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[SPEAKER_00]: All right, and welcome back to another episode of The Baseball America Fantasy podcast.

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[SPEAKER_00]: This is your host, Jeff Ponce.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Alongside me is my longtime co-host, Dylan White.

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[SPEAKER_00]: No Jacob Brudner this week.

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[SPEAKER_00]: It feels like I'm alternating co-host for week, the week.

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[SPEAKER_00]: One of these days, we're going to have all three of us together in form like Voltron into a fantasy beast, a Demi God, so to speak.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So, Dylan, let me ask you because this is the first official offseason podcast that we recorded.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Certainly, the miners has been done for a little bit, but fantasy leagues, officially for the most part of what you have some weird league that ends a little bit early.

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[SPEAKER_00]: came to a close-on Sunday, we're now in to play off Facebook before we talk about that.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Did you win any of your leagues?

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[SPEAKER_00]: How did you make out this year?

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[SPEAKER_00]: I did not.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I did not win anything.

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[SPEAKER_01]: I thought I had a bad year, and I actually made money.

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[SPEAKER_01]: The big thing was the auction championship we won, the one with Jordan Rosenblum and Brian Slack.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We won that held on.

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[SPEAKER_01]: It got nail bitingly close to that one point.

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[SPEAKER_01]: where we were hitting like 180 and not getting any wins.

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[SPEAKER_01]: But we held on so we won that so that was good.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And my two dinosaur leagues I won, which was very good, too.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Just kind of almost post-aposed.

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[SPEAKER_01]: It was pretty good, but the DC's, the ones where I thought, this is where I'm gonna flourish, did not win a single league.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, it's like second, third, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, eight, stuff like that.

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[SPEAKER_01]: I know it's a common refrain, everyone got hit by injuries, but that's what happened us losing a whole bunch of people and then just we were up ahead like we were winning a bunch of them and then it just like saw a slowly bleeding down and uh, no win.

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[SPEAKER_01]: So actually from a result like from a money standpoint, it was successful, distant feel like successful.

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[SPEAKER_01]: I felt like I was kind of floundering but not too bad.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I had it like by a home league, which is like a 12 team head to head, points league, I just didn't have it this year like I started really hot and then it just tanked.

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[SPEAKER_00]: That league does end a little bit early because they don't like the craziness of the last couple of weeks so.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I did not make the playoffs in that league for the first time in a few years and did make some trades out of the deadline, I ended up getting McGonagull as well as a few other players that will be decent keepers and the way this league works is if you have a player in the minors that then you promote up he's sent free for a couple of years.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So, Gallic McGonagull, you know if it clicks and especially in the points league we're like he's kind of

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[SPEAKER_00]: is like perfect because he does a little bit of everything.

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[SPEAKER_00]: He runs enough.

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[SPEAKER_00]: He's got enough power, but he really doesn't strike out and he walks and he hits for a high average and could hit at the top of a line up and score some runs and drive in some runs, et cetera, et cetera.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, I'll take some solace in that.

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[SPEAKER_00]: My big league is my race, 30 league.

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[SPEAKER_00]: That's my favorite league.

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[SPEAKER_00]: That is a 30 team points league kind of modeled after MLB with there's an ALNNL.

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[SPEAKER_00]: All the teams are, you know, actual MLB teams, I have the Cincinnati Reds built this team up.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We sort of ran it and to end in the national league side.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I did end up winning some money because of one of the regular season title.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So I guess once again, like I'll take some positive out of that, we then go into a head-to-head playoffs, which is obviously chaos.

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[SPEAKER_00]: He dealt the first, well, the whatever quarter final round or

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[SPEAKER_00]: Really, really close.

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[SPEAKER_00]: If I had played Nick Martinez as one of my relief spots because I have a bunch of relievers between like the way the lead works kind of have some guys in the minors.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm always swapping relievers and kind of playing like who's pitched well lately, but also like who's on who's on two days rest like and is probably going to get some work.

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[SPEAKER_00]: If I had pitched Nick Martinez, I would have got the win that day and it would have pushed me into the world series for the first time.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So you know, this has been a very long rebuild of

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[SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, so I made it to the NLCS and I guess technically finished third and did win the regular season title.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So I made I made some money.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So wasn't too bad.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I guess I took care of like the hard part.

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[SPEAKER_00]: for road ol' league over the large portion of the season, but too many injuries to my pitching, and I had some bats go really, really cold for me in the playoffs for Cisco Lindor.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Wasn't hitting that week, and then we before that, and a few other guys.

