2022 Minor League Thread

[mopete12]

WTF?

Lol I think you need to turn on your sarcasm detector.

 

[Martyinnewyork]

In four May starts Joey Castillo had pitched 19 innings, allowed 8 hits, zero runs, with 3 walks and 26 strikeouts as a 22-year-old in AA.

Maybe he'll eventually save the Clevinger trade from being a total disaster.

I think it’s 17 innings, 9 hits.

 

[CDAV45]

OK. So far Espino, Williams, Cantillo and Bibee have been incredibly impressive. Allen, Battenfield and Curry have been real solid to outstanding as well. Prior to getting hurt, Burns was about as impressive as anyone. We all know what kind of pitcher Morris is.

Thing is, outside of Bibee they are all in the top 2 minor league levels and I don't expect Bibee not be very long. With none of our current rotation members reaching FA until 2025 at the earliest(Bieber) something will have to give. I know we've discussed this numerous times, but it never ceases to impress me.

 

[Gson]

OK. So far Espino, Williams, Cantillo and Bibee have been incredibly impressive. Allen, Battenfield and Curry have been real solid to outstanding as well. Prior to getting hurt, Burns was about as impressive as anyone. We all know what kind of pitcher Morris is.

Thing is, outside of Bibee they are all in the top 2 minor league levels and I don't expect Bibee not be very long. With none of our current rotation members reaching FA until 2025 at the earliest(Bieber) something will have to give. I know we've discussed this numerous times, but it never ceases to impress me.

High quality ML starting pitching to go with quality depth starting pitching.. and two very obvious holes in the ML lineup.. the most egregious, remains, a ML level catcher who can hit.. The most obvious targets for teams that have what is needed might be the Mets and the Cardinals..

There was a mention of the obvious disenchantment with Tyler O'Neil in St Louis earlier in the week.. His start make Franmill look good...

 

[petes999]

High quality ML starting pitching to go with quality depth starting pitching.. and two very obvious holes in the ML lineup.. the most egregious, remains, a ML level catcher who can hit.. The most obvious targets for teams that have what is needed might be the Mets and the Cardinals..

There was a mention of the obvious disenchantment with Tyler O'Neil in St Louis earlier in the week.. His start make Franmill look good...

I assume you mean Alvarez and Herrera.

Alvarez being top 5-10 prospect in all of baseball will start with Bieber/Espino/Williams ... get more for Bieber and pay more with Williams.

Herrera is only 14 value on BTV but I don’t know if he is would be considered tradable unless Cardinals are desperate due to 40 yr old Molina. Rosario on btv could get it done but I doubt it.

Based on our depth with Lavastida and Naylor, Cleveland ain’t in that bad of position compared to others but our biggest need. I just don’t see overall depth on mlb overall level as other positions. Only Oakland has 3 legit top catchers at or close to mlb. Dodgers are next with Smith and Cartaya. Tampa does have 2 40+ guys in Pinto and Hunt and Proctor at 45. But, Cle has Lava at 45+ and Lopez and Naylor (who is rebounding) at 40. I understand the need / desire but we are not that bad in comparison to others.

 

[Gson]

I assume you mean Alvarez and Herrera.

Alvarez being top 5-10 prospect in all of baseball will start with Bieber/Espino/Williams ... get more for Bieber and pay more with Williams.

Herrera is only 14 value on BTV but I don’t know if he is would be considered tradable unless Cardinals are desperate due to 40 yr old Molina. Rosario on btv could get it done but I doubt it.

Based on our depth with Lavastida and Naylor, Cleveland ain’t in that bad of position compared to others but our biggest need. I just don’t see overall depth on mlb overall level as other positions. Only Oakland has 3 legit top catchers at or close to mlb. Dodgers are next with Smith and Cartaya. Tampa does have 2 40+ guys in Pinto and Hunt and Proctor at 45. But, Cle has Lava at 45+ and Lopez and Naylor (who is rebounding) at 40. I understand the need / desire but we are not that bad in comparison to others.

disagree that we're not that bad..

Alvarez and Herrera are both near ML Ready or ML Ready.. So, they make the most sense.. The need for a TOR / MOR SP by both clubs, Cardinals and Mets, make them both targets for a good deal.. Your mention of the A's as a team with depth at catcher is a good one.. The A's have an SP, Montas, that would fit the needs of the Cardinals & Mets, as well..

