1984Echoes

I think this is the crux of the matter, right here.

That... And game plans change week-to-week based on matchups... and even in-game as well. I would rather not go into the season with "Khalif Raymond is our #3 receiver? AWESOME!" And would rather go into the season with "Tyler Boyd is our #3 receiver? (or DJ Chark) I feel MUCH better now. Thank you very much."

Right-handed Andrew Miller?

I created a laugh off the idea but... I'm. Not. Actually. Laughing. Just decided to add a little levity...

I think the NFL formula for sustainability at a very high level is a great GM who can identify NFL talent in later rounds. That's the pipeline to move a backup into a starter position without losing talent level and... not succumbing to Salary Cap Hell. Also, depth players on a high level team are critical so, even if a later round guy never becomes a starter and is nothing more than a depth guy... that ALSO plays a role in the above... This is the most encouraging thing I see in Holmes, and why he was hired: The ability to identify NFL talent in any round. Whether that's a depth guy, special teamer, or sneaky future starter... We'll see how good he is at this, or not, over the longer term 4-5-6+ years...

Hamas propaganda.

Florida's after 6-week ban on abortion is now official law in the state as of today.

I think he expects a "popular uprising" by his supporters upon the theatrics of his "pretend" tough guy incarceration. That would lead to an insurrection demanding he become King again, errr, President that is... Whereby he could ride on the shoulders of his white trash fascist troops, errr, freedom fighters... to his throne.

Outs Faedo... You need outs.

Or have Faedo pitch 3+ innings. He can do it.

You could almost put anybody out there at this point (not really... just sayin') but I think Hinch should turn to Wentz and have him go 2 innings...

Homer for Greene. Ya' know... I would just love to see Greene put this team on his back, offensively, and go on a 1.200+ OPS tear for about 6 weeks or so... I thought he might have been a guy who could do that...

I think I'm going to have to nickname this year's version of the Tigers... The Kardiac Kitties.

Holy freaking crap! Wenceel?!?! DUDE... you rock!

Well obviously... That's why.

I don't think that's a problem for Ben Johnson to find ways to move him around, inside or outside, and get him open... And he's an easy enough target that I'm pretty certain Goff could find him without any issues... Boyd's career catch % is 68.1% I'm going to guess that the Lions could find a way to work with that.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-drug-control-agency-move-170458916.html US poised to ease restrictions on marijuana in historic shift, but it'll remain controlled substance ZEKE MILLER, JOSHUA GOODMAN, JIM MUSTIAN and LINDSAY WHITEHURST Updated Tue, April 30, 2024 at 7:51 PM EDT

I thought I saw where he was asking for $9 mill per... I don't think that's too much on an annual basis... But I didn't see what kind of term he was looking for. 2 or 3 years I could say yes, more than that might be too much to commit to... We'll see when it gets closer to Training Camp if that changes... If it ends up a 1-year I think that's a bargain. It'd be a "culture fit" 1-year, IMO, and if he fits into our "Lions Locker room culture" and Ben Johnson/ Jared Goff have him on the right page on the field... I'd be happy to go back to that 2 or 3 years deal...

Can we chain that ankle bracelet (with TFG in it of course...) To a Jet Airliner...? Just to see what happens? Steve Miller would approve this message.

I wanna sign Tyler Boyd.

I am INFAMOUSLY defensive. I resemble that remark. But NOT the avatar... sorry... but... no. Just, no.

