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ayaghmour2 · 07-21-2023, 09:28 PM

We upgraded to OOTP 24 today, which caused a lot of changes in scouting reports, the in-game reports, and of course, the prospect rankings. The best change is I finally get to use my updated views for OOTP 24 (I tend to adjust these every few versions) which have more and cooler stats then I had in OOTP 23. Say good bye to K/9 and BB/9, and hello to K% and BB%!

But, since the first 35 prospects all got their reports in 23, so will the last five, so I'll just pretend that I don't know Bob Rogers is a top 200 prospect and I will base some of what I write on Dixie Marsh's "old" reports and not the less fun (read: much harder on players) reports he has in 24.

This means all the CWL games, as well as both the Rule-5 and Amateur Draft will be taking place in OOTP 24. The CWL starts Monday, the Rule-5 Draft on Tuesday, and the Amateur Draft will begin no earlier then August 1st. We have a bunch of mid-round picks that should make up for the lack of a first, although I fully expect to attempt to package some of them for a 1st or additional 2nd. I fully expected our system to be thinned out by a monster George Cleaves package, but instead, we'll have another shot to add depth an maintain our top-5 farm ranking that we've held for more-or-less the past decade. Here's what was the bottom of our top 40:

SS Tom Brownleaf (361st Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 8th Round, 125th Overall (1943)
Alma Mater: Durant Lions

After hitting .265/.353/.414 (104 OPS+) as a 22-year-old in A ball, I didn't expect much from Tom Brownleaf when he moved up to AA to fill an injury. Maybe I should have...

It's just a 184 PA sample, but Brownleaf was extremely productive, hitting .326/.364/.494 (120 OPS+) and accumulating 2.1 wins above replacement. He added 10 doubles, 5 triples, 3 homers, and 24 RBIs, giving him 39, 14, 5, and 71 respectively in his 136 games between the Legislators and Commodores. The switch hitting shortstop spent most of his time at second, and he posted an 8.2 zone rating (1.134 efficiency) in AA and a 7.0 zone rating (1.101 efficiency) in A ball. These are excellent results, making up for subpar short play (-0.6, .968) down in Lincoln, but I think that was more due to the small sample (269.2 innings) then his talent. He should be a capable shortstop, but if he remains at the keystone he'll be well above average defensively. At the plate he's made great strides, which can be attributed to his hard work on and off the field. He's a strong kid who can put the ball in play, as he'll barrel the ball and can catch up to most pitches. He won't hit many home runs, but his gap power is impressive as he lines plenty of pitches to his pull side. On the surface, this all looks great, but Brownleaf doesn't have much upside and has likely already reached his potentials. The former 8th Rounder looks like a serviceable bench bat, but I don't see a situation where he plays everyday. That's not to say he doesn't deserve a chance, and he may get it in the Rule-5 draft, but I don't see him ever becoming anything more then an average big leaguer.

SS John Price (375th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 9th Round, 140th Overall (1946)
Alma Mater: Holy Cross Tigers

Despite being just 19, I started John Price in San Jose. Let's just say, it did not work...

Price hit just .190/.292/.206 (41 OPS+) in 22 games, and that was enough to know that he was not ready. He spent the next month plus waiting for the C ball season to start, but he didn't do much better after the layoff. The former 9th Rounder hit a better, but still not exciting, .248/.304/.359 (85 OPS+) with 5 doubles, a triple, 3 homers, 2 steals, and 13 RBIs in his final 158 PAs. A natural shortstop, Price bounced around plenty, spending far more time at first (25), second (11), third (43) then short (4). As you can tell by the positional distribution, I view him more as a third basemen then a shortstop, but he may never be great defensively. The ideal situation for him would be to bulk up and move to third, but he's just 155 despite being six foot. He's not very fast either, so there's really no downside in him bulking up. He doesn't have a standout tool, and being able to hit homers will get you to the majors. Otherwise, he'll have to lean on his average hit tool, which makes it seem like he's more of a AAAA type who's really good in the minors, but not so great in the majors. There's plenty of time for that to change, but we need him to buy into a strong development plan.