 

[petes999]

disagree that we're not that bad..

Never really said we are not that bad ... said in comparison we are not that bad

PPark said in another thread, league avg at catcher is .212 .284 .340 .624

Hedges is .165 .228 .282 .510 but that was w cold start, For May it is closer to avg .200 .263 .314 .577
Maile is .222 .300 .444 .744

So on avg they are about avg to a bad hitting position.

For Mets, I pointed out that Bieber is a nice starting point discussion due to injuries like Scherzer but a guy like Montas who is cheaper is better fit for oblique inj. Plesac wouldnt pry Alverez.

Also, Stl pitching needs some tweaking but they just called up Liberatore and have Thompson. Relievers need work but our guys will not be good enough to pry Herrera from them due to no depth behind Molina (unless its Clase).

I agree if we can do something, FO should pull trigger. Just think it will be hard to do and will be costlier than BTV would suggest.

 

[CDAV45]

High quality ML starting pitching to go with quality depth starting pitching.. and two very obvious holes in the ML lineup.. the most egregious, remains, a ML level catcher who can hit.. The most obvious targets for teams that have what is needed might be the Mets and the Cardinals..

There was a mention of the obvious disenchantment with Tyler O'Neil in St Louis earlier in the week.. His start make Franmill look good...

I still believe that the answer for our C woes is in house with Lavastida and Naylor. If it were me calling the shots under the current set of circumstances, I would already have Lavastida up here getting to know our SP this season. I firmly believe he's going to be a good one. That isn't to understate how well Bo has rebounded this season. C is an issue at the moment, but I don't believe it will be for very long.

When looking at Lavastida's, Alvarez's, and Herrera's minor league performances they've all put together nice professional careers thus far. The separator for me is Lavastida's athleticism. I'm convinced that he will become a better than average defensive C. Add in the fact that he can put the bat on the ball, his power continues to develop, he gets on base and he can actually steal some bases while not being a burden on the base paths like so many other catchers, and his defensive versatility gives me total confidence in his abilities. I love his short, compact, low maintenance swing.

If Bo Naylor finishes the season as strong as he's started it then watch out because he's already there defensively. He, like Lavastida, offers a bit more athleticism as well. We could actually have 2 catchers capable of playing other positions. Yeah, I'm not interested in blocking either one of these guys at this time. It would have to be for a guy like Moreno or Alvarez in order for me to do so.

 

[CDAV45]

Never really said we are not that bad ... said in comparison we are not that bad

PPark said in another thread, league avg at catcher is .212 .284 .340 .624

Hedges is .165 .228 .282 .510 but that was w cold start, For May it is closer to avg .200 .263 .314 .577
Maile is .222 .300 .444 .744

So on avg they are about avg to a bad hitting position.

For Mets, I pointed out that Bieber is a nice starting point discussion due to injuries like Scherzer but a guy like Montas who is cheaper is better fit for oblique inj. Plesac wouldnt pry Alverez.

Also, Stl pitching needs some tweaking but they just called up Liberatore and have Thompson. Relievers need work but our guys will not be good enough to pry Herrera from them due to no depth behind Molina (unless its Clase).

I agree if we can do something, FO should pull trigger. Just think it will be hard to do and will be costlier than BTV would suggest.

Part of the problem with our C hitting so poorly is that there are other holes in the lineup that compound the issue.

No MLB team is going to trade a Shane Bieber who isn't a FA until 2025 for Alvarez. It would take at least 3 of him to get a SP like Bieber. I don't give a shit what the BTV site says. To suggest that "Bieber is a nice starting point" seems absolutely crazy to me.

 

[petes999]

Part of the problem with our C hitting so poorly is that there are other holes in the lineup that compound the issue.

No MLB team is going to trade a Shane Bieber who isn't a FA until 2025 for Alvarez. It would take at least 3 of him to get a SP like Bieber. I don't give a shit what the BTV site says. To suggest that "Bieber is a nice starting point" seems absolutely crazy to me.

