Latest / Foul Territory / Rangers top prospect Sebastian Walcott & Braves top SS prospect Tate Southisene join FT from the AFL

Transcript

Rangers top prospect Sebastian Walcott & Braves top SS prospect Tate Southisene join FT from the AFL · Foul Territory

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Tate Saffazine joining us right now. Braves top shortstop prospect.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: He's out in Glendale playing a little Arizona Fall League ball. Tate,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: thanks for joining us, man.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: How you doing? Good, how are you?
• 0:15
  Speaker 3: Thanks for having me.
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  Speaker 4: We're great.
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  Speaker 5: So tell us about life in the Arizona Fall League.
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  Speaker 5: What are you up to? Are you making any new friends.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: There that you either have heard about or hadn't heard
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: about but now are seeing them do their thing out
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  Speaker 1: in Arizona with some of the best prospects in baseball?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure.
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  Speaker 6: I mean, it's a great group of guys, so It's
• 0:35
  Speaker 6: good to be out here to finally talk to these
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  Speaker 6: guys and get to know them instead of just being
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  Speaker 6: able to follow them online.
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  Speaker 3: So it's great to get to know these guys.
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  Speaker 7: When I was out in the Fall League, I still
• 0:47
  Speaker 7: remember I was telling my son the other day just
• 0:49
  Speaker 7: about what the Fall League, the different teammates that I
• 0:52
  Speaker 7: had in the Fall League. And it's like all-stars, fringe
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  Speaker 7: Hall of Famers, dudes that made $ 100 million. Are you
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  Speaker 7: able to look around the room of these guys that
• 1:01
  Speaker 7: you're like, oh, they're all great guys and go, I
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  Speaker 7: wonder which one of these guys is going to make it.
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  Speaker 7: Or are there dudes that stand out to you? And
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  Speaker 7: when I mean make it, I don't mean make the
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  Speaker 7: big leagues. I mean, like, make it, make it.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure. I mean, all these guys are great.
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  Speaker 3: There's a reason why we're here.
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  Speaker 6: And we get to compete with each other, see them
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  Speaker 6: go about their business a certain way. Some people have
• 1:24
  Speaker 6: different ways of doing it, but get good results with it.
• 1:27
  Speaker 6: So it's good getting to, like, see these guys work,
• 1:31
  Speaker 6: almost to just be able to watch them close up.
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  Speaker 7: Now you've only been there for a minute and you're
• 1:38
  Speaker 7: not even, have you turned 20 yet? I think you're
• 1:40
  Speaker 7: still 19, correct?
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: No, I just turned 20 last week.
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  Speaker 4: Okay. Well, happy birthday then. Happy birthday.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you.
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  Speaker 3: I appreciate it.
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  Speaker 7: Do you feel out of place because some of the
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  Speaker 7: other dudes are older than you? Do you feel like, man,
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  Speaker 7: you know, if I had some more experience or do
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  Speaker 7: you watch the guys that have a little bit more
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  Speaker 7: experience and go, man, I really like how he does it.
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  Speaker 7: Or like, I'm glad I'm not that old and in
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  Speaker 7: the Fall League.
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  Speaker 4: Honestly, no.
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  Speaker 6: I feel good where I'm at. I feel a good
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  Speaker 6: amount of young guys on our team. It's a good
• 2:18
  Speaker 6: group of guys, once again.
• 2:22
  Speaker 4: Which is your favorite stadium to play in in the
• 2:23
  Speaker 4: Fall League?
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  Speaker 6: I really like the Mesa Park. Sloan, I believe. They
• 2:31
  Speaker 6: had a good setup.
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: Is there... Is.
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  Speaker 7: There an aspect to the Fall League that you say, wow,
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  Speaker 7: we could really institute this in AA, in AAA, where
• 2:43
  Speaker 7: it's like, you know, is it the travel that's real easy?
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  Speaker 7: Because in the Fall League, for people who don't know,
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  Speaker 7: all the teams are right there in Glendale, Scottsdale, Peoria.
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  Speaker 7: You're all close, so it's all just travel. There's no overnights.
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  Speaker 7: Is there an aspect that you would love to take
• 3:00
  Speaker 7: from the Fall League to be able to help you
• 3:02
  Speaker 7: through a full minor league season that they could do
• 3:05
  Speaker 7: in the minor leagues?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, for sure.
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  Speaker 6: And like you said, the travel, the travel is great.
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  Speaker 6: Like the Braves are in Florida. So the travel is
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  Speaker 6: a little farther over there. So there's spring training. It's
• 3:16
  Speaker 6: a little rough, but having all the spring training sides
• 3:20
  Speaker 6: of right on top of each other is great. But honestly,
• 3:23
  Speaker 6: just being able to play baseball and be able to
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  Speaker 6: play in October right now is, is great too.
