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FanGraphs 2026 Top 100 Prospects Chat
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Eric A Longenhagen
1:02
Hello everyone, hope you had a nice weekend and enjoyed some combo of college baseball, the Olympics, and NBA All Star stuff (or non-sports delights) as I certainly did.
1:03
The top 100 was published today! Brendan and I are here to talk about it with you, as well as whatever else might be on your mind.
It can be procedural stuff, questions specific to players, your dynasty roster, whatever. We know a lot of you may be stopping by for the first time today because the Top 100 list brought you here. Thanks for coming, please look around and make yourself at home.
Guest
1:05
how close is Jojo Parker to being on the list?
Brendan Gawlowski
1:05
Parker was very close, Eric and I went back and forth on it while I was doing the Toronto list. At the end of the day, we didn't have anything new on him to bump him from the post-draft updates. Good reminder that the gap between player 90 and player 135 is tiny.
Eric A Longenhagen
1:05
Parker's good, probably a little less projectable than most of the same-age infielders who made the list.
1:06
And the guys for whom that's not true (Level, off hand) they have a pro track record
Oaktown Blues
1:07
Is it safe to say that Griffin would go #1 in a 2024 re-draft, even though he hasn't shown what he can do in the majors like Kurtz, Burns, and Yesavage have?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:07
Yes. I think the impact of a do-everything up-the-middle player like that over a long period of time demands prioritization over the rest of that group, though they're great. It was justifiable Griffin went where he did at the time (I thought so, anyway) given the Schrödinger's Shortstop piece of it, but Pittsburgh had a winning lotto ticket here, this is Trout/Tony Sanchez spiritual cleansing.
Go mets
1:08
how close was jonathan santucci to making the list? he a pick to click this year?
Brendan Gawlowski
1:08
Another who was very close -- one of the very last cuts.
Like the changes he's made with his delivery, want to see a better third pitch
Eric A Longenhagen
1:09
Toward the end of the work, we had a handful of guys firmly on the bubble who we talked through and had mix of yes and no for inclusion, he was one of them.
Wei-En Lin was another. Winston Santos
RAY from Tampa
1:10
Thoughts on TJ NIcohls and Ty Johnson 45's ???
Eric A Longenhagen
1:10
We like them both. Johnson's slider has performed like an elite pitch. Mechanically and athletically, he looks like a reliever to us, and he's only working with two pitches. Nichols was in the mix for the list, way more strikes than I projected coming out of U of A. Secondary stuff just a little light compared to the group we included
Brendan Gawlowski
1:11
Nichols another who was on the bubble until near the end.
Dynasty Dispersal Draft
1:12
In BG's article from the other day, he joked about how the Pirates didn't trade Skenes for his bad eval guy Richy Valdez. But if you put such a glowing grade on a guy like that on the complex, wouldn't the scouting department take notice and send a crosschecker?
Brendan Gawlowski
1:12
Even though B2 is roughly equivalent to our 50, the way scouting departments usually work winds up meaning that while we only have 70 B2's or so here, a team might have 250+ players with that grade. So, Valdez was definitely flagged, but it didn't set off a mad scramble or anything
Guest
1:13
How close were Royals pitchers Kendry Chourio (sp?) and David Shielfds?
Brendan Gawlowski
1:13
Chourio we were split on, one of us wanted him on, the other made a compelling case to pump the brakes. Shields we like but we need to see a guy throwing 90 make this work against better hitters before we 50 him.
Eric A Longenhagen
1:15
I was the one who said no. 6ft 170 pound tenage with violent mechanics and sketchy fastball angle/movement? Been here too many times.
Scott
1:14
On the team lists, should we interpret the byline as designating who writes the blurbs based on scouting evaluations collected from everyone? Or does it indicate who has done the lion’s share of scouting on that particular team? More generally, how do you guys structure your collaboration?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:14
The real answer is I/we are still feeling our way through how to do this with multiple people again. The person's byline on a list is who wrote basically all of it. There might be situations where I wrote a blurb for the Yankees list and that guy gets traded to a team whose list Brendan wrote, and how/whether we indicate to readers that's the case might evolve. If one of us wrote a list individually, the other has at least cross checked all the 40+ guys
Karl Hungus
1:15
Who is the best prospect you guys have ever seen live?
Brendan Gawlowski
1:15
Bobby Witt was incredible
Eric A Longenhagen
1:16
the sound of the ball off Acuna's bat scared some old people I was sitting next to at a Fall League game.
1:17
I've saw Ohtani a bunch and Judge for six weeks in the AFL
Brendan Gawlowski
1:18
There's a legendary report in PIT's system about Acuna where the scout basically stopped writing his report and instead started gushing about the guy. "I would buy a ticket to watch him play" is not standard scouting vernacular but it got the point across...
GA Blood
1:18
Spencer Jones seems to be the poster child for hit tool risk suppressing a player's long-term outlook. What elevates Ethan Holliday over that type of profile?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:18
Only the hope that his contact rate was *that bad* because it was a small sample. It was 73% on the showcase circuit if I recall (which is 45-grade big league contact rate if it holds up).
Efrim
1:20
Surprised that Cam Caminiti will remain a 45+(guessing). What is keeping him from a 50 FV grade and Top 100.
Brendan Gawlowski
1:21
Lot of Caminiti questions. Another who was close. Want to see a more consistent change and want to see him hold his stuff in longer outings.
It's a lot easier to buy a guy's stuff if he's able to do it over 5-6 innings than 3-4. Not a Caminiti comment specifically, that applies everywhere.
Matt
1:22
What does AJ Ewing need to do to make the top-100 next year?
Eric A Longenhagen
1:22
We like Ewing, smaller, speedy guy who makes contact and plays good defense. Sal Frelick type? Most of the CFs who I'd consider to be 50s across any kind of multi-year window are hitting for some power.
Brendan Gawlowski
1:23
Nelson Rada falls in this bucket too.
Eric A Longenhagen
1:23
And Enrique Bradfield
45
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