SB Nation User Blog: bravitos5122

How good is Tyler Flowers?

bravitos5122 — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:12:49 -0000

22 year old catcher at Myrtle Beach. .295/.436/.500 an that doesnt even show the whole story because he got off to a real slow start. This kid wow'd everyone on the big club in spring training with his size and mammoth power an he has certainly had a breakout season. The walk rate is just ridiculous. As a catcher, his defensive skills are solid, and his bat would carry at 1B but his value would obviously take a hit.

Where does he rank with the current catching prospects in the minors excluding Wieters? I know some other guys might be a year younger or doing it at a higher level but I think this kid has the best stick of any catching prospect not named Wieters. Braves have had a great amount of success identifying catchers in recent years. Its unfortunate the braves wont be able to find a place for this kid's bat with McCann at C and Kotchman at 1B and Freeman coming up right behind him.

Charlie Morton debuts against LAA tonight

bravitos5122 — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 21:28:38 -0000

A lot of anticipation for this kid's start tonight, especially from Braves fans. Not much of a prospect before the year, he has dominated AAA. His stuff backs up his numbers with a plus fastball and plus curveball to go with a slider and changeup that show promise. His command is what really turned everything around for him. If he can be the pitcher the Braves have been saying he is, that would be a good addition to go with other young pitchers Jurrjens and Reyes who have pitched well.

When I saw him dominate Durham he reminded me of Wainwright quite a bit. 8 IP 1 H 13 k's against the best hitting AAA team.

Predict who will be the top 10 prospects in 09?

bravitos5122 — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 18:46:53 -0000

1. David Price

2. Matt Wieters

3. Rick Porcello

4. Matt LaPorta

5. Jake McGee

6. Travis Snider

7. Jason Heyward

8. Mike Moustakas

9. Fernando Martinez

10. Andrew McCutcheon

Threw a list together just to generate discussion but wanna see who are your top 10 prospects at the conclusion of the season. I didnt include guys like Maybin, Rasmus because I think they will lose their rookie status this year. LaPorta might but he has nowhere to play.

Daniel Cabrera is putting it together

bravitos5122 — Wed, 21 May 2008 06:55:49 -0000

Every year I draft this guy thinking this is the year he puts it together. And every year I drop him after a month. He has been very good this year, and should improve.

5-1 with a 3.48 ERA. He has tossed 7 straight quality starts, and isnt walking anybody these days. He walked zero batters against the Red Sox and Yankees in back to back starts, two of the most patient teams in baseball. 24 walks in 63 innings but over this stretch of games his walk rate is dropping each game. He has ditched the high 90s fastball and gone to a 2 seam fastball a la Wang and Carmona and has become a groundball pitcher which has dropped his strikeout rate but his whip dramatically as well.

Do you believe he will be a Wang or Carmona type? Or should the Orioles sell high?

Thoughts on these underlooked prospects?

bravitos5122 — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:45:14 -0000

Jake Arrietta is dominating in High A and should be promoted to AA with Matt Wieters. He looks like he has regained his stuff from 2 years ago. David Hernandez is a guy that should get a lot more recognition. Putting up very good numbers in AA and has the great stuff to go with the numbers. Spoone is hurt but was pitching well and I like him quite a bit. What do you think about these Orioles pitchers?

Brandon Hicks has been solid. Good power for a SS and walks quite a bit and can steal a few bases. Average not terrific but should improve but the power has been impressive. Is he turning into a top SS prospect?

Charlie Morton has dominated at AAA. He does not have the numbers in the past that impress you. But we hear rumblings he turned the corner and he looks legit. He is gonna be 25 soon, so its a Nick Blackburn type breakout year for him. He has always had excellent stuff and in his latest start allowed 14 groundouts to 1 flyout. What is his upside? has anyone seen him pitch before? He should be in Atlanta soon. We know the braves give effusive praise of all their prospects, but Morton looks like one who the scoutheads actually got right.

Is Markakis going to be a superstar?

bravitos5122 — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 21:37:09 -0000

No sophomore slump. More people would notice him as a great young player on a national level if he wasn't an oriole. I think the sky is the limit with this kid.

.294/.357/.478 22 HR 43 2B 110 RBI 17 SB 60/110 BB/K

He strikes out a little more than I expected, but I expect that to really come down. He basically has 60/60/60 hitting chart, very impressive and should allow him to be a higher average hitter as his career goes on. He has 13 homers in the 2nd half of the season and shown power to all fields. He has a lot more power than most people would have thought. I can see him hitting 30-35 regularly in his prime. Toss in great defense, excellent baserunner, do we have ourselves a future all star?

Where is he on the list of top young OFs?

Jeff Francoeur having a nice little season

bravitos5122 — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 04:36:21 -0000

.310/.354/.465 with 13 homers, 31 doubles, and 75 rbi. Also 1st in OF assists. 5th among NL OFs in win shares. 30 walks at this point, compared to 36 i believe in his 1st 900+ ABs. Half of his hits are up the middle or to the opposite field, which is a huge change from the pull everything approach he had last year. With this new approach he will hit for a much higher average. He is seeing more pitchers per AB an chasing far less pitches. The improvement in one year just jumps out at you when you watch him at the plate.

Not bad, Jeff, you may have yourself a ecent career after all. I think everyone knew Jeff was going to get better, the question was, how long, and how much? He is doing this sooner than I thought. Its scary to think where he may be in a couple years. He reminds me a bit of Matt Holliday.

Could Bedard be the 2nd best pitcher behind Johan?

bravitos5122 — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 05:04:25 -0000

He has had top 5 stuff. Each year, his command has gone up to the point its over 4 to 1 k/bb. He is top 5 in BAA. And of course, he is running away in strikeouts.

At one point last year in June it all clicked for him and since then he has been the dominant Bedard. IMO the best curveball in the game right now. I asked myself if there was anybody I would rather have pitching for my team at this moment. Besides Johan, the answer is no. Where does Bedard rank amont the top pitchers?

Why is Kyle Davies trash?

bravitos5122 — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 04:53:44 -0000

He cant throw strikes, he gets rattled easily, his fastball is the straightest Ive ever seen, he cant throw a strike anywhere but down the middle, his offspeed stuff hangs, I think that is it for now.

He is only 23, but still a far cry from what he looked as a prospect. You cant lump him in with a McGowan, Baker, Guthrie, Gaudin etc as top prospects who struggled early on. Those guys had much better stuff. Davies stuff just looks terrible. You cant picture it in your head him eventually dominating ML pitching.

What went wrong? Was there anything in the past to suggest this? Did he lose some velocity?

He has had some injuries, but besides his 1st 4 starts where nobody seen him he has looked like the worst starting pitcher in the majors. ERA of 7 since then.

Matt Harrison or Jo Jo Reyes?

bravitos5122 — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 02:03:17 -0000

Reyes IMO may be the most underrated pitching prospect in baseball. Good K/9 rate, decent control, very good stuff while being left handed. Had 10 k's in 2 of his last 3 starts and just 1 ER in his last 2 starts, earning him a promotion to AAA.

With the braves struggles with the back end of the rotation, it looks like they are eager to get Reyes up. Im a little surprised he got promoted to AAA before Harrison since Harrison has been in AA longer with good results and by all accounts is more polished and ready for the big leagues.

Who is the better prospect? Both look like middle of the rotation starters, Reyes' stuff wise could possibly evolve into more. But Harrison has always gotten more pub and is rated higher on every prospect list. Im excited to see this guy, because Im hoping he could be the arm braves are known for developing. Chuck James is nice and Kyle Davies has been garbage, braves really need a young horse in the worst way.