Monday Bantering: Ryu number 5 pitcher in baseball

I really enjoyed the Super Bowl yesterday. We went to our local bar, it was packed. My son and I each won a jacket, but I didn’t win the beer fridge, which was what I wanted. One bad penalty really cost the 49ers.

MLB.com has a list of the top 10 starting pitchers ‘at this moment’. We have the number 5 guy, Hyun-Jin Ryu, which surprised me. I thought he was a top 20 pitcher, but top 5 is higher than I’d have him.

It will be interesting to see how he does, changing leagues, changing from a pitcher’s park to a hitter’s park. It is nice to have an Ace again. I’m hoping Nate Pearson joins him as co-aces in the near future.

Prospects Live has a list of top 100 MLB prospects and they have 5 Blue Jays on the list. Of course the top Blue Jay is Nate Pearson at number 17 (lower than most other lists have him). They say:

An 80-grade fastball, a slider that flashes double plus at its best, and a curveball that’s working toward plus combined with strong extension come together to form one of the few pitchers with true ace potential. A lack of athleticism that leads to high effort still hasn’t erased a future in a bullpen, but rest assured Toronto will debut him in 2020 in the rotation and do everything possible to ensure he stays there.

I’m less worried about him ending up in the bullpen than I was a year ago.

Jordan Groshans is number 46. Simeon Woods Richardson is number 73. About him they said:

An extremely prolific strike thrower, especially for his age, Simeon Woods-Richardson skyrocketed up lists for his incredible performance in 2019. With an elite 23.1 K-BB%, he’s one of the most mature 18 year old pitchers I’ve ever seen in my life. With a repertoire of four pitches grading at least average, and a projectable 6-foot-4 frame, Woods-Richardson has all the tools to be a frontline starter, and he will look to build towards that in 2020.

I’m hoping he’ll be much higher on lists next year.

Alek Manoah is number 91, which is pretty great for a 2019 draft pick. And number 98 is Orelvis Martinez is number 98 which seems pretty agressive to me.

One of the best prospects in the 2018 J2 class, the Blue Jays got aggressive with their $3.5 million man, sending him straight to the Gulf Coast League for his debut. Despite being 17 for the entire season, Martinez more than impressed in his debut, putting up a 150 wRC+. While his average speed will likely force him to 3B long term, Martinez’s plus bat speed and advanced feel for hitting will play there, and he has the potential to skyrocket up this list.

The Rays have 6 on the list. Yankees 2, Orioles 3 and the Red Sox 1.

Ken Rosenthal figures Mookie Betts will be traded in the next couple o days, to either the Dodgers or the Padres (there isn’t even a mystery team mentioned).

If I was thinking of trading for him, I’d want the MLB to finish their investigation into the Red Sox cheating before making the deal. in 2019 Betts had a .977 OPS at home and a .853 on the road. Maybe Fenway is just a great park for his swing or maybe he got extra help.

It looks like the Red Sox are trying to package David Price with him.

I am pretty sure that, if I was a Red Sox fan, I’d be pretty pissed about this.