MONDAY MINORS FINAL 6/25/19; Miss. gem while rockets fly elsewhere

MONDAY SCOREBOARD

CLASS AAA

Gwinnett 13, Norfolk 4

WP: Weigel (1-1) 5 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Carle 2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Winkler 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Creasy 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Demeritte 3-4, 2B, HR (15th), 3 R, 2 RBI
Ortega 1-4, HR (14th, slam), 4 RBI
Duvall 3-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI
Florimon 2-5, 3B, R, 2 RBI

CLASS AA

Mississippi 1, Biloxi 0
Pache led off game with HR

WP: Davidson (3-4) 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K (1.48)
Johnstone 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Custodio 1 IP, zeroes

Pache 1-5, HR (10th), RBI
Unroe 3-5
Casteel 1-3, BB
Waters DNP

ADVANCED CLASS A

Florida, mercifully idle

CLASS A

Rome 12, Charleston 3

SP: Vodnik 4 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
WP: Higginbotham (2-2) 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Lawson 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Benson 3-3, HR (7th), 6 RBI
Shewmake 3-5, 4 R, 2 2B, RBI
Langeliers 2-3, 2B, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB
Quintero 2-4, 2 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI
Montesino 3-3, 2B, RBI

SHORT-SEASON

Danville, idle
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GCL Orioles 17, GCL Braves 9

LP: Asencio (0-1) 3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Leban 0.2 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Schwab 1.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Guth 1.2 IP, 0 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 1 K
Pena 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Stevens 2-5, 2B, HR (1st), 4 RBI
Mezquita 3-5, R, 3 RBI
Harris 2-4, R, RBI
Bunnell 1-1, R, RBI, 2 BB
Paolini 0-4, 2 R, 2 BB
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DSL Marlins 8, DSL Braves 3

SP: Moreno 0 IP, 0 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, WP (8 pitches, 0 strikes)
LP: Rijo (0-1) 3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Celestin 0-2, R, 3 SB
Dilone 2-3, R, RBI

Davidson could likely help this pen at some point as long as he doesn’t get way up there in IP.

Looks like Paolini is a bust.

I don't know if this would happen, but it certainly would be a situation rich with irony. Brandol Mezquita is the only member of the tainted international signings from 2016 that remained with the Braves and I think it would be hilarious if he ended up being the best of that bunch. Most of the guys from that class are now in Low A with a number of them struggling, so they are a couple of steps up from the brand of play in the GCL and the comparison in performance is simply not relevant, but it would still be a hoot if it turned out that Mezquita outperformed the rest of them at some point.

Demerritte continues to surprise me.

If Shewmake is in Gwinnett a year from now with the same numbers that Demerritte has now, will people be excited?

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Originally Posted by Jaw

Demerritte continues to surprise me.

If Shewmake is in Gwinnett a year from now with the same numbers that Demerritte has now, will people be excited?

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The thing about Demeritte is he is a former first round pick (#30 overall in 2013) but lost his luster with two mediocre seasons in AA in 2017 and 2018. Anyone having seasons like that in AA (at ages 22 and 23) is going to lose of bit of their shine.

When we ask who is Travis Demeritte, we can't just focus on what he has done the first 3 months of this season. Some weight has to be given to his struggles in the prior 2 years. But I give some weight too to what he has done in 2019. And my bottom line conclusion (as of today and it will evolve in the months ahead) is that he has a chance to be a decent bench player (given he can play infield and outfield) in the majors. I would add him to the 40 man this off-season.

Keep in mind that major league rosters go up to 26 next year. I foresee that more teams will take players like Demeritte in the Rule 5 draft and stash them on their major league roster for the season. That extra roster spot makes this much more feasible.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jaw

Demerritte continues to surprise me.

If Shewmake is in Gwinnett a year from now with the same numbers that Demerritte has now, will people be excited?

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Well, it would suggest that he jumped three levels and discovered 30 HR power in his first full year as a pro, so I would say so.

I was pointing out that Shewmake has been billed as a bat first utility tyoe who can play all over the field. That sounds great, and fits the Dodgers model everyone loves of versatile players that can be used for a platoon advantage. It also sounds like what Demeritte appears to be.

I don't know what my point is. I just see guys like Duval and Demeritte crushing AAA, an MLB bench full of good hitters...and Markakis as an every day player while others rarely get a day off. I should probably just shut up and be happy that they traded Inciarte's bat for Riley's.

Unroe is interesting... didn't realize he was a 15th overall pick in in the 2017 draft. Granted he's in AA and is about to be 24 and hits for little to no power. But ever since he's been with the Braves it seems like his hit tool has improved and he's stealing some baases. High BABIP. Good BB rate at A+... bad BB rate at AA... maybe another possible bench asset in the future?

