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Re: Minor Matters

Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 2:43 pm
by joez
Thanks for that add-on Civ.
That was one area I did not check into.
I'm hoping he makes progress in his power numbers this year.

Re: Minor Matters

Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 4:05 pm
by civ ollilavad
and cut down on his strikeouts.

Looking back at Jose's career line, they raced him to the majors at 21 and he did OK 262/300/346
in 2015 at 22 he slipped back to 219/291/340

That next week is when I remember you Joe extolled his improvement and he's been a star in the major ever since

Re: Minor Matters

Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 8:24 pm
by joez
WINTER BALL 2022-2023 SEASON STATS:
INCLUDES PLAYOFF/SEMI FINALS/FINALS/SERIES DEL CARIBE
FOR THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED IN THOSE EVENTS


Code: Select all

COLUMBIAREGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
DAYAN FRIAS 20 MONTERIA        			AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                	     318	25  88	22  28  10	 1	1	  12	43	17  16	3	 2	440	489	929
COLUMBIA SEMI FINALS 2022-2023																			
DAYAN FRIAS 20 MONTERIA        			AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                		  350	5	20	3	7	 2	 0	0	  0	  9	1	3	 1	 0	381	450	881
COLUMBIA FINALS 2022-2023																			
DAYAN FRIAS 20 MONTERIA        			AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                		  211	5	19	4	4	 1	 0	 0	 0	  5	3	2	 0	 1	348	263	611
COLUMBIA SERIES DEL CARIBE 2022-2023																			
DAYAN FRIAS 20 COLUMBIA        			AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                		  188	9	32	6	6	 1	 0	 0	  1	12	4	11   0	 0	278	219	497
COLUMBIA REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
MEIBRYS VILORIA 25 CARTEGENA			   AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                		  267	38  130 46	34	5	 1	11	 38	74	45  30	1	 0	467	569	1.036

COLUMBIA SEMI FINALS 2022-2023 DNP	
																		
COLUMBIA FINALS 2022-2023																			
MEIBRYS VILORIA 25 CARTEGENA			   AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                        235	5	13	6	5	 0	 0	 3	  6	14	6	4	 0	 0	579	1.077 1.656
COLUMBIA REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
ANGEL CONTRERAS 19 CARTEGENA			   AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                        333	7	15	4	5	 1	 0	 1	 3	  9	2	6	 0	 0	474	600	1.074
PUERTO RICO REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
JOHNATHAN RODRIGUEZ 22 CAROLINA		   AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                        			       275	48  171 17	47	6	 0	 4	 28	65	8	39	0	 1	313	380	693
PUERTO RICO SEMI FINALS 2022-2023																			
JOHNATHAN RODRIGUEZ 22 CAROLINA		   AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                		  333	6	27	2	9	 1	 1	 2	 5	 18	1	6	 0	 1	357	667	1.024
PUERTO RICO REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
RICHIE PALACIOS 25 MAYAGUEZ 			   AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                		  217	20  69	16  15	2	 0	 1	  8	20	16 15   4	  2	393	290	683
PUERTO RICO SEMI FINALS 2022-2023																			
RICHIE PALACIOS 25 MAYAGUEZ 			   AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                		  286	6	24	2	5	 0	 0	 0	 0	 5	 2	 6	1	 0	269	208	478
PUERTO RICO REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
ERIC RODRIGUEZ 22 CAROLINA  			   AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                		  095	15  21	2	2	 0	 0	 0	 1	 2	 4	3	 0	 0	231	095	326
PUERTO RICO REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
GABE ARIAS 22 SANTURCE         	      AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                 		 202	27 104	9	21	4	 0	 1	 5	 28	5	28	1	 1	246	269	515
DOMINICAN REP. REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
OSCAR GONZALEZ 24 ESTRELLAS			    AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                		  154	7	26	1	4	 1	 0	 0	 0	 0	 1	7	 0	 0	185	192	377
DOMINICAN REP. REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
GEORGE VALERA 21 ESTRELLAS  			   AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                		  171	11  41	1	7	 2	 0	 0	 3	 9	 4	7	 3	 0	244	220	464
DOMINICAN REP. REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
JOSE TENA 21 ESTRELLAS          		  AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                		  259	36 139  11	36	5	 1	 2	16	 49	8	32	4	 3	301	353	258
DOMINICAN REP. REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
TRENTON BROOKS 26 LICEY       			  AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                		   208	16  53	4	11	4	 0	 1	 9	 18	5   17   1    0	271	340	271
VENEZUELA REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
BRAYAN ROCCHIO 21 LA GUAIRA			     AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                			171	10  35	4	6	 4	 0	 0	 4	 4	 5	4	 -	 -	262	296	548
VENEZUELA REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
ANDRES GIMENEZ 23 LARA        			  AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                			216	11  37	7	8	 1	 0	 1	 5	 12	4	2	 -	 -	295	324	619
VENEZUELA REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
JASON CHOURIO 17 ZULIA         			  AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                			 000	11	6	2	0	 0	 0	 0	 0	 0	 3	1	 1	 0	333	000	333
VENEZUELA REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
ALEXFRI PLANEZ 20 CARACAS    			    AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                			 087	17  23	2	2 	0	 0	 0	 4	 2	 4	6	 1	 0	222	087	309
VENEZUELA REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
MICAEL RAMIREZ 23 LA GUAIRA 			     AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	W	K	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
                                			 000	1	1	 0	0	 0    0	 0	 0	 0	 0	0	 0   0	 000	000	000

