Toby Ziegler

Oh and we can never quite get enough of cancer jokes on here you ****ing dick.

I mean what did you expect me to say? I wasn't joking. You wish ill on my family, and I will wish ill on you, prick.

With Zach, whenever I've watched him play, the best case I see for him is Daniel Nava.  But don't have tools that excite scouts, but they play above their skill sets.  They both have similar build, Zach has a little more power projection in his swing while Nava has a better approach.  

I don't want to get into it with you again, but I feel like this is yet another backhanded compliment from you.

Nava is a good player. I've always liked him. But as far as Nava being Zach's ceiling as a player comp, I think you're way off. Zach has quite a bit more power than Nava, not "a little." His tools are also much better than you give him credit for. As usual, I'm disappointed but not surprised by another inaccurate assessment of Zach.

(This is my first post - I'm really a Twins fan, but Trout has become my favorite player, and I like some of the guys in the Angels system like Rondon, Yarbrough, and Borenstein especially.  My Twins have a pretty great farm system too!)

I actually saw Sano play last year in Cedar Rapids and Beloit. Tremendous talent. He's going to be a monster. Kind of a head case, though. Reminds me a bit of Hanley, in the good and bad ways. Buxton appears to be headed for stardom as well.

Did I sleep with your mother or something?

Well, they obviously put him in the best position to succeed when he was stuck in limbo last year in Extended Spring Training. You're absolutely right. What could I possibly know about his situation? You clearly have a better grasp of it.

Mea culpa.

Are you going to belatedly respond to all of my posts? Keep going. You're on a roll.

So they want him to be 100% before he takes the next step.  WHAT BAFOONS....

Yes, it's okay for him to DH in High-A but not in AA. MAKES SENSE...

An outsiders opinion of the top 20 = The Angels are stupid and not giving a guy oportunities?    

 

Fan logic is always impressive..

Do you form opinions of your own, or do you blindly follow what other people say, Huckleberry?

I'm counting down the days until the internet I told you so comes from Toby when Borenstein makes it to the MLB. Going to be legendary

Funny you should mention that. I've been thinking about writing a book about scouting in general. And I'm not going to pull any punches like I do here, haha.

What current MLB player does he liken his style of play to?

Can't say for sure, but his favorite player has always been Jeter.

Since some of you seem to like the insight I have, I can also tell you that he recently watched game tape of himself playing last year in CR and was surprised at how different his swing looks now. That was how he perceived it, at any rate.

Lack of physicality? I don't even know what to say to that, except that you've never seen him play.

He's made the most of the chances he's been given. Last year your organization sent him to Extended Spring Training and he missed the first half of the season for no good reason. Or maybe it was because they wanted to give Chevy Clarke another look-see and Zach was considered expendable.

When he arrived in Cedar Rapids (only after someone got hurt) and the coach saw how good he was he was like, "Where have you been?" He couldn't believe he didn't start the season with the team. The Angels haven't given him anything. He's had to earn it all.

You take the good with the bad, I guess. I'm not above being petty, especially when all I hear from scouts is how uninspiring my brother is as a prospect and when I hear from fans on this very forum that Cron and Grichuk are significantly better prospects than him with better tools, brighter futures, a clearer path to the Majors, more projectability, and all that other bullshit. Sorry if I get on your nerves. But you get on my nerves, too. And I don't believe in turning the other cheek.

7 straight hits for Zach, 8 consecutive times on base dating back to last game.

I think his time as a DH has benefited him. He told my dad he studied the opposing hitters when he was in the dugout. His plate discipline has improved a great deal since coming off the DL (10 BBs/10 Ks in 19 games - the 19th game is still going on as we speak) and he's doing much better against lefties.

Hitting .348 now. If only his hit tool were as good as Cron's...

I think I could pick Lindsey out of a lineup. Green and Yarbrough - not a chance.

Bah, whatever. Yarbrough is a good player. I haven't seen Lindsey in person.

Edit: Oh, you mean as in recognize him?

Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty bad.

Our bench was my biggest worry going into the season ... you hit the nail on the head!

Hopefully some of our minor league players are more ready next season or JP needs to shop.

And where will the minor leaguers play? Borenstein and Snyder are blocked. Yarbrough and Lindsey are blocked. Cron and Grichuk are blocked. Stamets is blocked. Hamilton and Pujols are killing your team in a variety of ways. Your good minor league prospects will be traded away just like Segura and Corbin were.

I think Yarbrough and Lindsey both have more upside and a higher floor than Green.

