[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome into another edition of the future sucks Roundup. [SPEAKER_00]: My name is Elijah Evans joined by my co-host as always, Dylan Barnas. [SPEAKER_00]: We are back. [SPEAKER_00]: We are not live today. [SPEAKER_00]: It's the first time we haven't been live in a little while. [SPEAKER_00]: Both of us doing some travel in the weeks. [SPEAKER_00]: We figured we would get an episode in as we record here on Sunday afternoon.
[SPEAKER_00]: This will come out tomorrow on Monday, the eleventh. [SPEAKER_00]: But we, yeah, we just wanted to check in on some of some headlines around the organization. [SPEAKER_00]: Just kind of [SPEAKER_00]: little catch up on everything before we get into this this busy week and then hopefully get back into a normal rhythm here soon. [SPEAKER_00]: Dylan, how you doing? [SPEAKER_01]: I'm good.
[SPEAKER_01]: The white socks have not been playing well recently, but you know, it's it's to be expected. [SPEAKER_01]: You know, there was a little fun two weeks there after the all start break, but you know, I think we'll find we'll end up being somewhere in that middle ground. [SPEAKER_01]: You know, you're not going to go ten and four the entire rest of the season, but you're not going to lose six straight.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think if you can just hover around five hundred [SPEAKER_01]: that's gonna be fine for the rest of the season. [SPEAKER_01]: And you know, with the losses of Chase Mydrauth and Miguel Vargas to the IL, you're really seeing just how important those guys are to the lineup every single day, because without those guys anchoring the top five, two of the top five spots in a lineup, we're seeing just how bleak it really is. [SPEAKER_01]: So it's been rough recently.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, some ups and downs for sure, man. [SPEAKER_00]: I think there's still some good signs built in there, obviously some guys that have been pretty good. [SPEAKER_00]: of late, but yeah, the lineup as a whole's been weaker. [SPEAKER_00]: There's been some really some blow-up starts in the past, you know, weaker too as well, which which happens, you know, I think you're gonna see that. [SPEAKER_00]: We see Jonathan Kennedy, he's gonna get a reset in AAA.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that it was just doesn't really look right since coming off the aisle. [SPEAKER_00]: He had one good start, another than that. [SPEAKER_00]: He just really hasn't looked like himself in the last couple of starts. [SPEAKER_00]: So he's gonna get a reset down there. [SPEAKER_00]: We're gonna probably see a couple bullpen days. [SPEAKER_00]: They're doing a lot of swapping relieves in and out this morning. [SPEAKER_00]: Who was it? [SPEAKER_00]: Hudson goes down.
[SPEAKER_00]: somebody else went down to. [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome home. [SPEAKER_00]: Coming came up for a day and then goes back down and then Pagaro comes up, which I'm actually excited to see what Pagaro looked like. [SPEAKER_00]: Way for claim from the brewers. [SPEAKER_00]: Then Pagaro comes back up as well. [SPEAKER_00]: It's going to be a lot of like bullpen shuffling. [SPEAKER_00]: I have a feeling just kind of limiting itings.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, you've got change Smith getting it and limited itings at this point. [SPEAKER_00]: It seems like kind of the most of the starters are kind of on some lot of a limited right now just being young guys that haven't thrown this much in their careers. [SPEAKER_00]: Then you've got a bullpen where you're just kind of mixing and matching and shuffling and seeing what sticks and seeing who can kind of keep it going. [SPEAKER_00]: That's fine.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like I'm okay with that. [SPEAKER_00]: I think there's a lot of guys that I don't mind getting in. [SPEAKER_00]: So the idea of like this bullpen just kind of being a jump over right now is it's perfectly fine with me, honestly.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just curious to see who kind of takes that opportunity and runs with it because there's going to be a lot of competition for bullpen spots going in the next year and it's going to be, you know, this next two months is a good time for some of these guys to kind of establish themselves a little bit further and show that they kind of should be in that bullpen mix rather than on the outside looking in.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, you know, we saw guys like Gus Varland last year sort of put themselves on the map with a solid last two months, and you know, unfortunately, Varland has dealt with injury and actually just got DFA and released earlier on this week. [SPEAKER_01]: But you know, if he hadn't been injured, I think he would have been in the mix for bullpen innings on the Big League team this year.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, sadly it didn't go as way, but if there are guys this year who can carve out roles for themselves in in the bullpen, you know, we're not asking guys to be the next manual clock. [SPEAKER_01]: Well, maybe not a manual class out with all the gang stuff, but if they can just become quality relievers, like, you know, that's that's all we're asking for.
[SPEAKER_01]: We're not asking for, you know, [SPEAKER_01]: sixty-save seasons and the next Mariana Rivera just like quality guys who can eat up innings and just and you to just turn innings because at the end of the day the white tax rotation next year is going to be a lot of young guys like there might be [SPEAKER_01]: there might be another like Martín Perez signing where you know it's like a Martín Perez. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it could just be Martín Perez.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got an opt-in but you know there's there's gonna be a lot of young guys I would say at least four of the of the starters are gonna be guys with two years sometimes less of service time so like you're gonna need those guys in the bullpen who can eat up innings every every fifth day especially when you know guys aren't going deep in the games
[SPEAKER_00]: And as much as it's a non-glorious role, you're going to still need a couple of guys you can shuttle back and forth from Charlotte that can be kind of better and really risk that can bounce back and forth of the younger guys are better and guys that can plug to many things in Chicago go back down to Charlotte come up in Chicago for two weeks of the need and then get some innings or come up for one day and throw four things out of the bullpen like it's not a pretty situation and I know guys don't love that but like you do need some of that when you're working with such a young pitching staff as we were talking about here.