VENEZUELA REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023
																			
YAIKEL MIJAREZ -- LA GUAIRA            	-	  -	 -   -	-	 -	 -	 -	 -	 -	 -	 -	-	 -	 -	  -	  -
AARON BRACHO 21 LAGUAIRA            	   -	  -	 -	-   -	 -	 -	 -	 -	 -	 -	 -	-	 -	 -	  -	  -
OSCAR CEDENO 19 ZULIA                  	-	  -	 -	-   -	 -	 -	 -	 -	 -	 -	 -	-	 -	 -	  -	  -

COLUMBIA REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
DAHAN BATISTA 22 BARRANQUILLA    			W	L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	HR	W	K	WHIP	HR/9	W/9	K/9	K/W	
                                		    2	1	4.74  15  19	20  12  10	1	10  10	1.579	0.5	4.7	4.7	1.00	
DOMINICAN REP. REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
CARLOS VARGAS 22 LICEY          			 W	L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	HR	W	K	WHIP	HR/9	W/9	K/9	K/W	
                                			 0	0   18.0  3	2.0  0   4	4	 0	 5	2	2.5	  0.0	22.5  9.0	0.4	
DOMINICAN REP. REGULAR SEASON 2022-2023																			
ENYEL DE LOS SANTOS 22 LICEY        		W	L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	HR	W	K	WHIP	HR/9	W/9	K/9	K/W	
                                			 0	0	2.25  4	4.0  2	1	 1	 1	5	3	1.75	4.5	11.3	6.8	0/60
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Civ,

I know you are a stats kinda guy.
I'm posting the winter ball season ending stats here. They are complete through the Series del Caribe.
I know there are a lot of folks who don't visit that folder much, so I also decided to post them here.

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Depending on what kind of monitor you are using, the stats are aligned for larger screens.
Not so much for smaller ones.
They look good on my desktop. They look good on my monitor at work.
My lap top, not so much. They are aligned neatly enough but they don't lineup with the description line.

I made up an excel file and converted the xls file to a jpeg but I could copy and paste to the BB codes.

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YAIKEL MIJAREZ 16 LA GUAIRA
AARON BRACHO 21 LAGUAIRA
OSCAR CEDENO 19 ZULIA

These guys were rostered on their respective "farm" / "reserve" squads.

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Image

YAIKEL MIJAREZ

For their part, Mijares and Gil, both 16, share characteristics. The two do well at various infield positions, but Mijares is a natural shortstop and Gil plays second and third, as well as having catching skills.

“I am proud to be part of this organization. I always dreamed of wearing this shirt. The energy of his fans is motivating. I have many baseball partners on this team. I have shared a lot with Brayan Rocchio and he conveyed to me how good it feels to be part of this family. Thanks to management and the entire team for believing in me,” said Mijares, who is a minor league signing for the Cleveland Guardians.

He had a recent trip to the Dominican Republic with the Guardians that gave him experience in his development as a baseball player. "I felt good. My defense and offense are ready for the play”.

Regarding his message to the fans, he expressed; With security and confidence, good things are coming for the team in the future.

