PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - None the Wiser

Episode Date: July 29, 2022

Jesse is joined by long-time Diamondbacks writer and analyst Jeff Wiser to discuss the team's second-half surge, what to expect at the trade deadline and updates from the minor leagues. MLB Network host and former Diamondbacks radio voice Mike Ferrin also joins the show to share his thoughts.SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtubeWebsite: https://gophnx.com PHNX Locker: https://phnxlocker.com/Head on over to The PHNX Locker to pick up one of our new PHNX hats!SOCIAL: Twitter: https://twitter.com/PHNX_DbacksInstagram: https://instagram.com/PHNX_Sports Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now (https://bit.ly/3Jl1dMX), use promo code PHNX and make your first deposit and get a RISK-FREE BET UP TO ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. Minimum age and eligibility restrictions apply.If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisiscounseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visitOPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).21+ (18+ WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NJ/NY/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Min. $5 deposit required. Eligibility restrictions apply. See http://draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.OGeez! is dedicated to creating innovative and memorable cannabis infused products that flavor life’s journey. If you’re interested in trying the amazingly delicious variety of flavors that OGeez! Brands has to offer, go to https://ogeezbrands.com.FOCO has you covered with the best Arizona Merchandise. They have officially licensed gear for men, women and kids and everything from bobbleheads to swimsuits to crocs. Head on over to foco.com. For all non pre-sale items use the promo code “PHNX” for 10% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome into the PHNX Diamondbacks podcast brought to you by the Draft King Sportsbook app. America's top rated sports book app. Derek is not here, everyone. He ditched us for Disneyland, of all things. So you're stuck with me. I am Jesse Friedman, of course, the Thunderstick, the vice mayor around here. And today I am joined by Jeff Weiser. Jeff is a longtime Diamondbacks analyst and writer.

and he's written for the athletic. He's written for baseball prospectus. His words have a certain amount of weight to them. Anytime you have a guy with those kind of credentials around, you know that he means business. So, Jeff, we're excited to have you today. I'm excited to be here, Jesse. I know we've done our share of podcast together, and the live element is cool. I'm super stoked for what you all been doing over here. So glad to be here. It's going to be exciting. Yeah, looking forward to the next hour together. Yeah, I think we both feel a little bit expect.

Bose, right? And I've sort of gotten over this because I've been here for a while. But yeah, for those of you who don't know, me and Jeff did the Rattle Podcasts for a number of years together. And we were proudly audio only. We could stare at our notes the entire time. We never had to look at the camera. We couldn't even see each other. We did a phone call every time. We did like a Jeff. Somehow we did a Skype phone call, which I'm not sure Skype even like exists anymore. But yeah, somehow, uh, Somehow that's how we did our shows. But anyway, we're really happy to have all of you here with us today. We have a lot to get to. And Derek, of course, pops in his don't screw this up. Well, you know what, Derek? You're the one who left us for Disneyland. So as far as I'm concerned, there's no pressure.

But anyway, Jeff, this Diamondbacks team is pretty dang good, at least right now over the last week. they have been very, very good. They've won five out of six games coming out of the All-Star break. They've outscored their opponents 39 to 13 in that stretch. I don't think anyone is here to say that the Washington Nationals are like a great team. And I think they caught the San Francisco Giants at a pretty good time, too, where the Giants were coming off a sweep and had lost four in a row coming into the series. So it's a little bit hard to know how much to read into this stretch.

but no matter what way you slice it, the Diamondbacks have played some very good baseball lately. Yeah, I mean, you queued it up. Like, Washington's not great. No. The Giants are scuffling, right? But you still have to take the field, right? You still have to play with some intensity.

And if you face a team, like if you, you know, you face a kind of a bottom-dwelling team, and you face a team that's kind of on the ropes at the moment, like you need to handle your business. And the Diamondbacks have done that. And I think that's like, I think that's worthy of like a little bit of recognition, right? I mean, even yesterday afternoon, like, I mean, the Giants kind of started making a push and they were able to like close the door and hold them off. So I'm actually pretty pumped.

I mean, the pitching's been been mostly pretty good. They've allowed just over two runs a game in that six games. Yeah. The offense has been doing like a ton of damage. I mean, it's it's impressive. I mean, for, they're coming out firing. And I think for where they are kind of right now, it's like all you can really ask for. Yeah, it really is.

And I mean, yeah, 39 to 13 is, you know, doing this in commanding fashion. It's not like these are a bunch of one-run games that they're somehow finding a way to get by. One name that has really stuck out to me lately, Jeff, is is Jake McCarthy. And I know you and I have just kind of talked about him off and on over the years where, you know, his scouting report has generally been that of like a fourth outfielder. I don't think that many guys have viewed him as like an everyday player that you want to plug into the lineup every day. But the more you watch this guy play, it just kind of feels like he really could have some staying power in this league. I was talking about this with Derek yesterday.

There aren't that many fourth outfielers who have elite speed and play like a pretty darn good outfield with the potential to play center field as well. And also have what appears to be like a league average bat potentially. I know it's like a really small sample size at this point. I don't know if we can say that yet. But Jake McCarthy has had a really, really good stint here coming out of the All-Star break. And I've been really impressed by it. He seems like the kind of guy that you kind of need to have in there every day, which unfortunately only makes things more complicated for a team that has so many outfielders as it is.

This outfield, like this plethora of outfield options, something we'll probably come back to a couple times today. Yeah. But I'm sort of torn, right? I mean, I can see like sort of, I can see McCarthy through sort of two lenses. To me, he's still sort of that like fourth outfielder type. And that to me is like just kind of the trajectory that he's sort of been on. And I think he's kind of, you know, maybe pushed up like a half step from there.

