Lookout Landing

We’re back! Kate, Joe, and John emerge from a healthy winter break to take a look at the Lookout Landing 2021 Preseason Top Prospects List. Who just missed? Who were we relatively high or low on? And what does each prospect need in 2021 to take a big step? We also touch on the new minor league baseball alignment as it has become formalized and of course take listener questions throughout. We recognize this is a Big ‘Ol Pod, and future episodes should hew closer to an hour or so, but we... had a lot to talk about! Grab a few cups of coffee. 0:00 - 13:45 - We start things off with discussion of the minor league realignment’s certification. The Mariners come out with a good deal of convenience, large (geographical) regions of the country are left in the cold. It’s a sad day for the West Virginia Power and many other communities around the country. For baseball fans in the Pacific Northwest, however, there will be full season baseball all across the state of Washington, Western Oregon, and Vancouver B.C. 13:45 -

0:00-14:30: Matthew and Kate brave a John-less podcast. Things get simmering with a conversation about the Ooples and Boonoonoos song. This quickly leads to us wondering if we’re annoying.  14:35-33:50: What to make of Ken Giles and his Astro past. Even if it doesn’t work out, the Mariners really won’t be any worse for it. The reason for that? A good farm system, and depth! This is still kind of tough to get used to, but the Mariners do have a good farm system, and it is definitively better than any other team’s in the AL West. We also marvel at how thoroughly Giles dominated the M’s while playing for Houston. Matthew gets in a “Go Mets baby love da Mets” and remembers the time Chasen Bradford acknowledged us online. 33:55-49:30: Matthew gets surprised by the recent news linking Taijuan Walker to our best friends. Then, we talk about the big guy. If you missed it, the Mariners are bringing back James Paxton on a one-year deal. This is brain-tingly exciting. The only real, legitimate knock on Pax is injuries,

0:00-15:25: A top 100 prospect joins a top one podcast. Taylor Trammell calls in from Atlanta, meaning we had to record at nine in the morning on the west coast. What physical activity caused Taylor to wake up early and without warning? Taylor also recently got engaged, and he shares that story with us. When the conversation shifts to baseball, Taylor tells us about the things he’s been focusing on this offseason. 15:30-33:40: After getting traded to Seattle, which Mariner prospects impressed Taylor the most? Kate makes Taylor re-live his experiences facing the Arkansas Travelers and drops yet another new pronunciation of Margevicius. This is the part where we learn that Taylor has an incredible baseball memory, which helps him remember the rare occasions when he’s lost his cool on the field. 33:45-47:25: What’s it like to be traded, and how did getting traded from Cincinnati to San Diego prepare him for later being traded from San Diego to Seattle? How did Yasiel Puig complicate things? Taylor peels the curt

0:00-27:00: These intros get drier and drier as we sink deeper and deeper into the pandemic, but this week we have John extolling the virtues of Rat-a-Tat Cat. This week’s guest is Jordan Shusterman of Céspedes Family BBQ, who is holed up in Maryland with his family, buried under nine inches of snow. We get going with a discussion on emergency catchers, inspired by Shed Long Jr. and Carson Vitale. Speculation about Raúl Ibañez’s new job at the league office follows. So does an open conversation about how many vegan prospects there are across the baseball landscape. 27:05-42:25: The Mariners’ offseason...why? Matthew sees an opportunity to make this about Ginuwine and goes for it. A certain “superstar” is discussed, causing Kate to spiral toward misery, before reminding all of us that there are just some fans out there that will never be satisfied.  42:35-1:07:10: Has Jordan been vibin’ with J-Rod? There’s a pretty good conversation here about how to get the most out of baseball players, who often want to give

0:00-12:00: We’re back! Two episodes in two weeks, who knew that was even allowed? This week’s guest is Sam Delaplane, relief pitcher in the Mariners’ minor league system. Sam was with Arkansas in 2019 and took part in Spring Training, Summer Camp, and all the goings-on in Tacoma during the pandemic before recently being added to the 40-man roster. Sam is currently in Arizona, where he’s been bored enough to call in to our podcast! 12:05-35:00: How has being short influenced Sam’s baseball journey? Industry consensus tells us that the jump to Double-A is tricky, so let’s here what someone who’s done it in real life has to say. Which Twins legend with a .248 career batting average gave Sam a bunch of trouble in Arkansas, where he played with Kyle Lewis, Evan White, Justus Sheffield, and a truckload of current and future Mariners? 35:05-39:55: What’s the plan for 2021? What does a successful season look like for Sam Delaplane? He has something very specific and somewhat obvious in mind. 40:00-1:02:50: Let’s get

