No, I think we've seen other teams do this before, like Kansas City a few years ago. The attrition rate is going to be high, unfortunately, unless they've figured out something we haven't about arm health. But I think overall they've got the right idea and have a chance to be an absolute powerhouse MLB team in about 3 years if they deploy these assets the right way.

Atlanta is getting the best overall prospect in Maitan, but I don't think their group beyond him is any better than those of other teams going all in this weekend, other than San Diego, who appear willing to give $400,000 to any random kid walking down the street in Santo Domingo.

I would agree, at least in that Teheran's value is probably more than the Red Sox could provide if they won't trade any of the big 3 prospect bats.

Saw Adell last summer, will see others later this summer. Greene has definitely jumped out early.

Yep. All good. Hillman especially good early. Aiken's healthy with good velocity so far.

Unplayable at third base. No idea why anyone's called it average or slightly above. I've seen him a ton over the years.

Of course they can - in fact I'd say they're the odds-on favorites by virtue of the standings today. For real is another question; I killed them preseason because their rotation looked terrible, and it has been terrible. They have a starters' ERA of 4.95, fourth-worst in the AL, and have basically one and a half non-replacement-level starters in their rotation. They could ignore the problem and maybe still win the division, but it's not a great formula for now or for October.

I wrote about him in the preview - he's a good relief prospect, but of course he's there because he's Lithuanian, and I think MLB should always try to include as many countries as possible in the Futures Game. Maybe his inning ends up on Lithuanian TV and a bunch of kids see it and want to pick up a baseball.

Absolutely.

Szapucki's been legit, plus FB plus CB so far, throwing strikes. Didn't offer much projection in the draft but the tradeoff is that it's now stuff. Church I liked in the past but has no history of health, and now that I look he's not even pitching that well.

I chose not to discuss the baseball merits of the move at all in my piece on the signing because I thought it would diminish the core issue of whether teams should take a stance on players who've committed an act of domestic violence (in this case, a very serious one). It doesn't seem to me like a sliding scale, where we'll accept more violence if the player's better. For me, at least, I would simply say no, this is not who we are as an organization, regardless of what he can do for our team - and if my bosses said, sign him anyway, that's when I'd walk away from the job.

I think Bochy probably looked at the lack of any RHB on his bench other than Trevor Brown and figured Bumgarner (a RHB) was a better option anyway than the LHB available. I don't agree with this at all - Bumgarner, for all the HR he hits, has a .226 career OBP and doesn't exactly hit any kind of pitcher well, so it's not even helping the team. Then you get into the injury issues you raised and, well, maybe they should address the bench.

The series ended yesterday and the Chanticleers are still throwing over to first base.

Repeating AAA in a crazy hitter's environment. That said, I do think he has 20-25 HR power if he can hit enough to get to it.

Is it just me or is that a bad name for a burger place?

International guys like Maitan, 14. Draft players, summer after junior year of HS, usually.

A few months ago, maybe a year, the Nats made Maitan an offer that he (may have) accepted, after which Atlanta (reportedly) upper their offer and recaptured him. I heard the Nats were still trying to get Maitan to accept a $7 million offer - and there is actually nothing preventing any of these players from breaking an agreement with a team prior to the deadline because THESE DEALS ARE ALL ILLEGAL. The whole system is totally, royally fucked up.

Most clubs do it. Boston got caught. I don't think the penalty is that big of a deal, though, as they're going to lose a handful of low-probability 16- and 17-year-old prospects, none of whom projected (yet) as average or better guys. Maybe it will end up hurting them, but this seems more like a message sent to other clubs not to pull the same maneuver ... even though the system provides plenty of incentive for everyone to do this. See my previous answer.

Usually he either didn't get enough spin on the ball from the rotation of his wrist or it slipped out of his hand earlier than he'd wanted it to. Better question for someone who actually pitched, though.

All the time. Fall League too. Looking for tweeners and 4A guys who'll go all Tuffy Rhodes over there.

The bullpen opinion is about his delivery, not his stuff. I'd definitely look at him as a pen upgrade rather than trading for one of those guys.

The market for minor league players is not free, though. Movement is highly restricted by the draft and the reserve clause.

