Comments
The last twenty comments in true blog fasion, with the links to their authors and the player commented upon.
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"Huge step forward" is an understatement. We are showing what he did in Double A in 2018. I don't know why we haven't scooped up his stats in Triple A this year but here they are: .334/.429/.520 in 344 AB; 12 stolen bases in 17 tries.
Rotowire slots him at No. 7 among Padres prospects -- not bad, considering he's not on the top 15 list of Rays prospects in last year's 2019 Minor League Analyst.
But how do front offices adjust for the baseball that was used in Triple A this year? That's the question.
If he turns into Trea Turner 2.0, I'm gonna be pissed ... with the caveat that I'm rooting for exactly that to happen ...
Fangraphs review of Pham/Renfroe trade
Cronenworth, the second part of the Padres’ return, bears more explanation. He’s a 25-year old shortstop with enough glove to stick there, with the arm and fielding motions to handle any position across the infield in at least a utility role. His real appeal is with the bat, where he took a huge step forward in 2019.
Xavier Edwards, retrieved by Colin.
Jake Cronenworth, up from the depth and headed to the Padres.
Here's what I'm bankin' on ...
Here's the quote I love from Blake Snell, "Tommy's the man, bro. It's just hella (???) stupid. I'm just upset that we gave away a huge piece of our team. He was the swag of our team. He lifted a lot of our position players up with just his presence and made other guys more swaggy."
That, and his OBP ...
The Padres made themselves a lot better in 2020 with this trade, and while they had to spend a solid prospect to do it, they got someone almost as interesting back. Not every trade needs to have a winner and a loser — but if forced to choose sides, I suppose I’d take the Padres in this one.
I hope he's right ... time will tell ...
Need a page for Jake Cronenworth ... part of the Pham/Renfroe swap.
Cronenworth, 25, is the Rays’ No. 17 prospect and was named the team’s Triple-A MVP. He batted .334/.429/.520 at Triple-A Durham last season. He also struck out nine over 7 1/3 innings, serving mostly as an opener and showcasing a 95-mph fastball without allowing an earned run.
Baseball America peering into the Pirates' crystal ball:
Here's how we project their lineup in 2023, with their 2023 age in parentheses.
Catcher: Jacob Stallings (33)
First Base: Josh Bell (30)
Second Base: Kevin Newman (29)
Third Base: Ke'Bryan Hayes (26)
Shortstop: Cole Tucker (26)
Left Field: Bryan Reynolds (28)
Center Field: Travis Swaggerty (25)
Right Field: Oneil Cruz (24)
No. 1 Starter: Jameson Taillon (31)
No. 2 Starter: Mitch Keller (27)
No. 3 Starter: Joe Musgrove (30)
No. 4 Starter: Cody Bolton (25)
No. 5 Starter: Quinn Priester (22)
Closer: Tahnaj Thomas (24)
Among Joel Sherman's many reasons why the Yankees will get Gerrit Cole:
"Cole also is close with his sister, Erin, who passed the New York bar last July and lives in New York."
Same here. I've asked Colin if he can fix it.
To Padres ... hate losing Xavier Edwards!
(Note: something goes "wrong" when I search for and click on Xavier Edwards?)
Seems like 12 Ws and 235 Ks would be worth more than $13 ... so I assume a 4.34 ERA and 1.34 WHIP are worth negative? (as is the 0 saves, I s'pose)
I'm not sure what could be worked out to bump the $$'s for a Kevin Pillar, short a minimum payroll for teams.
The luxury tax probably doesn't really affect him - he's not going to be viewed as a key add for a playoff quality team. There are a lot of teams where he'd add value - he certainly did for the Giants last year - but he's not the player who puts butts into the seats. And the attitude is "if we're not making the playoffs, or at least a solid run at them, why worry about paying lots of money for a 1.4 WAR player?"
This day and age - I am not sure at all that Russell would have gotten much bump in arbitration ... and he's almost certain to take a pay cut as a FA, methinks.
They are going to strip down to absolute zero. That means Chris Davis's carcass, a few prospects who are promoted somewhat behind when they should have come up, and a bunch of non-prospects who collect the Major League minimum until the real prospects arrive in 2-4 years. It's going to be atrocious.
I'd be OK if he turned out to be the next Mr October :-)
Penning my picks and pans for the Guide, I wrote, "Wherever Didi lands, it's going to be a far cry from Yankee Stadium. PAN."
Then I looked up the supporting evidence.
Didi hit 11 of his homers on the road this year and slashed .196/.226/.345 in Yankee Stadium.
Huh.
What did Brett Gardener do?
Hit 16 of his 28 homers on the road.
Aaron Judge?
Hit 16 of his 27 homers on the road.
So I got out the Bill James Handbook and looked at page 508.
Where do you suppose Yankee Stadium ranked this year as a hitting venue in the American League?
Dead last.
The three worst ballparks in the AL in Run Index --
Tropicana Field: 95
Oakland Coliseum: 97
Yankee Stadium: 93
Am I dreaming? Are my beloved Mets about to escape the clutches of the evil Wilpons? Does it matter that Steve Cohen is a pernicious capitalist criminal?
Not at all.
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A casual fan who is somewhat a fan of the Cardinals wonders ... why did the Cardinals trade him away? ... and he's also somewhat a fan of the Rays and wonders why the Rays are now doing the same thing? Hmmm ...
And ... my hope is that, for a change, it's because the Padres are the team willing to spend the $$$ for his (projected) production!
And ... hmmm ... not many players get better from age 31 to age 32 ... hmmm ... so ... does Pham turn into just another .250 hitter (like Manny Machado did ... or worse)?