0:00-21:00: None of us are doing “well”, in the traditional sense, but today we’re doing better than other days. Braden Bishop, outfielder for the Seattle Mariners, is on our podcast! Braden kicks things off by recalling his experience at the Spring Training shut down of 2020, revealing how he’s staying in shape, and making fun of Carson Vitale’s dance moves. For those who didn’t know, Braden also created the 4MOM Charity after his mother was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s. 21:05-38:25: What happened on a routine trip to CVS that altered his perception of America forever? The decision to scale back on Twitter, even though he was using it mostly to embarrass idiots, has gone a long way for Braden. Find out which former UW football player reached out to help him reach that point. What does his family, which includes several active police officers, think of Braden being so outspoken in support of Black Lives Matter? 38:30-50:25: What have other athletes said to Braden about being so open with his opinion

0:00-27:30: 2021 is here, and so is Roenis Elías, but that’s not why we’re here. Bradford William Davis of the New York Daily News and Baseball Prospectus has blessed the mic for an episode about MLB at-large. As a New York-based writer, Bradford has some extensive thoughts on the Mets and their innovative, cutting edge strategy, which is trying to win baseball games by acquiring the best players. Where does he stand on the players that went from New York to Cleveland in the Lindor deal? What about the practice of pretty good teams actively trying to be the opposite of pretty good? 27:35-49:15: We discuss this clip of Bradford asking Francisco Lindor about Cleveland’s spending habits after they were eliminated from last year’s playoffs. What does this response tell us about the rest of the league? Baseball players’ general lack of knowledge about the union and labor relations, detailed in this 2019 article by Stephanie Apstein, also seems like an issue. Kate openly asks if the Tampa Bay Rays are a pyramid sch

It's the dead of winter, but that doesn't mean the farm is without activity. Joe, John, and Kate convene to discuss the latest moves, answer your questions, discuss the recently dropped MLB Pipeline Top-100 Draft Prospects list, and more! Seattle's trade of Jose Corniell and what it means for the farm, 0:00 - 20:00 - Fare thee well, Tim Lopes and Jose Corniell. We discuss our feelings on Seattle making a trade from their pitching depth, and the positives of such a move versus the concerns about dealing away a 17 year old with promise. Is it a sign of worrisome things to come that Jerry Dipoto is moving the youth out again? Or simply something the club can do thanks to the array of pitching prospects they've assembled at this point? We also fret at the uncertainty of the dreaded PTBNL and wonder which other players in the system might have been showcased at the instructional league with the purpose of trading. 20:00 - 36:00 - Who is next to go off the 40 man? Seattle's roster is stuffed full of relievers, but

0:00-7:45: Prior to the recent MLB-Negro League news, Andrea Williams, author of the upcoming book Baseball's Leading Lady: Effa Manley and the Rise and Fall of the Negro Leagues, called the Lookout Landing hotline. The prerequisite vibe check blends into a conversation about the parallels between today and some of the book’s themes. Andrea also reflects on the fact she’s publishing a book during a pandemic. 7:50-24:55: What caused Andrea to take an interest in baseball in the first place? After name dropping Johnny Damon and Jermaine Dye, a confession arises from the rubble of Kansas City fandom. To kick off the deeper Effa Manley conversation, a brief primer is required. Not only does Andrea explain who Effa was and what she did, but also the layers of Black baseball that enrich her greater story. Branch Rickey, catch this fade. Just because Harrison Ford played you in a movie doesn’t automatically mean you get off scot-free. 25:00-37:30: What did Andrea think about the way things unfolded this summer, as s

