2K24: New York Yankees

[Sour Masher]

Florial hasn't been on the scene as a top prospect for long, but that is what he is now. Dude looks legit. That said, yeah, that is dumb. Of course the Yankees would trade him to get Sonny, a proven performer pitching well and price controlled till 2019. Prospects are prospects and while I like Florial, he isn't one of those ultra rare untouchable types. In fact, a Sonny deal would land more than just him, and the Yanks have the type of pieces the As want, so seems like a good match. So, yeah, rotoworld is dumb, but Florial isn't a nobody, and if this deal goes down with him as a centerpiece, I don't think As fans should gt too upset about it.

[Ken]

Florial hasn't been on the scene as a top prospect for long, but that is what he is now. Dude looks legit. That said, yeah, that is dumb. Of course the Yankees would trade him to get Sonny, a proven performer pitching well and price controlled till 2019. Prospects are prospects and while I like Florial, he isn't one of those ultra rare untouchable types. In fact, a Sonny deal would land more than just him, and the Yanks have the type of pieces the As want, so seems like a good match. So, yeah, rotoworld is dumb, but Florial isn't a nobody, and if this deal goes down with him as a centerpiece, I don't think As fans should gt too upset about it.

I completely disagree, if the A's are going to move Sonny Gray, they'll get much more than a top ~80-100 piece back. This is not a rental, Gray is controllable. It will take much more than that level of prospect as the centerpiece of a deal like this. He could be a throw in at best.

[chancellor]

I completely disagree, if the A's are going to move Sonny Gray, they'll get much more than a top ~80-100 piece back. This is not a rental, Gray is controllable. It will take much more than that level of prospect as the centerpiece of a deal like this. He could be a throw in at best.

I also agree. Rumor is the Gray to the Brewers deal has cooled since the A's would only accept Brinson back, and not Phillips or Ray.

[Sour Masher]

I completely disagree, if the A's are going to move Sonny Gray, they'll get much more than a top ~80-100 piece back. This is not a rental, Gray is controllable. It will take much more than that level of prospect as the centerpiece of a deal like this. He could be a throw in at best.

No one would "throw in" a player with his talent and upside. As I said, the Yankees have several other prospects that could and would need to be included in a deal, such as Justus Sheffield, Dustin Fowler, and Jorge Mateo. But Florial, if included, would be a headliner, not a throw in. We will see how it shakes out. I think the trio of Florial, Sheffield, and Mateo would be a good return for Gray who is good and affordable, but not a true game changer, and so done who has shown blemishes. That is a better package than they gave the White Sox for Frazier, Robertson, and Kahnle IMO. Kahnle is no Gray, but a cheap valuable piece as well.

[Sour Masher]

I also agree. Rumor is the Gray to the Brewers deal has cooled since the A's would only accept Brinson back, and not Phillips or Ray.

I'd rank them Brinson way ahead but Florial ahead of ray and Phillips, with big upside. And the Yankees have other pieces they could include like Sheffield, fowler, and Mateo that I think can get the deal done, if they want to make it. I guess we will see how it shakes out.

[Ken]

I'd rank them Brinson way ahead but Florial ahead of ray and Phillips, with big upside.

Based on?

[Sour Masher]

Based on?

Based, in order of weight:

#1 the scouting reports on both his tools, and his make up--based on all the ones I've read that I trust, he is a legit 5 tool talent with true plus speed, and an off the charts make up. This is what his manager said about him, from a guy who has had a lot of talent and personalities pass through his club: “Not only is he a tremendous player, he’s a tremendous person…if you could build a baseball player it would look like Florial, if you could build a person it would look like him as well”. I was told that he bought a car in extended spring training so that he could show up early to the yard and stay late, and that he also cooks for all his teammates as well. Osborn continued to describe Florial by having three tremendous traits, “poise, respect and humility”.

I realize little of that is about his tools, but there is plenty out there on those, so I wanted to highlight the above, as attitude, work ethic, and respect for the game are, to me, signs that suggest a little less risk than typical 19 year old prospects. Here is a link to one f the scouting reports on him. I took the above quote from it: http://pinstripedprospects.com/pinst...-florial-23444

This is how the above report wraps up (I realize this may be a biased source, but it collects a lot of information I have read elsewhere, from unbiased sources):

"Overall:

I think Florial is somehow still the most underrated player in the Yankees system, and possibly in all of Minor League Baseball. Pat Osborn (the RiverDogs manager) said, “the sky is the limit for this kid, I think the industry knows that, we certainly know that”. He has plus power, speed and arm strength which will allow him to be successful as a corner outfielder should the organization choose to move him from center. Once he cuts down on his strikeouts, beware, he will fly up prospect rankings."

