And I imagine being able to go out there and be consistent and gain that amount of innings was a real plus for him.

Yeah, it's almost a badge of honor in our system.

We love celebrating guys who make a ton of starts and throw a ton of innings, knowing that you know, the demands of the major league starting pitcher, as you're seeing this year with Parker Messick, it's, you know, it's a big jump sometimes.

So when guys are able to go out and consistently get to all their innings throughout the year, that's like a huge celebratory thing for us.

And I think we talked about Caden a few times this year and he just continued to get better and develop as the season went on.

He came into spring training.

There's a lot of focus around secondary development for him.

And what did you find out about him this year and maybe some things that he can learn from as he moves forward?

And I imagine being able to go out there and be consistent and gain that amount of innings was a real plus for him.

Yeah, it's almost a badge of honor in our system.

We love celebrating guys who make a ton of starts and throw a ton of innings, knowing that The demands of the major league starting pitcher, as you're seeing this year with Parker Messick, it's a big jump sometimes.

So when guys are able to go out and consistently get to all their innings throughout the year, that's like a huge celebratory thing for us.

And I think we talked about Caden a few times this year, and he just continued to get better and develop as the season went on.

He came into spring training.

There's a lot of focus around secondary development for him.

And what did you find out about him this year and maybe some things that he can learn from as he moves forward?

And how has he adapted to a new organization?

Yeah, one anytime we get a new player, it's You know, we do a ton of homework on who the person is and, you know, how we can support them and things that, you know, make them really good players and try to get them home as much as we possibly can.

And I think in, you know, the process of acquiring Blake, we knew we were getting a really good person and a great teammate.

I think just the initial impression on that type of person that we got was probably even better than the reports coming in.

He's just been a phenomenal add as like a teammate into the culture there with the rest of the guys, obviously a little bit more polished and a little more veteran status than some of the younger players we have at AAA.

So when we bring someone in who has real major league experience and you know, a ton of baseball experience and is a great teammate.

It's not only a positive to have that type of player in, but it's an amplifier for everyone else around it.

Where is he at in terms of what he's able to do and what he's able to show at this point in the season?

I want to touch on a couple of players, someone we haven't talked about since he's been acquired near the trade deadline from Milwaukee is outfielder Blake Perkins, and how has he adapted to a new organization?

Yeah, one anytime we get a new player, it's We do a ton of homework on who the person is and how we can support them and make them really good players and try to get them home as much as we possibly can.

I think in the process of acquiring Blake, we knew we were getting a really good person and a great teammate.

I think just the initial impression on that type of person that we got was probably even better than the reports coming in.

He's just been a phenomenal add as like a teammate into the culture there with the rest of the guys.

Obviously a little bit more polished and a little more veteran status than some of the younger players we have at AAA.

So when we bring someone in who has real major league experience and you know, a ton of baseball experience and is a great teammate.

Where is he at in terms of what he's able to do and what he's able to show at this point in the season?

Now he's at, uh, at Lake County, and how has he handled that adjustment and continued to progress?

Yeah, he's been there for about a month now with Lake County.

He crushed the ball at Hill City to start the year.

Um, Anthony's a, a really big [laughs] physical first baseman.

Um, he came to us in the draft as maybe a, a bit more bat to ball skill type of t- of hitter than you'd, uh, expect when you see him walk up to the plate.

I think part of that was identity driven.

The other was maybe a bit of the, um, environment that he was in, and, you know, strategies that his, uh, team was trying to deploy.

And, and how is, has his recovery gone as he makes more and more starts?

Anthony Martinez was putting up good power numbers at Hill City now he's at at Lake County and how has he handled that adjustment and continued to progress?

Yeah, he's been there for about a month now with Lake County, crushed the ball, he'll say to start the year.

Anthony's a really big physical first baseman.

He came to us in the draft as maybe a bit more back to ball skill type of hitter than you'd expect when you see him walk up to the plate.

I think part of that was identity driven.

The other was maybe a bit of the environment that he was in and strategies that his team was trying to deploy.

But yeah, it's been a lot of effort by him and the staff to tap into more productive angles, not being afraid to swing with intent, just having like more of a damage mindset than ball and play mindset.

And how has his recovery gone as he makes more and more starts?

went through a tough stretch for just a little while but now it seems like he's found his way out of that and is really swinging it well again he's been on a heater with home runs lately and oste talked about how important it is to see players respond to some adversity

yeah the tough times are almost necessary as we've talked about a number of times for these guys to go through and facing adversity is something that Ralphie has already done a few times actually in the minor league.

