Upcoming Schedule

Matt Moore vs Aroldis Chapman

I brought this one up last weekend, and got a few "+1"s to boot…might have just gotten lost in the shuffle.

John,
This is certainly more of a long-term project to think about, but wondering if you might explore whether the Rays’ year-by-year advancement approach with pitchers pays off even more for them because it maximizes the number of peak-age seasons they, as a small-market team, will be getting from their home-grown players.

It strikes me that even if they weren’t getting development improvements from their guys (though it certainly seems it’s working developmentally as well), they’re well-served by ensuring that they’ll control Jeremy Hellickson’s age 24-29 seasons. On the flip side, the Orioles, in addition to rushing the development of Chris Tillman, have also essentially traded the right to control his age 28 season for a couple dozen poor starts from him as a 21-22 year old.

I’m wondering if small-market teams can maximize the value of their home-grown players by “station-to-station” development plans for most. One case study could certainly be whether the Boston ex-pats now in San Diego decide to back off the fast-track approach they took in an environment where prospects were often more valuable as trade commodities now that they’re in a place where they have to rely on developing and controlling young talent.

2009 high-school bat breakouts. Everyone has Trout higher because of the extra tools, but could Myers hit enough to prove that wrong?

Both players likely third basemen, ranked 59th and 60th on Baseball America’s top 100. I’d like to see this smackdown.

Kaleb Cowart vs. Zack Cox

or

Peter Tago vs. Tyrell Jenkins