Tigers Top 30 prospects (according to MLB): 30. Trei Cruz – Nice bloodlines but he hasn’t done anything in the minors. Mendoza line all the way up to AA Erie tells me not a prospect. Maybe a utility guy at best? 29. Izaac Pacheco – has power… but if the hit tool is Mendoza-line, power means nothing. Not enough here for me to be interested. Non-prospect unless he figures something out in the batters’ box. 28. Blake Dickerson – Paid the Padres $500K for him? 6’6” LH’er from 2023-12th round (Padres) but no stats yet. If he does anything maybe he’ll pop up on everyone’s radar? But right now… nothing to see. 27. Tyler Mattison – I like his K-rate and K-BB-ratio. BB-rate is too high, but 13K’s to 4.3 BB’s = a 3-1 ratio. Never a starter, bullpen only candidate. But I like the high heat so I like Tyler Mattison. 26. Christian Santana – I actually like him. But… performance counts so with his below-the-Mendoza-line (so far) stat-line = not enough to be interesting, IMO. Still only 20, maybe he has time on his side? 25. Peyton Graham – Not enough here to be interesting, IMO. 24. Roberto Campos. I actually like him… but similar to Santana, performance counts. Sitting at a .720-ish OPS from the get-go, worse this year at .640 in a repeat-level W Mich. At this point not an interesting prospect. But he IS supposed to have more power and, at a still-young 21 at High-A? I don’t know, maybe I’ll just give him a vote of confidence and see if he can live up to it? Sure, I’ll put him on BOLD. 23. Dylan Smith – Just has never done anything for me to consider him a prospect. I liked the “idea” of him when he was drafted… but… nothing to see here IMO. 24 y.o. and struggling in high-A equals “will crap ou”, IMO. 22. Carson Rucker – only 19 years old so… I have no opinion until I can see something. 21. Eddys Leonard – Seems like he could be a bit useful as a utility guy but I don’t see anything more than that… 20. Wenceel Perez – Loved this guy since 2017. 19. Enrique Jimenez – Nothing here to grab the imagination. 18. Josue Briceno – I remember the signing but he sort of wasn’t on my radar; but he’s been hitting up a storm so maybe I need to pay more attention? Great BB-K-Rate ratio: ~12% BB rate (stateside) and 14% K-rate? Looks like a decently high hit tool as well (only in Low-A so far but only 19 in Low-A?!)? I’ll declare him a prospect even if the Org is uncertain if he can stay at Catcher. They’ve been trying him at 1st too. But “have bat” means the Org will find him a spot somewhere, if he makes it all the way up. Long way to go… but I’ll give him a BOLD. 17. Max Anderson – He has a bat (hit tool), which is why Harris drafted him. But I don’t know what else there is… He’s not an ace fielder and looks more likely to be a DH-only? Not enough here to call out my interest… unless the bat starts to really smoke. 16. Paul Wilson – Trevor Wilson’s kid? Well that’s interesting. But the Org right now is working on him (so no stats) and he throws low-90’s but may have some projectable velocity as a 6’3” Lefty… But until we can see something, I won’t declare anything. Incomplete. 15. Brant Hurter - He’s a huge lefty 6’5” 250#’s but throws low 90’s so, not a power guy. Low walk rate is a plus. Really good slider as far as I know and a decent changeup… but he seems fringy to me so either a 5th starter or a middle reliever. I think he ends up in the bullpen. Which is good enough to call him a prospect, right? I’ll BOLD him regardless, as a fringy bullpen/possible 5th starter-type prospect. 14. Hao-Yu-Lee – Another decent bat acquired by Harris. But I don’t see a major leaguer here. Maybe a bench guy? But I also have a theory: Harris wants the high hit tool guys in the system, even if they never make it to MLB, because he wants these guys to influence OTHERS in the system… Have a prevalence of high hit tool guys who know how to take a walk… so to speak. But Lee is not a prospect… IMO. 13. Dillon Dingler – I thought he was supposed to have a higher hit tool… but, apparently, he does not. Still, he has the looks of another Jake Rogers (2.0) here: Big arm, good defensive catcher (not certain how Dingler ranks here, I know he was a work-in-process defensively), low batting average (if he’s a .240 hitter in MLB it’s probably good enough), with power but limited ability to get to the power (from the low contact rate…). A prospect here but not a high-end guy. 12. Justice Bigbie – I don’t know if he’s a prospect, or not. Had a nice year last year from High-A all the way up to AAA. But I just don’t feel he’ll be Carpenter 2.0. Another 19th rounder… but I think that’s about it for the nice feel good story side. Maybe he gets some bench time in Detroit… But I just don’t feel there’s enough here to call him out as a prospect. So I won’t. If he gets some quality MLB time… good for him. 11. Troy Melton – He’s interesting as the Org has worked hard to develop him. Opposite of Hurter: a righty, mid-90’s and can reach for upper-90’s… but he has such a long way to go development-wise that I think I have to bucket him the same as Hurter: Maybe a 5th starter, or even a 4th is in his future, but more likely bullpen. It’s enough to call him a prospect though. BOLD him. 10. Sawyer Gipson-Long –Has some interesting characteristics and he pitched well last year at Erie (5-1 K-BB ratio 1.01 WHIP), and I know he pitched well for Detroit last year as a starter: 3.25 ERA 1.1 WHIP… I don’t know if he has the staying power to remain in the rotation though. Technically, he’s a prospect. And at least on a par with Hurter and Melton (only he’s “proved it” at a higher level, which is why he is ahead of them and “Top 10”): I don’t see him as hugely different though. So BOLD him. He’s good enough for Detroit so he’s good enough for me. 9. Wilmer Flores – Looks like another bullpen candidate to me. So technically, a prospect. BOLD him up. 8. Keider Montero – Another bullpen candidate, IMO. But he has a wicked curveball which may give him a rotation edge… except there are Detroit guys in front of him so I don’t see him getting there in the near future. A prospect: fringy 5th starter/ bullpen? 7. Justyn-Henry Malloy – I’ll call him a prospect because of his bat; but I’m never enamored with DH-types. So, technically a prospect but certainly not a favorite of mine. 6. Kevin McGonigle – I love his hit tool. And he’s a decent fielder. Most likely won’t be able to stick at SS but that’s OK. First prospect since Briceno that I actually have high hopes for. I’m on his bandwagon. 5. Ty Madden – Another bullpen candidate with maybe a 5th starter chance… I do have him ahead of the Montero/ Flores/ SGL/ Hurter crowd though. Melton may be just as good, or better, but with a much longer development curve, I think. Feel free to disagree… But I will make no judgement except: proof is in the pudding. He’ll show himself what level he can, or cannot attain. I will state that I am on his bandwagon… but he has an uncertain future (IMO). 4. Jace Jung – First guy I can look at as a high-end prospect that ALSO is nearly in Detroit. I’ll put him on a par with Keith: will probably struggle as he adjusts to MLB pitching, ultimately will prove to have an MLB bat, won’t be a spectacular fielder but will be good enough. If he’s good enough to take over any one position (2B, 3B, or even 1B if it comes to that…), I will be satisfied. I’m on his bandwagon. 3. Jackson Jobe – I still think he has ace material… but he’s struggling somewhat along the way. I’ll give him a vote of confidence: BOLD him. 2. Colt Keith – Has yet to prove he can hit in MLB well enough to own 2B as a starter. But I think his bat will heat up and he’ll prove out… We’ll see. BOLD him; I’m on his bandwagon. 1. Max Clark – A long ways away still… But I like what I see so far and will be patient as he goes through his learning curve… Bandwagon fan.