So yeah, I don't, I don't think we were super surprised in how he handled some of that and maybe not getting the results despite some of the underlying performance, but yeah, he's turned it around and the guy's hot right now.

Yeah.

He's even hitting inside the park home runs like last night, but yeah, I think it's, he's up to like 10 in the last 14 or 15 games.

Yeah.

I think that's probably sparked more by just productive bat angles or about a ball angle, sorry.

What are you trying to get to with him at AAA so that he can be a really good contributor at this level?

He's been on a heater with home runs lately, and Osty talked about how important it is to see players respond to some adversity.

Yeah, the, the tough times are almost necessary [laughs] as we've talked about a number of times for these guys to go through, and facing adversity is something that Ralpy has already done a few times, actually, in the minor leagues.

So yeah, I don't, I don't think we were super surprised, uh, in how he handled some of that, and maybe not getting the results despite some of the underlying performance.

But you know, he's turned it around his... and the guy is hot right now.

Um, yeah, he's even hitting inside the park home runs [laughs] like last night, but I think it's... he's up to, like, 10 in the last 14 or 15 games.

Um, yeah, I, I think that's probably sparked more by just productive bat angles, or bat and ball angles, sorry, and, uh, turning some of the line drives that we saw now into home runs.

And yeah, I think last time we chatted, we, we did note that there were things under the hood that suggested he was likely to see a breakout soon and see some increased production, um, off of, like, maybe a little bit more of the process.

And, uh, now what are you seeing from him in terms of progress this year at Triple-A?

Dean Curley, another player who's been moved up and, uh, getting his feet wet at the double A level and, and what are you seeing from him a- as he tries to adjust to that new level?

Yeah, so he had a lot of success in high A, and I think that was effectively, uh, r- registering, like, the lowest swing rate [laughs] of minor league baseball, and that just led to a ton of walks.

Um, you know, and heading to, to 2A, I think part of the challenge there was to face better pitching and constrain him to be a bit more aggressive in the box.

You know, he's a guy that he can really impact the baseball with...

He's got, like, some very high exit velocities.

He does it at good angles.

He's got great fastball contact rates, but he just needs to swing more.

And one other pitcher on this week's slate, Rafe Schlesinger, another starter who, um, is 10 starts in at the AA level and, and what are you seeing there from him?

Hostie talks about some of the progress that Shubart has made, as well as some of the things he's working on in Akron.

Yeah, 58 game on day streak is pretty impressive at any level.

So it's, yeah, I mean, that was a lot of fun to track and watch and root for game over game.

But yeah, Big Shoes, he's continued to pound the baseball in double A, just like he did in high A. He's a real three-outcome hitter, I think, in that he almost walks and strikes out 50% of the time.

And the other percent of the time he's hitting a home run seemingly and leading the farm with 23 at this point in the year.

He's got an OPS over 1,000 at the level in a bit of a small sample size, but he's just annihilating right-handed pitching.

So I think with Schubert, you know, we've talked about it.

And what are you seeing from him as he tries to adjust to that new level?

And, uh, what are you seeing from him progress-wise, a- and also not only at the plate, but defensively too?

He came out of the gates really strong.

Uh, had a bit of a dry patch offensively, and then he's just turned it [laughs] on the last few weeks.

I think he's up to seven home runs now.

Um, he's driving the ball around from both sides of the plate, which is a really good sign.

Just being confident, uh, left and right and, you know, he continues to showcase a lot of the, the things that we've always been excited about and not striking out a ton and, um, you know, just being a consistent contact guy.

So, you know, the group is really excited about where he's going, uh, the performance that he's, you know, putting out there right now in Triple-A.

Um, what's the latest with Ralphy? What's he working on and, and how's he progressing?

And what are you seeing from him progress-wise and also not only at the plate, but defensively too?

He came out of the gates really strong.

Had a bit of a dry patch offensively, and then he's just turned it on the last few weeks.

I think he's up to seven home runs now.

He's driving the ball around from both sides of the plate, which is a really good sign.

Just being confident left and right.

He continues to showcase a lot of the things that we've always been excited about and not striking out a ton.

What's the latest with Ralphie? What's he working on, and how is he progressing?

And you'll certainly want to keep track of that name as we talked about the progress that Doty has made that led to his promotion to AA Akron.

Yeah, Braylon was excellent in the first half.

And as you noted, we just recently promoted him.

And now I think he's the second youngest pitcher in AA across baseball.

So pretty aggressive, but he did earn it.

We talked, I think, earlier about A few times about how we get these really young pitchers.

We try to set the foundation for the long term success and establishing routines, being a part of that, preparing themselves for the week, for the game, knowing themselves, all those things and try to try to overcome that before really digging in.