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  Speaker 7: All right, you're in it. Like you're in your pro career.
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  Speaker 7: It's a dream of everybody to play in professional baseball.
• 3:37
  Speaker 7: And then once you get there, it's like a dose
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  Speaker 7: of reality. I see a lot of kids. My sons
• 3:42
  Speaker 7: are around your age. I see a lot of kids reclassing.
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  Speaker 7: You're 19 years old. There's some kids graduating from high
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  Speaker 7: school at 19 years old. Do you feel like you
• 3:51
  Speaker 7: being a younger guy going into pro ball and now
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  Speaker 7: you're 20? You're 20 years old and you're in your, what,
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  Speaker 7: third year in pro ball? Do you feel like you
• 4:00
  Speaker 7: have an advantage of being in pro ball sooner and
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  Speaker 7: learning from these coaches and organizations?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure.
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  Speaker 6: I mean, for me, it was just about developing my
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  Speaker 6: tools and just kind of refine them up and tuning
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  Speaker 6: them up. So for me, it was just being able
• 4:17
  Speaker 6: to get in pro ball and learn. I mean, that
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  Speaker 6: first year was rough. So, I mean, just being able
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  Speaker 6: to learn from that first year and just being able
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  Speaker 6: to develop and be able to take what using those
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  Speaker 6: mistakes and and kind of go into the offseason and
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  Speaker 6: be able to refine those tools, learn from it, and
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  Speaker 6: be able to develop that, learning from these coaches and
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  Speaker 6: also on my own.
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  Speaker 7: Why was the first year tough? You mean tough just
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  Speaker 7: like on the field or tough like everything?
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  Speaker 4: Whoa, pro ball is the real deal.
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  Speaker 6: Yeah, I would say everything, like just playing every single day,
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  Speaker 6: going from high school, playing maybe two to three times
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  Speaker 6: a week, playing every single day, traveling, being away from home,
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  Speaker 6: all that stuff, different coaches, being able to adapt, and
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  Speaker 6: obviously better competition as well.
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  Speaker 4: For sure. All right.
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  Speaker 7: So you have a couple of brothers that are pretty
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  Speaker 7: decent at baseball. I need you to break it down
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  Speaker 7: right now. I need you to do a scatter report
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  Speaker 7: for your entire family. Where are you hitting in the
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  Speaker 7: lineup against which of your– are two of your brothers
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  Speaker 7: pitchers or just one of.
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  Speaker 4: Your brothers pitchers?
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  Speaker 2: Just one.
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  Speaker 3: Just one.
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  Speaker 4: Just one.
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  Speaker 7: So facing your one brother, who's a pitcher, I forget
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  Speaker 7: his name. It's like you have Trey, you have... But
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  Speaker 7: give me the scouting report and where you're hitting in
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  Speaker 7: the lineup based on where the rest of your siblings are.
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  Speaker 8: Okay.
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  Speaker 6: So in high school, I hit third. It was when
• 5:45
  Speaker 6: all my brothers were in the lineup, I hit third.
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  Speaker 6: It was my oldest brother, Ty, he's with the Blue Jays.
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  Speaker 6: Then my little brother, Troy, hit second, and then I
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  Speaker 6: hit third in high school. And then I obviously had my...
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  Speaker 6: pitcher brother he's at unov now uh t uh i
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  Speaker 6: would say i would me personally i like i love
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  Speaker 6: him second i just think second's the best uh but
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  Speaker 6: i would i would put myself at the two.
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  Speaker 7: Hole okay do you have a scatter report for your
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  Speaker 7: other brothers though the position players in the sense of
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  Speaker 7: like they're more speed guys. They're more, do the Jays,
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  Speaker 7: do the Jays need to call your brother up soon? Like,
• 6:26
  Speaker 7: is it something that, you know, all that stuff, the
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  Speaker 7: conversations that are had between brothers.
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  Speaker 4: Okay.
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  Speaker 3: All right.
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  Speaker 6: We'll start with the oldest brother, T. He's the pitcher.
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  Speaker 6: He's a right-handed pitcher. He's probably 93, 94. Gets up
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  Speaker 6: to five. Right heater, like cut right. Good curveball and
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  Speaker 6: change up. But I would say he's, Just fastball, curveball guy.
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  Speaker 6: And then he's got the twin brother tie with the
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  Speaker 6: Blue Jays. Big contact guy, not going to strike out
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  Speaker 6: a lot. Good defense. And then my little brother is
• 7:00
  Speaker 6: kind of a mix of me and Ty both. I
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  Speaker 6: would say he was just like the in-between. He kind
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  Speaker 6: of does it all. He plays very versatile. He plays infield, outfield.
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  Speaker 6: Hits for power, hits a lot of contact.
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  Speaker 3: So he's pretty good, too.