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[SPEAKER_00]: It was like, Christopher Morrell was like, one of my most consistent hitters, but just like not a good sign if your team is...

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[SPEAKER_00]: And the funny thing is like, it's like an offensive juggernaut, like I'm fairly loaded offensively.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So that one was tough.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I had another league.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I just finished outside the money and

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[SPEAKER_00]: a few others that kind of mediocre and I have too many leagues that I'm definitely dropping it down to five next year.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I don't plan on doing any expert leagues any longer either.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So versus I guess my official announcement I'm going to retire from doubt, but like I can't keep up with it.

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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, with the amount of other stuff that I'm doing and like I want to focus and like do well in the leagues that I'm in.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Like, and I had hit a point of just, you know, diminishing returns of the like last three or four years, I feel because I just to say yes too often.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So there you go.

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[SPEAKER_00]: All right.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Well, we got some playoff baseball though.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Your jays have not played yet.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure

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[SPEAKER_00]: They did tie it up, they did tie it up today.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So it's one, one, we have three series right now.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The first three series comes in Padre's.

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[SPEAKER_00]: tigers and guardians and red socks and Yankees are all going to a decisive game three in the wild card round.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I think that's pretty fun.

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[SPEAKER_00]: As we're watching this, the reds are leading the Dodgers and the bottom of the fourth, but it is the Dodgers and it's only a one run lead.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So we don't know how safe that lead is.

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[SPEAKER_00]: It wouldn't shock me if this series ends up ending this evening, but we shall see.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So I don't know if you've dug into any playoff baseball, just kind of a fun top if we obviously don't have to get two into the nitty-gritty here.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But I think there's been some entertaining games for the most part.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, the Dodgers game didn't look like it was going to be entertaining last night, but the Dodgers bullpen does a great job of making sure every game is very entertaining.

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[SPEAKER_00]: looking at the two world series teams from last year are Dylan.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The bullpens kind of seemed to be the Achilles heel of both the Dodgers and the Yankees and it's kind of

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[SPEAKER_00]: Funny when you think about it because both of these teams did spend quite a bit of capital, whether that'd be free agent dollars or trade assets to acquire and sort of fortify those bullpens, and they have knockout and the results you'd expect based upon the level of talent and just depth in each of those units.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it is funny.

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[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, the Yankees, who I'm hoping will battle

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[SPEAKER_01]: They're a fun game game ever that tires them all out before the case of jays yeah, I mean they got bent in our and put out a cruise and Jake bird and I get none of them I mean bent in our I guess has been pretty good for it a cruise has been fine, but there was shaky for a while and then obviously the dodgers with Tanner Scots.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Well, documented trails, not looking great either, but yeah, it's funny.

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[SPEAKER_01]: It's just funny how, you know, there's the momentum or it's getting hot the right moment and yeah, it's just baseball's a funny game just ask the met fans.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and you know, I will say that I am somebody that

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[SPEAKER_00]: I do enjoy the expanded format, I really like this opening sort of series and then knowing in the divisional round we're going to have four more series to watch right so you know that kind of makes it fun with there's sort of like you know this, you know, you know,

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[SPEAKER_00]: concentration of games over a really short period of time with a bunch of good teams and a bunch of good players and you can kind of just sit here in your couch almost like a Sunday for football and just watch for really good games.

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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I think if you're a baseball fan, this is ideal and it's playoff baseball, all these games matter and you know, I will say like a love baseball 162

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[SPEAKER_00]: chunks in time during the season where not the games are meaningless, but you know, you're sort of going through the motions, right?

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[SPEAKER_00]: Like you're just trying to keep pace with the marathon.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Um, where at this point, you know, it is fawn sprint time.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So, um, we just see, things manage differently.

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[SPEAKER_00]: You see heroic performances, um, guys crumble in big moments.

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[SPEAKER_00]: It's just, you know, it's, uh, it's the reason that we watch this game is for this sort of excitement, right?

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[SPEAKER_00]: So, um, yeah, and I think it's, I think it's fun because the last week of the season now, it always seems like there's some games that are in play in the last couple of days of the year.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Um, that there aren't sort of these empty couple of games leading into the playoffs, which you make for some bad baseball, um, Sunday was an awesome day.

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[SPEAKER_00]: There were a ton of games that mattered for seedings or for just teams making the playoffs or not, uh, and being able to sit there and watch a big inning for like four or five, like, you know, uh, hours and just digging into games.

