OC Register: Jim’s View: Talking prospects with Kyle Glaser

[AngelsWin.com]

This week’s podcast features a conversation with Kyle Glaser, formerly of The Press-Enterprise and currently with Baseball America. We talk about the gems in the Dodgers, Angels and Padres farm systems, some of whom will probably wind up at Rancho Cucamonga, Inland Empire and Lake Elsinore of the California League this season. And among the other topics:

Kyle Glaser. (File photo by Kurt Miller, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

• Was Eric Hosmer worth it?

• Who might the Dodgers’ future All-Star catcher be?

• How has GM Billy Eppler helped rejuvenate a formerly barren Angels farm system?

• Will Padres’ shortstop prodigy Fernando Tatis Jr. start at star, proceed to superstar or jump right to icon status?

• Is the Dodgers’ gentle handling of young pitching prospects potentially a mistake?

• Is Alex Verdugo’s attitude the biggest impediment to his baseball career?

• Is there still room in baseball, with its increasing reliance on technology, for good, old fashioned scouting?

• And should MLB’s new motto be “Tanks for Everything?”

The answers to all these questions and more, right here …

View the full article

[Inside Pitch]

 

That was an amazing interview and it's an amazing insight into why the farm system is heading in the direction it is...

[ten ocho recon scout]

10 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

 

That was an amazing interview and it's an amazing insight into why the farm system is heading in the direction it is...

Im lazy and at a bar right now so couldnt hear it anyway, what are some bullet points?

[Inside Pitch]

17 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Im lazy and at a bar right now so couldnt hear it anyway, what are some bullet points?

Said Eppler growing up in SoCal witness the Angels wave of talent with Salmon and company ...  then again with all the international guys and the Stoneman wave...    Says the Angels during their golden age were known as a development powerhouse and that when he interviewed for the job he talked up the need to become that sort of a franchise again.  They talked about the quality of the top 5, and how it drops off after number 11 but that it's only year two.  He says that it's possible by year four we could be talking about a team on the verge of busting out....   Also mentions how in previous years the trades for Upton and Kinsler would have destroyed the farm system but there was so much talent in place now that they were able to move second tier guys and not hurt their overall prospect cache...

The even shorter version is......   ANGELS!!!!  F@#& YEAH!!!!!!

[Second Base]

2 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

Said Eppler growing up in SoCal witness the Angels wave of talent with Salmon and company ...  then again with all the international guys and the Stoneman wave...    Says the Angels during their golden age were known as a development powerhouse and that when he interviewed for the job he talked up the need to become that sort of a franchise again.  They talked about the quality of the top 5, and how it drops off after number 11 but that it's only year two.  He says that it's possible by year four we could be talking about a team on the verge of busting out....   Also mentions how in previous years the trades for Upton and Kinsler would have destroyed the farm system but there was so much talent in place now that they were able to move second tier guys and not hurt their overall prospect cache...

The even shorter version is......   ANGELS!!!!  F@#& YEAH!!!!!!

Our top 10 lines up pretty favorably compared to most farms (not Colorado or San Diego, but toward the top in my opinion, better than the Cubs, Dodgers, Astros and Indians, who are the class of baseball right now). The sheer upside in Ohtani, Maitan, Adell, Marsh and Jones far outweighs most other ball clubs. We don't have the floor if hers organizations, but we've got the ceiling for sure.

We do have a bit of a drop off from there, but there are some diamonds in the rough that aren't getting their due yet in the 20-30 range. Torii Hunter Jr., and Jerryell Rivera come to mind.

But he's right, in a couple years our 20-30 might compare pretty well with others. Eppler's done a great job.

This isn't the most likely scenario, but if we pretend for a moment that the group I listed above actually hit their ceiling, this team would be an absolute monstrosity. Basically a once in a lifetime two-way star (Ohtani), coupled with the greatest player maybe ever (Trout), plus a rare 30/30 player (Adell), plus Miguel Cabrera (Maitan), plus Larry Walker (Brandon Marsh), plus Cutch (Jones)...

Not saying that's what will happen, just that it's a possible outcome. That's more than other teams have.

