Page 51 - Eric Longenhagen News Today

March 16, 2021 The Pittsburgh Pirates have a lot of questions to address regarding their pitching staff. With the regular season just two-plus weeks away, final decisions have yet to be made on starter and bullpen roles alike. Candidates abound on both fronts, particularly the latter, with an addition and an injury-induced subtraction further muddying the waters in recent days. Here are snapshots from four conversations — three recent, and one somewhat older — with pitchers who could figure...

March 16, 2021 Prospect writers Kevin Goldstein and Eric Longenhagen will sometimes have enough player notes to compile a scouting post. This is one of those dispatches, a collection of thoughts after another weekend of college baseball and week of spring training. Remember, prospect rankings can be found on The Board. Eric’s Notes Marcos Castanon, 2B, UC Santa Barbara: 4-for-12, 2B, HR, 5 BB, 5 K Entering the year, Castanon had played in more games during a dour freshman season (42 games, .2...

March 12, 2021 Here we go again. This week, I dip into the deep FanGraphs talent pool and welcome Eric Longenhagen as the co-host. It’s a baseball-heavy discussion, as we talk about MLB’s scouting plans this season, what the hell the Rangers are doing by planning to fill their ballpark on Opening Day, and the early weirdness of the 2021 draft board. Later, we are joined by The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler, who talks about the vibes in Tampa, the Yankees, and how you can now return to camp ju...

Putting the top prospect rankings in context Share this story Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images One of the things I most look forward to in the runup to Spring Training every year is the release of the Top 100 prospects lists. Many outlets release versions of this list including MLB.com, FanGraphs, Baseball America ($), Baseball Prospectus ($), ESPN ($), and The Athletic ($) (among many others). I enjoy looking at the lists to learn the experts’ thinking about the Twins�...

March 9, 2021 Prospect writers Kevin Goldstein and Eric Longenhagen will sometimes have enough player notes to compile a scouting post. This is one of those dispatches, a collection of college baseball and spring training thoughts from this past weekend. Remember, prospect rankings can be found on The Board. Kevin’s Notes Will The College Hitters Please Come Forward? Eric and I have talked about this subject in this space and elsewhere, but the college hitter group for the 2021 draft is devel...

March 8, 2021 Friday was a red-letter day for the Angels as well as anyone else who’s been following the ongoing saga of the majors’ most notable two-way player. Shohei Ohtani made his first Cactus League pitching appearance of the spring — his first in nearly three years, actually — a milestone that will hopefully become a footnote as he works his way back to regular rotation duty following a string of injuries. The 26-year-old Ohtani started Friday’s exhibition against the A’s an...

March 7, 2021 Spring training taking place on (what is hopefully) the back end of a pandemic makes for different routines and challenges, and not just for players and coaching staffs. Media relations personnel are impacted as well. Due to COVID-19 protocols, how they’re going about their business is anything but ordinary. Dustin Morse is among those having to adjust on the fly. Now in his 16th season with the Minnesota Twins — his sixth as Senior Director of Communications — Morse is doin...

Daily baseball statistical analysis and commentary.

March 4, 2021 Michael Siani isn’t the sexiest prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system. With an arguably-limited offensive profile, the 21-year-old outfielder projects, in the words of Eric Longenhagen, as “a low-end regular in center field based on the quality of his defense.” In Longenhagen’s opinion, Siani will likely “end up hitting toward the bottom of a lineup” due to a lack of power. Siani isn’t sold on the idea that he’ll continue to lack sufficient pop. At 6-foot-1 and 19...

March 2, 2021 Prospect writers Kevin Goldstein and Eric Longenhagen will sometimes have enough player notes to compile a scouting post. This is one of those dispatches, a collection of thoughts after the second weekend of college baseball and first two days of spring training. Remember, prospect rankings can be found on The Board. Eric’s Notes Justice Thompson, CF, North Carolina: 6-for-10, 2 2B, HR, 2 BB, 1 K There are going to be an inordinate number of pop-up college guys this year and Tho...