2023 Minor League Thread

[sportscoach]

If you get a chance go watch him and don't listen to a thing GSon says. He had an off season last year after pitching superbly since being drafted. In his off year he still had a 3.63 ERA and a 1.269 WHIP. His K9 was down because his BB9 doubled. His H9 went up and his HR9 didn't move, and that's playing in Huntington Park. He basically lost his control and we were told that he was working on a couple of things mechanically. I'm not sure if that effected him and how badly if it so.

Look, I'm not telling you Battenfield is the 2nd coming of anything or that he should be in the ML rotation. I am saying that if he can right the ship and 2022 was an outlier then he could find himself back in the mix. If you look at his numbers and watched him pitch prior to 2022 you'd be high on this kid. There were a few games in 22 where it looked like he might be regaining his form so we'll see.

My only question is why Battenfield not on a 40 man roster? Something is up if all the teams skipped on him?

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

My only question is why Battenfield not on a 40 man roster? Something is up if all the teams skipped on him?

Maybe they're just too emotionally unavailable and aren't willing to bet on love?

After all...




Love is a Battenfield!

 

[petes999]

My only question is why Battenfield not on a 40 man roster? Something is up if all the teams skipped on him?

Jeez ... I was just thinking the same thing. I comes down to teams wanted control of Enright and Kelly. You can say that they were relievers but I figure Battenfield may go to the pen (if his arm speed plays up). Key is command as Bimbo would say that at higher levels the umpiring and hittter's plate discipline gets better; thus, the command based on K/BB could look like it is going south but it may have not been there to begin with due to being around the plate to get swings and calls but not pinpoint control needed. He may still take the jump next year but for every month his K/BB rate was 2:1 almost -- nothing to write home about (would expect it to tweak up if things were improving based on mechanic adjustments).

 

[Gson]

yeah... don't listen to me..

I was the person who said.. Lavastida isn't ready..

I was the person who said.. Morris is the goods..

I was the person who said.. don't move Gimenez off of 2B..

I was the person who said.. Bobby B was a windmill..

I was the person who said.. every minor leaguer is working on somthing (note: not an excuse for having a terrible season against more advanced hitters).. A cut fastball was what Battenfield was allegedly working on. That pitch was going to replace his awful slurvy slider.. and neither pitch in the minors is a worth a warm bucket of piss..

etc... etc..

Battenfield is the fat kid who ate too many donuts while being able to throw the ball hard.. He's a grown up man now.. His ability to throw hard isn't anything special (in his case, his hard throwing makes his FB straighten up) and has slurvy crap offerings that he doesn't command in the zone very well.. get tagged..

Time for reality to set in.. he was left off the 40 man roster and exposed to Rule V because he deserved to be.. It wasn't a conspiracy or everyone else isn't stupid.. They see what the CleFO saw.. a AAAA guy who hasn't progressed beyond being that fat donut eating kid who "used to" throw hard..

Thanks...

 

[CDAV45]

My only question is why Battenfield not on a 40 man roster? Something is up if all the teams skipped on him?

We were told awhile back that Battenfield was working on some things mechanically and that he was doing that in season so seeing his results take a hit shouldn't come as a surprise. Especially in his initial exposure to the highest minor league level. Let's see what happens.

I think it's safe to say that most organizations don't take the same path as Cleveland when it comes to SP. What we do know is that they called him up for the Toronto trip. That in and of itself should speak volumes. We'll see what happens going forward.

 

[tabejw23]

yeah... don't listen to me..

I was the person who said.. Lavastida isn't ready..

I was the person who said.. Morris is the goods..

I was the person who said.. don't move Gimenez off of 2B..

I was the person who said.. Bobby B was a windmill..

I was the person who said.. every minor leaguer is working on somthing (note: not an excuse for having a terrible season against more advanced hitters).. A cut fastball was what Battenfield was allegedly working on. That pitch was going to replace his awful slurvy slider.. and neither pitch in the minors is a worth a warm bucket of piss..

etc... etc..

Battenfield is the fat kid who ate too many donuts while being able to throw the ball hard.. He's a grown up man now.. His ability to throw hard isn't anything special (in his case, his hard throwing makes his FB straighten up) and has slurvy crap offerings that he doesn't command in the zone very well.. get tagged..

