One of the parts of the site that needs a huge overhaul and updates is the prospect profiles at the top of the page. I wrote up quite a few at the beginning of my writing time here but they could all use editing and updating. I wanted to use this thread as a feedback place for any corrections that are needed to what is written, as well as profiles that should be moved around as well as profiles that should be added.
I will update this post as I add and update profiles over the next month or so, I welcome any feedback regarding the writing as well as the tool grades. Also if there is anything else you would like to see added to them post that here (this includes any video or scout quotes that you may have that are not up there).
Updated:
Jesse Biddle, Roman Quinn, Tommy Joseph
Added:
Under Construction:
Phuture Phillies 
Hi Matt,
Really appreciate the work that you do here. This is something that I commented on before but I highly recommend you have an editor go through your work or a secondary writer go through your work before you post. After going through the Jesse Biddle article, I notice there was a : missing in the scouting report section and “video” is spelled incorrectly. I’m not trying to be mean but some of this spelling error and the spelling errors I’ve found in your other posts are a sign of laziness, spell check is your friend and its an issue I’ve only seen with your posts.
Another comment is the general writing style of the Jesse Biddle profile. I see there is some paragraphs where you put -Phuturephillies and others that you put in -MattWinks to allow the reader to know who wrote what. I think this is ineffective unless you do this for every paragraph. For example in the Scouting Report section you write the following:
“Below is an assessment of Biddle’s raw tools, rated on the traditional 20-80 scouting scale. The grades are my estimation based on what I’ve read and those I’ve talked to. The second number is a future projection, the first number is the current assessment”
Who is “I”? Is it you or James? I want to assume that its you because you had updated the post but also I remember James had a lot of access to people in the industry. Think about a reader who isn’t familiar with this website and was just starting to become interested in the minor leagues. If they just clicked on Jessie Biddle from the Prospect Profiles, then they would have even less of a clue in regards to who the was giving out those grades. I think some clarification is needed here, even something as simple as something in the beginning saying that this was originally written by James and updated by MattWinks, so then the assumption is that any writing that refers to their current standings is written by you.
Also where are these grades from? Primarily what makes you qualified to give out these grades in regards to control etc… I know you mentioned that you read reports etc, but I think this can be more robust. You can after giving out a rating put out a small blurb like, “Baseball America was really impressed with their control” or “Look at their K/9 or BB/9”, you could even do something simple like “Baseball Prospectus said this, Baseball America said this but I am more inclined to say they are both under/over estimating him hence X” some context on the grades would be helpful.
Lastly I am not so sure if the Pre-Draft talk really needs to be so prominent on his profile. In terms of actual words, its about a 1/3 of his page. Since he has been with the Phillies for two seasons now, I would expect that section to be significantly trimmed with a majority of the emphasis be on his current projections. Think about it from the perspective of the reader: what is more important? What people thought of them two years ago, or what people think about them now? It’s much like a resume during and after college. While you’re in college or newly graduated, your education section is about half of your resume. After just a year of work though, my college section is now only a small paragraph, because its much more appropriate to talk about the work I have done in the past year since I have graduated.
Overall I think there is a lot of potential for this website and you personally as a writer. I’d like to see this website “go pro” much like MLBTradeRumors where they have access to the league’s top experts. I tried to make sure my comments did not come off as snide or patronizing and send along some constructive comments. I wish I could have emailed these to you directly instead of leaving it on the comments section, but there is not button for me to just email this to you directly.
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There is a button on the top right of the home page that says “send me an e-mail”.
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Note to ChicagoPhan: I think you should be aware that we aren’t allowed to criticize the people who run this site. We went through this a few months ago. Someone mentioned some spelling or grammar errors and everyone freaked out dumped all over him.
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ChicagoPhan I don’t quite understand the backlash as I asked for feedback. However, if you would like to send an email there is a link up in the top right that will go to gregg, just mention that it is meant for me and gregg will forward it along. I am not sure I agree with all of your ideas but there are definitely some that I will integrate as I update them.
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Mets troll…you have been outed. Move along.
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That was for “Chicago”
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Chicago Phan (btw phan is spelled FAN) this is a free side and I believe most of the regular visitors like myself like it that way. If you think you get better spelling at a pay-side please feel free. There are plenty that will take your money for what in the end is the same opinion then(or is it than) every other “pro” side.
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You’re hilarious as “phan” is actually a reference to other Phillies word plays like the “Phanatic” (get it? He’s a “fanatic”) just like I am a “fan” of the Phillies. I don’t understand why the backlash against good writing. If you were a volunteer at the food shelter and someone commented why you shouldn’t put raw meat next to the prepared food would you come up with that defense of “Hey if you wanted a professional cook you should have hired one?” Pressing the short cut for spell check in Microsoft Word is pretty easy (hint: F7). Lastly there are a ton of great websites about prospects and baseball that are free but also are willing to check for simple errors. Please see: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com , http://www.thegoodphight.com, http://www.beerleaguer.com … All of these sites have great posts and are… GASP free.
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You sir are an asshole
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Yes!!!! Name calling… Best practice.
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Yeah, best practice, I’m sure that’s what you’re engaging in.