And how about Dean Curley, the infielder who also drafted last year out of Tennessee? What are you seeing from him as he gets deeper into his season?

And you'll certainly want to keep track of that name as we talked about the progress that Doty has made that led to his promotion to AA Akron.

Yeah, Braylon was excellent in the first half.

And as you noted, we just recently promoted him.

And now I think he's the second youngest pitcher in AA across baseball.

So pretty aggressive, but he did earn it.

We talked, I think, earlier about A few times about how we get these really young pitchers.

We try to set the foundation for the long term success and establishing routines, being a part of that, preparing themselves for the week, for the game, knowing themselves, all those things and try to try to overcome that before really digging in.

And how about Dean Curley, the infielder who also drafted last year out of Tennessee? What are you seeing from him as he gets deeper into his season?

So much of the focus has been on getting him back on the mound, and he's in a relief role, so what are some of the challenges that presents in terms of preparing him to make an impression here at the Major League level because of that role, and, uh, how far does he have to go, you think?

First, I mean, first and foremost, like you said, the, the being healthy is top of mind for Daniel.

He's had a tremendous comeback from the injuries that he's faced, and just seeing him on the mound, uh, brings a smile to a lot of people's faces, and doing that consistently has been awesome to see to start the year.

And, you know, as you transition to a reliever role, of, of course, that's an adjustment and, um, you know, trying to do that while also getting adjusted back to being a part of a team and being in a full season again, [laughs] when you put those two things together, it can be really challenging.

But again, this is Daniel Espino.

He, he's kind of the poster child for us for professionalism in our org and determination and perseverance, and he's done exceptionally well.

I, I...

Um, and I, I know he, he bounces through some different roles and, and what are you seeing from him as he gets closer?

So much of the focus has been on getting him back on the mound, and he's in a relief role, so what are some of the challenges that presents in terms of preparing him to make an impression here at the Major League level because of that role, and, uh, how far does he have to go, you think?

First...

I mean, first and foremost, like you said, the, the being healthy is top of mind for Daniel.

He's had a tremendous comeback from the injuries that he's faced, and just seeing him on the mound, [laughs] uh, brings a smile to a lot of people's faces, and, and doing that consistently has been awesome to see to start the year.

And, you know, as you transition to a reliever role, of, of course, that's an adjustment and, um, you know, trying to do that while also getting adjusted back to being a part of a team and being in a full season again, [laughs] when you put those two things together, it can be really challenging.

But again, this is Daniel Espino.

He, he's kind of the poster child for us for professionalism in our org and determination and perseverance, and he's done exceptionally well.

Um, and I know he, he bounces through some different roles and, and what are you seeing from him as he gets closer?

There's some walks in there, and, and what are you seeing as, as he continues to develop at a full-season level?

Yeah.

He, uh, he got that taste of, of the, the affiliate life last year at the end, and, um, to start the year, he's, he's had a, you know, few dominant starts where he's flashed signs of that [chuckles] ceiling and what that could look like down the road.

And, you know, he's, he's coming out sitting 95, 96.

Uh, he'll get up to 100 miles an hour in, in the early innings, and he's got a, a really unique release spot that kinda jumps on you.

Um, he spent a lot of time this offseason, effort trying to develop a bigger slider and, you know, working to pair that with a shorter one and, and developing the changeup.

And, you know, w- we've talked about this all the time where, you know, when you have these really young pitchers who throw hard and they move their body really fast and they're developing physically and they're trying to work on pitches, we try to simplify it as much as we can.

What do you have on him?

Um, and it looks like he's settling in nicely and, and having some big da- big days and, and showing some of that power potential that, that we saw in the spring.

Yeah, Ralphy turned a lot of heads, too, in spring training.

And, um, you know, we, we talked about, you know, the decisions to send him to Akron or, or where's the best fit for him developmentally.

And, um, you know, he's settling in really nice at that level and, you know, he, he, he's hit the ball really well.

Um, you know, he's walking as much, uh, as, as he's striking out, which [laughs] isn't a lot.

And, uh, the underlying performance is, is very, very strong and, and, uh, you know, the numbers are, are good and he's-- this is with him hitting the ball straight at people, uh, really hard for a good portion of it.

And, you know, we knew that the offense and the bat were gonna be really strong to start the year and, um, you know, he just continues to, to dominate and grow in the things that aren't necessarily showing up per se on the field.

And Cal Steven, I know you're excited to have him in the organization now for a full season and, uh, as he gets into it, what are you seeing there after, you know, some ups and downs a year ago after the trade?