Minor league thread 2023

JM3

JM3

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Who's not in the market for a Jose Ramirez (#92) or Luis Ravelo (#57) wallpaper?

View: https://twitter.com/salemredsox/status/1722291703363653914


Ramirez, who turns 23 right before next season, is a mildly promising pitcher, but he lacks elite stuff & also control. He signed for $40k in 2018. After spending '18, '19 & '21 in the DSL, he spent most of '22 in the FCL except a 6 inning stint at Salem.

He was quite good by his last year in the DSL, but nothing too great for his age 20 season - 2.36 ERA, 3.97 xFIP, 8.3 k/9, 3.4 bb/9.

He also was not too good in the FCL - 5.74 ERA, 5.22 xFIP, 10.2 k/9, 5.1 bb/9.

On the surface, his season in Salem wasn't too bad...90 IP, 3.80 ERA. The underlying #s are a but scarier, though: 4.78 xFIP, 7.8 k/9, 4.9 bb/9, & just an unfathomable # of unearned runs. Ramirez allowed 38 earned runs & 25 unearned runs. The rest of the team combined allowed 435 earned runs & 104 unearned runs.

So at some point you have to attribute his inability to get out of innings after errors to more than just bad defense. He seems kind of like he's on the fringe of becoming organizational depth & not a rotation piece. Might need a nudge down the rankings a bit.

Will post about Ravelo a bit later.
 
singaporesoxfan

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Rovin Romine said:
Yeah, I think I proposed they hire a nutritionist, etc., 15 years ago.

If you're collectively spending millions to acquire your most promising assets (MiL players) why not invest in things that are more likely to lead to their flourishing?

I realize there's a whole network of gyms, private coaches, player-training-alliances, and baseball academies already. But why not let every player on your clubs have an easy opt-in option for food, training, counseling, etc.
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FYI, they already have some of this infrastructure in place, e.g. if you search LinkedIn, you'll find that the Sox have a minor league dietician in Fort Myers. I've mentioned here that I was interviewed by Chaim Bloom and the Sox front office for a role last year - among things that I suggested was that the Sox could do more to create the right development environment for their minor league talent. Not earthshattering, but it's always driven me a bit nuts that they didn't do more (or at least don't appear to do so).
 
Jed Zeppelin

Jed Zeppelin

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singaporesoxfan said:
FYI, they already have some of this infrastructure in place, e.g. if you search LinkedIn, you'll find that the Sox have a minor league dietician in Fort Myers. I've mentioned here that I was interviewed by Chaim Bloom and the Sox front office for a role last year - among things that I suggested was that the Sox could do more to create the right development environment for their minor league talent. Not earthshattering, but it's always driven me a bit nuts that they didn't do more (or at least don't appear to do so).
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Hell, wasn’t there a team recently hailed as more or less revolutionary for paying their scouts a decent living wage?

I would hope an org like the Red Sox is state of the art from bottom to top.
 
JM3

JM3

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singaporesoxfan said:
FYI, they already have some of this infrastructure in place, e.g. if you search LinkedIn, you'll find that the Sox have a minor league dietician in Fort Myers. I've mentioned here that I was interviewed by Chaim Bloom and the Sox front office for a role last year - among things that I suggested was that the Sox could do more to create the right development environment for their minor league talent. Not earthshattering, but it's always driven me a bit nuts that they didn't do more (or at least don't appear to do so).
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Yeah, some of the guests on the Harker pod have been talking about the dietary stuff going on in Ft. Myers. Seems like maybe the difference is that it's a more integrated plan throughout the org, more like other structures like pitching, hitting & fielding.

It's crazy not to have huge investment in all aspects of the modern developmental process.
 
Jimbodandy

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Jed Zeppelin said:
Hell, wasn’t there a team recently hailed as more or less revolutionary for paying their scouts a decent living wage?