[SPEAKER_00]: So we'll get into some of the stuff on the big leagues side. [SPEAKER_00]: Then when I want to talk Arizona fall league, we got the full eight guys going to the White Sox Arizona fall league earlier than usual, which is interesting. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I do. [SPEAKER_00]: We'll see you kind of that break out this week.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then we'll talk a little bit about kind of the the first two weeks here from the draft class in addition to who we kind of see as the next call ups the rest of the season as we near kind of less than two months left in the big league season now. [SPEAKER_00]: on the MLB side. [SPEAKER_00]: So you mentioned Vargas and then my dear author out. [SPEAKER_00]: The one thing I want to kind of touch on here, and I'm curious, I've seen various opinions online.
[SPEAKER_00]: What do you want or think the infield should be in interim while those two guys are out? [SPEAKER_00]: Because it is, it sucks having them out, the lineup has struggled for sure, but it is an opportunity to get some guys at bats that haven't been getting as many at bats and to just let guys see and show what they could and be going into next year where you've got a fairly crowded infield. [SPEAKER_01]: In my opinion, I think it should be Curtis Mead at first base.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, that's maybe not his best position, but with the Leningsoes experiment at first base, I don't really think you can stick him there anymore. [SPEAKER_01]: You know, he's gotten a couple of Leningsoes there and sure fine. [SPEAKER_01]: But I think Mead at first base, Leningsoes at second, because he's been one of the White Sox best hitters in the past two months, which has been pretty fun to see.
[SPEAKER_01]: But then Cole's a Montgomery at short, and then [SPEAKER_01]: Rotating door at third probably Josh Rojas, you know, I maybe like a Jacob and Maya every day or every, every couple days. [SPEAKER_00]: What do you think are a Brooks thing though? [SPEAKER_00]: They've been playing Brooks at third a couple. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's not its best position, but ultimately I'd rather have Brooks ball than in the lineup than just a second.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm like if that's the way to get them in the lineup, I'm fine with it. [SPEAKER_00]: I think that the so the way I look at it is like, yes, I agree on the on the mid first. [SPEAKER_00]: So second, it's Colson third or short part of me. [SPEAKER_00]: If you play Baldwin, you could play Colson at third of a little. [SPEAKER_00]: You have Baldwin at shortstop a couple days.
[SPEAKER_00]: That is an option there if you want to keep getting Colson reps at third because it does seem like they are interested in getting Colson at least occasional reps at third, which is interesting, but like I am kind of for it. [SPEAKER_00]: I think generally it's [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not opposed to him continuing to get some reps at third.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then on the flip side of things, if your outfield is still going to be Ben and Tandy Robert Tauckman in order to get Tiel and Carol in the game together like we saw yesterday, D.H. [SPEAKER_00]: and catching, I'm found with Brooks and being at third because at least you get him wind up and he has actually been hitting pretty well lately. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, he's kind of been like one of the one of the surprising players of the last couple of weeks.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, he's got I think three homers in his last ten tennis games. [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, I could completely forgotten that they're trying out Baldwin at third. [SPEAKER_01]: And if you can sort of carve out that utility role even more, just showing that he can play pretty much wherever he's needed, he can play on the outfield, he can play on the dirt. [SPEAKER_01]: That's perfectly fine by me because in my opinion, we've said it all along.
[SPEAKER_01]: His best role is going to be that utility guy where he can play eight, nine positions and just [SPEAKER_01]: put up a good app ad, you know, he's not gonna be an eight hundred eight fifty OPS hitter, but you know, if you can string string together some good app ads hit a couple homers here and there, that's perfectly fine for my utility guy. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, exactly.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just think it's that time with these injuries to get him in the line up and get him some baths and just kind of give him a little bit more consistent run to see what you can get out of Baldwin. [SPEAKER_00]: So I do think that that's the way to kind of handle this this weird little interim period we're missing to your key players potentially. [SPEAKER_00]: So we'll see how that shakes out. [SPEAKER_00]: I think I like the idea of where it's at right now.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we'll see kind of how they they chose to go with it and you know to take advantage of getting guys at best what you can Getting into the Arizona falling stuff as we kind of talked through what we're looking like in the fall and and you know, I think there was some some no brainers on this list.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that it was a some what of a given that you were going to see you know Colson Eric part of me hey again [SPEAKER_00]: And no assaults there is because, you know, they, they, you got to get those guys submitting. [SPEAKER_00]: So I one way or another, they, they haven't gotten to the endings. [SPEAKER_00]: You would have hoped they would have gotten to at this point.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that you're going to see a situation with them where you really want to continue to give them every opportunity to show that they can be in the twenty twenty six roster and and prove their
[SPEAKER_00]: you know, they're they're value in their spot on that team and kind of earn their strikes going into next year and a chance to make that, you know, whether it's opening their rotation, but to be on the rotation at some point next year, you got to see their endings get built up a little more and you got to see them have more success. [SPEAKER_00]: So I think those are the two no brainers.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then you get into the crop of a break-in-month summary, Sam Antonacci, Ryan Galaney, Connor McCullough, Tyler Davis, and Carson Jacobs. [SPEAKER_00]: Starting with Noah and Hayden. [SPEAKER_00]: What is it that like you think we should be looking for out of those guys in the fall? [SPEAKER_00]: Because I'm hoping to get to the fall for a couple days, which would be great in October.
