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Post by vermontsox1 on Jun 5, 2018 20:33:30 GMT -5
Thad Ward on twitter: "Following the MLB draft and a lot of thought, I have decided to move on to professional baseball."
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Post by telson13 on Jun 5, 2018 22:01:07 GMT -5
Red Sox take Durbin Feltman. Love that pick. **LOVE** it. With the huge bump in premium pricing for relievers (elite closers now getting 2/3 starter deals as non-ace salaries and especially back-end salaries for starters have bottomed out), and the fact that his stuff looks MLB-ready, this is just a fantastic get. It’s a “draft for need” that’s still BPA. It may also change the calculus for re-signing Kimbrel (especially with Barnes and Kelly pitching well), may very well abrogate the need to do any ‘pen shopping, and could very well be a huge postseason contribution. Usually when people rail against drafting for need, it makes sense because those players are several years away at best. This is a totally different story. Feltman looks like he’s a guy who has immediate impact written all over him, both for this year, and for the next several years as the Sox try to free up salary space to reload and extend their core. Just a terrific, terrific, piece of organizational foresight.
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Post by telson13 on Jun 5, 2018 22:09:12 GMT -5
I'm always a bit skeptical of the "he's going to speed through the minors!" college reliever, but I'm also more than okay with it at pick 100. This is, to me, like getting Carson Fulmer (8?) or Zack Burdi (26) at pick 100. And tbh, I think his delivery’s cleaner than Fulmer’s, and his command better than both. He might not hit 100 like Burdi did, or be a “maybe” starter like Fulmer, but he’s just absolutely dominant. I was just reading that he’s only given up 2 xbh, both misplayed pop-up doubles. Such a great pick for THIS team.
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Post by telson13 on Jun 5, 2018 22:17:02 GMT -5
If a guy has a 70/70 slider/fastball combo, why wouldn't you try to develop a 3rd pitch with him? If he develops a decent change and/or curve ball that guy could be a really good starting pitcher. I mean, I know it's probably his size/frame and how his body projects etc etc etc. Even if all he is to the Sox is a reliever they're often developed as starter so it will be interesting to see if they actually would fast track a guy or take their time developing him. In theory, yes. But usually, its rare to get a guy like that to transition to starting successfully. I think of it kind of like a sprinter versus an endurance runner. Usually, you are good at one and not so great at the other. Sprinters might be amazing at short distances, but struggle considerably to keep up in a Boston Marathon (starting). Kind of a silly analogy, but different body types are best suited for different roles. This is true in most cases, but there are guys like Michael Johnson or Seb Coe who are fantastic middle distance runners because their outstanding speed (“stuff”) gives them such a tremendous edge as they move up in distance. I certainly think it’s worth revisiting if he flies to MLB and then decides to add a third pitch in the offseason. Not a bad idea for a reliever anyway (if he can do it), as a way to “show me” keep batters off-balance. He’s got pretty high-effort delivery, but if the command is there, he might have starter potential, provided he can clean it up a little and have success sitting (holding) 93-96 instead of 95-99. Then again, unless he’s a 2 or better, he might very well have more value in today’s game as a dominant reliever.
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Post by telson13 on Jun 5, 2018 22:40:01 GMT -5
I really liked their 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 7th picks. They got themselves a reliever who can be high leverage and move fairly quickly through the system. They got a catcher with some pop who has overcome a lot of obstacles. I like how sneaky good the college senior outfield has hit. His bat hopefully translates. And the speedy 2b with good OBP skills is also interesting. Speedy 2b who was announced as a CF. I love that move. I’m particularly enamored of fast guys with hit tools and gap power. He also has good OB skills. I’m almost certain that they’re looking at *hitters* who have good EVs and who the Sox think they can tweak a bit to up their launch angles. I’m guessing that Cottam was a similar thought, they prob were high on his hit tool and think they can get the power to play. Love that they added a C with some upside; sounds like his defense has regressed some but that may be due to him focusing on hitting to up his draft stock. For their rounds, I think both have pretty good upside. I like the informed gambling.
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Post by James Dunne on Jun 5, 2018 23:57:04 GMT -5
I'm always a bit skeptical of the "he's going to speed through the minors!" college reliever, but I'm also more than okay with it at pick 100. This is, to me, like getting Carson Fulmer (8?) or Zack Burdi (26) at pick 100. And tbh, I think his delivery’s cleaner than Fulmer’s, and his command better than both. He might not hit 100 like Burdi did, or be a “maybe” starter like Fulmer, but he’s just absolutely dominant. I was just reading that he’s only given up 2 xbh, both misplayed pop-up doubles. Such a great pick for THIS team. He is definitely not Fulmer, who has front-end starter stuff but a questionable delivery. But Burdi, who was floated as a possible Red Sox first round pick last year in an attempt to get me on board with basically anyone else, is a decent comp. Feltman is a very, very Dave Dombrowski pick, and it's why I think there really is some chance he's in the majors within a year, good idea or not. The Dombrowski regime did a lot of rushing of pitchers with the Tigers.
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Post by telson13 on Jun 6, 2018 0:21:50 GMT -5
This is, to me, like getting Carson Fulmer (8?) or Zack Burdi (26) at pick 100. And tbh, I think his delivery’s cleaner than Fulmer’s, and his command better than both. He might not hit 100 like Burdi did, or be a “maybe” starter like Fulmer, but he’s just absolutely dominant. I was just reading that he’s only given up 2 xbh, both misplayed pop-up doubles. Such a great pick for THIS team. He is definitely not Fulmer, who has front-end starter stuff but a questionable delivery. But Burdi, who was floated as a possible Red Sox first round pick last year in an attempt to get me on board with basically anyone else, is a decent comp. Feltman is a very, very Dave Dombrowski pick, and it's why I think there really is some chance he's in the majors within a year, good idea or not. The Dombrowski regime did a lot of rushing of pitchers with the Tigers. Yeah, my comparison to Fulmer was more in line with what I’ve seen from him in terms of the delivery. Meaning, I think you’re right about his overall package of stuff, but he was very polarizing as a prospect. To believe in him as a starter (and I did at draft time, a bit less now), you have to believe the delivery can be tweaked significantly. I guess my point was that the only reason he went 8 was that there was a non-zero number of teams who bet on that possibility. So I’m equating getting Feltman to getting Fulmer-as-a-reliever, if you’re in the camp that his chances to stick in a rotation are low. Not the best comp, because that chance is decidedly non-zero, and he does have three pitches. But I think the reliever upside/MLB proximity among the three are very similar. Obviously, Fulmer wouldn’t have gone 8 if he were a clear reliever prospect, but I think he would’ve gone 25-40, so that’s why I’m so excited for Feltman. And your point re: DD is well-taken. Porcello is the obvious archetype.
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Post by thebogeyman on Jun 7, 2018 8:49:37 GMT -5
Some of those “lesser” guys turn out be major leaguers. Plus there are places for those guys in the minors. Just saying. I never said the lesser guys won't be good. I'm saying the most important evaluation in deciding who your fifth round pick will be shouldn't be "how much under slot will this guy take?" As opposed to "what kind of baseball ability does this player have?" It's a dumb system. I understand wanting to stop the big market teams from just buying every good prospect in the draft. But there has to be a better way. Why not something like hockey where you draft a guy out of high school and keep his rights even if he goes to college? The big problem is baseball is really the only sport where the players don't need to stick with the allotments for their draft spot. But teams could "hold" a certain amount of their annual money for that player, and sign him when he decides to come out.
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