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toonsterwu

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Everything posted by toonsterwu

  1. toonsterwu
    To be quite honest, I said that about Profar last year, as did others elsewhere. What Profar is is a guy who is very, very good at a variety of areas, but potentially not elite at any area. There's a lot of value in a guy like that, and I don't think Profar is Smoak, but I think that's a fair statement, and is also why the Rangers made the moves they did (extended Andrus). I think Profar can be very, very good for a long time, but in some ways, what he was was a guy with a high, but not elite ceiling, but also believed to have a very, very high floor. That said, no, I don't think Profar has a remote shot of being in this deal.
  2. toonsterwu
    how hard has he been throwing this season? FB sitting 90-94, touches 97. I like CJ a lot, but if the talk is Ramirez, I think he's got a slight notch ahead on CJ, IMO. I think Ramirez, if healthy, has a slightly higher ceiling than CJ stuff-wise, from the little I know. Both probably slot into our top 15.
  3. toonsterwu
    I'm not going to go back on what I said yesterday, so while Ramirez/Olt/Edwards would probably be a decent package for Garza, I'd be a touch disappointed that we couldn't land Jackson. That said, I have no doubt they are trying for the best package possible, and that's all I can really ask of from the FO if that's the final deal. Would be mighty curious what else was discussed and with what other teams.
  4. toonsterwu
    Yeah, your right on the level. i still go by High A/Low A/Shortseason in my mind, but technically, he's in A ball. I still haven't really gotten used to the whole Class A and then Class A Advanced designation. The old High A/Low A was a lot easier. It's the same idea.
  5. toonsterwu
    I don't want Olt. It has a little bit to do with his struggles this year, but more to do with the fact that I'd rather load up on arms unless it's a top level positional prospect. Realistically, the Rangers aren't a great match. The Red Sox are still the best match, with enough upper level arms that they might consider dangling one. Cardinals would be an excellent match. I'm actually sort of wary on the Diamondbacks, depending on the names out there. I want ceiling, even if it's far away. ____ I think Payano's upside is superior to CJ Edwards (more a testament to Payano's upside than any comment on Edwards, who I like), but Edwards, despite being a level back, feels slightly safer as of now. That said, I have odd visions of Jay Jackson with CJ Edwards. To be clear, I like CJ a fair amount. A Payano/Jackson combination would be fine. A Payano/Edwards combination would be disappointing unless a 3rd piece was good enough to view it as a high quantity of solid quality trade. I'm sure there's other iterations out there that I haven't pondered too much.
  6. toonsterwu
    Not going to pretend to know anything about CJ Edwards stuff, but his numbers are filthy. Edwards is an athletic arm that has hit mid-90's and, IIRC, shown some potential with his breaking ball. Obviously, Low A numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt, but he is an intriguing arm. ______ If we can get Jackson/Edwards from the Rangers, I think I'll be pleased. Two high upside arms for a half-season of Garza is a solid return, even if they are far away.
  7. toonsterwu
    Nice report Quakers. Masek will be an interesting guy to follow. Pugliese still feels like your "classic" lefty. As for Penalver, if he can hit enough, he's got a shot to find some role in the bigs. There won't be much pop, though. He's probably the best defensive shortstop in the system, and probably the one with the best defensive ceiling.
  8. toonsterwu
    The "stuff" isn't the issue, it's his "approach"/"mental aspect" to things that's held him back a bit. That makes it a bit tougher to figure out when they give him a look, but I'd be surprised if he wasn't called up by September for a couple starts, if only to give Bosio a chance to feel him out a bit this year and see what Bosio and Sveum feel about his future role.
  9. toonsterwu
    Fascinating set of arms going. Pierce seems to need some time to adjust to A+, so it'll be interesting how he closes the year. Blackburn has been very nice, but IIRC, wasn't he considered a polished high school arm (yes, I know, so was Mark Pawelek). Brian Smith still piques my interest quite a bit. He could probably be pushed faster as a pen arm, but there's enough potential there to feel it out. Been awful busy, so am curious if anyone knows how his breaking ball has looked this year? IIRC, that was the main issue for him, stuff-wise.
