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2021 Minor League Thread

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BimboColesHair said:
Kwan has always been a high contact rate slap hitter with good on-base skills that plays a good CF (and a passable LF/RF too), similar to Straw, but the power has taken off.

His primary questions are health and the pop. The pop being real puts him in the same basket as Benson and Gonzalez for me. He was young for a 3 year college guy and Oregon State hitters have a reputation for having very professional approaches before turning pro and he’s showing that.

He seems to always have issues with his hamstrings. In college, his 1st pro year, and at the beginning of this season he’s dealt with issues that have kept him sidelined a good bit.

I’m a bit skeptical on the HR pop. I’d want to see it stick for another season before rostering him. Right now I think the odds he is added to the 40 man is slim.
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As always, thank you Bimbo.

I will be curious to see how he finishes up in AAA - if he manages to keep hitting over 500 (ha ha ha) I think they'll roster him.
 
BimboColesHair said:
Kwan has always been a high contact rate slap hitter with good on-base skills that plays a good CF (and a passable LF/RF too), similar to Straw, but the power has taken off.

His primary questions are health and the pop. The pop being real puts him in the same basket as Benson and Gonzalez for me. He was young for a 3 year college guy and Oregon State hitters have a reputation for having very professional approaches before turning pro and he’s showing that.

He seems to always have issues with his hamstrings. In college, his 1st pro year, and at the beginning of this season he’s dealt with issues that have kept him sidelined a good bit.

I’m a bit skeptical on the HR pop. I’d want to see it stick for another season before rostering him. Right now I think the odds he is added to the 40 man is slim.
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His slugging percentage has increased from .382 at high A in 2019 to .565 in AA/AAA this season. Did he spend 2020 lifting weights in his basement?

His slugging percentage at Akron was highest on the team this year except for Oscar Gonzalez and his OBP was the highest. However, he turns 24 tomorrow and if we assume Straw is our centerfielder of the future then Kwan is another left-handed hitting corner OF competing with Josh Naylor, Bradley Zimmer, Nolan Jones, and Daniel Johnson. Not to mention Valera probably by 2023 and Oscar Gonzalez (not a lefty), although there are some who don't think he's a prospect.

What I'm expecting is that we trade Jose Ramirez after next season. He'll have one year left and be a bargain at $14 million. That will open up third base for Nolan Jones and remove one of the outfield prospects, opening up a job in right field for somebody.

Another possibility (in my opinion) is moving Amed to third base and installing Arias at shortstop. Amed's bat plays at third and so would his glove and arm. If Arias is the best defensive shortstop in the system (as I've read) then it makes sense to put him at short. He's only 21.5 years old and is hitting .272/.768 at Columbus. After next year his bat should be ready.

If we traded Josie and Amed after next season we could get quite a haul. They would both have one year of team control left. That would set us up with a 2023 infield of Jones, Arias, Freeman, and Bradley.

The outfield would be some combination of Straw, Zimmer, Naylor, Johnson, Gonzalez, Kwan, Valera, and any outfielders arriving in the Josie and Amed trades.

The rotation would be Bieber, Civale, McKenzie, Quantrill, and either Plesac, Morris, Espino, one of the Logan Allens, or somebody we get in the Josie and Amed trades.

This team could be unreal scary good in '23.
 
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Wham with the Right Hand said:
His slugging percentage has increased from .382 at high A in 2019 to .565 in AA/AAA this season. Did he spend 2020 lifting weights in his basement?

His slugging percentage at Akron was highest on the team this year except for Oscar Gonzalez and his OBP was the highest. However, he turns 24 tomorrow and if we assume Straw is our centerfielder of the future then Kwan is another left-handed hitting corner OF competing with Josh Naylor, Bradley Zimmer, Nolan Jones, and Daniel Johnson. Not to mention Valera probably by 2023 and Oscar Gonzalez (not a lefty), although there are some who don't think he's a prospect.

What I'm expecting is that we trade Jose Ramirez after next season. He'll have one year left and be a bargain at $14 million. That will open up third base for Nolan Jones and remove one of the outfield prospects, opening up a job in right field for somebody.

Another possibility (in my opinion) is moving Amed to third base and installing Arias at shortstop. Amed's bat plays at third and so would his glove and arm. If Arias is the best defensive shortstop in the system (as I've read) then it makes sense to put him at short. He's only 21.5 years old and is hitting .272/.768 at Columbus. After next year his bat should be ready.

If we traded Josie and Amed after next season we could get quite a haul. They would both have one year of team control left. That would set us up with a 2023 infield of Jones, Arias, Freeman, and Bradley.

The outfield would be some combination of Straw, Zimmer, Naylor, Johnson, Gonzalez, Kwan, Valera, and any outfielders arriving in the Josie and Amed trades.

The rotation would be Bieber, Civale, McKenzie, Quantrill, and either Plesac, Morris, Espino, one of the Logan Allens, or somebody we get in the Josie and Amed trades.

This team could be unreal scary good in '23.
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I would bet JRam will get extended... The FO has said they are willing to spend some money for next season, and extending him would increase payroll around 10 million while locking him up 4-5 years (2-3 extra years).

It's hard to figure if Kwan will end up being Tom or being a legit player... Kwan's numbers aren't actually a lot higher than his numbers throughout the minors outside of the added power this year, so he wasn't a flash in the pan like Tom's 19 season. It's hard to say he isn't a legit looking prospect since he plays a solid OF as well. His splits say an everyday guy and can play at least average if not above average in all the OF positions. If I was running OOTP I'd swap Zimmer or Johnson for a different prospect and add Kwan to the roster. This isn't OOTP, but if we can get value for Johnson, I wouldn't be afraid to keep Kwan over him.