I saw Yarbrough play for two weeks in June, and he hit everything in sight. His walkoff HR in extra innings was awesome. He's a natural hitter and hits well from both sides of the plate, but he obviously needs to show more patience. I think he has more raw power from the right side. He will occasionally chase pitches outside of the zone. He has gap-to-gap power that I think will develop and already has to some extent into HR power. He's able to spoil a lot of pitches and therefore see more pitches, which usually leads to good ABs and results. He's not terribly fast, but he's an aggressive and a smart baserunner.

Defensively, he is pretty solid. Not spectacular. His arm isn't the strongest, but it's accurate. He consistently makes the plays that should be made. He and Stamets have great chemistry up the middle. I saw them turn a few highlight reel DPs. This is unrelated, but Stamets is the best defensive shortstop I've ever seen. He's got it all. Great range, strong arm, quick release. Just fun to watch out there.

It's Zach, not Zack btw.

I think my opinion on scouts is pretty well-documented here. I could care less if they or you think Cron is the better prospect; reality tells a different tale.

I would separate Zach from Cron by about 15 as well, only it would go the other way. As always, respectfully but firmly agree to disagree. 

Really no reason to promote anyone with only 15 games left.  All teams have a shot at the post season except the Burlington Bees. I don't think Lindsey will ever see AAA, he'll be at 2B for the Angels next season.  Cron will go to AAA and kill everything so that his value will inflate, same goes for Grichuk.  

 

Next year we'll really see what some of our prospects are made of.  Cowart should repeat AA and we'll be looking for some growth in contact ability from the left-sdie as well as pitch recognition.  We'll find out if Borenstein's power can play up a level, lots of skepticism given the stark difference in his abilities between a hitting friendly park and pitching friendly park.  Snyder will need to show he can make consistent contact.  

 

I think Yarbrough and Stamets will probably have the easiest transition given their abilities to adjust and make contact after spending no time in A Ball. Of course this is assuming Yarbrough isn't dealt, which I'm not sure of.  

 

I'm looking forward to seeing who we have headed to the Arizona Fall League.  They usually take three, that either need more time or have something to work on and prove in that league.  Yarbrough, Stamets and Borenstein/Snyder sound fine to me.  We may also see Alvarez and Morin over there. 

Borenstein

.318/.385/.563 at home

.347/.384/.714 on the road

Cron last year

.264/.301/.384 at home

.318/.349/.629 on the road

If you want to talk about stark differences...

Lots of skepticism, indeed.

LOL! and that's how most managers handle their young call ups when they first get called up. The fact of the matter is, Trout got substantial playing time, or as you put it, that is an irrefutable fact. And the next time he came up, he was inserted in the lineup and has been there ever since. 

LOL!  What gamelogs were you looking at?

not so much really. 

...

Playing two games and sitting out one or playing three games and then sitting out two or coming off the bench late in the game is not regular playing time. Pretty hard for any hitter to get into a rhythm that way.

This is an irrefutable fact. And that is exactly how Scioscia handled Trout in 2011.

Trout did get regular playing time

Check the gamelogs. He rode the pine a lot.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=troutmi01&t=b&year=2011

Remember when Trout first came up and didn't get regular playing time? That should tell you all you need to know about Scioscia.

Hank Conger should have been getting the majority of starts last year. Scioscia is horrible at developing young talent. I'd wager that Calhoun won't get regular playing time unless he forces Scioscia's hand by playing out of his mind.

And where are Yarbrough and Snyder expected to play?

Promote Lindsey and Cron to AAA. Lindsey appears ready, at any rate. Not sure about Cron. Grant Green has nothing more to prove in the minors. I'd have him fill in for Kendrick and Aybar whenever they need rest. One of them could still be traded, too. That would simplify things. Or they could always have Green go back to SS in AAA. Between Romine and Green, one of them needs to be with the big club, IMO.

The point is Borenstein, Snyder, Yarbrough, and Stamets have nothing more to prove in High-A. Their success should be rewarded with a promotion. Staying in High-A does nothing for their development.

Witherspoon, Cowart, Lindsey, Cron, and Grichuk have shown what they can do. Collectively and objectively they've been disappointing, with the lone exception of Lindsey. Cowart was rushed to AA. He should have started the season in High-A, and Brian Hernandez should have started the season in AA. It's time for the next wave of prospects to strut their stuff.

Tyler Glasnow is a nice pitching prospect in the Bucs organization.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=glasno000tyl