As usual, spent the morning with the minor leaguers. Me and about 10 other fans. It was sweet. The A’s seemed and bit more organized (and seemed to be having a bit more fun as well) than the Indians or Reds. That being said, nothing jumped out at me.
The game was another story.
I said it when it happened….the Dodgers made out like bandits in the 3 way Reds/White Sox/Dodgers Todd Frazier trade. They gave up Jose Pereza (saw yesterday, not impressed) and received Frankie Montas (power RP) and Trayce Thompson (CFer). Montas recently had minor rib surgery and is out for a while. Thompson slotted into the stacked Dodgers farm as the #13 Propsect. He looks great. Big, strong kid that can run. Hit a HR today and easily tracked fly balls. His outs were loud.
Dodger uber Propsect Jose De Leon pitched a couple of the later innings and was hit hard. Even the outs he got were loud. Kenta Maeda started for the Dodgers and looked solid…..if not great. Looks like a #3-#4 type. Good athlete. Carl Crawford looks AWFUL. He’s just sucking up money ala’ Jose Reyes. When speed is your calling card, you fall fast (pardon the pun).
Fortunately, also got to see the A’s top prospect Sean Manaea. Big, big LHed pitcher, probably starter, plucked from the Royals for Ben Zobrist at last year’s deadline. Now this is how you do a deadline deal. This kid looks fantastic. I can see him being their #2 starter behind Sonny Gray by mid-season. Sort of like the CWS’s Carlos Rodon, but even bigger and stronger. Otherwise, the A’s are probably a half-step behind the Rangers, and a full step behind the Astros. But as noted yesterday, the AL West is weak…..so I’m not completely counting them out before it starts.
