TUESDAY MINORS FJNAL 5/22/18: Zimm wins 5th

[rico43]

TUESDAY MINORS RESULTS
All Times Eastern

CLASS AAA

Durham @ Gwinnett (16-26), ppd.

CLASS AA

Mississippi, idle

ADVANCED CLASS A

Game One
Florida 5, Dunedin 1 (8)

SP: Muller 5 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K
WP: Bacon (1-0) 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
McLaughlin 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Davidson 2-4, R, RBI
Schwartz 1-2, R, RBI, 2 BB
Didder 1-4, RBI

Game Two
Florida 6, Dunedin 2 (7)

SP: Johnston 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K
Kelly 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Burrows 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Didder 1-3, R, 2 RBI
Herbert 2-3, R, 2 RBI
Cumberland 1-3, RBI
Scwartz 1-4, 2B, R

CLASS A

Rome 10, Lexington 5
Rome scored nine unearned runs!

WP: Zimmermann (5-2) 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
Deal 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Allison 2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
(14 Ks for Rome Ps)

Ramos 3-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI
J. Smith 1-5, 2 R, HR (4th), 3 RBI
Waters 2-5, RBI
Bush 2-5, 2B, RBI
Delgado 2-4, R, BB

[Super]

not starting today but...

Russ
12:23 Any real concern with Ian Anderson's control? He's walking more guys than many expected.
Kiley McDaniel
12:24 Should see him soon, but not worried. Still think it's the issue described in the Braves/top 100 prospect list of working 95 in the top of the zone, which both separately give lower level umpires problems but specifically together

[CJ9]

Small note that has nothing to do with tonight — Allard and Touki are both scheduled to make their next starts later this week after both came out of their previous starts with injuries.

[striker42]

not starting today but...

Russ
12:23 Any real concern with Ian Anderson's control? He's walking more guys than many expected.
Kiley McDaniel
12:24 Should see him soon, but not worried. Still think it's the issue described in the Braves/top 100 prospect list of working 95 in the top of the zone, which both separately give lower level umpires problems but specifically together

I just don't buy the whole blaming minor league umpires explanation. I can't really think of any time where a young pitcher's control problems could legitimately be blamed on bad umpiring. A stray game here or there can be written off to bad umpires but when you walk guys at the rate Anderson has for as long as Anderson has, the ump narrative loses its validity.

Kiley's ties to the Braves while scouting Anderson kind of make me wonder about his objectivity here. The Braves hyped Anderson's control big time. Apparently our scouting corp thought he had major league control when he was drafted. So Kiley could be experiencing some cognitive dissonance here. The results aren't agreeing with his conclusions while part of the Braves FO so he's trying to find explanations. Minor league umps being the best he can come up with.

[Super]

I just don't buy the whole blaming minor league umpires explanation. I can't really think of any time where a young pitcher's control problems could legitimately be blamed on bad umpiring. A stray game here or there can be written off to bad umpires but when you walk guys at the rate Anderson has for as long as Anderson has, the ump narrative loses its validity.

Kiley's ties to the Braves while scouting Anderson kind of make me wonder about his objectivity here. The Braves hyped Anderson's control big time. Apparently our scouting corp thought he had major league control when he was drafted. So Kiley could be experiencing some cognitive dissonance here. The results aren't agreeing with his conclusions while part of the Braves FO so he's trying to find explanations. Minor league umps being the best he can come up with.

i see what you're saying. i'm not sure how objective he is.
however, i think it could be legitimate, at least a little, that a guy who throws high cheese consistently gets squeezed more frequently than other types of pitchers. i'd be curious to see where most of the balls are being called. hopefully we'll get a report on him when kiley sees him.

[striker42]

i see what you're saying. i'm not sure how objective he is.
however, i think it could be legitimate, at least a little, that a guy who throws high cheese consistently gets squeezed more frequently than other types of pitchers. i'd be curious to see where most of the balls are being called. hopefully we'll get a report on him when kiley sees him.

His BB/9 was 4.66 last season and is 4.66 again this season. I have a really hard time believing that the umpires at two different levels are that consistent at blowing calls.