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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, kind of ignoring football a little bit was kind of a fun day.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, I'm going to take it for what it is.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Friday will be another drag though with like no sports on.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, not knowing what the heck to do with myself.

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[SPEAKER_00]: going to have to figure that out in a couple of days, but that's 40 hours away.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But let's talk a little bit about some content you put out over the last couple of weeks, a couple of very good articles, actually this week.

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[SPEAKER_00]: A couple of underrated minor leaders on the hitting side and the pictures with traits to target, we're digging into data in these articles.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Of course, Dylan did both of them excellent work by you.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I want to drill you now with a couple of different

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[SPEAKER_00]: some hitters first off and I want to I was going to go deal with choice on you.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But I'm going to throw one at your right away.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And that's Ethan Frey.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I think we might have talked about in recent weeks.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I think that he is a major ascending name in FYP.

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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, you just hope that it doesn't get too high where, you know, he's ranked like 16th or something.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And it's like, all the values been sucked out of it.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But if you're in deeper leagues like me and you're looking for a name,

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[SPEAKER_00]: maybe in that 25 to sort of 40, 45 range in FYPDs, I think Frey is actually a really good target and I, you know, I don't think it's unreasonable to maybe prefer him.

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[SPEAKER_00]: to some more first-round names, whether that be like a weeha-loi, or even an Ike Irish for that matter.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I think phrase shows some really interesting traits and obviously does have a high level track record in terms of hitting an LSU.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think not that it's an exploitable inefficiency or anything, but like the best performing professional debuts last year or like Nick Kurtz, it came Smith at the year before was why Langford basically so it's like whoever gets comes out of the gate comes out of the shoot in their professional debuts and it does well.

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[SPEAKER_01]: are our good guys to target.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And Frey, like you said, did exactly that.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And it's not just to hit how to 175 WRC plus or whatever it was.

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[SPEAKER_01]: It's like under the hood.

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[SPEAKER_01]: It's the stack ass data.

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[SPEAKER_01]: That's the thing that we're looking at here.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And so he had plus contact.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And then when he made contact, he had a 108 mile an hour 90th percentile, flexible lossity, which is very good.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Um, so he's making contact and then he's doing damage on that contact his swing dishes decisions are good.

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[SPEAKER_01]: They're better than average is his chase.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Um, he chases less than the rest of the league.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Um, his barrel rates are good.

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[SPEAKER_01]: So he's hitting it the right angles.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And like everything is kind of clicking.

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[SPEAKER_01]: So yes he's 21 in low A, which is sort of the average age.

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[SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, he kind of should be, you know,

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[SPEAKER_01]: Performing, but it's like under the hood, which was my favorite refrain in the article, basically everybody I was saying under the hood is, is, is excellent.

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[SPEAKER_01]: It's, you know, the top of the league in terms of performance, even when you kind of regress like the barrel rates and all that.

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[SPEAKER_01]: So,

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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think he's maybe he's not going to be so sneaky because we've talked about him.

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[SPEAKER_01]: The two of us have talked about him for a couple of weeks now.

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[SPEAKER_01]: I saw James Anderson just updated his prospect.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Listen, has him like two twenty one or something like that.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Or in the low two hundreds.

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[SPEAKER_01]: So it's not like he's going to be like a fifth round guy.

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[SPEAKER_01]: You can steal.

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[SPEAKER_01]: It seems like there's a bit of helium happening and that as weather should be.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I just think, you know, if we start to get into like 15 to like 20 range, then it's probably like there's not a lot of value at that point.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Like then you're kind of you're picking amongst some other names where it's like, yeah, I may want to play the upside here.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Um, next one that I want to throw at you is, uh, Junior Kirk Cassaris, um,

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[SPEAKER_00]: from the Guardians.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I think this guy is phenomenal.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Played skills are really, really good.

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[SPEAKER_00]: He looks like one of the biggest names that will come off the complex this year.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Where do your thoughts on Coursera's?

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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, he was big last year because he was like, it is aged 16 season.

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[SPEAKER_01]: So he was actually near the top of the DSL, and that's with guys like Ryan and Rodriguez, and his was Maude and Amorales, he because he was so young and doing well.

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[SPEAKER_01]: was ranked high and it was there was thump in the back too.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We had a 101 mile in our exit velocity and plus a double plus contact sort of a guardians trait and he was so young and it was doing that.

