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2024 FanGraphs Prospect Week Chat
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Nervous Flyball Pitcher
1:50
How often do you get a chance to watch International or Eastern League games in person? Do you have video sources in lieu of seeing them at the park?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:52
I'll go home to PA for a week or two every summer and base myself out of Catty, get like 10 games or something like that. It's not perfect, I'd love to have a second full time writer who in a geographically different spot than I'm in but FG is a small op. Synergy is an incredible tool
Narvain
1:52
Great work, Eric!  On your EW podcast appearance you talked about pitchers having the ideal frame being something you looked at for prospect evaluation.  What is the ideal body size for a SP nowadays?  Has it changed at all?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:53
6ft3 or so, broad shoulders, flat back tapering down to a high waist. low-to-the-ground athletcism with bend, power, balance in the lower body, loose arm action
I think teams are more open to short king pitchers because of approach angle considerations
TomBruno23
1:53
What/Who are you most looking forward to watching in FL and AZ once the fake games get going?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:54
I think both Central divisions could be a lot of fun.
Jonny
1:54
If Kevin Parada can't stay behind the plate, does he still have value as a corner OF/IB type?  Or is his offense not sufficient?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:54
(cringes) looked substandard across the board last year, my dude
Hal
1:55
Is there a prospect archetype you've become significantly higher or lower on over the last several years?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:55
Flawed corner bats when the power is a 70 or better
Bob
1:57
Lamonte wade is projected to finish w/ 6.7 war through end of team control. is that not a 50?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:57
Nah, 2 annual WAR (so 12 give or take) is my barometer for a 50
Parv
1:58
I've seen several comments recently (from both writers and readers) asserting that scouting/prospecting is overall much more accurate now than it was even 5 or 10 years ago, partially due to all of this newly available data in the minors and college. What's your take on that? Do you know anyone who's tried to analyze this through time to see if we're identifying the right prospects earlier or getting more accurate with FV grades?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:59
Oh we're way better at this now, both through experience and access to learning tools. I'd love to do retrospective analysis but you end up denigrating your peers, I'm not neutral because i write for one of the pubs worth evaluating (i'd hope) and I have so much work to do keeping up with the current goings on. I tried to some self eval via my How's My Driving piece last week
couple more, daddy's battery is dying and his coffee is getting cold
Colton
1:59
Where would Soderstrom have slotted if he hadn't surpassed rookie eligibility?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:59
I'd still stuff him. 70 power
2:00
55 near Kjerstad
Ryan
2:00
What can we expect to see from Justin Campbell this year? Thanks for your time.
Eric A Longenhagen
2:00
Someone with CLE told me he's good to go but I have no idea how he'll look
Andrew
2:00
How much do you discount HBP relative to BB for a batter?  Seems like some guys (e.g., Dalton Rushing has been HBP like 8% of the time since his last year at Louisville) have this as a "skill" to some degree, but it's probably less repeatable than BB skill?
Eric A Longenhagen
2:02
Agreed. Ty France gets hit by so many pitches because he half-swings at pitches in on his hands that he has no business swinging at and his back elbow gets lit up. It's a consistent part of his game but it's created by a deficiency not a skill.
Scurvy
2:02
I need you to go out on a limb and give me a gut prediction for how Daniel Espino's career will turn out.
Eric A Longenhagen
2:02
Most likely? Brendan McKay's buddy.
I came home giddy the last time i saw him healthy was some of the best stuff i've ever seen in person, ever ever. Shoulders, man.
Will
2:03
Is DJ Herz still expected to be just a reliever? Or did his performance in 2023 give any reason to change that impression?
Eric A Longenhagen
2:03
RP, imo
Washington should give him every opp to start, why not?
DH
2:03
I was a bit surprised not to see Joey Loperfido in the top 100 given his proximity and versatility. Does he look more like a 45, and if so, why?
Eric A Longenhagen
2:04
you have it gauged right, contact rates aren't good but I really like him, had him stuffed on HOU list last year and will be in a similar spot as a march thru team lists
Nassim Nunez
2:04
Whats my ceiling ?
Eric A Longenhagen
2:04
slick utility guy
Contented O
2:04
Are Norby and Cowser enough to headline a trade package for Cease? I think if they can get it done without moving Holliday Mayo Kjerstad Westburg Basallo, giddy up!
Eric A Longenhagen
2:04
not for me, bro.
Not even close
Kate
2:04
How is the last article coming today different from the picks to click article exactly?  Sounds like today's may include guys who you don't expect to rise, but are just outside the top 100 at the moment?  Maybe includes guys expected to graduate as well?
Eric A Longenhagen
2:05
It's more about guys you want to know about right now for a narrative reason. It's not titled well in the nav widget, which is all Megan's fault. :)
Tempe, AZ
2:05
Easy access to the ACL, extended spring training, and the AFL seems like a huge plus for living here.  How does this impact your process of evaluating prospects? Does it allow you to get more and better looks at players whose teams have complexes in Arizona? And do you feel more confident in those evals in comparison to prospects from teams who you might only see on video or 1-2 per year (like those who train in Florida)?
Eric A Longenhagen
2:06
Yes to all, this is my full time job and I'm at a few hundred games a year
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