• Changing RCF's index page, please click on "Forums" to access the forums.

2022 Minor League Thread

Do Not Sell My Personal Information
On one end, the Yankees put all their eggs in one basket, hoping to hit on one or two super stars.

On the other, the Orioles hope to hit thru volume, bringing in a ton of lower level kids.

And in between are the Guardians, doing their thing by bringing in high contact, up the middle defenders.
 
Roderick Arias is an unbelievably talented kid..he's been talked about for about three years now.. fast.. switch hits.. soft hands.. great arm and can really clout a ball.. He's what ARod looked like at the same age.. helluva get..

The twitterverse claimed the Guardians dropped 1.2 MM each on Izturis and Chourio...Batista's number hasn't been posted anywhere that I've seen.. So, your comment is probably correct.. the NYY's took the big gamble on Arias and then spread out their remaining allowance over four or more guys.. Makes some sense.. take ONE gamble (not a bad choice, imho)... then hedge with four skinny kids that might become something.. and that's the "Skinny"..
btw... the kid the Cincinnati Reds signed.. Ricardo Contreras.. could become the best of the best of this signing class..
 
G's were to be signing Welbyn Francisca but have seen no list that had him signing. Anybody know about Francisca?
 
G's were to be signing Welbyn Francisca but have seen no list that had him signing. Anybody know about Francisca?

I believe they kind of have verbal agreements with some guys who cannot sign until the 23 signing period and I believe he fits into category
 
In case anyone is interested in participating, Covering the Corner has started its annual fan-sourced CLE prospect ranking. So far:
George Valera took the top spot via vote on Monday 1/10/22.
Brayan Rocchio is currently leading the vote for #2 spot on Tuesday 1/11/22.

Feel read to join in (or review the various comments) on the who/ why for each spot in the rankings..

Thanks Mad, I signed up. Looks like another good place to get Guardians' news and to converse with fellow fans.
 
@Gson - Up until the 5:30 mark, the guy doing the analysis is full of shit. You rotate on the lower half, not stretch some adductors in the groin area. "Keeping the knee back" is the antithesis of what you want to do. And this whole hip tilt from his leg lift is a big pile of do do. Your hips can't rotate until your hip line is parallel to the ground. All that excessive lift does is delay your rotation and create timing issues down the road.

Arm angle outside ninety will be a problem at some point if he doesn't do something about it. The block on his front side (plant leg into landing) is not good and needs improvement. He will gain some velo there.

The guy the analysist says he loves, Dominguez, his lower half mechanics are much much better than Espinos and would be a good model for Espino to look to.

Not sure that all this talk of development (as in adding strength) is going to serve Espino well. Velocity in pitching isn't directly correlated to strength. That is why no Olympic power lifters, or Mr. Olympus body builders throw baseballs. Velocity is more correlated to the stretch of the soft tissue and its ability to rebound from that stretching. That he clearly does very well. Probably the best thing a strength coach could do for Espino, is leave him the fuck alone.

He looks like a good young thrower, that will take some lumps going through the minors. He will have to make some adjustments to his mechanics as they don't lend themselves towards being a real high percentage strike thrower. But he has that equalizer - velocity - and that will carry him a long ways.
Great info jup. Thanks. I would be curious to see that video(which is outdated) compared to his mechanics now. I know the arm action has been shortened and I'm not sure the leg kick is quite as high. I'm sure there are other subtleties that a less knowledgable person like myself won't pick up unless pointed out. Anyway, this kid is special IMO and I think he's our #1 prospect and it's not really even a close call for me. Nothing against Valera, Rocchio or any of the others. It's just that Espino's stuff and performance sticks out like a turd in a punchbowl to me. I really like the fact that it never looks like he's overexerting himself even if his mechanics are a little fucked up.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jup
Here are some more fan generated reports/ rankings for review/ discussion:

https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2022/1/16/22887304/mcroses-top-25-guardians-tribe-prospects

https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2022/1/17/22888398/mcroses-top-25-guardians-prospects-11-25

mcrose has a very good history of reports & rankings & I have greatly enjoyed his work over the years..
& here is the latest grouping from DelGua..

 
Here are some more fan generated reports/ rankings for review/ discussion:

https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2022/1/16/22887304/mcroses-top-25-guardians-tribe-prospects

https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2022/1/17/22888398/mcroses-top-25-guardians-prospects-11-25

mcrose has a very good history of reports & rankings & I have greatly enjoyed his work over the years..
& here is the latest grouping from DelGua..

This site is going through a daily vote of the top prospects in the Guardian's system.. They're down to # 8.. this is when it starts to get really interesting.. the top five or six are pretty easy.. it's the next half dozen that needs a vote or two..

@jup the video.. after the 7 1/2 minute mark was what I wanted you to see/comment on.. the first five to six minutes were garbage..
 
Just posted today:


Five Guardians prospects cracked their list:
63. Tyler Freeman
65. Daniel Espino
66. Brayan Rocchio
68. George Valera
100. Gabriel Arias
Well, we've got thr 60's covered. Also, it's probably time for Nolan Jones to show up.
 
For those who want a good laugh ... it's from the end of last season but look who is at #100 from JustBaseball


I know Curry shot up the ranks by playing in 3 different levels last year ... but now way is he ahead of Williams and Allen.
 
For those who want a good laugh ... it's from the end of last season but look who is at #100 from JustBaseball


I know Curry shot up the ranks by playing in 3 different levels last year ... but now way is he ahead of Williams and Allen.
I think the 2 are comparable and their stats show that they performed very similar over the course of the entire season. The difference is that Allen pitched much better in Akron than Curry did. Curry has more giddy-up on his FB buy Allen's slider is a plus offering and he's not exactly a soft tosser either. I would agree with you that Allen should be ahead of Curry, but it's close.

Williams is on a whole different level. He should instantly be in the top 100 prospects due to his immense upside. From there his performance should dictate if he moves up the rankings or off the list IMO.
 
For those who want a good laugh ... it's from the end of last season but look who is at #100 from JustBaseball


I know Curry shot up the ranks by playing in 3 different levels last year ... but now way is he ahead of Williams and Allen.

MLB.com has him as our 30th ranks prospect, but Curry has a legit chance in 22 to really jump up the rankings with another good showing. I don't think he's top 100 but I would say he's definitely underrated...
 

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Video

Episode 3-13: "Backup Bash Brothers"

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Spotify

Episode 3:11: "Clipping Bucks."
Top