Latest / Sports Avenue Twisted Podcast / SATP Ep.44 Part I feat. Tobey Schulman

Transcript

SATP Ep.44 Part I feat. Tobey Schulman · Sports Avenue Twisted Podcast

0:26
Welcome to another edition of the Sports Ave.
0:28
Twisted podcast. We have a guest in here today
0:30
who we will have as a round table discussion and we're
0:34
honored to have them. Toby Shulman, welcome to to the
0:38
show. Just let the world know what you
0:40
do and everything else. Yeah, sure.
0:42
Well, First off, thank you guys for having me so much.
0:44
This has been a long time coming and they'd be playing this about
0:47
like a month ago. So it's finally be here talking.
0:49
It's really fun. But for those of you who don't
0:52
know me the first time you're seeing my name, my name is Toby.
0:54
Like they mentioned, I run AI guess just baseball content
0:58
creation account on my Twitter called T Shulman report.
1:02
I cover try to try to cover at least everything from college
1:05
baseball to minor leagues to everything major leagues.
1:09
Been doing that for around like 6 months now and it's grown to
1:13
the point where I just have been able to meet people like you
1:15
guys and talk about baseball all the time, which is just my
1:18
passion and what I love doing right for the Skipper's view as
1:21
well. And I know you guys are
1:22
connected with a lot of them, so it's really cool to be kind of
1:25
roped in with all them and alongside with you guys as well.
1:29
But besides that, also do a little play by play broadcasting
1:33
for collegiate summer Baseball League down here.
1:35
So it's a lot of baseball. My life just been totally
1:38
consumed by baseball lately. And again, just a big thank you
1:41
for allowing me to come on here and talk some ball with you
1:43
guys. We're excited to have you, man,
1:47
real excited us. I wanted to apologize prior to
1:51
the show, but I I'm sorry that was a little late getting home.
1:55
You guys are good man. You guys are good.
1:57
I, I worked all morning so honestly to have a a couple
1:59
hours just to to chill out and prepare for the show.
2:02
It was good for me. So I no worries on my end.
2:05
Well, we're we're we're excited and glad to have you.
2:07
And we're always excited to talk baseball, man.
2:10
So yeah, Rocky, if you want to ask the first question, you're
2:14
up. All right, let's rock'n'roll
2:16
here. So the first question we want to
2:19
talk about is the College World Series here right now, the
2:23
finals is LSU versus Coastal Carolina.
2:26
I think we're. All aware about what's going on
2:28
college baseball is very exciting.
2:30
Did this come as a surprise to you guys that this this these
2:35
are the two teams that ended up being in the dance?
2:38
And then if there was any surprise eliminations, because I
2:41
have a lot in my mind, but Toby, you could start off.
2:45
So I think that the way it ended for Arkansas maybe was the
2:48
biggest surprise. But in terms of what we got as a
2:52
match up in the championship, I'm not very surprised about it.
2:55
I think watching Arkansas previous years, I don't think a
2:59
lot of people are bought in too much to what they're able to do
3:01
when they get to Omaha. And we've seen what LSU is able
3:04
to do. We've seen what Coastal is able
3:06
to do. And and obviously their win
3:07
streak that they just had snapped, they just looked so
3:11
dominant that to see them in the in the finals really wasn't a
3:13
surprise at all. But you know, you got guys like
3:16
Kate Anderson who've just been holding it down for them in the
3:19
rotation for LSU. So this didn't come as a
3:21
surprise to me, I'd say. But I guess to be in the
3:24
situation where we are, where LSU looks like they're about to
3:26
take another national title, that maybe was a bit of a
3:29
surprise to me. I thought Postal was going to
3:31
just run through this tournament.
3:33
Yeah, I'm with you on Coastal. I I think Coastal is really,
3:37
really deep. They're, they're a good baseball
3:40
team. Like I, I had them, I think it
3:42
was they were in the Auburn, I think regional.
3:46
I I think that's what it was. I had them, I had them advancing
3:49
though, like they were the underdogs for some reason.
3:52
I I saw it all the way there and they have one of the deepest
3:57
rotations in, in, in this tournament.
4:04
As for LSUI, mean they got a really good team too.
4:07
So kind of, I don't know, kind of didn't really surprise me
4:10
that either teams were there just because of the pedigree of
4:13
LSU and and you got I mean Postal Carolinas.
4:18
I I feel like that program is slept on every year, like
4:22
they're, they're a good baseball program through and through.
4:27
What I believe is that I believe Texas was the favorites to win
4:31
it this year and surprise elimination this year especially
4:36
North Carolina has an interesting program all of a
4:39
sudden, right and Duke as well. But we saw that AJ Gracia just
4:43
got just went through the transport of that kind of
4:46
surprised me and he ended up going I forgot where.
4:49
But like overall, you look at it this way.
4:51
This is the beauty part about college baseball is the fact
4:54
that you just don't know what to expect overall because there's
4:59
so much talent. If you look at a team like
5:01
Florida State, for example, like they got a hell of a program
5:05
with college players as well, right?
5:07
So overall, you look at it this way, LSU they're they're they're
5:11
one of the best schools when it comes to baseball, especially
5:14
with the recruitment class you've seen a couple years ago
5:17
they had Ty Floyd and Paul Skeens and Dylan Cruz and this
5:22
the beat goes on. They got Jared Jones and Kate
5:25
Anderson, who should be a top three, if not top five in this
5:28
year's draft. So and Kate and Bodine for Coast
5:31
of Carolina has been a player for them man before.
5:34
Before we go on the next topic, what were your thoughts about
5:38
that umpire and his unusual shenanigan?
5:41
And what was that even necessary?
5:44
You mean in the first inning of this game?
5:46
Yes. Yeah, that honestly, I wasn't
5:49
even watching too closely at the time.
5:51
I forget what I was like particularly doing, but I look
5:55
up at the TV and and I'm seeing the head coach for Coastal just
5:59
getting tossed in the first inning, I believe, or first or
6:02
first inning of of a elimination national championship game.
6:06
And I don't, you know, Jeff Passan said it, there's probably
6:10
a few combinations of words that you could say to get yourself
6:12
rung up in that case. But I mean, in a national
6:18
championship game, emotions are high.