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[SPEAKER_01]: So like the only thing kind of holding a back is he's you know he's like 5-10, 5-11, he's not like those 6-4 anonymous types that you kind of look for so it's like

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[SPEAKER_01]: he kind of naturally gets, uh, gets dinged by those who are doing the eye tester, you know, kind of traditional scouts, but he just continued on in the age 17 season this year.

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[SPEAKER_01]: He's still plus to double plus contact.

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[SPEAKER_01]: He has a 105 mile an hour exit velocity now, so he really added a bunch of thump and like I said, he's 17.

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[SPEAKER_01]: They're not at the, the great angles, and so I think

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[SPEAKER_01]: Like I've read people saying, oh, I hope that, you know, you can develop some power and all that and because they don't have access to seeing like the actually miles per hour he's getting on the bat.

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[SPEAKER_01]: They're just seeing the, you know, the whole run total's aren't so great, but there's a lot of power in the back, especially for so new 17 and so like it looks like you can play in a corner he's going to hit for average is going to hit get on base he's going to have 20 plus home run power I think pretty easily.

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[SPEAKER_01]: considering is in full season ball you only 17.

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[SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, I really like that name and you know, I could see pushing top 100 even on traditional lists, you know, sub time in the middle of next season.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think that's all we're the edge of string and I think that was a great point that you made just regarding the power because we know that the underlying exit velocity data is is well above average, especially for agent level, it's a few standard deviations above average that I would say is probably plus underlying exit velocities.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I would tend to believe this is a guy, especially with.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The plate skills that he has that there's going to be some room for like, you know, some Arab bars there for adjustments in terms of adding more loft.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And if it comes a little bit more swing and miss, I think you're going to take that.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And especially a guy this young, if he's showing all those trades and you know that he can hit and put together a really quality at that.

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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, that buys him some leeway to kind of find those angles, right?

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[SPEAKER_00]: And it's just a matter of finding enough of those angles or getting into some pull side pop with the underlying power, which I'm sure that's something they're going to do.

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[SPEAKER_00]: What's go to the pitching side here?

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[SPEAKER_00]: What's go with we inland left hander from the athletics at a pretty decent year.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I know Robo Scott likes him in your article, which actually went over 13 different underrated

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[SPEAKER_00]: You like him quite a bit and you dig into the stuff a little bit.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So talk to me about what you're seen under the hood and how excited we should be about Lynn.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so he started off hot.

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[SPEAKER_01]: He was one of the guys that I was desperate to see the underlying data right from the outset, because he had like, as a zero percent walk right after a three or four starts, is young for the level, just kind of dominated.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And when I saw that is his fastball average, like 91 miles an hour, I kind of kind of got the flated a bit, because I was hoping.

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[SPEAKER_01]: is a guy who's hitting 96, and his slider has 16 inches of horizontal sweep or something like that, but it wasn't.

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[SPEAKER_01]: It wasn't that.

18:25.267 --> 18:27.728
[SPEAKER_01]: So I looked like, okay, this guy's just a pitchability guy.

18:27.788 --> 18:35.232
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, this guy has international stage experience, and so he's just kind of picking off these lower level hitters, but he made it to double a.

18:36.522 --> 18:47.330
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, as a 19 year old, and under the hood, like there's a lot of unique traits to what what he throws he he has a above average extension.

18:48.171 --> 18:54.175
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, he he does average 91 miles an hour, which is not fast, but he has 18 inches in a VB.

18:54.996 --> 18:56.897
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, he throws it pretty flat.

18:57.137 --> 19:02.702
[SPEAKER_01]: He throws it a lot and pounds the zone with it and he hasn't above average misrate with it.

19:03.482 --> 19:09.949
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, and like I said, he's 19, he pitched low a high a and even a couple of stints and double a, um, and he just gets shit.

19:09.989 --> 19:10.750
[SPEAKER_01]: He gets chases.

19:10.810 --> 19:11.731
[SPEAKER_01]: He pounds the zone.

19:12.111 --> 19:13.993
[SPEAKER_01]: They don't really hit it that well when it's in the zone.

19:14.013 --> 19:20.280
[SPEAKER_01]: And then when it's out of the zone, they chase it like a like an 80 grade rate, 44% chase rate, when the average is 23%.

19:21.501 --> 19:25.825
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, and then I talk about his, his, uh,

19:26.646 --> 19:46.264
[SPEAKER_01]: his slider, which has sort of plus IVB, and that's kind of a unique set of traits when you throw slider, you know, the gyrosliders or a bullet slider or the sweeper type sliders, and this one's kind of more cuteration that it has plus IVB, and there's not that much

19:48.152 --> 19:48.872
[SPEAKER_01]: not track record.