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  Speaker 7: You got to watch out for the little ones. You
• 7:17
  Speaker 7: got to watch out for the little ones. Cause they're
• 7:19
  Speaker 7: always trying to keep up with the older ones. But
• 7:21
  Speaker 7: I got my last brother question for you.
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  Speaker 5: Okay.
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  Speaker 7: What was that grocery store run like for you guys?
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  Speaker 7: Because now all it's all about the gains. And I
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  Speaker 7: saw you put on 10 pounds. You're trying to, you know,
• 7:32
  Speaker 7: you're trying to be on the gains, bro. So you
• 7:34
  Speaker 7: can make it through a season. But what was that
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  Speaker 7: grocery store run like? And do you have any like
• 7:39
  Speaker 7: crazy brother eating competition stories?
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  Speaker 3: Honestly, it's, It's pretty rough for my mom.
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  Speaker 6: She has to go to Costco every couple of, it's
• 7:51
  Speaker 6: almost like she's there every couple of days asking in
• 7:53
  Speaker 6: our group chat, what do we need from Costco, making
• 7:56
  Speaker 6: Costco run?
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  Speaker 3: I mean, it's pretty normal. Just like more milk, yogurt.
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  Speaker 6: It's nothing too crazy, but she's there all, she's there
• 8:08
  Speaker 6: more time, a lot, too many times, honestly.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: What was the family like, you know, the dynamic growing up?
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  Speaker 1: with having, you know, successful baseball players around you. And
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  Speaker 1: did you guys play other sports too?
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  Speaker 3: Uh, no, we just played strictly baseball.
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  Speaker 6: Once we kind of got into like, obviously when we
• 8:28
  Speaker 6: were younger, we, we tried out different sports, man, like
• 8:31
  Speaker 6: four or five, like golf. We tried, tried out golf, basketball,
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  Speaker 6: golf was kind of too slow for us. Uh, as
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  Speaker 6: a kid, I just wanted to kind of run around,
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  Speaker 6: hit the ball. And so just wait, wait, wait all
• 8:42
  Speaker 6: these rounds to hit. But, um, Growing up, it was
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  Speaker 6: really competitive just being all close in age and playing
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  Speaker 6: the same sport.
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  Speaker 3: So we all played on the same team.
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  Speaker 6: We all worked out with each other, did school together,
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  Speaker 6: practiced together, weightlifting together.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, we did everything together. So it was really competitive.
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  Speaker 3: It was a good working environment.
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  Speaker 7: What's that relationship like now that you're all in different places?
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  Speaker 3: It's still great. I mean, we face on every single night.
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  Speaker 6: We go from gaming every night, but the hockey is
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  Speaker 6: great because we're able to we're able to come back
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  Speaker 6: all from different places and kind of put our sense
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  Speaker 6: into it and just work on what we need to
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  Speaker 6: work on.
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  Speaker 1: Tate, have you been watching the playoffs and are you
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  Speaker 1: excited to see two teams that are, I think, top
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: five in stolen bases, one and two in bunts? Not
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: saying you're bunting all the time, but you're a speedy guy, right?
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: That's definitely a big part of your game. I think
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: you had like 45 stolen bases, like basically a stolen
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: base every other game, I think, played this year in
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  Speaker 1: the minor leagues. So what are your thoughts on seeing
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: teams like the raisin brewers meeting up in the post
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: season or meeting up in the world series, I should say,
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: and how I think it'll increase the value of a
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: player that has an all around game like you do.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure.
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  Speaker 6: I mean, I love watching baseball, especially playoff baseball is great. And, uh,
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  Speaker 6: you see teams like that like they just play baseball
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  Speaker 6: the right way they they move runners overs they they
• 10:06
  Speaker 6: execute and it's all about execution when it gets to
• 10:09
  Speaker 6: the postseason.
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  Speaker 7: Did you find yourself watching playoff baseball and As a
• 10:15
  Speaker 7: Braves prospect, do you cheer for the Braves? Like, people wonder, like,
• 10:20
  Speaker 7: or are you kind of secretly or do you hear
• 10:22
  Speaker 7: people secretly going, man, I hope the Braves lose.
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: So that I can play shortstop in the big leagues
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: soon for them?
• 10:29
  Speaker 6: No, obviously I want the Braves to win just because
• 10:32
  Speaker 6: I'm in there and I see these guys every single day.
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: So I have guys that I root for. And, yeah,
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: I mean, I want to see them win, obviously.
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  Speaker 7: Who you got? Who you got for the World Series now?
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  Speaker 7: Which team do you feel like, I don't need you
• 10:46
  Speaker 7: to pick, I'm saying which team do you feel like
• 10:49
  Speaker 7: has the advantage in pitching, hitting, and defense?
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: From the games I watch, I think so. If I
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: were to pick, then I would say the Brewers. I
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: would do the Brewers.
