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Post by jimed14 on Jul 29, 2015 15:19:13 GMT -5
A lot of the guys who look like they could be NFL players are the Cuban guys, like Castillo, Moncada, Cespedes and Puig. Those four are all quite muscular and fast. Hope that isn't taken as racist. It's not intended.
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Post by m1keyboots on Jul 29, 2015 16:13:20 GMT -5
If they're smart they'll let devers grow into 220. Which is narural for most 3rd basemen. Rolen, beltre, ramirez, alvarez, lowell,middlebrooks. I could go on for days, but some of those guys aren't the quickest laterally, and some are taller and heavier. My point is...drooolll.... let devers grow into 220,225 over the next 2 years, and let the power come. He doesn't have to be beltre at third. I'd be fine with a perfectly slightly below average 3rd baseman (average seems his ceiling, since he has all the arm, and some of the range and hands at this point) who rakes for a 850 ops in his mid twenties. All this talk about he's goi ng to grow sloppy etc. Yeah, the redsox surely will let that happen
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Post by m1keyboots on Jul 29, 2015 16:38:41 GMT -5
I don't think he's that kind of natural athlete, though. Even amongst professional baseball players, there's a select group of guys who can maintain that sort of quickness and agility while weighing 230+ lbs. You can improve on those traits with the proper training, but usually only to a limited extent. There's a reason that Miguel Cabrera isn't playing shortstop or even third base and that, with a few exceptions (and those exceptions are generally the closest thing to NFL-caliber athletes in MLB), center fielders and shortstops tend to be small/shifty types. Sure, it's possible that Devers improves his athleticism as he adds size/strength, but the odds are against it. I don't have a link, so you can call me a liar, but I believe it was on foxsports2, when puig came back and they had some nfl safety who said the puigs, trouts, and Lorenzo cains (as cain was part of the topic earlier in the show) could all play in the NFL with the proper conditioning. A quote I remember being "cain just tracking balls would be nFL caliber db, and trout would fill any number of defensive positions or possibly running back". Alas this was like 3 months ago and I rrally wish I had a link. I just think there are a couple dozen athletes in the mlb who could make a transition if you look at the speed aspect alone, and their likelihood of dominating hs football and getting ncaa scholarships Point is, devers doesn't have to be an elite athlete, to excel at third. Him being an average athlete (which it looks like he is all of that) with some ability in his glove and a strong arm is plenty. They don't all have to be machados
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Post by SALNotes on Jul 29, 2015 16:56:00 GMT -5
I've seen him numerous times in Greenville this year, I like him at 3rd right now. The problem is he has a high maintenance body, it will be interesting to see what he'll look like at 25. He'll have to work hard to not be 6' 240+ and a 1B/DH player
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danr
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Post by danr on Jul 29, 2015 17:10:34 GMT -5
A lot of the guys who look like they could be NFL players are the Cuban guys, like Castillo, Moncada, Cespedes and Puig. Those four are all quite muscular and fast. Hope that isn't taken as racist. It's not intended. It's not racist. It's that the ethnic mix in Cuba is different from other Latin American countries and thus body types also differ. I don't think there is as much Indian blood as in many of the other countries. It is more black and Spanish and a fair amount of mixing of the two. The Spanish influence is somewhat greater because it was a Spanish colony until we took it from Spain in 1898 in the Spanish-American war. Most of the other former Spanish colonies had been free of Spain since the early 1800s.
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Post by jmei on Jul 29, 2015 17:13:05 GMT -5
I think it's more that all the premium athletes in Cuba go into baseball, whereas many of the premium athletes in the U.S. go into football/basketball.
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Post by iakovos11 on Jul 29, 2015 17:41:11 GMT -5
I've seen him numerous times in Greenville this year, I like him at 3rd right now. The problem is he has a high maintenance body, it will be interesting to see what he'll look like at 25. He'll have to work hard to not be 6' 240+ and a 1B/DH player Get him on a Paleo diet/lifestyle and he'll be fine.
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nomar
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Post by nomar on Jul 29, 2015 19:14:06 GMT -5
I think it's more that all the premium athletes in Cuba go into baseball, whereas many of the premium athletes in the U.S. go into football/basketball. They also all love practicing in those tight underarmour 3/4 sleeve shirts with nothing over it. Those make people look big. Also if Devers ends up at 1B, we can put Moncada at 3B. I just want him to mash. Until he matures physically, we'll have little indication as to if he will stick at third.
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Post by brnichols19873 on Aug 1, 2015 11:28:47 GMT -5
here's a nice compilation of Dever's at bats/batting practices (including the futures game) via fangraphs...
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Post by telluricrook on Aug 1, 2015 11:58:51 GMT -5
Looks like devers rolls his front foot on every swing is that normal?
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atzar
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Post by atzar on Aug 1, 2015 16:08:33 GMT -5
Looks like devers rolls his front foot on every swing is that normal? I remember Josh Reddick used to do that. Not sure if he still does or if it's a concern. EDIT: Looks like he did as of 2013, so he might:
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Post by beantown on Aug 1, 2015 16:50:30 GMT -5
Manny also used to do it often. I don't see it as a big concern.
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Post by telluricrook on Aug 3, 2015 10:01:37 GMT -5
The number one ranking is really starting to get to him. At just 18 there is too much pressure on him to live up to the hype!
