Minors thread 802: Hursh Continues Debut Streak; Two Gems Thrown In GCL
- Thread starter rico43
- Start date
Heyward
<B>Voted Worst Poster <br>'13, '14, '15 (Co-Winner
I'll respond to this in the Johnson thread.
nsacpi
Expects Yuge Games
A. The most important development involving the minors this year was the matriculation of three players (Teheran, Gattis, Wood) to the major league team who have shown All-Star potential.
B. The second most important is a negative one--the injury to JR Graham. We could lump in injuries to a couple younger pitching prospects-Nelson Leon and Luis Merejo-into this item.
C. Joey T hasn't had enough major league playing time to be lumped in with Teheran, Gattis, and Wood, but his performances in spring training, AAA and now the majors have really pushed up my estimation of his ceiling as a player. Joey T is the same age as La Stella but his OPS in AAA was 95 points higher than La Stella's in AA.
D. Peraza has upped his prospect status with a strong year in Low A at age 19. He was already a Top 10 prospect for us coming into the season. For me he is now #1.
E. Bethancourt showing more power and in the past month drawing some walks. The possibility remains that he could be something special.
F. Two third base prospects-Salcedo and Kubitza-have also improved their prospect status quite a bit. Salcedo by less but that reflects the fact he was already a high ranking prospect coming into this season. As for Kubitza, his chances of a major league career have probably gone up by more than any position player in our system.
G. Sims and Cabrera are a long way off from the majors, but both enhanced their already high prospect status.
H. Cody Martin and Wes Parsons are probably the pitchers who have improved their prospect status the most. They don't have quite the pedigree or prior track record of some of our other pitching prospects, but have been very impressive in 2013.
I. With every draft, I look for a couple players outside the first two or three rounds who make an immediate case that they are much better than the round they were taken in. This year Kyle Wren is the early standout. Because he is a little older, I think the big test for him will be in 2014 when he will start playing better competition. There are also some college pitchers taken in later rounds who show some early promise--Waszak, Dill, Gunther, Dettmann, Marksberry, Swanner, Sechler. If one or two of those pans out, it will be a good draft. As with Wren, we will find out a lot more about these guys next year. But the early returns are good.
J. I almost forgot Ian Thomas. Older ex-indy league guy. Hard not to be impressed by what he is doing in AA. There is another pitcher with a similar background in AA, James Hoyt, who should also be mentioned.
I was mostly referencing what was actually happening in the farm this year. I would say (A) on your list is the major development for the major league team.
With all that being said, I still think Bethancourt is the most important development on the farm. From the reports you read he has all the potential to be an average to above average bat with the absolute best defense in baseball sans Yadi.
With all that being said, I still think Bethancourt is the most important development on the farm. From the reports you read he has all the potential to be an average to above average bat with the absolute best defense in baseball sans Yadi.
I wonder if we signed McCann to an extension, if we traded Freeman in a few years and put Bethancourt at C and moved Mac to 1st how would that fare.
Mac may not hit as many singles as Freeman, but he has as much if not more power.
Mac may not hit as many singles as Freeman, but he has as much if not more power.
PawPawMaxwell
Called Up to the Major Leagues
What if wrong with CJs career norms? Even if he regressed to norm he would still be very valuable to us as a bottom of lineup batter and is hardly Cabrera high.
Bigger question IMO is what to do with Kimbrel if in sell high mode. If he goes to arbitration asking for 10M what would Wren do.
PawPawMaxwell
Called Up to the Major Leagues
I can foresee Mac making Prince look fleet of foot in a couple years. Then too, Macs skills with the bat would be example of 1b. Question is will Atlanta ever be able to pay that kind of money for a less critical position player.
nsacpi
Expects Yuge Games
A big part of Mac's value is what he brings as a catcher. He's like a security blanket for our pitchers and one of the best pitch framers in the game. You don't see them shaking him off nearly as much you do with Laird and Gattis. I think we have to keep him behind the plate as long as he can endure it physically.
Indeed. So what better for Bethancourt than to learn from the best?
You could have Mac-Gattis alternating C and 1B, with Bethancourt as the 2nd catcher and Gattis as the 3rd. When Mac plays first you could have either Bethan or Gattis behind the dish.
I don't know how demanding it would be on Mac to play 1st AND C throughout the season.