Outshined_One

Where are you seeing that? Last update was about a week ago when Craig said Steele wouldn't be back in the rotation, but would likely help the pen in some capacity in September.

There are trade possibilities where the Jays could be stocking up for a run in 2027 while selling redundant assets. They could covet Ballesteros/Shaw/Ramirez/Alcantara or even guys like Rojas, Ayers, Wiggins, or Kepley if they think those players would keep the competitive window open longer from 2027 and beyond.

The Cubs also have done a really good job of developing catchers internally, and have a really promising guy in Owen Ayers who should be ready next season. It's not even like there are long-term concerns at the position. They're fine.

Knowing our luck, the Cubs are going to get swept in the next three games and Detroit will magically turn into buyers at the deadline as a result.

Wacha is a fine enough player as an upgrade over Rea who can push him to the pen. I don't hate targeting him, but obviously wouldn't pay that price.

I'm legitimately curious how many draftees we see in-game this season, even with the ACL squad. Of the position players, we're almost certainly going to see Sorrell, Nunez, and Hudson; maybe Hernandez in the ACL, unless they really want to drill down on some things. Otherwise, Bailey is recovering from surgery and won't be seen until next year. On the pitching side, Morton's out post-TJS and I can see them taking it easy on Townsend. Guys like Jasa, Blomker, and Marionneaux will probably be off to the pitch lab. We'll probably see the senior guys like Alwood and Arvidson, but after that? Kinda hard to tell at this point.

I'm beginning to wonder if the Tigers hang on to Mize and Skubal, knowing the AL Central's propensity for suckage and the fact that both *should* net them draft compensation in what should be a fairly good draft in 2027.

Because if Detmers was available at a remotely reasonable price, roughly a dozen teams would be in on it. He's not exactly a well-kept secret only the Cubs know about, plus Angels ownership is likely dumb enough to think they'll be competitive in a year or two. It might happen, but let's not pretend he's an easy get.

They going to go 21/21?

Again, I find it abjectly hilarious that these arguments boil down to some of the commiest commieing that ever commied. "OH NO! The team with the most money and a massive revenue stream is WINNING! The system is broken because the team I don't like made substantial investments into media, coaching, scouting, and infrastructure, and it's paying off for them!!! They're also consistently putting out a quality product for consumers that regularly beats out their competitors, who refuse or are unable to make similar investments! And they're not sharing enough of that revenue with other teams! No fair!!!!!!!" Seriously, if the Dodgers were a publicly traded company, Jim Cramer would have their annual Form 10-K nailed to the wall in his masturbatorium.

I think there's a drop-off after Ayers where you can make arguments for a handful of guys, and it basically comes down to personal preference. Maybe you like Long and Triantos for their proximity to the majors, maybe you think Caple/Reid/Sanders are legitimate SP prospects, maybe you're a shiny new toy type, etc. Thinking about it a bit, are we even going to see Bailey this season? Was under the impression his leg injury earlier this year was going to require a long period of recovery.

I kinda get it; Wiggins has an injury history and there are some open questions about whether he can stick as a full-time starter. The problem is...Townsend also has an injury history and open questions about whether he can stick as a full-time starter. That list is quintessential Shiny New Toy Syndrome.

The fact that the Cubs haven't invested much in international pitching signings the last few years makes me think there's more to the story. They haven't had an international pitcher crack their top prospect lists since, what, Brailyn Marquez in 2021/2022? Maybe Palencia? It feels like they used to do a lot better job of churning those guys out, but most of the pitching in the system right now is guys who were drafted.

I give the Cubs credit for Steele, Palencia, and Horton, which is at least more than the Angels can say. Otherwise...yeah. Not great.

Ayers to AAA was not on my bingo card for this year. LFG!

Being the "takes things way too seriously" guy for a moment, two asterisks here. One, the Angels suck at player development. Two, the 2020 and 2021 drafts really should always be referred to with asterisks because those COVID years were effing weird.

The good/bad thing about this draft is, it's easy to see multiple outcomes and how they happen. Previous drafts under Jed were what I'd consider "safe" for an MLB Draft. Take Kane Kepley as an example; if the hit/power never translate to the bigs, he's still fast enough and defensively adept enough to be a useful bench guy in the majors, but, at the same time, his 95th percentile outcome looks like PCA with warning track power, which has its merits. They got good quality players out of this approach, but it felt like this team drafted a bunch of Ian Happs and Nico Hoerners. It's a fine enough way to draft, but it's also not fun. So, on the one hand, this draft is a lot of fun. Sorrell and Bailey are the kinds of power hitters we haven't seen since the days of Kyle Schwarber. You've also mentioned how a lot of the draftees this year are about this team having faith in its pitching development and coaching, and I think that is spot-on accurate. You can dream on how mechanical adjustments, better training/conditioning, and months on end in the pitch lab could unlock Townsend's command, Jasa's fastball, or Marionneaux's appetite. On the other hand, this draft is risky. I wouldn't call it a boom-or-bust draft, but you're looking at much lower floors and much higher ceilings for a lot of these guys compared to past seasons. Sorrell and Bailey could easily Dopirak themselves out of baseball without taking a major league plate appearance. The Cubs also took a ton of relief pitchers, who tend to be a really risky demographic, and, as always, TINSTAAPP applies. This could also be one of those weird drafts where the Cubs do better with their last 10 picks compared to their first 11, since there are some legitimately intriguing guys who were taken in C Emanuel Hernandez (13th round), RHP Griffin Naess (15th round) and 1B Brennan Hudson (20th round). This draft was a departure from the norm, and I'm in favor of it. I don't want to see them do it every year, but it works for these oddball years.

Maybe he was originally wearing contacts instead of glasses?

Bailey over Sorrell or nah?

I'm currently toying with my Top 20 post-draft (under the assumption everyone signs). With Ramirez and Alcantara graduating, I'm putting Rojas/Hartshorn as my 1-2 (in some order), followed by Wiggins (3), Kepley/Conrad as 4-5 (again, in some order), and then it's open to debate. Townsend probably slots ahead of Long/Triantos/Ayers and maybe Wing, so he's around 6 or 7. Sorrell ends up behind that group, so he's between 10-15, and Bailey slots in the 15-25 netherworld. Everyone else probably ends up off the Top 30, which isn't a bad thing. This system seems to have replenished the depth that's been missing the last two years, and I'm guessing most everyone else is off to the pitch lab, so we probably won't be seeing most of these pitchers until next season.