Time for reality to set in.. he was left off the 40 man roster and exposed to Rule V because he deserved to be.. It wasn't a conspiracy or everyone else isn't stupid.. They see what the CleFO saw.. a AAAA guy who hasn't progressed beyond being that fat donut eating kid who "used to" throw hard..

Thanks...

Never forget, you were also the person that said... to pinch hit for Oscar in the 15th... ... ... ... ... Thoughts? ... ...

 

[petes999]

What we do know is that they called him up for the Toronto trip. That in and of itself should speak volumes. We'll see what happens going forward.

It's hard to read the tea leaves at time as the pitcher of this call-up group who made the playoff roster is no longer with the team (McCarty). And, I could point out that Payton didn't even make it into an 8-0 win in game 1 at Tor (which would be a perfect place just to give him a quick inn for 8-9-1 hitters) but then Tito usually has new guys sit for a game or so (except these DH pitchers). They also choose him for Toronto over Curry just because Curry was already slatted to start game 2 of DH on Monday. Payton was probably just up to eat innings to save the pen for DH Monday if they fell into trouble in Toronto (surrender a game).

Other examples of where Payton was viewed, when Gaddis got called up on 8/5 for his first game ... Payton had last pitched on 7/30 and pitched again on 8/6, so definitely had the rest and should have gotten call if you just looked at that Gaddis only had 2 AAA games at that point. Curry was called up on 8/15 for a planned DH; he last pitched 8/9 so somewhat in order. Yet, as this was a planned DH, Payton last pitched 8/6 so looked like he was ready but looked like was being held in reserve (behind Curry) in case of a tired pen as he waited to 8/19 to pitch again so again Gaddis>Payton and Curry>Payton at that time of the year.

I do think the long-term order for this group is Curry - Battenfield (swing guy) -- Gaddis (as a reliever) -- Pilkington (as he is not a reliever) -- McCarty. But, 2 more of this group will be gone (supplanted) by year end with Espino, Allen, Hankins and maybe 1 or 2 of Burns/Hickman/Smith getting rostered at year-end.

 

[sportscoach]

yeah... don't listen to me..

I was the person who said.. Lavastida isn't ready..

I was the person who said.. Morris is the goods..

I was the person who said.. don't move Gimenez off of 2B..

I was the person who said.. Bobby B was a windmill..

I was the person who said.. every minor leaguer is working on somthing (note: not an excuse for having a terrible season against more advanced hitters).. A cut fastball was what Battenfield was allegedly working on. That pitch was going to replace his awful slurvy slider.. and neither pitch in the minors is a worth a warm bucket of piss..

etc... etc..

Battenfield is the fat kid who ate too many donuts while being able to throw the ball hard.. He's a grown up man now.. His ability to throw hard isn't anything special (in his case, his hard throwing makes his FB straighten up) and has slurvy crap offerings that he doesn't command in the zone very well.. get tagged..

Time for reality to set in.. he was left off the 40 man roster and exposed to Rule V because he deserved to be.. It wasn't a conspiracy or everyone else isn't stupid.. They see what the CleFO saw.. a AAAA guy who hasn't progressed beyond being that fat donut eating kid who "used to" throw hard..

Thanks...

You also stated JRam wouldn't be extended...

 

[Gson]

Never forget, you were also the person that said... to pinch hit for Oscar in the 15th... ... ... ... ... Thoughts? ... ...

yes I was.. Righty/Left... and the comment was couched as "..does Tito pinch hit for Spongebob?..".. let's make sure the context is carried into the same light of day.. lest we change the meaning ever so slightly...

 

[CDAV45]

My only question is why Battenfield not on a 40 man roster? Something is up if all the teams skipped on him?

Coach, I have a little information for you. This isn't to argue one way or the other so make of it what you will. Peyton was working on a mechanical change and it wasn't any different than any of Bieber, McKenzie, Plesac, Espino, Bibee or Civale did. The difference is they got to do it early on in their minor league careers while Peyton made that change in AAA. Take a look at the difference between 2021 and 2022. His arm path and the length of it is noticeably different. I'd guess the aim here is probably to establish more consistency and to keep him healthy.

This organization hasn't given up on Battenfield and I don't think they have devalued him either. What they did do is take a calculated risk and had a very good understanding of this year's R5 draft.

Edited to ask if he looks like some fat, donut eating kid to you? He certainly doesn't to me.

