Minor League Games - August 6th, 2025

[phillychuck]

I don’t mind if he plays in Australia this winter, or in another winter league, but his focus should be on the strength component above all else. He has to figure out what the limit of his physical build is, and get there in a year or two before he (hopefully) becomes a big-leaguer. It’s sort of exciting that he seems to have big-league potential; I was pretty skeptical earlier this year.

[fish]

He has to figure out what the limit of his physical build is, and get there in a year or two before he (hopefully) becomes a big-leaguer. It’s sort of exciting that he seems to have big-league potential; I was pretty skeptical earlier this year.

I was thinking he’s starting to look like a Brett Gardner-type player. Gardner didn’t really start to develop pop until he turned 30, yet somehow posted a 7.4 WAR in 2010 while hitting .277 with 24 doubles, 7 triples, 5 homers, 47 RBI and 47 steals.

[fish]

Imagine if you knew how to do this- crawford’s bunt roll fair after being a good 6 feet foul.
https://x.com/paulpozluvr/status/1953283057055670494

[andyb]

I have seen that on bad fields in my games. Is anyone being taught the rules these days? The fielder is supposed to touch the ball to make sure it stays foul and the runner is of course supposed to run.

In high school or even little league both teams would be running after the game as punishment.

[Austinfan]

From his scouting report at least, the problem is less strength than his swing.
He had almost no stride, so no way of generating power other than his arms and wrists, and while Dick Allen could do so, most hitters need to use their body to generate power.
The fact he started collecting XBH suggests they have been working on his swing, though we may need Matt to confirm.

[phillychuck]

I believe Matt said they were working on the swing at the start of the year. I’ll look for recent videos to see if his stride has changed...

A few videos here:

https://www.milb.com/video/dante-nori-s-two-run-home-run?t=playerid-807276

He has a short stride, maybe 3 or 4 inches with the front foot and he gets it down early. Should keep his head and eyes steady and give him a good look at pitches, but he doesn’t get a lot of weight transfer. It’s fine if he barrels the ball a lot. Honestly, this kind of swing and stride will really respond to strength increase since wrist, forearm and upper-arm strength is really important for generating bat speed without a big stride.

I don’t see a change from June to August...

[bigegypt0417]

His isn't hitting cheap hone runs...

Seems like his power will come with some strength.

[schillingfan]

I always thought that once a bunt rolls into foul territory it is foul. Didn’t know it could roll back to fair. Of course I’ve never seen that happen, because as you say, the defender always grabs it once it goes foul.

[andyb]

We were always taught to knock it foul if it crossed the line and we could not throw the runner out. And you see major leaguers just do that automatically. But maybe that was years ago and major leaguers just assume the fields are perfect these days and it never happens.

I am more annoyed by Crawford not running of course. If you hit it in the air and it lands foul beyond the base then it is definitely foul. No roll rules beyond first and third base. But every grounder should be run out. He should not have even been looking where the bunt was.