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  Speaker 4: Okay.
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  Speaker 7: Is there an area that you see the Rays being
• 11:10
  Speaker 7: more dominant than the Brewers?
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  Speaker 6: That's not my expertise, I'm going to be honest. I
• 11:18
  Speaker 6: haven't watched too much of the Rays game. I kind
• 11:22
  Speaker 6: of followed. I watched a lot of the Dodgers series,
• 11:27
  Speaker 6: and the Brewers are just, they're dominant in that series.
• 11:29
  Speaker 6: It's hard not to pick them.
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: I got a topic that you should be an expert
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: in to finish up our conversation. Tell me about the
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: Braves organization. So my first question on this is, who
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: have you spent a good amount of time with? Have
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: you had a lot of face time with big league
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: players at all? Did someone call you when you first
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: joined the organization?
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: Stuff like that.
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: What can you tell us about the way that the
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: Braves have given you access to either major leaguers, former
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: major leaguers, even some other top prospects that were getting
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: called up a little bit before you, cause they were
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: older than you.
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  Speaker 5: What do you have on that?
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  Speaker 6: I would say, I mean, it was really the, just
• 12:09
  Speaker 6: the coaching side, the, the being able to develop with
• 12:12
  Speaker 6: those guys and be able to work every single day,
• 12:14
  Speaker 6: a lot of one-on-one stuff. And yeah, I mean, the
• 12:17
  Speaker 6: hitting guys are great over there. The feeling guys are great.
• 12:20
  Speaker 6: The field corner is great. Everybody, in that org is, uh,
• 12:24
  Speaker 6: grains has, uh, everybody in that work is really great.
• 12:27
  Speaker 6: And they gave me a lot of resources to work
• 12:30
  Speaker 6: on and a lot of things to fall back on, uh,
• 12:32
  Speaker 6: throughout the season. And during the instructs, I learned a lot.
• 12:35
  Speaker 6: I mean, during these little camps, it's all, it's all amazing.
• 12:39
  Speaker 6: And they do a great job over there.
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: Today.
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  Speaker 1: Last one for me, give me another name in the
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: organization prospect wise that the world should be Just, you know,
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: paying attention to make sure they look up the name
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: and follow his path, just like they're following yours for
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: Braves country.
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: I would say Connor, Connor Essendorf.
• 13:02
  Speaker 5: Give me a little more on him. What's the scouting report?
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: Lots of power.
• 13:06
  Speaker 6: I mean, he flat out hits, plays a great defense
• 13:09
  Speaker 6: in right field, has absolute.
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: Cannon out there, but I would say he flat out hits.
• 13:14
  Speaker 8: All right.
• 13:16
  Speaker 4: Being from Nevada.
• 13:18
  Speaker 7: I got to know who your favorite player was because
• 13:21
  Speaker 7: I think a lot of other areas, it's like, well,
• 13:23
  Speaker 7: I'm from L.A.
• 13:23
  Speaker 4: Okay, I'm a Dodgers fan.
• 13:25
  Speaker 7: You can choose who growing up was your favorite player,
• 13:29
  Speaker 7: and does it differ in your household?
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  Speaker 6: Growing up, so I watched a lot of Angels games. So, like,
• 13:37
  Speaker 6: before school, it was always televised. So I love watching
• 13:40
  Speaker 6: Mike Trout. I always watched Mike Trout. when I was younger,
• 13:43
  Speaker 6: and that was kind of my guy. And in the household,
• 13:47
  Speaker 6: it was Derek Jeter. My dad was a huge Yankees
• 13:50
  Speaker 6: fan growing up, and he loved Derek Jeter. He had
• 13:54
  Speaker 6: all his jersey, his balls. He loved Derek Jeter. He
• 13:58
  Speaker 6: kind of wanted me to grow up and follow in
• 14:02
  Speaker 6: Derek Jeter's footsteps because he was just a great person
• 14:06
  Speaker 6: off the field, and he was good off the field
• 14:07
  Speaker 6: as well.
• 14:08
  Speaker 7: Well, you said your dad was a Yankees fan. did
• 14:11
  Speaker 7: your dad teach all you guys baseball or is your
• 14:14
  Speaker 7: mom sneaky? The one that was like super athletic. And like,
• 14:18
  Speaker 7: she was behind the scenes. Like dad doesn't know how
• 14:20
  Speaker 7: to teach you how to do this.
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: This is how you do it. Honestly.