6:22
I don't, I don't see a reason to really throw out a coach like
6:25
that. That's just especially because I
6:27
saw something where I believe if this game was to be won by
6:30
Coastal, they would have their head coach suspended for the
6:32
next game as well. So really I I, I am not really
6:38
too sure what happened there. I wish we could have maybe like
6:41
a John Boy lip read on it. But one of the worst shows I
6:45
think I've ever seen in baseball period.
6:48
I don't think that's too much of an exaggeration there.
6:50
I mean, you can't throw out a manager in that situation.
6:54
Yeah, it's it's it's unfathomable in a College World
6:59
Series when when you eject the the manager for Coastal Carolina
7:04
and sure, I mean, it might be comfortable.
7:06
Got you got to think about this. These are the finals.
7:08
This is it like, you know, we're watching a important College
7:12
World Series after it's done. And I don't know if he
7:16
intentionally want to do it, if he wanted to seek attention, if
7:19
he wanted to be a known umpire while he did that today.
7:22
So it's like it's just it's just insane that a situation like
7:28
that were to happen, right? So overall, I wish they would do
7:32
something about this moving forward.
7:34
That to me is is is a bit of an issue, especially when you're
7:38
having this type of type of series when when there's so much
7:43
at stake too, right, because anything is possible at this
7:46
point. But we'll see how this goes for
7:49
Coastal Carolina. I think they were losing 5 three
7:51
when I last checked but. Yeah, it's still 5/3.
7:54
Yeah, it's still 5 three, right? So yeah, I mean Alice, who's a
7:57
hell of a team, right, dude? Like you said, like so yeah,
8:00
we'll, we'll see where things go.
8:04
So where are some players in this tournament that really
8:06
surprised you, that's risen to the occasion that's really stood
8:10
out to you guys? You want me to take this one
8:14
first? Yeah, you're the guest.
8:15
So you. Just making sure.
8:19
So right away from the jump, I feel like maybe not a surprise,
8:22
but it was a surprise to me because I always love seeing the
8:25
young guys to like just rise to the occasion.
8:27
Derek Curiel and what he's been doing for LSU since they've
8:30
gotten to Omaha, Just unbelievable.
8:33
The fact that you could put a true freshman in this spot.
8:35
I believe true freshman, I hope I'm not wrong about that.
8:37
But yeah, either way, a freshman that you're putting at your lead
8:40
off spot, you're giving him five ABS in a in a national
8:43
championship series. This is a guy that LSU has a
8:46
tremendous amount of just trust in and I, I can't believe the
8:51
numbers when I see him hitting 345 on bases at 47519 slug.
8:55
This kid is going to go very high in 2027.
8:58
And it came as a surprise to me that a freshman was going to
9:01
turn it up to this level in Omaha.
9:03
And I guess not someone who really surprised because of how
9:08
good they were in the tournament, but surprised me
9:10
just because of how he held his own against some of the best
9:12
teams in the nation. We talked about, you know,
9:15
Murray stayed a lot earlier before Omaha and, you know,
9:18
their Cinderella run. And Jonathan Hogart was such a
9:21
fun player to watch from that team because while they did get
9:24
no hit against Arkansas, he did have three hits.
9:26
And he scored a run against UCLA.
9:27
And that was one of the better teams in the nation.
9:29
So he held his own in in a very competitive tournament where,
9:35
you know, Murray State just happened to be outclassed by a
9:37
couple of really good teams. And those two guys in particular
9:41
stood out to me a lot. You know, obviously the big
9:46
names don't really come as a surprise.
9:47
So those are the two guys that I really just love.
9:52
Seeing them succeed when they got to Omaha and seeing what
9:54
Curiel is doing right now in the national championships.
9:57
Absurd. I'll say Kaden Bodine.
10:00
I mean he's, he's catchers are so in demand in today's sport
10:06
and I believe he's eligible for this year's draft and he's risen
10:09
to the occasion that he's becoming a real big player for
10:12
them. You could say that Ike Irish
10:15
from Auburn was was a big, big guy too.
10:18
And, you know, I'm curious to see how these guys go in this
10:22
year's draft, especially. We're going to talk about the
10:23
draft later in this episode. But like, those are the type of
10:27
players that you need. And catcher to me, in my
10:30
opinion, is the most important position in the sport.
10:33
I don't know what Coastal Carolina would do without Kate
10:35
and Bodine. And and you could also talk
10:37
about Jared Jones too. But you could think about Jared
10:40
Jones for one SEC. I believe he was injured and he
10:43
comes back and he just Rakes, right.
10:45
So it's incredible to think like when you have those type of
10:50
players that come in and play the way they play.
10:54
I mean, the beat goes on for LSU.
10:56
But yeah, Kate and Bodine my pick because like he said,
11:00
catchers are catchers are such a demand.
11:03
And, and if you look at the way baseball's going, like it's hard
11:06
to find really good catchers in today's sport.
11:09
Yeah, I'm, I'm going to take the cop out answer here and go with
11:14
Kate Anderson. I mean what he did in game one
11:18
against Postal complete game shutout with 10K S A1 nothing
11:24
win. I mean, you can't say anymore.
11:26
The guys going to be a top five pick most likely.
11:31
You know, he's, he's got all the, all the stuff, the arsenals
11:35
pristine. And he just, I mean, he wasn't a
11:40
surprise because we all know the the capabilities of him.
11:44
But I mean, he dominated on the stage where he was supposed to
11:48
dominate man against one of the best schools in college
11:51
baseball. So I I got to go with him and
11:54
he, he deserves to be mentioned. Let let me ask you all this
11:58
question. So with Kate Anderson, with that
12:00
performance, you would say he wouldn't have gone lower than
12:03
10. Is he a surefire top three pick
12:06
in in this year's draft 100? Percent you are going to have a
12:10
tough time passing him up at first overall in my opinion.
12:14
Yeah, I, I'm, I agree 100%. Man.
12:18
It's, it's just the stuff the, you know, the everything man.
12:24
Everything that goes into what he is man is just, yeah, it's
12:27
it's too hard to pass up. I also think that when you look
12:32
at the scouts out there, the stuff is there.
12:34
Like I believe the other two left-handed pitchers are Liam
12:37
Doyle and Jamie Arnold and man, Jamie Arnold is a hell of a
12:41
pitcher too. But I I kind of tend to agree.