But the thing that gives me like optimism is that he's 24. He's not that old. Yeah. And like, let's face it, the guy's just got like athleticism to bird. I mean, he's a tremendous athlete. And you look at how fast he is. but look at him physically. Like he's yoked.

Like he is not, it's not like he's super fast because he's like five foot seven in a total speedster. No, I mean, he's a big dude. So he's a curious case to me. Like I'm not really sure. I'm not really sure who he is. I think I still sort of lean on the like reserve side of that. I'm not sure he's an everyday player like long term.

What do you think? What do you need to see? Are you looking at? Is it mostly the bat? Is that mainly what you're thinking of? For me, it would be the bat and like more of a prolonged, like, track record of success. Now, actually, I mean, if we kind of look at like his overall stats over the course of the year, he's been trending upwards over the course of the year.

Yeah. Especially a lot of late, but like he started slow and has built. And I think there's even something to be said for that, right? Like the persistence to stay after it, you know, to knock it down. And so I think it's all kind of moving the right direction. I'm just not sure where it shakes out yet. I'm not like totally there. And I think the one thing I look at is I'm like,

I think even this season, he still only has like 120 a baths or 120th appearance. Yeah, it's a really small sample. Yeah. I just can't, I can't like dive all the way in just yet, but I'm feeling better about it. I'll say that. Do you think,

I think you tweeted this yesterday, that Dalton Varshow sort of looks like a guy that you have to have in the outfield, which again, it's like great, wonderful, another outfielder, right? But I think you're right. I mean, he's just so good out there, which I think came as a shock to a lot of people.

The Diamondbacks have had a lot of guys come up from the minors, where you felt like they didn't really have a position. And for a while, it seemed like Dalton Varsho was one of those guys, or it's like, okay, you know, his bat might be something, but where are you going to play him? And he's made it clear that he is not one of those guys. I mean, he played a really good center field, according to what some of the defensive metrics say.

He played a really good center field, and then Alec Thomas came up and took that roll away from him. Now he's been playing quite a bit of right field, which I don't know if his arm necessarily plays the best out there, but he certainly has the speed to move around and make some really good plays. So I don't know, Jeff. Do you put him back at catcher at some point, or is he just another part of the outfield log jam that this Diamondbacks team has?

I don't know, man. I mean, Cardinals viny camps going right. I mean, I put him in the slot and see what he can do. There you go. For me, I just, man, he's so good out there. I mean, a couple of those ropes that were hit to ride. I mean, he ran one down yesterday. Yeah.

Kind of made like an odd dive, but just like going for it on another one end up being a ground hole double. But I can just cover so much ground. I mean, he just plays like, you know, it's just max effort 24-7. Like the outfield walls are probably scared of him. Like I just, he's just going to, he just is such a dynamic talent. I mean, I think what's hard. is like we just know how much catching beats up the body.

Yeah. And so, you know, I go back and forth on, you know, in one sense, it'd be a real luxury to have a player with as much athleticism and offensive kind of upside as him behind the plate. Like that would be nice. But then on the flip side, him getting worn down and or hurt and just not having him around is like quite the penalty. So to me, I mean, I'm starting to feel more and more like I'd like to see him

the outfield probably 90% of the time. And I know that's hard because we're coming back to this outfield issue, but like, it's a tough thing, but that's probably where I would love to see it. I think the hard thing, too, for the organization is they've just, they've struggled with like catcher depth for quite a while. Yeah. And so like when Carson goes down for six weeks or eight weeks, it's like, can you have, you know, what's the drop off here?

Like can you put Varsha behind the plate five days a week and stick someone else in center? You know, Jake McCarthy gets a ton of playing time. Is that better than Jose Herrera being there, you know, behind the plate? So I don't know. It's kind of tough. I'd love to see them do a little more to beef up. Like maybe that, that catching position behind Carson. So if and let's be honest, when he gets hurt, we have to sacrifice like six or eight weeks of Varsal because, you know, his downturn

really, I mean, and it, maybe it's happenstance, but his downturn really did kind of come on the heels of him moving into the catching role and catching every day on like a regular basis. And that's really when the bat kind of dove. So, right. Yeah, I'd like to see him in the outfield. That's me. I don't know how you feel about it. Yeah, I think I'm with you there. Um, I think he's, he's, he's a better outfielder than he is a catcher. Not to say that he's, I think he's maybe taken some, some strides behind home plate and has shown himself to be serviceable back there. But He's a clearly above average outfielder. And, you know, it's hard not to put him there when, like you said, if you were to put him

at catcher, he would, you know, it's going to take a toll on his body. It's probably going to make it harder for him to get in the lineup every day. Ben says Herrera is a good defender, though, and the pitching staff likes him, which is, which is fair. Yeah, we've heard, we've heard a lot of positive things from Diamondbacks pitchers about Jose Herrera behind the plate. And, I mean, frankly, that's why he's still on the major league roster, right? I mean, he's not here for his offense.

He's here for that. and I think he's done, I think he's done a pretty good job with that. Jeff, if I were to say that the over under on major league players that the diamondbacks are going to trade by Tuesday is two and a half, are you taking the over or the under? And no, I did not warn Jeff about this question in advance. So I'm putting you on the spot, Jeff. What do you think? Let me ask, can I ask a clarifying question.

You can ask a clarifying question. I'll allow that. If they trade someone who's in the minor leagues, does that count towards my two and a half over under cap? I'll say no. No, just major league players currently on the active roster. I'm going to take the under. Okay.