0:00-16:00: Things are happening! Jerry Dipoto and the Mariners are movin’ and shakin’. To make heads or tails of this, the podcast gang reconvenes to mostly just share their excitement about having actual news. While the acquisitions of Keynan Middleton and Rafael Montero are still just reliever acquisitions, there are things to get hyped about here. Kate also briefly forgets one of her longtime staff writer’s name. As someone who also hates Angels fans, we think Middleton will fit in beautifully with the Mariners. 16:05-39:05: 17-year-old pitching prospect Jose Corniell is gone. 30-year-old reliever Rafael Montero is here. What should we expect from the ex-Ranger, who was their closer in 2020? Also, he was a Mets prospect, because of course he was! Will we see Seattle add another bullpen arm from the AL West? Are the Mariners going to have a bullpen made entirely of 98 MPH fastballs? Matthew, Kate, and John wonder aloud who the M’s will deploy in the closer role. This segues nicely into a few of our listene

0:00-10:45: Surprise! Things actually happened! We are forced to start with a Chris Flexen sesh. If you’d like to read more about Flexen, our own Michael Ajeto has you covered. We also try to figure out why Mariners Twitter seems to be so obsessed with signing Garrett Richards. Where does this utterly whelming transaction leave the Mariners in the AL West picture, at least in December? 10:50-25:15: Pour one out for the minor leagues, especially our homies in West Virginia. Kate schools us on the history of the Clinton LumberKings, a former Mariners affiliate who unfortunately were a casualty of these latest cuts. John also uses the word “hooey” during this part. In all seriousness, it’s a huge bummer to be losing some of these teams. However, as Lookout Landin often does, we attempt to find the bright side. A listener question then gives us an excuse to talk about this Zac Grotz video again. 26:15-37:15: We’re doing a draft, which is certainly not an original podcast idea, but it is a fun one! The draft topic

0:00-23:45: Who are these people buying metric tons of toilet paper at the grocery store? Show yourselves! Matthew, Kate, and John examine both sides of the great Thanksgiving debate before Harry and Sally catch this fade. We also urge you not to forget our anniversary with Brodie van Wagenen. Roughly two years since the Robinson Canó trade talks started heating up, the former Mariner second baseman went and made his complicated legacy even more complicated. If you’d like to weigh in on the Canó saga, share your thoughts here.  24:45-43:10: What does a successful offseason look like for the Mariners. Matthew, if you can believe it, wants his favorite baseball team to actively try and get better. Kate bravely goes out on a limb to say that one of Jerry Dipoto’s recent reliever acquisitions was “okay” and even “decent for a while”. John invokes a Canadian legend we’d all love to see in a Mariner uniform again. We all fawn over Taijuan Walker’s commitment to being in Seattle even though he is not technically on

Kate and John are joined by Austin Einhorn, founder of Apiros Movement Training. Austin talks about the work he's doing with Mitch Haniger, who he describes as his "dream client", offers a better vision of practice, and explodes a lot of the myths we hold both about athletic training and about our own bodies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

0:00-17:25: Wesley Robinson joins the show all the way from Pennsylvania, where he works as the press secretary for a State Senator. Though he grew up in Tacoma, Wesley admits he’s both physically and emotionally removed from the Pacific Northwest, save for his Mariner fandom. How does one follow the team from the eastern time zone? Matthew and Wesley swap stories about moving away from home and how that affects your baseball life. It takes less than 20 minutes for a conversation about Mariner fandom to include the phrase “this is rough” and “I’m going to remember Charles Gipson for the rest of my life”. 17:30-33:10: Going back to the beginning of Wesley’s fandom, which he pinpoints in 1992. Omar Vizquel’s departure led him down a dark and confounding yet everlasting path. After being told about the Mariners’ eternal struggles, and watching them at an early age, seeing them build a competent team hooked him forever. How does McDonald’s factor in here? Which point in Wesley’s journey has been the most stressfu

0:00-23:00: First, a much-needed mental health check. Then, Matthew introduces Kate and Mikey who are here to bat ideas back and forth about the Mariners’ offseason plans. Who is everyone’s GUY, aka the player they want above all else? Do we think they’ll go old or young? Is this the part when they finally spend money? Is another international signing on the horizon? Are a pair of once-great pitchers cooked for good? If you wanted to hear the words chaos Muppet, you came to the right place.  23:05-33:30: Throwing out some starting pitcher free agents and seeing if there’s any interest from the room. We land on a resounding no when it comes to a certain player who loves to start problems on Twitter. What does your heart sound like when you hear the phrase “James Paxton reunion”? Mikey and Kate get into an argument about Dan Wilson and then pitch an idea for a new statue outside the stadium.  33:35-52:45: Let’s talk relievers, famously a very exciting group! Would you rather go for quality or quantity at the bu

