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2021 Minor League Thread

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Kwan <== AAAA or, at best, 4th OF'er on a second division team..
I see nothing that says AAAA in regards to Kwan at this point. He checks a lot of boxes, though the recent "pop" does deserve some scrutiny and remains suspect until repeated. However the D, contact, plate discipline all look good to fantastic.
 
Yeah I am thinking his upside can be a Brett Gardner of a few years ago kind of player, which certainly doesn't get people excited but wins baseball games.

I would take a Gardner in his prime honestly...
 
I would take a Gardner in his prime honestly...
His hitting has been pretty consistent throughout his career, not a clear "prime" but his defense has deteriorated a bit. For Kwan I was thinking like 2016-2018 stats, averaging over 3 WAR through doing nothing particularly special but getting on base enough to be a solid contributor. I think Kwan could strike out even less than that potentially (especially vs league average which is increasing), while maybe not being as good at defense.

I feel like I diverge from some of the board here in appreciating the average players more, and focusing on having average players in positions rather than replacement players. It sure isn't as exciting as star players but if you have a lineup of Ameds and Gardners, you're going to be doing much better than what we put out this year, and I'm not really scared off by ceiling concerns. Most "high potential" players never even come close to their supposed ceilings.

Jose: 6.0 WAR
Rest of team: 8.3 WAR

Jose + Amed: 8.3 WAR
Rest of team: 6.0 WAR

Replacing rest of team (7 lineup spots) with Ameds (2.3 WAR) = changing 6 into 16.1 WAR (+10.1) which would have us basically tied with Chicago but maybe ahead when we consider some of the winning could've happened against Chicago.

The value of hole-filling is way underrated in today's discussions about flashy prospects.
 
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Quick update for todays games

Akron up 6-1 at the start of the start if the 6th

X.Curry - having a better go of it than he had in his 1st AA game - 5IP 2H 1ER/R 2BB 8K 1HR 79 pitches, 52 strikes
J.Fermin continues his feverish end of season play. Rocchio, Valera and Lavastida all doing their thing as well

Columbus down 5-2 halfway through the 4th. Kwan 1-2 with a run and SB, Palacios 1-2 with a double, Ogonz with a single and Da.Johnson does the damage with a 2 run homerun.
 
His hitting has been pretty consistent throughout his career, not a clear "prime" but his defense has deteriorated a bit. For Kwan I was thinking like 2016-2018 stats, averaging over 3 WAR through doing nothing particularly special but getting on base enough to be a solid contributor. I think Kwan could strike out even less than that potentially (especially vs league average which is increasing), while maybe not being as good at defense.

I feel like I diverge from some of the board here in appreciating the average players more, and focusing on having average players in positions rather than replacement players. It sure isn't as exciting as star players but if you have a lineup of Ameds and Gardners, you're going to be doing much better than what we put out this year, and I'm not really scared off by ceiling concerns. Most "high potential" players never even come close to their supposed ceilings.

Jose: 6.0 WAR
Rest of team: 8.3 WAR

Jose + Amed: 8.3 WAR
Rest of team: 6.0 WAR

Replacing rest of team (7 lineup spots) with Ameds (2.3 WAR) = changing 6 into 16.1 WAR (+10.1) which would have us basically tied with Chicago but maybe ahead when we consider some of the winning could've happened against Chicago.

The value of hole-filling is way underrated in today's discussions about flashy prospects.

With our pitching and Jose, average is a winning formula.

But in addition to Jose and Amed, we also begin the season with Franmil and Straw.

We don't have to upgrade as much as some think.

We upgraded with Straw. We upgraded by replacing Bauers with Bradley. We upgrade if Franmil just stays healthy.
 
I like Franmil. I hope he has a long, successful career here in Cleveland.
But I wish someone could figure out why he has those looong, God awful periods when nothing happens. He can be like a black hole for weeks at a time. I don't know the cure.
If he can figure it out, he could be a first class MLB slugger.
 
There are some things that make our 14.3 WAR deceiving.

First, it includes -2.1 WAR from players who are no longer on the team or who will be replaced if they don't improve.

It also includes Cesars 2.1, but doesn't include 2.1 from Straw, which makes it a wash.

That puts us at a true 16.4 WAR.

If neither improved with regular playing time, but merely maintained what they have done over a full season, Bradley (in place of Bauer/Miller) and Gimenez ( in place of Cesar) would have combined for another 1.3 WAR...and Franmils injury cost him about .5 WAR.

We go into next season with a roster that should rate out at about 18 WAR, based on what the players we have now did this year.

Adding one decent bat...say Canha...puts us at 21 WAR, even if not one of our younger players improves.

With our pitching, that's plenty good enough.
 
There are some things that make our 14.3 WAR deceiving.

First, it includes -2.1 WAR from players who are no longer on the team or who will be replaced if they don't improve.

It also includes Cesars 2.1, but doesn't include 2.1 from Straw, which makes it a wash.

That puts us at a true 16.4 WAR.

If neither improved with regular playing time, but merely maintained what they have done over a full season, Bradley (in place of Bauer/Miller) and Gimenez ( in place of Cesar) would have combined for another 1.3 WAR...and Franmils injury cost him about .5 WAR.

We go into next season with a roster that should rate out at about 18 WAR, based on what the players we have now did this year.

Adding one decent bat...say Canha...puts us at 21 WAR, even if not one of our younger players improves.

With our pitching, that's plenty good enough.

There is some truth to that, but I still want to get some pressure off of JRam, Reyes and the pitchers in 22 ya know?
 
I think you will get your wish by the FO elves soon enough.
 
There is some truth to that, but I still want to get some pressure off of JRam, Reyes and the pitchers in 22 ya know?
Tribe needs major upgrades in the corner outfield positions. Zimmer. Mercado, Harold and Johnson all need their walking papers to free up Rule 5 protection. Internal candidates are OG and Kwan. They have earned the right to compete for those spots next season.

Would absolutely love a package deal to obtain either Winker or Canhu.

Tribe will not compete next year with great starting pitching alone.
 
Tribe needs major upgrades in the corner outfield positions. Zimmer. Mercado, Harold and Johnson all need their walking papers to free up Rule 5 protection. Internal candidates are OG and Kwan. They have earned the right to compete for those spots next season.

Would absolutely love a package deal to obtain either Winker or Canhu.

Tribe will not compete next year with great starting pitching alone.
I assume you are referring to Mark Canha, who will be a FA.
 
Quick update:

Akron vs. Bowie 0-0

Akron with 4 hits and as I am typing this Pilkington gives up his no hitter on a bunt single. Current line for Konnor: 4.2 IP 1H 0ER/R 4BB 8K - based loaded with 2 outs.

 
Bravo to Akron! I don't follow other AA teams, but this is the best Rubber Ducks team I have ever seen since I started following the tribes minor league teams. Seems like they have a really solid system/coaching staff in place, been a fun follow.

Best run minor league team in all of baseball this year? Is Akron a legitimate candidate?
 
Bravo to Akron! I don't follow other AA teams, but this is the best Rubber Ducks team I have ever seen since I started following the tribes minor league teams. Seems like they have a really solid system/coaching staff in place, been a fun follow.

Best run minor league team in all of baseball this year? Is Akron a legitimate candidate?
Ducks entered the bottom of 8th down 5-0. Kudos to them! Most definitely the shining star to a dismal baseball season here in Cleveland.

Their rotation will dominate triple A next season.
 

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