I think I said they were being reckless on Buster's podcast yesterday, but if I did, then I apologize for a take that was way too hot. There's so much that I don't know here, from exactly what's going on their elbows to what the probability is of further injury - I thought spurs and chips potentially led to damage to the UCLs, but perhaps that impression is out of date - to what these players, highly paid adults with agency, want to do. I shouldn't have come on that strongly about the Mets' plans here. I'm sorry.

Griffey, you know the answer. Beckwith isn't really a pro prospect of any sort.

Leave a Trace or We Sink.

Your mistake is looking at OPS, which is a garbage stat. Margot is 21 in AAA with a .353 OBP. His slugging is low, dragging down his OPS, but he's not a power hitter and will likely never be one. His game is defense, OBP, instincts, but not power.

He's hit away from Reading, while Cozens did most of his damage at home. I'm more inclined to buy into Hoskins' numbers, plus I have never been a fan of Cozens' makeup whereas I am of Hoskins'.

Yes, they'd still be at the top. The Astros managed to grab more college guys in the draft and more near-in prospects in trades, though, so I think Atlanta's rebuild may take longer. That's good, because by the time their prospects are ready in 2019 or so, people trying to get to games at The Big Con in 2017 will have found parking.

Margot, Guerra, Quantrill, Morejon?

All depends on who else is up and down before then. Next list is in two weeks. Remember he wasn't healthy last time I did an update, so he was around #26-28.

trying to figure out how to get there with other obligations this month (TV stuff) and family matters. Not sure yet.

Legit. 90-95, plus CH, breaking ball will flash above average, average command now, comes right down at hitters. Great pickup for Padres.

I don't know, but I said earlier this year they seem to be down on Dilson for reasons no one seems to understand.

Remember that teams get to say no - for example, I believe the Pirates said no on Glasnow, either because they just didn't want him to pitch (fearing injury) or because they were looking at calling him up before the game. I know MLB puts together wishlists and doesn't get everyone they want.

Yep, I think that's the rest of the season for them, including Turner in CF. He's probably an 80 runner and has good instincts; I'd be very surprised if he couldn't become an average defender there, and they could use his OBP skills at the top of the lineup.

Looked good, not his best. CB was ridiculous. FB command was not great, although I liked how he gathered himself after each of the walks to get back into the zone. Was hoping to see more CH, but he got some quick outs on pop-ups and you'll take those every time. Promising, but in a way I'm glad he was done after four innings because I thought he was going to run into trouble the third time through the order.

I have a feeling she supported it because her dad was a longtime MLB lobbyist and she didn't look into the bill. Next we need to go after Rep. Guthrie; perhaps he has an opponent this year who supports basic labor rights?

Thank you. My editor actually encouraged me to write that piece after seeing me comment on the signing on BBTN on Saturday. I don't think that would have happened a few years ago, so there are positive things happening in Bristol that you don't hear about.

I heard secondhand that he hit 103 the other day, so, yeah.

You have three choices. One, Johnson, is a protest vote with no chance to win. I don't agree with Trump on matters of science, gender, race, immigration, taxation, regulation, abortion, gun rights, foreign policy, freedom of worship, energy policy, entitlements ... and more. So, unless you're advocating that I abstain, I think my choice here is pretty straightforward.

He was 87-91 in extended.

More like a #4-5. Doubt he'll ever have average command.

It's 19 AB in pro ball ... and this year? He's 18. If he gets to the NYP league that's enough.

He was on the roster two years ago and got hurt.

That's probably my best suggestion too. You can often get less popular cuts of steak for less - flap meat, for example, or sometimes skirt steak.

What I really remember is fans asking me if the Phillies would add pieces before the trade deadline. Derp.

No. I looked into it a little this week, just to see if I'd missed something, and no one had any idea. He's turned down some decent offers though.

I believed in his swing and hand strength.

Great tools but he's 22 in high-A (not AA) and I think that's a big part of why he's playing well. Would really like to see him get to AAA next summer so the Reds can see how much of this improvement is real, not just age.

Omaha, Nashville, Charleston, Minneapolis, Atlanta, San Diego, Phoenix (cheating, since i lived there), OKC.