“There is a generation of players who are willing to fight for this institution. Trust this project. There are many young people who want to show themselves in the country. For my part, I am ready to give everything for Tiburones in the coming years and thus make everyone feel proud, especially the people of José Félix Ribas in Petare”.

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Re: Minor Matters

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2023 9:11 pm
by joez
Image


2/15/23 9:48 AM EST

EASTLAKE, OH - The Lake County Captains have joined MiLB.TV, Minor League Baseball's live streaming broadcast service, and will offer live game broadcasts for all home games to subscribers.

All MLB.TV subscribers will have access to Minor League Baseball included as part of their subscription -- which means fans can follow former Captains players and other Cleveland Guardians’ prospects by watching the Guardians’ Double-A Affiliate Akron Rubberducks and Triple-A Affiliate Columbus Clippers' home games.

Yearly and single-team MLB.TV packages also include local pregame and postgame coverage for select teams and archives of the 2022 and '21 seasons, and subscribers who are authenticated through their TV service providers will also be able to watch every game of the 2023 World Series and the All-Star Game.

Yearly MLB.TV subscriptions for 2023 are available for $149.99 for the full season, or $24.99 per month. Single-team packages are available for $129.99 for the season.

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Re: Minor Matters

Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2023 5:22 pm
by civ ollilavad
Let me think who to expect on the Captains High A team this year?

The top prospects are all in the AA and AAA range.
Perhaps DeLauter will debut in High A? But he played in a smaller university so could begin in Lynchburg
No. 14 prospect per MLB Jake Fox is ready for LC; he's a 2b-cf with good on base skills
No 18 Petey Halpin OF should return to start the season
No. 20 Milan Tolentino an IF
top round college pitchers often start in High A: Justin Campbell Parker Messick
RH Jack Leftwich who is high on Keith Law's list is ready for the Captain: he and Campbell could be the most interesting Captains

Re: Minor Matters

Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2023 5:37 pm
by civ ollilavad
I forgot that Halpin spent all of 22 with the Captains so i guess he’ll head to akron

Re: Minor Matters

Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2023 5:43 pm
by civ ollilavad
Coming up from Lynchburg
OF jorge Burgos
OF Isaiah Greene
Ss. Joe’s guy Frias

Re: Minor Matters

Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2023 5:50 pm
by civ ollilavad
Pitchers from
Lynchburg besides Leftwich
Lefty Will Dion was a league leader but not on prospect lists
Perhaps Josh Wolf from the Lindordeal will be healthy? Perhaps former high pick Ethan Hankins

Re: Minor Matters

Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2023 12:24 pm
by TFIR
Keith Law picked a "sleeper" prospect from each team:

Cleveland Guardians: Angel Martínez, SS/2B


Do I have to choose just one from Cleveland? Fine, I’ll go with Angel Martínez, the position player who combines tools with a fairly advanced approach for his age.

Re: Minor Matters

Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2023 2:20 pm
by civ ollilavad
I think his lofty rating for Leftwich is a bigger sleeper pick.

Are we going to guess on sleepers on the forum this year. I don't recall how we define sleeper; does is have to be someone not on anyone's top 30? I could try Isaiah Greene with that limitation as a position player. So many good pitchers, who is underrated?

Re: Minor Matters

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2023 6:44 pm
by joez
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Guardians 2023 Top 50 Prospects, No. 46 INF Dayan Frias

Originally posted on FanNation Cleveland Baseball Insider


By Todd Paquette | Last updated 2/24/23

As the future of the organization prepares for a new year and spring training to begin, there’s no better time to bring you the Cleveland Baseball Insiders top 50 prospects for the upcoming 2023 season.

The Guardians are widely regarded as having one of the deepest and top farm systems in all of baseball. So deep, in fact, that it was very difficult to trim the list down to just 50 players I think could have an impact at the MLB level. I probably could easily have ended up listing 75 or more players.

I am implementing the Fangraphs future value grading scale which you will be able to locate under each player video. Future Value is a grade on the 20-80 scale that maps to anticipated annual WAR production during the player’s first six years of service.

My rankings are based off seeing the players live, watching video and having conversations with other evaluators and writers. While prospect lists are fun and entertaining for fans, they are not an end-all-be-all in terms of who make it eventually to the major leagues. Remember, Jose Ramirez was never a top 100 prospect nationally and Oscar Gonzalez wasn't even a top 20 prospect in the Guardians organization.