[SPEAKER_00]: In general, just for people that are kind of keeping an eye on it and people will be people reporting on it in person there one way or another. [SPEAKER_00]: What do you want to see from those guys when they get to Arizona there in October? [SPEAKER_01]: For me, it's similar, but also different in a way, because both of those guys, they've had some control issues. [SPEAKER_01]: We've seen the walks tick up at times for both of them.
[SPEAKER_01]: But some of that can be explained by no shelter's been dealing with a knee injury, Hagan Smith was on the devilist for, I don't know, how long, like a month-ish. [SPEAKER_01]: But just continue to throw strikes. [SPEAKER_01]: We've seen Hagan Smith walk four batters in a row of his last outing. [SPEAKER_01]: But if they can just dial in the control and say, all right, I'm better than you. [SPEAKER_01]: Here's my best pitch. [SPEAKER_01]: You're not going to hit it.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's exactly what I want to see because both of those guys, when they're on, it's two of the best left-hated pitching prospects in the sport. [SPEAKER_01]: And it's been an up and down season for both of them. [SPEAKER_01]: But we've seen the flashes, especially from Shelds this year, where he's looking like that top of the rotation guy who has pump in ninety eight in the sixth seventh inning.
[SPEAKER_01]: That throwing strikes is also is one of the things and just maintaining the velocity, you know, Higginsmith is is still sitting ninety two to ninety four in August. [SPEAKER_01]: which is not great, but you know, maybe he's just still working through some mechanical stuff and he goes Arizona and he can work some things out there. [SPEAKER_01]: So if he can just take back up, like, I'm not asking him to sit like, ninety eight.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm just seeing, I'm just asking to see some sort of velocity improvement where, you know, he can touch ninety six, ninety seven, maybe even at a ninety eight. [SPEAKER_01]: And then with shults, it's pretty much the same thing.
[SPEAKER_01]: throw strikes and throw hard like he's like less of a of a worry in velocity in my opinion just because like I've seen him throw ninety eight on like his third to last picture the game his I think was like pitch eighty five eighty something like that so I'm not worried about velocity with Noah but the thing is is also like
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to see him reintroduce that cutter because it got scrapped in I want to say it was like June July and then you know his his walks ticked up and it's a high it's a high zone percentage percentage pitch so you know he's not getting all lot of those strikes anymore, but [SPEAKER_01]: The reason why he scrapped it is because he was putting pressure on the wrong finger when he was releasing it and it was messing up his pronation on his sinker.
[SPEAKER_01]: So like on a cutter you got to get around the ball on the sinker you got to get on the inside of the ball. [SPEAKER_01]: So it was hurting him getting on the inside of the ball on his sinker. [SPEAKER_01]: He was losing some of that movement.
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's a good move and you know hopefully he can reintroduce that but the two things that I'm looking for are velocity and strikes you know that's that's [SPEAKER_01]: every picture nowadays, you're building for two things, velocity and strikes. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, some great insight there from you when we were talking about the solo yesterday, just off of talking and thinking through kind of what's been going on with Sholton and [SPEAKER_00]: You wanted that out.
[SPEAKER_00]: You'd heard some of that stuff there. [SPEAKER_00]: So I think that's a really interesting dynamic and it's something that I think, you know, the general public when you look at some numbers, you're probably like, oh, he's pitching bad. [SPEAKER_00]: But like, these are the things you want to attack and you want to deal with these, you know, concrete kind of just pitch development pitch arsenal things that the way that it's, you know, his, it's affecting other pitchers.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, that's not something we think about off the dome and I know what most fans think about. [SPEAKER_00]: But like, [SPEAKER_00]: There is underlying reasons for some of the struggles that he's had and just kind of the figuring out of who he is a pitcher and you'd rather deal with that now than you would. [SPEAKER_00]: And you'd rather deal with that also with the Big League ball.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think part of that is like he, I think part of the AAA move was figuring out how we can kind of figure out the movement and the feel for the Big League ball with those new pit with those pitches. [SPEAKER_00]: It's already having a pressure difference. [SPEAKER_00]: They needed to adjust there doing that with the Big League ball. [SPEAKER_00]: We'll set him up for going into Arizona and going in next year having that some layer of comfort with that ball.
[SPEAKER_00]: We've heard that Schultz is probably going to return to Charlotte here towards the end of the month. [SPEAKER_00]: If you can get three four more starts and there is belt here in Charlotte and then you can get three four starts under his belt in Arizona. [SPEAKER_00]: Another eight starts this year will be huge for him going into next season.