Amed I cannot figure what to make of, he's done great for us. I would like to keep him, but in 22, he will be likely our 4th/5th highest paid player on paper and if we project his 2020 to his pay increase, he is going to be a slight overpay. Plus we have so many prospects that can play in the same position he can. He also should net us a legit player in a trade. (Hence why in one scenario I trade him for a lefty reliever (setup/closer level veteran) that we badly need). If he was pre-arb he would be a long term piece in my mind...
 
We are doing hand springs because we just traded a reliever for Shaw. I highly doubt we would trade Amed for a reliever.

I also highly doubt that we are gonna trade any key player for a package of prospects, because we have more prospects...esp SPs and MIFs...than we can fit onto a 40 man roster, and we have another crunch coming next year.

It is no longer time to collect prospects, which we have been doing for three years. Its time to cash in prospects for MLB players.
 
CATS44 said:
We are doing hand springs because we just traded a reliever for Shaw. I highly doubt we would trade Amed for a reliever.

I also highly doubt that we are gonna trade any key player for a package of prospects, because we have more prospects...esp SPs and MIFs...than we can fit onto a 40 man roster, and we have another crunch coming next year.

It is no longer time to collect prospects, which we have been doing for three years. Its time to cash in prospects for MLB players.
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It took me a few moments before I realized you meant Straw....
 
CATS44 said:
We are doing hand springs because we just traded a reliever for Shaw. I highly doubt we would trade Amed for a reliever.

I also highly doubt that we are gonna trade any key player for a package of prospects, because we have more prospects...esp SPs and MIFs...than we can fit onto a 40 man roster, and we have another crunch coming next year.

It is no longer time to collect prospects, which we have been doing for three years. Its time to cash in prospects for MLB players.
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Amed is making 2.4 Million, and he is due some type of raise, is his numbers in 2020 worth 4-5 million? He is still a solid player, but his value isn't going to be worth his contract money wise in my mind...

We badly need a veteran setup/closer type from the left side. If we can get one that has a few years of control, we are making the team better on paper since we have internal replacements on paper for Amed.

Now it's not like we have to and people just keep saying it was only Maton for Straw, there was Diaz in there as well and I think he's got a good enough bat to make the pros. It wouldn't be surprising it took both players to get Straw not just the one...
 
The idea is to have an improved team next year, not continue to reload.

The FO is not trading Jose, Amed, Franmil, Straw. Forget about it.

Amed is a 3 WAR player who plays in the middle of the defense. He is well worth $4.5 mil...and no set up man, unless he is the reincarnation of prime Andrew Miller, is worth Amed. Besides, an Andrew Miller type gets paid at least twice what Amed will get.
 
Amed sure is beating the brakes off of lefties! He has a lot of holes in his game, but his bat is really winning me over.
At this point, our trade options are nebulous, and nobody on the 40-man bubble is likely to be dealt for any recognizable return. I'm thinking that whatever happens will come straight out of left field and might even be a head-scratcher.

Clearly, we have too many fungible infielders and outfielders and we're going to be making some permanent decisions. I have to think that the recent strides our young starting pitchers have taken may embolden them to pull the trigger, roll the dice, and offer Plesac+ in a package.
 
CATS44 said:
The idea is to have an improved team next year, not continue to reload.

The FO is not trading Jose, Amed, Franmil, Straw. Forget about it.

Amed is a 3 WAR player who plays in the middle of the defense. He is well worth $4.5 mil...and no set up man, unless he is the reincarnation of prime Andrew Miller, is worth Amed. Besides, an Andrew Miller type gets paid at least twice what Amed will get.
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Amed is a 2 WAR player cause of his negative defense... He is in Arb 2 next season and is a free agent in 24. Plus we have a ton of prospects that can play the same positions as he does at a better defensive clip. I am not saying to trade him just because, but if we can find a 2 WAR lefty reliever with some team control, then we are going to swap production not reload.
 
Yeah, I don’t get this talk of trading Rosario. And I hope the front office extends Jose. Our two most productive hitters should stick around.

Agree totally with CATS, no need to stockpile more prospects unless they’re in low A, but even then, the bigger focus should be on getting a solid, controllable bat.
 
sportscoach said:
Amed is a 2 WAR player cause of his negative defense... He is in Arb 2 next season and is a free agent in 24. Plus we have a ton of prospects that can play the same positions as he does at a better defensive clip. I am not saying to trade him just because, but if we can find a 2 WAR lefty reliever with some team control, then we are going to swap production not reload.
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Why is Brian Giles - Rincon trade going through my head as I read this?
 
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sportscoach said:
Amed is a 2 WAR player cause of his negative defense... He is in Arb 2 next season and is a free agent in 24. Plus we have a ton of prospects that can play the same positions as he does at a better defensive clip. I am not saying to trade him just because, but if we can find a 2 WAR lefty reliever with some team control, then we are going to swap production not reload.
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In 2019 Amed was worth 2.7 fWAR. He will end up around the same number this year. He is only 25 yrs old.

Over the last three years, he has been worth 5.2 fWAR with a month to go.

In that same time span, only ONE reliever has been worth more than Amed...

Liam Hendricks has been worth 7 fWAR.

The only other reliever close is Josh Hader, at 4.8.

Hendricks is guaranteed over $28 mil over the next two years. Hader is making almost $7 mil, with two years of arby left.

If we go by just this season, there are no relievers that have matched Ameds present 2.4 fWAR.
 
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