mvp 78

We've already seen that Houck struggles that second time through a lineup. No matter what, they need to find a consistent spot for him and stick him there. The same should be said for Whitlock. Stop yo-yo-ing them around between roles. I think Winckowski's stuff should play up in the bullpen, but only if he's strictly a bullpen arm. I don't think they've slotted him there for 2023. Maybe next year? I don't know what their plan is for Mata, but I've said my feelings on him often enough. High octane arm for sure.

Huh? What's the definition of "powerful"? Velo-wise it would be Mata. Spin rate-wise it would be Walter.

Vince Coleman was caught stealing 39 times in 85 and 86 alone. Did he have bad instincts? Rickey had 38 in 79 and 80. Did he have bad instincts? I don't think CS are a good measure of instincts. I can tell you that Duran's lack of SB's are a bigger indication.

Incorrect. Ellsbury knew how to steal bases even in the minors. He came up and was stealing bases that first postseason. 2006: 41 2007: 50 2008: 50 2009: 70 Duran 2021: 18 2022: 25

Nope. It's only good when he's running 1st to third or something similar. Station to station? He just doesn't seem to have the baseball instincts to me. He's got the tools to look great in practice, but he's definitely missing something that can take him to that next level.

@JomboyMedia Yankees relief pitcher Wandy Peralta struck out a hitter in 20 seconds Thank you based pitch clock!

I want to believe, but remain skeptical. I can confidently say that he's fast, but doesn't have base stealing instincts. The larger bases aren't going to really help him IMO.

He is not a good baserunner.

Houck seems to be a bulk innings guy. He's not quite a starter and not quite a reliever. Hard to figure out what he is. Crawford and Winckowski didn't show that much last year. Kelly was ok. Ort is a DFA candidate. Bello seems to be a mid-rotation guy going forward depending on health. Everyone else is a question mark at the moment.

And Mata as a reliever isn't a "middle reliever" either. I'd see him as a late inning guy. He's the potential closer of the future IMO.

He did the minimum.

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/red-sox-vs-astros/2023/03/01/719327/final/box He's pitched in 2 outings. Against HOU, he gave up 1 run over 2 innings.

Mata just doesn't stay healthy enough to be a starter. Innings 16 61 normal DSL year 17 77 started off at extended ST 18 72 ended season early due to injury 19 105 missed a large chunk of the early season due to injury 21 TJS 22 83 rehab from TJS season He's just never carried a starter's workload.

Bleier?

Duvall, Yoshida, Turner AND Verdugo would all need to do really well for the Sox to wait until 2024. It seems like there will be an injury or underperformance somewhere.

He would play catch sporadically. It wasn't part of a strict routine.

@PeteAbe Rocky outing for Tanner Houck, who has walked 4 of the 8 batters he has faced, including three of the last four. 1.2 INN, 4BB, 2K, 0ER so far (bases loaded with Feltman coming in to close out the inning)

Well, he didn't report to flight school until June 2020. Maybe he was still throwing off a mound up until that point. Should we discount that as well? 2.75 years

What should he be trying to do? Who really knows?

This is what was reported after his first bullpen on Tuesday: “It’s a work in progress, for sure,” Song said of the session watched by Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and manager Rob Thomson. “It’s far from perfect, and I’m just hoping for an upward trajectory. Just trying to continue to get some improvement everyday.” “I feel like I’m trying to be a baseball player again, I guess,” Song said. “It’s hard when you’re around the competition level these guys are. I’m just trying to keep my head above water right now.” “He looked like he’s got a feel for all his pitches, but he’s still building up,” Thomson said. “So really, there’s no evaluation other than he’s healthy. Not commanding his pitches but just a feel for them, being able to throw strikes and spin the ball. He looks like he can do that.” “I think that it’s definitely just way too early to tell,” Song said. “There’s so much that needs to get done for me right that it’s not something I could really project.” If you see the video that was posted, he's not throwing 99 for sure.

@ChrisCotillo The Jorge Alfaro opt-out mystery has been solved. Per source, Alfaro has an upward mobility clause on 3/25. If a team wants to add him to its MLB roster, Red Sox must either let him go or add him themselves. With his k rate, I think he's just in camp in case someone gets injured. He's not even catching. Most likely just another guy we all forget at some point.

Yeah. He has no impact on the current state of the farm system.

Rubes.

24? Way to shoot for the stars there.

But if he was inserted into a Spring Training game today, he'd get outpitched by Ort and it wouldn't be close.