Kyle Karros has quietly emerged as one of the most promising prospects in the Colorado Rockies system. Since being drafted in the fifth round two years ago out of UCLA, the 23-year-old third baseman has slashed .303/.393/.455 with a 134 wRC+ over 1,000 plate appearances. His numbers this season are in that same ballpark. Over 305 plate appearances, the bulk of them with the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats — he was promoted to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes on July 18 — Karros is slashing .297/.398/.463 with a 142 wRC+.

As our lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen wrote back in January, the son of former Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Eric Karros “needs to develop power.” The progeny’s right-handed stroke produced 15 home runs a year ago, and this season he has left the yard six times. Given his 6-foot-5, 220-pound frame, there is a pretty good chance that he will tap into his power with more experience. Longenhagen recently updated Karros to a 40 FV prospect while ranking him 14th in the Rockies system.

On the eve of his becoming an Isotope, Karros discussed his approach to hitting, as well as his baseball relationship with his father.

———

David Laurila: How would you define yourself as a hitter?

Kyle Karros: “I’ve really bought into being a complete hitter first, and allowing power to just come naturally. I’ve kind of always put an emphasis on not chasing homers. Doubles are my game. I also feel like you grow into home runs. You learn what counts you can take advantage of. You get more efficient with your swing. But right now — this year, especially — I’ve bought into really controlling the zone. I think what allows me to do that is having a right-center type of approach. That allows me to let the ball travel a little deeper. If I’m on a fastball to right-center, that puts me on offspeed where I’m able to pull and elevate.”

Laurila: Is letting the ball travel more new to this year? Read the rest of this entry »

A lot has happened in the past week. When times were simpler, back when the Phillies signed David Robertson three lifetimes and somehow only two weeks ago, I raised the possibility that we might bring back the We Tried tracker for the trade deadline. It wasn’t a sure thing, because the trade deadline isn’t really the time for We Trieds. They tend to happen over the offseason, when news is slow and multiple teams are bidding on free agents – which is why Robertson had so many reported suitors – rather than when teams are trying to swing trades. Loose lips can sink the many relationships involved in trades, and in the aftermath of the draft and deadline, everyone’s too busy to reach out to a reporter with an unattributed attempt to assure fans they made an effort. At least that’s how it normally works. This deadline featured a record-setting number of trades, and a surprising number of We Trieds to go along with all the actual action.

I’m sure I didn’t catch every We Tried, mostly because I spent the entirety of the deadline with my head down writing up transactions, listening to intense film scores in order to push me to write faster. I didn’t have much time to comb headlines and social media, but I did have help from some friends. I offer special thanks to readers JD, Elizabeth, Joel, and Fox Mulder Bat Flip for sending We Trieds my way. If you’re aware of any that I missed, as always, you can let me know on Bluesky or by email at WeTriedTracker@gmail.com. Read the rest of this entry »

Tyler Glasnow was 21 years old and full of promise as he sat atop our 2015 Pittsburgh Pirates Top Prospects list when it was published in January of that year. Our then-lead prospect analyst Kiley McDaniel gave plus grades to both Glasnow’s heater and his hook, opining that the tall right-hander had no. 2 starter potential.

Despite an injury history that includes Tommy John surgery, Glasnow has largely lived up to expectations. Drafted 152nd overall in 2011 out of William S. Hart High School in Santa Clarita, California, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in July 2018 (a deadline deal Pirates fans would love to forget) and logged a 3.20 ERA and 3.10 FIP over 71 starts in his five-plus seasons there. Subsequently swapped to the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2023, Glasnow has a 3.47 ERA and a 3.28 FIP over 31 starts with his current club. He is top-of-the-rotation quality when fully fit, but he has had trouble staying healthy. Just this season, he was out from late April until early July with shoulder inflammation.

What did Glasnow’s 2015 FanGraphs scouting report look like? Moreover, what does he think about it all these years later? Wanting to find out, I shared some of what McDaniel wrote and asked Glasnow to respond to it.

———

“Glasnow was drafted in the fifth round out of high school in 2011 as a low-profile pure-projection bet with fringy-to-average stuff and a limited track record.”

“That’s probably pretty accurate,” Glasnow replied. “I was fifth round, just more projectable, and throwing 89-91 [mph]. I had a decent curveball, but it wasn’t very good yet. My stuff was decent for high school, but compared to pro ball, not really. I was lower velo, mostly just two pitches, and I had a very bad changeup.”

“He blew up in 2013, dominating Low-A with a fastball that hit 97 mph. He continued his progress at High-A in 2014, sitting 93-96 mph and hitting 98 mph.” Read the rest of this entry »

As expected, the Yankees were among the contending teams active ahead of the July 31 trade deadline and in the days leading up to it. They filled a big hole at third base and a smaller one in their outfield, shuffled utility infielders, and restocked their bullpen as well, though the fortified unit did not get off to a flying start. But one thing they did not do was add a starting pitcher. Instead, as they worked to fit the newcomers onto their roster in the aftermath of the deadline, they chose to cut loose starter Marcus Stroman, ending the 34-year-old righty’s disappointing season-and-a-half run with the team. By doing so, they’re betting big on the live arms behind Max Fried and Carlos Rodón.

In 38 starts and one relief appearance totaling 193 2/3 innings since the start of 2024 — numbers suppressed by his 11-week stay on the injured list this season due to left knee inflammation — Stroman managed just a 4.69 ERA, a 4.73 FIP, and 1.0 WAR. Among pitchers with at least 180 inning in that span, only Logan Allen, Kyle Gibson, and Randy Vásquez produced less value. In 39 innings this year, Stroman was lit for a 6.23 ERA and 5.15 FIP while making just one quality start out of nine.

