If Mozeliak hired him, he said SOMETHING that Mozeliak liked. And if Mozeliak is in favor of it, I'm opposed.
Mozeliak is completely ****ing inept. If he hired Bloom then Bloom is also going to be bad at his job.
I just feel Bloom got a raw deal in Boston where his hands were tied by John Henry not wanting to be an all-out superpower like the Red Sox were in the Theo Epstein days, but Bloom was still being held to the same standard as the superpower Red Sox. The Red Sox have been somewhat of a surprise this year and Bloom's homegrown talent is a big part of it. Bloom was probably hoping for an Andrew Friedman in LA situation in Boston and instead, he got a situation similar to the Cubs right now with Tom Ricketts where they're trying to half-ass it and win. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
For the record, the Cardinals pretty much mailed in day 2 of the draft. A couple of reaches and a few more guys with no ceiling whatsoever. A ton of college guys who profile as backups and organizational depth.
So they made the one pick that anyone in this thread could've made and then proceeded to take the rest of the draft off.
This organization is going nowhere until they fire every single person in it.
I looked at the guy they picked at 80, and just stopped there. They have nearly no one to project from the last few drafts. For pitchers itslike they still think it is the 1980s. Soft tossing lefties with no swing and miss stuff.
They drafted a college midget at 80 whose best ceiling is a middle reliever strike thrower. They basically drafted a modern day Brad Thompson. [Reply]
Originally Posted by VAChief:
I looked at the guy they picked at 80, and just stopped there. They have nearly no one to project from the last few drafts. For pitchers itslike they still think it is the 1980s. Soft tossing lefties with no swing and miss stuff.
They drafted a college midget at 80 whose best ceiling is a middle reliever strike thrower. They basically drafted a modern day Brad Thompson.
I said Seth Maness. Potayto, Potahto.
The last couple drafts have been nothing but chasing 'fast risers' but lose sight of the fact that it's CEILING that determines if you make the bigs quickly, not floor and not polish.
Because it's not a race to AAA. Some of these 'low risk' picks may make it to AA sooner than the other guys, but they're going to stall there.
You get fast risers by taking someone like Gavin Williams instead of Mike McGreevy. McGreevy was taken because he was 'polished' and would get to the bigs quickly. But then he hit the high minors and got smoked because he just isn't very good.
Meanwhile Gavin Williams is a 6'6" planet of a human being taken a few spots after McGreevy who was HUGELY projectable and is already a guy who looks like a #2 starter for a good ballclub.
Originally Posted by Ocotillo:
I just feel Bloom got a raw deal in Boston where his hands were tied by John Henry not wanting to be an all-out superpower like the Red Sox were in the Theo Epstein days, but Bloom was still being held to the same standard as the superpower Red Sox. The Red Sox have been somewhat of a surprise this year and Bloom's homegrown talent is a big part of it. Bloom was probably hoping for an Andrew Friedman in LA situation in Boston and instead, he got a situation similar to the Cubs right now with Tom Ricketts where they're trying to half-ass it and win.
Sure.
Bloom got screwed. If the Dodgers or Rays had hired him - Hell if the Pirates or Reds had hired him - I'd presume they'd made a good pick.
Cardinals finally took their first Prep player...in round 19.
Putting them in the same company as the Colorado Rockies.
Lovely.
These guys are just fucking lazy. If you don't draft any high school players, that's a whole bunch of games you don't have to bother scouting. And a fair bit of money ol' Dollar Bill can save on travel and scout salaries.
It would mesh well with their unbelievably stupid decision to close down their Latin Academy several years back... [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
Cardinals finally took their first Prep player...in round 19.
Putting them in the same company as the Colorado Rockies.
Lovely.
These guys are just ****ing lazy. If you don't draft any high school players, that's a whole bunch of games you don't have to bother scouting. And a fair bit of money ol' Dollar Bill can save on travel and scout salaries.
It would mesh well with their unbelievably stupid decision to close down their Latin Academy several years back...
It just seems like they don't even have information on all of the prospects. Follow a few they like and then craft their board accordingly. I'm not saying you should always go off of ratings, but when you are taking a guy at 80 that no one else has rated before 230, you are doing something wrong. [Reply]
Cardinals prospects that made the Baseball Prospectus' Midseason 50
14. JJ Wetherholt, SS/2B, St. Louis Cardinals
Why He’ll Succeed: Our draft review isn’t coming out until later in the week, but suffice to say that we view getting Wetherholt—who we considered one of the clear three best players in the draft—at the seventh pick as a coup for the Cardinals. When healthy, Wetherholt picked up right where he left off his D1 batting title campaign, mashing all-fields contact at optimal angles, and continuing his excellent swing decisions. Although he lacks tons of high-end raw pop, Wetherholt hits the ball consistently close to his top range despite a lack of effort in his cut, projecting for at least average power at the next level. He employs a smooth, rhythmic hand load with a short, steep bat angle that keeps his launch distributions in a tight cone. He went left on the defensive spectrum this year, establishing himself as a viable shortstop with average defensive projection, although with Masyn Winn at short in St. Louis he’s probably ultimately headed back to second base.
Why He Might Fail: He’s suffered several hamstring injuries in the last calendar year; he missed a chunk of time in the 2024 college season and did not look fully recovered for several weeks after resuming play. The all-fields approach thing pops back up here; while his overall swing- and contact-level data is remarkably similar to Bazzana, he’s not going to pop as many homers with the present skill set because he doesn’t pull the ball in the air nearly as much.
43. Tink Hence, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals
Why He’ll Succeed: Hence has taken another step forward in 2024, emphasizing his plus slider to back his mid-90s fastball, leading to more strikeouts and fewer bombs back in the hitter’s haven of Springfield. The slide piece has been a real weapon, just disappearing under hitter’s bats, and he has a more than usable change and curve as well.
Why He Might Fail: Hence has had issues staying on the mound for a full season. He’s only at 54 innings on the season and hasn’t pitched in a Double-A game in nearly a month. Yep, he’s a pitcher.
46. Quinn Mathews, LHP, St. Louis Cardinals
Why He’ll Succeed: The 2023 fourth-rounder unexpectedly had a huge velocity jump this spring, jumping 3-4 ticks into the mid-90s, and he’s sustained it across the season to date; like Jobe and Chandler it’s coming from a low VAA with plus carry. He was already a changeup artist, and the extra oomph has also registered with a tight gyro slider playing as a very viable third offering. He’s struck out 120 batters in 85 innings and it is not an accident at all.
Why He Might Fail: This velocity is completely new to him and sometimes that doesn’t hold over the course of a career; reversing this glow up would turn him back into a change and command type. And this is the biggest “also, he’s a pitcher” on this list: he was used extremely heavily at Stanford, including a 156-pitch outing that caused a huge national debate on college pitcher usage. [Reply]