MiLB 05/07

primary area of concern doesn’t necessarily equal “problem”. There is some effort in the delivery, he’s well-conditioned but small-ish and the front side was a train wreck at the and of last summer. When I’m a fan of a player I tend to be even more scrupulous and objective in my opinion. He’s not without his flaws, and noting them doesn’t mean I’m worrying about them per se. Whether it’s a fundamental defect or a need for reps, improved delivery is the goal, which is my point.

Pitchers adapt to different strike zones every day.

If Bauer has such great moving stuff that makes it difficult for umpires then wouldn’t he be able to throw it more in the zone?

Also, do you realize that moving stuff can also help you get strike calls you shouldn’t? If the umpire isn’t seeing the late hard movement then they will call based on where the ball was before. This is why some of the hard late breaking curves that drop for strikes dont get called. It’s also why some of those same pitches that drop below the zone do get called for strikes when they shouldn’t.

I disagree with your premise. If I had to guess Bauer is trying to hard to strike everyone out. He will adjust.

Personally when I see numbers like his I don’t worry about the walks and don’t give credit for all the K’s. I will just wait until he changes his approach, it will come, and see how he fares when he lives in the zone more often.

It took 300 some odd days to finally have the opportunity to throw that back in your face.

It was a joke/jab, not a jab/joke. You’ll be fine.

all this sexual tension, you two. Just do it already.

Yes, scouts like high velocity guys better than lower velocity guys. I’m not sure what this has to do with this discussion as all 3 are big velocity guys. That was Teheran’s whole calling card in his early days as a prospect. His average velocity in the majors last season was 93 last season and he touched as high as 95-96. I don’t see Miller or Bradley having a real advantage in that department.

As far as scouts loving power curves, that seems like a completely personal and/or organizational thing. Some scouts and teams love change ups, while some love power curves (some love sinkers, some probably cutters, etc.). I don’t think there is any actual reason to think one is universally preferred over the other. Elite change ups still get elite whiff rates for any secondary and they aren’t subject to the same sort of platoon split issues as breaking balls.

As far as frame and athleticism, I’m not sure I see the advantage for Bradley here in terms of ceiling. I think he pretty clearly has the least room for projection left on his frame. He’s already pretty much maxed out at 6’4" 225 pounds, compared to 6’3" 195 lb Miller and 6’2" 175 lb Teheran. As for athleticism, I think that is pretty clearly Teheran’s biggest advantage here. Is there any real question that he is the better athlete than Bradley? I’d argue that Teheran is one of the more athletically gifted pitchers in baseball right now.

I realize where you stand on K rates and why that might lead to prefer Minor/Beachy to Teheran/Delgado, but I don’t see how that is at all relevant to a discussion of Bradley’s upside versus that of Miller and Teheran. Like I said, he’s behind where they were at the same age. At his age, Teheran struck out 10.3 per 9 in low A and 10.8 per 9 in high A. Miller struck out 12.1 per 9 in low A. Bradley is currently sitting at 9.9 in low A. How does that at all support Bradley having the higher ceiling? Just because he hasn’t had the chance to face more advanced hitting and see his K rate drop yet or something?

I’m just trying to understand your argument for Bradley having a higher ceiling than Teheran and Miller that isn’t based on age and/or SNTS. What does he have on those guys right now other than those 2 things?