We love a good scouting report on someone we might not have seen play in action. That's why scouts are here.
But what I'm about to show you isn't your typical report. As a matter of fact, it's an honest-to-goodness, no-holding-back report from a scouting supervisor whom I recently spoke to about what he's seen from well-known A's and Giants players.
You're welcome in advance.
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Matt Chapman: "Probably a good thing I’m doing this anonymously because I don’t want to deal with the national outrage when I say that he’s better than [Nolan] Arenado, for me. Not the elite of the elite on the [Mike] Trout et al level, but below that. Perennial All-Star, franchise player, though not an elite superstar."
Matt Olson: "Above-average major leaguer. Not on the same level as Chapman, for example, but a guy a winning team can play every day. All the value is tied up in the bat, much like most first basemen, but if he keeps walking at a solid pace and hitting bombs, no reason not to have that guy in the team’s future plans."
Marcus Semien: "I’ll buy a beer for whichever person said that Semien was going to be a five-plus-WAR player in 2019 because it surely was not me. He’s been aided a bit by the new offensive atmosphere of MLB, but he’s jacked up his walk rate, cut his K rate, and has become a legitimate plus defender at shortstop. What a turnaround!"
San Francisco Giants
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Jesús Luzardo: "A personal favorite dating back to his high school days. The kid could always really f-----g pitch, even if he didn’t have super-loud stuff. Now he’s got super-loud stuff and can really pitch but can’t stay on the field. Tough to project a kid to be a dude with that injury list, but even still, I’m a big fan."
Khris Davis: "I’m not even going to look at his numbers -- I just assume he’s hitting .247. Power has taken a step back this year. He’s always been a poor defender, so you need that guy to hit 40 bombs to be valuable. If he’s not bringing big HR power to the table, what is he?"
AJ Puk: "Another guy I saw in high school a good bit. Has he cut his hair yet? Seriously, maybe the worst hair in baseball. Either way, it’s real s--t, and it’s real loud s--t. I’d imagine you might see him out of the ‘pen this year ... 2020 for sure, though, if he stays healthy. When he’s commanding, it’s damned near unhittable stuff at times."
Giants
Madison Bumgarner: "Quality arm. Not the star he once was. Not really surprised that they kept him. He’s still good, still a solid No. 3 type of starter on a competitive team. I could do without the faux-tough guy yelling at hitters nonsense, though."
Alex Dickerson: "This guy’s 'A. Dick.' Haha. Anyways, nothing really special here, solid extra outfield type. I think you’re witnessing the very best of him right now with an extremely high BABIP that is surely due to regress, but either way, he’s a nice bench guy."
Mike Yastrzemski: "He’s a cool story. Fourteenth-round senior sign who is now hitting in The Show. Obviously, the bloodlines stand out -- his name says that much. As a player, he’s kind of just a bat-first extra outfielder, but a useful piece to have in the system. He’s already produced far more value than the average 14th-rounder."
Pablo Sandoval: "Man, this guy is still playing, huh? Hard to believe he’s only 32. Kinda is who he is. Can hit, has some juice, not an abhorrent defender, but below average for sure. Surely not a bad veteran presence to have around in the twilight of his career. Kind of similar to how [Miguel] Cabrera in Detroit is now, though. Obviously, Cabrera is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and Sandoval is not."
Brandon Crawford: "Love the way this guy plays. Tremendous fourth-rounder, given what he’s produced. Having a bad year. Has lost a step or two defensively, and it shows. Lots of empty at-bats this year, sub-.300 OBP. Kind of looks like the offensive renaissance of 2015-2016 was more a flash in the pan than who he is as a player. Still, and I know analytics would disagree, I’d want this guy on my team."
Brandon Belt: "There was a time where I thought this guy had a chance for Adrian Gonzalez-levels of offensive impact ... that never happened, though. He’s had some good years. Just tough to be a first baseman in today’s game without big power, and he just doesn’t have it. Average hitter with below-average defense, while playing first base, makes you a below-average player."
[RELATED: Belt reveals hilarious Carrie Underwood story]
Joey Bart: "The future! Really good player -- thought he was the second-best player in the 2018 draft class right behind [Casey] Mize, and I would have heard arguments for Bart over Mize as well. A standout defender with a cannon for an arm, and should hit 25 to 30 bombs at his peak. He’s not going to be [Buster] Posey, in that I don’t think he’ll win MVPs, but Giants fans should love him now and should continue to love him for the next decade."