What do you all think of this guy? I took this team over in season 43 (rolling into 44) and had fun watching him progress in 43. 20 years old and starting season 44 in AA. Lot of people have come knocking in trade offers...I could move him for a solid, proven SP...or I could keep him. Took the team to the NLCS in 43, hoping to get back into the postseason in 44. Pitcher would certainly help my cause.

Anyway...here is the young hitter: https://www.whatifsports.com/hbd/Pages/Popups/PlayerRatings.aspx?pid=9734726

Can you post his ratings at the beginning of Season 43 as a table with his current ratings? How much his glove (among other ratings) is going to improve matters.

Season 43
OVR 57
Range 85
Glove 55
Arm str 52
Arm acc 44
Durability 64
Health 80
Speed 96
Contact 48
Power 51
vsL 48
vsR 54
Eye 38
BsR 60

You can see some areas had significant jumps, some didn't...everyone I talk trade with comes after this guy...last year (season 43) in his second year he split time at Low and High A and combined for 44 doubles, 13 homers, 29 steals, .910 OPS in 412 total at bats.

Yeah I think he seems like a legit big leaguer. His lower power/eye concern me a bit. Other than seems solid. He's the one guy everyone targets when I inquire on trades for pitching. Have a deal somewhat in place for a 33 yr old pitcher (who the owner can extend a couple years) which would help win now, but I don't want to give up on a potentially really good player who could be on the fast track to the majors and who I can have on the cheap for a few years.

I guess my question was whether this guy would be good, and it sounds like you think he will.

I disagree on the 2B part (his glove seems likely to end up 66-68) because the 20+ errors he'd get if he was a full time 2B would bug me too much (I overvalue D). That said, he'd be a gold glove LF, racking up plus plays (probably ~25) and given the jump in BR he should be a demon on the base paths. Switch hitting helps a lot and his OVR isn't artificially inflated. He'll have a good ML career given the chance, probably making an AS game or two and worth keeping even past his intro deal.

I'd still consider dealing him if the proven SP is a front-side of the rotation guy and makes a big difference for a WS run, but I probably wouldn't deal him just for SP depth.

Posted by zbrent716 on 8/2/2019 11:25:00 AM (view original):
I disagree on the 2B part (his glove seems likely to end up 66-68) because the 20+ errors he'd get if he was a full time 2B would bug me too much (I overvalue D). That said, he'd be a gold glove LF, racking up plus plays (probably ~25) and given the jump in BR he should be a demon on the base paths. Switch hitting helps a lot and his OVR isn't artificially inflated. He'll have a good ML career given the chance, probably making an AS game or two and worth keeping even past his intro deal.

I'd still consider dealing him if the proven SP is a front-side of the rotation guy and makes a big difference for a WS run, but I probably wouldn't deal him just for SP depth.

This guy would be more like a middle rotation guy...third or fourth starter. I may just pass.

Agree with the consensus here.

Definite value for a 17th round pick. This is a guy that many owners will draft late in the first round.

I would definitely keep him around until his glove fully develops. I have seen 18 year old drafted fielding type guys like this develop the glove rating into their fifth year. Take a look at any 18 year old drafted fielding guys on your team right now and look at how their glove rating developed. You will see that those guys usually have 5-7 glove rating increases during their fourth year pro. If your guy ends the current season at 63 glove (reasonable expectation), he could end next season with a glove of 68-70. Then after that, he will gain a point or two a season for the next three seasons. So, I think he ultimately has a 73 glove by the time he is age 25. Also, since he is only 20, he will still get a few more points of range for a range of somewhere between 92-94. So, i think 2b is a good slot for him on most teams.

The switch hitting and speed are what ups his trade value. Also, that baserunning tends to develop similar to glove in that an 18 year old drafted player will see 5-7 point gains even in his fourth year pro. So, if you want to trade him, find the teams that are focusing on speed (usually the team that was a top five base stealer the previous season), and sell hard.

Posted by bobellis75 on 8/2/2019 7:50:00 AM (view original):
What do you all think of this guy? I took this team over in season 43 (rolling into 44) and had fun watching him progress in 43. 20 years old and starting season 44 in AA. Lot of people have come knocking in trade offers...I could move him for a solid, proven SP...or I could keep him. Took the team to the NLCS in 43, hoping to get back into the postseason in 44. Pitcher would certainly help my cause.

Anyway...here is the young hitter: https://www.whatifsports.com/hbd/Pages/Popups/PlayerRatings.aspx?pid=9734726

Love the fact that you got him in the 17th round. What a bonus. Agreed with everyone else. The glove will never be good enough to play up the middle. The low eye makes me a little weary. He’ll be a great piece off the bench but probably shouldn’t start.

Posted by tlowster on 8/3/2019 11:31:00 AM (view original):
Definite value for a 17th round pick. This is a guy that many owners will draft late in the first round.