But if we assume he's the recipient of a ridiculously unequal share of bad calls, you're still talking about maybe a 0.5 BB/9 change. So we've still got a guy with a BB/9 over 4 which is completely contrary to what Anderson was billed as.

I just really wonder what's happening here. Anderson's walking way, way more guys than he was expected to when drafted. Were our scouts dead wrong? Has he changed something that has robbed him of his control? There's something more here than just bad umpires.

[clvclv]

His BB/9 was 4.66 last season and is 4.66 again this season. I have a really hard time believing that the umpires at two different levels are that consistent at blowing calls.

But if we assume he's the recipient of a ridiculously unequal share of bad calls, you're still talking about maybe a 0.5 BB/9 change. So we've still got a guy with a BB/9 over 4 which is completely contrary to what Anderson was billed as.

I just really wonder what's happening here. Anderson's walking way, way more guys than he was expected to when drafted. Were our scouts dead wrong? Has he changed something that has robbed him of his control? There's something more here than just bad umpires.

You left out a question...

Is he working on something specifically?


Completely impossible to tell when scouting stat lines, but if you're going to assume "were our scouts dead wrong?", shouldn't we assume they whiffed on Wright as well? He certainly hasn't been any more impressive than Anderson thus far.

I have no answer to that question about either guy since we haven't seen reports that they are or aren't - but the default thoughts around here always seem to be that the scouts are bad and that they missed on the players. Lots of people look to call highly drafted/thought of kids "busts" when they were expected to be fast-tracked and don't blow through the minors as quickly as Acuna, Albies, and Soroka. It takes more time than that for the vast majority of players to get a solid footing for various reasons.

[striker42]

You left out a question...

Is he working on something specifically?


Completely impossible to tell when scouting stat lines, but if you're going to assume "were our scouts dead wrong?", shouldn't we assume they whiffed on Wright as well? He certainly hasn't been any more impressive than Anderson thus far.

I have no answer to that question about either guy since we haven't seen reports that they are or aren't - but the default thoughts around here always seem to be that the scouts are bad and that they missed on the players. Lots of people look to call highly drafted/thought of kids "busts" when they were expected to be fast-tracked and don't blow through the minors as quickly as Acuna, Albies, and Soroka. It takes more time than that for the vast majority of players to get a solid footing for various reasons.

It's possible he's working on something but the walks have been at a consistent level stretching into a second season now. It's getting a to be a bit of a long time for it to just be working on something.

And the reason I have the scouts being dead wrong as an option for Anderson is because of how strongly his control was talked up and how bad of a problem his walks have been. We were literally hearing that he had major league quality control. It's hard to reconcile what we were told about his control when we drafted him with the results.

So I'm not asking whether the scouts were wrong about Anderson overall, just about his control.

[jpx7]

but if you're going to assume "were our scouts dead wrong?"

He’s not assuming anything; he’s asking a question—you even quoted the little squiggle at the end that denotes an interrogative.

That may seem parliamentary, but what I’m really saying is that—while I agree with the general sentiment that a lot of posters are too rushed in judgment of prospects (good or bad)—in this case the target of the soapbox is misplaced. There are legit questions about Anderson (and Wright, for that matter), and striker’s just asking one of them.

[50PoundHead]

Hayden Deal was a senior FA signee out of a small college in North Carolina after he went undrafted and he's put up solid numbers. Big LHP. Don't know much about his stuff other than his fastball is low-90s. Given age and effectiveness to this point in the season, my guess is he'll be in Florida after the mid-season break and the 2018 draftees start filing in.

[bravesfanMatt]

I alway s get a chuckle when I hear the working on something line. While it may be true and a legit reason. I never hear. Well Riley killed double A because the pitchers he faced were all working on something.... or Pache increased bb% is due to pitchers working on something. Homerism sometimes makes us forget there is always a two way street.

[bravesfanMatt]

Hayden Deal was a senior FA signee out of a small college in North Carolina after he went undrafted and he's put up solid numbers. Big LHP. Don't know much about his stuff other than his fastball is low-90s. Given age and effectiveness to this point in the season, my guess is he'll be in Florida after the mid-season break and the 2018 draftees start filing in.

Sounds like he could become a big Deal. Too easy 50. Too easy.