I would hope an org like the Red Sox is state of the art from bottom to top.
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I was stuck on a bus in the mid 90s from Springfield to Boston MA, and the guy in the seat next to me was a scout for the Indians. His territory included Mass high schools. I remember thinking at the time that it was strange that a scout for a team that was at the top of the league was taking buses around. Now I realize that maybe he just didn't like to drive everywhere, and maybe he preferred spiral notebooks to laptops. But with the cash that teams spend on MLB payroll, it seems like a great place to spend real money and to attract and keep talent that could pay for itself many times over.
 
JM3

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JM3 said:
A couple people who really don't take advantage of the funner ways to pronounce their Q names. HEN-reek & Jayks smh. Andrew Parquet would have done it right.

View: https://twitter.com/ByAndrewParker/status/1725144160129225015
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I've listened to about half. I thought it was interesting that the QoL was so good for Jacques that it made him want to do well for the front office. & also thought it was cool that DeSclafani was just casually saying good things about Bailey.
 
JM3

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HELL CREASE is a 23 y/o lefty who has never pitched higher than A+. I strongly presume the "assignment" to Worcester is simply transactional as it's the automatic assignment for players added to the org (e.g. the drama about Noah Song being assigned to Worcester when the Phillies gave him back).

I'd expect him to probably start in A+ or maybe AA. He wasn't particularly good in '21 when he played in A+...99.2 IP, 6.05 ERA, 5.50 xFIP, 1.58 WHIP, 10.1 k/9, 6.1 bb/9. But we lack lefty starters & maybe there's something there. & the cost is obviously right.

Track Record: Signed for a mere $77,000 in 2016, Olivarez spent his first two seasons in the Dominican Summer League before making his stateside debut for Rookie-level Grand Junction in 2019. He turned in a raw but promising summer in the Pioneer League and had a big 2020 with solid showings at the alternate training site and in instructional league. Olivarez was added to the 40-man roster after the season and entered 2021 with big expectations, but he posted a 6.05 ERA for High-A Spokane.

Scouting Report: Olivarez’s raw stuff is electric. He has easy fastball velocity up to 100 mph and usually sits in the high 90s. But his command is questionable and his offspeed pitches need honing, with an average changeup and a curveball that can be flat. Cleaning up and simplifying his delivery will help him achieve the release-point consistency needed to become a bonafide starter. He already creates uncomfortable at-bats from either side, but to complement his plus heat, Olivarez needs to keep a better lid on his emotions on the mound.

The Future: Olivarez can be a hard-throwing back-end starter if he can learn to command his fastball. If the command doesn’t come soon, he profiles as a late-inning bullpen arm.
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https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/6576-helcris-olivarez/
 
JM3

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View: https://twitter.com/AriA1exander/status/1724171784491036826

This is from July.

LHP Helcris Olivarez
The flame-throwing international prospect missed most of 2022 with a left shoulder strain, which then turned into major shoulder surgery for the southpaw.

He’s now back to throwing bullpens, although he’s still a ways off from pitching in a game. That’s likely to come this fall. When it does happen, the Rockies’ plan is to throw him back into high-leverage roles in the bullpen and see if he can continue the trajectory he was on prior to getting hurt.

“We may just let him sprint,” Forbes said.
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https://www.denverpost.com/2023/07/31/rockies-prospect-injury-updates/
 
JM3

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Onto the inevitable, but sadder end of the transactions, I'll do the releases in reverse order of ranking:

#253 Oscar Rangel - Rangel, 25, seems to have been a glorified bullpen catcher, logging a total of 30 PAs since 2019, including 1 this year for Worcester. Maybe he has a coaching career ahead of him that he can get started on? He was originally signed for $3k in February 2018 out of Aragua, VA. If he does become a coach, his last name is pronounced ron-HEL.

