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Post by Addam603 on Jul 1, 2021 11:43:57 GMT -5
While a rotation with Whitlock would probably be the best rotation they could come up with, they are not likely to do that. 1) That's too many innings. They are clearly watching his innings and don't want to push him too much coming back from Tommy John. 2) He's probably been their best reliever this year. He's definitely their most useful reliever. He can come in at any point and either get you out of a jam or pitch multiple innings if needed. I'd rather have him in that role in the playoffs than as a starter pitching every four days or so.
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Post by Addam603 on Jul 1, 2021 10:56:50 GMT -5
Is there any information on Miguel Ugueto? He's the only position player from the 2019-2020 International Group that is starting the year stateside (Nathanael Cruz is the only other guy). He's not a guy that was signed as an older international guy. He's only a couple months older than the biggest bonuses from that class (September 2002 vs October and December 2002). Has there been any talk about him from instructs or scouts?
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Post by Addam603 on Jul 1, 2021 8:14:29 GMT -5
Expect the Salem game to be postponed. Looking at all day thunderstorms unless something last minute changes.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 30, 2021 21:56:08 GMT -5
Was at Salem again tonight. Still trying to hit a couple of more games while they're in town but the weather does not look like it's going to cooperate. Kind of a more meh game tonight. They only scored 9 runs. No Jimenez, Yorke, Lopez, or Rafaela meant a lot of organizational guys in the lineup. I didn't see Jimenez, Yorke, or Rafaela in the dugout with the team so Rafaela may be banged up too.
Thoughts:
Walter looked pretty good to me. I posted a bit on him earlier, but I honestly liked what I saw. He's got pretty good velo for a lefty and the offspeed stuff was playing too. I'll be interested to hear what the scout said.
Kwiatowski was not impressive. Stuff is meh and he got hit around because he wasn't getting any swing and misses.
Scroggins looked decent. Mid-90s fastball and was getting some swing and misses on his high 80s offspeed stuff.
Lugo did not look as sharp today, both in the field and at the plate. Definitely needs to add strength.
I've seen Davis homer twice and double in the last two games but he has also swung and missed a lot at some very hittable fastballs. He's still overmatching Low-A pitchers most of the time but there was more than one AB where the pitcher just pumped 88-90 mph fastballs by him repeatedly.
I'm a Northcut fan. He's reached base 7 times in the past two games (3 hits, 3 walks, HBP) and he's just putting together really good at bats. He didn't strike out in any of the 11 plate appearances that I've seen him in so far, which is a step in the right direction. He's homered in each of the last two games and they've both been bombs.
Other random thoughts: The umpiring crew has been BAD over the last two games and it almost boiled over for the FredNats manager. There were a couple of really bad calls on the field and it ticked off a very hot and grumpy crowd. I had Salem manager Luke Montz' family sitting behind me during the game and his daughters (both well under 6 yo by the looks of it) kept trying to talk to their dad during the game. Very cute.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 30, 2021 19:09:51 GMT -5
Brandon Walter is showing some nice velocity early. First couple innings he was 94-96 and touching 97-98. Third inning was more around 92-94 but still hitting 97.
Edit: Walter is probably done after 4. Was sitting 91-93 with the fastball before a mound visit where I assume they told him he was done after the inning and he started reaching back for 96 again. I was at a bad position to see the shape of pitches but he had some swing and misses on his off speed stuff.
Davis and Northcut both homered again after last night. Northcut’s was a bomb to center. Stephen Scott just hit a home run as I type this after coming in for Luke Bandy who left early.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 30, 2021 14:41:53 GMT -5
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 30, 2021 11:31:54 GMT -5
Brandon Walter should be pitching tonight for Salem according to the MiLB box. He threw 4 innings with 2 hits, 9 Ks, and 0 walks last appearance so I'd expect a no-hitter against Fredericksburg tonight.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 29, 2021 22:13:06 GMT -5
Pretty confident in thinking Duran and Downs will swap at 2 and 3. Howlett should be a big riser and Groome might push his way back into the top 10. I think a could guys in the 40-60 range that will jump are Wu-Yelland and Crawford but I don’t think they’ll be huge jumps.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 29, 2021 21:28:03 GMT -5
I was at the Salem game tonight where they put up 20 runs against Fredericksburg. Here’s my thoughts.
Disclaimers: the Fredericksburg pitching staff is not good. All pitch velocities are from the stadium gun. Take that with a grain of salt, I don’t know how accurate it is.
Pitchers: Aaron Perry: Really, really impressive first inning. Struck out the side on a swinging K (slider) and 2 Ks looking (curve). Fastball was sitting 97-98 and he touched 99 a few times. Speed dropped to more around 95-96 in the second but still repeatedly reached back for 98 and 99. Threw a mid-80s curveball and high 80s slider that touched 90 once. I liked the curveball better but he was able to throw both for strikes.
Jorge Rodriguez: Pitched the bulk of the game and other than a home run by one of the Nats top prospects, pitched pretty well. Was sitting 88-91 for most of the game but was able to reach back for 93 all the way into his 4th inning of pitching. Threw a mid-80s changeup that looked good a few times. High 70s CB that was more of a third pitch.
Roedahl and Fernandez: As advertised. Roedahl buried a couple decent splitters in the dirt. Overmatched the Low-A batters.
