Yeah, I believe Tim, who created and used to run this site, was SanClementeFan back on the Cubs.com board. Personally, I was obsessed with Juan Cruz back then. To this day, I've never seen a fastball move like that.
Morel provided the same offensive value at a younger age and has more team control. Bichette's decent?? defense is valuable, but it isn't Caisse + PCA valuable.
Professional baseball players avg. exit velocity leaders.
1. Aaron Judge
2. Ronald Acuna Jr.
3. Shohei Ohtani
4. Owen Caissie
He hit a ball harder than Aaron Judge did all season. At age 20. Players like him are not produced en masse.
Otherwise, good list.
Hitting the ball harder than anyone in the minor leagues is good. Add plate discipline, proximity and age-relative-to-league, and you're looking at a special (and vastly underrated) prospect.
Just re-watched game 3 of the nlds, Prior vs. Maddux . Prior was ridiculous, and I had to laugh at my own surprise every inning that Dusty kept sending him back out. He ended up with over 130 pitches, dominating the best offense in the NL. Would have rather had him for 10 seasons, though.
I would give Morel a full year at 3rd. His offensive floor is established and he still has the upside lacking at other positions. A good team has guys like Wisdom and Madrigal on the bench. If Morel is a complete disaster, you have options in-house.
I will give credit to Ross for finally putting the two best hitters back-to-back. Over the long haul, not very important, but for a struggling offense, it could make a difference.