12:43
I mean, that kind of performance, you know, you have
12:46
that dog mentality like. You just don't see much of those
12:49
left-handed pitchers, especially now it's so hard to find
12:51
left-handed pitchers, but there's like three of them right
12:53
in this year's draft. So, but but I agree, I think, I
12:56
think I could see a team like the Angels, even the Mariners.
12:59
If, if it's if they don't end up getting Kate Anderson at #2 I
13:04
could see him going to Seattle, right?
13:06
So is there anything else you guys want to add before we get
13:11
on to the next question? I think just about Kate
13:13
Anderson, I mean, you talked about the stuff and how, you
13:16
know, you just watch it and it's there, but it's the, the mindset
13:20
that he brings to the game as well.
13:21
It's the just the tenacity that he has when he's on the mound.
13:25
He's a competitor. And when you think about guys
13:28
from LSU that have risen to the big leagues quickly, obviously
13:31
like Paul skiing, they've had that just gritty mentality that
13:34
they just go in, they get their, their work done and they get out
13:37
and they, they want to be the ones that are helping out their
13:39
guys. They don't want to go 6 and then
13:41
go out, they want to go the whole thing.
13:43
So we we saw that from Kate Anderson on full display
13:45
yesterday. The best impression you could
13:48
have probably left on big league clubs for your last start is all
13:51
I'm going to leave that off on. No, absolutely there.
13:54
I couldn't have said it any better.
13:57
So the next question I want to ask is so you could talk about
14:01
the College World Series, you could talk about the tournament,
14:04
the whole NCAA tournament, any player you could add, who would
14:10
you say could be a wild card pick in this year's draft class
14:14
in July 13th? I'm not sure if it necessarily
14:18
qualifies as a wild card anymore, but I think where Gage
14:21
Woods going to get drafted is going to be a real wild card at
14:24
this point because this is a guy that I've seen some people like.
14:27
I believe Joe Doyle said that he might not go outside of the top
14:30
20, but looking at how deep this class is both on the pitching
14:34
and the position player side, I don't know if I could justify
14:38
taking Gage Wood over some of the, you know, higher upside
14:42
high school players. But it's all about what a team
14:44
feels like they need. And, you know, Cage Wood showed
14:47
on the biggest stage in an elimination game against the
14:50
Cinderella story of the tournament that he was just
14:53
going to shut the door. And we just talked about Kate
14:55
Anderson. That's even more dominant than
14:57
what Kate Anderson did. So if a team goes, you know,
15:00
we've seen what he could do on a on a big stage like that.
15:03
He can definitely do it in the MLB or, you know, I don't know
15:07
if he has, you know, more reliever upside or a starter or
15:11
if he's going to be a full on starter.
15:13
I haven't honestly looked too much into his profile because I
15:15
didn't expect him really to be this highly regarded of a
15:18
prospect in this draft. So I think for that honestly is
15:21
is really why Gage Wood to me is the biggest wild card after, you
15:25
know, the performances that we've seen from all the guys at
15:27
Omaha, because I feel like everyone else is kind of, you
15:30
know, maybe improve their draft stock, but they were already
15:33
consensus first rounders like Kate Anderson, Kaden Bodine, all
15:36
those guys been highly regarded. So I think Gage Wood is the wild
15:40
card there. Well, I would say Ike Irish has
15:47
really improved his stock in this year's draft.
15:50
I mean, hey, you're seeing a lot of stuff about him even going in
15:54
the top 10 now, like he's really boosted his stock.
15:59
Even for a team like say the Blue Jays, you know, there's
16:02
been rumoured that they might even take a look at him go under
16:05
slot and they love catchers. So I would say Ike Irish, he's
16:11
performed real well in this tournament and in in in the,
16:18
what do you call it the like the regional super regions, all that
16:23
like. So I mean, I got to go with him
16:27
that that's that's my guy there. So my pick would be IVA Arquette
16:34
from Oregon State. I love.
16:36
IVA Arquette, man, Yeah. Where does he go in this draft?
16:41
I love to see where he's. Man, I hope.
16:44
I mean, the Jays can go with eight with anyone they have, but
16:47
I think with IVA Arquette, I think he, he has the stuff like,
16:55
I mean, I, I think he he might have the five tools to be a
16:59
really good shortstop in in today's baseball.
17:01
That that's the ultimatum. If you look at if you look at
17:05
his play and there's a lot of shortstops in this year's draft
17:09
class. Another one I would say is Wahia
17:11
Alloy from Arkansas. That's another one for me.
17:15
Just wanted the golden Spikes awards, by the way.
17:17
Congratulations to him. And it's such a beauty that when
17:22
you look at these players, the way they play right now, there's
17:25
so much competition in the way the back to ball skill is it's
17:30
it's it's it's like uberly competitive.
17:32
And when you look at when you look at these guys, it's like
17:35
these scouts are also looking at them during these tournaments.
17:38
And you're going to be like, should we pick this?
17:40
Player with more upside or should we?
17:42
Get the guy with the higher floor right.
17:45
So these are the things that that that that's why I say is
17:48
Walker. I'll give you one more, one more
17:49
name is Tyler Bremner. What I what I heard that this
17:59
guy could potential be a top ten slot And and The thing is like
18:05
they're they're some teams are trying to go under slot because
18:09
obviously some guys signed in the offseason and they they've
18:12
had to forfeit a second round pick.
18:14
So the under slot, I think it's going to be a big factor in this
18:17
year's draft class. So there could be guys with
18:20
higher ceilings could slip down because of the asking price of
18:23
their of their slot. So I think that's what's
18:26
important. And, and if you look at it this
18:28
way, it's like you're looking at best player available.
18:31
Like, I mean, I mean, it's, it's, it'll be, it'll be, it'll
18:35
be fascinating. It'll be fascinating to see.
18:37
Is there any other names you guys think that you who could
18:41
who could be a surprise pick or or a wild card pick?
18:44
No, those are all great shouts. Yeah.
18:46
I want to give a shout out to to Luke Stevenson, well, from North
18:50
Carolina. Yeah, he's he's another catcher,
18:54
really good, supposed to be, you know, in that top 20 ish range.
19:00
So we'll see how high he ends up going, but he's he's another
19:04
interesting one. It's, you know, between him and
19:07
Irish. You know, it's going to be one
19:09
of those two depending on who goes first.
