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Brendan Gawlowski Prospects Chat: 3/10/26
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Big Fan
2:19
The Braves have now lost Joey Wentz too.  I know both have development left, but how soon could Ritchie and Fuentes be ready to contribute?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:20
Braves sources were very excited about how Fuentes has looked this spring. My instinct is Ritchie is ahead but neither are far away. I expect they'll both make starts.
Sonny
2:20
Pitchers have moved max in game velo at a faster rate than hitters have raised in-game Max EV. Who is the hitter Ben Joyce who will pop a 125?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:20
Oneil. Dude got jacked this winter.
Lord Thunder
2:20
If and when Leodalis De Vries becomes a big leaguer, what position is he most likely to primarily play?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:21
I'll say short but the "fit" part of the equation is a little murky. I don't love Wilson at short but teams in the recent past have been a little reluctant to move a (sort of) established guy for a prospect.
Big Fan
2:22
What can you tell us about the dev strengths and weaknesses in the Braves organization?  It seems like they've done well with pitching development, but I don't hear them mentioned with the likes of the Guardians or Dodgers.
Brendan Gawlowski
2:24
I didn't come away from that list thinking that they have a standout ability. Which doesn't mean that they don't do some things well, they seem to have a new big leaguer every year, which counts for something... But there wasn't some super obvious edge like Milwaukee's international scouting group, or Tampa's pro acquisition, or Toronto's strength and conditioning.
btownfritz
2:24
Any thoughts on Kade Anderson's first couple spring outings?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:24
Looks good, looks like a quick moving pitching prospect.
Meatloaf
2:25
One of FanGraphs' scout sources IDed Jackson Lovich as a pick to click this year, but he's not on most major publications' Yankee prospect rankings and he was selected near the end of last year's draft. What might have made him stand out to this scout in particular while not standing out to most publications?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:25
A live look probably.
Your Name
2:27
Do you think being around a bunch of elite hitters for a few weeks could help Oneil Cruz?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:27
No.
Big Fan
2:28
It seems like the Braves draft and IFA strategy has changed in recent years.  In the draft, they were college-heavy in 2018-2019, then pivoted towards arms, before prioritizing position players last year.  On the international front, last year they seemed to spread their bonus pool around more, rather than go big on 1-2 guys.  Is there anything we can read into the seeming changes in strategy over the years?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:28
I'm gonna nitpick the premise -- the Braves last IFA class was still pretty top heavy. Tornes and Reyes took most of it.
EccentricATLFan
2:29
Also, probably fair to say at this point that the Braves really like their pitchers adding splitters and working a ton with their breaking balls (especially given tendencies under AA of "take the breaking ball and start throwing it harder" with quite a few pitchers).  How do you generally feel about their dev team's ability to bring about command/control improvements?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:30
They've gotten a couple guys to throw harder too. Baumann and Ritchie are both interesting in that regard because, for different reasons, neither seemed all that likely to do it (or at least in Ritchie's case you might have expected it to come earlier than it did).
As for the last question: not great. They take a bunch of guys with good command/control already, seems like the questionable strike throwers mostly stay that way.
Mario
2:31
do you know what it was about Gavin Lux that led to a 60/70 power scouting report, that we might watch out for with current prospects?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:32
This question is in here every week. Short answer is that scouts/evaluators are trying to predict the future and sometimes they get it wrong.
Inspector Houlihan
2:32
Gawlowski!  I've seen a lot of gumshoes in my day, but you're out of control!  Now you've got yourself sideways with that double-crossing dame!!
Brendan Gawlowski
2:32
Hello Inspector
Pedro
2:32
Brendan:  who are some prospects that are a bit under the radar/not hyped and could contribute in 2026 for an American League team?  Thanks in advance
Brendan Gawlowski
2:33
I smell a fantasy baseball question... I'd keep an eye on Khalil Watson
Mario
2:33
how will all these LAD OF Prospects ever make the roster before Teoscar leaves in 2028?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:34
Perhaps they'll make someone else's roster
Geordy
2:34
What about your live looks on Ralphy Velazquez changed your opinion of him?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:35
Pre-game work was really impressive; strangely, approach is sometimes easier to observe in person and his was/is really good; seeing the changes in his body from '23 to '25 as well.
2:36
I saw him when his numbers weren't great so I wasn't necessarily expecting him to light me up, and, well. He did.
MooseCaboose
2:36
Who are you eager to see live this spring?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:37
myself in the sunshine. Want to see Yolfran/Yandel Ricardo out in Surprise... Roldy Brito, of course... The Giants ACL team from last year... Want to see which of the AZ pitchers in the 10-25 range or so has ticked up.
MooseCaboose
2:37
What's the next pitch clock? (Change that leads to a better game experience)
Brendan Gawlowski
2:38
Good article idea
Mike Lommler
2:38
What sort of stuff do orgs do to try to improve command? Do they have drills to try to improve proprioception, etc.?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:39
Various things to measure how often a pitcher can hit a particular spot. If you walk on the backfields you can see the old 'string strike zone' or the 'nine ball zone' thing.
2:40
To actually bring about a change, you might need to tweak a delivery. Reps help too.
Crashed Scion
2:41
re: Lux, didn't his breakout coincide with the juiced ball year in 2019?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:41
Slug jumped from .362 to .514 from 2017 to 2018. Probably that year? Tiny bit before my time.
bOb
2:42
With the MLB draft having so many rounds, do teams generally take the best available player or are they drafting a specific position, etc...?
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