And take the other. How about you? I would probably also take the under, which feels pretty crazy to think because there have been a lot of names. There have been a lot of names circulating in trade rumors. We've heard David Peralto. which feels like, at least for me, that's one of the two guys. We've heard Christian Walker and trade rumors Ian Kennedy, Joe Manspli, Madison Bumgarner,

was thrown around as a possible trade candidate as well. I'm assuming, Jeff, is David Peralta one of the two? And then there's some other guy you're thinking of as well. Yeah, I think it's, I think Peralta, I think Peralta has to go for two obvious reasons. His contract expires at the end of the year. So it's dead money. They're not going to, they're not going to extend. a qualifying offer like that's not happening so there's really no incentive to keep him plus you also

free up one of those outfield spots right on us there um and then i would assume they can move one of their relief arms if that's mantipli or in kennedy or somebody that's assume there's a reliever that they can probably move to so those would be my two kind of like my two kind of locks yeah i think i'm i think i'm with you there i would probably take peralta and and kennedy um Ben says maybe it's sentimentality, but I feel like if we trade Walker, we're selling low. Yeah, I mean, it's sort of weird. Like Christian Walker is having a pretty darn good season. I know his batting average is still, like, really lame.

And so a lot of people look at his numbers and are like, oh, this guy is, you know, this guy is not having a very good year. When in reality, it seems like there's probably some bad luck behind that. But, but yeah, what do you think, Jeff, about the possibility of moving a guy like Christian Walker? I know he has been one of the names that I think Gambo tweeted a couple of weeks ago that Christian Walker along with Joe Mantiply. Those were the two guys that were drawing the most interest from teams. You could definitely see how a guy like Christian Walker would be enticing,

especially given what he gives you on the defensive side of things. But it's tough. I mean, he's controllable for a couple more years. The debacks don't really have any other great options at first base as far as we know. So it's a little bit tricky. It is. It's hard for them. I mean, I feel like with Walker at some point, you got to, you got to make a decision.

And it's, it's hard to, it's hard to feel like he's going to be part of like the next really good Diamondbacks team. Like I just, I feel strongly about that. And that's nothing against Christian, but it just kind of, where this team is in his development, where he is in his career, I just have a hard time seeing him being part of the kind of the next wave. I mean, he is currently like one of the only right-handed, you know, power threats. but, you know, it just makes it kind of tough. So I think he probably goes. And I mean, I know I didn't peg him with Peralta and a reliever,

but if it isn't one of those other two, I think Walker's a guy that because of the trade interests and you could probably sell kind of high. I mean, look, we know what we've been harping on, right, because of the lane batting average is that the stat cast metrics, the hard hit data, the extra fly balls, right, are like, you know, I mean, there's a whole bunch of teams that are going to buy that. Love it.

and it might suck and we might watch him go somewhere else and hit a bunch more tanks. But I just kind of think it is what it is. I just not sure he's a long-term piece. He's older. It's probably time to move him if you can. Real quick, before we get into our next segment here, I want to give a quick promo for our membership over at go phnx.com. Head over to go phnx.com today, become a member of the family.

And you'll get either a free t-shirt from the P.HNX locker or your first month for just 50 cents. Just for signing up, Jeff has a stash of at least 12 of our T-shirts, if I'm not mistaken, at home. So yeah, yeah, he's there all over the floor right now in his office. He's just counting them as we speak. So, yes, but go ahead over to go ph-Nx.com. You'll get that free t-shirt if you go with the annual membership. And if you go month to month, you'll get your first month for just 50. cents. With that said, we have a special guest in the house here. The one, the only Mike Farron,

who is a host for MLB Network Radio, is here. Jeff and Mike go way back. So way back, since probably before I was born. I don't know. I can't confirm that. But anyway, something like that. Yeah, give her take. Yeah. But anyway, Mike, we're happy to have you. Thanks for Thanks for hopping on with us today. Happy to do it. It's good to see you guys. You too. Mike, we were just talking about the Diamondbacks trade deadline and what they might be looking to do between now and Tuesday.

It sort of feels like maybe things got more complicated with the fact that the Diamondbacks just won five out of six over the last six days. And things have maybe sort of changed. Maybe they're changing course. It's a little bit hard to say for sure at this point. Just what are your thoughts on the trade deadline with this team? overall? Yeah, I don't think that the course has changed. You know, I think Mike Hazen was pretty, I mean, he's been pretty public about it since maybe like May or June, that their goal is to add major league pieces and that they only view there being a couple of acquisition windows via trade.

One is the offseason and the other is ahead of the trade deadline. And so I think he would like to add someone potentially that has some impact, especially on the offensive side, I think. And so, you know, I think that's probably what he's looking at. I think you're probably in an ideal world for them looking at a deadline that's similar to the 19 one where they traded Zach Grinke, but then they also acquired Zach Allen and Josh Rojas and a number of players there. So I think it's a little different in that, you know, there's not that Grinky player that they're going to deal.

Yeah. You know, I think David Peralta is probably a good candidate to get moved. I think especially with Ben and Tendi getting traded last night. And I'm just tracking my trade. notifications. Okay, nothing. You know, with Peralta, Peralta probably becomes the best left-handed outfield bat that's on the market. You know, I would slot him ahead of Jack Peterson,

especially since San Francisco isn't sure what direction they want to go. And I know that'll be sad for Diamondbacks fans. And, you know, David's been really important as one of the more popular players here. But, you know, he's now 35 and he's getting to the end of his career. And they have a lot of left-handed hitting outfielders that they'd like to play. So I would say that he's probably at the forefront of that group. Um, you know, maybe there's a reliever that goes or Ian Kennedy if Zach Davies pitches well this weekend, whether it's in the big leagues or in a rehab start or at least he pitches healthy. I mean, we kind of had this conversation with somebody at the ballpark the other day.

