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How did every team misjudge Kwan and Madrigal so badly?


caulfield12
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Steven Kwan's unlikely rise is helping the Guardians stay in the playoff hunt | theScore.com

Guardians rookie Steven Kwan took base with him on the team flight (usatoday.com)

Steven Kwan overcame hurdles to make Guardians roster (mlb.com)

Cleveland Guardians’ Steven Kwan hates to strike out, loves to surprise critics – Terry Pluto in Goodyear - cleveland.com

 

When Oregon State as a team probably had more scouts following them than any college baseball program in recent history...with Larnach, Kwan, Rutschman, Grenier, Madrigal, etc.

I mean, the guy has even admitted to crying when he struck out before.

Edited by caulfield12
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Or this case....

Oscar Gonzalez signed as an international free agent with the Cleveland Indians on July 2, 2014, for a $300,000 signing bonus.[1][2] He played for the DSL Indians in 2015, hitting .203/.266/.324/.590 with 4 home runs and 38 runs batted in.[3]

González split the 2016 season between the AZL Indians and the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, hitting a combined .297/.340/.554/.894 with 8 home runs and 26 runs batted in.[4] He was named the 2016 Arizona League MVP.[5] He spent the 2017 season with Mahoning Valley, hitting .283/.301/.388/.689 with 3 home runs and 34 runs batted in.[3]

González spent the 2018 season with the Lake County Captains, hitting .292/.310/.435/.745 with 13 home runs and 52 runs batted in.[6] He split the 2019 season between the Lynchburg Hillcats and the Akron RubberDucks, hitting a combined .293/.315/.418/.733 with 9 home runs and 70 runs batted in.[3] He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

González elected free agency on November 7, 2021, and re-signed with the Indians to a minor league contract the same day.

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12 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Steven Kwan's unlikely rise is helping the Guardians stay in the playoff hunt | theScore.com

Guardians rookie Steven Kwan took base with him on the team flight (usatoday.com)

Steven Kwan overcame hurdles to make Guardians roster (mlb.com)

Cleveland Guardians’ Steven Kwan hates to strike out, loves to surprise critics – Terry Pluto in Goodyear - cleveland.com

 

When Oregon State as a team probably had more scouts following them than any college baseball program in recent history...with Larnach, Kwan, Rutschman, Grenier, Madrigal, etc.

I mean, the guy has even admitted to crying when he struck out before.

Madrigal is better than Kwan, he just can’t stay healthy

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Kwan gets so much value from his defense and baserunning.

For Madrigal, those are neutral values, at best.

He has MUCH better speed.  Basically, he would be right around the fastest player on any team in the majors or no worse than second.   Madrigal was around 7th-9th in sprint values for the Sox.   Defense much worse than advertised, which was close to Gold Glove level.   Baserunning instincts terrible for such a high level D-1 program star.

He doesn't come close in the XB and HR power, either.

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Overall: Kwan is the old schooler's dream. Light-hitting leadoff type who walks more than he strikes out and has good defensive chops. His instincts help his average range play up and allow him to get to balls he wouldn't otherwise have a play on. The approach and frame show zero promise for game power. Despite having a hit tool that can carry him, none of the other tools are potent enough to play at the top level. He profiles best as a defensive replacement who can also get on base for you. If he can optimize his swing and get a little more power out of the bat, there's a path for him to sneak into a below-average regular or platoon role because the hit and glove are so strong.

