2024 Prospects thread

[Vogelbomb]

Arizona mariners scored 10 runs tonight… on 2 hits.

Excited to see the Modesto group move up. Farmelo, Montes, suisbel are probably most ready. They just destroy low A pitching at times. 16 runs tonight.

Logan Evans with another 6 scoreless innings and 6 Ks tonight

Tired of seeing this 6 innings and 70-80 pitches crap. Evans was pulled after 73 pitches. I just don't understand what your development mindset is. What are you developing these kids to do? Go 6 and hit the showers? I mean they throw more in HS and college than they are as pros and I just don't see where that makes sense when your pen continues to be erratic year over year. You have 3-4 trusted arms back there and then 4-5 guys that are hit and miss night by night. So why not get more out of the starter? I'll never understand it and I'll never back off this talking point. Push your starters and do it in the minors. Evans should be throwing at least 105 a night and touching 120 on occasion, going 8, 9 innings on occasion. Teach them to go deep. Teach them to face a lineup 3 full times, 4x. Teach them to finish games.

[Donn Beach]

Show me where they are throwing more in highschool and college

[D-train]

If pulling them early actually prevented injuries I could see it but there's no evidence whatsoever that it does

[Donn Beach]

I don't believe there's any building up to do, it's not muscle, it's tendons which get worn out. I don't believe you build up a pitching arm, i think you wear it out.

[D-train]

Paul Skenes threw 122 innings in 19 starts for LSU last year

[D-train]

That is 11 inning short of throwing seven per start

[Donn Beach]

And Felix threw a lot of pitches when he was Skene's age too didn't he?

[Donn Beach]

How long before Skenes has his TJ surgery? You don't build the arm up for that kind of motion

. By the end of the 2023 MLB season, 31 of the 64 hardest throwing pitchers based on Statcast numbers had already had Tommy John surgery. Injury analyst Joe Roegele, who tracks Tommy John surgeries, told USA Today last month that 35 percent of current MLB pitchers have had Tommy John surgery, and that is up 29 percent since 2016.

"It's hard to truly say a Major League pitcher will never have a surgery," Josh Walker, who was LSU baseball's lead athletic trainer last season and worked daily with Skenes, told OutKick on Thursday.

"There are a lot of pitchers out there, especially at the MLB level, who have scars on their arm," said Walker, who is now a trainer and movement specialist at Trifecta Sports Therapy in Baton Rouge. "It's such a violent motion. It's an unnatural motion of the arm. The arm's not supposed to throw overhand."

[GL_Storm]

On Evans and his pitch count: they could be trying to preserve his trade value. But generally you don't see minor league pitchers go more than 6 very often, so maybe this is just standard practice now and the manager and pitching coach at AA don't have any choice in the matter.

[GL_Storm]

Keep an eye on these three relief pitchers at AA:

Troy Taylor: https://www.baseball-reference.com/regi ... ylor000tro

Taylor was promoted a couple of weeks ago and hasn't been scored on yet through 6 innings pitched at Arkansas. His K numbers are down a bit but that could be the sample size.

Luis Curvelo: https://www.baseball-reference.com/regi ... rvel000lui

He's been in the system for a few years now, but always had command issues. I think he's always been a longshot given that they put him in the bullpen from day 1. Anyway, he seems to have found some level of command as evidenced by his improved walk numbers this year and last.

Garrett Davila: https://www.baseball-reference.com/regi ... vila000gar

I don't know anything about this guy in terms of what he throws, but he could be a late bloomer that's finally figured it out. The turnaround in his numbers is a real story. Looks like he had some injury years that slowed his progress in the KC organization, where they can't develop pitching anyway, and then he got moved to the White Sox org where he didn't do much. Presumably, he signed with the M's as a minor league free agent. They must have scouted him and seen something they though they could work with.