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Brendan Gawlowski Prospects Chat: 3/10/26
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Brendan Gawlowski
2:01
Hello everybody. If you haven't had the chance, my Braves list went live this morning. Last week Eric and I knocked out the Mets as well, and we'll continue our trek through the east with the Yankees next.
We'll then be pivoting back west. I'll be in Arizona with Eric starting tomorrow for 10 days.
2:02
And away we go
DF
2:02
If you were drafting #1 today, who would you take: Eli Willits, Liam Doyle or Josuar Gonzalez? I know the Board has them in that order, but there is an awful lot of buzz around Gonzalez that makes me wonder.
Brendan Gawlowski
2:02
I'll be in Scottsdale very soon to take a look but I'm hearing the same thing re: Josuar.
Mike Lommler
2:03
While watching the WBC have you seen any guys who aren't real prospects but have a tool that makes you think, "Hey, that's pretty cool"
Brendan Gawlowski
2:03
Just impressed with the guys from Czechia and Nicaragua etc. battling against elite players in an electric setting. Very cool life moment.
bob
2:04
Thanks for the Braves list, and great timing it up with a JR ST start! What levels will the various shortstops (Lodise, Southisene, Gil be assigned to if you had to guess?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:05
Southisene at Augusta. The other two we'll see. I talked to their farm director for the piece and for a lot of players he's of the mind to let them play their way onto various rosters this spring.
EccentricATLFan
2:05
Loved the writeup of the Braves' system (maybe not so much the depth of it, of course), but the last few lines of Caminiti's summary especially caught my eye.  Could you elaborate a bit more on what you mean by "going ahead and projecting him as a no. 3" if you were with a team vs. your projection as a Fangraphs writer?  (Not trying to be nitpicky or anything, just curious about that part.)
Brendan Gawlowski
2:05
With the Pirates, we'd put the grade we think they're eventually going to be; here we're doing it more from an asset value standpoint.
2:06
So, if I thought Johnny Complex was going to be a 55, I'd turn in a 55. But that same player here is probably a 40+ FV
Francisco
2:06
Do you think either Jonah Tong or Luis Morales have ace potential or are they middle of the lineup guys?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:06
Morales does. Tong could burn very brightly but I don't think I'd go that high.
Mitch
2:06
Hey Brendan, do teams use internal projections systems to "project" how prospects would do in the majors? If so, does it influence their decision making at all?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:07
Yes. They all (well, most, anyway) have internal projections and monitor what third parties are projecting as well.
Sirras
2:07
Who is the prospect you've most changed your opinion on after seeing them in person?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:09
Ralphy Velasquez
Opifijikl
2:09
Do you think that as soon as a prospect is projected to perform slightly better than a replacement level player at the MLB level they should be called up if there is a roster opening?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:10
No. Tons of guys project to add value now. Konnor Griffin would have last summer in some kind of bench role but you wouldn't ever bring him up to pinch run and cover short after you pinch hit for Triolo, ya know?
Scioscia
2:10
You were already among the more generous reviewers of the angels farm system this go around, will the performances of Ramirez, Aldegheri, and Victor at the WBC help the perception of it across the board?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:10
I don't think it should.
NFP
2:11
do you have a rough key of the A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 etc. scale? it seems semi common, but I can't find a definition for each of the grades

for that matter, what's the difference between a 45 and a 40+ and a 50 and a 45+?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:12
It can vary a little bit, especially since some teams will use A1 and A2 and others will just have an A; same with D1/2 and just D. Roughly, your A's are 70's and 80's, your B's are anything from a 50 to a 60 depending on your scale, your C's are 40's and 45's. D is depth/replacement/up-down depending on how you do it.
2:13
Here, the 40+ and 45+ are usually meant to indicate upside within a tier. A way of further separating the best 40's and 45's, etc.
Dodgers Blue
2:13
What was your earlier opinion on Mike Burrows and has it changed at all over the last year or so?  Looks like a great pick from an 11th round draft slot!  What are some of the pro's and con's the Astros can expect from him?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:14
I've liked him dating all the way back to his AFL stint in 2021... If memory serves, we gave him a pretty good grade on the '22 Pirates list, too. The pro is that he could be a mid-rotation starter. The cons are that his slider is just okay and that his change is a boom/bust pitch... It'll miss a lot of bats but when it hangs, they bang.
Wallyworld
2:15
Love the Mets writeup.  Do we think AJ Ewing has PCA-lite type skills?  Maybe little less power/little more speed?  His profile seems exciting to me
Brendan Gawlowski
2:15
I have him and Nelson Rada together in my head.
Crabcakes
2:15
Do you think amateur scouting has gotten significantly better in the last decade?  Seems like I don't hear nearly as often anymore about some guy who was a 17th round pick making good in the majors.  Maybe the ease of sharing video and quantitative data means fewer guys slip through the cracks?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:16
Did you see all the pitchers on the Mets list?
Broadly, everybody is getting better at everything. Dev, scouting, etc. There are still opportunities all over the place.
Tacoby Bellsbury
2:17
What voices formerly of the public space do you most miss seeing?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:17
KG. Him, and more specifically his podcast with Jason Parks, was my inspiration for going this direction in life.
Francisco
2:17
Does Moises Ballesteros get enough playing time to be relevant this season?  What do you think the future holds for him?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:18
I think so, but I don't know exactly how they'll deploy him. Imagine they want to get the bat in the lineup soon, though. He performed last year against a ridiculous run of good pitchers.
Sirras
2:18
Is Ralphy Velasquez going to become a shorthand here at FG? (For any number of things)
Brendan Gawlowski
2:18
Not to be confused with Richy Valdez, who I'm afraid seems to have been typecast.
Mario
2:18
Ralphy V -- 1b only or can he go to corner OF?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:19
It's worth a try in left. If it doesn't work it's not going to be from lack of effort.
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