[SPEAKER_00]: At that point you'd have hopefully you know, hundred innings or so, where you can then build off that and be ready for a started workload next year. [SPEAKER_00]: So I think for him, it just is one. [SPEAKER_00]: It's more of just getting those innings getting that feel for for Hayin. [SPEAKER_00]: I just the man's got to be better man.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was looking at it earlier, you know, it just, yeah, thirteen strikeouts per night is a sweet ready still getting a ton of strikeouts because he can be that good, but but he hasn't been that good. [SPEAKER_00]: The ERA looks okay. [SPEAKER_00]: Sure. [SPEAKER_00]: The fifth looks okay, right? [SPEAKER_00]: Because the strikeouts are great, but the walk rate is way too high.
[SPEAKER_00]: and the stuff is down and the stuff it's not getting hit hard because he's still kind of around the zone. [SPEAKER_00]: So he's not really getting beat up on it. [SPEAKER_00]: It's more just like the command leads to walks and the stuff decrease is kind of almost negated by the fact that it's not that hitable because it's not really in the zone often.
[SPEAKER_00]: So with him it's just like I just want to see more strikes and you said that already, but I think that's where I would throw those guys. [SPEAKER_00]: going on to the three hitters. [SPEAKER_00]: It's a fun trio man. [SPEAKER_00]: It's a really fun trio heading on the hitting side two hours on a fall league and break them on Montgomery, Sam Antonachi and Rangolani. [SPEAKER_00]: And these are the guys that have been largely healthy.
[SPEAKER_00]: So with pitching, you usually see the fall league heavily on guys that need innings and haven't pitched all season or either were had surgery or just having had as many innings like these two, right? [SPEAKER_00]: With the hitting side, it's like, okay, let's see how these guys do against the better of better pitchers and high end pitching prospects and then more advanced pitching prospects. [SPEAKER_00]: And these are the three guys that I think are no-brainers.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think make a ton of sense to see that higher level. [SPEAKER_00]: Brayton Montgomery being a guy that we've talked about plenty. [SPEAKER_00]: Like when that trade was struck for Gerrit Crochet, like, Brayton Montgomery, the goal is to have him in your twenty- twenty-six line up. [SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't need to be opening day. [SPEAKER_00]: But by the end of twenty-six, Brayton Montgomery should be the starting right-fielder in Chicago.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that is very clearly the aim here. [SPEAKER_00]: And with him going to the fall-league, like, that's the plan. [SPEAKER_00]: I think that's very clearly the plan here. [SPEAKER_00]: And then with Antonachi and Galini, these are two guys that they've [SPEAKER_00]: gotten some serious value on draft laws and you look at their draft stock and then just what they've done in their mind of the career so far.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I think both these guys are on pace today, but next year, I think, you know, we've talked about ancient Angle and you funny on this show and like.
[SPEAKER_00]: Antonachi's doing everything he needs to do and doubleize and it's getting there to continue to show that it hasn't been a fluke so far and when canapolis and then in Winston and like that he is a very well-rounded, you know, high-end contact editor who could be a versatile infielder for the white socks and then Galini, you know, is someone who's a late-round pick kind of more of this corner bat with power archetype, run driver, producer.
[SPEAKER_00]: But he doesn't strike out a ton. [SPEAKER_00]: He's been taking pretty good at bat. [SPEAKER_00]: He had a little bit of a down spell in Birmingham and has picked it up again of late, right? [SPEAKER_00]: Like he seems like every level he's been at now three levels. [SPEAKER_00]: He starts a little slow, he gets going, and then he gets on a roll, and it's just like, okay, this guy looks like he can handle a level in.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now if he's handling W, the way he's handling the rest of this season, and he comes in to Arizona and he has a good fall league, I don't see any reason why Galane couldn't push for some time at first base, and you know, mid to late next season.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, a hundred percent, especially because, you know, that jump from high A to AA is largely considered to be one of the hardest jumps outside of AAA to Charlotte or AAA to the big leagues because like the quality of pitching that you get to in AA is just so much more advanced than in in the lower binners. [SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, we've seen guys like you said it with Galenie.
[SPEAKER_01]: where you know, they struggle initially coming up to Birmingham and then they they adjust and now they're turning it back on. [SPEAKER_01]: But the thing that I'm most impressed with is same. [SPEAKER_01]: It's not you just has it hasn't struggled like at at seemingly any point in the season and especially now that he's in Birmingham. [SPEAKER_01]: It just looks like he's the best player on the field, like at all times.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't have his AA stats in front of me right now, but he's got to be batting over three hundred, if not close to three fifty. [SPEAKER_00]: After a rough quote unquote weekend, it's two ninety nine. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, exactly. [SPEAKER_01]: But no, yeah, those, those three are the three of the top five bats in that Birmingham lineup. [SPEAKER_01]: And you know, they're going to be pushing for another southern league title this year.
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you look at this oven like standing by the way recently for the second half? [SPEAKER_00]: They're like, they're gonna like clinch this other than the second half in like a week and it's still a month to the playoffs. [SPEAKER_00]: It's silly. [SPEAKER_00]: They're just going. [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, Birmingham has been awesome. [SPEAKER_00]: They almost won the first half title, too.