• 14:24
  Speaker 6: So my parents growing up, they, they were, they weren't
• 14:27
  Speaker 6: really around. My dad claims he was pretty good at
• 14:30
  Speaker 6: football claims. He was pretty good at football, but, uh,
• 14:34
  Speaker 6: I'm not sure about, I'm buying that, but, uh, My mom,
• 14:38
  Speaker 6: she was always in school. My dad ended up being
• 14:40
  Speaker 6: a chiropractor, so they were really into the books. But
• 14:43
  Speaker 6: when we started learning baseball with my dad, he kind
• 14:46
  Speaker 6: of just sent us out to a bunch of different coaches,
• 14:50
  Speaker 6: and we learned from them. But he co-starred up until
• 14:55
  Speaker 6: 12 years, so he was like our guy. But the
• 14:57
  Speaker 6: main thing was just work hard, really. He would be
• 14:59
  Speaker 6: waking us up in the morning before school to get
• 15:02
  Speaker 6: our swings in and everything. Really, it was just a
• 15:05
  Speaker 6: working hard aspect that he preached into all four of us.
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: I love it.
• 15:10
  Speaker 5: Well, it paid off, man. It's great talking to you.
• 15:12
  Speaker 5: Great interview. Got your head on straight. Keep doing your thing.
• 15:15
  Speaker 5: Have fun in Arizona. Thanks for joining us.
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: I appreciate you guys for having me.
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: We're excited to talk to Sebastian Walcott, top prospect in
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: the Rangers organization. He's out there in surprise, playing for
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: surprise in the Arizona Fall League. Sebastian, thanks for joining us.
• 15:29
  Speaker 4: How you doing?
• 15:30
  Speaker 5: And how's Arizona life?
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: Thank you for having me, guys. I'm doing great. Just
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: happy to be here.
• 15:36
  Speaker 8: Happy to build a bunch of new relationships, have people
• 15:40
  Speaker 8: play some more baseball.
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: Who's the biggest person or biggest name or maybe best
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: stuff that you've faced so far?
• 15:48
  Speaker 5: Because now you've had some time. How long have you
• 15:50
  Speaker 5: been out there?
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: We've been out for about two weeks, I believe. I
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: would say two weeks.
• 15:57
  Speaker 8: There's been a lot of guys, a lot of AAA
• 16:00
  Speaker 8: guys who came down here and I don't remember their
• 16:04
  Speaker 8: names exactly, but there's been a lot of guys who've
• 16:08
  Speaker 8: had pretty good stuff and major league stuff for sure.
• 16:12
  Speaker 5: Well, good to see you again.
• 16:13
  Speaker 9: We actually played a couple games on my rehab assignment
• 16:16
  Speaker 9: in Frisco. I guess that would be two years ago now.
• 16:21
  Speaker 9: Tell me a little bit about the similarities between Arizona.
• 16:24
  Speaker 4: And the Bahamas.
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: There's no similarities.
• 16:30
  Speaker 9: Seriously though, tell me, tell me a little bit about
• 16:32
  Speaker 9: growing up in the Bahamas though. And like, how'd you
• 16:34
  Speaker 9: get into baseball? You know, cause obviously, you know, jazz
• 16:37
  Speaker 9: has kind of put the Bahamas on the map in
• 16:39
  Speaker 9: terms of baseball, but you know, what was kind of
• 16:41
  Speaker 9: your experience growing up in the Bahamas playing baseball?
• 16:45
  Speaker 8: Baseball in the Bahamas when I was coming up, it
• 16:48
  Speaker 8: wasn't as big as it is now. My older brother
• 16:51
  Speaker 8: actually got me into baseball. He, My dad wanted him
• 16:55
  Speaker 8: to play basketball, and he chose baseball, and I followed
• 16:59
  Speaker 8: his footsteps. And I've been low with the game ever since.
• 17:03
  Speaker 8: I've played since I was four years old. So I've
• 17:06
  Speaker 8: always loved baseball, always loved competing in baseball. And I
• 17:11
  Speaker 8: credit Paul as my brother, because if it wasn't for him,
• 17:14
  Speaker 8: I probably wouldn't be playing baseball. I'd probably be playing
• 17:16
  Speaker 8: basketball or probably a different sport.
• 17:19
  Speaker 9: How much have you seen it?
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: Oh, sorry.
• 17:21
  Speaker 9: Sorry, I was going to say, how much have you
• 17:24
  Speaker 9: seen it grow from the time you were four years
• 17:27
  Speaker 9: old and then when you get a chance to go
• 17:29
  Speaker 9: back now?
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: It's grown so much.
• 17:35
  Speaker 8: Javs, he's helped a lot just because he's put Bahamas
• 17:39
  Speaker 8: on the map just for what he does on the field.
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: He's become an all-star, played for the Yankees.
• 17:44
  Speaker 8: There's just so much kids has learned. Let's play baseball now.
• 17:48
  Speaker 8: I went back to Bahamas last year, and it's honestly
• 17:51
  Speaker 8: insane how much it's grown.
• 17:54
  Speaker 7: So are you in the– what is he called? What
• 17:57
  Speaker 7: is Jazz's home run derby, John, that he does?
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: Did you participate in that? I've done it once, yes.