19:11
But yeah, that's just want to give him a shout out. 25 M will
19:18
be draft. Who's your favorite player in
19:20
this class coming up? Who would you say is your
19:22
favorite player in this draft class?
19:27
So I'm just going to be repeating a lot of stuff that's
19:29
already been said at this point, but IVA Arquette is by far my
19:33
favorite prospect in this draft and honestly, if I had the 1st
19:36
overall pick, it would be tough for me to pass him up with how
19:39
deep this class is. Like you said, the tools are
19:42
just there. This guy is very projectable.
19:45
He has a very high floor and six 5/2/20.
19:50
I mean, who wouldn't want to add this guy into their infield?
19:53
The power's crazy. The range at shortstop is
19:57
insane, his arms unbelievable. When you're talking about a guy
20:01
who is, you know, primed to rise through a system quickly, who
20:06
has. The talent to probably hang in
20:09
the big leagues before anybody else.
20:10
I think Arquette is that guy. I think he's going to be the
20:13
first bat that does make it up to the big leagues from this
20:16
class and I honestly don't know how long it's going to take.
20:19
We saw what he was doing not only all season when they played
20:22
18% of their games at home, but we saw what he did in the post
20:25
season in Omaha. He's the real deal.
20:28
The the bats, the real deal. It's clutch.
20:30
He he's a leader on the field, off the field.
20:33
You can tell this is a guy that if a team gets him outside of
20:36
the top five, I mean that's steal the draft.
20:39
Like we're talking like cags level steal the draft.
20:41
Yeah, absolutely. For me, I like Seth Hernandez
20:48
and I think he's the top high school pitching prospect in this
20:52
year's draft club. Tremendous upside, great
20:56
potential. But the only question is, with
20:58
all these college prospects pitching prospects specifically,
21:03
where does Hernandez fit in this year's draft class?
21:06
That to me is the bigger question because you don't see
21:09
too many guys take high school pitching prospect.
21:12
I think about 3 years ago the Jays picked a high school
21:15
pitcher named Brandon Barriera and he ended up getting Tommy
21:18
John. But the upside is still there.
21:20
So it all varies how we see where these guys go.
21:24
Like, like I'm a Texas, A Texas A&M fan and I like Jace
21:28
Laviolette, but he's kind of slipped down because like he
21:31
does swing and miss a lot. But I mean, he has the
21:34
athleticism to make up with the ground to be a probably like a
21:38
three or 44 tool player overall. But I do like Seth Hernandez a
21:43
lot. I'm curious to see.
21:47
Where he fits, fits in this year's draft, especially when
21:50
you have the Jamie Arnold's, you got the Ethan Holidays, you got
21:53
the Elliot Willis rights. Like there's so many guys like
21:56
that could be potentially top 810.
21:58
Like it could be, it could be like really good the first like
22:02
10 to 15 picks, maybe more depending like so there's a lot
22:05
of tremendous upside with all these guys.
22:07
But to me, I like Seth Fernandez.
22:10
It's a great shot. Yeah, Toby had said the guy that
22:15
I make, you know how I feel about about Ava or Cat, like
22:19
he's amazing. But I'm gonna say Brendan
22:23
Summerhill, outfielder for Arizona, when he you saw how the
22:30
season went for Arizona, like early in the season, they were
22:34
doing fine. They were doing good with
22:36
Summerhill. He gets hurt.
22:38
They're going down, man. They're going down hard.
22:41
He comes back. It's like, you know, they again,
22:44
they they went up, they end up making the, you know, making
22:48
the, you know, the dance, whatever, right.
22:51
So I mean, you just see how important of a player he is to
22:56
his team. You know, I think at the next
22:59
level he could be easily a 2020 guy, you know, with good
23:02
defense, You know, he has, he is just about as good as tools as
23:07
any college outfielder in this class.
23:10
So that's my pick, man. I'm going to go with him.
23:15
Do you guys have any other picks that you think like, you know,
23:19
that you've been intrigued on? I mean, I I got, I got a few
23:22
guys, but I think Seth to me is 1.
23:25
But I do go ahead. One guy I really like just
23:30
because of the swing Xavier Nians out of the out of the
23:34
glass is really fun. Every video I've seen of him,
23:38
whether it's on Twitter or like YouTube or something, it's just
23:41
to pop and the sound from this kids that is unreal.
23:45
And I I watch his swing on a loop probably more than I have
23:49
any other prospect in this class.
23:51
So I just wanted to give him a shout out for that, but also
23:53
wanted to shout out Anthony Einson as well for what he did
23:55
today in Omaha. I think he cemented the fact
23:58
that he probably has the floor of a late first round pick now.
24:02
The stuff's there. Curveball's elite.
24:04
I mean, he's he's just elite, honestly.
24:07
And then we talk so much about Kate Anderson that he gets a
24:09
little bit overshadowed. Just wanted to give those two
24:12
guys a shout out there because they probably won't get drafted
24:15
very high, but I think they both will be incredible players.
24:20
So the next question I want to ask you is which MLB prospect or
24:25
prospects in your eyes thought that, you know, he's having a
24:30
breakout year and just came out of nowhere and just flourished
24:32
to become where he's at right now?
24:35
So I don't know if a lot of people would say he came out of
24:37
nowhere, but I think he in all honesty just it wasn't expected
24:41
because of multiple factors. Rock Reggio for the Yankees has
24:44
been great since returning from injury and he's only played he's
24:48
played less than 40 games but his OPS is near 1000 between 3
24:52
levels. He's adjusting to AA well and
24:54
after he didn't, I guess, struggle really badly in high
24:59
last year, but he wasn't great. And this year he's just looked
25:03
to have turned a corner since returning from injury.
25:06
So it makes me think maybe, you know, and I, I could be totally
25:09
wrong about this, but he could have been dealing with some sort
25:11
of health issue last year as well.
25:13
But I, I think, you know, for a 23 year old like Reggio, who was
25:17
a lot higher ranked in the top 30 then, you know, he is now,
25:21
it's really great to see this kind of breakout happen and it
25:23
seems like it's sustainable. I mean, he's done it across a
25:25
couple levels this season, so I'm sure he'll spend the rest of
25:28
the year in Somerset and we'll just take it from there.