RHP Babe Stinson (232nd Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 4th Round, 64th Overall (1942)
Alma Mater: Louisville Coyotes

I kept going back and forth on it, but in the end, one of our 38 filled 40-man roster spots went to Babe Stinson. A 23-year-old from Colorado, Stinson is a soft-tossing groundballer who despite just 6 below average starts in AA started the season in AAA. It wasn't always pretty, but 19 of his 23 starts came when he was 22, and he managed to finish 9-4 with a 4.46 ERA (104 ERA+), the lowest mark of any of our qualified starters. The 1.71 WHIP and 105 walks were far less encouraging, but it was his first BB/9 above 5 in a stint of more then 50 innings. He also had a respectable 56 strikeouts in his 127 innings, so if we can fix up the walk issues, there's a pretty solid pitcher hidden. He was also aided by two recent velocity boosts, as Stinson went from 83-85 to 84-86 over the offseason, before finishing the season at 85-87 with his cutter. As a kitchen sink type, the added velocity is huge, as his four off-speed pitches are starting to really take shape. In fact, his August was impressive, as he won all four of his decisions and held a 3.29 ERA (141 ERA+) in 5 starts. He didn't build off of that in September, but with another productive offseason he could take a big step forward next year. We have plenty of options for starts in the upper minors, but you can never have too much pitching, and if we end up needing a 40 spot, another team could be interested in adding a solid young depth option.

RHP Fred Terry (384th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 8th Round, 115th Overall (1947)
Alma Mater: Yellowhammer State Panthers

One of our 8th Round selections this season, Fred Terry made two quick starts at San Jose, where he allowed 11 hits, 3 runs, and 3 walks with 13 strikeouts in 14 innings. That was all I needed to realize he was playing too low, and his final 8 starts came for the Legislators. That might have even been too low, as Terry went 4-2 with a 2.98 ERA (142 ERA+) and 0.92 WHIP with 34 strikeouts to just 6 walks. This equated to an elite 2.83 FIP (66 FIP-) and 5.7 K/BB, helping Terry accumulate a tenth of a win short of 2 WAR. Between the two levels, he allowed just one homer in 71.1 innings pitched as its hard to hit his sinker out of the park. 23 in January, Terry is already penciled into the Commodores rotation, and there's a reasonable chance that he makes some starts for the Blues next season. A pitching needy team would even consider pushing him up to the majors, as he'd be a useful pen arm already and a potential back-end rotation arm by the end of the season. A four pitch pitcher, he coasts in the high 80s while dominating the bottom of the zone. He leans heavily on the sinker, but he has a fastball he can attack up. It's useful as his change and splitter are both best in the zone, so he can cover all areas of the plate. His command is stellar and he's one of the few pitchers in our system who will never have to worry about control. The only thing holding him back is his upside, as aside from his secondary pitches, I'm not sure he's going to get much better. If his change or splitter become a reliable out pitch, he'll pitch every five days in the big leagues, but likely in one of the back two spots in the rotation.

RHP Dick Garcia (385th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 3rd Round, 45th Overall (1943)
Alma Mater: Geneva Vikings

Just as we did in so many other spots, we finish our top-40 with back-to-back prospects. A spot below Terry is a potential teammate of his next season, Dick Garcia. An East Chicago native (the city in Indiana, not a side of the city), Garcia went to school in Geneva, Illinois, and he's slowly worked his way up the system. This was his only season where all his appearances came in the same location, as he made 24 starts for the Commodores. He was extremely unlucky, 7-16 despite a 3.58 ERA (118 ERA+). What sabotaged him was the walks, as he allowed 71 free passes opposed to jut 48 strikeouts. Add in the 211 hits and his 1.44 WHIP was a bit on the high side. Recently turned 23, Garcia is now Rule-5 eligible, but I doubt he's at risk of being selected. That doesn't mean he's without upside, but along with the control, the stuff needs some work. He has a strong sinker that can hit 90, and his cutter is average, but his change doesn't fool many hitters. A two-fastball pitcher is almost destined for the pen, so if the change isn't a factor, it will be tough to start games. He's still young, but 1948 will be a huge season for him, as he looks to earn a big league callup.

