ProspectVibeCheck

Going to pin this thread regarding some of my 2026 hot takes so I can keep myself accountable. I’m going to do a piece for @ProspectsLive at the end of the year analyzing what I got right, what I got wrong, and how I ended up there! Open for comments and feedback too!

@crycrysnowflake I feel like that’s mostly a very recent development, but yeah a lot of people weren’t factoring in the difficulty of age to level adjustment with how aggressive MIL was with promoting him.

@PrspctVibeCheck I've seen Lara in a bunch of people's top 100 now... I think people got too low on him after he struggled at the lower levels.

Across the AAA level, there are four hitters with a wRC+ > 200. Rece Hinds (215 25 y/o) Zack Gelof (209 26 y/o) Vinyl Machin (202 32 y/o) LUIS LARA (201 ***21 y/o***) Lara is the 5th youngest player across AAA. The other 4 are T100 prospects.

@djhogness The A’s are an oddly difficult line up to crack into at the moment. Even with Rooker out, none of Thomas, Bolte, or Gelof get the ability to have a ton of run.

@PrspctVibeCheck Too bad after getting called up this year Zack Gelof has been essentially riding the pine after his revamped approach

@Kinger112611 20% of the way there! 🤞

@PrspctVibeCheck If Lara hits 10 HRs this year he will be top 75

@Schoop_11 Of course there’s going to be regression off of his 414 BA, there’s plenty of room for him to drop off and still be incredibly proficient. Not to mention players like Lara can run elevated BABIPs on grounders due to their speed.

@PrspctVibeCheck He has a .500 babip on ground balls right now. Not really sustainable. But he looks like an actual dude. He also has a plus plus glove.

@MindofaYinzer @GregHoogkamp @theprospectprof Don’t you know I hate Pirates players specifically? Pay no attention to the fact I have Bubba in almost every league I’m in…

@PrspctVibeCheck @GregHoogkamp @theprospectprof Ignoring the parenthetical and bookmarking this for future spite.

It's not hyperbolic to say that Seth is already the most talented pitcher in the minor leagues. The metrics on his pitches are bonkers, he's throwing a ton of strikes with elite extension. Maybe not the best pitching prospect yet, but it's coming soon.

Nelson Rada, Colt Emerson, Max Clark, and Walker Jenkins are the only younger AAA players. Lara is very much in their company. 414/500/603 slash line with more walks than Ks. 2HR and 10SB in 15 games. The breakout is here, and you should buy now.

Hey all! I’m hopping on the @ProspectsLive dynasty pod with @GregHoogkamp and we’re doing a mailbag tonight. We already have some questions but I’m looking to field more on or off of the pod. Reply to this thread and I’ll be more than happy to answer!

@EddieMaddux33 Ronny was like 1-2% owned but I’m a big buyer in him at the moment.

@PrspctVibeCheck Damn. I was sure it was Ronny Cruz.

Now that all of my waiver runs have hit… Jose Verdugo, SDP prospect, was 0% owned entering the weekend. He was one of 5 players from the DSL to skip the CPLX and go directly to Low-A. Verdugo was a $10,000 signee, but looked great in the DSL.

Having a business lunch meeting at a Chili’s today. Being a lawyer is glamorous AF y’all.

Guess who was one of two staff members from @ProspectsLive to select Stewart to win NL ROY

Everyone check out the latest in my xPected Edge series! I cover Andy Pages, Sal Stewart, and the value of “Slash and Dash” hitters, particularly in your Roto leagues.

The Padres are pretty aggressive as an org. but they’ve only really pushed some of their marquee names like Salas and De Vries, so the fact they’re pushing Verdugo is interesting and notable to me.

Last year: 337/437/505 with 2HR and 7SB. So far in A-ball: 323/382/355 with 3SB. He’s got a smaller frame, but I also believe he’s larger than the current BRef height and weight. Smooth easy mechanics. This could be a Luis Pena type of profile. Not quite as fast though.

@DaveCherman Sure can! 👀

@PrspctVibeCheck Can you say now?

I think I just found one of my early prospect crushes for the 2026 season. Waiting on a couple FAAB runs to hit before I type it up in full, but could be pretty interesting! Seeing 0% owned on Fantrax for him right now.

NASA is goated. So incredibly happy to see the success of Artemis II. Even more excited for III and IV. I hope that I’ll get to see a Martian landing some day.

7-game series, who wins?

Dr. Langdon is #🔙