Matt and others do this in their spare time. The content is TOP NOTCH. I for one appreciate that they spend that spare time researching and reporting on prospects. Sure they could spend time editing, sending their posts out to third parties for review etc – but that takes time. The majority of the folks on this site would rather they spend their time developing interesting/relevant content instead of crafting meticulous works of pedantry.
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I see no reason to edit down the “pre-draft” section of profiles. Honestly people make mention of so-and-so’s pre-draft reports fairly often on this site and they’re a helpful tool. Sure more recent reports are of greater importance but the focus should be on adding to them, not subtracting.
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I agree that pre-Draft info becomes less useful as a prospect gets further removed from that evaluation.
However, it is one of the few places where another independent evaluation of tools occurs. These draftees are not assigned to a major league organization where the scouting bias begins to occur.
Front offices should always think very highly of their prospects publically. Actions will speak louder than words as promotions and trades give a better indication of the value the organization has on specific prospects.
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“its an issue”
Expected better from you ChicagoPhan. We all can play editor. Why don’t you volunteer for Matt if you’re sincere? (I would myself if I thought it was a problem.)
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“Really appreciate the work that you do here. This is something that I commented on before but I highly recommend you have an editor go through your work or a secondary writer go through your work before you post.”
Let me do some corrections for you………..
“I Really appreciate the work that you do here. This is something that I commented on before, but I highly recommend you have an editor go through your work or a secondary writer go through your work before you post.”
In the first sentence, I presume you were speaking about yourself so I added the word “I”, but perhaps you meant Everyone, Others, or some other subject. In the second sentence there was a missing comma. I would have read the rest of your post, but the grammar errors were bothersome so I stopped.
I would suggest reviewing your post before hitting the “Post Comment” button so that others can more clearly understand what you are trying to write.
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LOL. I noticed all of the missing commas, throughout his post, but didn’t want to say anything.
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Notice how you’re not actually commenting on what I had to say. I’m not being a grammar Nazi, I was just pointing to a few spelling errors. This is basically what just happened”
Me: The writers of this website work hard and its appreciated but they should also take that next step and do simple grammar and spelling checks. Could take this site to the next level and be a great professional opportunity for you to work in baseball down the road.
You: You have grammar issues too!!! HAR HAR HAR hence there isn’t an issue here.
You’re post misses the point entirely, I don’t understand why you’re defending mediocrity. You’re comment also completely ignores the fact about the two different standards that apply. As someone who leaves comments, I am not calling myself a writer or a columnist on a website. But for Matt to do it, its a different story because he represents something, aka the website. He’s held to a higher standard. So I do review everything I write before I post it on these sites? No because its a different standard set.
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i wish i kould finde dis “not button” so u kouldve’ emailed hymme toooooo before you posted dis lengthy pos
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wow you must feel so smart. I hope you can now feel better about your own inadequacies after pointing out (what appears to be you alone thinking are) Matts. How about appreciating his hard work and all that he does well, on and for this site?
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“Hi Matt,
Really appreciate the work that you do here. This is something that I commented on before but I highly recommend you have an editor go through your work or a secondary writer go through your work before you post.”
Also check out the last paragraph. Thanks.
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damm that was me who missed : . sorry. Everyone on here has gotten used to my bad grammar, so chicago, sorry if i don’t live up to your standards, happy new years and a healthy one too.
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Given which profiles were edited, I think we know who will be at the top of the Top 30.
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I am actually editting them in the order of Baseball Americas Top 10, but yes Biddle and Quinn at the top of my personal Top 30 as well they are just that good.
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I don’t comment often but I want to let everyone involved in keeping this site up and running has been doing an excellent job but I do remember about a month ago you missed a Capital “P” starting a paragraph. It took me three weeks to recover and finally come back to this site. Don’t let it happen again! You have been warned! Oh and THANK YOU!
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Soap…..three week recovery, eh? Welcome back and good health in the New Year.
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It hit hard.
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Chicago Phan, it matters not my opinion on this, as I am just an avid reader, but I appreciated your respect and admiration for the site. I understood what you were attempting to communication to Matt. It is somewhat exciting to see in the outstanding effort given by Matt, Gregg, and the others the potential for a top-notch site.
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Matt does an outstanding job, his posts are clear, informative, and focused. Hay-soos, if we were all accountable for mechanical perfection in hurried Web posts, we’d be in trouble. Get a life, ChiPhan.
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A Free AEC sighting over on Sickles blog.
Takes me down the memory lane of posters past.
Really miss Squire, Dajafi, Cormican, phillyesq, phillyjamaal posts. Also miss they guy who always posted from Spring Training. He was a huge D. Mitchell fan and people got down on him for it, but man, his stuff from Spring Training was awesome first hand reporting. Back in the dark ages before the signing deal-line was moving up, Spring Training was our first look at some of the top picks.
I’m sure there are a few others that I’m forgetting about. This is a great website. Thanks to all of the hosts and posters who make it a must read every morning.
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should read: before the signing dead-line was moved up
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My God this is a lonely little bunch. Matt asked for help and he got it. I’m sure it was greatly appreciated..Some of you guys need a hobby.
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