[SPEAKER_00]: So if you look at overall standards, it's like, wow, they're just the best team in AA. [SPEAKER_00]: Honestly, one of them is like, yeah, Birmingham has been playing game lead. [SPEAKER_01]: It's been like, yeah, it's been thirty eight games. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: It's it's so that team is on a heater of all heaters, and that was cool getting to talk to I talked to Shane Murphy earlier this week, which everybody should definitely check out that interview.
[SPEAKER_00]: Shane Murphy was you know has been incredible in Birmingham. [SPEAKER_00]: One of my favorite pitching interviews I've done in a while super super honest and open about the way he pitches who he is a pitcher. [SPEAKER_00]: But that team in general, he was just saying like the vibes are just great.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like it makes it easy to want to go and just win a game because that team is just everybody there is just competing and there's just a lot of talent to the point where like they they're just going out there and and putting up games and winning games and just competitively going out in every single day and Birmingham lately, which is which is awesome to say, but I do think all three of those guys I mean, should but also like will debut next year.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like I don't I don't see why that's crazy to say. [SPEAKER_00]: I think that you know [SPEAKER_00]: The fit is tricky fitting in all these invilders. [SPEAKER_00]: It's like so glanian and and to not you particularly it's going to be a little tricky to find the innings for them every day. [SPEAKER_00]: But I know whatever it looks like in their role, but I do think they're all going to have a shot to debut next year. [SPEAKER_00]: And I think, you know, right, I'm really like.
[SPEAKER_00]: pretty simple, in the aspect of like, come midseason, you trade, been in Tendee or Taupman or both, and and Brady Montgomery is in your starting out field, and I don't think that timeline is unrealistic for him, given where he's at right now.
[SPEAKER_00]: Still some things to work on for sure, but a good Arizona fall league, and I start to the season next year, whether it's in Birmingham or Charlotte, and you're looking at a midseason call up for him, and probably these other guys as well. [SPEAKER_00]: The other name is Dimension Briefly from Arizona, Connor McCullough. [SPEAKER_00]: Actually, it was a pretty good twenty twenty three season. [SPEAKER_00]: Head TJ comes off now.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now he's just getting back in the groove. [SPEAKER_00]: This is just him getting some innings. [SPEAKER_00]: Tyler Davis, Carson Jacob's two relievers. [SPEAKER_00]: Davis has been really good in Birmingham this year. [SPEAKER_00]: It was an indie ball guy last signed last year. [SPEAKER_00]: So someone who, you know, I had a good season, but also twenty six years old. [SPEAKER_00]: So I think this is kind of like heirs your push.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you can show that you can handle it in AFL, then you're going to compete to make a bullpen spot potentially sometime next year. [SPEAKER_00]: Carson Jacobs was a non-drafted guy in twenty twenty three stuff is great strikeouts are great walks of ton of people in higher this season. [SPEAKER_00]: So I think for him it's just a test of kind of how his stuff can play up at the next level if he can kind of hone in in my command a little bit.
[SPEAKER_00]: So not a ton of to note there from those three, but I think it'll be you know three guys that'll supplement those high end five going to theirs on fall. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, you know, reliever depth in the system is always needed. [SPEAKER_01]: You know, we've seen the like we said before, the shuffling of of of cast members in the big league in AAA or in the AAA bullpen.
[SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, if they can just continue to fight their way up there, you know, we might see one of those three guys in the in the mix for a big league spin actually, especially if they perform well in the AFL, you know, we've seen right as like Peyton Paulette last year go to the
[SPEAKER_01]: AFL as a reliever and you know sort of he was already putting his name on the map as a reliever before but you know now you know he's in AAA he could get called up in the in the coming months here but you know if if if any of those three guys want to push for a big league spot next year this is this is the time to do it because this is going to be some of the best competition that they're going to be facing so [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, no hundred percent.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's going to be a cool experience for all those guys at that next level. [SPEAKER_00]: Let's check it on the draft class quickly. [SPEAKER_00]: And this is kind of just a run through the system just because we're doing this prerecorded and just checking in and everybody draft class guys a couple started.
[SPEAKER_00]: I actually less guys than I expected probably, but it makes sense that the four the four college hitters that started there, the professional careers, everybody else in the complex league. [SPEAKER_00]: Starting at the highest level in the more I write down and here, you know, obviously we don't have video it in. [SPEAKER_00]: Jacked details on the bridge league, but we have heard some really good things about the guys down in Arizona playing games.