19:48.892 --> 19:53.514
[SPEAKER_01]: But it isn't that common to have a plus IBB, especially if seven and a half inches.

19:53.574 --> 19:59.296
[SPEAKER_01]: If you look at the MLB, look there's also a lot of list for sliders and you've got to sort by IBB.

19:59.416 --> 20:03.538
[SPEAKER_01]: That's like, it would have been 15th highest in the majors.

20:04.118 --> 20:10.520
[SPEAKER_01]: And I mentioned in the article, it's like, that's Ty with Paul Skeens and Clayton Kursha, who have pretty good sliders.

20:11.361 --> 20:13.401
[SPEAKER_01]: So he has these unique traits already at age 19.

20:17.943 --> 20:21.925
[SPEAKER_01]: throw in slop and junk and these lower level, level haters can get it.

20:21.945 --> 20:23.385
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got some interesting traits.

20:24.326 --> 20:28.287
[SPEAKER_01]: So I got very excited when I dug into the data and I saw what he actually had.

20:28.347 --> 20:40.792
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm far more optimistic than I was at the beginning this season, even though he kind of tailed off a bit and he has walked right one up a bit, but because I really like what's in the tool set.

20:40.872 --> 20:46.495
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think he being so young and the athletics have a pretty good track record right now,

20:48.835 --> 20:54.776
[SPEAKER_01]: And hitters, I think there's a high chance that he will, he may be successful in major leagues.

20:58.517 --> 21:00.738
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I agree with you.

21:00.758 --> 21:07.499
[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's an interesting pitch mix, and especially if you can add a little bit of power, because he is pretty young, but it's totally possible.

21:07.599 --> 21:13.460
[SPEAKER_00]: So he's wanted to watch, I think especially when you see this pitchability in a variety of good shapes and unique traits.

21:17.681 --> 21:33.835
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, an expanding arsenal and different types of pitches that he can throw and, uh, you know, translate that, uh, those traits successfully into, you know, new pitch shapes and success and a deep for arsenal, which is something I think we're seeing more and more with teams.

21:34.195 --> 21:42.923
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, let's take a quick break here, Dylan, when we come back, we're going to talk about another picture that has a really deep arsenal and some good traits who could be in the major leagues next season.

21:45.372 --> 21:45.753
[SPEAKER_00]: All right.

21:45.833 --> 21:46.614
[SPEAKER_00]: And we are back.

21:47.475 --> 21:49.538
[SPEAKER_00]: I teased a name before the break.

21:49.578 --> 21:50.859
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to throw it at you right now.

21:51.260 --> 21:52.982
[SPEAKER_00]: That's trade Gibson of the Orioles.

21:53.843 --> 21:59.911
[SPEAKER_00]: He had an excellent season made his way all the way up to AAA, picture the well, mixes like.

22:00.492 --> 22:06.818
[SPEAKER_00]: five or six different pitch shapes and uses all of them at least 10% of the time or more.

22:06.858 --> 22:09.561
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't have to keep those anything more than 30%.

22:10.902 --> 22:12.724
[SPEAKER_00]: And there's a lot of quality within the arsenal.

22:13.144 --> 22:16.748
[SPEAKER_00]: I would say nothing that is a plus pitch, but he has a few above average pitches.

22:17.188 --> 22:20.072
[SPEAKER_00]: and everything is kind of average to fringe average or better.

22:20.973 --> 22:30.965
[SPEAKER_00]: So, talked to me a little bit about trade gifts, and is he a sleeper maybe for a wide variety of leagues, maybe a DC next year, because he could be a guy that potentially could get some innings with the Orders.

22:32.792 --> 22:33.272
[SPEAKER_01]: I think so.

22:33.353 --> 22:34.093
[SPEAKER_01]: I think so for sure.

22:35.314 --> 22:37.955
[SPEAKER_01]: I picked him up in both of my dinosaur steeliegs.

22:39.096 --> 22:41.137
[SPEAKER_01]: I was kind of a Braxton Bragg guy that we're going to be here.

22:41.157 --> 22:48.922
[SPEAKER_01]: You got injured and then, you know, we had tracheats in the hotsheet show and he's just like a student of the game and he cares about the metrics and he's always trying to improve.

