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Brendan Gawlowski Prospects Chat: 3/10/26
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Brendan Gawlowski
3:03
I always liked running into him at the field... We'll probably try to not do that going forward, though.
Francisco
3:03
Will Beavers or Mayo end up a more relevant player?  It seems Mayo should have a few months at 3b. not sure if Beavers plays everyday.
Brendan Gawlowski
3:04
Baltimore's outfield situation complicates the path for Beavers a little but i expect him to be productive in some capacity right away. Mayo... Jury's out.
5 Run Homer
3:04
Who would you rather have if you were starting a team from scratch: Jackson Chourio or Konnor Griffin? I know Griffin might be a generational prospect but Chourio’s done it in the big leagues and he’s just 22. How do you weight guys like these against each other
Brendan Gawlowski
3:06
I generally lean toward bird in the hand on questions like this.  Griffin is in the Wander Franco (heh) category though where you could justify making an exception
Guest
3:06
Not a prospect but will Julio Rodriguez hit another level and maintain?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:07
It's in there. Gut is that this is who he is (which is fantastic, maybe a Hall of Famer, criminy) but I wouldn't be shocked by a 9-WAR season either.
Guest
3:08
You seem very convinced that Tong is going to break.
Brendan Gawlowski
3:08
I'm not convinced, but pitchers in general often do, and high effort/smaller guys are not the safest bets in the long run. Doesn't mean he will, definitely hope he doesn't.
Tom Ricketts
3:09
Hey Brendan, who’s the best pitching prospect you’ve ever seen in person? What was it like?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:09
Eury Perez and it was absurd. A guy that big with so much body control, so much present stuff, and the easiest 99 in the world. Not fair.
3:10
I saw him in Birmingham, he and the Barons starter matched zeroes for three innings and they played it in like 25 minutes.
Erick
3:11
the shape on painter's fastball appears to not have returned yet even after the phillies said he worked to return to his previous arm slot this offseason. does this worry you?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:11
A little bit, in that it would be better if the other thing happened.
Stu
3:12
Hello, Brendan! Thanks for the chat. To what extent did you (or, from what you've heard, other scouts and orgs) take into account whether a player has strong off-field factors (extreme religion, politics, aggression issues)?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:13
Off field stuff can be a factor. Has to be pretty extreme for it to make much of a difference in how they're evaluated.
Erick
3:13
follow up to the painter question, if you knew with certainty the fastball shape was not returning, would painter be a 50?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:14
Eh, I think the rest of the package is still really good. If you also could tell me with certainty that he holds up physically and keeps his velo I'd probably stick with it.
First to PGH
3:14
Esmerlyn, Termarr or Konnor?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:15
No inside info but I'd guess reverse order
Prospectus
3:15
Along those lines, I have seen a groundswell of buzz for another non-top100er - Edward Florentino.  Any chance he has a similar trajectory?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:16
Florentino was on the list to be fair. I would be surprised if he's the top guy next year.
Guest
3:17
Dunno, seems like Tong has just somehow rubbed you the wrong way as a prospect. I just read the Braves writeup and it's got me comparing Tong and Fuentes. Both had meteoric rises last year that ended with getting hit around in the bigs. Similar sized guys. Tong was actually better at every level, though he is older. For Fuentes, the writeup said not to worry about his MLB performance; but I remember you saying in one of your chats that for Tong, maybe his MLB performance is just reflective of his ability. I know you don't like his breaking ball. There just seems to be a persistent narrative that he won't last long.
Brendan Gawlowski
3:18
I get SO MANY Tong questions every week. I think it's less that he rubs me the wrong way than it is that you/others were rubbed the wrong way by something I/we wrote.
3:19
He was our 58th guy. That's really good. We really like him. I really like him. I think there are a few risks in the profile. Which is why he ranks 58th and not 11th.
Mr. Burrito
3:21
Is AI going to help prospect evaluation in any meaningful way? If so, how?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:23
A lot of folks on baseball twitter are already showing their work on how LLM tools are helping them, so... yes? It's not going to make a perfect prospect list but LLM's might help organize data in a way that helps tech novices like myself draw different, and hopefully better, conclusions that I might have before.
My name
3:23
How close of an eye do you keep on college ball this time of year (obviously a lot of work going on for you)? Are there any players notably rising or falling up the draft board right now?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:24
Less than I'd like, one sneaky value add to getting lists done earlier next year will be having more time for college stuff before the pros hit their stride. So far Flora is the pitcher who's lit me up most.
Lord Thunder
3:25
Is there a player on the horizon in the NPB who could generate Sasaki or Yamamoto buzz by coming over?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:25
Speaking of things I wish I had time for... paying closer attention to Japan and Korea. If you missed it, Eric and James put together an international list earlier this winter.
Big Fan
3:26
If John Gil maintains his range at SS, his profile reads like a guy who needs continued reps, but doesn't need to make any fundamental changes.  Given the way the Braves can speed their prospects through the minors, could Gil be in play for the MLB team next year?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:26
The body transformation throws so much up in the air. A lot of it in a good way but 'range at shortstop' is more of a concern than I had before.
Opifijikl
3:27
What tools or pages on FG do you frequent most often? Also, what do you think are some underappreciated or underutilized pieces? Last year Mr. Becker suggested looking at the postseason odds daily late in the year, and that was a fantastic suggestion. Now I’m hungry for more!
Brendan Gawlowski
3:27
I'm probably the wrong guy to ask but I reference old lists, roster resource, and our splits all the time. That's probably not revelatory
dave
3:28
The Braves media guide doesn't list any pro scouts. Do you know if that's accurate? It seems that with such a week system, they could've used alternative means of acquiring talent-indy and foreign leagues, trades involving DSL/FCL/ACL, that they currently ignore
Brendan Gawlowski
3:28
They cut their pro department a few years ago. Hopefully they revive it.
Alex
3:29
Third straight chat with this discussion point, but I agree with you on eliminating the draft.  Isn't the answer to the Dodgers or another team hoarding all of the prospects the roster limits/shrinking of the minors that already occurred?  Kids aren't going to sign with a team that has nowhere for them to play if last year's signees are blocking all of the opportunities.
Brendan Gawlowski
3:30
Right.. I think you can only accumulate so much depth.
Aldo Rayne
3:30
Keyner battle: Who ya got between Benitez and Martinez and por que?
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