Return toFanGraphs
Brendan Gawlowski Prospects Chat: 7/28/26
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page
This chat is available to members only. Please log in to participate.
Brendan Gawlowski
2:36
Measurable power is up, contact numbers are okay in the aggregate, a little on the low side for a DSL repeater. Similar lane for now, might update him more thoroughly in the offseason, would help if I can see him in instructs
hyphenkee
2:37
How real is Esmerlyn Valdez? Not a 186 wrc+ with historic power (though, a fan can dream), but could he be a legit 30 homer guy moving forward?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:39
I don't think he's necessarily Aquino but I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, as it's really hard to pull of this kind of line with all the swing and miss. Power over hit w/30 homers seems like a reasonable ceiling.
Nickname (required)
2:40
River Ryan is almost 28. Why is he getting so much prospect love? If he were on any other team, he'd be a somewhat interesting non-prospect but everyone  trips over themselves when the Rays or Dodgers have a guy in the minors
Brendan Gawlowski
2:40
Nickname (required) is almost 28. Why is he getting so much chat love? If he were on any other website, he'd be a somewhat interesting non-prospect but everyone  trips over themselves to answer his questions here
Reece Rabin
2:41
Is Scott Bandura going to be playing games in the outfield in September for the Giants? Question comes from a Princeton Tiger college teammate of his
Brendan Gawlowski
2:42
It's in play, he's tracking well this year. I'm looking forward to seeing him in Tacoma this week. A trade would help here, as it's a crowded outfield and there are plenty of other young guys -- McCray, Cox, even Rodriguez might play a bit out there -- who could get reps as well.
Big Fan
2:42
When you were refreshing the Braves system, did it seem like the pitchers generally haven't shined as much this year?  Maybe it just seems like there hasn't been much to get excited about.
Brendan Gawlowski
2:43
Briggs jumped a good bit, obviously a good sign that they graduated a couple guys, some jumps from the HM section to the main list... It's not the same kind of growth that they got from the hitters, but that's an unfair point for comparison.
warpath
2:44
Do you have any strong thoughts or general philosophy on if and when to move a guy from a starting role to the bullpen? Do you see any value in making that switch earlier/at a lower level for some guys, rather than trying to keep them stretched out?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:45
Depends on the player. In general, I think I'd be letting guys throw longer/deeper into games for dev purposes. Among other things, that might be useful for separating your future starters and relievers earlier in their careers.
2:46
By the time they're in the majors, if they can't throw strikes with multiple pitches or keep traffic off the bases, and don't have a realistic path to doing so, it's time.
Big Fan
2:47
A Braves blogger wrote about the team having pitching depth (https://tinyurl.com/44e2b667).  Would guys like Lucas Braun, Drew Hackenberg and Cedric De Grandpre be pieces that other teams would be interested as the Braves try to bolster their roster for a playoff run?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:48
That caliber of prospect tends to bring back a middle reliever
Phillip Denny
2:48
What if anything do you make of Kade Anderson completely undressing the Tulsa team on Friday? Perfect through 5, 56 pitches, 7 Ks.
Brendan Gawlowski
2:48
Wondering when/if the M's will throttle up the pitch count this year
springer
2:49
Do you think Franklin Arias is too good to be traded for the shortstops available at the deadline?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:49
I would not deal him, no.
For Boston, he is the shortstop available at the deadline
opifijikl
2:49
As a follow-up to the Dombrowski question - I imagine he has a team do a lot of the analysis when he's determining prospects to trade. Is this generally correct? If so, do these people typically bring their same crew when they get a new job? Otherwise I don't know how one can sustain success at such a "in the weeds" skill over several different orgs.
Brendan Gawlowski
2:50
I don't know the man at all but from what I gather he's a creature of habit and has a close circle of long-time scouts and advisors.
So, yes, there's some continuity at play here.
dadbauer
2:50
Do you think its likely that the new CBA lowers controllable years of prospects and are GMs operating with their assumption of what the new CBA will bring?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:51
No, I don't think so. I could see a quicker path to free agency for guys who are old when they debut but I'd be very surprised if we go from six years to five for everyone.
2:52
A jump in the minimum wage seems likely as well
opifijikl
2:53
Why would some low-level red sox catchers get a boost? Is it because you went down to Greenville to give them specifically a closer look (due to catcher value?), or more because the Sox are doing something different with their catchers?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:54
Heyman and especially Pereira are better than where we had them graded.
Big Fan
2:54
To clarify on the drop in power from Alex Lodise and other FSU players, is a drop in EV going from metal to wood bats normal?  If so, how much?
Brendan Gawlowski
2:55
It is normal to lose some pop, I'm not sure what the average is off the top of my head, that's a good question. But last year's FSU draftees were on the high end of the guys I've anecdotally compared wood vs. metal performance
Graham Lewis
2:56
How much concern should I have about Josuar’s -5 degree LA? How do I interpret that
Brendan Gawlowski
2:56
For now it's something to monitor but not be worried about
JayGray007
2:57
Do you like Encarnacion-Strand at all as a post hype guy for Baltimore?  The power seems pretty legit.
Brendan Gawlowski
2:58
In a platoon sort of way, maybe. But the guy is 26 has a 30% K rate in AAA this year, I'd treat his performance in Baltimore as a hot week and just be thankful for it.
springer
3:00
Even if the MLB rotation is full right now, why is Kade Anderson in AA instead of AAA?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:00
Seattle tends not to expose their guys to the PCL. It's not what my instinct would be but who am I to criticize anything about how Seattle develops starting pitching?
(They're very good at it)
Justin Krupp
3:01
I am starting to like the collection of arms the Giants have. Flora, Martinez, Bresnahan, Waechter, Bolemon, Cayama, De La Torre. Do you think there is enough here for a coule mid rotations guys and maybe a #2?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:01
Don't forget Marte. Yes, it's a nice collection, good farm system.
Phillip Denny
3:01
Ben Clemens has talked before about "model blindness" which he described as "Once you make a model, you start thinking that the things it doesn’t capture aren’t real." 1) do you think that's real, 2) do you think teams are aware of that or may succumb to it?
Brendan Gawlowski
3:02
It's very real.
Connecting…