22:48.942 --> 22:49.723
[SPEAKER_01]: He's always trying to learn.

22:50.283 --> 23:16.626
[SPEAKER_01]: I really like that and just he just was consistent and just kept improving as a season went on Like he said he has a light arsenal and I like the fact that he sees looking at the metrics he's trying to improve his trying to improve the shapes he's trying to improve the the sequencing And yeah, you may not have a plus pitch, but he gets you know above average chase or above average Wiff on basically everything that he throws

23:18.047 --> 23:20.609
[SPEAKER_01]: foreseen fast belly throws 30% of the time.

23:20.629 --> 23:22.711
[SPEAKER_01]: It sits 94.

23:22.751 --> 23:26.974
[SPEAKER_01]: It has plus IVB.

23:27.194 --> 23:28.455
[SPEAKER_01]: It has above average minutes.

23:28.495 --> 23:34.179
[SPEAKER_01]: His next most popular pitch is his cutter, which he throws at 89 miles an hour.

23:36.141 --> 23:45.006
[SPEAKER_01]: That has for something that fast, the amount of horizontal break is five inches, which is a pretty good combination that doesn't happen that much.

23:45.887 --> 23:57.033
[SPEAKER_01]: He has a sweeper that's 84 miles an hour, just like right on the fringe of that magic 85 mile an hour you want for for sliders it has 60 inches of horizontal break, which is pretty ridiculous that's.

23:59.406 --> 24:05.050
[SPEAKER_01]: 84 mile an hour sweeper with 16 inches of horizontal break is kind of what Luis Severino does.

24:05.551 --> 24:13.537
[SPEAKER_01]: I mentioned the article that on fan graph stuff model Luis Severino sweeper is a 133 stuff plus.

24:14.118 --> 24:17.901
[SPEAKER_01]: So it has the metrics it's not getting the it's not getting the whiffs that

24:19.062 --> 24:29.146
[SPEAKER_01]: that you would expect from something that great, but it's, he gets a lot of chases and it's plusometrically from a self perspective, so I'm sure right-handers are going to have a hard time with it.

24:29.486 --> 24:31.787
[SPEAKER_01]: He throws a curve ball, 17% of the time.

24:32.267 --> 24:38.430
[SPEAKER_01]: He also throws another shape slider, so he's got a whole bunch of secondaries of breaking stuff and they're all good.

24:38.470 --> 24:41.291
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think back to your original question is he someone for D.C.

24:41.311 --> 24:41.731
[SPEAKER_01]: I think so.

24:42.211 --> 24:44.332
[SPEAKER_01]: I think the the Orioles have been pretty vocal that they

24:46.593 --> 24:48.894
[SPEAKER_01]: That was sort of their big killy seal this year.

24:48.934 --> 24:49.794
[SPEAKER_01]: Corporal Burns went down.

24:49.854 --> 24:51.455
[SPEAKER_01]: Obviously, Grayson Rodriguez went down.

24:51.875 --> 24:55.397
[SPEAKER_01]: Trevor Rogers was a revelation, but they want to be pretty active in market.

24:55.837 --> 25:02.780
[SPEAKER_01]: So someone like Triggips and may play a very active role for the Orioles in 2026.

25:02.820 --> 25:08.102
[SPEAKER_01]: So I have him and my down to see Lee as like I said, and I'm hoping to get a whole bunch of contributions from him next year.

25:10.032 --> 25:31.940
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think he is a really interesting name and somebody that I think this offseason I'm going to try to acquire, you know, where I can, you know, deeper leagues probably not going to happen, but you never know bigger trades, maybe get him as a throw and I think there is some value, especially if you have the ability to stash somebody like that in your minors and moving back and forth when you're starting and.

25:32.340 --> 25:40.585
[SPEAKER_00]: you know, maybe piggy uh kind of play uh mix and match with, you know, another starter in the miners similar type of guy.

25:41.006 --> 25:42.547
[SPEAKER_00]: But here, let's go with a bat here.

25:42.567 --> 25:47.610
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to talk about a cardinals breakout this season and it's not Josh Bias.

25:47.670 --> 25:50.292
[SPEAKER_00]: That is uh Danielle Ortiz.

25:51.575 --> 25:55.139
[SPEAKER_00]: D-E-N-I-E-L for those out there.

25:55.480 --> 26:00.065
[SPEAKER_00]: It's actually Daniel Ortiz, but I'll say, Daniel Ortiz, so that way you know what I'm talking about.

