We will likely see a lot of Duran, Downs, Cordero, Dalbec and Refsnyder, the rest of the way.
For some, the decision about what to expect going forward is as close to being made, but maybe they get one last long look. For others, like Refsnyder and some of our younger pitchers, maybe we'll get a good chance to improve our read on their a bility to match up with major leaguers.
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Refsnyder is 32 years old bye bye
Far as the other beer leaguers Cordero Dalbec both with some power and perhaps Duran with his speed might fetch a few low level prospects at the deadline
Downs is a complete bust BUT since the Betts deal brought back zero return no reason not to play the bust and maybe you get lucky?
Casas to 1B see if he has the tools at the mlb level in a few weeks
Fast fact, since Orlando has been in control Bullpen has 46 blown saves, Priceless!
Last edited by MADSTORK; 07-23-2022 at 09:15 PM.
My take on the players that you mention:
Duran - I was a supporter for a long while, thinking his speed was valuable, especially if he could hit anything like his minor league example. First time up he was extremely strikeout prone. The second time up he was better about pitch selection but his swing is long and he isn't getting hits out of his contact. His shaky defense hasn't improved. At his age, it appears we need to look elsewhere.
Downs - He has shown defensive abilities but hasn't hit in the minors and is lost in the majors. Perhaps we should give him additional time in thee minors and see if the lightbulb comes on. Otherwise, he is no major leaguer.
Cordero - Some power but a very poor hitter who is also a very poor defender. Let's move on as he is not going to help the team to be competitive.
Dalbec - He has power and has had his moments but doesn't appear to see the ball that well. He has had enough time to demonstrate his hitting which is not good. He is a still defender at first an doesn't move well enough at first. Another guy that we should move on from.
Refsnyder - He is an older guy who couldn't make it with other teams. Of the lot he appears to be the best, but a utility role should be his limit. Good enough to hang around with a low salary commitment.
We don't have much time to wait before the trade deadline and we see what Bloom is intending to do. Probably sell. If that is the case, why not bring up Casas and others and jettison those that won't be with the club next season. Perhaps that causes a money issue that I don't understand, otherwise bringing up prospects and getting a look makes sense. If we can make a decent trade for a ML player or prospects, fine. Let's start looking to 2023 and beyond.
I don't have much faith in any of these guys, except for maybe Refsnyder, who deserves a longer look, in hopes he's a late bloomer with more in the tank.
I'm just saying, these guys will play out the season to see, if there is a glimmer of hope to hold onto one or two of them, perhaps just a little longer. If Casas was ready, maybe Dalbec and Cordero would play less, but I'm not sure we'll see Casas, this summer.
I'd like to see Fitzy, Wong, R Hern, Stewart and some pitchers like German and maybe Murphy & Groome for a bit.
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As always, I protest starting this thread halfway through the 2022 season.
Last edited by JDavis76; 07-24-2022 at 11:12 AM.
I'm watching today...Bello is making his third start. He's started twice vs the Rays and now the Jays. Welcome to big leagues.
6 more years of team control
Winckowski
Cutter
Bello
Matta no doubt will join this group in 2023.
I like it.
I write fictional stories in my spare time. So don't fact check me. Better?
To go back to the first post: I may be naive or overly optimistic, but I think this looks like a solid core or players and prospects to build upon. I had left some prospects off the list. Here is the updated version of our 2023 and beyond foundation...
SP: _____, Sale, Pivetta, Paxton, Winckowski
Crawford, Bello, Mata, Seabold, Groome, Walter, Murphy, Gonzalez, TWard
RP: Houck, Whitlock, Schreiber, _____, Taylor, Davis, Brasier
German, Danish, DHern
C: _____, Wong
R Hernandez, Cottam, Hickey
1B: _____, Dalbec/Cordero
Casas, Cordero or Dalbec, Jordan, Kavadas
2B: Story
Yorke, Paulino
3B: Devers
Binelas
SS: ______, Downs
Mayer, Lugo, Bonaci
LF: Verdugo, Duran
CF: ______
Rafaela, Koss
RF: Refsnyder
Jimenez, McDonough
If we spend $95-110M, this winter, I think we can maybe get better than we are, now, while maintaining an even brighter longer term outlook as our farm hands continue to impress and grow.
Between Mayer, Casas, Rafaela, Yorke, Bleis, Kavadas, Hickey, Paulino, Binelas, Jordan and others, I think we will have enough farm infusions, spread out, over the next 1-4 years that will allow us to spend more at other key positions.
We've heard a lot about the failure of our farm to produce top pitchers, and those ideas are not unfounded, but there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel, as well as already getting some promising results from Houck, Whitlock, Winckowski, Crawford and others.
All we need are 2-3 significant contributions from a large amount of promising young pitchers beyond Houck & Whitlock:
Winckowski
Crawford
Bello
Mata
Walter
Murphy
Seabold
Gonzalez
German
or from some longer shots like...
Song
Groome
T Ward
Drohan
Bastardo
Uberstine
I'm still very hopeful about the 2023 team, but more so about 2024 and beyond.
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