• 18:03
  Speaker 8: I have done it. I go back every year, go
• 18:07
  Speaker 8: back and watch it, support. There's a lot of guys
• 18:11
  Speaker 8: I grew up playing baseball with, they participate in my derby,
• 18:14
  Speaker 8: so I go back and support.
• 18:16
  Speaker 7: Do you feel like that's pressure? As far as, like,
• 18:19
  Speaker 7: I already got my own career. I don't need to
• 18:21
  Speaker 7: be the, like, I don't need to be the face
• 18:23
  Speaker 7: of the Bahamas or the future of Bahamian baseball.
• 18:28
  Speaker 8: Yeah, I would say it's pressure. I think it's an
• 18:31
  Speaker 8: honor to play baseball no matter where you're from. So, obviously,
• 18:35
  Speaker 8: I play baseball with a lot of pride. You know,
• 18:37
  Speaker 8: coming from the Bahamas, such a small country, only 400,000
• 18:39
  Speaker 8: people is in the country. So, obviously, I play with
• 18:43
  Speaker 8: a lot of pride, but I also realize that No
• 18:45
  Speaker 8: matter what I do, the Bahamian people are going to
• 18:48
  Speaker 8: be proud of me.
• 18:50
  Speaker 9: The year that I was down there, you got injured
• 18:53
  Speaker 9: to finish that year, correct?
• 18:55
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 18:56
  Speaker 9: What did you learn about yourself during that injury? What
• 18:59
  Speaker 9: sort of things did you implement the following year in
• 19:02
  Speaker 9: order to stay healthy? What are some of the things
• 19:04
  Speaker 9: you've learned being around some of these guys in the
• 19:07
  Speaker 9: Fall League?
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: I learned a lot.
• 19:10
  Speaker 8: I had a lot of downtime to take the things
• 19:12
  Speaker 8: to myself like how can I be better when I
• 19:16
  Speaker 8: come back onto the field?
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: Been out for about seven months.
• 19:20
  Speaker 8: You know, just appreciate the time that I was on
• 19:23
  Speaker 8: the field, appreciate the time I was healthy and.
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: Never really took it for granted when I came back.
• 19:29
  Speaker 8: Changed on my swing a little bit, looked back at
• 19:31
  Speaker 8: my swing in 2025 and wanted to make some changes
• 19:34
  Speaker 8: and I did and it's paid dividends, you know. My
• 19:37
  Speaker 8: goal was to get the ball in the air more,
• 19:38
  Speaker 8: hit the ball in the air more and it's honestly
• 19:42
  Speaker 8: worked and The guys in the folly.
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: They're amazing. They're amazing people. They're great people to be around.
• 19:50
  Speaker 8: Competitors on the field, and we're just having fun out there.
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: That's the main goal for us.
• 19:55
  Speaker 7: You're the number one prospect for the Rangers, but you
• 19:59
  Speaker 7: said baseball in the Bahamas was kind of, when I
• 20:02
  Speaker 7: was a kid, it was just kind of where it was.
• 20:05
  Speaker 7: Do you feel like you have more raw, raw ability
• 20:09
  Speaker 7: and potential is so much higher because you really haven't
• 20:13
  Speaker 7: played as much baseball as some of the other top
• 20:16
  Speaker 7: prospects that you've seen.
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah. I would say so.
• 20:19
  Speaker 8: There, there isn't a lot of competition down there in
• 20:22
  Speaker 8: the Bahamas. Like you have to go to South Florida,
• 20:27
  Speaker 8: play tournaments in the summertime or go down to the
• 20:30
  Speaker 8: Dominican Republic to play different tournaments. That's what I did
• 20:32
  Speaker 8: as a child growing up. And, I didn't really face
• 20:35
  Speaker 8: a high velocity or a high level pitch until I
• 20:39
  Speaker 8: was probably 15 or 16, like right about when I
• 20:42
  Speaker 8: was about to sign. So you're definitely behind the eight
• 20:45
  Speaker 8: ball a little bit down in the Bahamas. But I
• 20:46
  Speaker 8: think a lot of kids are going to high school now.
• 20:50
  Speaker 8: A lot of kids are going to play travel balls
• 20:52
  Speaker 8: for a lot of these teams. And they get a
• 20:54
  Speaker 8: lot more exposure than I did.
• 20:58
  Speaker 9: Hey, man, I was around you. And obviously you're the
• 21:00
  Speaker 9: number one prospect. you looked the part, how difficult is
• 21:04
  Speaker 9: it for you to kind of keep the blinders on?
• 21:06
  Speaker 9: Obviously the position you play shortstop, you know, there was
• 21:10
  Speaker 9: a guy in Texas by the name of Corey Seager. How, how,
• 21:13
  Speaker 9: how have you learned to just kind of keep those
• 21:15
  Speaker 9: blinders on and really just control what you can control?