Like we know what Zach Davies is, right? Like we've got, he hasn't been any different since he came up with Milwaukee, right, since they got him from the Orioles. So like, we know what he is as long as he's healthy. Maybe there's a team that needs a back end starter like him. I think St. Louis would kind of fit there. But I don't, I don't think that there's going to be very much that. moves from the major league roster overall. And I think their hope is that they can use some of the farm system and some of the

younger players that maybe have matriculated to the big league level to be able to add someone that fills a significant long-term need. Yeah. Yeah, it makes sense. I mean, you kind of draw the parallel to 2019 on something Jesse and I've kind of already previously talked about where it kind of feels like a buy and sell situation. And my kind of take on that is that, you know, this front office has done two things pretty consistently.

they're not going to sell just to sell. They're not going to do it just to do it. And if they can find value somewhere, they'll take it. And so, I mean, what's your, how do you feel about maybe those two statements and just kind of like, you know, the possibility there of them maybe looking externally while still looking to offload, like where maybe specifically if they're looking to acquire, you say, you feel it's more on the offensive side? I mean, I think so.

I mean, I think they need some right-handed compliments to the, I mean, like, they have a really good collection of outfield prospects that are almost all in the upper miners. Yeah. With the exception to Drew Jones, and Drew Jones is, you know, like he's going to be when he does play, you know, probably next year at this point with the shoulder issue. You know, he's going to open a Visalia. So, I mean, you're talking about whether it's Farshow or Thomas or Carol or Fletcher or McCarthy, like they're all lefties. So they need somebody to compliment that, I think. You know, I think they can still look on the left side of the infield.

The Rojas has done a great job at third base. And I'm a big Josh Rojas fan anyway. But I think that's a spot that they could do. I think they could potentially look for a long-term answer or longer-term answer at first. But they really like Christian Walker. And I think they'd have to be blown away. And I, you know, it's funny. Somebody just dropped in the chat, Stone Garrett.

So Stone Garrett is actually really interesting because nobody is quite sure what to do with Stone Garrett. And I was asking about it yesterday with someone. And they were like, listen, the numbers are really good. in AAA, they were really good in AA, but they've also been really good in two extreme hitter environments in Amarillo and Reno. And, you know, Garrett was a decent prospect. I saw him in the New York Penn League All-Star game like years ago after he was an eighth rounder by the Marlins. And, and like, he's an interesting guy, but, you know, his role, if he has one, is probably more

up and down, right-handed hitter just based on what what we know about is scouting history than it is somebody who's an impact player. He's also 27 or almost 27. So, Sure. You know, so I don't know that he necessarily fits that mold of core guys going forward. So I would think there, and I think, you know, they're always looking for controllable starting pitching. I mean, the thing is they have some interesting arms. You know, a year ago, we were talking about some of the struggles of the offensive players in the minors. And the feeling was, well, this is a pitching rich system now.

And now you see some of the numbers from the pitching guys. You know, maybe outside of Tommy Henry, it doesn't look great. But again, they're having to pitch in Amarillo. They're having to pitch in Reno. They're having to pitch in Wicill. those are extreme hitter environment. So, you know, I think there's, I think it's a pretty well-balanced system, really. I think it's a really good one.

And I think there are a lot of different paths that they can go down. But if they're going to add to Major League Club, I think they're always going to look for, there needs to be somebody who is in the impactful middle of the order type bat to go to the middle line up. Yeah. Mike, the debacks are 45 and 53. They're six and a half games out of the playoff picture as we speak. is that safe to say this is a pretty big win of a season all around at least so far. I know it's hard to say that when you're not over 500 and you're not maybe right in the thick of the playoff picture.

But given where the team was a year ago, I mean, it's an enormous step forward. Yeah, I mean, I think if they end up, I think they're on pace to go like 77 and 85. I mean, that's a 25 win improvement over last season. So that's a huge win. Yeah. Now, I think there are a couple things you have to keep in mind. That team wasn't 110 losses bad. I mean, they were in the way they played on the field.

But from a construction standpoint, remember, they were really thin. Payroll had been cut back. There wasn't a whole lot of room to spend on depth. And what did in their season in that 8 and 58 stretch, it was that they had four members of their starting rotation go out at the same time. And right after they had five members of their starting lineup go out. And like their best bench piece was Estraubal Cabrero who wore down and got hurt. So like there just wasn't any depth last year.

And that's a big reason why they ended up where they were. But I think it, yeah, I think it's a step in the right direction for sure. But they're not quite to the point where I view them as contenders yet. Yeah. As Drewball and I share the same set of knees, I feel like these days. So thinking about kind of like what we have coming up after the, you know, after the All-Star break, I hate calling it the second half. It's not really half.

Right. That's true. But the antics aside. What does, like, what are the success? markers. Like if we're going to watch the rest this season, we know they're not going to, they're unlikely to maybe be a 500 ball club. Maybe some other team sell and they could beat up on some people and

shoot, maybe they get there. But like aside from wins and losses, like where should we focus our energy as fans and kind of where success loss? I mean, I think continued adjustments from Varshot and Thomas. I think that's one spot. Yeah. I'm seeing how they do.