25:31
But he's he looks great so far. I can give out another one if
25:34
you guys, if you I'm gonna. I'm gonna steal from your your
25:38
list that Yeah, that's fine. Let me let me say let me say
25:48
your name. And I'm gonna steal off of
25:50
Toby's list. Let me, let me steal name your
25:53
Hendrick Penangle and good job on that, by the way, on that OPS
25:58
list, because two of the guys that that were on that list are
26:03
now in AAA and both were acquired in last year's trade
26:06
deadline. So your Hendrick Penango was
26:08
acquired in that knee Pearson trade and nobody thought that he
26:13
would blossom to the way he is. And now he could actually be a
26:16
trade ship, or he could be a. A missing piece to the puzzle to
26:21
the Jades. Organization, right.
26:22
So it's like, it's like you look at guys like that and you you
26:30
look at people like that. It's just like you came out of
26:32
nowhere, right? And they're coming completely
26:34
ranked. And RJ Shrek too, you would say,
26:36
because Seattle always finds these guys that come out of
26:42
nowhere. And you and you look at you look
26:46
at assets now all of a sudden because the Jays have a good
26:49
farm again, right after a long time.
26:51
And I think last year's trade deadline was a ripple effect.
26:54
But I'll give you another, another name that came out of
26:56
nowhere. And I have another Yankees
26:58
friend. I know you're in the Yankees
26:59
fan. It's LaGrange.
27:02
Carlos LaGrange. He's.
27:03
Unbelievable. He's to me, I mean, after George
27:10
Lombard, I think LaGrange is the best prospect in that system.
27:15
If you can compare. I mean, Lombard, it's hard to
27:18
argue that the guy has tremendous upside.
27:20
You got I'm not going to debate on that.
27:21
But like, he's turned out to be an animal and now in AA now and
27:27
he could be up in the majors and I don't know if he's tradable at
27:30
this point. Like he could be the next guy in
27:32
the rotation as soon as if not this year, next year for sure,
27:36
right. So the one thing I'll give, I'll
27:39
give the Yankees, is that. They find pitching prospects out
27:45
of nowhere like Brock. Salvage is another name that's
27:48
been sneaky. I mean Clay and Beater, I think
27:50
he's out with Tommy John. That's Hess, I believe.
27:54
And Hess is is an interesting guy to Cunningham's another.
27:57
So it's it's fascinating what the Yankees do.
28:00
They're very underrated when it comes to finding pitching
28:02
prospects, Right. And and they probably use this
28:05
trade assets to upgrade, of course, because you could only
28:07
keep so much. And the Jays have that problem.
28:11
Now. I'll give you one more name is
28:12
Gage Stanford. If if you want to if you want to
28:17
piggyback Rob on Gage Stanford, that's fine.
28:19
Yeah. Go ahead.
28:21
No, so we had Mitch banning on in one of our podcasts episodes
28:26
in the Blue Jays Ave. Go check it out.
28:27
By the way, he wrote an article regarding him and his vision
28:33
issues and he started wearing goggles and he turned out to be
28:37
what's his name, wild thing from from what's what's that clear?
28:43
Come on, what's a heart? Major League Major League.
28:45
That's right. So the moment he wore his
28:48
glasses, he's become a thing now and he's such a dominant pitcher
28:52
and and the Jays have all of a sudden become a pitching
28:55
factory, right. And good on the Jays on working
28:58
on that. And they had to fire the whole
29:00
pitching Staffs last year and they they hired a new bunch and
29:03
it seems to be working in all cylinders.
29:05
So those those are my ticks. So, Rob, do you have anyone in
29:07
mind? I mean, you said you said Gage
29:10
Stanifer. I really like him.
29:13
He's had this amazing breakout season where he's kind of
29:17
followed Treya Savage in almost every start until they were kind
29:21
of separated when Treya Savage went to was promoted to AA.
29:26
But I mean Treya Savage in his self yeah, I know he was drafted
29:30
last year. So I guess you could I guess you
29:33
could still call it a breakout season.
29:34
The guy it looks like he could pitch in the major leagues
29:37
today. Like he looks like he could get
29:39
Major League outs today, but he's he's really interesting.
29:46
Another guy that I think is really taken off was Davizon de
29:53
Los Santos, who's really, really had a good season this year in,
29:59
in AAA. So he's another guy that's
30:02
really impressed me. I think he was.
30:03
He was part of a trade for to the barlords, wasn't he?
30:07
Yes, from from the AJ Puck deal. That's right, the AJ Puck deal.
30:11
Yeah, he's had an amazing season where it's just like, you know,
30:15
like this guy, you know, he should be, he should be called
30:18
up soon, so. Let me let me give, let me give
30:22
one more name, if you don't mind me.
30:24
Kintaro for the Dodgers. The guy has twelve home runs.
30:29
I think he's an 8 ball. He's going to get promoted.
30:31
I mean, one thing I'll give the Dodgers is they always develop
30:37
and find guys. Mike Sirota is another one for
30:39
the men. He's been a great pick up.
30:42
I got a name too. I got another name if you want.
30:44
From the Gavin Lux trade, go ahead.
30:47
Is, is is Travis Sikora for the Nationals men, for the guys,
30:54
Yeah, He's going to be a stud. Like he's got like a wicked
30:59
fastball, like, you know, like he is going to be, he's going to
31:03
be awesome at the next level, man.
31:05
So I mean, I love, I love what Washington's doing in in
31:08
general, so. You have anything else to add?
31:15
I guess I'd go with, with one other guy here just cuz he stood
31:18
out to me for a little bit. Now raised 5th prospect Theo
31:22
Gillen's been really good this year and he's got a, he's got a
31:26
2028 ETA and I know you guys have probably been watching him
31:28
a little bit just because it's, you know, inner division stuff.
31:31
On YouTube, right, I believe. Oh, absolutely, yeah.
31:35
And this kid who's just 19 years old and, and, you know, had a
31:38
couple pretty, I guess, significant surgeries in high
31:42
school, there's a lot of risk with this pick in the first
31:44
round last year from Tampa. So I thought Theo would go in
31:47
the first round regardless, but I didn't think he'd go 18.
31:50
So the fact that it seems like it's completely paying off for
31:53
him to start is really cool. A 19 year old doing this in a
31:57
ball, you got to love that 85 OPS and I think it's 40 / 40
32:02
games he's had. So he's been great.
32:05
And I mean the, the just the possibilities with this raised
32:09
farm right now. It's, it's endless.