 

[sportscoach]

Coach, I have a little information for you. This isn't to argue one way or the other so make of it what you will. Peyton was working on a mechanical change and it wasn't any different than any of Bieber, McKenzie, Plesac, Espino, Bibee or Civale did. The difference is they got to do it early on in their minor league careers while Peyton made that change in AAA. Take a look at the difference between 2021 and 2022. His arm path and the length of it is noticeably different. I'd guess the aim here is probably to establish more consistency and to keep him healthy.

This organization hasn't given up on Battenfield and I don't think they have devalued him either. What they did do is take a calculated risk and had a very good understanding of this year's R5 draft.

Edited to ask if he looks like some fat, donut eating kid to you? He certainly doesn't to me.

23 is really a make or break year for him like 22 was for Myers... It doesn't look good on paper if Battenfield got skipped for an MLB spot in 23 by every team even though he pitched a lot of innings at AAA...

Now a strong spring and early season could get him to the MLB roster of course, so he is really a guy we have to wait and see on. At the moment, I sincerely have to expect nothing from him and hope I am wrong.

 

[CDAV45]

23 is really a make or break year for him like 22 was for Myers... It doesn't look good on paper if Battenfield got skipped for an MLB spot in 23 by every team even though he pitched a lot of innings at AAA...

Now a strong spring and early season could get him to the MLB roster of course, so he is really a guy we have to wait and see on. At the moment, I sincerely have to expect nothing from him and hope I am wrong.

Since when does Cleveland worry about what other teams think. I'd say they've capitalized on their ignorance to a degree, wouldn't you?

I think you should expect a much better 23 from Battenfield if for no other reason than how good he was prior to 22. What's funny to me is that his 22 season wasn't a disaster, it was just much less than he had done prior to that.

You can speculate on what Peyton is or isn't all you want. Do you deny the mechanical change that I just showed you?

 

[CDAV45]

yes I was.. Righty/Left... and the comment was couched as "..does Tito pinch hit for Spongebob?..".. let's make sure the context is carried into the same light of day.. lest we change the meaning ever so slightly...

You need to relay that message to CATS44. LOL

 

[CDAV45]

It's hard to read the tea leaves at time as the pitcher of this call-up group who made the playoff roster is no longer with the team (McCarty). And, I could point out that Payton didn't even make it into an 8-0 win in game 1 at Tor (which would be a perfect place just to give him a quick inn for 8-9-1 hitters) but then Tito usually has new guys sit for a game or so (except these DH pitchers). They also choose him for Toronto over Curry just because Curry was already slatted to start game 2 of DH on Monday. Payton was probably just up to eat innings to save the pen for DH Monday if they fell into trouble in Toronto (surrender a game).

Other examples of where Payton was viewed, when Gaddis got called up on 8/5 for his first game ... Payton had last pitched on 7/30 and pitched again on 8/6, so definitely had the rest and should have gotten call if you just looked at that Gaddis only had 2 AAA games at that point. Curry was called up on 8/15 for a planned DH; he last pitched 8/9 so somewhat in order. Yet, as this was a planned DH, Payton last pitched 8/6 so looked like he was ready but looked like was being held in reserve (behind Curry) in case of a tired pen as he waited to 8/19 to pitch again so again Gaddis>Payton and Curry>Payton at that time of the year.

I do think the long-term order for this group is Curry - Battenfield (swing guy) -- Gaddis (as a reliever) -- Pilkington (as he is not a reliever) -- McCarty. But, 2 more of this group will be gone (supplanted) by year end with Espino, Allen, Hankins and maybe 1 or 2 of Burns/Hickman/Smith getting rostered at year-end.

There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes, that goes without saying. Gaddis and Curry were drafted by the Guardians and made any mechanical changes deemed necessary by the Cleveland pitching developers in their first year or so. Therein lies the difference and they didn't just call Peyton up because they thought he was expendable. That's not how they operate.

The roster will start to get more challenging for sure. It will be interesting to see what happens.

 

[CATS44]

Just the fact that Battenfield was passed by so many, even when they had to be added to the 40 man, makes Battenfield suspect.

He's sitting in the position of so many youngsters before...passed by other, younger options.

Plutko, Morimando, Merritt, Marabell, Stamets, Paulino, and many more.

Prospects that morphed into org filler, if that.

The org always says good things, but actions speak louder than words.