https://www.soxprospects.com/players/rangel-oscar.htm
 
JM3

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#231 Rivaldo Avila - Avila, 21, came with a higher pedigree, having signed for $405k in July 2019 out of Caracas, VZ, but he has not made much of an impact. He spent '21 & '22 in the DSL, & only got 38 PAs in the FCL this year with an 83 wRC+. I'm guessing his defense was fairly problematic for them to give up on him so quick. That's kind of confirmed by the fact that he played 12 innings at catcher this year & 36 at 1B.

https://www.soxprospects.com/players/avila-rivaldo.htm
 
JM3

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#230 Casey Cobb - Cobb, 27, did not advance higher than A+, where he actually played a fairly significant role out of the bullpen in the playoffs, despite note being very good. Cobb had a 5.62 ERA in 57.2 innings (4.49 xFIP). He was a UDFA in 2020. Cobb is 5'10 & doesn't throw particularly hard.

https://www.soxprospects.com/players/cobb-casey.htm
 
JM3

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#134 Yorberto Mejicano - Meji, who I discussed yesterday in regard to the Venezuelan U-23 team, is the only somewhat surprising one. He signed for $5k in January 2019 & has been a pretty good hitter along the way:

'19 DSL - 100 wRC+
'21 FCL - 185 wRC+
'22 A - 97 wRC+
'23 A - 117 wRC+

He's another guy they sort of transitioned more of catcher - playing 234.2 innings at 1B & only 113 at catcher this past year. & while his bat is fine if he's a good defensive catcher, it's going to have a hard time carrying him as a slow, 5'11 1B.

He had the 5th worst cs% in the system last season:

(#134) Yorberto Mejicano (A): 113 innings, 33 steals. 9 caught stealing (21%), 4 errors, 1 PB (23 IPEP)
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So it makes some sense, & I think he was certainly overrated in my rankings. But it definitely seems like there are less promising players still floating around.

https://www.soxprospects.com/players/mejicano-yorberto.htm
 
JM3

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JM3 said:
Who's not in the market for a Jose Ramirez (#92) or Luis Ravelo (#57) wallpaper?

View: https://twitter.com/salemredsox/status/1722291703363653914


Ramirez, who turns 23 right before next season, is a mildly promising pitcher, but he lacks elite stuff & also control. He signed for $40k in 2018. After spending '18, '19 & '21 in the DSL, he spent most of '22 in the FCL except a 6 inning stint at Salem.

He was quite good by his last year in the DSL, but nothing too great for his age 20 season - 2.36 ERA, 3.97 xFIP, 8.3 k/9, 3.4 bb/9.

He also was not too good in the FCL - 5.74 ERA, 5.22 xFIP, 10.2 k/9, 5.1 bb/9.

On the surface, his season in Salem wasn't too bad...90 IP, 3.80 ERA. The underlying #s are a but scarier, though: 4.78 xFIP, 7.8 k/9, 4.9 bb/9, & just an unfathomable # of unearned runs. Ramirez allowed 38 earned runs & 25 unearned runs. The rest of the team combined allowed 435 earned runs & 104 unearned runs.

So at some point you have to attribute his inability to get out of innings after errors to more than just bad defense. He seems kind of like he's on the fringe of becoming organizational depth & not a rotation piece. Might need a nudge down the rankings a bit.

Will post about Ravelo a bit later.
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Sometimes I follow through with things I say I'll do. Sometimes, not so much...

Luis Ravelo (SP #40) is a switch hitting SS prospect who just turned 20, but does not currently seem capable of hitting. Ravelo signed for $545k in January '21 (the 3rd most in the class behind Miguel Bleis & Enderso Lira). In 3 seasons across 3 levels, Ravelo is slashing .219/.314/.299 (.613 OPS). Ravelo played 537 innings at SS, 316 at 2B & 38 at 3B in 2023, all at Salem, & recorded 17 errors. Stolen bases are not a big part of his game. In his MiLB career he has 12 steals & 10 caught stealing.