32:11
It's so deep. So let's talk about some
32:16
prospects have been called up this year that were drafted last
32:20
year. There's been a lot this year
32:21
that been called up, like Jacob Wilson making the team.
32:26
You got Nick Kurtz, Jack Haglione, Chase Burns just got
32:32
called up. He's going to pitch on Tuesday.
32:35
You know, Christian Moore just got recently called up and Cam
32:39
Smith made the team after they traded for him in the Kyle
32:43
Tucker trade. So tell us about some of the
32:47
some of the prospects in that class.
32:48
And do you think service manipulation is is a big factor
32:52
when it comes into play when when these guys get called up?
32:56
So that's a really good question.
32:57
And this was honestly, I think the favorite one for me that you
33:00
guys sent me before this. But because, because this is one
33:03
that I that I've even talked to with like my with my mom and my
33:05
stepdad a bunch about. So if they're listening, shout
33:08
out to them. I I know they'll be.
33:09
Listening Shout out to your parents.
33:11
But. You know, those guys you just
33:13
mentioned, I mean, the, the thing they have in common is
33:15
that they were top college guys. Like they came out of college
33:19
with, you know, this, this look that they would rise quick and
33:22
they'd be able to make an impact very quick.
33:25
So I don't really understand why we try to manipulate service
33:30
time with a lot of these guys. Cuz, you know, I get wanting to
33:33
save some money here and there, but like, it, it, these guys can
33:36
help you out like sooner rather than later.
33:38
Why would you not want that at just at the cost of some money?
33:42
I mean, I just, I, I think that, you know, we've seen what Kurtz
33:46
is able to do with the A's right now.
33:47
He's he had two walk off home runs last week.
33:50
I think you mentioned Cags. He said he smoked the ball and
33:54
he's hitting balls 6 inches above him above the strike zone
33:58
for home runs. So we're seeing these guys
34:00
translate at the big league level now.
34:01
And I think a lot of these teams are going to start realizing,
34:03
you know, we're signing them to already 7 to $11 million at
34:08
their top picks. Why would we just have them
34:11
sitting in the minors if they could actually help us out and
34:14
you know, we could just get a jump on it.
34:15
I I totally get, you know, maybe with the later round guys maybe
34:19
wanting to save some money, you know, you signed them for a a
34:21
small amount and you don't want to start that clock.
34:23
I kind of get that. But for a top pick, I mean it,
34:28
it's starting to become more plug and play these guys from
34:30
the draft more more than ever now.
34:32
And I feel like we're going to progress to the point where
34:34
these guys are going to be ready right off the RIP of the draft.
34:37
It's not even going to be, you might take a a couple games and
34:40
and rookie ball and maybe some AA games, but these guys are
34:44
going to start rising quicker than we think, like very, very
34:46
fast and it's going to start happening sooner than we think
34:49
to. So here's a question and I agree
34:51
with you completely, but do you like what the rule that they
34:55
implemented about, you know, if the guy makes the team out of
34:58
camp and wins the rookie of the year that you, you know, you get
35:01
that extra incentive for that player?
35:05
I do. I actually really like that a
35:06
lot. I think that's a extra cool
35:09
added incentive and I think that'll kind of help counter
35:13
that because more teams will will have who will maybe have
35:15
more faith in their guys will be like, you know, you, we think
35:19
you can actually go out and do it.
35:20
So I think that will end up working wonders for the player
35:24
in itself when they know that the organization has that trust
35:26
in them. I I think it'll be good for both
35:28
sides. I think when you look at the way
35:32
the competitiveness is going on in baseball, I think that they
35:37
had to reconstruct the whole process because we always talk
35:41
about service manipulation with these guys.
35:43
Like they wait three weeks after they get called up or they have
35:47
to wait till the Super true rules in in effect.
35:50
So I agree. I agree with you, Toby.
35:53
On that because like. We like to see more young kids
35:55
get called up like the the big problem.
35:58
To me, it's like, why? If they're if they're MLB ready,
36:03
why not call them up as soon as you possibly can?
36:06
And some of these guys break camp and some people, some
36:09
people don't. But like at the same time, if
36:11
you know that these guys are MOB ready, then you should you
36:16
should consider bringing them up because think about it this way.
36:20
We're going to talk about this trade deadline stuff at some
36:22
point in this episode, but calling up a bat in the middle
36:27
of season, it's just like acquiring a bat without giving
36:30
up any assets. That's how I look at it.
36:33
Because one, maybe he gives you a jolt offensively and when you
36:38
when you hear a name like that, you're like, oh, this guy is
36:40
going to be that player, right? It's going to be fascinating to
36:43
see what this guy could provide. For example, the Blue Jays
36:47
called up Addison Barger last year and the fact that he, you
36:52
know, he, he had to struggle. He struggled.
36:55
I thought he should have been called up a lot sooner in my
36:57
opinion. But look at him now and and look
36:59
what he's turned out to be. A lot of people don't have the
37:04
patience. A lot of executives don't have
37:06
the patience. And some of them, they just give
37:07
up on these guys a little bit, a lot, a little bit sooner than
37:10
usual, right? And sometimes it could be a
37:12
change of scenery. It gets be opportunity.
37:15
It could be a placehold. That's why I love what the White
37:18
Sox are doing. Like three of the four players
37:22
in that trade for Garrett Crochet are already up.
37:27
Which is fascinating to see because they're trying to build
37:30
something. I love what the White Sox are
37:32
doing, even though they're at least a year or two away.
37:34
And they still have Braden Montgomery, who might have the
37:36
most upside out of all of them, right?
37:39
So that's the beautiful part. But let me ask you this, Toby,
37:42
since you're a Yankees fan, like, how do you look at your
37:45
organization? Because they do have some issues
37:47
with the development with players.
37:49
And do you think a guy like Spencer Jones should be up right
37:53
now? Because I know he does have an
37:55
alarming strikeout rate, but do you think he should be a guy
37:58
that should get provide to see what you can get offensively?
38:02
I know there's no room for him, but is there any chance or do
38:05
you think that guy could be a trade candidate for for an
38:08
upgrade? I, I would really hope he's not
38:11
a trade candidate because I think most Yankee fans are under
38:14
the impression that we all want to see Spencer Jones find
38:17
somewhere in the lineup to fall. And you know, just just the
38:21
towering frame, the, the swing that should be tailor made for
38:25
Yankee Stadium. I don't think anybody wants to
38:28
see Spencer Jones get dealt as, as far as his development goes
38:31
right now. There is part of me that would
38:33
like to see what he's capable of doing at the big league level.
