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Post by ramireja on Apr 30, 2020 11:10:21 GMT -5
We're onto our 3B nominees for the 2020 SP Pre-Season All-Star Team. Please remember to cast your vote for the third baseman in the Red Sox minor league system that you believe will have the best 2020 season. The idea is to vote for the player you predict will perform the best on the field, not who you consider to be the best prospect. Per usual, each player is eligible for only one position and thus will not appear on multiple polls.
This poll will close on Sunday May 3rd @ noon ET.
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Post by ramireja on May 2, 2020 12:06:12 GMT -5
Its a runaway in here. A few people haven't given up on the upside of Danny Diaz and Nick Northcut which is nice. That said, a little surprised to see Diaz with one more vote than Howlett.
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Post by Oregon Norm on May 2, 2020 15:26:13 GMT -5
I still have hope for Howlett. He's still very young and the swing looks like it can carry him. The trend hasn't been good as he's moved up, but the promotions were aggressive. This is supposed to be about the player who has the best year and this may be his.
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Post by dcb26 on May 3, 2020 7:15:57 GMT -5
I voted for Diaz - after reading in the updated scouting report how much he has grown in the last year or two, I can really imagine that taking some time to adjust to (never mind all the other stuff a young baseball player in his situation had to adjust to.) Given the potential he showed before and how much he has grown, if he does make those adjustments, I think there could be some pretty impressive results. Could go the other way too, obviously.
Dalbec is a safe pick if nobody else in this list goes off this year, but I feel like I know what to expect from him and a Diaz breakout (re-breakout ?) could top that.
Also, does anyone else feel like Devers should still be a choice? Joking, mostly, but he is younger than half the players in this list.
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Post by ramireja on May 4, 2020 12:57:17 GMT -5
I voted Dalbec...but did want to say I think I'm higher on Howlett's season last year than most. It seems to be most often referred to with disappointment, but lets consider a few things:
- He spent his entire 2019 season in Greenville as a 21st round HS draft pick in 2018. That type of aggressive assignment is typically reserved for the 1st and 2nd round quality HS players in a given draft class. In fact, some HS players drafted much earlier opened last year in short season ball (e.g., Nick Schnell, 32nd overall pick)
- Even though his Greenville triple slash line doesn't jump off the page....his wRC+ was still 109. In other words, people are down on Howlett even though he was 9% better than the average offensive player at his level despite the aggressive assignment. His wRC+ was better at the same level compared to fellow 2018 HS draftees like Connor Scott (13th pick overall), Anthony Seigler (23rd pick overall), Grant Lavigne (42nd pick overall), Parker Meadows (44th pick overall), Will Banfield (69th pick overall), Cole Roederer (77th pick overall), and Michael Siani (109th pick overall). Howlett was the 640th pick of the draft.
- I realize his season has a hot spell sandwiched by a pair of cold spells, and I've seen some refer to that as a reason why we should be wary of his overall numbers. Why? If anything I'm pretty encouraged by a guy who was able to put up dominant offensive numbers at that level over a period of ~150 PAs.
- His 31.0% K% isn't great. I'll admit that. It's something to monitor for sure and might limit his ceiling. On the flip side, his 12% was fantastic, and if he's going to continue to have high K totals, let's hope he couples it with high BB rates as well.
Not at all trying to say I think Howlett is destined for a starting 3B in the majors but I think he's a top 20 guy in this system. I find it surprising that folks talk about his 2019 season as a disappointment.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on May 4, 2020 22:07:31 GMT -5
I caught Howlett in August and he looked like he was some combination of absolutely gassed and in his own head. He looked pretty bad in the two-game look I had, but not in a way that would lead me to write him off.
I think he and Flores were the two guys in the system who I saw last summer who most desperately needed the offseason.
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