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: Uh, I'll just focus on what I, on what I do.
• 21:21
  Speaker 8: Like there's nothing, uh, the outside people can control it
• 21:25
  Speaker 8: on what on the field that I, that I do.
• 21:27
  Speaker 8: So I just play my game and have fun because
• 21:30
  Speaker 8: that's the reason why I'm here. I play my game
• 21:32
  Speaker 8: and the Rangers love when I play my game. And
• 21:35
  Speaker 8: the reason why I'm here is because I have fun,
• 21:38
  Speaker 8: I compete, and I just do my job. I can't
• 21:40
  Speaker 8: control people on the outside, so I'm just going to
• 21:42
  Speaker 8: control what I can control.
• 21:44
  Speaker 7: Do you look at how they've treated other top prospects
• 21:48
  Speaker 7: in the organization in recent history as far as when
• 21:51
  Speaker 7: they're called up to the big leagues?
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: I have a little bit.
• 21:55
  Speaker 8: I haven't looked too much into it. I just want
• 21:59
  Speaker 8: to focus on me. I don't want to put too
• 22:01
  Speaker 8: much pressure on myself or try to look into the
• 22:03
  Speaker 8: future for when my debut is going to happen. So
• 22:06
  Speaker 8: I just focus on the day, just control where I
• 22:10
  Speaker 8: control it and be where my feet are.
• 22:13
  Speaker 9: Has there been any conversations while you were in the
• 22:15
  Speaker 9: Fall League about maybe playing some third base or second base,
• 22:18
  Speaker 9: or are you just strictly down there to play short stuff?
• 22:22
  Speaker 8: I've had some conversations to play third base, play a
• 22:25
  Speaker 8: little bit of outfield as well, just to expand my utiliness,
• 22:30
  Speaker 8: just make sure I can play in multiple positions and
• 22:33
  Speaker 8: whatever I need to do to help the team when
• 22:35
  Speaker 8: I'm able to do it.
• 22:37
  Speaker 7: When you watch a big league game, do you feel
• 22:39
  Speaker 7: like your skills are ready for a big league game?
• 22:42
  Speaker 7: And this is just an honest question. You say you're
• 22:44
  Speaker 7: where your feet are, but do you look at a
• 22:46
  Speaker 7: big league game and go, Those dudes are good. Because
• 22:49
  Speaker 7: you mentioned the pitching down in the Fall League, or
• 22:51
  Speaker 7: do you look at it and go, okay, okay, I.
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: Just need some reps, but I'm there?
• 22:55
  Speaker 8: I feel like my skills are definitely there. Like you said,
• 23:01
  Speaker 8: just get more reps. That's really what it is. I've
• 23:03
  Speaker 8: only played two games in AAA, but I feel like
• 23:06
  Speaker 8: right now I'm ready. Skills-wise, I'm ready.
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: You've been watching a lot of baseball?
• 23:11
  Speaker 9: You've been following the playoffs?
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I'm tuning in to that. The
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: Rays and the Brewers. I'm excited for this World Series.
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: Really excited.
• 23:20
  Speaker 9: Any predictions? What do you think? What do you think
• 23:22
  Speaker 9: is going to happen?
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: I think the Brewers are going to win. I got
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: them at six. Brewers at six. Nice.
• 23:28
  Speaker 3: I have a question.
• 23:31
  Speaker 5: I'm not allowed to give my predictions.
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: Well, you are, but you're saving it.
• 23:36
  Speaker 3: Saving it.
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: He's going to do his on Friday because he's going
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: to be in Milwaukee for a pregame show. But I
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: will continue to ask about the playoffs here since you're watching.
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: What do you think of these two teams, the ones
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: that are in it at the finish line here? What
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: stands out to you about the way that they play ball?
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: Is there anybody in particular that you're watching closely? Do
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: you get inspiration from what you see that's creating winning
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: baseball right now?
• 24:00
  Speaker 8: The Brewers and the Rays, they play all as one.
• 24:04
  Speaker 8: They play as a team. They bunt over guys. They
• 24:08
  Speaker 8: get guys over to steal bases. They put each other
• 24:11
  Speaker 8: in great positions to succeed and You know, if you
• 24:14
  Speaker 8: saw that against the Brewers, against the Dodgers, they swept
• 24:17
  Speaker 8: probably the most talented team in baseball, but since they
• 24:19
  Speaker 8: played together as one, they were able to, you know,
• 24:23
  Speaker 8: dissect them one by one, and it was honestly fun
• 24:26
  Speaker 8: to watch because the Brewers, a lot of the guys,
• 24:28
  Speaker 8: they developed through their system, and it's honestly impressive how
• 24:33
  Speaker 8: they came up through the big leagues, through the minor leagues,
• 24:35
  Speaker 8: and was able to produce at the big leagues, especially
• 24:37
  Speaker 8: at the highest level in the playoffs.