Stroman was squeezed out of New York’s five-man rotation by the return of Luis Gil. The 27-year-old righty, who won AL Rookie of the Year honors last season, suffered a high-grade lat strain in late February, before he’d even pitched in an exhibition game. Gil began a rehab assignment on July 13, making the first of two starts for Double-A Somerset before adding two more with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and maxing out at 4 1/3 innings and 75 pitches. He made his season debut for the Yankees on Sunday, and it was a rough one. Facing a Marlins team that has been playing very good baseball lately by going 30-22 since the start of June, Gil struggled with his command, walking four and yielding five hits while striking out three in 3 1/3 innings. He was charged with five runs, the last two of which scored after reliever Brent Headrick served up a three-run homer to Kyle Stowers. Read the rest of this entry »

Read the rest of this entry »

You’re probably pretty good at baseball if you end up on this list:

I get it. “Doing damage when you elevate the ball” isn’t the only skill that’s necessary to be a good major league hitter. It’s not even close to the only necessary skill. On the other hand, look at that list! It goes 10 hitters deep, and they’re all great. The worst guy on that list is probably Christian Yelich, and he’s having a nice year despite dealing with his chronic case of can’t-ever-get-the-ball-off-the-ground-itis.

Psh! Who cares about wOBA? What even is wOBA? First of all, good news, here’s an article explaining it in great detail. Second, fine, let’s use a different statistic then. Here’s slugging percentage, same minimum of 100 batted balls:

Read the rest of this entry »

Ranked and briefly analyzed below are the prospects who have been traded during the loosely defined “2025 deadline season,” which for simplicity’s sake I consider all of July. Most of the deals these prospects were a part of have been analyzed at length on this site. An index of those pieces can be found here; you can also click the hyperlink in the “Trade” column below, which will take you to the relevant article. I’ve moved all of the 35+ FV and above players listed here to their new orgs over on The Board, so you can click through to see where they rank among their new teammates and read their full scouting reports, which have been updated where applicable. The Farm System Rankings, which update live, also reflect these changes, so you can see where teams’ systems stack up following the draft and the deadline. Read the rest of this entry »

When the Red Sox acquired Dustin May from the Dodgers at Thursday’s trade deadline, they brought on board a starter with a pair of elbow surgeries in his rearview. The 27-year-old right-hander had Tommy John in 2021, then needed to have a flexor tendon repaired in 2023. Boston also brought on board a pitcher who has matured admirably since he was drafted 101st overall in 2016 out of a Justin, Texas high school.

“As a pitcher, I haven’t changed a whole lot,” May told me prior to the trade. “My stuff is pretty comparable to what it was before. But off the field, I’ve changed a lot. A lot of life changes have happened through the surgeries — a lot of good things — and I feel like I’ve definitely improved as a person and as a husband.

“We’re all very blessed, and talented, to be here,” he added. “Stuff can be taken away from you in an instant, and you can have no control over it. No matter how hard you work, or what you put into it, life can come at you very fast at times.”

A serious health scare last summer is an example. May suffered a torn esophagus that required emergency surgery. Less scary, but nonetheless troublesome, was his not bouncing back from TJ as well as he’d hoped. Read the rest of this entry »

Thirty-six trades in a span of 18 hours. A deadline day record. This after there were a whopping 16 swaps the day before, for an astronomical two-day total of 52 — that’s also a record, and nine more than there were over the final two days before the deadline last year.

Conceptually, the numbers are staggering. But as I sit here writing this mailbag after 7 PM on Friday, the reality of what we all experienced is starting to sink in. And I don’t know about all of you, but after a marathon of editing trade analysis pieces for the better part of the last 48 hours, I’m twitching from what can only be described as an unholy cocktail of caffeine and adrenaline, and I can feel the comedown coming. I’m both absolutely riveted and utterly drained, and the only thing keeping me upright is a keen sense of anticipation for all of the great baseball still to come.

We won’t be covering any trade news in this week’s mailbag. If you want to catch up on or relive the chaos of the last few days, you can find everything we wrote about the trade deadline linked within this roundup post. Instead, we’ll lean a little more evergreen. Before we get to your questions, though, I’d like to remind all of you that while anyone can submit a question, this mailbag is exclusive to FanGraphs Members. If you aren’t yet a Member and would like to keep reading, you can sign up for a Membership here. It’s the best way to both experience the site and support our staff, and it comes with a bunch of other great benefits. Also, if you’d like to ask a question for an upcoming mailbag, send me an email at mailbag@fangraphs.com. Read the rest of this entry »

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about where they stand on two competing perceptions of this year’s trade deadline activity and why it turned out not to be a dudline, then discuss all the major storylines—including A.J. Preller’s all-in antics, the Twins’ teardown, Carlos Correa’s Houston reunion, and the closer carousel—before going through moves on a team-by-team basis to offer critiques and praise.

Audio intro: Daniel Leckie, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: The Shirey Brothers, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Count von Count
Link to Jake and Jordan data
Link to Paine on deadlines
Link to Paine on this deadline
Link to Sheehan on the deadline
Link to Dan’s post
Link to ZiPS verdicts
Link to FG roundup
Link to MLB.com tracker
Link to FG’s The Board
Link to Pipeline’s Top 100
Link to Bandwagon on the Padres
Link to BA on the Padres
Link to Preller’s past prospects
Link to FG playoff odds
Link to “bob’s your uncle” tweet
Link to MiLB FA draft stats
Link to Twins letter
Link to Antonetti Twins quote
Link to Breslow quotes
Link to minor league reset episode
Link to Greene’s mustache story
Link to Cashman on Jones
Link to info on Vaughn
Link to Seranthony graphic
Link to Griffey cow story
Link to Griffey cow video

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