Any discussion of minor league infielders defensive tools is good, but it has to be balanced with a hit tool. If a guy cannot hit, his defensive chops are totally irrelevant - two good examples of all field and no hit from the past were Gift Ngoepe and Cole Tucker.
If we are looking at kids who we will definitely see in MLB, that discussion has to begin with Termarr Johnson. Played at A and A+ this year, 105 games probably all at 2B. 439 Chances, 18 errors, Fielding Pct of .959 and an RF/9 of 5.06. He played the first two months as an 18 year old and turned 19 on June 11. Pretty decent defensively for a kid that age. What is really impressive are his Hit numbers - 462 PA, 12 doubles, 1 triple, 18 HR, 59 RBI, 10/12 SB, 101 BB, 120 K, slash of 244/422/438/860 OPS. He will start 2024 as a 19 year old at A+, and I would not be surprised if he earns himself a bump to AA Altoona by mid-season.
I observed Javier Rivas at Pirate City and watched him hit balls to the golf course in BP, and he is very smooth defensively. But, he struggled big time at the plate in A and in the FCL. It does not get any easier as players rise through the levels of the minors. Very rarely do we see a player who begins to hit better as the quality level of pitchers increases.
Can we get a player's name under the photos, please? It's nice to know who's who. I assume that's Brannigan up top since he's the first player mentioned in this article?
Good to know about YDLS.2! Early scouting grades by Fangraphs and Pipeline were not great. I know he has a longways to go and I don’t tend to closely follow prospect below A- that much, but he’s intriguing.
I have a breakdown of him coming this weekend, but yea, he was the player I was most excited about seeing last year. It's all there for him to be a very good player, just a lot to put together
Any discussion of minor league infielders defensive tools is good, but it has to be balanced with a hit tool. If a guy cannot hit, his defensive chops are totally irrelevant - two good examples of all field and no hit from the past were Gift Ngoepe and Cole Tucker.
If we are looking at kids who we will definitely see in MLB, that discussion has to begin with Termarr Johnson. Played at A and A+ this year, 105 games probably all at 2B. 439 Chances, 18 errors, Fielding Pct of .959 and an RF/9 of 5.06. He played the first two months as an 18 year old and turned 19 on June 11. Pretty decent defensively for a kid that age. What is really impressive are his Hit numbers - 462 PA, 12 doubles, 1 triple, 18 HR, 59 RBI, 10/12 SB, 101 BB, 120 K, slash of 244/422/438/860 OPS. He will start 2024 as a 19 year old at A+, and I would not be surprised if he earns himself a bump to AA Altoona by mid-season.
I observed Javier Rivas at Pirate City and watched him hit balls to the golf course in BP, and he is very smooth defensively. But, he struggled big time at the plate in A and in the FCL. It does not get any easier as players rise through the levels of the minors. Very rarely do we see a player who begins to hit better as the quality level of pitchers increases.
Can we get a player's name under the photos, please? It's nice to know who's who. I assume that's Brannigan up top since he's the first player mentioned in this article?
signing Santana means less time at first for Triolo and Endy
more triolo time at second base mean Peguero may not make the team and Nick definitely wont make the team
more endy time at catcher means either more tank time in right field or tank plays catcher every day in indy
also means Joe and Andujar do not make the team
Tapping that 6'6" SS market inefficiency.
If you followed only the Pirates and the minors, you’d probably think 6’6 SS are just a common thing lol.
Good to know about YDLS.2! Early scouting grades by Fangraphs and Pipeline were not great. I know he has a longways to go and I don’t tend to closely follow prospect below A- that much, but he’s intriguing.
I have a breakdown of him coming this weekend, but yea, he was the player I was most excited about seeing last year. It's all there for him to be a very good player, just a lot to put together