[ten ocho recon scout]

16 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

Said Eppler growing up in SoCal witness the Angels wave of talent with Salmon and company ...  then again with all the international guys and the Stoneman wave...    Says the Angels during their golden age were known as a development powerhouse and that when he interviewed for the job he talked up the need to become that sort of a franchise again.  They talked about the quality of the top 5, and how it drops off after number 11 but that it's only year two.  He says that it's possible by year four we could be talking about a team on the verge of busting out....   Also mentions how in previous years the trades for Upton and Kinsler would have destroyed the farm system but there was so much talent in place now that they were able to move second tier guys and not hurt their overall prospect cache...

The even shorter version is......   ANGELS!!!!  F@#& YEAH!!!!!!

Nice!

Its alwaya kind of stumped me. We went through the 90s until the late 2000s as an almost revolving door of guys coming up from the minors and producing. 

When we finally got to the top, it was the first time in team history where we could let popular vets go, because we had someone waiting in the minors. (Didnt always work out of course, but most people celt guys like kotchman and mcpherson were answers. Not to mention howie replacing AK, aybar replacing OC, etc).

We also made very smart FA signings. While i still think we missed the boat on carlos beltran back in 04, the under radar moves like piniero, garland trade, etc always seemed to work out.

Somehow all at once, we forgot how to draft, and forgot to forecast bad signings. Literally went from being one of the smartest, best run franchises to doomsday in the span of maybe 5 years.

Glad to see were trending back in the right direction.

 

[ten ocho recon scout]

To piggyback, sort of off topic, but thinking back how bad of an idea simmons for our lone prospect sounded at the time. Its been 3 years(?), how crazy is it that our farm is farrrrr better, and simmons turned into a bonafide mvp candidate in that amount of time.

Crazy

[Second Base]

23 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

To piggyback, sort of off topic, but thinking back how bad of an idea simmons for our lone prospect sounded at the time. Its been 3 years(?), how crazy is it that our farm is farrrrr better, and simmons turned into a bonafide mvp candidate in that amount of time.

Crazy

It kind of showed me that the Angels GM knew more about baseball than I do. It had been a while since I felt that way. 

For me, it doesn't matter if Sean Newcomb turns into a legitimate Cy Young candidate, the trade is completely justified.

[Docwaukee]

So one could say that getting Simmons when we did has been a waste for the last two year.  But imagine what he would cost now.   Probably 3 of our top 10.  

Could he take another step with the bat?  probably not, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.  I can totally see him walking a few more times and hitting for a little more power where his ops gets to near .800.  

That was a really good interview btw.  

Two of the easiest ways to rebuild a farm are to tank and get a top 5 pick and sell of major league parts.  Somehow, in the last 2 years, we've gone from having the worst farm in baseball history (maybe), and an 80 win team to a mid tier farm and a playoff contender at the major league level.   

[Inside Pitch]

7 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Somehow all at once, we forgot how to draft, and forgot to forecast bad signings. Literally went from being one of the smartest, best run franchises to doomsday in the span of maybe 5 years.

Glad to see were trending back in the right direction.

Jerry showed up and fired all the people responsible for drafting and player development because he was the smartest man in the room.   As proof he personally scouted and signed Baldoquin... 

All he needed was some at bats... He was totally ready.

[Second Base]

1 hour ago, Inside Pitch said:

Jerry showed up and fired all the people responsible for drafting and player development because he was the smartest man in the room.   As proof he personally scouted and signed Baldoquin... 

All he needed was some at bats... He was totally ready.

It's one thing to think you're the smartest man in the room. It's another entirely to convince everyone else that you're the smartest man in the room. 

That's where Dipoto separates himself from other arrogant douche bags. He somehow convinces others he is who he says he is.

It's a gift, really. 

Forget about all the losing seasons, pillaged farm, bloated payroll, mistake contracts, and bad trades and trust me.

Anyone else would be out if baseball by now. But not Jerry. He has a loyal following.

[Inside Pitch]

7 hours ago, Scotty@AW said:

It's one thing to think you're the smartest man in the room. It's another entirely to convince everyone else that you're the smartest man in the room. 

That's where Dipoto separates himself from other arrogant douche bags. He somehow convinces others he is who he says he is.

It's a gift, really. 

Forget about all the losing seasons, pillaged farm, bloated payroll, mistake contracts, and bad trades and trust me.

Anyone else would be out if baseball by now. But not Jerry. He has a loyal following.

This might be your most spot on scouting report..  ever....