Ravelo is a fluid fielder with a strong arm, & he is still quite young...but he's going to have to get a lot better at hitting. He had an 11.5% bb-rate & 28.4% k-rate this past season & an 81 wRC+. Ravelo had a .635 OPS as a lefty against righties & .493 as a righty against lefties.

SP is more optimistic about Ravelo's ability to get it together. I think the fact that steals aren't a part of his game almost at all is troubling for a guy who isn't hitting & has a defense first profile. He did finish tied for 2nd on Salem in homers (but it was only 6, & he led the team in PAs by 90 with 444) & led the team in RBIs (47).

https://soxprospects.com/players/ravelo-luis.htm
 
JM3

JM3

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I just realized this Fangraphs prospect list is so bad that their #43 Red Sox prospect in June (Joey Stock) has already retired from baseball...

[TH]Rk[/TH] [TH]Name[/TH] [TH]Age[/TH] [TH]Highest Level[/TH] [TH]Position[/TH] [TH]ETA[/TH] [TH]FV[/TH]
1 Marcelo Mayer 20.5 AA SS 2025 55
2 Miguel Bleis 19.3 A CF 2026 55
3 Triston Casas 23.4 MLB 1B 2023 55
4 Ceddanne Rafaela 22.7 AA CF 2024 50
5 Nick Yorke 21.2 AA 2B 2025 50
6 Masataka Yoshida 29.9 MLB LF 2023 45+
7 Roman Anthony 19.1 A RF 2026 45+
8 Shane Drohan 24.4 AAA SP 2024 45
9 Marvin Alcantara 18.6 R SS 2027 45
10 Wikelman Gonzalez 21.2 A+ SP 2025 45
11 Angel Bastardo 21.0 A+ SP 2025 45
12 Mikey Romero 19.4 A 2B 2028 45
13 Enmanuel Valdez 24.5 MLB 2B 2023 45
14 Eddinson Paulino 20.9 A+ 3B 2024 40+
15 Chase Meidroth 21.9 AA 3B 2027 40+
16 Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz 19.8 A SP 2026 40+
17 Bradley Blalock 22.5 A SP 2025 40+
18 Wilyer Abreu 24.0 AAA RF 2023 40
19 Chris Murphy 25.0 MLB MIRP 2023 40
20 Brandon Walter 26.8 AAA MIRP 2023 40
21 David Hamilton 25.7 AAA SS 2023 40
22 Yoeilin Cespedes 17.8 R 2B 2029 40
23 Brainer Bonaci 20.9 A+ 2B 2024 40
24 Luis Perales 20.2 A SIRP 2025 40
25 Yordanny Monegro 20.7 R SP 2026 40
26 Ryan Fernandez 25.0 AA SIRP 2024 40
27 Bryan Mata 24.1 AAA MIRP 2023 40
28 Luis Guerrero 22.9 AA SIRP 2025 40
29 Blaze Jordan 20.5 A+ 1B 2025 40
30 Juan Daniel Encarnacion 22.2 A+ SIRP 2024 40
31 Chih-Jung Liu 24.2 AA SIRP 2024 40
32 Ronaldo Hernández 25.6 AAA C 2023 40
33 Cutter Coffey 19.1 A SS 2028 35+
34 Stephen Scott 26.1 AAA C 2024 35+
35 Jedixson Paez 19.4 A SP 2026 35+
36 Luis Cohen 20.0 R SP 2027 35+
37 Enderso Lira 19.7 A C 2026 35+
38 Corey Rosier 23.8 AA LF 2025 35+
39 Allan Castro 20.1 A CF 2025 35+
40 Noah Dean 22.3 A SIRP 2026 35+
41 Christopher Troye 24.3 AA SIRP 2024 35+
42 Alex Hoppe 24.5 A+ SIRP 2026 35+
43 Joey Stock 25.8 A+ SIRP 2025 35+
44 Dalton Rogers 21.4 A+ MIRP 2026 35+
45 Tyler McDonough 24.2 AA CF 2025 35+
46 Jhostynxon Garcia 20.5 A CF 2027 35+


Just bizarre work. I do appreciate the LuCo respect, though.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/boston-red-sox-top-46-prospects-2023/
 
JM3

JM3

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JM3 said:
Santos got into a 3rd game.