38:36
He does have an OPS near 1000 this year in AA.
38:38
So he's clearly improved, but I maybe want to see some reps in
38:44
AAA first just to kind of see how he adjusts to a new level
38:47
just for the sake of him getting thrown into a new change of
38:51
scenery. There is that that mentality
38:54
that, you know, you get comfortable at a certain level
38:56
and then maybe just get a little bit a little bit, I guess just
39:00
to place in and you're just kind of there until you level out.
39:04
And so I'd like to see him maybe get a change and see if he could
39:06
sustain the success there. But I don't think he's really
39:10
ready for the big leagues yet. Like you mentioned, the
39:12
strikeouts are just they're they're just a bit egregious
39:15
like they are. He is 24.
39:18
So we're getting to that point where maybe we have to see what
39:20
he's capable of at the big league level or now we got to
39:23
start thinking about trading. But I don't think he's really
39:25
losing value. I think he's starting to to
39:27
really just put together solid full seasons.
39:29
And I think the Yankees can honestly take their time with
39:34
him more than they have been able to with with other guys.
39:37
So I think you should kind of just stay put the Long story
39:40
short. Yeah, I agree with that,
39:43
especially with like guys like Trent Grisham having seasons
39:47
where it's like, you know, like, it wasn't really expected that
39:51
he'd be playing like this. So it's kind of offering them
39:53
more time where they don't have to call up Spencer Jones just to
39:58
get him in the lineup just to they're like out of desperation
40:02
almost so. And the Yankees have had
40:04
problems in the past with developing their prospects.
40:09
So if you can take time with a guy and you feel that he needs
40:13
that. Extra time then I, I, I say go
40:16
for it. I don't see the problem with it,
40:18
you know, and back to your point about, I wanted to say something
40:23
about the fact that about the whole service manipulation thing
40:29
like like I think I, I agree with you.
40:31
I think that players should be called up to help your team
40:35
immediately. If you can win now, win now,
40:37
man. Like, why like, and that's why
40:40
Rocky brought up the White Sox. And I get they're not a
40:42
contending team, but they're a team that has called up their
40:47
players early. You know, like I and I find a
40:50
lot of teams are starting to do that with their players.
40:52
Like there is no more waiting around, like with some of these
40:56
guys that are ready, you know, like college player, you know,
41:00
and, and he shows he's ready within a year.
41:02
Like sometimes they're getting called up.
41:04
So I mean, I'm all for it. I think it's we're in the age
41:10
of, of, of the younger players showing what they can do.
41:14
And it's a young man's sport, man.
41:16
I love it. Yeah.
41:19
I also think that, you know, like you said, if you know that
41:24
if you can immediately make an impact in your lineup or on your
41:27
in your or anywhere, depending what kind of player it is, you
41:32
shouldn't waste time, right? So I think that's important too.
41:35
Like it's like pitching wise, you look at how drafts are being
41:42
made, college pitching is becoming a demand because those
41:46
guys are a lot closer to the majors compared to high school
41:48
pitchers nowadays, right? That's why I mentioned about
41:51
Steph Hernandez, where he's going to be in this year's draft
41:53
because I don't know how long it would take for him to be up,
41:56
right? Like, I mean, you don't see high
41:57
school pitchers get media call UPS.
41:59
Like I believe the other day the Braves called up Didier fluentes
42:04
who's who is like barely 20 years old and he can't even
42:09
drink yet, right? So it's like it's incredible
42:13
like what Alex Alex does. But I mean, it's an aggressive
42:17
call up. But at the same time, if he
42:19
feels like he's going to make an impact immediately to me, you
42:22
shouldn't shy away. I think you should give it a
42:24
chance. That's just me.
42:26
Absolutely. All right.
42:28
The next question I do want to ask you is the next guys you
42:31
think we're going to get called up and you know, it's there's
42:34
still guys are going to get called up later this year,
42:36
right? We just saw Chase Burns who just
42:38
got called up. He's bound to pitch this Tuesday
42:40
against the Yankees, right? So and he was only drafted just
42:44
a little less than a year ago. So the other question is who
42:47
else do you think could get called up this year who could
42:50
make immediate impacts right away?
42:52
It could be any prospect that comes in mind.
42:55
There were a few that came to mind, and I think these three
42:58
are all kind of in the same boat.
42:59
They're just in AAA, I think just waiting to get the call.
43:02
Bubba Chandler's been tearing up AAA for the Pirates.
43:04
A 261 ERA and 11 starts and 14 appearances.
43:08
He's proved all he needs. He's just proven everything he
43:10
needs to. He's got a 162 batting average
43:13
against 60 cases, 28 walks. He's ready for the bigs, so he's
43:18
ready to get in a rotation with Paul Steen.
43:20
I think they're they might just be waiting at this point to to
43:23
dump some pitchers in the deadline and make some room for
43:25
him. Samuel Pasayo for the Orioles is
43:28
another. His progression's been really
43:31
good this year, 15 home runs in AAA.
43:33
So I think he's due. And then we saw, you know, we're
43:37
going to get into this I'm sure at some point.
43:39
But with the Giants, Bryce Eldridge, it is expected to man
43:42
down that first base spot eventually and he's hitting 263
43:46
with an 813 OPS and 10 bombs in AAA.
43:48
So these three guys, I think in terms of top prospects are
43:51
probably the next three that we will see get the calls.
43:56
I'm going to say I'm going to go on a limb here and say there's a
44:02
kid that plays for the Nationals.
44:04
Brady House man. I think he's up already, isn't
44:08
he? Yeah, he played a series this
44:09
past weekend. Oh yeah, so he just looks good
44:12
too. Called up, eh?
44:13
Yeah, just got out of this. OK, OK, that's he looks good.
44:18
Yeah, he he was looking good in AAA.
44:22
CJ Cafis is another one for the Guardians.
44:24
Yeah, but I mean, like he looks really good, you know, like he,
44:29
like his, his, his OPS is over 1000, I believe, or it's around
44:35
1000. He's batting like almost 400,
44:39
like like high 370, something like that.