A strong second half from Heraldo Perdomo, I think would answer a lot of questions. Um, you know, they love Perdomo. They love his makeup. They love his personality. They love everything about him. So I think that would be, uh, really helpful. Um, and I think, you know, seeing, um, Corby and Martin take a step forward, if he's able to be in the strike zone a little bit more,

maybe getting a first look at Tommy Henry, um, you know, maybe even getting a first look at branded fat, you know, some of those guys, I think that would be what I would be looking for in the final two months of the season. I think those are, you know, letting those guys get their feet wet and get their opportunities to pitch at the big league level. You know, for a couple of those guys, I think it's really important. But those are the things that I would be focused on more so than the wins and losses, just trying to see what kind of improvement you see from the young players that have already been here. And then, you know, who you get a chance to see debut, which could be in us. And heck, there's that chance of Corby and Carol could debut, you know, in the last two months of the season. And that'd be pretty exciting.

I mean, I want to caution a little bit. I know Pipeline now has him as the number two overall prospect. And I know what his home run totals look like. Carol's not going to be a home run hitter. Like it's going to be doubles from maybe 10 to 15 homers, but good defense, good speed. He can hit. Like there's, he's going to be one of those guys that cobbles together,

you know, potentially four war seasons as because of his all round game, not because he's going to be, you know, cranking balls over the boards. It's very much like non- MVP season. Kobe Ellsbury type player, which is really, really good and really, really valuable. Mike, last question for you here. A lot of Diamondbacks fans were very, very angry over the offseason when they made the choice to bring back Tori Lavello. It's obviously not super common, right, to bring back a manager fresh off of 52 win season.

That's a bit unconventional in this game. Do you think, I know they brought back Tori, I believe he has a team option for next year. So his future sort of hangs in the balance right now. What do you think just about the job that Tori has done this season? And do you think that he is a guy that Diamondbacks will stick with for years to come?

Yeah, I mean, I'm really biased in this because I'm a big Tori Lavello guys. I might be the wrong person to ask to get an unvarnished opinion. But I thought it was absolutely the right move. The reason they lost 110 games had

a lot to do with the roster construction of very little to do with who the manager was. I think the fact that you have seen him help to implement a plan that works from the major league level down through the minor league speaks to how the front office feels about him. You know, he's extremely close with Mike Hazen. And so I think that's a part of it as well. And I think he's also, you know, his strength is player development, right? That's what he has a background in, you know, having managed in both Cleveland and Boston's

farm systems and, you know, what he's come through and what he's. really benefits, what he really loves. So, yeah, I think Tori absolutely should be here. I don't see any reason why he should be like, oh, I thought in a lot of respects, his decision-making in-game last year was the best that it's ever been, but it was completely masked by the fact that they didn't have the talent to compete. Yeah.

So, like, I think, you know, I would be in favor of him getting an extension. And I think, you know, I think they're in really good hands. I think they're a very good front office. I think it's a very good manager. I think it's a good manager, and I think it's the right combination of people more than anything. So, you know, I think they're heading in the right direction so long as that there's, there continues to be the level of patience that ownership has shown, which hasn't always been their hallmark. And my hope is that that continues, because I think these are the kind of high integrity individuals that they've long wished to have, and they now have them. Yeah. Mike, we really, we really appreciate your time. I know Jeff missed you a lot. So I'm glad.

we could facilitate this moment where you guys could get some FaceTime. That's the way. Text message sounded like this morning from him. It wasn't quite as complimentary, Jesse. Ah. Thanks, Mike. We appreciate it. Yep.

Take care, guys. That was Mike Farren, the one, the only, the legend from MLB Network Radio. Always great to have Mike on. A couple of words here from some of our partners here at PH&X. first of all from OGs. OGs just launched their first ever limited edition seasonal flavor, which is Pina colada, perfect pineapple and creamy coconut blend. Of course, we're talking about OGs gummies. You can check out OGs online at OGsbrands.com and on Instagram at OGs brands. You can also find their products at your local dispensary must be 21 years or older to purchase.

Jeff, I hear that Oregon has a few dispensaries. There's like there's a few of them at least. Maybe a couple of them. If you can find them. I mean, if you can find them. I mean, honestly, you can't, you can't like throw a baseball and not hit a dispensary around here. There you go. Oregon is well stocked in here in Arizona with the help of OGs. We're in, we're in good hands as well.

Also, a quick word about Four Peaks Brewing Company. We got to broadcast from Four Peaks yesterday. which was a lot of fun. We always enjoyed being out there. Jeff, I know you've spent some time in Arizona. Have you ever been to Four Peaks Brewing Company? Yes, I have. Okay.

Yes. It is a wonderful place. Have you had their chicken tenders? Not that I recall. Not that I recall. That was not the focal point of my visit. It was not the chicken tenders in my case. That's fair.

That's fair. But I will say the chicken tenders are legendary. I got to try them yesterday and it was honestly hilarious just like walking around all of our different crew members because I'm pretty sure that everyone got chicken tenders and so there were just baskets of chicken tenders and fries like literally everywhere.

But anyway, the chicken tenders are amazing and they're a brewery. So I guess they do that part pretty well too. But anyway, we really had a lot of fun with Four Peaks yesterday. So be sure to find some Four Peaks. at your local supermarket or, of course, visit Four Peaks pub on 8th Street as we did yesterday. Moving on, Jeff, I want to get into some updates about the Diamondbacks Minor League system. I know you are the legendary hashtag D-Backs Miners guy himself.

So you've got a big reputation to live up to here. But yeah, I mean, this has been, obviously the Diamondbacks have one of the foremost farm systems in baseball at this point, depending on who you ask, it's top five or at the very least top 10, although I don't necessarily see a whole lot of that at this point, at least now that Drew Jones is in the system, probably they're going to move up even further than they already are. But anyway, Jeff, who are just some guys that have stuck out to you this season? Maybe some guys that people are well aware of, like Corbyn Carroll, who a lot of people

are familiar with, and maybe some guys that some of our audience might be less familiar with. Yeah, I think kind of on the, you know, brutally obvious side, you know, I actually kind of took this in the direction of thinking of Jordan Waller and just thinking about like, okay, he suffers the shoulder injury. So he misses time. He spent about three weeks on the IL in the middle of this season. And he kind of still hasn't missed a beat. Like there was some real potential there for things to maybe slide backwards. But that just isn't how it's gone at all. I mean, he looks like. the real deal. And I'm really excited because I think in about a week, week and a half, I'm going to get out to Hillsborough and get a couple looks at him. But I just, I mean, and maybe that even gives us a little bit of hope with the Drew Jones shoulder situation that this isn't like a death now. You know, it's not.

It's not that it can't be overcome, right? Corbyn Carroll's done it. And now Jordan Lawler's done it. And so, you know, I think if we kind of look back even just to where we're, we're we were this time last year. It was, Jordan Lawler was, I know a lot of people had him as the consensus number one overall talent,

just like Drew Jones. He slid the debacks pounced and they paid and they got him on board. I think that's a huge, like that's something that they deserve some credit for because other teams were in the past. And they did it again with Drew Jones. So he really sticks out to me. I mean,

they could have three top 10 prospects on their hands here in like very little time between Gordon Carroll, Jordan, Lawler, and G Jones. That's crazy. And then on the pitching side, I actually really, to me, Brandon Fad is a guy that really sticks out in a year that a lot of the other pitching prospects, as Mike alluded to, have kind of taken a little bit of a step backwards or hit some stumbling blocks. He's been rock solid.

He just continues to pile on the strikeout numbers. He's not walking a bunch of guys. From reports, it sounds like the stuff has taken another step forward, which is incredible. He is pitching in Amarillo. Like Mike said, it's a hitter's park and he's managing an IRA that seems to hover kind of right around four. And he's been durable. He's taken the bottle. I think he's missed and he starts this year. Yeah. And so that's something that made. Fifth round pick in a shortened 2020 when scouts had a really difficult time going out and getting looks at guys. It was a really difficult year to scout. My friends are professional scouts.

and it was challenging. Things were canceled, moved all over the place. I mean, really, really difficult scouting conditions and the D-Back scouts found Brandon Fad. The development has worked, and he's kind of turning into a bit of a monster. It's really impressive. Yeah, Jacob said in the comments,

I believe Fad is now up to fourth on the prospect list today. Yeah, it seemed like, I kind of felt like the fact that he was a fifth round pick, that he wasn't like a first or second round pick, like some of the other guys. Scouts have maybe kind of held that against him. In some ways, it's taken a little bit longer for people to buy into him. From what I know, Jeff, correct me if I'm wrong,

I believe it's sort of a two-pitch mix with a fastball and a change-up, which are both seen as being pretty darn good pitches for Brandon Fatt. I want to say he was working on some sort of a third or possibly a fourth pitch. Do you know if he was able to do anything like that this year? I think for him it's a slider, if I'm not mistaken. I think the slider is actually flashed like starting to flashed, plus like it's really taking a step forward and that's it's interesting right because we've seen this case study before the guy that has the fastball and the change up but just doesn't have spin um look at

luke weaver there's some guys that just can't spin it right and there's a bunch of relievers that are fastball slider they just don't have the feel for the change so uh the fact that he's been able to kind of pick that up and add some add some spin to his game i think is really impressive um and it kind of opens the margin for air a little bit you know maybe it's not his best outpitch but it's a pitch that he can throw, especially when facing other righties. So, yeah, I got to like it. I mean, all the development's been really positive. And I'm personally, like, getting the vibes of, like, can we just skip him over Reno and just put him in the majors before he goes to Reno and gets, you know, gets pummeled like everyone does.

Yeah. Well, I mean, on that topic, right, like, I wrote a little bit the other day about some of these different guys that Diamondbacks have in their farm system. specifically guys like Drew Jameson and Ryan Nelson who have been bigger names of the farm system for a while. Blake Walston also, I guess, is sort of part of that group where the numbers just do not look good. And, you know, it's hard to look at Drew Jameson's seven plus ERA and feel good about, you know, where he is at as a prospect. And I think if the ERA is that high, like it's probably not all Reno, right? Like there's got to be something that Drew Jameson can, that Dre Jameson, excuse me, can do better. But it's, you know, it's hard to, it's hard to evaluate these guys when these parks are so incredibly hitter friendly.

So what do you make of guys like Dre Jameson and I guess Tommy Henry is the one guy whose numbers actually look pretty good? Does this mean that Tommy Henry is like a future ace because he has a three and a half ERA at Reno? What do we make of this? Yeah, I think there's something to be said for sort of a. developmental curve. And so if you're into prospects, like maybe it's something you've noticed, but I think in the lower levels of the miners, A ball, even high A ball, and even moving into AA, like stuff plays. Like, you can go to, like, even in Hillsborough, it's high A. But I mean, there are like some guys that come through with really good changeups. And you can

tell that some of the batters have just never seen like a good change up before. Sure. And it just gets demolished, right? I mean, they know what's coming. they still can't hit it. So stuff really plays. And I feel like by the time you get to AAA, like it's not just the stuff, it's, you know, you've got to use it appropriately and you've got to land it for not just strikes, but you've got to be able to land it out of the zone where you want it and goes away from just being about control, just the ability to throw strikes when you want to and command, being able to really manipulate the baseball and make it go where you want it to go, especially if that's not a strike, right? You want to get that guy to fish on something out

in his own. And so I think when we look at guys like Ryan Nelson and Dre Jameson, they've both been kind of knocked at times for their ability to command the baseball. They could be kind of effectively wild at times. Like to me, Drey Jameson is like a five and dive guy, you know, get him through five innings. It's going to be a bit like Robbie Ray. So throw a ton of balls, walks and guys, strike out a ton of guys. And at the end of the fifth inning, if he makes it that far, you need to help them. So, and I think, you know, Nelson maybe isn't. much in that mold that is similar. So I think what we're seeing is like the penalty of not being

fine with your pitches. Like great stuff won't prevail as dominantly in AAA. Most of these batters have seen big league pitching before. They are not scared of 96 or 97. They ain't scared and they know what to do with it. I think I think that's what we're seeing. Do you think that I know a lot of people have been angry that Tommy Henry has not made an appearance on the Major League roster yet. We had Dallas Keikle here for, you know, for a little while. Tyler Gilbert is in the rotation. They just made the decision to go with Corbyn Martin. A lot of people might have liked to see Tommy Henry in that spot. Safe to say we're going to see Tommy Henry at some point this year, I assume. I think so. Yeah, I think so. I think he comes up and fills a spot.

I think you look at like Zach Davies goes, that's like an easy. plug and plug they're kind of similar guys in a sense right like not the hardest throwers i think henry throws harder than davies but um guys that you're looking to kind of get more bulk from like more quantity than quality perhaps so i think we do see him um i'm not sure how impactable leads like i think for me personally i feel like he's probably kind of a a stable like four or five guy who has an era that hovers around four and a half a lot of the time the strikeout numbers aren't great the numbers don't kill you and he doesn't give up too many homers and it's just like reliable, dependable, kind of keeps you in the game.

Sure. Sounds like Zach Davies. So, I mean, that's kind of the guy there. Corbyn Martin, I mean, I know Mike touched on it, but Corbyn Martin, like, if we think long term, he's a guy, I mean, he was a centerpiece of the trade for Granky. It was great to get a job for a loss. That's great. They need Corbyn Martin to contribute.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's, I think Corbin Martin was a guy that. Diamondbacks had been targeting for years. And it was only, the story was that it was only because of the fact that he had Tommy John's surgery that suddenly the Astros were willing to move him in that deal. A lot of people forget he broke into the majors at 23 years old and had like pretty big time

stuff. And we all know what the Houston Astros tend to do with, you know, starting pitchers that come up at 23. They tend to be pretty darn good, at least in that organization. Of course, the debacks have since stolen their pitching coach. So maybe maybe some of that some of that good fortune carries over to Arizona now. Someone mentioned earlier a guy the Diamondbacks took in the MLB draft. I think it was Nate Savino.

I saw a comment about him earlier. Ryan Murphy said, how is Nate Savino is a prospect? I'm a huge cards and Suns fan, but I went to high school with Nate and saw he was drafted by the Diamondbacks. So that's a fun connection. Jeff, taken in the third round by the deback, Savino is a lefty out of the University of Virginia.

He was ranked 116th by MLB Pipeline for whatever that's worth. I know MLB Pipelines rankings are, you know, that is the end-all be-all, of course, right? That is what truly defines how good all of these guys are going to wind up being. You know, that number is probably probably not all that important. But I know the Diamondbacks were impressed with Savino. He's someone that they've scouted for a while. I don't know if you've picked up on any other information about him. Yeah, I think they had interest in him going back to high school.

So he's been off the radar for quite some time. And I think his stuff has just kind of bounced around a little bit at UBA. And so I think it kind of sounds to me like they're sort of buying this notion that his stuff can continue to improve. Yeah. Because he's kind of flashed it at times. And so, gosh, you know, sometimes, you know, this stuff just backs up a little bit. It sounds like this spring, the stuff kind of backed up a little bit. So can you get that back?

You know, it sounds like they seem to think that he can. I think that an interesting thing to watch here. And like, this is a great case study is that the Diamondbacks have been knocked like time and time again for their inability to develop pitchers. Yeah. So it's praising kind of like the way Fad has taken these steps forward, right? And really kind of morphed this guy who looks like, well, this guy could pitch like in the middle of your rotation for a while. what do they do with Savino? Like it might be a similar.

I mean, I know he's a lefty, but it might be like, is it a similar setup where you think you can, like this is what it is at present. And we think in two years it can be this. And if that's the case, then they're really betting on their player development abilities to like coax that out of him.

So I'm really fascinated. He seems like an interesting bet, right? Because I think of like Landon Sims, the guy's like grip and rip. I mean, he throws hard. Yeah. we think of Ray, the reliever out of Alabama. Yeah, Dylan Ray.

Yeah. Another guy who's just like, you know, power arm, pure relief, you know, that's not Savino at all. Like, it's more of a touch and feel sort of guy that's been sort of working up into the mid-90s on occasion and then the stuff kind of backed up. So I'm super interested to see how they can help him develop because there might really be something there. another big name the debacks took in the draft other than drew jones of course um i think we've we've talked about drew jones quite a bit uh on the show already of course is uh his injury maybe we should probably touch on that real quick jeff what what exactly is it with uh debax first round picks and uh their shoulders breaking down instantly i'm not really sure what to make of this i was just like uh yeah

like i i will donate my shoulder to drew jones there you go you know, tomorrow, I don't know, whatever, you know. I don't know, just the odds of this. Like, I was explaining this. Right. My wife who is like not, not super into baseball, you know, here's way too much of a pee. How, like, how is that possible? Like, how is that possible?

And it's, it's pretty insane. And I know this kind of got a lot of press, right? The Corbyn Carroll's, the Jordan Lawler, like, sitting with the scouts, right? Like taking in the game and using this time to learn, I think it's a new marketing efficiency. You injure your marquee prospects, let them really observe and learn the game and then deploy them. So sneaky move of D-backs, but I see. There you go. It's all part of the plan.

The name I was getting to, of course, was another sort of headliner pick from the Diamondbacks draft. Ivan Melendez, the Hispanic Titanic, right? he won the Golden Spikes Award, which is basically the college baseball equivalent of the Heisman. He was very, very, very good for the Texas Longhorns. It's sort of an interesting, like you don't see guys who are strictly first baseman get taken this high in the draft very often. It's a lot of short stops, a lot of center fielder's. So you can sort of buy, I guess, the Diamondbacks really believe in his bat and his ability to translate what he did at the University of Texas to the major league level. What do you, what do you think about this, this selection, the diamondbacks

going with him, maybe a little bit higher than some other teams would have? Like, it's a fun, it's another, like, fun bet to me, you know? I'm like, not only is he a first base, but he's like a right-handed hitting first baseman, which is generally like less desirable. Sure. And then at the same time, he just absolutely raked, you know, and he played in a good conference, you know, we played to Texas. So it's not like, you know, he wasn't in the middle of nowhere

hitting D3 homers. So I'm not sure. I mean, and it's kind of a need for the team. There's, they don't have, like if we think about all the guys they have coming up,

we kind of have seen what Alec Thomas is at present. And I think he will round into like even better form. But it's still going to be 15-ish homers and a lot of doubles. Sure. Corbyn Carroll is probably going to be pretty, similar. Jordan Lawler, maybe a little more well-rounded,

but I don't know that I think he's going to be hitting 40 bombs or Drew Jones. So what they're kind of missing, they have all these athletic pipes, they're kind of missing is that like middle of the order, just masher. And I think that's what they're hoping Melendez can be. So it's always really interesting.

I mean, Christian Walker is playing at like a 10% above league average clip right now as a hitter. and he's playing first base. Yeah. It feels kind of light. Like it's kind of light. Like it's fine, but it's kind of light.

I mean, you've got to be that good or better to be considered, you know, to be considered really like an everyday mainstay is a right-handed hitting first baseman. So are we thinking Melendez is better than what Christian Walker is right now. He's got a long ways to go to reach sort of that level,

let alone exceeding. All about the batman. He's got a hit and he's got to hit for power and he's got to do it all the time. It's a lot of pressure. Yeah. I mean, maybe they're buying the nickname more than anything else, right? I mean, it's a good nickname. Like, it is an excellent nickname. Yeah, it's a good name. I definitely would not have let that nickname pass me up if I were drafting in the NLB draft. So anyway, we'll have to see how, how things pan out for for Melendez. And hopefully Drew Jones is able to have a relatively quick recovery, although it does

not sound particularly optimistic at this point. There have been multiple reports that have said he's going to miss the season. So that seems like pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point. But anyway, when things are like this for the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, you can try to get over your troubles by going over to the Draft King Sportsbook app and making yourself some money. This is what I always recommend people do. So download the Draft King Sportsbook app now, everyone.

Use promo code P. and X make your first deposit and get a risk-free bet of up to $1,000. That's promo code pH and X only at Drafking Sportsbook. Minimum age and eligibility restrictions apply. See show notes for details. Jeff, is draft king sportsbook? Is that sort of thing legal in the state of Oregon? I'm guessing it may not be.

Is it? I think it is. I mean, I know I see it on ads and stuff even during like Blazer games and stuff. So I think it's legal. there you go there you go yeah well it definitely has a way of you know once online sports betting is legalized like in your metro area then you know there are signs everywhere uh when i first my my my the first time that i came back to downtown phoenix after online sports betting was legalized

there were just signs for like caesar sports book and draft kings and fan duel and stuff there's just billboards everywhere so they basically uh they basically take over the town but anyway uh with the draft king sportsbook app you can have a great time. Of course, it's baseball season, everyone. So you should go bet on some baseball games. Derek bet on the Yankees yesterday, which I'm not sure we'll ever forgive him for. But that's why we kicked him out and he's off to Disneyland now. Our final sponsor that we want to get to is Focco. Foco, they make amazing bobbleheads. And Jeff, I'm not sure if you are aware of this, But due to supply chain issues, there are no bobblehead giveaways this year for the Diamondbacks.

It is truly devastating across the board. So everyone is sad without bobbleheads at Chase Field this season. But Foco can help you out. You can get some amazing bobbleheads over with them. We are partnering with a leader in sports merchandise in collectibles that is Foco. Foco has got you covered with the best Arizona merchandise. They have officially licensed gear for men, women, and kids. and everything from bobbleheads to swimsuits to crocs.

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bobbleheads. Jeff, that's just about all that we have for today. We only went 52 minutes, which I feel like when you and I would do a show, we were liable to go, you know, hour and 15, hour and 30, depending on what was going on. But we'll be merciful today and shut up a little bit sooner for everyone. But Jeff, this has been, it's been a lot of fun. Thanks for, thanks for hopping on today. Yeah, absolutely. My pleasure. Fun to talk to you back. It's fun to talk to you. Fun to talk to Mike. And thank you, Derek, for not being here. I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure Derek is just about willing to take a day off whenever you want to allow him to, Jeff. So you just let us know. And I'm sure he'll run off to Disneyland

in a moment's notice. But anyway, thank you all so much for joining us here today. It's been a of fun. Thanks again to Mike Farron for hopping on the show with us. We have no show tomorrow or Saturday. We are off for a couple of days, but we're back on Sunday for a post-series show after the Atlanta Brave series. So hopefully the Diamondbacks can continue their momentum in Atlanta, and we will see you all then.