Blue Jays Discussion: Alright, no more discontent. Just baseball | ST in Mtl: StL @ Tor | Mar 26/27 7pm ET/4pm PT

[BlueForever75]

He did say "we have two young starters capable of being elite rotation pieces". He meant having a guy like Kershaw.

The rest makes complete sense. The mystical player he described sound just like prime-Tulo and prime-Martin, just those dudes are old as dirt now.

Yes he did say that Stroman and Sanchez are potential number ones, key word was potential. But he said he would be looking for a horse and yes someone like a Kershaw. Which tells me this is the reason why they didn't over spend on a player like Cobb, or Lynn. We have those type of pitchers. But I bet if he could he would acquire some how a horse starter when this team is ready to compete. So if Sanchez and Stroman pan out as top 3 starters and we continue to get development from the rest of our youngsters. I can see him making a case to ownership to make a specific trade or free agent signing. But it definitely doesn't make any sense for this season, with the team up in the air on if they are going to compete long term or have a brief reset. If Donaldson is somehow resigned, I can see them doing something.

 

[Nineteen67]

He did say "we have two young starters capable of being elite rotation pieces". He meant having a guy like Kershaw.

The rest makes complete sense. The mystical player he described sound just like prime-Tulo and prime-Martin, just those dudes are old as dirt now.

I heard that, although Happ and Estrada are not exactly young!!!

 

[phillipmike]

Middle of the diamond impact players!!!!!! Or a legit number 1 starter!!!!!!

If that is Shapiro's dream acquisitions, that doesn't say much of Martin, Tulo, Travis, Pillar, Stroman or anyone else in our rotation.

Very interesting.

Screamed Yelich.

Too bad the Brewers had a decent season last year... if they didnt have success maybe the Brewers dont put in an offer and instead of finishing 2nd we finished 1st. Yelich is a special player and you make room for him but this is a still a puzzling move by the Brewers. Right after the Cain and Yelich moves i said i thought it would be hard for them to use their OF surplus to find pitching and so far it might have been a correct statement to make.

They paid a lot for a position they were strong at already (including Cain) when you would think they could use that towards their biggest need which is pitching. Heck i would roll with Santana, Phillips, Broxton and Braun... Use the prospect that landed Yelich for Archer and potentially Cain money on an Arrieta or Cobb.

They wont regret landing impact players in Cain (well maybe the contract) and Yelich but will regret not using those resources towards pitching.

Stearns did say this recently;

Stearns said that he doesn’t expect another “significant” addition via either free agency or the trade market, though he notes that he’s still doing his due diligence and monitoring both markets with a “never say never” mentality. Nonetheless, Steanrs plainly stated that he “[anticipates] that we go into the season with the current group we have.” The GM also indicated, without delving into specific names, that the Brewers’ rumored interest in some free agents was overstated this offseason, stating that there was a “higher percentage” than usual of rumors that made him “scratch [his] head a little bit and wonder where that came from.”

 

[BlueForever75]

Screamed Yelich.

Too bad the Brewers had a decent season last year... if they didnt have success maybe the Brewers dont put in an offer and instead of finishing 2nd we finished 1st. Yelich is a special player and you make room for him but this is a still a puzzling move by the Brewers. Right after the Cain and Yelich moves i said i thought it would be hard for them to use their OF surplus to find pitching and so far it might have been a correct statement to make.

They paid a lot for a position they were strong at already (including Cain) when you would think they could use that towards their biggest need which is pitching. Heck i would roll with Santana, Phillips, Broxton and Braun... Use the prospect that landed Yelich for Archer and potentially Cain money on an Arrieta or Cobb.

They wont regret landing impact players in Cain (well maybe the contract) and Yelich but will regret not using those resources towards pitching.

Stearns did say this recently;

Still very early in spring training, teams will make moves to bolster their teams out of spring. I believe that the Brewers will get something done when it comes to pitching. And having those assets doesn't hurt them at all in short and long term.

 

[phillipmike]

Still early but Stearns basically just said he doesnt expect the team to make any significant additions before the season.

 

[LeafsNation75]

 

[BlueForever75]

Good news. Still don't think hes ready for home opener. Probably they take him slow and make him available second time through rotation unless there are setbacks.

 

[LeafsNation75]

 

[TF97]

I’ve been interested in Clippard for years and he was a bullpen target of mine since the offseason started, very happy about the signing, especially since there’s zero risk.

 

[Eyedea]

Clippard has had reverse splits over his career.

 

[hoc123]

Keeping up with Kiley McDaniel's chat today on fangraphs and this caught my eye

12:18
Is Singer on the Strasburg level where we could see him up in late 2019?

Kiley McDaniel
12:18
No, not in the top 5 anymore at this point, stuff is down. May not be the best pitcher on the UF staff right now.

