Minor League Games - Wednesday, April 25, 2018

andyb 2018-04-26 12:16:59 UTC #21

The implication was that Rosso was more than that though. To me that means top 30 contention and he is just nowhere near that at this time. I believe the modified mechanics and better secondary pitches, but it still does not qualify as good stuff. That is why I mentioned Tavaras as a "stuff comp" as there are definitely some similarities. He is more age appropriate this year but still not young (22 in June).

Not sure what he has done that would make him better than a Nick Fanti last year for instance or even a Parkinson this year at Lakewood. This does not mean I think he is a total non-prospect, but he just does not have the stuff you want out of a better prospect. One can appreciate what a prospect does (like Fanti last year) and still not rank them high.

Austinfan 2018-04-26 18:46:35 UTC #22

Let's wait and see shall we, Ranger Suarez wasn't a top 30 prospect a couple years ago.

andyb 2018-04-26 18:53:08 UTC #23

Well you can say that about just about anyone. A realistic appraisal of Rosso does not have him at that level now and he really does not have the great stuff where one should expect it. You tend to fall in love with players doing well who are old for their levels. These players are often not great prospects.

Jeff05 2018-04-26 22:06:55 UTC #24

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I will keep an eye open for reports on his 'stuff' and 'performance'.

Austinfan 2018-04-26 23:57:17 UTC #25

I fall in love with potential outliers, that is, players who have a story that explains why they're older, or went unnoticed in the draft or in LA.

I'd note you kept harping that Hoskins was overage, now he's merely one of the top young hitters in ML.
Key was his tremendous consistency at each minor league level, and the fact that his BB rate increased as he rose, which was very rare.

So I'm watching Hall closely, because while he's a longshot, the power is indisputable, the question becomes whether he has the vision and discipline to lay off bad pitches as he rises up the minors, because that's the downfall of most minor league power hitters - pitchers discover your "kryptonite" and keep feeding it to you.

We'll see what Rosso has, like Waguespack, they may be able to up his velocity by 2-3 MPH through tweaking his mechanics, and if he can average over 92, that's all you need (see Arrieta, Nola). Then it comes down to secondary pitches and command.

andyb 2018-04-27 03:54:13 UTC #26

Hoskins was never a non-prospect. He was always a orospect but got better at AAA. That is rare but it happens. Rosso is just a lower prospect. So is Hall. Older and with holes in his game even though he does some things well. Most prospects who have done what they have done at their age don't make it. You can watch them all as closely as you want. At some point you have to rank them because that is kind of what prospect ranking is all about. Tools matter and performing at age appropriate levels matter even if you tend to dismiss that. It is kind of why someone you love so much like Randolph is such a disappointment. Overdrafting a player with few tools.