[SPEAKER_00]: In Winston Salem, Kyle Lodis is the one guy that goes all the way to Winston to start his professional career. [SPEAKER_00]: Lodis in his first four professional games, three for fifteen stolen base, three strikeouts. [SPEAKER_00]: Obviously, the small sample just a couple of games, but Lodis is playing shortstop, so that's I think one thing to note there is that he is going to be
[SPEAKER_00]: the the short stop there and not in Winston I think that he will it probably spend I mean with low east like from from talking to him kind of gaging where he's at and where the organization's at I think he's a short stop till at least Charlotte I think that's kind of how it's looked at is like he's going to be the Winston short stop [SPEAKER_00]: most of next season, you know, when he gets to Birmingham, he'll be the shortstop in Birmingham.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that he honestly probably profiles better at shortstop than then in Bergoya does or then, you know, hurl Perez for sure, right? [SPEAKER_00]: Some of these other guys there. [SPEAKER_00]: So I think Lydis will be a shortstop till at least Charlotte, and then we'll see from there wherever he's looking with, you know, with the Madras, with, you know, with Colson, with chicken dollars, with all of the whoever's gonna play shortstop.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I do think he'll be a shortstop for at least HyA and AA, four games under his belt now at the HyA level. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, you know, it's he was the sort of like the main guy that we were targeting going straight to Winston because, you know, advanced college editor has four years of college experience or was it for? [SPEAKER_00]: No, I mean, played D two.
[SPEAKER_00]: So he's only, I mean, three years of college, but only only one at D one level, but again, still installed, you know, an HTC high end guy this past season.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, you know, it's, I want to say that jump to too high isn't going to be much for him, but, you know, [SPEAKER_01]: It's I don't want to say it's comparable pitching because like you know it's not comparing like college baseball to pro ball is just it's so it's different but like he could he could have gone to tie right away and held his own you know it's only been four games and but three for fifteen you know
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, we'll take that and I'm not looking for stats especially from the draft guys this year because you know judging guys off of their first two months in professional baseball after they've already been playing since February like this is going to be the longest season of their lives and you know it's it's just not really fair to judge them based on a season that will
[SPEAKER_01]: never be this long ever again, and to their adjusting to an entirely different atmosphere, like woodbads, all that. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I know I'm with you. [SPEAKER_00]: I think for him, it's just good to see him get out there, get some games under his belt, and see how it looks. [SPEAKER_00]: And cannapolis, three guys have made their professional debuts. [SPEAKER_00]: That being, what was it?
[SPEAKER_00]: Sixth rounder, Colby Shelton, who's won for fifteen in his first four games, and then seventh rounder, seventh or eighth. [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, seventh rounder Anthony Epino, who is five for eighteen out of the gate in his first five professional games, and then twelveth rounder, Ellie Brown, [SPEAKER_00]: who is two for ten in his first four professional games. [SPEAKER_00]: So just a small sample, obviously only one week of games under their belt at this point.
[SPEAKER_00]: They've got one more game today in Canapolis, and then you head down, head up, you know, day off tomorrow, head into their second week. [SPEAKER_00]: Cool to see all these guys, though, college guys, you know, some pretty good experience to have between these three, of course. [SPEAKER_00]: And just a little spark into that, that Canapolis lineup, obviously. [SPEAKER_00]: A lineup that added some other guys from the complex recently.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, four or five new guys in that lineup now, after all these new additions. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's similar to what we said with Lodice, you know, those are the three oldest college bats. [SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, it makes sense. [SPEAKER_00]: Price up one as well. [SPEAKER_00]: I should mention that. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm drafted. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm drafted, Bryce Ablin. [SPEAKER_00]: He was the first undrafted guy sign and who had five years of college experience.
[SPEAKER_00]: So he's one for nine and his first three games there. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, you know, it's the older college guys who, you know, they don't really serve, they don't get much playing in the bridge league in Arizona, like some of the high school guys will. [SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, it's just nice to see the new face is getting in. [SPEAKER_00]: I thought this, but I was, because I remember hearing the name bright up when I thought it was, he was the last year UDFA.
[SPEAKER_00]: So he used to, I remember this name too closely for it to be somebody that just got signed. [SPEAKER_00]: He was a twenty, twenty, four UDFA, part of me on that one, but didn't play it all last season. [SPEAKER_00]: And then this season played a handful of complex games before now heading to connect with you. [SPEAKER_00]: So that's your college guide about them.
[SPEAKER_00]: I remember the name, and I was like, and if no one that name for longer than two, [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's what's going on there. [SPEAKER_00]: And then down at the complex, you've got originally going on, which is kind of this unofficial official league with with draft picked often. [SPEAKER_00]: But it sounds like everything we've heard from, you know, shout out to Hesus Keno, who's covering the comp the Arizona League there for baseball America, doing a really good job there.
[SPEAKER_00]: I know he's going to be on the pod with James and Ian here soon. [SPEAKER_00]: He, you know, was pointing out to how deep and how talented the lineup is there. [SPEAKER_00]: you've obviously got Billy Carlson and Jayden Fowski leading me to off. [SPEAKER_00]: You've got some other international guys mixed in there. [SPEAKER_00]: You've got, you know, just a really good range and a fun group of guys playing there in Arizona right now.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think it's going to be cool to see how they're going. [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it sounds like it's pretty clearly that both Fowski and Carlson will not debut this year in anapolis, which we pretty much knew, but that was a sense of confirmed this week. [SPEAKER_00]: And then a lot of these other guys are just getting after it at the complex right now. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, you know, it is essentially what we've expected.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, the older college guys goes straight up to an affiliate and then the high school guys who just want to keep playing and, you know, work on specific things. [SPEAKER_01]: They're going to go to Arizona. [SPEAKER_01]: They're going to play on the back fields.
[SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, this is the time where teams, especially the white socks can see, you know, [SPEAKER_01]: We've seen Carlson sending videos to Mike Shirley, like he's talked about that, like how he's sending videos to Mike Shirley of his swing at two in the morning. [SPEAKER_01]: But this is the time where they can make adjustments and the white socks can see, you know, all right, how are these adjustments working out? [SPEAKER_01]: Is it going to play at the next level?
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's all we can ask for because, you know, they're first off season in, in like, in a big league camp or not a big league camp, like, in a major league baseball organization, you know, it's, it's an important one because, you know, [SPEAKER_01]: This is where you take that next step and start the journey on becoming a big leader. [SPEAKER_01]: So I think that both of Carlson and Fowski debut in Canapolis early on next year.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not sure if they go like the George Wolk Owl route where they spend like two, three weeks in Arizona and then go up. [SPEAKER_01]: But what do you see as the timeline for both of them next year? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think that it's probably similar where they open the year. [SPEAKER_00]: No, man, because bottom of it, I mean, forced the agenda of this thing and they will straight there.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I think that there's still a little bit of work to be done with Carlson's slang from some of the videos I've been saying. [SPEAKER_00]: So I do think with a little bit of swing reworking as a chance he starts in and Arizona still and heads to Canapolis and May. [SPEAKER_00]: At the same time, man, if these guys come in and look really good out of the spring and out of the gate, like I wouldn't be shocked to see either of both of them start straight up and canapolis.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think land and hogs will take a little bit longer probably, but I do think both Faskin Carlton will be there sooner than later next season, even if it's not right out of the gate. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think both of them could push for right out of the gate, especially if they have a good winter, and the organization sees things that they wanted to see.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I do think that both of them at least open the year in Arizona, and then they'll, at the very least, finish the year in Canapolis, because, you know, [SPEAKER_01]: Like I said, it's similar to the older college guys, where this is the longest season they're going to play in their lives.
[SPEAKER_01]: And the first professional season for the high school guys, especially guys like Jaden Fauskew coming out of a cold weather state, like Illinois where you're not playing until March, you know, playing from February to September. [SPEAKER_01]: That's a grind. [SPEAKER_01]: And you know, we've said, I've said it for Caleb Bonamer, like this is a grind. [SPEAKER_01]: playing a hundred and forty games in a year is very different from playing forty five fifty in high school.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, no, definitely. [SPEAKER_00]: It's going to be an interesting thing to watch, but I'm excited to see how those guys kind of accumate to their professional careers. [SPEAKER_00]: As we wrap here, just getting our brief updates in today, looking at the big league roster, we talked about how this is the bullpen's been shuffling back and forth a little.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now you've got a potential rotation spot open if they do choose to keep cannon down in Charlotte for longer than one start potentially. [SPEAKER_00]: However, that shakes out. [SPEAKER_00]: There's definitely, and then you've got the injuries on the offensive side, right? [SPEAKER_00]: Who do you see as some of the next call-ups here for the White's Act?
[SPEAKER_00]: Because we're, you know, a month and a half out from the season being over at this point, you're three weeks out from September call-ups when you go from twenty six-man roster to a twenty eight-man roster. [SPEAKER_00]: So you're going to have two added spots here in three weeks.
[SPEAKER_00]: But before then, and even once that happens, then, who are some of the guys that you kind of are targeting as guys that should get the call in the near future and be able to get some endings down the stretcher? [SPEAKER_01]: One of the names is a new name. [SPEAKER_01]: I've got two that I could see. [SPEAKER_01]: One of them is Ben Peoples, you know, acquired a couple of weeks ago in the Adrian Houser trade. [SPEAKER_01]: He's been really good in Tripoli.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, he had a rough first outing, but you know, his stuff is just very good. [SPEAKER_01]: And I could easily see the organization being like, all right, you know, you're [SPEAKER_01]: you have big league stuff, let's see it at the big league level. [SPEAKER_01]: And then my sneaky name, you know, we've sort of theorized this, but I genuinely think Tanner McDougal might be on his way to a big league call up in the next three weeks.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think those two are the two names. [SPEAKER_01]: It would not shock me if a patent call at Zack Franklin gets a call too. [SPEAKER_01]: So I would say any of those four guys could be the next guy up and it wouldn't shock me. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think all those arms are good ideas for sure. [SPEAKER_00]: I think that that McDougall I think is going to debut this season. [SPEAKER_00]: I think it'll be out of the bullpen.
[SPEAKER_00]: It'll be very limited innings just because he's already kind of almost out as innings limit. [SPEAKER_00]: But I do think McDougall will debut because he's going to have to go on the forty man in the off season anyways. [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm not get him on there. [SPEAKER_00]: You can get your plenty of vets. [SPEAKER_00]: You can bump off the forty man at this point. [SPEAKER_00]: get him out of the forty men and get him up in the bigs just for a cup of tea out of the bullpen.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm down for people's I think pellet also has as kind of earned it at this point I think pellets a guy who just you know is last eight outings it's it's two runs a lot across ten innings twelve strikeouts like it's just it's been consistently good for him even adjusting to Charlotte with a couple ups and downs like I do think he's earned the right to get us bottom of the bigs this year.
