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Ray Murphy
12:01
Happy Friday, Happy 2nd half! Some good questions in the queue, will see if I can get the whole thing cleared in the next 45 or so minutes....
Rick
12:05
Cam Smith was rushed to the majors last year, but have you seen much growth? Have long-term projections changed and what are your expectations? Thank you
Ray Murphy
12:05
There are some recent signs.... making more contact in July (small sample of 45 PA, but ct% stabilizes quickly) and importantly making more hard contact at the same time. Still, even if he makes more contact, the groundball rate is high and that is really a cap on his production. He's still just 23, though, and now has ~750 PA at the big-league level. Look at Jordan Walker for an example of sometimes it takes a while to click, and then when it does, it just blows up. I think Smith still has that kind of potential.
Texasbob
12:08
It seems 1st round picks are getting to the majors faster than ever.  Which of the current 1st round picks are the most ready and likely to get called up first?
Ray Murphy
12:08
I am absolutely the wrong person to answer that question. But if you read our team's draft recap and overlay what they say about the prospects (focus on college hitters) with your knowledge of each team's big-league roster, you can probably spot some opportunities for guys to move fast.

Chris Blessing will have another post-draft piece soon that sorts the draftees into buckets. Always one of my favorite pieces, I end up referring to that a bunch for the rest of the season and the next offseason.
Brew Crew
12:11
Parker Messick looks like a sell high to me. What do you expect from him rest of season?
Ray Murphy
12:11
We've had good coverage of him (see Content tab in Playerlink), including a really good Arsenal Report on him back in May. There's a lot to like there... expecting him to keep up a sub-3.00 ERA is probably too much to ask, but he can definitely settle in around his mid-3's xERA going forward.
Sidd
12:17
Hi Ray!  I know that you're not a prospects guy and will probably tell me to wait until Monday and ask Brent, but I have to decide today, so I'll take whatever you've got.  I am chasing upside for the future.  Which of the following young corner infielders would you rather have: Cubs' Pedro Ramirez or Diamondbacks' Tyler Locklear?
Ray Murphy
12:17
I really liked Locklear in Seattle. That injury he had last year seemed catastrophic, but it seems like he got through it. If so, I think there's a higher ceiling with him than Ramirez. (Take that with grains of salt though... indeed I am not a prospects guru.)
warren Cromartie
12:18
hi Ray, regarding BHQ recent article on innings pitched by starting pitchers: rocker is at 90 vs max3pastyear of 83, roupp 97 vs 109, cantillo 101 vs 119. What would you say is the maximum innings this 2026 for each one of them? Thank you
Ray Murphy
12:18
Would sort of think each of those would be targeted to settle into the 140-150 range, maybe a little more for Cantillo? All slowdown candidates to some degree..
jerry white
12:21
hi Ray, looking for a middleman. Please rank your 2 favorites for ROS among : mead, steer, perdomo, hoerner, b lee? Which I presumed are all better bets than clement, j wilson, and durbin. Thank you
Ray Murphy
12:21
Not sure about your presumption, but it probably depends what you need. Durbin's been quite good for the past ~6 weeks. I love Mead, too... fully believe in what he's done so far, and he should play even more in 2nd half. Perdomo got off to a slow start but has been picking it up, I expect a better 2H there. Some good options here.
Joe
12:23
Hey Ray, thanks for taking my question. For overall offensive production for the rest of the season - who do you prefer: L.Thomas KC or T.Peters CWS? Thanks.
Ray Murphy
12:23
Thomas has been playing a lot, but he just can't hit RHs... it's sad that KC doesn't realize that or can't find someone better. I think his ceiling is capped. I'm not a huge believer in Peters, but his contact-heavy approach can out-earn Thomas, I'd say.
rowland office
12:25