For Kate, Joe, and John, the offseason is the furthest thing from break time. That's because the draft order is now settled, which means we've got another layer of clarity on where Seattle might be picking at No. 12 overall and beyond. Despite *gestures in every direction*, high school baseball showcases have continued across the country, giving scouting departments and public scouting enthusiasts the chance to watch from afar as the next wave develops. We take listener questions on who the M's could target now that they're just outside the top-10. Is this the year that the M's finally go with a high-upside prep position player? Do guys like Marcelo Mayer have a chance of making it to the M's? And how might they look to add another competitive balance pick as they have the past couple years? Music: "Symphonies" by Kid Cudi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

0:00-13:25: Ashley MacLennan of DRaysBay is here to try and figure out how Mike Zunino ended up in the World Series. Her and Matthew begin by rejoicing over the fact that the Astros lost and how strange it is to not play an non-divisional opponent all season until the League Championship Series. Then we get into the Zunino zone. What were Ashley’s thoughts when the Rays traded Mallex Smith and Jake Fraley to land Z? Did anything surprise her about Zunino’s skill set? Also does Tampa want Jake Fraley back? 13:30-29:40: How did the Rays use Zunino during the regular season? Can we expect that to continue in the World Series? With a player like Mike, the non-quantifiable things are arguably the most important. How does Ashley feel about that, and how does that affect the way she watches the team? A discussion about players excelling after finding the best fit for them blooms out of this. Will Mikey be able to just sit fastball and feast off the Dodgers’ velocity? 30:10-41:34: The Rays are great y’all, get over y

0:00-8:00: We have three guests! Four total people! Dogs and cats living together! We’ve decided to examine each of the teams still playing in the League Championship Series and figure out how the Mariners can steal some of their ideas. On the American League side, Kate Preusser kindly chose the Astros while John Trupin covers the Rays. Isabelle Minasian, Lookout Landing emeritus member and current Digital Content Specialist for the Baseball Hall of Fame, talks about the Dodgers while Matthew Roberson breaks down the Braves. After briefly getting sidetracked by pleasantries and a discussion about the Pittsburgh Pirates (?), we get to the meat of the show. 8:05-30:10: How did the Astros get to this point after being laughably bad when they first joined the American League? As Kate explains, everyone stupidly continues to trade with them, they exploit the lesser teams, and they also nailed a bunch of draft picks in the pre-death machine days. Houston also remains fairly inactive in international signing, someth

0:00-20:00: Matthew calls up chef Eric Rivera (who was recently profiled in a wonderful Eater story by Alberto Perez) to talk about his experiences as a fan of the Seattle Mariners. Eric is also the owner of the restaurant Addo in Ballard, which is doing a lot of easy to make and inexpensive take-out meals. How did Eric feel about micro dosing a baseball season? How does he feel about what Jerry Dipoto has cooked up at his executive table? 20:05-39:35: Let’s talk about the unwritten rules, which are stupid, and if you like them, guess what? You are also stupid. Eric spent a lot of time in Puerto Rico as a kid, which means he also learned a lot about how the game is played there. What are the main differences? Why does America hate fun so much? 39:40-51:10: Where, when, and how did this whole journey of baseball fandom begin for Eric? Steroids and The Peanut Guy were heavily involved. He also talks about living in Chicago as the Cubs finally got over the hump and all the thoughts it invited. This portion ends

0:00 - 46:00 - We go through the Mariners full slate of rookies, from the two Rookie of the Year candidates to those who never quite got started. What's the ceiling for guys like Kyle Lewis and Justus Sheffield, and have they established trustworthy floors? Who among us still believes in under-performers like Justin Dunn and Jake Fraley? And what do we expect from some of the pitchers who flashed potential, like Yohan Ramirez, Joey Gerber, and Nick Margevicius? 46:00 - End - Let's talk Fall Developmental Camp! We take listener questions on the makeshift fall league/instructional league amalgamation Seattle is kicking off this week down in Arizona. While they take on the Padres, Rangers, and Royals prospects, we'll be hoping to get updates as possible, but it's hard to say how! We wonder about Taylor Trammell's time down in Arizona compared to a few of his new 17 year old teammates. Music: "No Tengo Para" by El Mayor Clasico and Rochy RD Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices