OnlyBucs

I think it depends on what he means by "huge."



There's got to be some difference.  Otherwise, why have it?



One way to know is- what % of guys do NOT rise to higher levels?

437D7870637B7B705075627126140 wrote: Granted, the Blue Jays won a bunch of games.  I'll hand them that.  If it takes the Pirates three more years to finish fourth, then my early impressions of Ben Cherington are justified.



To finish fourth, the Blue Jays had a payroll that raniked 12th in all of MLB.



It doesn't take a Buster Olney to tell everyone that there is no way on earth that Ben will be given a payroll anywhere near 12th.  If he was, then I wouldn't be as impressed with the results.  He's capable of doing more with a lot less.



And, he should be expected to.



The Blue Jays were competitive....in games.  All but a few teams each year are.
They have a term for people who give such expert analysis after all the results are in.
John Baker, Pirates director of Coaching andPlayer Development said in todays PG, "it's not a huge difference between High A (Greensboro) and Class AAA ( Indy) Your thoughts


I can't say anyone should be surprised by that. All season long, there was no help coming from Indy when there were plenty of opportunities to play in Pittsburgh. In the meantime, Cherington's focus has been on the past two drafts and acquiring very young players by other means. Most of the talent is in the lower levels.

704E4B43504848436346514215270 wrote: Granted, the Blue Jays won a bunch of games.  I'll hand them that.  If it takes the Pirates three more years to finish fourth, then my early impressions of Ben Cherington are justified.



To finish fourth, the Blue Jays had a payroll that raniked 12th in all of MLB.



It doesn't take a Buster Olney to tell everyone that there is no way on earth that Ben will be given a payroll anywhere near 12th.  If he was, then I wouldn't be as impressed with the results.  He's capable of doing more with a lot less.



And, he should be expected to.



The Blue Jays were competitive....in games.  All but a few teams each year are.
They have a term for people who give such expert analysis after all the results are in.
John Baker, Pirates director of Coaching and Player Development said in todays PG, "it's not a huge difference between High A (Greensboro) and Class AAA ( Indy) Your thoughts
I suppose you could say there's not a huge difference between high A and AA since that's the next step or between AA and AAA since that's the subsequent step. Sooooo...maybe you could stretch it to say there's not a huge difference between high A and AAA. OTOH, even players at AAA are arguable not ready for the majors or they wouldn't still be in AAA. And players at AA aren't ready for AAA and players at high A aren't ready for AA. So Baker can spin it however he wants. But players in high A rarely get to the majors without time at AA and AAA which usually requires another 2-3 years.

I would like to read the entire article where Baker's quoted as saying this.  I found an article, but this quote wasn't in it.



It's possible that Doc's explanation allows for Baker to make the statement.  I agree with Bob, too.  This has got to be spin.



I'ved lived in "A" cities and still do.   I've lived in a "AA" city in the past.  I've gone to AAA games while I traveled for business.



The two biggest differences that I recall were- A) the pitching was so much better at the AAA level than the lower minors.  And, when we have better pitching, it usually forces the batters to step up to meet it.  B) was that- probably because AAA players are older, most were a little bigger than the younger A players, who look almost like teenagers in some cases.  Maybe some of them are. 



If this wasn't spin on Baker's part, then I would have serious concern if my director of player development doesn't understand the clear differences in minor league players' progression at those different levels.



Like I wrote before, it might be a matter of what Baker means by "huge."  Maybe he meant that all it takes is a little tweaking and development time to move an A player to a AAA player.  I sure hope that's what he means.

Baker is full of  beans. I used to watch the Auburn team in the NY Penn league and the Syracuse Chiefs in AAA. I have always said that there

was a much bigger difference between A and AAA than AAA and the Majors.



Perhaps it reads better in context.

What I'm thinking. I see no reason to not give him benefit of doubt until reading the entire article with that quote.

7A505B6B5C4A4A46290 wrote: Baker is full of  beans. I used to watch the Auburn team in the NY Penn League and the Syracuse Chiefs in AAA. I have always said that there

was a much bigger difference between A and AAA than AAA and the Majors.



Perhaps it reads better in context.


I think if you read the article in context it might sound better. By the way, I was a STH to the WV BlackBears from 2016 - 2019 and I have to agree that the Short-Season A ball teams are far removed from the AA and AAA leagues. No way to the kids at Short-Season A ball ready for the Majors. I will try to get you a link to some of the articles that tell about what Baker is doing. Tell the Mrs that we said Hello.

25040C250E06610 wrote: Baker is full of  beans. I used to watch the Auburn team in the NY Penn League and the Syracuse Chiefs in AAA. I have always said that there

was a much bigger difference between A and AAA than AAA and the Majors.



Perhaps it reads better in context.


I think if you read the article in context it might sound better.  By the way, I was a STH to the WV BlackBears from 2016 - 2019 and I have to agree that the Short-Season A ball teams are far removed from the AA and AAA leagues.  No way to the kids at Short-Season A ball ready for the Majors.  I will try to get you a link to some of the articles that tell about what Baker is doing.  Tell the Mrs that we said Hello.


Thanks Bryce, and back at ya!

Rays sign Wander Franco to a 12 year, 223 million dollar extension.

Aaron Loup signs with the Angels, 2 years 15 million. Angels are attempting to build a pitching staff through free agency it would appear.