I haven’t been able to find out how much Suda signed for, which is generally the best proxy for how talented these international signings are. DeJesus, Noriega, and Nunez all signed for good chunks of change, so at least with them I have some tangible information to believe that they have some ability. With guys like Suda, all we really know is what the M’s tell us.

I’ve heard conflicting reports on Wen Chang’s signing bonus – one puts him in the $400K range, another in the $150K range. So, I passed on including him right now. He and Suda both have plenty of time to end up on the list, after all.

Does Michael Wilson have any ability to help a MLB team? 4th outfielder?

I don’t think so, no. He’s got raw power, but that’s his only baseball skill – the rest of his game is beer league level.

Hey Dave, can you reconcile the difference between your opinion of Peguero and the BA crew’s? They like him a lot more than you do, and have him pegged as a major breakout candidate who can play a legit RF. Thoughts?

I think BA and I are always going to disagree on that kind of player type, honestly. I just don’t believe that the oversized power guys with no other real baseball skills than hitting a fastball a long way develop into useful players very often. This is the underlying issue with my long time skepticism about Balentien and Wilson as well. I’ve had this same problem with BA falling in love with guys like Jason Stokes, too – I just don’t see much evidence that these one note power guys who lack pitch recognition or any kind of contact ability turn into the types of hitters that they’re labeled as having the potential to become, and they never offer any defensive value.

Realistically, what’s Peguero’s absolute upside? A .250/.300/.450 guy who fills out his 6’5 frame and loses his athleticism? And that’s if he makes it…

If Clement can’t stick behind the plate are there any internal options you like post- Kenji era?

Not in the organization, no. Rob Johnson can’t hit and Adam Moore can’t catch.

What are Clement’s defensive liabilities?

He’s got below average footwork, which is the root cause of most of his other issues. He doesn’t transfer his weight well, so he struggles blocking pitches in the dirt. He takes a while to get out of his crouch when throwing out runners, which leads to a slow release and a lot of late throws. And, he’s big – it’s not uncommon for catchers his size to develop knee and back problems, the latter of which he’s already had.

Is Austin Bibens-Dirkx a true ML prospect? Any news on his rehab?

His delivery gives him a shot at being a ROOGY one day.

Add Buckborough and Mohr from last year’s draft to that mix, and I’d say the odds are good that few guys rise up and are worth talking about after this season.

For sure – I know several people in the org. thing Buckborough was a big steal and are quite high on him. There are definitely a lot of intriguing pitching prospects in the low levels of the system, but the attrition rates for these kinds of arms is very, very high. We really need to see them survive the 18-20 arm massacre age before we start counting them as tangible depth in the system.

I found the recent move of Nasuel Cabrera to the Pulaski affiliate interesting. It seems as though they’re planning on sending a number of the Latin American pitchers over there to get their feet wet. The M’s haven’t made any high-dollar pitcher signings out of there recently, it’s mostly just infielders and the occasional outfielder, but they like what they have enough to plan around it.

Depth that low in the minors is hardly depth at all, as we’ve all seen players dominate the AZL and go on to do nothing of note, but I believe there’s enough to work with down there that makes me feel somewhat comfortable. Add Buckborough and Mohr from last year’s draft to that mix, and I’d say the odds are good that few guys rise up and are worth talking about after this season.

Any chance Felix has a little brother just tearing up some Venezuelan little league?

He does have a older brother that’s in the Braves system. Pitched at Myrtle Beach last year, and was leading Braves Minor Leaguers in Wins.

Well, that draft class is going down as one of the best of all time, so it’s not really fair to Clement to downgrade him for the guys around him all turning into superstars. But, yes, in retrospect, there’s a lot of other guys the M’s should have taken, and there’s almost no chance Clement turns out to be the 3rd best player in that draft.

If you ever need an example of why you draft based on ability, not on need, this is the one to cite.

Arm strength/accuracy?
Receiving?
Blocking?

Are all pitches typically called for the catchers in the M’s minor league system?

Is Austin Bibens-Dirkx a true ML prospect? Any news on his rehab?