GDT 5/13/25: Braves vs Nationals - Another Chance at .500

But hurts teams who have guys come out of nowhere. Guessing Schwellenbach wouldn’t have qualified last year (not that it mattered). But it could matter. I get what they’re trying to do, just kinda weird.

Guys that come out of nowhere aren't going to be held down for service time manipulation. It's an incentive to not hold top prospects, who are clearly ready, back and not a punishment for other teams.
 
Watching Baldwin run he doesn't look goofy or slow like B Mac or Murphy. He could probably handle LF twice a week. Ozuna has gotten to big it looks like to run around much plus his hamstring has been acting up.
 
But hurts teams who have guys come out of nowhere. Guessing Schwellenbach wouldn’t have qualified last year (not that it mattered). But it could matter. I get what they’re trying to do, just kinda weird.
It almost hurt us when Harris won ROY over Strider. If Strider would've won it, he wasn't on enough top 100s to earn the pick even though he broke camp with the team.
 
The SS doesn't have to be good to be improvement over what the Braves have.

I diagree actually. Allen is a good enough defender to be a starter even with horrible offense.

The lineup is going to look a lot different when you have Acuna in there and White/Verdugo platooning. Having an elite defender hitting 9th will not be an issue.
 
Guys that come out of nowhere aren't going to be held down for service time manipulation. It's an incentive to not hold top prospects, who are clearly ready, back and not a punishment for other teams.
Ok….but then if that player wins ROY the team doesn’t get a pick. Which is stupid.
 
Why should a team be rewarded for doing what they would have already done anyways?
I think the point is, if you don't want teams holding top talent down to game the system, then just change the damn system and don't make some stupid rule that is predicated on some old fat ass that has never played a sport voting on if a guy should be on a list..
 
I think the point is, if you don't want teams holding top talent down to game the system, then just change the damn system and don't make some stupid rule that is predicated on some old fat ass that has never played a sport voting on if a guy should be on a list..
I suspect that system will be changed in the next CBA or the one after that.

Baseball America is a legit list my guy. The people that work there definately know more about the game than you do.
 
I suspect that system will be changed in the next CBA or the one after that.

Baseball America is a legit list my guy. The people that work there definately know more about the game than you do.
so the bar to be legit is knowing more than some fan of one team on a message board?

I mean I guess it is cool that arbitrary lists can actually affect competitive balance. Not even counting ROY voters having a say in who might get an extra pick... This was like when baseball decided to give homefield advantage for the WS to the league that won an exhibition game.. absurdly stupid imo...

that said, I won't complain if the Braves can somehow luck into that pick...still stupid, but I won't complain.
 
I bet it would be bad.

Ozuna to LF would be the move. He actually know hows to play the position.
Ozuna is done as a fielder. In the bottom 5% of sprint speed in the majors. Verdugo and Baldwin might as well be Usain Bolt compared to him.
 
Last edited:
so the bar to be legit is knowing more than some fan of one team on a message board?

I mean I guess it is cool that arbitrary lists can actually affect competitive balance. Not even counting ROY voters having a say in who might get an extra pick... This was like when baseball decided to give homefield advantage for the WS to the league that won an exhibition game.. absurdly stupid imo...

that said, I won't complain if the Braves can somehow luck into that pick...still stupid, but I won't complain.

Bunch of straw men arguments. These groups, especially Baseball America, have a vested interest in providing accurate information (as good as amatuer baseball scouting can be) because it's a buisness model for them. They also have a long track record of being really good at it.

Competitive balance? This practice would actually hurts teams more in the long term. One pick vs an extra year of a really good player on the cheap?
 
Ozuna is done as a fielder. In the bottom 5% of spring speed in the majors. Verdugo and Baldwin might as well be Usain Bolt compared to him.
He very well may be done. But speed isn't everything in the outfield if you know how to take good routes. The last few times he played out there he wasn't bad (just a horrible arm)
 
He very well may be done. But speed isn't everything in the outfield if you know how to take good routes. The last few times he played out there he wasn't bad (just a horrible arm)
He also has had hammy issues this year. There really isn't a reason to risk our best hitter getting hurt. Baldwin is young and athletic enough.
 
Bunch of straw men arguments. These groups, especially Baseball America, have a vested interest in providing accurate information (as good as amatuer baseball scouting can be) because it's a buisness model for them. They also have a long track record of being really good at it.

Competitive balance? This practice would actually hurts teams more in the long term. One pick vs an extra year of a really good player on the cheap?
The lists are still arbitrary because it is usually based on draft pedigree and output numbers..

Competitive balance is team vs team.. The Braves getting an extra 1st round pick because they started Baldwin to begin the year gives them an advantage over every other team.. whether they sign him to and extension, trade him, or let him walk has nothing to do with the Braves getting an extra pick that no one else gets (unless the AL team also qualifies)..

And I get that this was done because they are trying to protect Kris Bryant's of the world.. But that needs to be done via the CBA, not some weird work-a-around gives extra picks to teams that don't need them..
 
The lists are still arbitrary because it is usually based on draft pedigree and output numbers..

Competitive balance is team vs team.. The Braves getting an extra 1st round pick because they started Baldwin to begin the year gives them an advantage over every other team.. whether they sign him to and extension, trade him, or let him walk has nothing to do with the Braves getting an extra pick that no one else gets (unless the AL team also qualifies)..

And I get that this was done because they are trying to protect Kris Bryant's of the world.. But that needs to be done via the CBA, not some weird work-a-around gives extra picks to teams that don't need them..
Teams that lose good players to free agency don't need extra picks?
 
I mean it isn't like we haven't tried it before. Drake is pretty athletic and he's young. And we aren't talking about putting him out there every game. But it wouldn't hurt to let him start 2 games a week in LF and 2 games a week catcher.

I suppose putting Ozuna in LF might be a better option. All I know is, we can't afford to have Drake's bat on the bench.
I'm more worried about him getting hurt than the defense.
 
Back
Top