In the GM thread ... I actually said it would be 3 Top 100 or near miss100 prospects. Just meant, it would take Bieber leverage to pry a top 10 overall prospect who is a catcher like Alverez ... meaning no one else other than an Espino or Ramirez would start the discussions. But. also said there that Mets prospect depth wasn't there after all their trades as someone like Baty was too valuable to mets at 3rd vs our use of him in LF and Vientos cant play OF so the needs didnt match well. Thus Bieber type pitcher was nice starting talking point for Alverez but quickly falls apart. -- Put another way, Mets would hang up on us if we dangle anyone else for Alverez...

 

[CDAV45]

In the GM thread ... I actually said it would be 3 Top 100 or near miss100 prospects. Just meant, it would take Bieber leverage to pry a top 10 overall prospect who is a catcher like Alverez ... meaning no one else other than an Espino or Ramirez would start the discussions. But. also said there that Mets prospect depth wasn't there after all their trades as someone like Baty was too valuable to mets at 3rd vs our use of him in LF and Vientos cant play OF so the needs didnt match well. Thus Bieber type pitcher was nice starting talking point for Alverez but quickly falls apart. -- Put another way, Mets would hang up on us if we dangle anyone else for Alverez...

Got it. Thanks for the clarification and I agree that Alvarez would only be dealt for a top player like Bieber.

 

[CATS44]

We don't even know of we have an organizational problem at catcher, and won't until we get thru this season. At the end of this year it is likely that we have at least one very good prospect ready to move to the active roster. We may have two....both of who would be fully immersed in our pitching-catching team building.

There isn't yet enough of a gap between what we have and any possible upgrade from outside the org to expend a MAJOR MLB asset, like a CY pitcher, to acquire one.

*********

Looking at the current minor league system and the 40 man situation, we are gonna face another roster crunch in December. We may have gotten lucky this past winter by the elimination of the R5. It won't be canceled again.

This is certainly not the time to significantly add to that problem. Now is the time to consolidate our prospective assets. We need to add to the MLB roster, not subtract from it...and use some of our excess prospect capital to do so.

 

[CDAV45]

We don't even know of we have an organizational problem at catcher, and won't until we get thru this season. At the end of this year it is likely that we have at least one very good prospect ready to move to the active roster. We may have two....both of who would be fully immersed in our pitching-catching team building.

There isn't yet enough of a gap between what we have and any possible upgrade from outside the org to expend a MAJOR MLB asset, like a CY pitcher, to acquire one.

*********

Looking at the current minor league system and the 40 man situation, we are gonna face another roster crunch in December. We may have gotten lucky this past winter by the elimination of the R5. It won't be canceled again.

This is certainly not the time to significantly add to that problem. Now is the time to consolidate our prospective assets. We need to add to the MLB roster, not subtract from it...and use some of our excess prospect capital to do so.

Maybe it's foolhardy, but I have no concerns with the C situation other than I'm ready to move on from Hedges. There are other areas of need that should be addressed long before worrying about a C IMO.

Yes, there is another roster crunch coming and I think it could be bigger than the one we just experienced. It will be interesting to see what happens. We've discussed the idea of trading prospects to clear room and clearing some spots from the ML roster. I think both are likely to happen.

 

[sportscoach]

If he can play some CF then that's fine, but don't we have a plethora of others that can do the same thing? He's not moving around. They'll move Miller to a corner OF spot before they use Freeman there and he sure as hell isn't playing 1B. Freeman doesn't have the arm for the left side of the IF.

If Freeman is going to be the Guardians' 2B going forward then they'll have to deal a couple of other guys and that could happen even though I highly doubt it will.

I have no ideas what type of trade proposals they have or will make, or what kind of value Freeman adds to the trade. I can't help but think that a team like Baltimore could use Freeman and that he would fit in fantastically with their needs and window. Other than that I know nothing.

I think majority of the teams out there would want a guy like Freeman in their organization. If the guy had any power, he would have been the best 2B prospect in all of baseball if not a top 10-15 prospect.

 

[sportscoach]

Maybe it's foolhardy, but I have no concerns with the C situation other than I'm ready to move on from Hedges. There are other areas of need that should be addressed long before worrying about a C IMO.

Yes, there is another roster crunch coming and I think it could be bigger than the one we just experienced. It will be interesting to see what happens. We've discussed the idea of trading prospects to clear room and clearing some spots from the ML roster. I think both are likely to happen.

I think Hedges should be kept passed this season personally as the backup for Lavastida/Naylor. He isnt a starter in the league cause of his hitting, but he is still a legit battery mate when it comes to catching and playing defense...