Look at Ray Ray Run

It amazes me how much people overrate first round picks in baseball; especially outside of 1-2. If Madrigal gets to 20 career fWAR, he'll be one of the best #4 picks in MLB history. Here is a list of #4 picks in history; only including those who have been around enough to calculate their worth: 1989 stands out, ha! 15% of #4 picks since 1980 have accumulated 15+ fWAR for their career. I bolded people with greater than 15 career fWAR. Schwarber - 2014 Dillon Tate - 2015 (18th ranked Orioles prospect 2019) Riley Pint - 2016 (8.66 ERA in A ball) Brandan McKay - 2017 (good so far) Year Player Pos. Drafted From Drafted By 2013 Kohl Stewart RHP St. Pius X HS (TX) Minnesota Twins 2012 Kevin Gausman RHP LSU Baltimore Orioles 2011 Dylan Bundy RHP Owasso HS (OK) Baltimore Orioles 2010 Christian Colon SS Cal-State Fullerton Kansas City Royals 2009 Jorge Sanchez C Boston College Pittsburgh Pirates 2008 Brian Matusz LHP University of San Diego Baltimore Orioles 2007 Daniel Moskos LHP Clemson Pittsburgh Pirates 2006 Brad Lincoln RHP Houston Pittsburgh Pirates 2005 Ryan Zimmerman 3B Virginia Washington Nationals 2004 Jeffrey Niemann RHP Rice U (TX) Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2003 Timothy Stauffer RHP U Richmond (VA) San Diego Padres 2002 Adam Loewen P Fraser Valley Christian HS (BC) Baltimore Orioles 2001 Gavin Floyd P Mt. St. Joseph HS (MD) Philadelphia Phillies 2000 Mike Stodolka P Centennial HS (CAÂ ) Kansas City Royals 1999 Corey Myers SS Desert Vista,HS (AZ) Arizona Diamondbacks 1998 Jeff Austin P Stanford University Kansas City Royals 1997 Jason Grilli P Seton Hall University San Francisco Giants 1996 Billy Koch P Clemson University Toronto Blue Jays 1995 Kerry Wood P Grand Prairie HS (TX) Chicago Cubs 1994 Antone Williamson 3B Arizona State University Milwaukee Brewers 1993 Wayne Gomes P Old Dominion University Philadelphia Phillies 1992 Jeffrey Hammonds OF Stanford University Baltimore Orioles 1991 Dmitri Young SS-OF Rio Mesa HS (CA) St. Louis Cardinals 1990 Alex Fernandez P Miami Dade South CC Chicago White Sox 1989 Jeff Jackson OF Simeon HS (IL) Philadelphia Phillies 1988 Gregg Olson P Auburn University Baltimore Orioles 1987 Mike Harkey P Cal State Fullerton University Chicago Cubs 1986 Kevin Brown P Georgia Tech Texas Rangers 1985 Barry Larkin SS University of Michigan Cincinnati Reds 1984 Cory Snyder SS Brigham Young University Cleveland Indians 1983 Eddie Williams 3B Hoover HS (CA) New York Mets 1982 Bryan Oelkers P Wichita State University Minnesota Twins 1981 Terry Blocker OF Tennessee State University New York Mets 1980 Mike King P Morningside College Oakland A's

Then you shift Robert to right and move Engel to center on those days. Robert has an elite arm for Center and a + arm in right.

K

Would it make JoshPR feel better if I said this is a dick move and Jerry would be taking advantage of his guys if he knew this while negotiating the current contracts? Because if Jerry has inside knowledge of arb change, then it's a bit dickish to negotiate all these extensions.

Because of?

This also allows them to go more high school centric in the draft; if the reports of that being an avenue of focus for them are true.

Jerry has always been willing to take care of his own guys. I've always said that, to the disagreement of many. He is less willing to give huge commitments to FAs. Also, I think he just trusts Rick Hahn in this area. He's proven his savvy and it is an incredibly underrated skill for a GM.

It seems like these guys really like each other and he, very obviously, enjoyed that they extended Abreu and said so... and said he wanted to show/have same loyalty. At some point, the culture being built deserves at least a very tiny bit of credit here.

Jerry also did not forget how to conduct business overnight. Jerry is one of the leagues most powerful owners. He's pretty in tune with CBA negotiations and it's likely the arb process is going to change. Not only do these all look like, at the least, solid deals under the current CBA; they look even better if the CBA changes.

Said it last year right after he was drafted, and feel it even more today: Andrew Vaughn could step into the big leagues tomorrow and have an OPS over 840.

Vaughn is a fucking monster.

Jesus Christ did Yermin fucking murder that thing.

His fastball looked good; had great life. His stuff, in general, looked really good.

Why would he sign away 4 FA years? Seems like a lot. I think getting 2 would be a huge win; doubt he'd sign away until his age 32 season but who knows.

Two bad pitches by Hamilton and two bombs; his stuff looks to be there, but the location is trash. His slider looks pretty nasty.

I found it odd as well, and actually had no idea he blocked me until he was quoted in something else and I couldn't read it. Given that I never attack people personally, and don't make anything more than just a debate of facts/merit, maybe Keith was just having a bad day.

Nicky on that juice! Get 'em Nick.

Yeah, Vaughn is not a big guy in general. Those legs drive everything he does and it generates top of the line power despite a compact swing and a smaller upper body.

Madrigal sliding into 2nd base hard.

Was off his shin it looked like; regardless, yeah he looks fine. That guy just looks so comfortable and natural in the batters box.

His hands look a bit softer; wonder if the work with Grandal/McCann has helped at all. He just has to be an adequate receiver; throwing out runners and blocking balls is whatever.

His swing is about as quiet and short as one can possibly get. Don't get distracted by pre-pitch bat movement that is just a timing mechanism.

Vaughn is just a professional hitter; worked a great AB there despite rolling over on one.

EE over-the-hill. WhY DiD tHe SoX SiGn tHiS BuM!

I will say this about Law, he is one of the most sensitive members of the media. Keith Law is the only person/thing/site on all of the internet who has ever blocked me from participating in discussions. I have never attacked Law, or said anything personal, and frankly I rarely ever interacted with him. If you disagree with Keith, he will likely block you regardless of how cordial you are and how well thought out your responses are. That is my one and only beef with someone like Law. If you want to put your opinions out there, and frequently go against consensus, you should be prepared to support your opinions and express them without anger.