Hitters:
Gilberto: left the game early but beat out a grounder to 2B in his only AB. Really pronounced crouch from the left hand side
Lugo: Only 1-6 but cranked a 2B off the CF wall and hit several other hard liners to the OF. Has a noticeably small upper body to me. Could stand to add some more strength as he gets older. Took a HBP to his right hand in his second to last AB and was in some noticeable pain. Stayed in the game though. Made a nice sliding play at SS and showed a strong arm on a couple throws.
Big Joe: Did Big Joe things. 3 hits including a 2B and a deep HR to CF.
Northcut: Cranked a deep HR to LF and took 3 walks and a HBP. He’s got a good eye.
Lopez: I was actually pretty impressed with Lopez. He didn’t look overmatched against several different types of pitchers. Got 3 hits including a looped 2B. Has a good eye in the batters box and has some decent speed. Scored from 1B on a ball hit to the LF wall.
Dean Miller hit a pretty deep HR on an offspeed pitch but struggled against fastballs. He had my favorite play of the night. He got jipped from my POV on a bad foul ball call and responded by putting the very next pitch in the exact same spot for a 2B.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 29, 2021 20:39:10 GMT -5
He jogged from the 1B dugout around the back of the plate and out a door by the LF foul pole. He wasn’t sprinting but it was a healthy jog and he didn’t look like he was in any discomfort.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 29, 2021 18:25:07 GMT -5
Gilberto Jimenez left the game after the 1st inning. I didn’t see anything when he was running the bases. Ended up jogging off the field to the left with the trainer. Looked like he was running fine. He didn’t score from 1st on a deep Lugo double which I thought was weird. Was watching the ball so I didn’t see if he pulled up or anything.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 29, 2021 16:45:42 GMT -5
Few roster moves
Mieses (and presumably Espinal) are back. No official transaction but Mieses is in tonight’s lineup.
In addition, Matheny has been brought back up to Worcester. Getting that outfield logjam back together.
Meneses off the IL.
Baldwin back from Olympic qualifying (Rangel back to the Development List)
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 29, 2021 14:54:00 GMT -5
MiLB has Aaron Perry listed as the starter in Salem tonight instead of Blalock. Wonder if they’re going to try to stretch him out while Aldo is gone or whether this is an opener/bullpen game.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 29, 2021 10:57:09 GMT -5
Leon Paulino gets the start at 2B. He was drafted as an outfielder and played all OF in his short debut in 2019.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 28, 2021 13:24:43 GMT -5
Certainly didn’t take long for Florida weather to throw a wrench into things.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 28, 2021 10:58:12 GMT -5
Jose Larez is a pitcher...
WHAT?!
He's even listed on the roster as a pitcher. Is Larez coming out of nowhere to become a middle of the order 2-way player after a position change? The next Ohtani?!
Add: That was fun while it lasted. It got corrected to Blaze Jordan
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 28, 2021 9:07:21 GMT -5
The site is clearly still a work in progress. If you Google Florida Complex League, the results still show you that the site is called the Gulf Coast League and the GCL symbol is still there. The schedule is at least correct and posted.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 27, 2021 20:38:04 GMT -5
Nick Yorke isn't playing today, was DHing yesterday and didn't play the day before that. Dinged up? Demolishing the Carolina League or what ever they call it now for more than a month must've took a toll on his body 😃 Salem broadcast said during the 9th inning that Yorke “tweaked something” on Wednesday. They weren’t specific.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 27, 2021 20:22:07 GMT -5
Ceddanne Rafaela is going through something with his swing.
10.3% K rate in May. 31.2% K rate in June.
He’s been especially prone to strikeouts lately. 1-5 with 4 Ks tonight. 14 Ks in his last 23 ABs.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 27, 2021 20:04:14 GMT -5
Alexander Montero joined the Salem Red Sox from Fort Meyers. He’s pitching tonight.
Couple walks, couple hits, couple hard hit outs.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 27, 2021 11:42:11 GMT -5
The Salem pitching staff has a number of guys that are having a great start to the year.
Ryan Fernandez: 13.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.05 WHIP Casey Cobb: 22.2 IP, 1.19 ERA, 0.97 WHIP Brandon Walter: 27.0 IP, 1.33 ERA, 0.85 WHIP Devon Roedahl: 23.0 IP, 1.57 ERA, 0.83 WHIP Cody Scroggins: 22.0 IP, 1.64 ERA, 1.32 WHIP Robert Kwiatkowski: 29.0 IP, 2.17 ERA, 0.90 WHIP
They’re all 24-25 year old college guys (Fernandez is 23), so they should be overwhelming Low-A ball, but it’s still impressive. Most of these guys could probably handle a promotion at this point.
Has the loss of short season ball pushed younger guys up, making the college age pitchers’ stats even less reliable?
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 27, 2021 9:14:20 GMT -5
With Lugo OPSing 500, that 2019 draft is already shaping up to be horrible, less than 2 years in. Lugo is 20 years old. It’s way to early to give up on a player, let alone that whole draft class.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 26, 2021 17:41:23 GMT -5
Crawford’s not showing any rust so far. Three perfect innings with 4 Ks on 33 pitches in his first action since June 1st.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 25, 2021 19:29:09 GMT -5
Cam Cannon hit a home run, his first since May 25th.
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Post by Addam603 on Jun 25, 2021 17:58:43 GMT -5
Ok but what about Aldo? MiLB has Brandon Walter starting this game. Did his start just get moved back? This would be 2 turns in a row he missed.
Add: Well I can’t complain too much about Walter getting the start. 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 9 (!) Ks
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