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Brendan Gawlowski Prospects Chat: 3/31/26
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Brendan Gawlowski
2:01
Hello everybody
2:02
Just a little housekeeping to start... I published the Rockies list yesterday, kind of a weird/volatile system, pretty interesting and a little better than I thought it would look going in.
2:03
I covered the Cooper Pratt extension here. It appears y'all are already having a party in the comments there.
Upcoming: Eric is rolling on A's, I've started up on Rangers.
And, most pertinently for this chat... I watched Jonah Tong's start last week in prep for the avalanche.
Let's get to it.
Guest
2:04
Hi Brendan, thanks for doing this! I was excited about the Colt Emerson signing, and figured he'd immediately take over at short--but Seattle now seem to be intimating they want to keep him down for a while. I realize he hasn't had many games at AAA, but it's hard to believe they'd sign him so quickly (when they didn't have to) if they thought he needed further development at Triple A. Any chance this is just lip service, and he'll be up soon?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:05
It's not the typical timing for these kinds of deals but, assuming Crawford is back soon enough, there still isn't an obvious spot for Emerson on the field yet.
Big Sally
2:05
Rece Hinds has hit a ball 119.6mph, showed 98th percentile sprint speed last year, and threw a ball 98 mph from the outfield. One could argue he has 3 "70" tools. Obviously the swing and miss is an issue but he cut his K rate to 25.9% last year at AAA. Thoughts?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:06
The swing and miss is still an issue
Big Sally
2:06
Was the fact that he wasn't pulling fastballs really the whole reason why FG team as a whole was down on Sal Stewart? Couldn't that be a part of his approach? Dude has absolutely raked at every level and shown good ev's and max ev's.
Brendan Gawlowski
2:07
I reject the premise. He was 34th on our list and has a 55 projected hit tool. We love the guy.
John
2:07
I read your report on Sandro Santana last week. Over the winter, he was projected in relief. Do the recent looks change that? With what he's shown lately, what's his upside now?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:08
He's walked over 5/9 throughout his minor-league career and hasn't started in a couple years.
2:09
I think he's a nice pitcher and the trajectory is promising but he's almost certainly a reliever.
Alec
2:09
Overreaction time: Kevin McGonigle is already the ___-best hitter in Detroit's lineup. Third?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:10
For this year? That seems about right. Carpenter is a weird one to rank with the extreme splits.
Guest
2:10
Is AJ Ewing the future cf for Mets or more a 4th or 5th of?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:11
I think it's going to be very hard for him to get in the lineup for a team with New York's resources.
josh
2:11
Hi Brendan! Looking at the Rockies list prompted two questions about fielding projections. 1.) It was mentioned Ethan Holliday could stick at short but he was listed as a 3B, so my question is how good/how much improvement at SS would he have to show to change that projection from 3B to SS? is just being a 50ish at SS enough? and 2.) Inspired by Condon being listed as a LF, What goes in to projecting a guy for one corner OF over the other? Thanks, I'll hang up & listen
Brendan Gawlowski
2:14
Good questions... For Holliday, the body and actions looked great this spring, his odds of staying there are up relative to my look last summer. I still think it's more likely than not that he grows off the position but I'm less convinced of that by the day. Part of the equation, at the end of the day, will be contextual. If he's a 50, that's enough to play SS in most organizations but theoretically he could still need to slide if there's a 60 at the big league level.
2:15
Condon -- usually arm strength is the big separator. Sometimes contextual factors overwhelm that. In Pittsburgh, for example, where left and left center are huge it's important to have a really athletic defender in left.
Eduardo
2:15
José Fernández got the call in AZ. Could he overtake Arenado?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:15
Not for a while
Kate
2:15
What are the odds Zach Cole hits enough to be not just a solid platoon guy, but an everyday guy?  Gotta be less than 5% right?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:16
I'm skeptical, I don't think he sees the ball well at all.
JK
2:17
I am personally a big fan of abolishing drafts and having all players as free agents, and I believe you are too. Would you have any advantages given to bad teams in this situation? Cap on signing bonuses, number of players allowed to be signed, etc.
Brendan Gawlowski
2:18
There'd be a limit on roster sizes... I'm open to getting creative and giving teams at the bottom of the standings an earlier window to sign people or something like that. I haven't thought about it a ton, it's a pipe dream in any case.
5 Run Homer
2:18
It's weird that Sal Stewart's full name is just Sal
Brendan Gawlowski
2:18
It's weirder that your name is 5 Run Homer
clydethedog
2:18
What numbers would Ethan Holliday need to post in order for red flags to subside? If he can stick at short is it just cutting down on K's?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:19
I'm less concerned about the numbers at this point, I want to see how/if the swing changes.
If he shortens up and then still strikes out a ton, we may have a problem
2:20
We all need to mentally prepare ourselves for the speed bump with him, I'm pretty sure it's coming at some point. I don't think anything changes until then, and we'll see how things go when it comes.
drplantwrench
2:20
do the angels have any reasonable catching prospects? if logan continues to look bad, what do they do??
Brendan Gawlowski
2:21
A couple of very good defenders in Quintero and Flores. I was going to say that neither is super close, but we are talking about the Angels
Go Mariners!
2:21
Laz Montes is such an intriguing prospect and you project him as a middle of the order but flawed bat. What are you going to be watching to see if he can develop into that projection? K Rate? What else?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:21
Swing and miss in the zone.
2:22
Also curious to see if he shortens his move. He has a huge start to his swing and he's not a guy who needs to do that to generate big pop.
Tacoby Bellsbury
2:22
A la Kerry Carpenter, who are some dudes with massive splits who we should be watching out for as platoon standouts in the coming years?
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