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Brendan Gawlowski Prospects Chat: 6/16/26
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Brendan Gawlowski
3:01
I hope that answers the question, follow up if you have more
Woody1937
3:01
Would it be worthwhile for a team to hire a handful of PIs to follow around the Rays pro scouts hoping to map out players of interest to the org?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:01
I'd rather they just hire scouts first
thaalderman
3:03
Caleb Bonemer for Ryan Sloan straight up. Who says no?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:03
Both but I like Sloan more if that's what you're getting at
Beer:30
3:04
To the 2nd part of my question, will 2.5 years of Detmers return more than a Skubal rental? Or does short-term elite talent trump all?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:04
I think it'd be pretty similar. One top 100 guy, a couple interesting pieces after that sounds right
scottsjunk1981
3:04
I'm curious how you understand a player who excels as a rookie but never again matches that level of production. Do you typically dismiss that initial run of success as simple randomness? Or do you buy that being the a decent approximation of the player's temporary true-talent, but then the league adjusted and the player failed to counter-adjust?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:05
All things are possible here.
Willie Bloomquist just got hot
3:06
Michael Toglia stopped getting fastballs
Karl Spooner got hurt
apeloton
3:07
How much time do you spend looking at graduated prospects and comparing their production to their projections? Love Eric’s how’s my driving pieces but curious how much that’s just an end of year thing vs a constant process. Thanks!
Brendan Gawlowski
3:07
A ton
Constantly comparing what I wrote and what has played out
And not just the graduates
3:08
For example, I liked Alex Lodise and had him pretty high up on the Braves list
He's been just okay in A-ball
3:09
there was real hit tool risk, and so I'm seeing that part... but also he doesn't have as much present raw power as I thought he did, either.
3:10
A miss and a learning experience
Eminor3rd
3:11
I'm a huge NPB fan; I subscribe to a streaming service and watch a ton of games and have for 7-8 years. Despite this it's mildly embarrassing how often I'm wrong about which guys will crush MLB and which will bust. As I'm watching pitchers/hitters and building my opinions, are there any things or classes of things I can try to watch that will give me actual insight into the challenges of making the jump to MLB?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:11
The cultural transition is a massive variable here, and one we don't have much insight into
3:12
Puts a ceiling on how good even the best teams/evaluators can be at making those predictions.
Phillip Denny
3:13
How can you tell when a pitcher has two different grips (i.e. Roki's splitter) versus elite manipulation of the same grip (i.e. Yamamoto's splitter)?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:13
Freeze frames or talking to sources. Sometimes you get a bullpen where you can just about walk up next to the guy as he warms up and you may be able to see it in real time.
Raysfan42069
3:15
Do you think the Brewers lab could take Ryne Nelson, instantly give him two secondaries and make him a stud?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:16
That seems ambitious, but I kinda wonder if he could pick up a split...
tdmoc
3:16
Brandon Young real or no real?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:16
Running hot
Phillip Denny
3:16
Should have clarified on the cut-fastball question - I don't mean cutters specifically, but more the Justin Steele/Shohei/Ryan Feltner version where it's still a 4S but with perceived or actual cut.
Brendan Gawlowski
3:17
Cut and carry is a desirable fastball shape, and teams target/try to develop it, but I think that's been the case for awhile now.
3:18
You could be on to something, maybe this is manifesting in a way I'm not quite perceiving
nugget
3:18
Dylan dreiling and Hector Rodriguez Are both having decent seasons.. Are they platoon guys or regulars at some point?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:18
Platoon for me
K’d Cavalli
3:18
How can fielding so mis-judged from minors to majors? Thinking Luis Garcia Jr a few years ago getting a 55 field (as a SS!)  couldn’t stick at 2nd and looks poor at first
Brendan Gawlowski
3:18
Like anything else, guys can improve or regress in unexpected ways.
3:19
On the public side, fielding is tougher to evaluate than hitting or pitching
We just don't have the camera angles
3:20
I can see that Brendan Jones is fast enough to play center, but I have to make an educated guess about the reads/routes
Phillip Denny
3:20
If expansion happens, would there be both a a 40 man draft as well as a minor league draft? Like some version of a R5 but only for the two expansion teams?
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