I'd bet on Moronta as Giants' "Closer of the Future" also ... but mlb.com sez ...

Melvin Adon, RHP, Giants' No. 15 (Double-A Richmond) Adon showcased one of the more electric fastballs in the Arizona Fall League last offseason, ranging from 95-102 mph with a four-seamer and unveiling a heavy two-seamer as well. He also showed more consistency with his upper-80s slider and control in shorter stints, leading San Francisco to make him a full-time reliever this year.

And he got hit tonight ... 2 hits + walk for 2 ERs in 0.2 IP ... pretty classic ...

And so ... of course he hits a leadoff HR off Chris Paddack tonight ...

Just traded a $6 Hampson for a $5 Buehler.  Hesitated because I was wondering what he knew that I didn’t. Still wondering . . .

He lasted until the 3rd round of the reserve draft in PCL ... so ... it's not simply a question of $1 or $2 extra on the bid ... in most leagues, $2 would have got him ... did anyone here bid on him?

I had my eye on Hellickson ... had a couple of shares in him last year that I felt gave me a good ROI ... I was feeling very light on Saves and took Jacob Barnes over Hellickson with my 3rd round pick ... sure, I'd rather Hellickson today ... Barnes might still get me a few critical saves (or am I dreaming about that? :-)) ...

Another vet that lasted until the reserve draft was Zach Davies ... whom I took with my first round pick ...

Alex asked about Spring Training stats under Tim Anderson.  I point you to exhibit A why we don't need to see them.  Sisco was sent down after dominating his second straight spring.  In 43 AAA AB, he's hitting 163/234/186.  Maybe it's the disappointment of being sent down, or maybe the ST doesn't matter at all.

An example of a veteran pitcher who pitched very, very well in spring training. Should it have pushed our bids up a critical buck or two?

Perhaps the better question: Would you bid more than $2 for him now?

As it happens, he has now had the same number of AB that count as AB during spring training.

For future reference, his slash stats in the 59 AB that count: .424/.443/.678.

His slash stats in spring training: .322/.344/.475.

The spring training stats will be taken down at the end of the month. Until then, they give us something to ponder. Are they worth looking at closely as we fine-tune our bids? Do they tell us anything at all? 

Erik Swanson up from the depths. We should get his stats tomorrow.

Watching him carve up the Giants today (ok ... no big deal there...) I dropped in to see how his 2019 #'s looked up to this game.  3 starts, 2.84 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 24 K's ... only good for $2 in earnings?

Wow, wins do play a huge part in pitcher value.

Thanks to his injury, picked Kendrick up in our ultra rounds.

What, you say he's not going to post a 50% fly ball rate ... and a 33% HR/FB rate ... and a .467 BABIP all year?

That's ok.  He's already justified the investment, such as it was.

Don't find Erik Swanson, who was part of the Paxton package from the Yanks. I picked him up on Monday from the free pile, and he rewarded me with a fine pitching effort against my Indians on Wednesday. Seattle may keep him around a while, says Onroto.

04.17... Erik Swanson held the Indians to one run in six innings but took a loss nonetheless on Wednesday.
Spin: He limited the Indians to just two base hits on the evening but one of them was a solo dinger off the bat of Jake Bauers. That was the only run of the game for either side so Swanson got stuck with the loss. He struck out five and did not issue a base-on-balls in the quality start. This was Swanson's first major league start and second appearance. The 25-year-old right-hander is filling in for the injured Wade LeBlanc (oblique) and could stick in the Mariners' rotation.

Smith costs 4+ million this year ... and he's a FA next winter.  He could probably be had fairly cheaply ... wouldn't shock me to see the Braves deal for him from their deep pool of prospect arms, rather than committing 5 years to Kimbrel.

I'm not sure about this thread. (I don't even remember creating it.)

Isn't it better to track Closer Chaos under the various culprits themslevs?

At the end of today I'm going to delete this thread. Tuffy and jschri, you might want to post your thoughts under Will Smith, or Melancon, or...

That's ok Alex - in virtually every protection league he was kept, I'm sure, since in 2017 everyone who got him picked him up for almost nothing.

Now has started twice, followed an opener twice, and his three wins.

He could easily win 20.

Four hits yesterday to raise his batting average to .342, his slugging average to .630, his BABIP to .396. It's early, sure, but not too early to say my bid was too low.

Picked up his second win yesterday with -- get this -- four walks and no strikeouts.

Three of his 79 pitches were swung at and missed. His four-seam fastball averaged  88 and topped out at 90. Ten runners reached base against him (one on an error) but only two touched home plate in 5.2 IP.

The opposing team was the Giants, which certainly helped.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Yoshihisa Hirano — Greg Holland has pitched in three of four, and Archie Bradley threw 36 pitches last night.
2. Chad Sobotka/Shane Carle — Sobotka struggled in his last appearance, but it’s not likely that AJ Minter will pitch for a fourth day out of five.

Friday:
1. Joe Kelly — Kenley Jansen has pitched in two of three.
2. Joe Jimenez — Shane Greene has gone in two straight.

Boston Red Sox — Boston’s bullpen, till now the high point of a shockingly bad season, turned back into a pumpkin Wednesday night. Brandon Workman loaded the bases and Ryan Brasier gave up a grand slam, wasting a great start by Nathan Eovaldi.

Hierarchy remains: *Brasier | Barnes | Workman.
* = closer-by-committee