Jump to content

2025 MiLB Catch All thread


Recommended Posts

I’m completely out in this front office if Grant Taylor doesn’t come to spring training in 2026 as a starting pitcher. I understand the innings restrictions and using him in big league bullpen to end 2025. If they’re already convinced that he’s best served as a high leverage reliever though, they’re morons. 

  • Like 4
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)
14 hours ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

I’m completely out in this front office if Grant Taylor doesn’t come to spring training in 2026 as a starting pitcher. I understand the innings restrictions and using him in big league bullpen to end 2025. If they’re already convinced that he’s best served as a high leverage reliever though, they’re morons. 

Seems like we saw this same story with...I don't know, Chris Sale, Crochet, except those guys were "needed" immediately for playoff action.

Even back in the day, drafting Royce Ring and Aaron Poreda and eventually Burdi.

2016 looks REALLY ugly right now.    Formatting is a disaster but the names are all there...somehow THIS draft was going to provide one of the "core" pieces of the rebuild.

Edited by caulfield12
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

I’m completely out in this front office if Grant Taylor doesn’t come to spring training in 2026 as a starting pitcher. I understand the innings restrictions and using him in big league bullpen to end 2025. If they’re already convinced that he’s best served as a high leverage reliever though, they’re morons. 

This is a crazy over reaction.  There is more to starting than just having great stuff.  Taylor has only been able to throw 90 some innings over the last 3 + years beacuse he's had a serious arm injury and several nagging injuries.  The reason is because he has a max effort delivery and a bad arm action.  He will never be durable enough to be able to make 30 starts and throw 180 + innings a year.  The best thing is to let him throw the s%*# out of it in the bullpen for as long as his body will allow.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

This is a crazy over reaction.  There is more to starting than just having great stuff.  Taylor has only been able to throw 90 some innings over the last 3 + years beacuse he's had a serious arm injury and several nagging injuries.  The reason is because he has a max effort delivery and a bad arm action.  He will never be durable enough to be able to make 30 starts and throw 180 + innings a year.  The best thing is to let him throw the s%*# out of it in the bullpen for as long as his body will allow.  

While this may be true, i still think they should continue to try him as a starter until he cant.

UCL reconstruction and lat injuries are not uncommon for any pitcher.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)

8 Top 100 Pitchers With Intriguing Pitch Mix Data So Far In 2025

Quote

Noah Schultz, LHP, White Sox
The White Sox lefthander has been one of the most celebrated pitching prospects in recent seasons (he’s No. 15 on the BA Top 100 Prospects list), but his lack of track record led to questions entering the season. While Schultz has shown an ability to handle more innings this season, pitching into the fifth inning or later in four out of seven starts, his command has been shaky with a 12.8% walk rate.

As far as the stuff, goes Schultz is still in the neighborhood of last year’s markers, but his velocity is down slightly on his two-seam fastball and slider. Those two pitches are his primary offerings. Both his slider and two-seamer generate a tremendous amount of horizontal movement, with each pitch moving heavily to each side of the plate. The sinker sits 94-95 mph with an average of 16 inches of horizontal break and eight inches of vertical break. His slider works the opposite side of the plate, moving 13 inches gloveside with -4 inches of vertical break. The slider has not generated the whiffs it has in previous seasons, as his whiff rate is down from 41% in 2024 to 26% in 2025. His two-seam has been more effective this season, however, generating more whiffs (29%) than in previous years.

Schultz has also leaned more into his cutter, upping the usage from under 10% in 2024 to 20% in 2025. The cutter sits 89-91 mph with around nine inches of ride and nearly zero horizontal break. He’s used the changeup far less this season, and it lacks vertical and velocity separation from the fastball.

Overall, Schultz’s command has been his biggest bugaboo this season, as he’s struggled to land his pitches consistently in the zone. 

Quote

Hagen Smith, LHP, White Sox 
The second pitcher selected in the 2024 draft, Smith had a highly successful career in the SEC at Arkansas. After three appearances with High-A in 2024, he began 2025 with Double-A Birmingham. Smith has pitched to a 2.10 ERA over seven starts, but his control has been an issue with a scary 18.1% walk rate. While strike-throwing has been deflating, his ability to still generate strikeouts has limited the damage to his overall line.

Smith mixes three pitches in a four-seam fastball, slider and changeup. To begin the season, he’s been heavily fastball and slider, using the changeup less than five percent of the time. His fastball has sat 93-95 mph with 15-16 inches of vertical break and 11-12 inches of horizontal movement. His 5-foot-5 release height allows the pitch to play above its velocity and pure movement, as he generates a flatter approach to the plate. These traits have led to a plus whiff rate of 34% against the pitch this season. His command of the fastball, however, has been his greatest hurdle, as his 58% strike rate is well below-average.

Smith has shown better command of his slider, which in many ways has a similar profile to the “deathball” curveball that’s been popularized in recent years. It’s slurvy shape in the low 80s and has an equal amount of drop and sweep. Smith has commanded the breaking ball far better than his fastball to begin the season with a 60% strike rate (around average for a slider) and a 49% whiff rate (well above-average).

The development of a third pitch has been a question for Smith dating back to his amateur days, and it’s still a lingering question, as the changeup is not a major part of his plan of attack. 

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/8-top-100-pitchers-with-intriguing-pitch-mix-data-so-far-in-2025/

Edited by DirtySox
Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, DirtySox said:

With Dutch finally logging starters innings for the first time in his life, the waxing and waning of his stuff isn't a surprise.  He's literally never pitched at this volume.  It all about him building conditioning for a season while he learns how to make his stuff last 100 pitches instead of 50.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, fathom said:

Did I miss Iriarte being injured?

 

RHP Jairo Iriarte assigned to ACL White Sox from Charlotte Knights.

Trying to do the pitching equivalent of Colson for him, apparently.

 

Brandon Drury was released as well...didn't notice that.  Obviously White Sox don't need hitting at all.

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:
 

RHP Jairo Iriarte assigned to ACL White Sox from Charlotte Knights.

Trying to do the pitching equivalent of Colson for him, apparently.

 

Brandon Drury was released as well...didn't notice that.  Obviously White Sox don't need hitting at all.

Woof….that trade 

  • Paper Bag 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, fathom said:

Woof….that trade 

Also, to top off all the "good new," Profar's brother is hitting .083 for the ACL team.

Every single brother/relative that we pick blows up, whether it's Vladdy's cousin, Uribe's son, Tatis' or Yoenis Cespedes' brother or cousin, Ozzie's family, KW's son, lol.   We're excelling at lighting money on fire, at least.

 

The only Sox history-connected guy we ever succeeded with was Carlos Martinez's son...and the majority of his success was with the Cardinals in the big leagues.

OFC, the other big "miss" was Alek Thomas, whose father Allen was a trainer/athletic conditioning guy and we refused to take his kid...or maybe he was already on the "outs" with the organization.

 

Guessing the next one will be Jose Contreras' son.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Autumn Dreamin said:

Mogollon 👀

Great to see a guy who tore up the Dominican Summer League & Arizona carry it on into full season ball.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/13/2025 at 12:56 PM, southsider2k5 said:

SIGH.

Hagen's velocity and control are having problems, and Grant Taylor is going to the pen.  Why can't we have nice things?

I’m not second guessing the Hagen Smith pick yet but seeing what Caglianone is doing kind of sucks, haha.  Montgomery and Caglianone would have been a nice dynamic duo of hitting prospects to have right now.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...