No knocks on the DR or the DSL, but David Matoma needs to be in Pirate City where he can receive attention and direction from the staffs of two teams - Bradenton is like our world headquarters
The Pirates have the ability to make room for CSN on the 40, but only if they think their development of him has been satisfactory, and that they think he will be capable of playing in AAA/MLB in 2024.
Fun fact, 85% of Ugandans speak English so if he does then he will only have to deal with the English/Hispanic language gap opposed to the Swahili/Hispanic/English one, lol.
There should be an article like this once a year. I did an extensive study over 15 years of DSL results for the entire league and it showed that doing well in the league didn't guarantee anything. The top hitters and top pitchers in the league each year didn't make it to the majors at a higher rate than the rest of the field. Getting one player from the DSL to the majors from each season is the expected number, with two being successful, and that includes guys who made it for a handful of games. There were plenty of teams over that span that used 35+ players during the season and got no one to the majors.
In the last two years, I only looked at DSL boxscores when I had to write recaps. The stats from the league are completely useless. Scouting reports are more important than any stats EXCEPT playing time at key positions, though the scouting reports will likely be able to expand of why that is happening.
That's coming from someone who studied those boxscores for 10+ years. The study of the future results were eye-opening to say the least.
John maybe you know how they are scouting these kids in the DR now. Are they bringing them into the facilities and checking their stuff and swing with trackman and the other metric tools? I know that there are special games where all the new bells and whistles are installed and they host games and the data from the kids is delivered to all 30 MLB scouting departments, but do the clubs gather their own data as well? It was always my thinking, with all the hype about Houston's super-duper machine-assisted scouting doing away with the need for tradition scouts a few years back, that Houston pioneered the use of Trackman and the other data stuff in the Dominican and ran far ahead of the other teams for about 4 or 5 years there. Is this more or less accurate?
They have exactly what you said, events where everyone is there and information is shared, but there are also solo events for scouts. That would go for every country, not just the Dominican. In fact, the Pirates were one of two teams at a training facility watching players in Colombia today. They can bring players to their Dominican facility, and there they would be able to get all of their own numbers on those players. So there are multiple ways to get the data on players, which helps with getting updated data.
Your second item could indicate your opinion that the Pirates developmental org has issues? Would the problem be in the very first year(s) in the DSL, for instance, or at the Pirate City/Bradenton levels, or both? Or, are we spending more on lesser talents hoping they can be developed?
Ya, Matoma might not even end up a prospect. I like him as much as most but he needs a lot of polish and the DSL competition is atrocious.
DII college baseball is better competition than the DSL. The DSL is probably comparable to JUCO(no joke).
No knocks on the DR or the DSL, but David Matoma needs to be in Pirate City where he can receive attention and direction from the staffs of two teams - Bradenton is like our world headquarters
Just say on mlbtrade rumors Canaan Smith-Njigba just got designated by Seattle.
Saw that. Wonder if he will get claimed by someone.
The Pirates have the ability to make room for CSN on the 40, but only if they think their development of him has been satisfactory, and that they think he will be capable of playing in AAA/MLB in 2024.
I know the odds are long for Matoma to ever make it, but until he gives up an earned run, he is my hope of a unicorn.
Fun fact, 85% of Ugandans speak English so if he does then he will only have to deal with the English/Hispanic language gap opposed to the Swahili/Hispanic/English one, lol.
There should be an article like this once a year. I did an extensive study over 15 years of DSL results for the entire league and it showed that doing well in the league didn't guarantee anything. The top hitters and top pitchers in the league each year didn't make it to the majors at a higher rate than the rest of the field. Getting one player from the DSL to the majors from each season is the expected number, with two being successful, and that includes guys who made it for a handful of games. There were plenty of teams over that span that used 35+ players during the season and got no one to the majors.
In the last two years, I only looked at DSL boxscores when I had to write recaps. The stats from the league are completely useless. Scouting reports are more important than any stats EXCEPT playing time at key positions, though the scouting reports will likely be able to expand of why that is happening.
That's coming from someone who studied those boxscores for 10+ years. The study of the future results were eye-opening to say the least.
John maybe you know how they are scouting these kids in the DR now. Are they bringing them into the facilities and checking their stuff and swing with trackman and the other metric tools? I know that there are special games where all the new bells and whistles are installed and they host games and the data from the kids is delivered to all 30 MLB scouting departments, but do the clubs gather their own data as well? It was always my thinking, with all the hype about Houston's super-duper machine-assisted scouting doing away with the need for tradition scouts a few years back, that Houston pioneered the use of Trackman and the other data stuff in the Dominican and ran far ahead of the other teams for about 4 or 5 years there. Is this more or less accurate?
They have exactly what you said, events where everyone is there and information is shared, but there are also solo events for scouts. That would go for every country, not just the Dominican. In fact, the Pirates were one of two teams at a training facility watching players in Colombia today. They can bring players to their Dominican facility, and there they would be able to get all of their own numbers on those players. So there are multiple ways to get the data on players, which helps with getting updated data.
The two best indicators are:
-- Scouting reports
-- Not being signed by the Pirates
Your second item could indicate your opinion that the Pirates developmental org has issues? Would the problem be in the very first year(s) in the DSL, for instance, or at the Pirate City/Bradenton levels, or both? Or, are we spending more on lesser talents hoping they can be developed?