Occasionally in my writing I go down a rabbit hole. This phenomenon generally occurs when I try to expand my knowledge of the game by asking smart baseball people to allow me to delve into their minds. Recently I began traversing one of these as I tried to see through a player’s lens just what they thought were the keys to being a successful pitcher. I wanted
Continue readingThe Notes
Jose Rodriguez is a dude
The smallish but sturdily built 5’11” 175 lb infielder looks like a world beater. Without the benefit of having laid eyes on all of the players in the system, I often have to rely on scouting reports from teammates. When I conservatively ranked the 19 year-old 25th on my White Sox top prospect list it was by virtue of his solid statistical performance during the 2019 AZL
Continue reading2021 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers and Busts
This article was originally submitted to Rotoballers as a writing sample. The article was written on 12/15/2020. Being competitive in fantasy baseball requires a seemingly innate ability to minimize errors in player valuation and drafting. Successful fantasy owners will maximize their chances by recognizing potential sleepers and busts. In this article I will identify a sleeper and a bust at infielder, outfielder and pitcher with the rationales
Continue readingScouting Report: Andrew Vaughn
ANDREW VAUGHN Physical Description: If you ever wanted to win money by making a bet in a bar I would take the under on Vaughn’s listed six foot height. Body wise, he possesses a solid sturdy build, wide in the hips with a thick trunk and lower half. Although he is only 22, he has limited remaining physical projection for his frame. Hit: Vaughn’s swing is a
Continue readingRemember the name Mason Martin
During the 2019 season, one of the highlights for the Pittsburgh Pirates player development system was the emergence of first base prospect Mason Martin. In addition to being named an organizational All-Star, he was honored as the Pirates Minor League Player of the Year and nominated for a MiLBY (Minor League Baseball Yearly) award as Offensive Player of the Year. Not too shabby at all for a kid taken in the 17th round of
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Old take on Justin Yurchak
This article originally appeared on the Notes From The Sally website (April 2018) it has been updated to reflect Yurchak’s current performance. Kannapolis Intimidator’s first baseman Justin Yurchak is a baseball player I am very excited about this season. Taken in the 12th round of the 2017 MLB draft, Yurchak signed for an over slot bonus of $150K and Proceeded to Great Falls (Advanced rookie ball) where
Continue readingPlayer Profile: Sam Huff
Although this year’s crop of South Atlantic League prospects may lack some of the star power of the previous two seasons, one particular player is turning plenty of heads. Sam Huff, the catcher for the Hickory Crawdads is putting up video-game statistics; with cheat codes enabled nonetheless. He had 14 home runs in his team’s first 27 games, including an 11 game stretch in which he homered in
Continue readingMLB Roster Construction
I have always accepted the conventional wisdom that cracking a major league roster was exponentially more difficult for a late round pick than for an early round pick. I decided to do a deep dive into the construction of the current major league rosters and see just how tough it might be for a kid drafted after the tenth round. Please accept this disclaimer that there is nothing scientific
Continue readingBoycott
I was thinking that as a White Sox fan it might be time to boycott the team. Although the Sox fan base has NEVER truly backed the team (if you don’t believe me look at attendance figures from 2005 when they won the World Series). I think Reinsdorf and company deserve a clear message from the fans that, “We’re mad as hell and we’re not going to
Continue readingDumb things I’ve read today
Yoan Moncada who I have pegged for baseball stardom since 2016 has started out spring training with five hits in his first eight at bats. The Twitterverse is now abuzz, as the couch scouts have identified that “he looks so much more comfortable at the plate.” I wonder what they would be saying if he was two for eight with the other six outs being scorched line
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