  10. toonsterwu
    I've still got some mixed feelings about a Rangers trade. I guess Martin Perez would be a solid centerpiece IF we could get him (nice to see his velocity in the mid-90's this year, whereas there was some inconsistency in years past), but I can't help but have some concerns that he's just not a guy who's going to be a top pitcher. I guess I like Luke Jackson enough that it'd be a nice gamble (I have doubts that we could get Perez AND Jackson, but here's hoping), and I have liked power arms that held a similar profile to Jackson. Actually, the arm that I am really intrigued with is CJ Edwards. Granted, A ball, but the track record has been really good for two years, and the reports on his stuff are really positive (iirc, hits mid-90's with a promising breaking ball ... granted, that was Jay Jackson once upon a time). He's not the main guy to a deal, but a 2nd or 3rd piece? Would be intriguing. I guess, the current system seems like a bunch of solid to good guys, but there isn't a ton that really excites me in the upper levels. Still, it is for half a season of Garza.
  11. toonsterwu
    If it took including Russell with Garza to get Bauer I'd do it, preferably you'd want them to want Gregg over Russell (obviously). The Sox might be more interested in a Garza + Russell deal, given the state of their bullpen and that they lost Andrew Miller. There's no reason we should do a package deal of Garza and Russell, though (barring a team with a good system saying pick the guys you want). Russell, on his own, is a very good trade chip.
  12. toonsterwu
    I want to like Tseng, and he's young, but he sure didn't impress me in those WBC games this year (I think that was the guy that got some spot time). That said, a kid that young is probably trying to light up the gun to attract scouts, so it probably isn't the best way to judge a player.
  13. toonsterwu
    Sure, I get all that. But he said this Arguello guy said that Pineyro is better than Sanchez, which seems to imply that this Arguello guy thought Pineyro had more talent/better ceiling, which I think is under-selling Sanchez. Maybe I should find out who Arguello is and see what he wrote. By no means is this a knock on Pineyro. I think I saw him this year in A ball, although I'd have to doublecheck as I was just out with some people. I like Pineyro. I think this is a very solid return. Just think people are under-selling Sanchez.
  14. toonsterwu
    The placing of Baez actually surprises me a bit, considering there were sporadic reports about how scouts weren't too enthused with him. I thought he would actually be lower than this. I actually think 10th is pretty fair, just thought they would have him lower. A bit surprised Almora is that high, though.
  15. toonsterwu
    I'd disagree with that. I think people are under-selling Angel Sanchez. Sanchez has a higher ceiling than Pineyro, IMO.
  16. toonsterwu
    Pineyro appears to be a cut above what we've seen from Peralta state-side. At Low A: Peralta:99 IP, 3.44 ERA, 7.8 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, 1.0 HR/9, 7.2 H/9 at age 21 Pinyero: 66 IP, 3.14 ERA, 8.9 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 0.5 HR/9, 7.8 H/9 at age 21 The thing with Peralta was always untapped potential. Basically, the fact that he had decent enough numbers, and there was hope he could be better. I have no idea what happened this year, though. ______ As for Pineyro, I think it's a very nice return. They got a guy with decent upside. This is Hairston, after all. A useful player, but not something we should expect too much on, and getting an intriguing arm seems a solid return.
  17. toonsterwu
    Well, my thing about Watkins has always been ... he's a util/super-util guy who has to convince me that he can start. I know people got excited about his hot streaks in the summer (at last check, didn't he have a hot June ... is he doing his summer "hot streak" again?), and maybe my initial wariness to Watkins as a starter influenced my ability to get excited about those hot streaks, but I've just never been convinced that he's a potential 2nd base starter. I still hope I'm wrong, even though we have Alcantara and other options in the pipeline to potentially fill 2nd. That said, super-util guys are valuable, and his ability to man all three up-the-middle spots, plus offer some base-running, can fill a critical role if he's given that shot.