I would definitely keep him around until his glove fully develops. I have seen 18 year old drafted fielding type guys like this develop the glove rating into their fifth year. Take a look at any 18 year old drafted fielding guys on your team right now and look at how their glove rating developed. You will see that those guys usually have 5-7 glove rating increases during their fourth year pro. If your guy ends the current season at 63 glove (reasonable expectation), he could end next season with a glove of 68-70. Then after that, he will gain a point or two a season for the next three seasons. So, I think he ultimately has a 73 glove by the time he is age 25. Also, since he is only 20, he will still get a few more points of range for a range of somewhere between 92-94. So, i think 2b is a good slot for him on most teams.

The switch hitting and speed are what ups his trade value. Also, that baserunning tends to develop similar to glove in that an 18 year old drafted player will see 5-7 point gains even in his fourth year pro. So, if you want to trade him, find the teams that are focusing on speed (usually the team that was a top five base stealer the previous season), and sell hard.

Didn't realize that season 44 had already started in your World and he just turned 20. This guy just could easily get to a 75 glove rating. Sell hard for that pitcher. Try to find a team that focuses on speed and sell him to that team.

Posted by tlowster on 8/4/2019 3:02:00 PM (view original):

Posted by tlowster on 8/3/2019 11:31:00 AM (view original):
Definite value for a 17th round pick. This is a guy that many owners will draft late in the first round.

I would definitely keep him around until his glove fully develops. I have seen 18 year old drafted fielding type guys like this develop the glove rating into their fifth year. Take a look at any 18 year old drafted fielding guys on your team right now and look at how their glove rating developed. You will see that those guys usually have 5-7 glove rating increases during their fourth year pro. If your guy ends the current season at 63 glove (reasonable expectation), he could end next season with a glove of 68-70. Then after that, he will gain a point or two a season for the next three seasons. So, I think he ultimately has a 73 glove by the time he is age 25. Also, since he is only 20, he will still get a few more points of range for a range of somewhere between 92-94. So, i think 2b is a good slot for him on most teams.

The switch hitting and speed are what ups his trade value. Also, that baserunning tends to develop similar to glove in that an 18 year old drafted player will see 5-7 point gains even in his fourth year pro. So, if you want to trade him, find the teams that are focusing on speed (usually the team that was a top five base stealer the previous season), and sell hard.

Didn't realize that season 44 had already started in your World and he just turned 20. This guy just could easily get to a 75 glove rating. Sell hard for that pitcher. Try to find a team that focuses on speed and sell him to that team.

I would sell him for a pitcher but the current offer seems like a pass for me. Like I said the guy being offered would maybe be a fourth starter for me, third at best (and at 33 years old). I think my guy is worth more.

Put him in LF, bat him towards the bottom of the lineup. Will be below average with the bat but 20+ plays in LF and 35 steals should bring him up to an average MLer.

See how his stats shake out to determine whether you sign him to a LT deal after arb2.

To answer your question - I'd make sure you're getting a difference maker you'll have for at least a couple of seasons. An SP4 is not one of them.

Posted by rdierkers on 8/5/2019 9:29:00 AM (view original):
Put him in LF, bat him towards the bottom of the lineup. Will be below average with the bat but 20+ plays in LF and 35 steals should bring him up to an average MLer.

See how his stats shake out to determine whether you sign him to a LT deal after arb2.

To answer your question - I'd make sure you're getting a difference maker you'll have for at least a couple of seasons. An SP4 is not one of them.

the LF option is a good one as my current guy is on a big contract that expires after this season...so the prospect could be ready to roll by start of season 45. If not....I can always find a one-year stopgap in the meantime. He seems to be developing nicely, though...I have played him in spring training both in season 43 and 44.

Posted by tlowster on 8/4/2019 3:02:00 PM (view original):

Posted by tlowster on 8/3/2019 11:31:00 AM (view original):
Definite value for a 17th round pick. This is a guy that many owners will draft late in the first round.

I would definitely keep him around until his glove fully develops. I have seen 18 year old drafted fielding type guys like this develop the glove rating into their fifth year. Take a look at any 18 year old drafted fielding guys on your team right now and look at how their glove rating developed. You will see that those guys usually have 5-7 glove rating increases during their fourth year pro. If your guy ends the current season at 63 glove (reasonable expectation), he could end next season with a glove of 68-70. Then after that, he will gain a point or two a season for the next three seasons. So, I think he ultimately has a 73 glove by the time he is age 25. Also, since he is only 20, he will still get a few more points of range for a range of somewhere between 92-94. So, i think 2b is a good slot for him on most teams.

The switch hitting and speed are what ups his trade value. Also, that baserunning tends to develop similar to glove in that an 18 year old drafted player will see 5-7 point gains even in his fourth year pro. So, if you want to trade him, find the teams that are focusing on speed (usually the team that was a top five base stealer the previous season), and sell hard.

Didn't realize that season 44 had already started in your World and he just turned 20. This guy just could easily get to a 75 glove rating. Sell hard for that pitcher. Try to find a team that focuses on speed and sell him to that team.

Wow. I didn't expect to be spot on, but hey, when you study like a nerd, sometimes hit a bullseye.