[Docwaukee]

11 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

Jerry showed up and fired all the people responsible for drafting and player development because he was the smartest man in the room.   As proof he personally scouted and signed Baldoquin... 

All he needed was some at bats... He was totally ready.

for awhile I felt like Jerry's style was a reaction to what Arte wanted.  Feed every last resource into the major league club.  Even the stuff I really liked at the time has yet to amount to much.  Like the Trumbo and Conger trades.   I think his best skill is moving major league talent for near major league ready talent.  Yet, one of the things he's worst at is moving guys in the low minors for guys in the high minors.  That along with his draft strategy and his constant trades that decimate the farm has shown to be a recipe for long term disaster.  

the one thing that happened while he was here was that we started to get back into latin america.  And while the Baldoquin signing was a horrible bust, we were able to pick up guys like Barria, Leon Rivas, Franklin Torres, Jeyson Sanchez, Luis Pena, Jose Rodriguez, Jose Suarez, Eduardo Paredes and a couple others that we've since traded.   There are a couple guys he drafted who could still amount to something as well (way fewer than one would hope considering the sheer odds). 

The crazy thing is that so little of his influence is visible on the 25 man roster.  
One position player in the starting lineup (Pujols)
No position players anticipated to be on the bench

Two potential starters (Skaggs and Heaney)
Two pen guys (Middleton and Alvarez)

That's five total.  All the rest preceded him or came after.  

On the rest of the 40-man roster, there's Carlos Perez, Mike Hermosillo, Nick Tropeano, Jaime Barria, Jake Jewell, and Eduardo Paredes.  Some solid long term assets.  

But eleven of the entire 40 man seems pretty low considering he had control of the team for most of 4 seasons.  
 

[Warfarin]

3 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

for awhile I felt like Jerry's style was a reaction to what Arte wanted.  Feed every last resource into the major league club.  Even the stuff I really liked at the time has yet to amount to much.  Like the Trumbo and Conger trades.   I think his best skill is moving major league talent for near major league ready talent.  Yet, one of the things he's worst at is moving guys in the low minors for guys in the high minors.  That along with his draft strategy and his constant trades that decimate the farm has shown to be a recipe for long term disaster.  

the one thing that happened while he was here was that we started to get back into latin america.  And while the Baldoquin signing was a horrible bust, we were able to pick up guys like Barria, Leon Rivas, Franklin Torres, Jeyson Sanchez, Luis Pena, Jose Rodriguez, Jose Suarez, Eduardo Paredes and a couple others that we've since traded.   There are a couple guys he drafted who could still amount to something as well (way fewer than one would hope considering the sheer odds). 

The crazy thing is that so little of his influence is visible on the 25 man roster.  
One position player in the starting lineup (Pujols)
No position players anticipated to be on the bench

Two potential starters (Skaggs and Heaney)
Two pen guys (Middleton and Alvarez)

That's five total.  All the rest preceded him or came after.  

On the rest of the 40-man roster, there's Carlos Perez, Mike Hermosillo, Nick Tropeano, Jaime Barria, Jake Jewell, and Eduardo Paredes.  Some solid long term assets.  

But eleven of the entire 40 man seems pretty low considering he had control of the team for most of 4 seasons.  
 

Bingo.  That, to me, is the biggest testament to the failures of DiPoto.  It's not like he was the GM of this club 5+ years ago.  It's just been a little over 2 years now since he was DePosed, and most of the current and possible future rosters won't have players he signed/drafted on it.  That's amazing.

More than just scouting / drafting / trading though, there are other factors that matter.  Even if you draft the most supremely talented players, you need the right coaches, mentors, and system-based approaches in place to cultivate the most out of that talent.  Did Jerry?  I can't answer that with 100% certainty, but I am going to say the answer is resounding no.  

For example, look at his trade with the Dodgers as a Mariners' GM.  He traded Chris Taylor (an athletic, toolsy middle infielder) for Zach Lee (a pitcher who had a max potential of a #4 starter).  The Dodgers make some adjustments with Taylor's swing, shift him around the field with his athleticism, and get a super utility, strong offensive player who now occupies CF for them and is firmly entrenched in their plan for years.  The Mariners got a guy who busted and is now out of the game less than 2 years later.  If Jerry had a better system/scouting in place, maybe he holds onto Taylor and maximizes his talent.  He doesn't though, and the rest is history.