07-21-2023, 09:28 PM	#1163
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Top Prospects: 36-40 We upgraded to OOTP 24 today, which caused a lot of changes in scouting reports, the in-game reports, and of course, the prospect rankings. The best change is I finally get to use my updated views for OOTP 24 (I tend to adjust these every few versions) which have more and cooler stats then I had in OOTP 23. Say good bye to K/9 and BB/9, and hello to K% and BB%! But, since the first 35 prospects all got their reports in 23, so will the last five, so I'll just pretend that I don't know Bob Rogers is a top 200 prospect and I will base some of what I write on Dixie Marsh's "old" reports and not the less fun (read: much harder on players) reports he has in 24. This means all the CWL games, as well as both the Rule-5 and Amateur Draft will be taking place in OOTP 24. The CWL starts Monday, the Rule-5 Draft on Tuesday, and the Amateur Draft will begin no earlier then August 1st. We have a bunch of mid-round picks that should make up for the lack of a first, although I fully expect to attempt to package some of them for a 1st or additional 2nd. I fully expected our system to be thinned out by a monster George Cleaves package, but instead, we'll have another shot to add depth an maintain our top-5 farm ranking that we've held for more-or-less the past decade. Here's what was the bottom of our top 40: SS Tom Brownleaf (361st Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 8th Round, 125th Overall (1943) Alma Mater: Durant Lions After hitting .265/.353/.414 (104 OPS+) as a 22-year-old in A ball, I didn't expect much from Tom Brownleaf when he moved up to AA to fill an injury. Maybe I should have... It's just a 184 PA sample, but Brownleaf was extremely productive, hitting .326/.364/.494 (120 OPS+) and accumulating 2.1 wins above replacement. He added 10 doubles, 5 triples, 3 homers, and 24 RBIs, giving him 39, 14, 5, and 71 respectively in his 136 games between the Legislators and Commodores. The switch hitting shortstop spent most of his time at second, and he posted an 8.2 zone rating (1.134 efficiency) in AA and a 7.0 zone rating (1.101 efficiency) in A ball. These are excellent results, making up for subpar short play (-0.6, .968) down in Lincoln, but I think that was more due to the small sample (269.2 innings) then his talent. He should be a capable shortstop, but if he remains at the keystone he'll be well above average defensively. At the plate he's made great strides, which can be attributed to his hard work on and off the field. He's a strong kid who can put the ball in play, as he'll barrel the ball and can catch up to most pitches. He won't hit many home runs, but his gap power is impressive as he lines plenty of pitches to his pull side. On the surface, this all looks great, but Brownleaf doesn't have much upside and has likely already reached his potentials. The former 8th Rounder looks like a serviceable bench bat, but I don't see a situation where he plays everyday. That's not to say he doesn't deserve a chance, and he may get it in the Rule-5 draft, but I don't see him ever becoming anything more then an average big leaguer. SS John Price (375th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 9th Round, 140th Overall (1946) Alma Mater: Holy Cross Tigers Despite being just 19, I started John Price in San Jose. Let's just say, it did not work... Price hit just .190/.292/.206 (41 OPS+) in 22 games, and that was enough to know that he was not ready. He spent the next month plus waiting for the C ball season to start, but he didn't do much better after the layoff. The former 9th Rounder hit a better, but still not exciting, .248/.304/.359 (85 OPS+) with 5 doubles, a triple, 3 homers, 2 steals, and 13 RBIs in his final 158 PAs. A natural shortstop, Price bounced around plenty, spending far more time at first (25), second (11), third (43) then short (4). As you can tell by the positional distribution, I view him more as a third basemen then a shortstop, but he may never be great defensively. The ideal situation for him would be to bulk up and move to third, but he's just 155 despite being six foot. He's not very fast either, so there's really no downside in him bulking up. He doesn't have a standout tool, and being able to hit homers will get you to the majors. Otherwise, he'll have to lean on his average hit tool, which makes it seem like he's more of a AAAA type who's really good in the minors, but not so great in the majors. There's plenty of time for that to change, but we need him to buy into a strong development plan. RHP Babe Stinson (232nd Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 4th Round, 64th Overall (1942) Alma Mater: Louisville Coyotes I kept going back and forth on it, but in the end, one of our 38 filled 40-man roster spots went to Babe Stinson. A 23-year-old from Colorado, Stinson is a soft-tossing groundballer who despite just 6 below average starts in AA started the season in AAA. It wasn't always pretty, but 19 of his 23 starts came when he was 22, and he managed to finish 9-4 with a 4.46 ERA (104 ERA+), the lowest mark of any of our qualified starters. The 1.71 WHIP and 105 walks were far less encouraging, but it was his first BB/9 above 5 in a stint of more then 50 innings. He also had a respectable 56 strikeouts in his 127 innings, so if we can fix up the walk issues, there's a pretty solid pitcher hidden. He was also aided by two recent velocity boosts, as Stinson went from 83-85 to 84-86 over the offseason, before finishing the season at 85-87 with his cutter. As a kitchen sink type, the added velocity is huge, as his four off-speed pitches are starting to really take shape. In fact, his August was impressive, as he won all four of his decisions and held a 3.29 ERA (141 ERA+) in 5 starts. He didn't build off of that in September, but with another productive offseason he could take a big step forward next year. We have plenty of options for starts in the upper minors, but you can never have too much pitching, and if we end up needing a 40 spot, another team could be interested in adding a solid young depth option. RHP Fred Terry (384th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 8th Round, 115th Overall (1947) Alma Mater: Yellowhammer State Panthers One of our 8th Round selections this season, Fred Terry made two quick starts at San Jose, where he allowed 11 hits, 3 runs, and 3 walks with 13 strikeouts in 14 innings. That was all I needed to realize he was playing too low, and his final 8 starts came for the Legislators. That might have even been too low, as Terry went 4-2 with a 2.98 ERA (142 ERA+) and 0.92 WHIP with 34 strikeouts to just 6 walks. This equated to an elite 2.83 FIP (66 FIP-) and 5.7 K/BB, helping Terry accumulate a tenth of a win short of 2 WAR. Between the two levels, he allowed just one homer in 71.1 innings pitched as its hard to hit his sinker out of the park. 23 in January, Terry is already penciled into the Commodores rotation, and there's a reasonable chance that he makes some starts for the Blues next season. A pitching needy team would even consider pushing him up to the majors, as he'd be a useful pen arm already and a potential back-end rotation arm by the end of the season. A four pitch pitcher, he coasts in the high 80s while dominating the bottom of the zone. He leans heavily on the sinker, but he has a fastball he can attack up. It's useful as his change and splitter are both best in the zone, so he can cover all areas of the plate. His command is stellar and he's one of the few pitchers in our system who will never have to worry about control. The only thing holding him back is his upside, as aside from his secondary pitches, I'm not sure he's going to get much better. If his change or splitter become a reliable out pitch, he'll pitch every five days in the big leagues, but likely in one of the back two spots in the rotation. RHP Dick Garcia (385th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 3rd Round, 45th Overall (1943) Alma Mater: Geneva Vikings Just as we did in so many other spots, we finish our top-40 with back-to-back prospects. A spot below Terry is a potential teammate of his next season, Dick Garcia. An East Chicago native (the city in Indiana, not a side of the city), Garcia went to school in Geneva, Illinois, and he's slowly worked his way up the system. This was his only season where all his appearances came in the same location, as he made 24 starts for the Commodores. He was extremely unlucky, 7-16 despite a 3.58 ERA (118 ERA+). What sabotaged him was the walks, as he allowed 71 free passes opposed to jut 48 strikeouts. Add in the 211 hits and his 1.44 WHIP was a bit on the high side. Recently turned 23, Garcia is now Rule-5 eligible, but I doubt he's at risk of being selected. That doesn't mean he's without upside, but along with the control, the stuff needs some work. He has a strong sinker that can hit 90, and his cutter is average, but his change doesn't fool many hitters. A two-fastball pitcher is almost destined for the pen, so if the change isn't a factor, it will be tough to start games. He's still young, but 1948 will be a huge season for him, as he looks to earn a big league callup.