They get plenty of attention for their tag-team performances, and hits for their threads, except they now never get taken seriously in terms of prospecting. Even when they try to espouse actual analysis and opinion, it gets shrugged off as further attention-baiting. So they get to make lots of noise, and everyone on the site has to hear their noise, because it is everywhere, but no one actually cares about it enough to listen to it. A mini-tragedy, of a sort.

because I am an A’s fan, but I come here to read about all prospects. I just don’t like reading mindless comments that basically waste space.

Under Beane, the A’s have done a very good job of evaluating amateur and minor league talent. I have a hard time blaming the FO for not being given the resources to do their jobs as effectively as they would have liked. It’s like praising Brian Cashman or Theo Epstein for doing a good job of replenishing their farm systems - you obviously aren’t going to criticize them, but at the same time, you need to consider the context in which the FO is working before making judgments about their job performance.

If I could find anything to complain about with the FO, it’s that they shot themselves in the collective foot for a few years with the silly anti-HS draft philosophy. They had a good idea in trying to find undervalued college talent, but if they couldn’t afford the going rate on their picks, they probably would have been better off in aggressively scouting the prep ranks for players that they liked more than the consensus. One man’s 4th rounder is another man’s supplemental round pick. The Twins used this strategy with Ben Revere (est. 3rd-5th rounder), and also the Astros with Jordan Lyles (est. 6th-10th rounder, strong college commitment). Teams just aren’t all that inventive sometimes - there are very few prep players who can’t be bought out with the lure of a high draft spot and supplemental round money.