Fishy David Robertson

[metsmarathon]

fangraphs
has vargas as the marlins #9 prospect, and hernandez at 24, at least as of the end of may.

vargas is a young infielder with a 60 future hit tool, and hernandez a catcher with a 55 hit tool.

bottom line on vargas per their prospect report is "Because a special hit tool is the most important thing a prospect can have, Vargas is (by a wide margin) the teenage hitter in this org most likely to become a big league regular down the line."

and for hernandez, "He’s a solid long-term prospect at a premium position."

not bad, i suppose. maybe something to dream on.

i might've rather gotten a pair of pitchers back, but i ain't too unhappy with this. i don't think the going rate on a david robertson was a top-five, ready-for-the-show prospect.

[MFS62]

I'm not sure what a red flag is representing here. (A socialist uprising? A potentially bad boyfriend? Danger at the beach?)

The White flag of surrender is more common. But I was thinking auto racing where a red flag signals that the race stops immediately, regardless of position of cars on the track.


Later

[Fman99]

Just because the Mets are set at SS and C doesn't mean these guys can't learn other positions, or become useful chips in some deal down the line. I'm OK with the return in exchange for a 2+ month rental. It wouldn't shock me if they brought DR back in 2024 either.

[ashie62]

They did not hold out for any top Ray

[metirish]

Look like studs to me

[Benjamin Grimm]

They look like they could be brothers.

[metirish]

Right? I wonder if their drive from one complex to the other was short or long

[Edgy MD]

They did not hold out for any top Ray

Did I miss something about the Rays being involved?

[G-Fafif]

Endorsement from Fangraphs.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2023-marlin ... eat-trade/

[kcmets]

Look like brothers to me

[kcmets]

They did not hold out for any top Ray

Did I miss something about the Rays being involved?

Rays are playoff bound, they ain't shopping anyone.

[smg58]

Maybe in 3 years, we're saying, "I can't believe we got Vargas for a guy who would be a FA in 2 months" but for now, they acquired two teenagers that will be merely names on a list for 3 years. I thought that they were going for high-level/close to ML-ready players but we have to believe that Billy sees something in these young players.

ML-ready players with something vaguely resembling upside might not have been available. But this is a reasonable haul for two months of a relief pitcher.

[Edgy MD]

I think they certainly have something reasonably resembling upside.

What will come to pass could be anything, but these are certainly the types of players I look for. Batting eyes and contact in the same package. Give me an organization filled with such men.

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

Right? I wonder if their drive from one complex to the other was short or long

About 40 minutes! Marlins share a complex with the Cardinals in Jupiter.

[metirish]

Right? I wonder if their drive from one complex to the other was short or long

About 40 minutes! Marlins share a complex with the Cardinals in Jupiter.

Excellent, thanks

[Frayed Knot]

A shortstop and a catcher. Two positions where they're lacking in prospects.

<Sarcasm>

My first thought.

Rule 1: You don't draft [or make down the road trades] based on current positional need
Rule 2: See Rule 1

If this was a Now! trade (for, say, AAA guys on the verge of promotion) that's a different story. But these guys are 18 & 19 and multiple steps away from any potential ML career, so f they were the two they liked best then go for it.

[nymr83]

What do you call a top shortstop prospect who only hits 75% of his "ceiling"? All-Star Second Baseman.

What do you call a top first base prospect who does the same? Minor League Assistant Coach

I kid, but the bar for a successful Catcher or Shortstop prospect to find success is lower. I WANT to be hoarding at those positions.

[Edgy MD]

That's pretty much correct. The position players who get signed as teenagers tend to skew toward shortstop and catcher. Occasionally, you get thirdbasemen and centerfielders.

Or alternately, have you ever seen a team use a high draft pick to go after a high school firstbaseman? Secondbaseman? (Or, alternately, a high-ticket international amateur commitment?)

I'm sure that's happened with somebody, but nobody I can remember. The ranks of corner outfielders are largely filled by centerfielders who didn't stick. The ranks of secondbasemen, thirdbasemen, and centerfielders are largely filled by shortstops who didn't stick. The ranks of firstbasemen are largely filled by thirdbasemen and catchers who didn't stick. Pete Alonso started his college career as a thirdbaseman and couldn't hack it over there.

[nymr83]

i'd think that maybe you'd see more firstbasemen than secondbasemen drafted high out of the high school ranks - a huge kid with no defensive value but a huge stick to match might already be at first base, but what type of player is already at secondbase rather than 3rd/short in high school? one with no arm or range who is too short for 1B?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Especially all of the left-handed-throwing first basemen. You can be pretty sure they were never catchers or third basemen.

[Edgy MD]

My impression is that high school firstbasemen tend to either go to college or fall down beyond round five in the draft.

Obviously, it's not a hard rule. Dominic Smith, whose glove was as attractive as his bat, was a first rounder. While righties end up at first because of their defensive limitations, lefties sometimes just end up there because they're lefties.

[RealityChuck]

A shortstop and a catcher. Two positions where they're lacking in prospects.

<Sarcasm>

My first thought.

Rule 1: You don't draft [or make down the road trades] based on current positional need
Rule 2: See Rule 1

If this was a Now! trade (for, say, AAA guys on the verge of promotion) that's a different story. But these guys are 18 & 19 and multiple steps away from any potential ML career, so f they were the two they liked best then go for it.

The team's biggest development issue is that they have too many AAA shortstops and have a major lack of outfielders. This is a trade, not a draft pick and the team has a history of not developing players in positions of need. If they had switched Mauricio to outfield as soon as they signed Lindor, he'd be playing right now.

[Edgy MD]

I don't think that's their biggest developmental issue.

I also don't think teams develop players at positions of need. They develop players.

[Edgy MD]

This is really going to open up the Schaefer Reliever of the Year race.