26:00.085 --> 26:05.212
[SPEAKER_00]: Dylan, you have him on your nine hitters underrated shows with Trace to Target.

26:05.792 --> 26:11.099
[SPEAKER_00]: Talk to me a little bit about why Ortiz made the cut and what are your expectations for him next year?

26:12.565 --> 26:16.267
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, halfway through the season, he started popping up on the Robotscale lists.

26:17.428 --> 26:20.650
[SPEAKER_01]: And he was sort of a power speed blend.

26:20.910 --> 26:24.532
[SPEAKER_01]: He was okay in terms of like age for the level.

26:24.552 --> 26:27.214
[SPEAKER_01]: It was just like there was not much on him.

26:27.574 --> 26:30.016
[SPEAKER_01]: But if you look under the, he just continued all the way.

26:30.036 --> 26:33.318
[SPEAKER_01]: I got, he got promoted to high A as a 20 year old.

26:34.559 --> 26:38.981
[SPEAKER_01]: But it's the stack asset that's pretty interesting because he has about 404 mile per hour, 90% high.

26:42.380 --> 26:48.425
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, for an agent level, his barrel rates are plus those are very predictive of, you know, future power.

26:48.445 --> 26:54.449
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, and so he's hitting it hard and he's hitting it at the at the good levels or good good angles.

26:55.030 --> 26:55.950
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, he doesn't chase.

26:56.771 --> 27:00.253
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, and so the swing percentage is swing decisions are pretty good.

27:00.774 --> 27:05.017
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, it's just the contact is, you know, average fringe average, but, you know, if if you

27:10.736 --> 27:19.058
[SPEAKER_01]: plus or above average on power than the other way around in terms of WRC plus and in the offensive contribution.

27:19.158 --> 27:20.138
[SPEAKER_01]: And so he has that.

27:21.639 --> 27:30.681
[SPEAKER_01]: So his projection from Robuscaut is he's in above average majorly hitter with 20 to 25 home runs and basically 20 stolen bases right now.

27:30.721 --> 27:31.941
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if that will continue.

27:33.342 --> 27:34.522
[SPEAKER_01]: He's probably a third baseman.

27:35.542 --> 27:38.344
[SPEAKER_01]: So he'll probably add some some weight and strength and maybe slow down a bit.

27:38.384 --> 27:44.387
[SPEAKER_01]: So don't I wouldn't count on him for for 20 stolen bases, but you know, he has the capacity to do so.

27:44.467 --> 27:47.289
[SPEAKER_01]: So I could see him doing 10 in the major leagues would be mixed with the majors.

27:47.829 --> 27:56.875
[SPEAKER_01]: So it was just a name that's really kind of unsung and not really on on the map, but he produced and the stack has to underneath supports the production.

27:56.935 --> 27:57.875
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not smoking mirror.

27:57.935 --> 28:02.578
[SPEAKER_01]: So he fits to a tea the idea of being someone underrated.

28:06.457 --> 28:21.247
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I find him to be one of the more interesting pop-up names in this cardinal system that had a few, like, you know, obviously I mentioned by us, but I think Ortiz is definitely, you know, worthy of the praise that you heat down him.

28:22.107 --> 28:24.729
[SPEAKER_00]: Last guy I'm going to throw it to you here in the Morap, the sucker up.

28:24.749 --> 28:25.950
[SPEAKER_00]: What about Henry Mendez?

28:26.170 --> 28:27.410
[SPEAKER_00]: He's going to AFL.

28:27.591 --> 28:35.996
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like he's got a lot of buzz just throughout the industry based upon the kind of season that he had and then what the numbers are going to say as well.

28:37.966 --> 28:45.873
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so Henry Mendez is a guy who has been good at contact for a long time and been young for the level for a long time.

28:45.933 --> 28:49.897
[SPEAKER_01]: It was always just the ground ball rate has been very high.

28:49.917 --> 28:51.558
[SPEAKER_01]: His entire career.

28:53.870 --> 28:59.513
[SPEAKER_01]: I think he started with the Brewers and I remember he was young kind of in the lower levels and I really kept my eye on him because he was popping on the road with scout.

29:00.454 --> 29:09.699
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's just because his contact was so high so so advanced compared to everyone else, so just he didn't have the power was going to manifest et cetera and he just could not get the ground ball right up this year.

29:11.140 --> 29:14.824
[SPEAKER_01]: where as his minor league career has been around 60% ground ball, right?