3.2 IP
1 run
4 hits
0 walks
1 strikeout

On the season that's 1 run in 8.2 IP, 6 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts.
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Game #4 in the books for Victor Santos in LIDOM...

5 IP
0 runs
6 hits
0 walks
2 strikeouts

On the season...

13.2 IP
1 run
12 hits
2 walks
9 strikeouts

0.66 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 1.3 bb/9, 5.9 k/9
 
Heating up in the bullpen

Heating up in the bullpen

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JM3

JM3

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Heating up in the bullpen said:
I’m hoping the Yankees’ return ends up similar to Hamilton & Binelas.
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It could be worth even less than that. But Renfroe was a much better player than Bauers & they didn't have to eat JBJ's salary.

But yeah, I hope everything they do fails miserably in some way or another.
 
JM3

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View: https://twitter.com/tylermilliken_/status/1725933966853619781


@alexspeier
with updates on Marcelo Mayer and Miguel Bleis:

⚾ Miguel Bleis has resumed baseball activities at the Red Sox DR Academy. That includes swinging. Seems to have added some weight and “looks great” says Brian Abraham. Should be good to go for a normal spring training.

⚾ “Marcelo Mayer, who resumed swinging this fall in Fort Myers while rehabbing from a left shoulder impingement, is now home in California on a strength program and will be reevaluated after Thanksgiving.” Expectation is still that he won’t require surgery, and that he’ll be ready for a normal spring.
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Apisith

Apisith

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Resumed swinging but now on a strength program. Am I reading between the lines correctly in saying that he’s still hurt? Maybe it’s better but it’s not 100%?
 
simplicio

simplicio

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He's been out since the beginning of August, that's a long time and he likely needs a strength program to rebuild.
 
JM3

JM3

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JM3 said:
View: https://twitter.com/redsoxstats/status/1726301009469960469
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On the part where they talk about the Minor League Rule 5. Everyone on the 40 is protected + everyone on the AAA reserve list + however many others you protect to get to 78.

They've seen the Red Sox reserve list & said they expect to lose multiple guys but I guess it's not public info who's on it.

But they said Ryan Fitzgerald is available & Ronald Rosario isn't (which I agree with).

Also available: Brock Bell, Gilberto Jimenez, Jose Ramirez, Alexis Hernandez, Elih Marrero, Alisson Del Orbe, Kelvin Diaz, Cesar Ruiz & Jorge Rodriguez.

Not tooo concerned about any of those. Wish they just put out who was on the protected list, though.
 
JM3

JM3

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Other stuff from the SP Pod:

* Casey Cobb is apparently headed to the Navy.

* I think it's kind of odd that Hatfield considers Helcris a "very Breslow" signing when Breslow has said it's easier to add velo than control. Agree it's a good flyer, though.

* Isaiah Campbell is actually only the 1st Portuguese player of the modern ERA & there was previously one in 1875. & they like the trade. Which I agree with.

* Cundall likes Senzel as a non-tendered player who would be an option for the Red Sox against lefties.

* The SP guys agree with me that Whit Merrifield wouldn't be a good signing.
 
JM3

JM3

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JM3 said:
On the part where they talk about the Minor League Rule 5. Everyone on the 40 is protected + everyone on the AAA reserve list + however many others you protect to get to 78.

They've seen the Red Sox reserve list & said they expect to lose multiple guys but I guess it's not public info who's on it.

But they said Ryan Fitzgerald is available & Ronald Rosario isn't (which I agree with).

Also available: Brock Bell, Gilberto Jimenez, Jose Ramirez, Alexis Hernandez, Elih Marrero, Alisson Del Orbe, Kelvin Diaz, Cesar Ruiz & Jorge Rodriguez.