44:42
Like his slugging is like 600. Like the guy is like ready, but
44:48
you know, it's it's Cleveland and they got what Commonzardo I
44:53
believe is, is playing first base.
44:55
So it's like, yeah, you know, they're kind of like what what
44:57
do they do there, right? But he's another one that
45:00
intrigues me is, is CJK for us. I've always liked him.
45:04
And I mean, I've always, I've always been kind of bullish on
45:11
their prospects, their system as a whole, like they always have.
45:14
They always seem to know what they're doing with their
45:16
prospects so. Yeah.
45:19
So I think could be more pitching prospects.
45:23
I do believe and like you said, Bubba Chandler I think does get
45:26
called up. I just don't know when I think
45:29
another name, I think he has he has tremendous upside from the
45:32
Phillies. Andrew Painter, he could be the
45:36
next state of that staff in the future unless they somehow due
45:41
to unthinkable and end up trading him for like a massive
45:44
upgrade or or blockbuster trade, which Dave Dombrowski knowing
45:48
him, you can never rule him out without any of those type of
45:51
deals, right, Rob? I'll give you 1 as a bold
45:55
statement. It's Trey, you Savage.
45:57
So he's in AA drafted last year. I think he's closer and we'll be
46:02
ready. He could be an integral.
46:05
Part of this bullpen maybe, because I don't know if he
46:09
stretch out to be a starting pitcher just yet, but if he
46:12
can't go get a relief pitcher and if he thinks someone is
46:15
injured and the Jays do need some pitching badly for this
46:18
trade to lie, I think Trey Savage could be a player for
46:23
them. And, you know, he's a college
46:25
player and a lot of people were concerned about his injuries.
46:28
And when you look at when you look at his stuff, his stuff is
46:32
so damn good. Like his splitter is so nasty.
46:35
It's probably one of the best in baseball in the minors, right?
46:38
So it doesn't hurt. I mean, you see what you can get
46:42
and give it an opportunity with a another name that came to mind
46:46
just now. And I don't know where he stands
46:49
here and this, cuz this is in the Dodgers organization, it's
46:53
Alex Freeland. Where does he stand with the
46:57
Dodgers? Because right now Monkey Bets is
46:58
playing at third base, but his offense is not the same playing
47:03
at shortstop compared to him playing a different position,
47:06
second base or right field. So Alex Freeland's an
47:09
interesting player. Could he be a trade ship?
47:11
There's a very good possibility, what I was told that he could
47:14
get traded at this trade deadline to upgrade at this
47:16
point. So is is there any other names
47:20
because you could name a bunch of guys, right?
47:22
Like that could get called up eventually, right?
47:24
This year. Like you could even mention
47:26
Chase De Lauder is another guy for the guardians, right?
47:29
Do you think, do you think Bezana gets called up this year?
47:32
But he's in AA, but I don't know if he's ready.
47:33
But if they have to push the envelope to scratch for offense,
47:38
would you think he would be a guy?
47:41
So I originally for sure, I thought there was no shot
47:43
Bazzano wouldn't be up, you know, at the latest I thought he
47:46
was going to be up by the All Star break, but that was not
47:50
really, that was not really a correct call on my end.
47:53
That was pretty ambitious. But I think he got hurt and I'm
47:56
not sure if he still is hurt or not.
47:58
And honestly, since I found out he did get hurt earlier in the
48:01
season, I didn't really pay too much attention to him because I
48:04
knew he wouldn't be playing too much.
48:06
Once he is fully healthy, he shouldn't take that long to get
48:10
the call up. I just don't know if that's
48:12
going to happen this year. And like Rob said is the
48:14
guardians that they aren't going to really rush their guys.
48:19
And I I love the De Lauder shot out there.
48:21
I think he's really do Other than that, I mean, I can't think
48:27
of really anybody off the top of my head that I think really
48:29
deserves a a call up really soon.
48:33
Justin Crawford, maybe? Yes, you were just, you just
48:36
said the name. I was just going to mention man,
48:39
Justin Crawford. I mean, the guy's hitting 336
48:42
and at Lehigh Valley he's only got a, you know, he's not a
48:47
power guy, but I mean 26 stolen bases, 842 OPS in his minor
48:52
league career. He's hit three 2013 home runs,
48:56
like 125 stolen bases with over an 800 OPS.
48:59
Like he is ready to be called up, but their outfield is jam
49:03
packed. So yeah, I understand why it
49:06
hasn't happened yet. But yeah, he, he would be the
49:08
guy for me. He'd be the other guy.
49:13
Yeah, I can't think of anyone right now at the moment, but
49:15
those are the guys that that come in mind.
49:17
So, yeah, I mean that man, you just don't know about these
49:24
guys. Like, you know, if you look at a
49:26
team like the Braves, for example, they'll they'll call up
49:29
guys from AA if they think that they're good enough to be called
49:32
up. Because I too think AA is where
49:34
the utmost potential is that with all the prospects and the
49:37
competition overall, AAA is more like, you know, you get some.
49:41
Seizing if you're close to being ready in.
49:43
The the modern. I would say, I would say AA is
49:46
the new AAA man. You know, I guess the way it
49:49
feels like so. I got I got one more name and I
49:52
think it's it's a player that who's been offensive we've been
49:55
stepping up lately is Bryce Matthews from the Houston Astros
49:58
is another name too. He I think he's going to be a
50:02
player for them. Like I do think he's going to be
50:05
a long term solution, right. Yeah.
50:08
So I and they do need to need some offense.
50:12
Once you're on his back, I mean, he'll help.
50:14
I mean, they always find guys like that.
50:16
Zach Disenzo is another guy that came out of nowhere, right?
50:20
Jeremy Pena is an All Star this year, deservedly could have been
50:23
in a starting lineup. But I think Bobby Witt's
50:25
probably going to win it again. But all right, the folk get it
50:29
wise, right? So yeah, it's it's intriguing
50:33
because like now if you look at the way we're going to talk
50:36
about the trade deadline stuff later, but the trade, like these
50:40
guys, the top prospects will never get traded anymore.
50:43
They used to be a thing because they would upgrade to go get the
50:47
guys they want. But the standards have changed
50:49
in today's baseball. So I think top prospects is more
50:52
valuable than ever right in their systems.
50:57
Yeah, absolutely.