of draft slot.
Funny you should mention the lumineers..I saw them last weekend opening for a band the GF wanted to see. Pretty good show.
Big fan! The CD has been playing on repeat the past couple of weeks and I rarely do that. I’m seeing them in a couple of weeks with Old Crow Medicine Show and can’t wait!