 

OFP: 35
Role: 30 - Up/Down Emergency Depth
Risk: Low

 

 

Power: Fringe raw at best, but that might be a stretch. Small frame, average bat speed, and suboptimal swing path make it well below-average game power. There's no projection here, so there's little reason to expect significant power growth. Extra bases will come from driving the ball in the gaps and running. Doesn't lift the ball well. Grade: 30

Field: Good instincts and routes. Appears to track the ball well off the bat and react immediately. Instincts help range play up with only average speed. With aggressive defensive positioning in the modern game, he shouldn't have an issue sticking in center -- which is good because the bat doesn't play in a corner. Grade: 55

Arm: Average carry and zip from the outfield and typically on target. Good instincts get him in position to get the most out of his arm. Enough for center and left, but would be below-average in right. Grade: 50

Run: Clocked 4.16, 4.29 H-1st times. Shows a range of below-average to above average run times. Quick to get up to speed; tick above- average underway. Given maxed out frame, any additional weight will drive down speed. Likely settles in around average with risk to drop lower. Grade: 50

 

Steven Kwan - Scouting Report — Prospects Live

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In 2021, Cleveland ranked near the top half of the league in average Sprint Speed. Early into this year, that ranking has surpassed the rest. The Guardians rank first among all 30 clubs in average Sprint Speed (27.43 ft/sec). When looking at their top eight qualified runners, that average shoots up to 28.9 ft/sec. They currently have seven players ranked in the top 60 Sprint Speeds with Steven Kwan rounding out the 65th spot. Of the top eight CLE qualifiers for 2022, they come out to an average Sprint Speed in the 89th percentile.

Cleveland Guardians, The Guardians Cleveland, Cleveland Guardians Trade Rumors As of 5/11

The Cleveland Guardians are Building Something…Fast – BaseballCloud Blog

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Statcast Running

 
Player Age Sprint Speed (ft/s) Lg Rank Pos Rank Age Rank % Rank
Luke Maile 31 25.3 540 60 40 10.8
Josh Naylor 25 25.2 543 40 62 10.3
Myles Straw 27 29.3 38 18 5 93.9
Nolan Jones 24 28.0 193 33 23 68.2
Owen Miller 25 29.0 53 1 6 91.4
Steven Kwan 24 28.4 135 24 16 77.8
Will Benson 24 29.4 34 15 4 94.5
Amed Rosario 26 29.5 27 6 5 95.7
Austin Hedges 29 24.5 575 76 49 5.0
Ernie Clement 26 28.3 147 10 21 75.8
Gabriel Arias 22 27.5 293 25 10 51.7
Tyler Freeman 23 28.1 180 13 20 70.4
José Ramírez 29 28.5 110 6 8 82.0
Oscar Gonzalez 24 28.9 63 5 9 89.7
Bryan Lavastida 23 25.7 506 50 35 16.4
Richie Palacios 25 27.9 223 34 22 63.2
Andrés Giménez 23 29.3 37 2 7

94.

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Counting Nolan Jones, Clement, Freeman and Palacios, that's 11 players in the TOP 33% or better.

 

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

Indians: Quentin Holmes, OF
Holmes parlayed his top-of-the-scale speed and tag as the fastest player in the 2017 Draft into a $998,970 bonus in the second round that June. The New York high school product has struggled in pro ball, however, batting .176/.242/.275 with a 35 percent strikeout rate and 30 steals in 44 tries over 160 games.

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4 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Counting Nolan Jones, Clement, Freeman and Palacios, that's 11 players in the TOP 33% or better.

 

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

Indians: Quentin Holmes, OF
Holmes parlayed his top-of-the-scale speed and tag as the fastest player in the 2017 Draft into a $998,970 bonus in the second round that June. The New York high school product has struggled in pro ball, however, batting .176/.242/.275 with a 35 percent strikeout rate and 30 steals in 44 tries over 160 games.

Quentin Holmes Stats, Fantasy & News | MiLB.com   Already released.  Guardians don't waste time when they make mistakes.

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51 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Overall: Kwan is the old schooler's dream. Light-hitting leadoff type who walks more than he strikes out and has good defensive chops.

 

Steven Kwan - Scouting Report — Prospects Live

Of course, old school is now new school.  Contact is key for hitters and Ks are bad; in the naughts, Ks were irrelevant for a hitter.
On pitching, naught era old school said Ks were all that matter; new school is strike zone.

Where are the White Sox?  Old school of course, at least on pitching.  Just look at the stiffs they keep on the 40 man who can't throw strikes; they drafted a reliever in the 4th or 5th round who can't throw strikes but has a lot of Ks.

