Sept 8 2016

23 Games left 62-77, 20 games back. 284 749 Mickey Moniak the 1:1 overall pick is hitting and opsing in the GCL He is 18 and will be 19 next May where I expect him to be doing his thing at LKW.

Cozens won the ESL MVP and Rhys Hoskins the ROY.  Clearly Rhys has the better all around hit tool.  He's a pretty sure bet to play and hold his own in the MLB.  Cozens is more suspect as the K rate is high and the OPS against lefties is pretty bad but that said the athleticism is off the charts and his size and speed are reminiscent of a Chris Davis.

Crawford and Williams are experiencing AAA growing pains.  Crawford will be fine Williams maybe not.

Alfaro has been up and down both offensively and defensively but a catcher has so much more to worry about than a traditional position player I expect him to be fine speaking of catchers Chooch was traded last month making Howard the last player from the 08 WS.

Klentak is coming up on his 1 year anniversary.  I expect him to stay the course with acquiring draft picks and young talent.  I expect him to give Hellboy a QO and collect a draft pick that is and assumes Jeremy doesn't stick it to them and accept the 1 year $17 million.

You'd like to say they have a trade chip in Odubel Herrera a young controllable player that looks like an everyday center fielder al beit with little pop.  What is he worth in terms of young talent back or a upside controllable arm will determine if he is moved in the off season.  At the moment he is really your best trade chip.

Pitching still has a ways to go.  Nola went down with arm issues still waiting to see if TJ is required and while Eflin has knee issues his arm talent was noticeable but inconsistent.  Jake Thompson's 6 starts thus far were lack luster as evidenced by his 1.53 WHIP.  Still just 22 there is a lot there for him to work with.

The bright spot for sure was Velasquez and while the results in terms of innings were average the stuff is definitely that of a front line starter 10.4 K/9 is exceptional now if he can work on a change or a pitch with more arm side run to get lefties out he can take another step forward in 17.

Finally and overall the organization needs to get better at developing the approach of their young hitters and really emphasizing the importance of staying in the strike zone, seeing pitches and driving the ball the other way.