Edit: Nevermind... Fangraphs made the whole draft thing really confusing...

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Originally Posted by zbhargrove

Unroe is interesting... didn't realize he was a 15th overall pick in in the 2017 draft. Granted he's in AA and is about to be 24 and hits for little to no power. But ever since he's been with the Braves it seems like his hit tool has improved and he's stealing some baases. High BABIP. Good BB rate at A+... bad BB rate at AA... maybe another possible bench asset in the future?

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Think you have the wrong guy. Riley Unroe was a second rounder in 2013.

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Originally Posted by CJ9

Think you have the wrong guy. Riley Unroe was a second rounder in 2013.

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15th pick in the Rule 5 draft. All sorts of confusion.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CJ9

Think you have the wrong guy. Riley Unroe was a second rounder in 2013.

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Fangraphs says 2017 - Round: 1, Pick:15, Overall:15, LA Angels

https://www.fangraphs.com/statss.asp...14&position=2B

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Originally Posted by nsacpi

15th pick in the Rule 5 draft. All sorts of confusion.

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Ohhhh... wow... that's really unclear. My bad. That makes a whole lot more sense now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zbhargrove

Fangraphs says 2017 - Round: 1, Pick:15, Overall:15, LA Angels

https://www.fangraphs.com/statss.asp...14&position=2B

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Also says Rule 5 (phase 3A)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zbhargrove

Ohhhh... wow... that's really unclear. My bad

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no problem...he's done ok...mostly due to high BABIP...looks like he will be a 6 year minor league free agent at the end of this season...unlikely we give him a spot on the 40 man

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nsacpi

Also says Rule 5 (phase 3A)

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Yup... I thought it would have his actual draft information under drafted because I don't consider the Rule 5 draft a real draft... its weird that they would put only a Rule 5 position up there, IMO

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nsacpi

The thing about Demeritte is he is a former first round pick (#30 overall in 2013) but lost his luster with two mediocre seasons in AA in 2017 and 2018. Anyone having seasons like that in AA (at ages 22 and 23) is going to lose of bit of their shine.

When we ask who is Travis Demeritte, we can't just focus on what he has done the first 3 months of this season. Some weight has to be given to his struggles in the prior 2 years. But I give some weight too to what he has done in 2019. And my bottom line conclusion (as of today and it will evolve in the months ahead) is that he has a chance to be a decent bench player (given he can play infield and outfield) in the majors. I would add him to the 40 man this off-season.

Keep in mind that major league rosters go up to 26 next year. I foresee that more teams will take players like Demeritte in the Rule 5 draft and stash them on their major league roster for the season. That extra roster spot makes this much more feasible.

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If we had a 26th guy right now, I might vote Demeritte. You're correct in that we can't discount his career previous to 2019 in assessing him as a player. His contact rate is better this year and with the livelier ball, that is translating into a higher SLG. But it doesn't matter how lively the ball is, if you don't make contact it's all moot. Curious to see how the rest of the season unfolds for him.

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Originally Posted by 50PoundHead

If we had a 26th guy right now, I might vote Demeritte. You're correct in that we can't discount his career previous to 2019 in assessing him as a player. His contact rate is better this year and with the livelier ball, that is translating into a higher SLG. But it doesn't matter how lively the ball is, if you don't make contact it's all moot. Curious to see how the rest of the season unfolds for him.

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26th guy for me right now would be Inciarte. Defensive replacement and baserunner. Spot starter. Though I would hear arguments for Duvall (I just don't think Snitker would use him).

If Demeritte continues to make solid contact throughout the rest of this season and keeps his K% at or under 25%, I would seriously consider using him from the bench next year. We know he has a good bit of talent, but he just couldn't tap into it because of his lack of a hit tool. But with his versatility, its possible he could come up and be one of those under the radar super utility guys that the Dodgers always seem to be finding every year.

It would be pretty nice to have a super utility player capable of a .200+ ISO.

I'm pretty excited about what I've seen from him this year.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Southcack77

26th guy for me right now would be Inciarte. Defensive replacement and baserunner. Spot starter. Though I would hear arguments for Duvall (I just don't think Snitker would use him).

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Yeah. I think that type of player (defensive replacement and baserunner) is the most likely to be the 26th man. But it will be a mix. Some teams will go for a promising hitter like Demeritte. Others will go for a defensively limited veteran like Duda. Or maybe a third catcher.

The number of pitchers will be limited to 13, so I don't think we'll see an increase in the number pitchers who aren't ready for the majors stashed on major league rosters.