• 24:41
  Speaker 4: Okay, so.
• 24:42
  Speaker 7: So then my question is, you watch this team and
• 24:44
  Speaker 7: you're like, man, I love how they play.
• 24:45
  Speaker 4: You love how the Brewers play, correct?
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 24:49
  Speaker 7: It's a team game. And you're like, when I get
• 24:51
  Speaker 7: to the big leagues, I want all my teammates to
• 24:53
  Speaker 7: play like that. Is Sebastian Walcott practicing bunting right now?
• 24:57
  Speaker 7: Because I looked at some of your minor league videos
• 25:00
  Speaker 7: and that swing just screams, I don't need to practice bunting.
• 25:05
  Speaker 7: But do you practice that? And do you feel like
• 25:07
  Speaker 7: that type of thing is important to develop now or
• 25:10
  Speaker 7: in case you need to do it when you're hitting
• 25:12
  Speaker 7: third and hitting 30 tanks with 100 stakes in the
• 25:14
  Speaker 7: big leagues.
• 25:16
  Speaker 8: Yeah, every batting practice, if we're hitting off the machine
• 25:18
  Speaker 8: or doing BP, I get two or three bunts in
• 25:21
  Speaker 8: because you may never know when you need to use it.
• 25:24
  Speaker 8: A lot of guys go up to the big leagues
• 25:26
  Speaker 8: and they're put in positions to bunt, and I want
• 25:29
  Speaker 8: to make sure that I'm ready for anything.
• 25:32
  Speaker 5: Love that.
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I love that too. I love it.
• 25:36
  Speaker 5: Hey, question for you, Sebastian.
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: What do you like to do behind the scenes that
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: could be looked at as technologically advanced? Do you like
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: advanced reports? I don't know how much if you guys
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: have Traject Access or anything like that that maybe didn't
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: exist 10 years ago that you really like or take
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: advantage of.
• 25:57
  Speaker 5: It could even be on the nutrition side, anything.
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: I'm a really big fan of Trajects.
• 26:03
  Speaker 8: It gives a hitter an advantage, just how Because the
• 26:06
  Speaker 8: pitching right now is just unbelievable.
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: It's just completely dominant.
• 26:10
  Speaker 8: So that gives us an edge, I would say, because
• 26:14
  Speaker 8: the trajectory is almost, it's basically the same pitcher, just
• 26:18
  Speaker 8: you're facing them right before the game, and you get
• 26:20
  Speaker 8: a look at the pitcher and see which arm angle
• 26:22
  Speaker 8: he's coming from, how his pitches move, and I just
• 26:26
  Speaker 8: love trajectory.
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: I use it, in AAA, I use it before every
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: game just to get an advantage.
• 26:32
  Speaker 4: Wait, did you guys have it in more than just AAA?
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 26:35
  Speaker 8: No, only at AAA and the big leagues. That's the
• 26:37
  Speaker 8: only levels.
• 26:39
  Speaker 4: They have it at. Do you have access to it
• 26:41
  Speaker 4: in Surprise?
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: During spring training, yes.
• 26:46
  Speaker 4: But not now. They lock it up.
• 26:47
  Speaker 7: Is that something that's locked up you can't use during
• 26:50
  Speaker 7: the fall league?
• 26:52
  Speaker 8: The one they use in spring training, they actually take
• 26:54
  Speaker 8: it to the big leagues and they bring it back
• 26:57
  Speaker 8: to spring training.
• 26:59
  Speaker 4: So they haven't brought it back yet?
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 27:03
  Speaker 5: Okay.
• 27:03
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 27:04
  Speaker 7: Would that be an advantage for you if you had
• 27:05
  Speaker 7: that all the time in the minor leagues?
• 27:09
  Speaker 8: Yes, I feel it would because some of these pitches
• 27:12
  Speaker 8: you haven't seen yet and you don't know how their
• 27:15
  Speaker 8: stuff moves. If you get to see how their stuff
• 27:18
  Speaker 8: moves beforehand, it's a complete advantage.
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: I would say within maybe two years, it'll be at
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: any pro spot as they keep figuring out ways to
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: make more of it and make it cheaper probably.
• 27:33
  Speaker 5: You know, the, the company. So that's cool. Cool to
• 27:35
  Speaker 5: hear that.
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: And obviously, you know what, you guys deserve that Sebastian,
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: the pitching's getting too ridiculous. The hitters deserve to get
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: a little bit of help. They've had all the tools
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: and tech on the pitching side. So I'm really enjoying
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: the combo, man. Thanks for joining us. Hope you're having
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: fun out there.
• 27:49
  Speaker 2: Continue to do your.
• 27:50
  Speaker 5: Thing in Arizona and appreciate it.
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: Thank you guys.