Southcack77
Well-known member
I think Law put a mid or late first round grade on him had he been in the amateur draft. That's a lot of cash for that kind of guy.
Luis Robert Leaves Cuba
- Thread starter clvclv
- Start date
I think Law put a mid or late first round grade on him had he been in the amateur draft. That's a lot of cash for that kind of guy.
Everything I have read touts Robert as the best non-Otani international prospect alive. He is a solid 55 FV.
I agree that $50M is a steep price though. Just goes to show how much of a bargain MLB teams are getting through the draft. Imagine how much money would be going to US teenagers if teams just bid on them.
Southcack77
Well-known member
I did read pipeline saying that so law may be an extreme outlier.
Russ2dollas
10 yr, $185 million Extension
I think it was pipeline or BP that had him one spot over Maitan and said he'd be a spot over Maitan in the top 100. That is a very good prospect but waaaaay more than Maitan cost.
Klaw seems to feel that there is a lot of question on his hit tool. Everyone says he's a legit athlete, doesn't look that young w/ the muscle definition and legit power. But if he can't hit to get to it.... Klaw also references how bad Cubans have been. Klaw also seems to me much lower on Moncada than most everyone else.
bravesfanMatt
Steve Harvey'd
50 Million is way to steep to take a chance on a prospect IMO.. I guess he is the last of his kind though.. by June 15th there will be no more signings like his. I still wonder if the new CBA helped or hurt a lot of smaller market teams. The gap in total money is not very big. Bigger market teams can negotiate with bigger potential future extensions, more spotlight, and better history..
Also, anyone who is 'low' on Moncada is an idiot...
Russ2dollas
10 yr, $185 million Extension
Low is a relative term. He's not saying he's a bad player. He likes him a lot. IIRC he just thinks he swings and misses a lot and might just be a good player, not a stud.
I wonder how that ratio really holds up. Sure HO was a stinker but players like Abreu and Cepedes have done well for themselves.
Southcack77
Well-known member
ESPN’s Keith Law wonders (Insider subscription required and recommended) whether the White Sox made a mistake in making such a substantial commitment to Cuban star Luis Robert. As Law notes, position players from Cuba have flopped in the Majors more than they’ve succeeded. Law also adds that he’s spoken to a number of scouts to gauge Robert’s abilities, as he’s yet to be able to see Robert himself, and each scout to whom he spoke offered concerns about Robert’s hit tool. All agreed that he’s athletic, a plus runner, possesses above-average bat speed and raw power as well, however. Conversely, Law suggests that if one team was going to take such a significant gamble on Robert’s upside, it should have been the Cardinals, who are without their top three picks in the 2017 draft after forfeiting one to sign Dexter Fowler and losing another two as punishment in the notorious data breach scandal.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/05/international-notes-july-2-prospects-garcia-robert.html
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/05/international-notes-july-2-prospects-garcia-robert.html
I don't worry about money quite as much.... if the organization feels they can spend it, go spend it, its not like Roberts is going to eat up significant portions of their payroll going forward, it was largely just the bonus that makes it so high.
Certainly if people think Maitan and Robert are similarly talented and you can get one for $4.25 million and the other costs $50 million, you go get Maitan every time, but that doesn't necessarily mean Roberts is a bad investment, it speaks more to how cheap Maitan was compared to Cuban players. Moncada got $63 million when he signed and the Red Sox used him to grab Sale... surely nobody thinks that's a wasted investment at this point.
Would anybody here have been upset if the Braves found $50 million to add Robert? I wouldn't have, although I certainly understand NOT doing that as well.
Certainly if people think Maitan and Robert are similarly talented and you can get one for $4.25 million and the other costs $50 million, you go get Maitan every time, but that doesn't necessarily mean Roberts is a bad investment, it speaks more to how cheap Maitan was compared to Cuban players. Moncada got $63 million when he signed and the Red Sox used him to grab Sale... surely nobody thinks that's a wasted investment at this point.
Would anybody here have been upset if the Braves found $50 million to add Robert? I wouldn't have, although I certainly understand NOT doing that as well.
Russ2dollas
10 yr, $185 million Extension
agree.
It's just money and it's not my money.
If it prevented them from signing someone else or forced them to trade someone (like BJ Upton) then we have a problem.
I want to win. You don't get extra points for winning the most financially efficient way possible.
But I understand the Braves not wanting to go 50 million.
That strictly speaks to their ages. If Matian held out till he was 19 and showed the same level of talent he would of gotten a huge payday as well. 55 FV hitters have around a 38 million value. So a 12 million overpay when you consider the tax. But it's just money and if you have it then it's not a big deal. Especially in a lost year.
I think the White Sox know this is their last chance to make a big splash in the international market. Since they decided to rebuild after all the top talent was signed, Robert was their one and only chance to grab a significant international talent simply by outbidding everyone, so they did.
By the very definition of a bidding war, they overpaid for him. Considering they didn't do anything of note in the international market to this point, this is the last chance a team will ever have to simply outbid the market for young talent, and they are starting a brand new rebuild, overpaying for a Top 25 talent is probably justified.
If I were the Braves right now at this moment in time I would not have paid $50M for Robert, but if I could undo the money given to Colon/Dickey/Garcia and funnel it to Robert I would do so in a heartbeat.
Agreed. That's the problem in trying to appease the fan base going into a new stadium.
Never did I imagine Luis Robert and Matt Adams would be two of the most talked about threads in the history of this forum. Shows how much of a decline we're in.
Southcack77
Well-known member
It is an interesting decision by the Sox. They still had the option of going into the upcoming signing period with 11 teams disqualified from offering more than a 300k bonus and other teams without too much of uncommitted pool money. I guess they decided the opportunity to sign Robert was better than anything they could do on July 2. The rule change probably screwed them over a good bit, but they still would have had some advantage even with the hard cap.
Maybe they are going after the SS that's still out there too.
Still, they paid 50 million for one guy and the Braves paid what...25 million for 14 including Maitan? As spending in the international draft isn't necessarily linked to contending or not contending I wouldn't say the Sox really made the most efficient use of the process and its assets. Just as traded stars with good contracts under long term control for prospects because you somehow can't win with them probably isn't the most efficient behavior.
You could also certainly argue that avoiding the rebuild until after last year was a bad move as well. They clearly weren't a contender last year, and waiting caused them to miss out on more international talent by not going over their pool until now.
yea they certainly didn't time that as well as they could have, and with Quintana struggling this year by his standards, its fair to question their decision to wait on moving him as well.
Southcack77
Well-known member
It was also known that the international rules were changing and the window for blowing the budget out might be closing and of course the Braves had watched and timed things accordingly.