[striker42]

Wright is another I'm concerned about. I'm less concerned than Anderson though. With Wright it was known that he wasn't as finished of a product as many college pitchers so there could still be growing pains to go through. With Anderson, one of his biggest strengths on draft day has become his biggest liability. That's very concerning.

[clvclv]

He’s not assuming anything; he’s asking a question—you even quoted the little squiggle at the end that denotes an interrogative.

That may seem parliamentary, but what I’m really saying is that—while I agree with the general sentiment that a lot of posters are too rushed in judgment of prospects (good or bad)—in this case the target of the soapbox is misplaced. There are legit questions about Anderson (and Wright, for that matter), and striker’s just asking one of them.

Wasn't taking any shot at striker from any soapbox, and his reply seems as though he obviously understood that. Simply another question that none of us can answer since we're scouting box scores and aren't seeing these guys pitch regularly.

It's entirely possible that Anderson's control isn't as good as some expected, but since we're not seeing reports that the organization is concerned I'd prefer to take a wait and see approach - particularly with a high school arm from a cold climate.

[Super]

still think calling anderson's control "very concerning" is a rather large overreaction. but that's just me.

[clvclv]

It's possible he's working on something but the walks have been at a consistent level stretching into a second season now. It's getting a to be a bit of a long time for it to just be working on something.

And the reason I have the scouts being dead wrong as an option for Anderson is because of how strongly his control was talked up and how bad of a problem his walks have been. We were literally hearing that he had major league quality control. It's hard to reconcile what we were told about his control when we drafted him with the results.

So I'm not asking whether the scouts were wrong about Anderson overall, just about his control.

I generally prefer to take draft-time scouting reports with a bit more of a grain of salt than several others - especially the high school kids from colder climates since I can't imagine the scouts have had the opportunity to see them as often as the other kids.

I definitely don't have any information as to whether his struggles stem from "working on something", just pointing that out as a possibility since our player development side has always pushed hard in certain areas. Same with Wright (as you mention as well).

The unfortunate by-product of the big club playing so well is that I'd guess lots of folks are like me - having a hard time focusing completely if you're streaming the MiLB feeds simply because it's tough to divert your attention from the new "Baby Braves".

I think the really interesting follows are going to wind up being Anderson and Tarnok because they're cold-weather kids. Our guys haven't really had a lot of them to develop historically, so I'm really interested to see if they wind up spending more time having them work on certain aspects than they have with all the southern arms we've had the much longer history with. As you mention - it does seem like it's a longer stretch for Anderson to be a bit wild, and I wonder if that's part of the reason they've been using Tarnok in shorter relief stints. Will that eventually help speed things up for him? Could that signal a bit of an organizational change to their approach? I have no idea, but do think it's worth watching since they seem to be taking a different road with Freddy than they have with Touki and Anderson.

[clvclv]

Hayden Deal was a senior FA signee out of a small college in North Carolina after he went undrafted and he's put up solid numbers. Big LHP. Don't know much about his stuff other than his fastball is low-90s. Given age and effectiveness to this point in the season, my guess is he'll be in Florida after the mid-season break and the 2018 draftees start filing in.

Another right down the road kid - Newton's about 40 miles from me. He was born there, but Presbyterian is actually in SC - not far from Columbia - our HS basketball coach played there years ago. Don't know much about him though.

[Southcack77]

I alway s get a chuckle when I hear the working on something line. While it may be true and a legit reason. I never hear. Well Riley killed double A because the pitchers he faced were all working on something.... or Pache increased bb% is due to pitchers working on something. Homerism sometimes makes us forget there is always a two way street.

Or whatever the opposite is...

Anderson has not allowed a run in 4 of his 8 starts.

I’m not going to worry about it either way.

A prospect is a lottery ticket. Anderson has a better chance than most.

So does Wright.

[Southcack77]

I have to admit, I don’t really buy “cold weather player” as a useful explanation for much or for very long.

Talent tends to catch up. I think Anderson specifically has been ok, but you definitely note the walks and chalk it to something that might be his weakness.

[striker42]

Anderson could be the next Lucas Sims, a right handed Sean Newcomb, or another Adam Wainwright. He's so far away it's impossible to tell at this point. One certainty though is that he needs to reduce his walks.