This isn't a deep thought but Sean Burke suddenly becoming an Ace after Davis Martin suddenly becoming an Ace, and I find it hard to get too down when players like Noah Schulz or Hagen Smith have these huge depressions. They could literally snap into it tomorrow with some new cutter grip that is unstoppable.

I thought we'd have the worst pitching staff in history and they keep finding it. I'm kinda a fan of this new pitching draft strategy of just selecting pitchers that are at least 6'4 and expect to be around 220 and just hope they figure it out at the right time.

Thanks

Thank you, Jack Handey.

10 minutes ago, bmags said:

This isn't a deep thought but Sean Burke suddenly becoming an Ace after Davis Martin suddenly becoming an Ace, and I find it hard to get too down when players like Noah Schulz or Hagen Smith have these huge depressions. They could literally snap into it tomorrow with some new cutter grip that is unstoppable.

I thought we'd have the worst pitching staff in history and they keep finding it. I'm kinda a fan of this new pitching draft strategy of just selecting pitchers that are at least 6'4 and expect to be around 220 and just hope they figure it out at the right time.

Thanks

Development isn't linear for sure, and it definitely isn't certain. But I will say that the most important thing here should be putting the players in the best position to succeed, and not the team in the best position to win. Those two things might not be the same things at the same time.

16 minutes ago, SoxBlanco said:

Thank you, Jack Handey.

I said this ISNT a deep thought.

Burke was a beast last season. Which is to say, I think you could've watched him last year and not be surprised about what he's doing now. I was more surprised at Martin's start than I am about this stretch from Burke.

I dunno that it relates to Schultz though. He hasn't even shown flashes to me at the MLB level. Andrew Painter has a 7 ERA and is a similar kind of prospect as Schultz, but he is at least showing flashes of why he was rated so highly.

I have more faith in Smith than I do Schultz at the moment. Not saying he won't figure it out or be an elite pitcher, but they got to get this guy off the MLB team for his own good.

10 minutes ago, nrockway said:

Burke was a beast last season. Which is to say, I think you could've watched him last year and not be surprised about what he's doing now. I was more surprised at Martin's start than I am about this stretch from Burke.

I dunno that it relates to Schultz though. He hasn't even shown flashes to me at the MLB level. Andrew Painter has a 7 ERA and is a similar kind of prospect as Schultz, but he is at least showing flashes of why he was rated so highly.

I have more faith in Smith than I do Schultz at the moment. Not saying he won't figure it out or be an elite pitcher, but they got to get this guy off the MLB team for his own good.

I am curious about Schultz's profile as someone who didn't follow him all that closely. How much of his hype is tied to his height (and the impact that imposing height has on delivery and perception of his pitches) vs. stuff? I know he's giant, but it doesn't seem to translate into elite velocity, at least right now...what was it that made him that made him so highly rated? Genuine question.

25 minutes ago, bmags said:

I said this ISNT a deep thought.

You’re underestimating the deepness of it. I’m talking Mariana Trench levels.

43 minutes ago, bmags said:

This isn't a deep thought but Sean Burke suddenly becoming an Ace after Davis Martin suddenly becoming an Ace, and I find it hard to get too down when players like Noah Schulz or Hagen Smith have these huge depressions. They could literally snap into it tomorrow with some new cutter grip that is unstoppable.

I thought we'd have the worst pitching staff in history and they keep finding it. I'm kinda a fan of this new pitching draft strategy of just selecting pitchers that are at least 6'4 and expect to be around 220 and just hope they figure it out at the right time.

Thanks

Schultz clearly has shown sustained periods (in the minors) of elite stuff, with inconsistent mechanics and command. He also is very lengthy which can make repeatability a bit of a challenge early in their careers. These are the exact type of individuals you do not give up on. He's still 22 year's old and has 6 more years of control as well. I would not be surprised if he was one of the better LHP's in all of baseball for a good chunk of that time.

Hagen Smith is a bit different, as his sustained periods of elite stuff has been a little more mixed as he really exploded in his final college season and then has flashed it at times in the minors, but with a bit less consistency as he's worked through mechanical issues. I have less conviction here than I do with Noah, but I am still pretty convinced worse case you are talking about a guy who is an elite set-up man and best case he has what it takes to be a front of the rotation pitcher (ie a 1, 2, or #3 pitcher in a rotation).

McDougal is close to Schultz in my mind, with the major question here (as with all pitchers) being sustainable health. But I think his floor is the highest of this trio of prospects and I am a bit dissaopinted we couldn't continue to stretch him out so he could build on his 110+ innings last year in the minors, because right now it is pretty clear he's going to see a substantial set back in innings pitched as the club worked to get him stretched out for the rotation. With that said - his stuff is high end - he has the physical build you look for in front of the rotation starters, and as a floor, I think he will be an excellent reliver, but would hate to see him limited there. He has been consistently excellent after whatever adjustments he made from 24 into 25.

Note: How they develop and what the right mix of minor league development vs. major league development will be key. I don't know what it is, but I think McDougal is the individual of the trio who will have more immediate sustained MLB success because I think his command and repeatability is best suited mixed with that stuff. Not saying he's going to come out and be an ace right away, but I think he'll be a serviceable big leaguer out of the gate and then grow from there.