I’m going to start with my summary first: Bottom 15: I believe we have 4 real prospects: a reliever (Mattison), Wenceel, and two guys who are a long ways away and have to get through learning curve struggles (Campos, but I still believe in him) and/ or a possible lack of defensive position (Briceno, but I love his bat too much and it’s still possible he could stick at a position). Top 15: I see two non-prospects and 13 guys I like, more than 2/3 (on a WAG) of which will crap out… Which consists of: 6 middle relievers (maybe one or two of these guys could develop something extra (3rd pitch/ better control/ whatever) to make it as a 4th or 5th starter… Or 6th starter parked at Toledo… I don’t see anything better than that): Madden, Flores, Montero, Melton, Hurter, SGL. One Jake Rogers 2.0 (Dingler). One DH-only who I don’t really care for position-wise… but he may be a good guy and a useful bat so I won’t write him off entirely (Malloy) One potential ace (who is struggling a bit, currently: Jobe) 4 position players who I like a lot, with various degrees of “in Detroit” or “Close to Detroit” or “a long ways to go”: (Keith, Jung, Clark & McGonigle). I hope none of these guys crap out. That’s my summary.

Just my 2 cents: I like Awosika, Sorsdal, and Mahogany as backup G options. Whether on the 53 or practice squad. Despite what the team is saying about Manu, I like Manu, Skipper, and Sorsdal as the backup T options. I don't like our backup Center options. Glasgow (our starting Guard), and...? I think we WANT at least 1, possibly 2 of these UDFA Centers to make the practice squad. I mean, we gotta have SOMETHING as a plan B... don't we?

I'd rather have Manu as a backup T than G. Start him out at RT. I think he'd be great there and when Decker retires or moves on Sewell swings over to LT and insert Manu.