Offseason MiLB Thread (Some clips from KD Chat reposted here)

[Enscheff]

Pitchers like Puk, Groome, Pint and Hansen seem to be the elite players in the next draft. I imagine the Braves will come away with a pitcher, which is OK since they are rumored to have locked up the best 2 international position players in Maitan and that catcher kid (Guttierez?).

 

[mqt]

I think the most exciting thing from Kiley's chat this week was the discussion on Lazarito:

Comment From Some Guy

What are you hearing about the teenage Cuban defector “Lazarito” that’s currently training in Haiti?

12:06

Kiley McDaniel: Fitting to start with one of the two buzziest topics among scouts right now. The hype on this kid is already pretty heavy and many heavy hitters haven’t really seen him before. I was going to write something about him this week, but it wouldn’t have too much hard info, so I figured it may be better for the chat.

12:12

Kiley McDaniel: So he’s a 16 year old Cuban named Lazaro Armenteros that defected. He’s about to start open workouts and I’ve talked to some scouts that saw him in int’l tourneys and one guy that saw him working out for smaller groups of scouts in the Caribbean recently.

He’s a built 6’2/205 with some projection, 65-70 speed, at least plus raw power and at least a plus arm, with the grades varying a bit on each of those grades given the incomplete looks and an age where things are still improving, but the lowest I’m hearing so far on those tools is 60. It’s a CF/RF fit, though he’s played some 1B/3B. You can see why Yasiel Puig is a common name mentioned as a similar player.

He’s more physically developed that almost all the recent big July 2 names you’d ask me to compare him to and the guys I talked to said he isn’t a tools goof with no feel, he’s actually got some instincts.

You can try to triangulate this and you end up in the Yoan Moncada type territory ($31.5M bonus from BOS that came with $31.5M penalty and two-year sanctions on signings over $300K) pretty quickly. Hard to say for sure if it’ll be above or below that, but everyone I’ve talked to said it will be huge money.

Way too early to know a team to project, but I’ve said many times that all the top Cubans this period will be tied to the Dodgers by default since they have limitless amounts of money and are going over during this period…which was a direct result of passing on Moncada late last period to instead go over for more than just one player. There’s a number of other Cubans that would be $5M+ types and would be pool-eligible once they get cleared to sign…so the Dodgers may finally find their financial limits in this market, but not without getting plenty of talent first.

Some more information on him:

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/150897390/cuban-lazarito-armenteros-seeks-free-agency

Here's to hoping MLB won't grant him a waiver to get in this IFA class.

 

[Deester11]

So, aren't the Dodgers penalized from IFA's for July of next year? Or is the guy just hoping to be granted Free Agency? The July 2nd signings should be owned by Atlanta, but there are a few teams with over slot money like the Phillies although they don't dabble a lot in that arena.

 

[mqt]

So, aren't the Dodgers penalized from IFA's for July of next year? Or is the guy just hoping to be granted Free Agency? The July 2nd signings should be owned by Atlanta, but there are a few teams with over slot money like the Phillies although they don't dabble a lot in that arena.

He might be granted FA before next July due to his not filing on time being out of his control. If he doesn't get a waiver, we probably have as good a chance as anyone, but I'd imagine the Phillies will be active next year as well.

 

[Runnin]

Heyward was every bit the prospect Blake Rutherford was going unto his senior year. His stock just dropped for stupid reasons like he was pitched around a lot and the braves feigned have no interest in him.

I wonder if that's where he started doing that grippy thing, from getting impatient waiting for a pitch to swing at.

 

[Deester11]

He might be granted FA before next July due to his not filing on time being out of his control. If he doesn't get a waiver, we probably have as good a chance as anyone, but I'd imagine the Phillies will be active next year as well.

Yep. Thought so. Which is why I wonder about the so-called "Hand shake" agreements. I would think that any team other than the aforementioned ones who blew their budget can spend whatever they want, but then I remember about the penalties I think regarding how far over. If the thought is an international draft, it would be a moot point, no? (As I think about Maitan and Gutierrez)

 

[mqt]

Yep. Thought so. Which is why I wonder about the so-called "Hand shake" agreements. I would think that any team other than the aforementioned ones who blew their budget can spend whatever they want, but then I remember about the penalties I think regarding how far over. If the thought is an international draft, it would be a moot point, no? (As I think about Maitan and Gutierrez)

I'm not entirely sure where you're going here. The handshake deals happen within the framework of the pools and penalties. The other teams with money to spend may have missed their chance to negotiate with the handlers, so even if they reversed course, they might not be able to get in the race. The international market is very politically driven, and while the potential for a draft might add suitors to the mix, I wouldn't necessarily worry as long as you think the rumors have merit.