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Eric Longenhagen Prospects Chat
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Telemachus
12:44
Off the top of your head, which teams have the top 3 farm systems right now?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:45
Uhhh I like the Dodgers, Orioles, Cardinals, maybe the Mets are in there
JR
12:45
Who are some of your top candidates to be picked in the Rule 5?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:45
Facundo it
Skip
12:45
Should Minnesota put Emmanuel Rodriguez, Walker Jenkins, and Kaelen Culpepper into their lineup?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:46
Rodriguez should get reps asap, the others can bbq a bit longer
JR
12:46
Did you get any looks at Brennan Davis last season?  Is there any hope still?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:47
I did not see him. Hit well enough in a small sample that he deserves a look when we do Yankees, but I think the realistic + optimistic outcome here is he gets a cup of coffee.
Ozzie
12:48
What can we expect from River Ryan next year?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:48
I just don't know, saw him throw a bullpen in the Fall and I didn't think he looked in great shape. Long time between then and '26, though.
Rangers fan
12:49
Do you know why Kumar pitched one start after being sent down in August then didn’t pitch for a month without any reported injury?? I’m assuming they had him working on something specific but do you know what it was??
Eric A Longenhagen
12:49
No idea. Possible it was just his innings count? 64 IP by far the most he's thrown since 2021.
12:50
I'll add it to my Pablo Torre cosplay to-do list.
James
12:50
Are there any surprises for you among "prospects" left unprotected (so far) by their teams heading into the Rule V draft?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:51
Not really. I think teams have become bolder and bolder with who they leave unprotected and I think the more teams behave that way the less and less likely it is that their unprotected players get picked. I think teams have noticed eachother doing it and that it's augmented their behavior. I'm not really surprised when anyone is left off because it's so hard for any of these guys to stick.
I was more surprised that, say, Shane Smith developed in a way the Brewers hadn't gotten him to than I was surprised he was left unprotected. You know what I mean?
Guest
12:52
Thoughts on Hagen Smith?  AFL All star team, but kinda pedestrian stats through 2 years in the minors?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:52
Still dig it, definitely has big relief risk but I think we're talking about a closer if he ends up there, so a good prospect.
Kevin
12:53
This is maybe a big picture, long-term question, but do you think a salary cap in MLB would push more young internationals to soccer?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:54
Not really. Good question, though. It's worth it for MLB to be thinking about this kind of stuff but I think what sport kids choose to play is more cultural than it is purely aligned with their economic incentives.
Bob
12:54
What’s something you’ve learned in the past year that you think will have a big impact in the next round of team lists?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:56
Aside from more nuanced and mature understanding of my mortality? Probably visual identification of some of the principles arising from the public bat tracking stuff.
Like writing up Andrew Fischer changes with the bat angle stuff in mind
12:57
Because the language around it becomes more culturally uniform as it pervades online discourse
JR
12:57
The Blue Jays have a lot of improved pitchers in their system, but only protected Tiedeman from the Rule 5 draft.  Is there anyone that you were surprised wasn't protected?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:57
Not really, I thought maybe Yondrei Rojas would get protected but he struggled during my AFL looks and if I were scouting for a team I wouldn't recommend off that AFL look that we take him.
Guest
12:57
Not an under the radar guy, but the discourse around Painter at least in Phillies circles is very exhausting. I tend to fall on the end of "young guy who had to improve command already is now working back from TJ" vs "he's a bust". Not saying its not frustrating, but do you feel similarly? I do think the issues with specific pitches is a little anxiety inducing
Eric A Longenhagen
12:59
I wrote a metric ton about Painter at the end of the year here: 2025 End-of-Season Top 100 Prospects Update | FanGraphs Baseball
1:00
In short: his arm angle changed throughout the year. The Phillies are aware of it. It strikes me as more of a young pitcher's struggles coming off TJ and pitching against grown men in Triple-A, than the trajectory of a sudden bust. "discourse" is a generous way of describing what you're probably reading
Rangers fan
1:00
Did Devin Fitz-Gerald show enough to get top 100 consideration, or is he a guy that’s gonna excel at lower levels but has warning signs of struggles ahead?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:01
I like him but he's not so super duper talented as to be in my top 100 mix when he's still so low in the minors
Guest
1:01
Emiliano Teodo - a starter or a reliever, provided he can stay healthy?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:01
RP only
Scotty
1:01
Joey Oakie or Johnny King?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:01
King, but Oakie was throwing way harder at the end of the year than atthe beginning.
Like way, way harder
Warren
1:02
What do you think of Charlie Condon at this point, after he led the Fall League in singles?  Roldy Brito outplayed Ethan Holliday and is slightly younger; could he be the Rockies best prospect?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:04
Condon has real juice but I don't think he has great feel to hit. I'm still pretty skeptical. Brito is a nice prospect but I don't see him as any less risky than Ethan, whose power is on a totally different level.
Jacob from Earth
1:05
Are there any visual cues you look for to better understand if a prospect is being choosy vs. passive?  Maybe another way to ask this: when does called strike % become a problem for prospects?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:05
You can learn some stuff through watching the quality of a guy's takes, from how early in ball flight he seems to properly identify ball or strike...
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