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Eric Longenhagen Prospect Chat
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MM
12:32
Funkhouser, Wentz or Medina longterm?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:32
Wentz, Medina, Funk
The Average Sports Fan
12:32
What should people expect from Ryan McMahon?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:33
Power, to all fields. Sketchy defense at 2B if he's asked to play there often. He'll be goofy at Coors. Still somewhat skeptical about how much he'll hit but he's done a ton of that this year.
Luzinski's Sweaty Gooch
12:37
Are there rules to the kind of contact scouts can have with draft-eligible players? I'm curious if a scout can take a prospect to (as just one example) a batting cage to see if the prospect can make a technical adjustment on the fly
Eric A Longenhagen
12:39
Varies scout to scout, player to player, but some of the relationships are quite personal. Building a relationship with the player and his family is often a high priority for scouts especially if they like the player. Texting, etc. I've seen players come home after being drafted and hang with scouts from teams who didn't draft them because they had built friendships with those scouts.
Benjamin
12:39
In one of your daily prospect notes you talked about Akil Baddoo and if he shows more power he is a potential top 100.
Eric A Longenhagen
12:41
Well, yeah. He's a 70 runner who plays CF. If that guy starts hitting and hitting for power in games then he's a very good prospect. Baddoo is just 18 and is doing that, in a small sample.
Clever Name
12:41
Is there a schedule/process for tool grade updates on a player page?  Are they updated during a career or will Bo Bichette always be a 20/40 hit tool?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:42
They'll be updated based on the offseason lists.
Colby
12:42
Astros being too aggressive with Forrest Whitley or was the promotion warranted?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:43
He's a stud, I think it's fine.
Q-Ball
12:45
Are the new IFA pool rules, which more or less equalize what every club gets to spend, driving any changes in how much clubs invest in scouting and development in the DR and other places?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:47
It means that acquiring slots from other clubs is more valuable than it previously was, even if clubs are only speculating that they might be able to sign another player or two during the signing period. Not sure how much it's impacting staffing or if it will.
Shawn
12:47
Who is the prospect who has helped himself the most this year to go from nothing to legit?  My vote Yordan Alvarez.
Eric A Longenhagen
12:49
That's a good one. Don't think he was nothing (I think I picked him to break out on the Astors list? I forget) but went from a low-level 1B-only guy who largely hadn't been seen, to the beast he's been this year.
Keefths
12:49
any thoughts on Moncada's early struggles ? Seems like it might take 1-2 years to settle in
Eric A Longenhagen
12:49
Agreed, and that's fine.
sm
12:50
What do you see for Kyle Cody?  Rangers just bumped him up to High A and he shoved last night.
Eric A Longenhagen
12:53
Has long had big stuff but terrible control. Many more strikes this year. Don't think anything different, mechanically, and I still think he's more likely to be a reliever than starter, but stock is certainly up.
Keefths
12:54
Austin Hays is crushing AA but you don't seem to be fully aboard the Hays train ... explanation ?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:58
Just apprehensive about how aggressive he is. I don't think baseball players have to walk at an 8% clip or better to be good big leaguers but Hays swings indiscriminately and 43 great games at Double-A with a .365 BABIP just hasn't swayed me quite yet. He has big league physical tools and, in the offseason, when these players get a more thorough audit, that could change.
TJ
12:59
MacKenzie Gore should have been the #1 pick, tell me why I'm wrong.
Eric A Longenhagen
12:59
You make literally no argument.
Watch this: I should be president, tell me why I'm wrong.
Trey Ball
1:01
You mentioned Jorge Guzman in your AL East updated prospect lists. Can you expand on him a little bit? Is he a reliever in the future?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:02
Yeah, that's the question right now. He's certainly throwing enough strikes to start right now.
Bleh
1:02
Which fangraphs writer has the highest name grade (20-80)?

Cistulli, Longenhagen, Sawchik?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:04
They're all 40-45s. My name is a pain in the ass to spell over the phone and I've had several issues with things like insurance or important reservations because there are so many opportunities to misspell it.
Go Giants
1:05
What do you think of Jacob Gonzalez? Did you see him in the AZL? Do you think the 2nd round selection is worth it? Thank you!
Eric A Longenhagen
1:07
I was not on him as a 2nd rounder pre-draft. Plus raw power right now and the body seems likely to grow into more. Most scouts considered him a 1B prospect and he was not good, defensively, when I saw him during the spring. The 1B profile combined with the swing and miss I saw against competition in AZ as well as against elite pitching during the previous summer was concerning to me. But he's hitting very well in the AZL right now.
Erix
1:07
Hey Eric. How are you doing?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:08
Showcase travel and schedule finally got to me and I'm nursing a cold. otherwise I'm pretty good and I wish the same for those of you in Chat. Also, I'm starting to get excited about the stretch run at the big league level.
Jason
1:09
Just curious what you see in Jose De Leon. I see an average fastball that is homer prone, a plus change,and a meh slider/cutter. That sounds solid,but add in the lack of innings and the injuries and the stock really falls for me. I figure you must be high on him still figuring he is still in your top 10 for a Rays system you said has 7 potential top 100 guys.
Eric A Longenhagen
1:12
I'm with you, there are things to be concerned about. I wrote as much on the Dodgers and Rays lists last year. My opinion on DeLeon hasn't changed, which is why it feels weird right now that the DeLeon vibe in Chat has gone from last year's 'you're low on DeLeon' to 'you're high on DeLeon'
Matt D
1:12
How good could Alec Hansen potentially be?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:13
I saw his best collegiate start and though he had #2/3 starter stuff that day.
Reggie
1:14
Interesting Giants prospects in the AZL outside of the new draftees and Camilo Doval?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:14
Layer, Rincones, Genoves
Greg
1:14
A lot of young Braves guys putting up good numbers in Danville. Any familiarity with Jean Carlos Encarnacion, Raysheandell Michael, or William Contreras?
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