2. His performance this year in the minors: across the board, they are showing what his scouting and grades say they should show. Performance matters a lot to me--more than it should, maybe. He is showing good power, good average, very good speed, and decent patience. He is also a legit CFer, which is fairly rare. He brings real value with his defense. On the other side, his K rate is alarmingly high, but some of that is organizational philosophy and his youth, I think.

3. This is way down the list, but I do like to watch video on guys. I make no claim at all to knowing much about what I am seeing--certainly I see less than most around here, I'd imagine. But I do like to see if there are any glaring issues that even a guy like me can see, and I don't pick up on that with the videos I've seen. I see a guy who looks great and natural playing the game.

So, that is Florial. As for Ray and Phillips, they are both older and performing worse. Ray, who I'd rank as the better of the two, is at the same level as Florial right now--high A, and has shown significantly less in every category, on both sides of the ball. And he has the same alarming K rate. And this as a 22 year repeating the same level. Ray has the talent to turn things around and come out on top, but at the moment, Florial is clearly the better prospect.

[revo]

Jaime Garcia to the Yanks

[Sour Masher]

Jaime Garcia to the Yanks

And they are still the favorites for Gray. Who gets bumped if that happens? I just acquired Tanaka, so I hope it isn't him. I know that seems far-fetched, since he is their "ace" and he just had a brilliant game, but he has by far the worst numbers, and they could try to piss him off bad enough to make him take his opt out this year. That would really screw me but if not Tanaka, who? Everyone else has pitched really well. Maybe Montgomery to save his arm? It won't be Severio or CC, and I assume they just acquired Garcia to start. So that just leaves Tanaka or Montgomery.

[Hornsby]

And they are still the favorites for Gray. Who gets bumped if that happens? I just acquired Tanaka, so I hope it isn't him. I know that seems far-fetched, since he is their "ace" and he just had a brilliant game, but he has by far the worst numbers, and they could try to piss him off bad enough to make him take his opt out this year. That would really screw me but if not Tanaka, who? Everyone else has pitched really well. Maybe Montgomery to save his arm? It won't be Severio or CC, and I assume they just acquired Garcia to start. So that just leaves Tanaka or Montgomery.

Maybe they'll go to the 6 man rotation. Save everyone's arm at this point in the year. Not to mention that their starters really only need to go 5-6 innings now, with that bullpen that they've got.

The interesting thing is that it sets up great for the regular season, but not as great for the playoffs. Unless you count Gray as a #1 (I don't), or Tanaka (nope), you're relying on a bunch of #2's and #3's. Not that it can't be done, but you'd need the bullpen to be absolutely shut down to make it happen.

[Sour Masher]

Maybe they'll go to the 6 man rotation. Save everyone's arm at this point in the year. Not to mention that their starters really only need to go 5-6 innings now, with that bullpen that they've got.

The interesting thing is that it sets up great for the regular season, but not as great for the playoffs. Unless you count Gray as a #1 (I don't), or Tanaka (nope), you're relying on a bunch of #2's and #3's. Not that it can't be done, but you'd need the bullpen to be absolutely shut down to make it happen.

That makes sense. I don't like 6 man rotations for roto or for real baseball, but that is what they may be thinking. And yeah, they are deep but have no true ace, which hurts in the playoffs, but that bullpen is so good, they can still win. Severino is close.to an.anchor if his.young.arm can handle innings.

[Sour Masher]

I completely disagree, if the A's are going to move Sonny Gray, they'll get much more than a top ~80-100 piece back. This is not a rental, Gray is controllable. It will take much more than that level of prospect as the centerpiece of a deal like this. He could be a throw in at best.

Well, I was right that the Yankees had the pieces to get Gray without giving Frazier or Torres, but I was wrong about just how little it took to get him. I'm surprised the As chose Fowler over Forial, and Kapriellian, who is hurt, over Sheffield. Or maybe the Yanks didn't give them the choice, in which case, I'm surprised the As didn't just hang on to Gray. I do like Mateo a lot, and Fowler is good too, but he is hurt with a major injury, and Kapriellian is damaged goods at this point too.

[revo]

Since the AS Break, Aaron Judge is hitting .169 with 58 Ks in 124 ABs

[TranaGreg]

wow ... the Yankees SS with the most HRs in a single season (think of all the great Yankee shortstops) is no longer Derek Jeter ... it's now Didi Gregorius.

[onejayhawk]

What's Didi's redraft value in 2018?

J