Eric Longenhagen Prospects Chat
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Eric A Longenhagen
12:16
Hey, chatters. We'll get underway in 10 minutes, or so. Get your questions in.
12:27
Okay, good morning everyone. Thanks for your patience. Quicker chat today due to a vet visit.
liljebbie10
12:27
Do you think Seth Hernandez makes it to AA by the end of the year? Do you think he could debut by the end of next year? Is his upside Bubba Chandler but throws strikes more consistently?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:29
I think they'll make him sustain success with Greensboro before promoting him, but I do think the end of next year (late enough for him to retain rookie eligibility in 2028) is possible. Don't give up on Bubba throwing strikes yet, he's too young to be this impatient and conclude he won't.
dansanchez86
12:29
Joseph Dzierwa real?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:30
To an extent. I think his ceiling is limited by his breaking ball quality. I don't think he's an ace or anything like that, but lefties with good changeups and command tend to be nice rotation pieces.
philly
12:31
I’m a prospect guy living in PA. How should I maximize the AllStar game coming to town? Ticket to the Futures Game, sure. But is it open way early for batting practice? Is that worth it? And how about the draft. Looks like it might be free, but also pretty boring. And will I still be able to make fun of face painted yahoos at the NFL draft?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:33
The Futures Game tends to have open gates for BP, I'm sure there will be gate opening info if you end up buying tickets. BP and infield are sometimes the most important part of the day for me. I can say, for me, the draft is like a 10-hour adrenaline rush from getting out a final mock right before they start to writing a recap into the wee hours of the morning.
ED44
12:33
Any encouraging signs for Tyson Lewis now that he's back?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:34
62% contact rate isn't good.
Charles Bengal Tiger
12:35
Have you added up how many players will graduate off The Board's Top 100 because of MLB playing time?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:35
The right margin of the Prospect landing page has the playing time counter. Prospects Coverage | FanGraphs Baseball
Currently has a year label error, working on fixing that.
tdmoc
12:36
[skimming Tampa Bay prospects list]

Mike Elias you will pay for your crimes
Eric A Longenhagen
12:36
Not the best track record of triaging players, dating back to Houston
rossredcay
12:37
Any reports of non-elite DSL guys popping so far?  Guys like albert fermin and Diego frontado have been quite good from a stat line perspective so far and came with some pedigree.
Eric A Longenhagen
12:38
Frontado feels like pyrite, smaller guy swinging hard grooved through down-and-in portion of the zone. Fermin has more of "the look".
rossredcay
12:39
Is there enough in luke Stevenson bat to be a top 100 guy?  Or is this more of a meh offensive profile (which i guess could still be top 100 at catcher)?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:40
A little too much K and not enough SLG for a guy in Everett imo. Hitting environment there is crazy and part of why there were false starts on Tyler Locklear etc.
boredlawyer
12:40
As I read through various predictions for the MLB draft, the consistent theme is that the  Angels will take a player who can move quickly through the minors, like Bremner... Like Christian Moore... Like Bachman... Like Ben Joyce... Like Ky Bush... Like Nolan Schanuel etc etc
Eric A Longenhagen
12:40
Their m.o. at the top is what it is but they've made some adjustments with how they spend $$$ later, bunch of good HS arms lately.
aviaries
12:41
Christian Zazueta has had absolutely dominant back-to-back performances in A+ then AA. I don't see many holes in his game from limited viewing and scouting his stat lines, is he a T100 guy soon?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:43
Yep, 93-97 t99, changeup projecting to plus, cutter and sweeper, has added some spin to his breakers which weren't good last year. He's a dude, a Pick to Click who has.
Festivus
12:43
Adrian Peña’s results this year appear less than great. Obviously it’s a small sample. What are you hearing on him? I know he’s very raw but how concerned are you about his rate of growth and potentially not appearing to take a step forward so far?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:44
6-foot-7 18-year-old throwing hard (scraping 99) but with zero mechanical consistency or strikes.
Gotta monitor and value him because the size and arm strength combo is freaky.
Festivus
12:45
Warel Solano didn’t play for a while this year and is off to a slow start. Just SSS and you nothing to be worried about? It sounds like you still really like the tools and you think the bat profiles well in the OF?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:45
Had enough of a hit tool and body projection blend for me to value him like a third rounder even though he's an outfielder now.
Charles Bengal Tiger
12:46
Shunpeita Yamashita apparently had the brace procedure in April. Is he still likely to be among the headliners coming over after the '27 season?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:46
Tough to call him a headliner anymore when he hasn't been healthy for multiple seasons.
It's a bummer, at 20-21 he looked like a stud.
PatEdMartin
12:46
Who were the biggest up arrow high school guys at the combine?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:49
I thought Maniscalco had a great day one, Taj Marchand's swing is super long and funky but holy cow does he have power for such a skinny, projectable guy, Bo Lowrance, Luke Williams, Lucas Narwocki all had good BPs. Condon had a good BP but didn't run great yesterday.
It was a good event, as usual.
Chad Dubick
12:49
Has Charlie Condon proved himself a legit prospect?  Since the day he was drafted he seems to have had many doubters and fallen down prospect rankings.
Eric A Longenhagen
12:52
I was more on the doubter side before the draft. He was swinging harder last Fall and I thought maybe he was turning a corner. Instead 69% contact rate this year, struggling with spin, raw power is plus but the contact quality is limiting how often he can get to it. Not a bad prospect by any means, just not the godlike college hitter transitioning seamlessly to pro ball
scotth855
12:52
Congrats on finishing the reports for 2026, Eric! Gotta be a good feeling.
Eric A Longenhagen
12:53
It is indeed, onto the draft list update and more.
Chase Shiflet
12:53
It’s finally time to talk Rays prospects!! Woohoo! I’ve seen a few outlets note that Gillen’s right/left splits limit his ceiling a bit. I didn’t notice anything about them in your write-up - any concerns from you there?
Eric A Longenhagen
12:54
The power dips but he's still been a 78% contact rate guy against lefties this year, 11% chase.
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