29:14.844 --> 29:15.685
[SPEAKER_01]: Which is just too high.

29:16.626 --> 29:17.047
[SPEAKER_01]: He was at like 50%.

29:18.289 --> 29:19.910
[SPEAKER_01]: And it looked like some things have changed.

29:20.471 --> 29:22.914
[SPEAKER_01]: And he started hitting like he had a couple homeruns.

29:22.934 --> 29:24.516
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got double digit homeruns for the first time.

29:24.716 --> 29:27.019
[SPEAKER_01]: And he was traded at the deadline to the twins.

29:27.480 --> 29:29.502
[SPEAKER_01]: And I kind of got this sense of the twins kind of

29:30.223 --> 29:35.047
[SPEAKER_01]: we're not targeting him, but they're kind of like him as the return.

29:37.269 --> 29:48.478
[SPEAKER_01]: And but then he kind of regrets back to his his grumble ways again, but he his contact rates and his inzone contact are like plus to double plus they're very good.

29:50.099 --> 29:53.162
[SPEAKER_01]: His 90th percentilex velocities are actually quite quite high.

29:53.923 --> 29:55.884
[SPEAKER_01]: There were 104.8 miles an hour.

29:57.066 --> 29:59.988
[SPEAKER_01]: His max is 13 like he's got thump in the bat.

30:00.028 --> 30:01.950
[SPEAKER_01]: He doesn't chase that well that much at all.

30:02.090 --> 30:05.013
[SPEAKER_01]: Either like everything's there except the ground ball rate.

30:05.073 --> 30:06.314
[SPEAKER_01]: His launch angles are not great.

30:06.374 --> 30:09.357
[SPEAKER_01]: So the damage on contact isn't that great, but we saw flashes of

30:09.737 --> 30:10.638
[SPEAKER_01]: his ability to do so.

30:10.938 --> 30:31.890
[SPEAKER_01]: So he can handle the bat, he can hit it with authority, he doesn't chase, he makes the right swing decisions, I compare his data, it's basically identical to Max Clarke, although Max Clarke's one year younger, I'm not suggesting Henry Mendez is Max Clarke, but he has sort of all the ingredients that you want in the recipe for a fermented hitter, it's just sort of the launch angle.

30:31.950 --> 30:32.050
[SPEAKER_01]: So

30:32.810 --> 30:39.075
[SPEAKER_01]: He, he was the last name I put on this list because I'm like, ah, I don't want to go out on a limb and say that this is guys going to be great.

30:39.155 --> 30:41.316
[SPEAKER_01]: But all the ingredients are there.

30:41.336 --> 30:45.019
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if he's able to manifest that change and make that change.

30:45.079 --> 30:47.661
[SPEAKER_01]: But, you know, he has the bat to make it to the majors.

30:47.721 --> 30:51.324
[SPEAKER_01]: The question is, is he going to, you know, hit for enough power to to be a regular.

30:51.744 --> 30:53.646
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm not sure, but he definitely has the ability.

30:54.546 --> 30:59.290
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think it's like one of those interesting names like in some ways, there's almost like.

31:00.958 --> 31:04.940
[SPEAKER_00]: Parallels to like Yandee Diaz when when he was coming up.

31:05.161 --> 31:18.167
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think in some ways like he made that transition in other ways didn't but was like always a valuable real-life player and fantasy player and there might be more Defensive value with Mendez then there is Yandee.

31:18.347 --> 31:21.829
[SPEAKER_00]: So kind of interesting but like just like a similar problem.

31:22.449 --> 31:22.649
[SPEAKER_00]: All right.

31:22.689 --> 31:23.730
[SPEAKER_00]: I think there's some great names.

31:24.130 --> 31:31.715
[SPEAKER_00]: There are a whole, we only covered, you know, a fraction of the names here that Dylan covered.

31:31.735 --> 31:33.877
[SPEAKER_00]: We covered six in total.

31:36.045 --> 31:40.108
[SPEAKER_00]: you covered what 22 names between the pictures and the hitters.

31:40.388 --> 31:43.270
[SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, quite a bit there to dig into.

31:43.350 --> 31:47.292
[SPEAKER_00]: I encourage you to go over to baseball america.com and check out Dylan's articles.

31:47.973 --> 31:49.574
[SPEAKER_00]: And as always, thank you for reading.

31:49.714 --> 31:50.755
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for listening.

31:50.775 --> 31:52.416
[SPEAKER_00]: And we'll be back next week.