September 2019 Game Thread

[geemoney]

Also good to see Dean pick things up here at the end of the year.

[Nick]

Also, I had pleaded for a month of continuous PT for Austin Dean. Well he's got an OPS around .900 for September.

[tjfla]

Heineman's been pretty good the last two games. Finally getting some PT. I'd like to see him get a shot at the backup job starting next year. Although Holaday was quite good this year. Maybe the new 26th man might allow for 3 catchers. Heineman might do well in a role where he's like the main lefty-pinch hit bat/3rd catcher.

More likely is Starting C in Wichita and #3 C in system(on 40 Man). They like him but at this point want him getting frequent AB's

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Also good to see Dean pick things up here at the end of the year.

The issues with Dean are he has some power but not enough and he could only play LF/RF. He solved the 2nd part and learned to play an average 1B but in order to stay up he needs more power.

Should keep 40 man spot but power needs to come next year

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SP name to watch in FA is King Felix. Marlins have some interest at certain price

[Nick]

Dean's hit 24 homers between AAA and the majors this year in just over 400 ABs. That's a pretty good power year. Granted the ball was even more juiced in AAA this year, but still pretty impressive. OBP and AVG at the major league level are what need to improve. They've gotten better with consistent PT. Harold Ramirez's OPS as it stands right now, only 24 points higher than Dean's.

What a freaking waste bringing in Felix Hernandez would be. We don't need these wing and a prayer moves to try and save money on the glimmer of hope he'll turn into the guy from 6 years ago.

[emkayseven]

I mean...I think he'd be solid in the pen if that's a role he'd be willing to accept. If it's a 1/$3M deal or something, worth trying I think. If we don't, the Astros or A's will and he'll put up a sub-2 ERA

[Nick]

I mean...I think he'd be solid in the pen if that's a role he'd be willing to accept. If it's a 1/$3M deal or something, worth trying I think. If we don't, the Astros or A's will and he'll put up a sub-2 ERA

If he'll accept being a middle reliever, I guess. I didn't consider that as a possibility.

[Nick]

After all is said and done now. I think it's been an encouraging year for Yamamoto. Thrust into the majors before he probably should've been. He's held his own. Sub-4.5 era, more than a K per inning. Walks are too high, but walks were never this much of an issue for him in the minors. I expect that walk rate to go down considerably next year.

Got some interesting decisions to make on the starting pitching front. Elieser I think you need to move him to the pen, maybe in AAA to start. If he's going to be a contributor it's gotta be out of the pen. Obviously, I'm still living the pipe-dream of acquiring Gerrit Cole, but maybe even you might think about signing two FA starters this offseason, 1 in which you see as a long-term piece, the other a guy you think you can unload for prospects at the deadline.

Go into next season:

ML Rotation:

FA1, Sandy, Caleb, Urena, FA2

With Urena and FA2 definitely being your two main assets for acquiring prospects at next year's deadline.

AAA rotation:

Sixto, Pablo, Neidert, Yamamoto, Dugger

The ultimate competition to see who is going to get the call first. Test them in the best hitter's league in baseball.

AA Rotation:

Cabrera, Garrett, Rogers

3 Guys who could all be impact arms in 2021 at the big leagues.

In my eyes, Sandy and Caleb are the only 2 guys that really cemented themselves in the rotation going forward this year. Send Yamamoto and Pablo down to AAA, they're still young, plenty of options. See how they stack up against the two top prospects, Sixto and Neidert, it'll give us a clearer picture for 2021 I think. 4 guys battling for 2 spots Maybe you trade one at the deadline, maybe you move 1 to the bullpen by the end of 2020.

[lou]

After all is said and done now. I think it's been an encouraging year for Yamamoto. Thrust into the majors before he probably should've been. He's held his own. Sub-4.5 era, more than a K per inning. Walks are too high, but walks were never this much of an issue for him in the minors. I expect that walk rate to go down considerably next year.

Got some interesting decisions to make on the starting pitching front. Elieser I think you need to move him to the pen, maybe in AAA to start. If he's going to be a contributor it's gotta be out of the pen. Obviously, I'm still living the pipe-dream of acquiring Gerrit Cole, but maybe even you might think about signing two FA starters this offseason, 1 in which you see as a long-term piece, the other a guy you think you can unload for prospects at the deadline.

Go into next season:

ML Rotation:

FA1, Sandy, Caleb, Urena, FA2

With Urena and FA2 definitely being your two main assets for acquiring prospects at next year's deadline.

AAA rotation:

Sixto, Pablo, Neidert, Yamamoto, Dugger

The ultimate competition to see who is going to get the call first. Test them in the best hitter's league in baseball.

AA Rotation:

Cabrera, Garrett, Rogers

3 Guys who could all be impact arms in 2021 at the big leagues.

In my eyes, Sandy and Caleb are the only 2 guys that really cemented themselves in the rotation going forward this year. Send Yamamoto and Pablo down to AAA, they're still young, plenty of options. See how they stack up against the two top prospects, Sixto and Neidert, it'll give us a clearer picture for 2021 I think. 4 guys battling for 2 spots Maybe you trade one at the deadline, maybe you move 1 to the bullpen by the end of 2020.

Pablo was arguably their best SP before he got hurt. I don't think some post-injury struggles impacts him at all. He's a lock for me.

I think you go in Sandy, Caleb, Pablo, Urena, and a TBD FA, which could be a larger signing (Cole, Wheeler, Strausburg) or a smaller one (A. Wood type). The idea here is Sixto and Neidert are the longterm replacements mid-season for the veterans, and Elisier, Yamamoto, and Dugger are your injury replacements. This is a good depth chart with a very high ceiling if things happen fast.

