You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Return toFanGraphs
Brendan Gawlowski Prospects Chat: 2/3/26
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page
Brendan Gawlowski
2:53
23; 3.45
David
2:54
Brendan, two low-level A's prospects that I intend to follow this year are Cole Miller and Edgar Montero.  I am interested in your opinion about them.  Thank you.
Brendan Gawlowski
2:54
We've touched on Montero -- Miller I like as a plus/plus-plus command/control guy with good secondaries. Wish he threw harder. Backend SP.
2027
2:55
This time next year the Nats are a top ___ farm system
Brendan Gawlowski
2:56
If they cash out on Abrams, Top 10? Would've helped a lot if they could've drafted higher this year
AL Sentrill
2:57
Top of your head rank on whos relevant in 3 years:  Kendry Rojas, Dasan Hill, TJ Nicols or Khal Stephan?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:57
Need to do work on nicols to answer fully but Stephan will be the highest ranked of that group this year
DA_big_G
2:57
I've become a prospect hound in the last few years, but I struggle to keep up with breakouts in season. Knowing there's hundreds of players on The Board, how do you prioritize in-season looks at guys? Start with stat breakouts? Industry sources? Or just watching as much tape as you can get your hands on?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:58
This is the big advantage teams have over the public. So many scouts and tools to be on this very quickly. I'll be leaning on all of the above to try to keep up.
Guest
2:58
I get what you're saying about BABIP and HR% re: Tong, but what about the huge gap between ERA and FIP and the optimistic projections? It just feels like people some people are focused on the final numbers and memories of a few of the HRs that he gave up and forgetting that he not only put up a truly dominant season across 3 levels of the minors but also was able to get plenty of outs at the big league level.
Brendan Gawlowski
2:59
I'm not really focused on the numbers so much as concerned about breaking ball quality and fastball command. He's going to be a Top 100 arm but I don't think he's a sure thing and I have durability concerns on top of everything else.
Squeeeeeks
3:00
When guys are roster filler and have no shot of making it to the show, do they.....know?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:01
Some do, a lot have no idea, many are correctly calibrated that the odds are very long but when you've got a jersey and a job you never know and you might as well put everything you've got into finding out.
Jim
3:01
In 2024, Made was given a 30 power grade here. A little over a year and a half later, it's 60.

What kind of precautions do you take when sourcing info from pre-debut international signees?

(Or did Made really get *that* good* between signing and DSL?)
Brendan Gawlowski
3:02
You have to accept that there's going to be a lot of volatility in that space. As a fan, fair to not put much stock in it until they start playing as a pro imo.
Sirras
3:03
What surprises folks most about scouting when you tell it to them?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:04
How much travel there is.
matt w
3:04
Deep deep cut from the Pirates system: Has Callan Moss made himself interesting by putting up huge numbers after the trade?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:05
I don't think the post-trade numbers move the needle. Interesting flier bat who crushed it after the move.
Jesse
3:05
Do you think we'll see more Gore trades (i.e. quantity/grab bag return over quality/top ranked) as teams get more and in love with their top prospects?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:06
This is what most non-Padres trades look like. Maybe Gore a more extreme example of the trend given the volume and lack of a consensus top 100 guy... But also maybe WAS thinks they got two top 100 players? They'll have their own list and certainly more faith in their eval of Gavin Fien than I do.
Yo its baseball time
3:07
Here's something I've never understood: leverage in the draft. A guy might seem to have more leverage if he's drafted as a junior, since he can always go back to college. But if you game this out -- once he's a senior, he has no leverage and has to sign. So wouldn't it then follow that he really has no leverage as a junior either, since both parties know he'll be putting himself in a bad position? Help me make it make sense arghhhh
Brendan Gawlowski
3:09
Game it out further though and it makes no sense for the teams to get overly cute. First, these bonuses are normally negotiated in advance; you do not want to burn your credibility by reneging. And if it's a top ten rounder, you forfeit the slot value money if you lowball the guy too much and tick him off to the point that he goes back to school anyway.
Naylor Sailor
3:09
Do you think Ben Williamson is a big loss? I don't, but some Mariners fans seem to think so.
Brendan Gawlowski
3:11
Good complementary player imo. TBR interested in seeing if he can play short. Worth a shot, but see him as less of a fit there than other elite 3B defenders. Think his first step/positional instincts/ability to make plays when leaving his feet are all very well calibrated for third and don't necessarily translate to short.
Gratnells
3:11
Could a 110 mph fastball with NO secondaries do the job?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:12
It's such an outlier velo wise that it's possible.
Great Openings
3:12
Plate discipline: why do guys almost never get meaningfully better at it as they develop?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:13
I think they can and do but it's often more at the margins. And hard to coach 'see-ball, hit-ball' out of certain guys
Pitchell
3:13
where do you stand on importance of command vs stuff spectrum for high school arms? TGA & Braylon Doughty are both listed as 45+ FVs but couldnt be more different as prospects as an example
Brendan Gawlowski
3:14
Depends on the player, but different packages/blends can work. Ideally you're looking for a lot of paths forward one way or the other.
Alex
3:15
Piggybacking on the question above about in-season breakouts, is there any plan to bring back some sort of daily/weekly prospect round up?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:15
No plan. I understand why readers like them, but they are very labor intensive and, in my experience doing them a long time ago, did not position me especially well for figuring out who was really breaking out, vs. just posting good numbers.
Baron
3:16
Is Termarr Johnson still considered the 2B of the future for Pittsburgh?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:16
Still well on the radar but they're not exactly clearing the deck for his arrival.
Guest
3:17
Thanks for answering the follow-ups re: Tong- appreciate your thoughts. When you say you don't think he's a sure thing, what does that mean in your book? Like, I have no misapprehension that he is the next Paul Skenes, but I think the odds are pretty good that he can put up numbers similar to a Tylor Megill or a David Peterson-- with upside to be better. Having watched both Tong and Blade Tidwell last season, Tong was able to finish guys off in a way that Tidwell wasn't-- that's what makes me optimistic about him.
Brendan Gawlowski
3:17
I think there's real reliever risk here.
Rusty Buntz
3:18
AJ Ewing: Some are super high on him (like Kiley McDaniel), others less so. He’s a fun player but do you think he’s even worthy of the top 100?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:19
He was on the long list for Top 100 consideration. I like him, there's a path for him to be a regular, the likelihood of that plus relatively light top end outcomes are going to push him into the 45+ tier this cycle.
BK
3:20
If you had to pick a Jays prospect who you think will shoot up their list who would you say
Connecting…