Offseason Notes: Charlie Blackmon > Brandon Belt

This edition of Offseason Notes contains:

1. An invitation to take my, Carson Cistulli’s, money.
2. Some notable ZiPS projections for the Florida Marlins.

and

3. By popular demand, the return of the Bryce Harper Watch.

SCOUT Batting Leaderboard
The Leaderboard
Here is the SCOUT batting leaderboard for the Arizona Fall League. (Click here for more on SCOUT, the metric that’s “sweeping” the “nation.”)

Notes
• Charlie Blackmon’s AFL motto is veni, vidi, vici. He has a .279/.375/.459 line, but the same exact number of home runs as stikeouts (three) in 71 PA. In the event that you don’t recall, I sung his praises recently in these electronic pages.
• In the first installment of Offseason Notes, Cleveland prospect Jason Kipnis was third on the SCOUT leaderboard (with 0.31 mark) despite a slash line of .184/.231/.469. Nine days later, he’s still in the top 10 (fifth, at 0.40), but with an improved line: .217/.277/.533.
• Brandon Belt is slashing .366/.425/.592, but his SCOUT is a mere -0.24, situating him at 64 of 74. It’s very likely not time to sound any sort of alarm; however, I’ll make a bet with someone that Charlie Blackmon outhits him. Anyone?

SCOUT Pitching Leaderboard
The Leaderboard
Same verse, very similar to the first.

Meet Ryan Verdugo
Scottsdale’s Ryan Verdugo went straight to the top of the SCOUT pitching charts last night after doing this against the Phoenix Desert Dogs: 17 BF, 4.0 IP, 3 BB, 9 K. He’s made all of one start in his minor league career, which began in 2008 after being drafted in the ninth round by San Francisco. He has 167 K in 113.0 IP across four levels, most recently in the High-A California League.

Projections: ZiPS for Florida
Beloved Pole Dan Szymborski has published his ZiPS projections for the Florida Marlins. Below are some of the notable ones. (All numbers assume major league competition. OPS+ and ERA+ are park-adjusted.)

Behold, the future:
• Logan Morrison, 1B, 23: .284/.372/.452, 116 OPS+. That’s a good thing to have from a very cost-controlled player.
• Mike Stanton, RF, 21: .246/.327/.493, 112 OPS+. Home runs! Thirty-six (36) of them!
• Josh Johnson, RHP, 27: 2.87 ERA, 28 G, 28 GS, 179.0 IP, 11 HR, 47 BB, 173 K, 147 ERA+. Cliff Lee was a 141 ERA+, for reference.

Bryce Harper Watch
Harper is having a strange fall. In his most recent game, he went 2-for-5 with two triples and two strikeouts. He’s batting .357/.419/.679 despite having K’d in just about a third of his plate appearances.