It really is a sad looking farm system, although had Devers never been called up, it wouldn't look so bad.
Well, that's another way of looking at it too. 1/2 the reason the farm system sucks so much now is because guys have either graduated or been traded for guys who are helping a big league club that is really really good right now. So there is that.......but if we want this window extended we're going to need some guys to emerge. The system was pretty damn weak in 2011-2012, but then Xander emerged and the 2011 draft class started to make it's mark over the next couple years.
It only really takes a few good guys to turn a system around. That task has obviously gotten just a little harder under the rules today but this is why you pump money into the scouting department to do their job.
All of this is true, but the system has changed radically since 2010-2011. We can no longer draft good players with signability issues with lower picks. The comp pick system has changed. The international bonus pool has tightened.
Look at 2010: We had 4 picks in the top 57, despite losing pick 29 and 80 for signing Lackey and Scutaro. Yes, we missed with Vitek & Brentz, but we got Robbie Ross for Ranaudo and still have Workman.
2011 saw us get 4 picks in the top 40, and we still have JBJ, Barnes & Swihart on the roster.
It will be hard to stockpile picks like that again while signing new free agents to replace those departing.
In 2012, we got 3 picks in the top 37.
In 2013, we got 2 in the top 33, including Kopech as a comp pick that was essential in bringing us Sale.
From 2014 to 2018, we've done no better than 2 in the top 51 picks. That avenue has dried up.
The IFA avenue is much harder now.
Our budget is maxed out for signing FAs.
We won't be getting a number 7 pick (like Beni) in the immediate future.
Our farm shows no sign of having high impact players available by 2019, 2020 or 2021.
I'm not saying it can't happen, but the context has changed sharply.
Last edited by moonslav59; 06-11-2018 at 03:33 PM.
Mata went 5.1 tonight gave up one earned run, walked 6 (ouch) and struck out 8.
Lind hit his 4th HR.
Lin 2 for 4 with a DBL
Brett Nezter 4 singles (up to .311).
I couldn't find if this was posted somewhere else, but the Red Sox got their PTBNL from the Roenis Elias deal:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/...ias-ptbnl.html
If he has the potential to be a useful bench player for us at some point, that'd seem like a great return for Elias, who had no role and no future in Boston. Perhaps Harmony has some insight on this guy?The Red Sox announced that they’ve acquired minor league outfielder Eric Filia from the Mariners as the player to be named later in April’s Roenis Elias trade. FanRag’s Robert Murray was the first to reports that Filia was going to the Red Sox (Twitter link).
Filia, 25, was Seattle’s 20th-round pick back in 2016 and ranked as the No. 11 prospect in a thin Mariners farm system, per MLB.com, though he missed the early portion of the season while serving a 50-game suspension due to a second positive test for a drug of abuse. He was recently activated and has batted .426/.508/.537 with a home run, three doubles and more walks (nine) than strikeouts (four) in 63 Double-A plate appearances.
Of course, Filia is older than the average competition he’s facing in Double-A, as was the case in 2017 when he batted .326/.407/.434 with five homers in 564 plate appearances as a 24-year-old in Class-A Advanced. Filia has punched out in just 7.3 percent of his professional plate appearances, and while that’s in part a testament to the younger competition he’s faced, it’s also an undeniable testament to his above-average bat-to-ball skills. He’s also walked at a 12.3 percent clip in the minors.
Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com laud those on-base and bat-to-ball skills, though their report also indicates that he’s limited to the outfield corners on the defensive spectrum and has “average-at-best tools” in other facets of the game. Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen called him a potential bench bat in running through the Mariners’ system this offseason, noting past injury issues and recreational drug usage have slowed his path to the Majors.
Got to love a 26 year old prospect who has slowed his development with recreational drug use!!!!
Spark another fatty in Portland dude!
"Hating the Yankees like it's a religion since 94'" RIP Mike.
"It's also a simple and indisputable fact that WAR isn't the be-all end-all in valuations, especially in real life. Wanna know why? Because an ace in run-prevention for 120 innings means more often than not, a sub-standard pitcher covering for the rest of the IP that pitcher fails to provide. You can't see value in a vacuum when a player does not provide full-time production."
Can't ask for much better for a PTBNL. They can can make contact and strikes out at an insanely low pace.
Jalen Beeks 7.0 IP 6 H 1 ER 7Ks
Mike Ohlman with his 17th HR.
Josh Ockimey 2 for 4 with a 2B.