Spring Training 2020 - Let the Cactus Bloom, and the Grapefruit...

Filipino Tim Tebow:

 

I wish YankeesFan was still here to claim that Tebow is a prospect and not some sideshow attraction.

 

If Tebow was actually a prospect, I'm
sure the Mets would have told Team Philippines to go piss in the ocean.

 

And Stanton suffers a Grade 1 calf strain.

 

Getting harder to watch those baseball games:

YouTube TV, Sinclair engaged in dispute impacting broadcasts of 15 teams - HardballTalk | NBC Sports

 

LOL Angels

 

The Nats' Spring Training hats are dope.

 

This highlights kinda why the analytics crowd is actually right; people (fans) love the big free agent, but is the cheap labor (jeez seems to follow American economic history) that fuels the progress. The Juan Sotos are more "efficient" adds than an older Stanton with a humongous contract. I'm not saying avoid superstars (Trout, Arenado, Scherzer, Verlander) but the Acunas/Sotos/Lindors are more valuable.

 

They are also more unpredictable. So many prospects just flame out. A few years back, there were plenty of people who thought Lew Brinson was a better prospect than Soto. Brinson still might pan out, but so far he hasn't been very good.

To give another example, a few years ago, J.P. Crawford and Trea Turner were at similar points in their development. Both were top shortstop prospects, but Crawford was probably more highly regarded. Turner is well established as a very good starter, though a better fantasy baseball player than a real one. I'm not sure if Crawford will ever be a full-time starter.

 

In other words, if you get a potential superstar at the start of their career, it's better than paying for one as a free agent. This is true, but eventually, the Sotos and Acunas get paid, too. Focusing exclusively on locating such rare talents as pre-draft prospects is as risky in its own way as signing a Stanton. And it can lead to such moves as trading Mookie Betts at age 27 rather than pay market value.

 

I know I sounded simplistic and I didn’t mean to state the obvious. Just pointing out how fans slobber over a potential Stanton, Harper signing while ignoring the larger need for cheap young talent. Samardzjia and Cueto are big names but I’m thinking they are easily replaced at this point.

 

This is because the big name free agents are known quantities to fans, while they know that every team has prospects every season and few become stars.