I agree Elisier could stand to move to the pen, but I think they can wait until middle of next season as we see how everything shakes out. Bullpen wise, Stanek, Steckenrider, Brice, and Brigham are RHP locks to me, and they can figure out another right hander. Likely, someone of Milbrath, Keller, or a cheap camp veteran probably emerges here to make it an obvious choice in spring training. Kind of like Nick Anderson, although we can't project that production maybe ever again.

Or they can be smart and start turning guys like Elisier into bulk relievers and then you have your RHP bullpen set.

This will work itself out.

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*If it's the larger signing, obviously Neidert isn't the replacement and someone is shifting to the pen or AAA which is only a good thing for depth. Or another Gallen trade.

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I mean...I think he'd be solid in the pen if that's a role he'd be willing to accept. If it's a 1/$3M deal or something, worth trying I think. If we don't, the Astros or A's will and he'll put up a sub-2 ERA

It's an idea, but he looks really bad. Maybe the offseason will help and he looks good throwing in February.

I'd rather spend the money on someone like Alex Wood (he will be 2-3x expensive I know, but this money could contribute to that) and see if that's a good 1 year rehab project and flip him in July when Sixto and Neidert are presumably ready to go.

I feel comfortable with Stanek, Steckenrider, Brice, Brigham, Elisier/Milbrath/whoever, Garcia, Conley, and Quijada/whoever. Obviously they can improve the two "whoevers" with some Rule V picks or other Nick Anderson/Caleb Smith/Trevor Richards type of acquisitions.

[emkayseven]

I think Wheeler makes a ton of sense even if they won't do it.

If Stras opts out, he and Cole are going to be drawing the huge dollars. Already had TJ, so you (hopefully) don't need to worry about that happening during his contract. Is 5/100 crazy on him?

[Lee Stone]

Lopez is my number one heading into next season - I just think all the ingredients are there. The guy being overlooked is Cabrera. I have him ahead of Sixto as our #1 prospect. His performance at this point is at least equal to Sanchez and he still has lots of physical upside. My trade high candidate is Alcantara. Smith should bounce back to early 2019 form. Yamamoto will work hard this off season and can't be written off. Neidert is looking for consistency and could leap to the forefront this spring. Rogers and B Garrett are "iffy" to me. AA will tell the story. The real sleeper is Humberto Mejia. I can't find any information about his injury or status, but he could be really excellent, really soon, if he gets healthy. Anyone know anything about him? Our coverage of the minor league prospects remains awful. We should be hearing a lot about Instructional League performance and get nada.

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I think Wheeler makes a ton of sense even if they won't do it.

If Stras opts out, he and Cole are going to be drawing the huge dollars. Already had TJ, so you (hopefully) don't need to worry about that happening during his contract. Is 5/100 crazy on him?

I think that's exactly what Wheeler will get. I see the Phillies stepping up to grab him.

[Erick]

Yeah, lets sell high on Alcantara and watch another one of our pitchers do well for another team.

[Lee Stone]

Yeah, lets sell high on Alcantara and watch another one of our pitchers do well for another team.

I'm sure that I'm in the minority. Generally speaking, you have to give something significant to get a difference-maker. Alcantara seems to be well regarded right now.

[lou]

I think Wheeler makes a ton of sense even if they won't do it.

If Stras opts out, he and Cole are going to be drawing the huge dollars. Already had TJ, so you (hopefully) don't need to worry about that happening during his contract. Is 5/100 crazy on him?

I think 5/$100 is definitely crazy for Wheeler given arm problems and he will be 30 not 27, but I could absolutely live with that over 3-4 years on the $20 million annual (maybe a little more and front load it years 1-2). He's really good player and all pitcher deals are risky so there is only so much you can do there. But, 5 years is a lot. We saw how Chen has killed them for years. 3/$60+ would be my sweet spot for him.

[Erick]

I'm sure that I'm in the minority. Generally speaking, you have to give something significant to get a difference-maker. Alcantara seems to be well regarded right now.

Our pitching is far too unproven to just be dealing arms away every time they accomplish something at the big league level.

[lou]

Lopez is my number one heading into next season - I just think all the ingredients are there. The guy being overlooked is Cabrera. I have him ahead of Sixto as our #1 prospect. His performance at this point is at least equal to Sanchez and he still has lots of physical upside. My trade high candidate is Alcantara. Smith should bounce back to early 2019 form. Yamamoto will work hard this off season and can't be written off. Neidert is looking for consistency and could leap to the forefront this spring. Rogers and B Garrett are "iffy" to me. AA will tell the story. The real sleeper is Humberto Mejia. I can't find any information about his injury or status, but he could be really excellent, really soon, if he gets healthy. Anyone know anything about him? Our coverage of the minor league prospects remains awful. We should be hearing a lot about Instructional League performance and get nada.

Cabrera is likely a 2021 call up because of 40 man reasons, maybe it's a cup of coffee next September. No one also is overlooking Cabrera either. We're all excited for him and he may in fact be one of their top 5 SP in 2021, but he's not jumping all of the arms ahead of him on the 40 man - which means they have to DFA someone and lose them. They aren't contending. No rush. Mejia is probably a 2022 call up. He is well behind these other guys and will need some time.

Everything is good with the pitchers, but they could stand to keep Urena/Conley or replace them with better arms for their money in free agency, AND, sign a longterm stud like Wheeler or a good 1 year rehab project like Alex Wood. That's all they need to do and all the kids will get their spots on performance.