  18. toonsterwu
    Leaving aside the fact that I'm still not huge on Bryce Brentz, I think the ideal trade for Garza would involve getting an upside arm back and a "high floor" arm/upper level arm back (akin to your Diamondbacks model). If the Red Sox are the target, I'd target someone like Drake Britton as the 2nd piece (more because I'm usually a sucker for power lefties that can get enough groundballs). That said, there are a lot of other arms. I'm going to be ... mildly surprised if the Nats move Nate Karns for a rental. All indications are they LOVE him. I could see something like AJ Cole and Taylor Jordan, though. I could see arguments that Cole/Jordan is still wishful thinking, and I could see Nats fans arguing that it's too much for a rental. It's really somewhat hard to figure out what this market is going to look like.
  19. toonsterwu
    I'd rather Lake get regular AB's somewhere. Now, I haven't really followed much of late, but his swing used to get out of rhythm, and if he's getting inconsistent AB's, don't know how much use that would be for us. That said, maybe he's adjusted. Furthermore, at some point, you have to give him a shot or move on, and he's done enough to get a shot. I guess it's not the worst thing if he's up as a util/super-util guy, just don't ... love it.
  20. toonsterwu
    Gonna be stunned if it's Nate Karns. All indications are that the Nationals are very, very high on him. Anyhow, it's an A ball guy. Solis actually sounds like a pretty good gamble to me. Here's hoping.
  21. toonsterwu
    I'd be a tad surprised if we got Purke for someone like Hairston, who is useful, but with some positive reports on Purke this year, he's probably more valuable than Hairston's worth. Here's hoping. I could actually see Solis - it would be an "Arrieta-esque" gamble, a guy who was viewed relatively well but due to injuries, hasn't progressed. Not exactly an "upside" gamble in the Vizcaino and even Arrieta sense, but a gamble on an intriguing arm for a part-time player like Hairston - not the worst return. Just watch it be some random upside flyer in the low levels and not a name anyone expects.
  22. toonsterwu
    I think its TBD on which of Schierholtz or DeJesus is moved. But I do think one will be here next year. I'd be a tad surprised if DeJesus is moved. Not impossible, but it's hard to see which team, barring injury, would move for him as a starter, and it's hard to imagine a team moving for him as a bench piece.
  23. toonsterwu
    Blech. I'm not ready to kill them on the deal. Wall/Ames are dime-a-dozen, but I sort of like Angel Sanchez. Even if you leave the money aside, getting Angel Sanchez seems like a decent enough headliner to a deal. And for all the warts that Marlins FO has, they usually do a decent job of scouting guys they want in the minors (partly because they do this (trade guys) so often). That said, I don't love Angel Sanchez. He very well could be more of a late inning pen arm type (if he developed) than a starter.
  24. toonsterwu
    Yeah, I really don't think we're getting Arodys and a couple more high ceiling pieces for Travis Wood. If we were offered that, I'd go for it.
  25. toonsterwu
    I'm actually fine with this. I wouldn't have blinked if they kept him in A+ a little longer, but this works. Whether or not Javier has the mental approach/fortitude, only the front office and coaching staff knows, but based on their previous comments on how they'd promote guys, I'd assume they felt comfortable about that. His steady increase in walk rate and decrease in K rate, plus his performance (in June) earned him this opportunity. It seems to show him adjusting and learning. By year's end, we'll have a good idea of who Javier Baez is. If he's solid in AA (doesn't need to be elite, just solid), he'll probably be on pace to get a legitimate call-up in 2014. I sort of hope Alcantara goes up to AAA to stay at short. I doubt it, and as noted, I think Alcantara eventually moves to 2nd anyways, but he's shown enough to deserve the bump, and I'd rather keep both of them at short for now.
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