The Officially Official Off Season Thread (2016)

[saddles]

Is this a better job than he had with us, financially? I'm sure it has a lot less travel and this may have been a selling point perhaps.

Not sure.

 

[saddles]

Rangers Top Prospects, No. 2: Lewis Brinson, center fielder with plus power that continues to improve | SportsDay

Notable: A hamstring injury forced Brinson to miss five weeks with High-A High Desert. Brinson took off upon his return and finished the season with Triple-A Round Rock.

From June 5 through July 29, when he was promoted to Double-A Frisco, Brinson had a 1.135 OPS. Like outfielder Nomar Mazara, Brinson shortened a leg kick, and that made him a better hitter.

Brinson made better and harder contact last season. He had a career-high .601 slugging percentage, undoubtedly helped by playing in the launching pad that is High Desert. Brinson had a slugging percentage of more than .540 in Double- and Triple-A.

The more telling statistic is strikeouts. From 2012-14, Brinson had 361 strikeouts in 1,153 plate appearances for a shocking rate of 31.3. He cut the whiffs to 98 in 456 plate appearances for a more reasonable 21.5 percent rate.

Brinson could grow into a center fielder with plus power. He has the range and the arm of a top-flight center fielder but needs more work on the nuances of the position.

 

[saddles]

Rangers monitor workout of world-class cricket player Kieran Powell seeking career change | SportsDay

 

[donaldson79]

Baseball is not a linear equation........b/c any player has success/shows growth at a lower level means, at the very least, not that much at the next level.

 

[saddles]

Orioles Have Made Offer To Yoenis Cespedes

 

[saddles]

Blue Jays Have Had Recent Contact With Gallardo's Camp

 

[saddles]

A good interview here for Joey Gallo. One interesting thing is he said he enjoyed playing in the OF.

Rookie Prg: Gallo

 

[saddles]

Another Lewis Brinson write up.

Prospect Series: Lewis Brinson

Mike Cameron is a really good comparison, but Brinson's batting stats scream young Ruben Sierra to me. From 1988-1993 Sierra averaged 36 doubles, 6 triples, 23 home runs, and 16 SBs per season with a slash line of .277/.325/.456; good for a 112 wRC+. Sierra averaged around 3.5 wins per season over those years, but Brinson is a better defender and will get a better positional adjustment than Sierra did. If Brinson is just slightly better than average in CF, a 112 wRC+ will net him a 5 win season. The real reason I like the young Sierra comp is because I think Brinson's potential peak is higher than Mike Cameron's was. Brinson could replicate Sierra's 1989 campaign in which he hit 29 home runs, had a BB/K ratio of .52, and had a slash of .306/.347/.543 good for a wRC+ of 145. Brinson probably doesn't quite hit for that average or slugging, but if he hits .290/.330/.520 and continues to play above average defense he would be a 7+ win player. It is a peak for a reason and most players never hit their peaks, but it is one of the many reasons that make Lewis Brinson one of the most exciting players to watch in baseball.

 

[saddles]

Prospect Series: Joey Gallo

Gallo is a rare breed, a hitter with power we don't get to see often anymore. People struggle on finding a minor league comp that is similar, and there just aren't many. One of the more interesting comparisons is Adam Dunn, as Gallo's lines from season to season end up looking a lot line Adam Dunn's career lines. Adam Dunn's career slash was .237/.364/.490 which is easily foreseeable as a future Joey Gallo line. Dunn ended up with a career 123 wRC+, but that includes 4 terrible years which he showed up way overweight and out of shape. Without those he averaged a 131 wRC+ and around 25 WAR over the course of 10 seasons. If you only make him a slight liability in the field in this time instead of one of the worst fielders ever, he would have been a 50 WAR player over the course of his career. Adam Dunn with average fielding would be amazing to see play for the Rangers and Gallo has the potential to be even better than that. If he can cut down on the strikeouts, we could see MVP, 60 home run seasons from Gallo. Gallo is someone we will all enjoy seeing in a Ranger's uniform the next 5-20 years.

 

[jta4437]

Another Lewis Brinson write up.

Prospect Series: Lewis Brinson

Mike Cameron is a really good comparison, but Brinson's batting stats scream young Ruben Sierra to me. From 1988-1993 Sierra averaged 36 doubles, 6 triples, 23 home runs, and 16 SBs per season with a slash line of .277/.325/.456; good for a 112 wRC+. Sierra averaged around 3.5 wins per season over those years, but Brinson is a better defender and will get a better positional adjustment than Sierra did. If Brinson is just slightly better than average in CF, a 112 wRC+ will net him a 5 win season. The real reason I like the young Sierra comp is because I think Brinson's potential peak is higher than Mike Cameron's was. Brinson could replicate Sierra's 1989 campaign in which he hit 29 home runs, had a BB/K ratio of .52, and had a slash of .306/.347/.543 good for a wRC+ of 145. Brinson probably doesn't quite hit for that average or slugging, but if he hits .290/.330/.520 and continues to play above average defense he would be a 7+ win player. It is a peak for a reason and most players never hit their peaks, but it is one of the many reasons that make Lewis Brinson one of the most exciting players to watch in baseball.

Brinson's improvement last season was quite drastic, would like to see him maintain that success a little longer at AAA, but he certainly made Nick Williams a little more expendable when it came time to do that deal

I liked Williams but glad we kept Brinson over him

 

[donaldson79]

http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/artic...on=5377&linksrc=mb_story_main_head_3_20186857

 

[scotsman1948]

Baseball is not a linear equation........b/c any player has success/shows growth at a lower level means, at the very least, not that much at the next level.

exactly

 

[saddles]

It looks like Adam Morris felt the same way I did yesterday when he read Fraley's column and headline about Profar getting a raise. Fraley never seems to miss an opportunity to get in a dig at a young player.

 

[saddles]

Rangers Top Prospects, No. 1: One of the closest to breaking into the big leagues, Nomar Mazara | SportsDay

 

[saddles]

Keone Kela is key piece in Rangers' bullpen

 

[scotsman1948]

Keone Kela is key piece in Rangers' bullpen

agree he is

 

[True Rangers Fan]

It looks like Adam Morris felt the same way I did yesterday when he read Fraley's column and headline about Profar getting a raise. Fraley never seems to miss an opportunity to get in a dig at a young player.

What exactly was the dig?

 

[Kelleyman]

Let’s Get Jonathan Lucroy to the Rangers | FanGraphs Baseball

Lucroy speculation

I value our prospects more than Jeff S

 

[Kelleyman]

What exactly was the dig?

DMN Fraley begrudges Profar is what it looks like

 

[Kelleyman]

Rangers Top Prospects, No. 1: One of the closest to breaking into the big leagues, Nomar Mazara | SportsDay

I am much more excited re Mazara than DMN