I think he already was one. We do need to see him promoted rather than beating up a league he already faced last season.

Yeah, that's not your source for baseball analysis. Were they also projecting the Phillies to win 90+?

Very little, but I'm not criticizing the guys who put those rankings together - you're talking about mostly 15-year-olds, sometimes kids who haven't been seen in months because they've been locked up already with various not-that-legal deals. It's an impossible ask.

Problem is he's not a CF. I think he can hit some, but he's going to have to rake (and what he's done so far is very flukish) to be a regular in a corner.

I see them when they sign. There's very little value in seeing July 2nd guys now when it's probably two years before they're even on the pro prospect radar.

No, nor do I expect to hear anything on picks in the 40s and 50s.

Probably everyday player.

Lewis at 2 is a reach for me. But if you said Puk-Senzel-Ray, I'd say "OK" and assume the Rockies would take Groome. Lewis has the upside, but he swings and misses too often against bad competition for me to see him as a #2 pick. I'm lighter on him and Senzel than the industry.

I had him as a top ten prospect in baseball, so I think he's within the range of what I expected from him. Now, if he hits 20 HR this year, that would be surprising, and yes he'd be a solid MVP candidate if he becomes that kind of guy.

I can't see him as a starter with that delivery or going through a lineup 3x with his stuff. I could see him as a really effective long guy like Adam Warren last year, making some spot starts, but mostly going through lineups once and getting groundballs.

If you're saying did my evaluation predict what's happening now, I think that's too facile. His stuff looks very straight and mostly up in the zone right now, though, and that is at least partly related to the delivery.

I think most teams have Moniak over Rutherford right now, because Moniak is the better overall athlete AND because he's over a year younger.

It's certainly interesting.

No. Second round. Grooved swing, feasts a lot on bad pitching, no position.

It's been a month, and I don't object to a team saying a guy should get around the league a little longer before a promotion. He's not going to spend all year in high-A.

I mentioned him in my post this morning. I heard the Reds were in heavy at Caguas this week to watch him.

He's not like Schwarber, but I've heard two teams specifically on him in the top ten, Oakland and possibly the White Sox.

It's garbage. Just throwing a bunch of numbers together with no regard to whether they even belong in the equation, let alone whether they're weighted appropriately.

Best player available. That could be Ray, Delvin, maybe Lewis or Senzel. Don't see Groome getting there. Don't think they'd take Pint. I wonder if they'd consider Manning, as Ray Montgomery isn't afraid to take a high-ceiling prep arm.

No, you named the only one. And even then, in hindsight, did the Royals do well to reach for Dozier at 8 so they could get Manaea at 34? Dozier is repeating AA now, and may not be anything, while Manaea was a useful trade piece but not quite as good as expected. And at the time that seemed like a really smart strategy on their part.

I have no spare time right now for anything new.

Miller I'm concerned about - he doesn't look right. I wonder if he's hurt, or at least physically off. Greinke I think will be fine.

I think that's their preference, likely Senzel or Collins, although they had a bunch of guys there to see Manning (who's local to them, so it's easier to just drive up to watch him) on Monday when I was there.

I think he could post a .340 OBP, steal a bunch of bases, and play above average defense at short right now. That's worlds better than the zero they're getting.

Doubt it. They don't appear to be a team that's looking to take on any money, much less a bad contract.

Stuff is the first thing you see, but if the delivery's bad, I'm a lot less interested.

Yep, good to meet you too - you caught me right as I was stepping into High Street for lunch. I do not think that on Joseph, and he's got no history of staying healthy, unfortunately.

Pork belly starter, duck confit salad, ice cream sandwich. Hard to beat that.

Don't agree on Sheffield as 2 or 3. He's a reliever all the way. I've got Sedlock at Illinois over him, and Connor Jones too despite inferior stuff because he can sink it and has starter size. Dane Dunning might be better. Robert Tyler's got comparable stuff and has a better frame. But yes, the college starter crop is all kinds of terrible. Keep an eye on Corbin Burnes at St. Mary's - i think he'll go sooner than we expect because someone will say they'd prefer the safety of the college pitcher to the risk of the high school guy.

Good move. Or, bad move to fail to do so, one you will hear about for the next fifty years. Also congratulations.

No, don't see that.

Instructs in September, extended spring the following April/May, then rookie ball (GCL or AZL). Rinse, repeat.

This isn't a rumor, nor did I find it newsworthy - almost every team drafting up top wants more picks so they can spread the money around. The Brewers do not have an end of 1st pick they can trade.

Beckett is before my time.

He's not going to start, and unless Timmy Jim comes out throwing 92-94 tomorrow I doubt he's going to get many major-league offers.

No, it's actually worse than OPS, and that's saying something. It treats a stolen base the same as a single. It penalizes a hitter for each GIDP, so the same hitter will have a lower TA just because he's got a slow runner who gets on base a lot hitting in front of him. It's a brain-dead stat, one that sounds good but makes no logical sense.

It was absolutely superb. I doubt I could have had a better meal. I was there Monday to see Matt Manning pitch.

I don't think Stew is the looking-at-numbers sort.

Way below the range I cover.

Those last 73 games came largely in two homer-suppressing ballparks. He's also still 21.

This is Klawchat. This is not RobChat. Try again, this time with a question in there somewhere.

Come on, he's not that old.

They do not know. Nor should they, given the date - it's may 5th, in case you didn't know - and the draft class this year.

It's 22 games. Also it's May 5th.

I don't think of it as "tanking" like in the NBA, but the current rules around MLB's draft and international spending provide tremendous incentive for teams to do what the Astros did and now Atlanta, the Brewers, and the Phillies are doing. There is no point in spending money just to get from 68 wins to 72.

I heard Maddux tinkered with his delivery, which, if true, would be the dumbest fucking thing I have ever heard of a pitching coach doing with a prospect, because Giolito's delivery did not need tinkering.

Nimmo was a previous scouting director so don't lump him in with the others. I think they prefer the safety of bats with the first pick, but are otherwise just best player available. This year that's probably a bat anyway.

I think if a kid is struggling and the coaching staff is in his ear suggesting this change or that tweak, yes, it can make matters worse. I also think Buxton is going to end up hitting, assuming the Twins just leave him be in AAA until he starts producing again.

Lower. Like his arm slot. #rimshot

Yes. Absalom, Absalom is one of my top 20 novels ever.