Can't Hahn send his guys to a seminar or something to get the updated info?

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1 hour ago, caulfield12 said:

 

Or this case....

Oscar Gonzalez signed as an international free agent with the Cleveland Indians on July 2, 2014, for a $300,000 signing bonus.[1][2] He played for the DSL Indians in 2015, hitting .203/.266/.324/.590 with 4 home runs and 38 runs batted in.[3]

Because Jerry Reinsdorf thinks trading international bonus slot money away to avoid contract buyouts is the greatest thing since Arby's roast beef sandwiches.

Marco Paddy is the lone White Sox scout worth a damn the past decade, and this is the area Jerry wants to go as cheap as possible.

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28 minutes ago, South Side Hit Men said:

Because Jerry Reinsdorf thinks trading international bonus slot money away to avoid contract buyouts is the greatest thing since Arby's roast beef sandwiches.

Marco Paddy is the lone White Sox scout worth a damn the past decade, and this is the area Jerry wants to go as cheap as possible.

Prime Rib sandwich is really tasty, lol...excellent sauce/s.

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Statcast Running

 
Player Age Sprint Speed (ft/s) Lg Rank Pos Rank Age Rank % Rank
AJ Pollock 34 27.8 238 39 3 60.8
Adam Engel 30 29.0 52 24 2 91.6
Lenyn Sosa 22 27.6 268 35 8 55.8
Jake Burger 26 27.8 247 19 33 59.3
José Abreu 35 26.0 483 30 5 20.2
Luis Robert 24 27.9 212 58 25 65.1
Seby Zavala 28 25.8 499 48 43 17.5
Adam Haseley 26 27.9 214 59 28 64.7
Elvis Andrus 33 26.0 476 52 15 21.4
Gavin Sheets 26 26.6 408 64 46 32.6
Leury Garcia 31 28.4 121 14 9 80.1
Tim Anderson 29 28.3 140 24 11 77.0
Andrew Vaughn 24 26.2 452 69 44 25.3
Danny Mendick 28 26.0 481 53 41 20.5
Eloy Jiménez 25 25.8 505 30 57 16.6
Josh Harrison 34 27.1 339 44 6 44.0
Romy Gonzalez 25 28.1 183 21 14 69.9
Yoán Moncada 27 27.3 304 29 50 49.8
Yasmani Grandal 33 22.0 604 91 22

0.2

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How can Robert and Moncada be so slow, it's mind-boggling!!!!!!!

Grandal, we all get that one.

Leury, Anderson and Engel are the only players on the White Sox that can run a bit.   And Engel's so bad at hitting right now his value is almost entirely negated, same with Garcia's.

Sheets is somehow even faster than Vaughn.  And somehow Mendick's slower than both.   Our bench is just never going to be a strength, is it?

 

How is Burger after two Achilles' injuries be faster than Moncada?  TWTW/hustle-ability?   And right on the heels of Pollock and Robert?

WHAT THE ____K?

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Statcast Sprint Speed Leaderboard | baseballsavant.com (mlb.com)

Gives the average sprint speed for every position and an individual ranking by players.

Highly-touted rookie Corbin Carroll of the DBacks is now #1 overall.  Witt, Jr., is right up there in the Top 5.

Same with Trea Turner, a player we most assuredly won't be even with a seat at the table in terms of "in on."

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8 hours ago, fathom said:

No way, Kwan has more power and is a way better base runner 

I think you just hate Madrigal. In 54 games last year he had 10 doubles 4 triples and 2 home runs while batting .305

Kwan is 22 / 6 / 5 with a .295 avg in 134 games. 
 

Like I said though, he just can’t stay healthy. 

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9 hours ago, JoeC said:

It’s because Cleveland does things like develop players.

 Not only do they scout effectively, but they also know how to turn them into big league players.

And it's not there buddies or former players doing it. It's rightfully paid pros. Something ol uncle Jerry has no Fucking clue about

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