I think there has to be some type of curse involving former Jays draft picks. Tyler Beede, Phil Bickford, Tanner Houck all entered their draft year either the favorite for 1'st overall or in the running for 1'st overall and all of them dropped past the top 10. While Singer may bounce back like Kyle Wright last year, considering this draft is supposed to be deep I think there is a chance he also drops past the top 10, which would also put him in Jays pick position.

 

[phillipmike]

Really like these pen additions. Got to think one of Axford, Alburquerque, Breslow and/or Clippard prove to grab a spot and run with it.

Last year Smith and Howell cost you 6M total. This year Axford, Axford, Alburquerque, Breslow, and Clippard cost you nothing and Oh who is a better pitcher than both Smith and Howell before putting on a Jays jersey only got 1.75M.

Last 3 years:
Major League Leaderboards » 2017 » Pitchers » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball

2015-2016:
Major League Leaderboards » 2016 » Pitchers » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball

Take Oh out of the last list and Smith's 2017 season out Clippard and Axford have similar value and it cost you nothing as it stands.

 

[phillipmike]

Keeping up with Kiley McDaniel's chat today on fangraphs and this caught my eye

I think there has to be some type of curse involving former Jays draft picks. Tyler Beede, Phil Bickford, Tanner Houck all entered their draft year either the favorite for 1'st overall or in the running for 1'st overall and all of them dropped past the top 10. While Singer may bounce back like Kyle Wright last year, considering this draft is supposed to be deep I think there is a chance he also drops past the top 10, which would also put him in Jays pick position.

Maybe Uncle Lou's guys has some ties in baseball - mainly with San Fran (Beede and Bickford were drafted by the Giants).

 

[Eyedea]

Keeping up with Kiley McDaniel's chat today on fangraphs and this caught my eye



I think there has to be some type of curse involving former Jays draft picks. Tyler Beede, Phil Bickford, Tanner Houck all entered their draft year either the favorite for 1'st overall or in the running for 1'st overall and all of them dropped past the top 10. While Singer may bounce back like Kyle Wright last year, considering this draft is supposed to be deep I think there is a chance he also drops past the top 10, which would also put him in Jays pick position.

Just shows the volatility of pitching. Aaron Nola on the other side exploded his soph/junior years and is currently one of the best young pitchers in the league.

 

[Garlando]

Keeping up with Kiley McDaniel's chat today on fangraphs and this caught my eye



I think there has to be some type of curse involving former Jays draft picks. Tyler Beede, Phil Bickford, Tanner Houck all entered their draft year either the favorite for 1'st overall or in the running for 1'st overall and all of them dropped past the top 10. While Singer may bounce back like Kyle Wright last year, considering this draft is supposed to be deep I think there is a chance he also drops past the top 10, which would also put him in Jays pick position.

I've been following the draft process a fair bit since January, and I'm not surprised to see that Brady Singer has fallen in draft circles. Going back to last year, I thought he failed to miss enough bats and he's far more hittable than you'd expect from a guy that had 1-1 hype. His numbers from last year back that up:

3.21 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 8.57 H/9, 2.29 BB/9, and 9.21 K/9 in 126 innings last year.

Here is a Google Doc that I put together comparing all the College players who made MLB.com's Draft top 50 (plus D.J. Artis who was a 3rd team All-American last year and by wRC+ on Baseball America’s website, he was the fourth-best hitter in college ball in 2017, behind first rounders Keston Hiura and Brent Rooker, and second rounder Daulton Varsho):

2018 MLB Draft Prospects

I plan to update the Document about every month or so this season with their updated stats for 2018 (1st update will be after this weekend's set of games). Here are a few guys that I think are trending up and could be available at the Blue Jays pick:

1.) Travis Swaggerty: changed launch angle over the offseason to hit for more power and all his other tools were already 55 or better. If he can be a 50-55 power guy with his other tools, he could be a 5 tool guy with an amazing approach at the plate (currently 21 BB's against 7 K's with a .390/.609/.707 line on the season). He's a small school guy so there will be questions about competition level that could push him down to the Jays pick.

2.) Ryan Rolison: Polished Lefty out of Mississipi, 16.2 IP, 12 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 24 K so far this year. Apparently had a tick better stuff in his debut, flashing 55-60s not only on all three pitches but also his command. One scout described it as “a top-five-pick performance.”

3.) Alec Bohm: 3rd Baseman that may have to be moved to 1st, but the bat is looking legit! He's hitting .522 with 7Rs, 4 2Bs, 3HRs, 8RBIs.. 8bb/2k.. in 23ABs. Power and approach are there, and he doesn't K much at all.

 

[BlueForever75]

Great signing in Clippard. Hopefully he can pan out and if he does it will be a great add to the bullpen. Low risk deals with high upside. But I cannot see all of these arms being kept. Something has got to give.