Not tooo concerned about any of those. Wish they just put out who was on the protected list, though.
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I should try to figure this out...

1st thing I did was go to this page...

https://soxprospects.com/rule5.htm

...& get confused about who Christopher Acosta is.

https://www.soxprospects.com/players/acosta-christopher.htm

He is listed as being inactive since 2015 & I haven't seen him on these lists before...

Side note: Mike Andrews says SP hopes to have their rankings update up before noon on Wednesday.
 
JM3

JM3

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Anyway, on to the people who are probably on the 38:

This is the list from SP & I'll bold my guesses:

December 2023

Christopher Acosta - suspended since '15
Eddy Alvarez
Angel Bastardo
Brock Bell
Royman Blanco
Cam Booser
Zach Bryant
Maceo Campbell
Allan Castro
Brendan Cellucci
Felix Cepeda
Juan Chacon - Maybe
Mark Contreras - New, assume no need to protect?
Nathanael Cruz
Luis De La Rosa
Allison Del Orbe
Nick Decker
Kelvin Diaz
Jordan DiValerio
Shane Drohan
Juan Daniel Encarnación
Alex Erro
Albert Feliz
Ryan Fernandez
Ryan Fitzgerald
Grant Gambrell
Jhostynxon Garcia
Franklin German
Bryan Gonzalez
Justin Hagenman
Alexis Hernandez
Gabriel Jackson - Maybe
Lyonell James
Gilberto Jimenez
Christian Koss
Robert Kwiatkowski
Chih-Jung Liu
Eduardo Lopez
Matthew Lugo
Elih Marrero
Ryan Miller
Andrés Núñez
Helcris Olivarez - New, assume no need to protect?
Yusniel Padron-Artiles
Eddinson Paulino
Zach Penrod
Juan Perez - retired April '19
Railin Perez
AJ Politi
Jose Ramirez
Jorge Rodriguez
Ronald Rosario
Cesar Ruiz
Johnfrank Salazar
Victor Santos
Stephen Scott
Cody Scroggins - Maybe
Reidis Sena
Chase Shugart - Maybe
Karson Simas
Nick Sogard
Noah Song
Dylan Spacke
Luis Talavera - Maybe
Nate Tellier
Michael Valera
Brian Van Belle
Diego Viloria
Jeremy Wu-Yelland
Ryan Zeferjahn

So yeah, who knows? I think I bolded 38.
 
JM3

JM3

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JM3 said:
Still haven't listened to the SP pod so will listen to that later, & then probably Binelas after.

View: https://twitter.com/ByAndrewParker/status/1726591469627289722
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Listening to this now. I enjoy how Binelas tried to pretend he enjoyed the Portland stadium when it was pretty clear he didn't. Whereas it's clear he actually does love his teammates.

Binelas talked about the turning point of his season when his dad helped him change his swing by bringing his hands in & lowering his leg kick.

The turnaround came basically starting June 1st (except he had a pretty bad August), but here's the breakdown:

April & May:

20-111
10 walks (8.3%)
54 strikeouts (44.6%)
7 doubles
1 triple
3 homers
0 HBP
1 SF

.180/.246/.342, .588 OPS

June to September:

46-185
20 walks (9.8%)
61 strikeouts (29.8%)
11 doubles
1 triple
13 homers
1 HBP
0 SF

.249/.325/.530, .855 OPS

So yeah, a pretty substantial improvement.
 
JM3

JM3

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Even as someone who spent years of my life listening to fantasy football pods, the parts of these pods that devolve into talking about Henrique's fantasy football team are almost unlistenable to me.

& Gatlin seems really uncomfortable in this setting and like he's just hitting a list of stock questions & not having a conversation, but hopefully if he gets more experience he'll get more confident & natural.

The love in Parker's eyes when Binelas stan'd for Zaxby's made it worth it again, though. I'm usually listening & not watching but glad I caught that one lol
 
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