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Post by Smittyw on Aug 4, 2015 14:48:09 GMT -5
I've seen him numerous times in Greenville this year, I like him at 3rd right now. The problem is he has a high maintenance body, it will be interesting to see what he'll look like at 25. He'll have to work hard to not be 6' 240+ and a 1B/DH player Get him on a Paleo diet/lifestyle and he'll be fine. As long as it's not the Pablo diet/lifestyle.
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Post by bookiemetts on Aug 4, 2015 15:27:19 GMT -5
here's a nice compilation of Dever's at bats/batting practices (including the futures game) via fangraphs... If I remember correctly those swings at the very end in the blue jerseys are older. If that's correct it looks like he removed the motion before the swing where he kind of swings the bat back angled towards the catcher.
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Post by ramireja on Aug 4, 2015 15:27:35 GMT -5
A lot of the guys who look like they could be NFL players are the Cuban guys, like Castillo, Moncada, Cespedes and Puig. Those four are all quite muscular and fast. Hope that isn't taken as racist. It's not intended. Actually, its interesting because you see the same phenomena in mixed martial artists. The few Cubans who have reached the best MMA organizations are absolutely yoked relative to their division, even by mma standards: Hector LombardYoel RomeroAlexis Villa
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Post by jimed14 on Aug 17, 2015 17:16:02 GMT -5
This is hugely encouraging. From this week's Weekly Notes: That should ease concerns that he won't be able to stick there a little, at least to start his career.
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Post by chavopepe2 on Aug 17, 2015 17:37:41 GMT -5
This is hugely encouraging. From this week's Weekly Notes: That should ease concerns that he won't be able to stick there a little, at least to start his career. Ryan Lavarnway.
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Post by jmei on Aug 17, 2015 17:44:52 GMT -5
Yeah, a lot of the time, those votes are affected by offensive production (as the Gold Glove voting often is) and there just aren't enough other non-JAG players at the position to provide an alternative.
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nomar
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Posts: 10,787
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Post by nomar on Aug 17, 2015 17:58:30 GMT -5
-3.1 FRAA. He's got work to do to become a good bet to stick at 3B. Reports haven't been bad though.
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Post by jimed14 on Aug 17, 2015 18:24:34 GMT -5
This is hugely encouraging. From this week's Weekly Notes: That should ease concerns that he won't be able to stick there a little, at least to start his career. Ryan Lavarnway. Jeez, totally forgot about that one. I'll just shut up now.
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Post by telluricrook on Aug 17, 2015 21:42:20 GMT -5
This guy is in a huge slump. He will probably take a huge dip in the top prospects rankings.
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Post by telson13 on Aug 18, 2015 0:36:30 GMT -5
This guy is in a huge slump. He will probably take a huge dip in the top prospects rankings. I'm presuming you were being facetious? Because it certainly seems like you're kidding. If not, consider this: At 18 he's more than three years younger than the SA league average player, and slumps are to be expected for any player, but especially ones playing in leagues way more advanced than their age. Devers is ranked #1 because talent evaluators across baseball consider him a good bet to become an elite, middle-of-the order hitter...someone who, even at a very young age, hits line drives to all fields with the ability to loft the ball, and who routinely gets the sweet spot to the ball with a level swing that stays in the zone and outstanding bat speed. Most mid season lists had him in the top-15 or top-10 in baseball, based almost entirely in his bat. I guarantee that, if there are evaluators souring on him for this minor blip, they are in the **vast** minority. Even if one presumes a full season at each subsequent level (a conservative estimate), that pegs his arrival in MLB at age 21-22, depending on if he gets a cup of coffee in three years (age 21). That's **very** young; don't be spoiled by the rapid advancement of Betts and Bogaerts...that they both made it at 21 is a testament to their outstanding, potentially elite-level talent. It's anything but the norm. For further consideration, think of this: Devers, Moncada, and Guerra all made mid-season top-50 lists at 19 or younger in low A ball. If you haven't noticed, it's rare for low-A players to make those lists, because prospect rankings weigh ceiling vs floor, and low-A players have very low floors, i.e, they're good bets NOT to pan out. That all three were ranked (and Devers and Moncada so highly) is testament to their tremendous ceilings in addition to the presumption that they're much more likely to approach those ceilings than not. With Devers, Moncada, Guerra, Espinoza, Kopech, Margot, and Benintendi, the Sox have six pretty much guaranteed (Kopech I think being the one potential exception) top-100 prospects, and Benintendi is the old man at just 21y 1m. Sam Travis is making a case to crack the top-100 as well, at 21 in AA. That's a lot of young but age-advanced players.
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steveofbradenton
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Watching Spring Training, the FCL, and the Florida State League
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Post by steveofbradenton on Aug 18, 2015 6:37:00 GMT -5
A lot of these young players are learning about their bodies and what it will take for them to be more consistent and more productive. I would bet Devers will take advantage of this off-season and come back (like Bogie) in better shape for 2016. Until a player plays a FULL season, they have no idea how exhausting it is. He definitely has slumped the last month. This experience will help him develop instead of hurt him. His bat is legit and he does have soft hands and a very strong arm. With that said, it would be nice if he took in a deep breath and finished strong over the last couple of weeks.
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nomar
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Post by nomar on Aug 18, 2015 7:20:25 GMT -5
Not to mention he isn't even close to physically mature. He's got the body of a middle schooler (albeit a giant-framed one) and braces. Different people mature at different paces. The fact that he's doing so well at this level is very impressive. He could come back next spring or spring 2017 and look like a monster, that's when people should be afraid.
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