Breslow has to get better or right now I think he is the odd one out with the reverse splits Clippard brings.

 

[FreeBird]

How far away is Donaldson from replacing Tulo and Martin on the DL, he's already suffering from break downs that take him out of the lineup, Sign him long term or get the best prospects you can get for him. How many DH's can one team have?

 

[phillipmike]

Rays plan on using a 4 man rotation. 5th spot will consist of multiple pitchers being used as a bridge to one another.

 

[Cloned]

What happened to Clippard that he can't get a major league contract?

I thought he was decent with the Astros?

edit - never mind, he was bad with the Astros. He was decent with the Yankees and the Sox before that though.

 

[Eyedea]

How far away is Donaldson from replacing Tulo and Martin on the DL, he's already suffering from break downs that take him out of the lineup, Sign him long term or get the best prospects you can get for him. How many DH's can one team have?

Slow day in the troll department Free? He played 3B yesterday.

 

[hoc123]

I've been following the draft process a fair bit since January, and I'm not surprised to see that Brady Singer has fallen in draft circles. Going back to last year, I thought he failed to miss enough bats and he's far more hittable than you'd expect from a guy that had 1-1 hype. His numbers from last year back that up:

3.21 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 8.57 H/9, 2.29 BB/9, and 9.21 K/9 in 126 innings last year.

Here is a Google Doc that I put together comparing all the College players who made MLB.com's Draft top 50 (plus D.J. Artis who was a 3rd team All-American last year and by wRC+ on Baseball America’s website, he was the fourth-best hitter in college ball in 2017, behind first rounders Keston Hiura and Brent Rooker, and second rounder Daulton Varsho):

2018 MLB Draft Prospects

I plan to update the Document about every month or so this season with their updated stats for 2018 (1st update will be after this weekend's set of games). Here are a few guys that I think are trending up and could be available at the Blue Jays pick:

1.) Travis Swaggerty: changed launch angle over the offseason to hit for more power and all his other tools were already 55 or better. If he can be a 50-55 power guy with his other tools, he could be a 5 tool guy with an amazing approach at the plate (currently 21 BB's against 7 K's with a .390/.609/.707 line on the season). He's a small school guy so there will be questions about competition level that could push him down to the Jays pick.

2.) Ryan Rolison: Polished Lefty out of Mississipi, 16.2 IP, 12 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 24 K so far this year. Apparently had a tick better stuff in his debut, flashing 55-60s not only on all three pitches but also his command. One scout described it as “a top-five-pick performance.”

3.) Alec Bohm: 3rd Baseman that may have to be moved to 1st, but the bat is looking legit! He's hitting .522 with 7Rs, 4 2Bs, 3HRs, 8RBIs.. 8bb/2k.. in 23ABs. Power and approach are there, and he doesn't K much at all.

Yeah I wasn't the biggest fan of Singer, at least at #1. Personally right now Liberatore is my favorite prospect, but it's pretty early and right now there are a lot of prospects bunched together at the top, I could easily see one of Liberatore, Hankins Gorman, McClanahan, Mize or Madrigal becoming my favorite, and/or becoming the 1'st overall pick.

Swaggerty is one of my two favorite prospects who could be available for the Jays, the other being Carter Stewart, plus he fits the profile of a recent Jays pick. Honestly the only worry I have is he will hit his way out of the Jays range.

I would like Rolison, but I also don't see the Jays having a chance of taking him. He's a top ten ranked player and while this is just a personal observation I notice that "safer" players tend to be picked higher then more volatile, high risk-high reward players.

I'm not the biggest fan of Bohm, mainly because I think he's going to be a 1B and I'm not the biggest fan of taking 1B in the 1'st round, especially 12'th overall.

My favorite prospects who could be available for the Jays to pick are
Travis Swaggerty
Casey Mize (don't expect him to be available for the Jays but his injury history could scare enough teams for him to fall.)
Carter Stewart
Mason Denaburg
Kumar Rocker

I hope the Jays are more willing this year to take a high school player. I'm not the biggest fan of the college class this year, while the high school class seems really deep.

Also thanks for the google doc, that's something I need to keep track of throughout the draft year.

 

[ShaneFalco]

 

[FreeBird]

Maybe Uncle Lou's guys has some ties in baseball - mainly with San Fran (Beede and Bickford were drafted by the Giants).

Uncle Lou is a Yankee fan and on their board directors at one time if not now.

 

[FreeBird]

Slow day in the troll department Free? He played 3B yesterday.

What about next year. Are you giving out 125 million deal or are you taking the Conservative approach and get what you can.

 

[TF97]

What happened to _____ that he can't get a major league contract?

I thought he was decent with the _____?

edit - never mind, he was bad with the Astros. He was decent with the Yankees and the Sox before that though.

Fixed that for you to describe many free agents this offseason.