Prospect Push: Prospec... (10/19)
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November 2, 2012 Prospect PushNotes from the Arizona Fall LeagueThe Arizona Fall League has developed into an off-season combine for clubs to evaluate some of the top talents in the minor leagues, including their own. This year's schedule is just beyond the mid-point of the schedule with the circuit's all-star event—the Rising Stars Game—slated for Saturday. The class of participants in the 21st year of the AFL is deep in talent, and scouts are raving about the results of the eye test, despite what the statistics may suggest. Here are a handful of the most talked about performers in the desert this fall. Slade Heathcotte, OF -- New York Yankees | .295/.415/.455, 12 BB, 9 SO "This is a kid that has overcome a lot, on and off the field," opined one general manager. "That goes a long way when projecting a young player. He can run down fly balls (in center field) and is a really, really good athlete, maybe the best one here." Rymer Liriano, OF -- San Diego Padres | .300/.364/.460, 3 BB, 11 SO "He's strong and understands there are a lot of hits the other way," said an American League special assistant. Another scout called Liriano the "one guy I've seen here that could explode into elite status next season. With that power swing he's going to run into a lot of extra-base hits to center and right field. The sky is the limit."
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Is trading away players really the only profitable thing to do when a club has a surplus of young talent like the Rangers have in their middle infielders? I know that may be an obvious yes I'm just curious if there's another strategy that can be used effectively.
In my opinion it is but it's such a slippery slope. Do you trade one of the middle infielders (including Andrus)? Do you trade two or three of them? There's no right or wrong answer to make at this time as long as the deal makes sense. Teams have to be careful to deal from a surplus while limiting all their eggs from being in one proverbial basket. I remember a podcast where Kevin and Jason talked about the loaded (at the time) Royals farm system. They listed off all these 5 star prospects and then joked, I'm paraphrasing some memory so cut me some slack, "And they'll be lucky to get one major league regular from this list..." Looking back I'm sure the Royals could've made a deal or two that would like absolutely brilliant now but it's impossible to determine that two years ago.
At the same time, I think teams are a little too hesitant to see if there's another way to make surplus' work. All this talk of trading Andrus makes me scratch my head. We don't know what Jurickson Profar will be. We have an idea of what he could be but that's far from fool proof. If the Rangers can get maximum value for Andrus, then they should consider a trade. I just think in this day and age it's so difficult to get maximum value for a player of Andrus' ability.
That's why I applaud the Orioles for being creative and bringing Machado up to play 3B this year. Although, if Machado is their SS of the future, why not put him at SS and put Hardy at 3B?
Sorry for rambling.
Why not put Hardy at 3B? Probably because he was playing gold glove defense at a premium position during a playoff run...
Understood, and that makes perfect sense in 2012. I think they should put Machado back at SS and Hardy at 3B next year though.
Even if Hardy is a better defender at short?
If it's me, I'd still put Machado there IF the Orioles still believe he's the shortstop of the future. It'll be interesting to see what happens. If I had to guess the O's will leave Machado at third while Hardy is still with the org.
I don't think the Rangers would have called up Profar if they didn't think he was ready to play in the Show right now. Why not trade a surplus to turn a weakness into a positive? If Arizona offered a package of Justin Upton for Andrus, the Rangers would have to seriously consider it.