The ultimate goal here is to inform our readers and give you information on some of the young talent in the organization that they can follow and look forward to seeing in the future at the MLB level.

No. 46 Dayan Frias - INF

2022 Stats

Bio

Frias had a nice pro-debut in 2019 in the Dominican Summer League, but in 2021 he turned out to be one of the top players in the Arizona Complex League. Frias put up tremendous numbers, finishing second in the league OPS, third in AVG and OBP. After the season ended Frias competed in the Colombian Winter League where he continued to impress. He was then selected to play on Colombian roster for the Caribbean World Series. Colombia went on to win its first ever championship for their country.

2022 Season

Frias regressed at the plate from his terrific performance in 2021 in the Arizona Complex League making his debut in full-season ball at Low-A Lynchburg. Frias over 120 games hit .239 with a .344 OBP and slugged just .330 only producing 26 extra base hits on the season. While his walk rate decreased slightly from the prior season to 12.5% his strikeout rate raised almost 5% more to 24.9%.

After the 2022 minor league season Frias participated in the Colombian Winter League where he played a big part in his club winning the championship for the second straight season. Frias hit .318 with a .489 OBP and a .929 OPS over 24 games including the playoffs.

Frias went on to play in the play in the Caribbean Series for the second straight year and was named an All-Star at shortstop. He was selected to play for team Colombia in the upcoming World Baseball Classic and will be one of the younger players to participate in the tournament.

Scouting Report

Frias swings much harder from the left side of the plate which at times lent to more strikeouts and less contact from that side of the plate. In 2022 he only hit .231 and struck out 118 times compared to just 55 walks from the left side over 373 at bats. From the right side his swing looks to be more leveled, and conservative looking to make more contact and go the opposite way. From the right side he hit 55 points higher than they left at .286 and struck out just 10 times compared to 11 walks over 70 at bats. The increased strikeout rate in 2022 is a concern but may just be due to age and level of play.

Frias can play all over the infield, in 2022 he played 51 games at third base, 42 games at shortstop and 25 games at second base while at Lynchburg. Frias has an above average arm and is considered a plus defender at all three positions. One knock is his speed which is considered only average to slightly below average, but he makes up for it with his overall effort.

2023 and Future Outlook

Frias should open the 2023 season at High-A Lake County. If he can continue to develop at the plate and continue to mature physically, he could potentially be a starter at the MLB level or possibly a utility player at the very least. I am very high on this kid's potential moving forward despite his down year in 2021.

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Re: Minor Matters

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 6:28 pm
by TFIR
In case no one posted this:

Q&A with Joey Cantillo, intriguing Guardians prospect
February 22nd, 2023
Mandy Bell
Image



GOODYEAR, Ariz. – The hype is building around Joey Cantillo.

The 23-year-old lefty went from entering pro ball with a heater that sat in the upper 80s to suddenly closing in on triple digits. But the club’s No. 22 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, has dealt with injuries over the last few years, causing many to wonder about his durability. If Castillo can stay healthy, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him in the big leagues at some point in 2023.

With Cantillo now on the 40-man roster, MLB.com chatted with him at big league camp about a variety of topics:

MLB.com: You’ve had a couple of injury hiccups in the past. Was your health a big focus of the offseason?

Cantillo: Yeah, it was my priority. It was just strength in like my shoulders and doing everything to put myself in the best position to handle the workload. Whether that is 100 innings, 150 innings, whatever is asked of me. But also just keep the same intensity and keep the velocity and everything there to where I can feel like I can be my best self, but be healthy while doing that and not have to sacrifice one or the other.

MLB.com: Do you feel like you’ve made a lot of strides since joining this organization in 2020?

Cantillo: I feel like I have made a lot of strides, but at the same time, it’s an ongoing evolution. I think from where I was two years ago, just coming off of an injury, coming to a new organization, trying to learn a bunch of stuff, I think there was definitely a time in 2021, I was pitching with no confidence. I didn’t really feel like myself on the mound, and I feel like I’ve progressed to a better point where I’m back to the confidence that is so important on the mound.

I think there’s definitely a lot of things we’re in the process of working on right now. Like, I’m by no means a finished product, and I think it’s cool to be in here. You’re the lowest on the totem pole again and you’re looking up to guys like, 'I want to do what you’re doing. How do I do that?' It’s that combination, at least in my eyes, of learning from the older guys, but also understanding what I do well. Understanding my strengths and not necessarily trying to change anything in that sense, but just taking in new information to see if I can help some of my weaknesses. I’m just really excited.