hi Ray, ROS: which one do you like the least among: baz, roupp, rocker, gasser. ROS Which one do you prefer: Kitteridge or Beeter? ROS which one do you prefer: W Castro or R Gonzalez or Ortiz? Thank you,
Ray Murphy
12:25
I like Gasser the least, Beeter over Kittredge if saves are the criteria, and... yuck to all 3 infielders. Maybe I'll take Romy and hope he gets hot like last summer.
Bones
12:25
12 team OBP league I can keep 2 of 3 for next year. Please rank. Sal Stewart Chase Burns Konnor Griffin. Thanks
Ray Murphy
12:25
Love them all, but in a 12-teamer I'd probably keep the two bats and reluctantly throw Burns back.
Joe Shlabotnik
12:28
Hi Ray--I picked up Zach Thornton last start with the intention  of just streaming him...but that good start, plus some commentary I've seen, makes me wonder if I should hold on to him for the moment despite the -.5 rating for his next start vs. the Brewers. Your thoughts on whether there may be something worth checking out here, at least over the course of the next 1-3 starts?
Ray Murphy
12:28
Yeah, he got a 6B rating in his Callup Report back in May, but if you read the report it sounds a little better than that... diverse arsenal, keeps guys off balance etc. I wouldn't get overly attached, but I've got no problem giving him a couple more starts to see if he can keep it up.
Don Dringus
12:29
Better matchup (deep AL only) Englert or Eduardo Rivera? Better for ROS?
Ray Murphy
12:29
I'm not sure Rivera is around for long. Englert's at least been regularly up-and-down from the minors but he's finding his work. He's pretty serviceable.
Don Dringus
12:31
Is Troy Melton legit?
Ray Murphy
12:31
I mean, he's not "1.82 ERA" legit, but there's a lot to like there. 3.75 xERA for the season, but 3.07 for the last month. K-BB% is rising start over start, SwK backs it up, he doesn't walk people... tons of good things happening here.
Taargus
12:32
Is McNeil toast?
Ray Murphy
12:32
If you can't hit in Sacramento, I don't know where you go from there.
Bud
12:34
I need wins. Are there any starters or relievers in a 10 team American league only. 5 x5 that are way under the radar or might be awful right now, but you see a 2nd half surge?
Ray Murphy
12:34
Chasing Wins is so hard. Here's one idea: take a look at Jackson Jobe. He'll be on rehab for a few more weeks, but when he comes back to Detroit he could slot into a nice multi-inning relief role as Hinch fires up "bullpen chaos" again down the stretch.
Broken Bat
12:36
Looking at potential closer trades. Hicks first 30 days is on fire. Hoffman is desire able to Cubs? Thoughts and should  I stop speculating first this year and drop Alvarado for either?
Ray Murphy
12:36
Hicks is really interesting. If the White Sox have figured out his control, and it looks like they have, he instantly becomes a bullpen weapon. I'd take a shot at that.
Broken Bat
12:37
Sproat, Cav, Warren or Sasaki 4x4 ( no strikeouts) ROS?
Ray Murphy
12:37
I assume Cav is Cavalli? I'd take him or Sproat here.
Chris
12:39
Hi Ray,
NFBC 15-team. I’m starting the second half with Kurtz, Gelof, Horwitz, Bericoto and Yaz on IR. Polanco is available, but any idea what his most likely outcome is? Seems like he won’t see the infield for a while and may be stuck in a DH platoon. Can you rate him and Mesa, J. Ortiz, and soon-to-come-off-IR Jesus Sanchez ROS? Thanks.
Ray Murphy
12:39
I've got Palacios on a couple of 15s and don't really know what to do with him. I was fishing for speed and don't think he's got even one bag since I claimed him. Between not playing every day and not running when he does play, I'm close to giving up on him.

Ortiz's stat line is just so empty. I'd probably try Mesa now or Sanchez when he's back.
Ray Murphy
12:41
Think that's all I've got here. There are a couple of you that asked about 7 questions in 1 post... just to be fair to everyone I skipped those rather than spend 10 minutes of the chat answering one person. Keep em quick and light and I can get to everyone.

Brent will be back on Monday, and I'll be here again next Friday. have a great weekend!
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