Houston, We Have Rule Changes! The Official 2023 MLB Season Thread

Brozay

Brozay

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maybe this can be Steve Cohens new grift:

buy FA's, trade them for top prospects & eat the cost on the outgoing players

shyt is silly
 
Spidey Man

Spidey Man

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Drew Gilbert
Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 45 | Run: 55 | Arm: 60 | Field: 55 | Overall: 55
He might have had the second-best stuff among prep pitchers from the upper Midwest in the 2019 Draft, trailing only Pirates first-rounder Quinn Priester, but Gilbert's 5-foot-9 frame and Tennessee commitment slid him to his home-state Twins in the 35th round. He starred as center fielder for the Volunteers, homering four times in seven playoff games to lead them to the 2021 College World Series and posting the best numbers (.362/.455/.673) on a club that ranked No. 1 in the nation for most of 2022. He signed for $2,497,500 as Houston's first first-round choice in three years but played just 10 pro games before dislocating his right elbow after running into an outfield wall.
Gilbert is extremely aggressive in all phases of the game, yet his superb hand-eye coordination enables him to repeatedly barrel balls and produce high exit velocities. His left-handed stroke can get long because he hunts home runs, and while he rarely strikes out, he does make more ground-ball contact than desired. He's not physical but does have enough bat speed and strength to provide 15-20 homers per season without selling out for power.
Gilbert has solid-to-plus speed and uses it to steal and take extra bases. His quickness and instincts allow him to cover ground in center field, where he shows the plus arm strength that produced fastballs clocked up to 93 mph during infrequent college pitching appearances. A fiery competitor with a lot of emotion, he's destined to become a fan favorite but needs to play more under control at times.
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Ryan Clifford
Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 55 | Run: 45 | Arm: 55 | Field: 45 | Overall: 50
Clifford first played for U.S. national teams at age 12 and won gold medals at international events with the 12-and-under squad in 2015 and the 15-and-under club in 2018. Though he was regarded as one of the better all-around hitters in the 2022 prep class, he didn't dominate the showcase circuit and he was committed to Vanderbilt, so he wound up sliding to the 11th round. Signed for $1,131,530, the equivalent of late-second-round money, he hit .247/.426/.390 with two homers in a 25-game pro debut split between Rookie ball and Single-A.
Clifford's approach is more mature than that of most players his age, as he works counts and focuses on making hard contact. He has the bat speed and projectable strength to develop 20-25 home run power, and he does a good job of letting his power come naturally. He has a pretty left-handed swing and an efficient bat path, though his 30 percent strikeout rate in his introduction to pro ball showed he'll need to do a better job of recognizing offspeed pitches.
While Clifford possesses just fringy speed and could slow down as he gets stronger, he works hard to improve his quickness and defense. His reads and routes need to improve but he has solid arm strength and should be able to get the job done on an outfield corner. He also spent time at first base with Team USA and in his pro debut.
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R

Ron Mexico

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Remote said:
Goodness. It’s going to be a MF battle between LAA, HOU and TEX now.

I’m kinda leaning toward LAA if they get healthy.

But goodness. That’s one tough division.
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Angels are still clearly the 3rd best team in that division. :what:

I doubt they even get a wild card spot.
 
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