[SPEAKER_00]: if it's not this year that I think pull it is going to have a chance to break camp and I think he is a really good chance he can is a reliever because he him is a reliever has been an entirely different pitcher than then you know him starting in his first professional season right so that's been great I think you'll end your scomas is another one who I mentioned recently on the pod that I actually would like to see what [SPEAKER_01]: Did he debut already?
[SPEAKER_00]: He did debut. [SPEAKER_00]: Sorry. [SPEAKER_00]: They debuted. [SPEAKER_00]: Paul, I'm in terms of getting called up. [SPEAKER_00]: I think he should. [SPEAKER_00]: He has debuted. [SPEAKER_00]: But I do think he get a real shot to get a call up. [SPEAKER_00]: If you want to replace Canon with an actual starter, like, oh, this has been making starts. [SPEAKER_00]: He's been making starts and they've been pretty good. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, his last five outings.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's twenty one innings of a four run, four runs allowed in twenty one innings, one seventy R. A, thirty one strikeouts across those twenty one innings. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, [SPEAKER_00]: I'm all for a guy who still is pretty young and really hasn't gotten extended run to a big league level to just see what it looks like for him. [SPEAKER_00]: And then on the hitting side, I would like to see some Brian Ramos man before the end of the season.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think it probably won't be till September call ups. [SPEAKER_00]: I think that's realistically a guy who you can, you can add as kind of your extra hitter instead of replacing a hitter. [SPEAKER_00]: It's tricky, what one's Vargas and then Madre often gets back. [SPEAKER_00]: Like how do you even find an innings for Ramos?
[SPEAKER_00]: Even if it's a couple days off the bench, I do think that Ramos has found his groove again in Charlotte more, and I still think I believe in to show that he could be a weak side platoon MLB piece, right? [SPEAKER_00]: I think there's a world there where he can be, so I would like to see him.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then on the other side, I mean, I wish they had moved, you know, a microwave tailor or somebody in that outfit, because [SPEAKER_00]: I do think Wil Robertson is worth a look at some point. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know how he gets innings this year though.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think with your, unless you're going to DFA someone, which I don't think you're gonna, you've got Benny, you've got Robert, you've got Taukman, you've got Taylor, and then you still have Brooks, we'll play some outfield core yokes on the roster right now. [SPEAKER_00]: Even if you bump a core yokes, again, you can bring Robertson up, how many innings is that going to give Robertson pretty minimal?
[SPEAKER_00]: But I'd be interested to see either what Ramus or Robertson look like at the big level. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, you know, those are two guys where, you know, we've seen them at the big league level and, you know, it hasn't, it was, it was up and down for, for Ramos especially just because like he's that streaky hitter by nature and with Robertson, you know, he's an older guy has tore up AAA. [SPEAKER_01]: He has nothing left to prove down there.
[SPEAKER_01]: So if, if they want to give him a shot at the big league level for an extended period of time, like, I'm not saying that like an injury is gonna happen, but like, let's say that, you know, [SPEAKER_01]: Ben Nintendo your talkman goes down because Talkman especially is looking like he's on his last leg out there in the outfield, but you know
[SPEAKER_01]: If an injury happens or just in that twenty-eight man roster, I would be more than fine with giving some of those older AAA guys a shot to see what they have at the big level. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I'm all for it. [SPEAKER_00]: That's all we got today. [SPEAKER_00]: We're going to get into a rhythm. [SPEAKER_00]: I need to figure out I did not realize this for everyone that listens to our live shows.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's going to be the middle of the night for me when we usually record on Mondays for the next month. [SPEAKER_00]: Um, I'm going to be in Europe. [SPEAKER_00]: So I need to figure out what we're going to do for for live shows or different time or pre-recorded. [SPEAKER_00]: We will figure that out. [SPEAKER_00]: Either way we'll be getting new episodes. [SPEAKER_00]: I can promise you that. [SPEAKER_00]: There's a lot to talk about, but I'm not sure.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm in the realm to be recording it. [SPEAKER_00]: Ray, I think that might be a little bit of a stretch for me. [SPEAKER_00]: But we'll see, maybe I will one day. [SPEAKER_00]: But we got tons of content coming plenty of good stuff coming over here. [SPEAKER_00]: Just a reminder, as of last week, we are now part of the just baseball network, super cool.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to have some good things in the work here, some new graphics, potentially some cool stuff for social media as well, just to kind of keep [SPEAKER_00]: Keep some content flowing your way. [SPEAKER_00]: Make sure we're engaging beyond the podcast side of things. [SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, we appreciate everyone for falling along. [SPEAKER_00]: We're going to have, yeah, definitely down the stretch here.
[SPEAKER_00]: So minor league content for the next month and a half until minor league season ends. [SPEAKER_00]: And then hopefully some errors on a fall league content. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm thinking I'm going to be able to get out there for a little bit. [SPEAKER_00]: So that should be cool. [SPEAKER_00]: And then yeah, make sure you're just keeping up today with everything at future socks. [SPEAKER_00]: All of our content will be there.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can find Dylan at not cease on X. And you can find me at Elijah EV eight. [SPEAKER_00]: And we will talk to you next time on the roundup. [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks, Dylan.