MLB.com: How would you describe the Guardians’ pitching development staff?

Cantillo: Just the best. That’s what I would describe it as. I think just internally the people they have, the minds they have and then the way they’re able to do it. ... They do the best job with taking the information and data that’s out there, but applying it to a player and applying it to where a player can take that information and use it, which I feel like a lot of other organizations probably struggle in that sense of, like, 'How do we take all this objective data?' and apply it to actual 'How do I get outs?'

MLB.com: You were part of a group of players in Cleveland’s system who attended the home playoff games last year. What was that like for you?

Cantillo: For me, it was cool to see guys that I know personally be playing in these games. ... It reassures what I’m doing in my eyes, too, of like, 'Hey, this is the time to do it, this is the time to contribute, time to do what we’re supposed to be doing, honestly.'

MLB.com: Being from Hawaii, did you grow up surfing?

Cantillo: I honestly grew up bodyboarding and body surfing more, but I’ve been surfing since I was in pro ball. ... It’s basically just surfing now, which is great for the body. Great for the mind.

MLB.com: Fast forward to this upcoming offseason. You’re reflecting on how your 2023 campaign went. What would a successful season look like to you?

Cantillo: I have some ideas in my mind. I mean I’ll keep it simple: Knowing I did everything that I could do to put myself in the best positions and ultimately put my team in the best positions. Knowing I did everything I could do to be what I was supposed to be for the season. And what that is, we’ll only see.

Re: Minor Matters

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 3:36 pm
by joez
Image


Image


RubberDucks to Become Devil Strips on July 7

(AKRON, OHIO) February 20, 2023 –

The Akron RubberDucks will rebrand to the Akron Devil Strips for one-night only on Friday, July 7.

A devil strip refers to the grassy area between the street and the sidewalk. The term is believed to be first used in Northeast Ohio to describe the area between streetcars going in opposite directions. The current use of the term was first used in Akron in the late 1920s.

“Our goal each season is to come up with different ways to honor the great city we play and work in everyday,” RubberDucks President and General Manager Jim Pfander said. “Other places call that grassy area a tree lawn, berm or green belt, but in Akron it’s a devil strip. We can’t wait for everyone to see these amazing uniforms and help us celebrate a term that is unique to Akron.”

You can purchase the “No Parking on Devil Strips” ticket package today and receive two tickets to the July 7 game and two Akron Devil Strips adjustable hats. The package is $75 and can be purchased here. Limited number of packages available.

Full Akron Devil Strips merchandise will be available at a later date.

2023 Season Ticket and Flex Ticket packages are available now by visiting akronrubberducks.com or by calling 855-97-QUACK.

The Akron RubberDucks are the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The RubberDucks season at Canal Park begins on Thursday, April 6 against the Erie SeaWolves at 6:35 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets by calling 330-253-5151 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, or visit akronrubberducks.com/. For more information about the team, please call 330-253-5151, visit the website at akronrubberducks.com, Facebook page facebook.com/AkronRubberDucks, or on Twitter @AkronRubberDuck, and Instagram @akronrubberducks.

[ Slow news day - Never knew that grassy area was called a Devil Strip was ?? ]

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Re: Minor Matters

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 4:15 pm
by joez
WHO IS THIS GUY ? CEDANNE RAFAELA CF / SS - WOW !!!

https://www.milb.com/video/rafaela-s-mo ... rid-678882

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AND HE CAN HIT - WOW 2 !!

https://youtu.be/Zq-LgRi02K8

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< IS THIS GUY FOR REAL #4 RED SOX PROSPECT ??

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Re: Minor Matters

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 11:44 am
by TFIR
Guardians: RHP Hunter Gaddis

It’s rare for a team to be able to go all 162 games without having an injury to one of its starting pitchers. These six weeks in Arizona should help Cleveland figure out who could be the next man up, and Gaddis has made a strong impression. He came up in 2022, and got knocked around in his two outings, but the Guardians aren’t letting that define him. So far this spring, he’s given up one earned run in 4 1/3 innings and has displayed better fastball command by getting ahead in counts. If he’s able to prove he can remain consistent, he could either be a starting option at some point this season or a relief option as soon as Opening Day. -- Mandy Bell