October 14, 201511 yr for those that questioned "who the heck is Kiley"......and why should we read him.....he is going to work for Atlanta pretty much what he dis for us/Fangraphs for free. Huge loss to those of us that like prospect talk. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagraphs/saying-farewell/#comment-5065497
October 14, 201511 yr Bummer, I liked Kiley. He was one of the better prospect guys around. He also really liked Berrios.
October 14, 201511 yr Mike, yeah, he got a good amount of grief here by some people. I remember one time I mentioned something Kiley said and I was sarcastically asked who he was by someone who clearly disagreed with his point of view? I pointed out he had worked for multiple MLB clubs before. Response was something like, 'Well, with that kind of analysis no wonder he doesn't work for a MLB team anymore.' Well, not surprisingly, he's been hired again by a MLB team, and now it's to be the Assistant Director of Baseball Operations for the Braves. I suppose if he was really good, he would have been hired by a better team :-)
October 15, 201511 yr Looking forward to Ben's take on this.... Well, you get it... I was in the midst of doing an interview piece with Kiley for my site when he told me (in about as polite a way as possible) that he needed to postpone the interview for a time. Now he's been hired by the Braves, and I don't know how I could be more happy. Kiley has very similar views on prospects as the current Braves regime has. As I'm putting out my top-100 Braves prospects list this week, a lot of people have noticed how many of these players were 1) brought in after Frank Wren left, and 2) guys with incredible upside, but low, low floors. The Braves went way too long as a team that would never take a chance, and Wren ran off most of the scouting department in his time in Atlanta. Many of them, interestingly enough, ended up in New York with the Yankees, and on the staff of the Yankees at the same time as many of these former Braves scouting personnel was one Kiley McDaniel. The Braves bring back the old guard once Wren leaves, and lo and behold, a year later, they ink Kiley as well. Kiley is a big fan of upside and tools, so he sometimes bypasses a guy farther along in the minors for one more skilled and, frankly, eye-appealing. He was one of the few who had Ozhaino Albies ahead of Jose Peraza in the Braves system, and he was spot on with that. I'll be excited to complete my interview later in the offseason after Kiley gets his feet on the ground in his new position.
October 15, 201511 yr More and more of this is happening. Although he wasn't the first, I think Kevin Goldstein to the Astros was the first such thing... and he's making it look really good now. I don't know if we'll see more of it. I mean, there's no money in sites like this, or for many at even Fan Graphs, so it'd be impossible to turn down. Kiley is very good.
October 15, 201511 yr More and more of this is happening. Although he wasn't the first, I think Kevin Goldstein to the Astros was the first such thing... and he's making it look really good now. I don't know if we'll see more of it. I mean, there's no money in sites like this, or for many at even Fan Graphs, so it'd be impossible to turn down. Kiley is very good. Yeah, Fangraphs has had quite a few guys get hired by MLB teams after writing for them, according to Dave Cameron. I'm guessing because it's a well regarded site amongst the front offices in the game.
October 15, 201511 yr Baseball Prospectus has been hit hard by team hires as well, Goldstein and Jason Parks the two most notable.
October 15, 201511 yr I thought he easily was the best prospect analyst out there. Great twitter follow and podcast guest too.
October 16, 201511 yr Author They announced his replacement. More of a Parker kind of writer, without the connections.
October 16, 201511 yr They announced his replacement. More of a Parker kind of writer, without the connections. I was disappointed not to get a call. I spent all day at home waiting, too...
October 16, 201511 yr Author I was disappointed not to get a call. I spent all day at home waiting, too... that's how I felt last week during the Nobel prize calls.....
October 16, 201511 yr Kiley definitely has knowledge and experience. Played it pretty safe with prospect predictions - definitely went with athletic talent - as a good scout should. Never really understood his general hate for Eddie Rosario. I think a lot has to do with the marijuana test, which was not a big deal for me in terms of "makeup". (It was a big deal in terms of the suspension.) Still kept him at "45" on his FV scale, even through this year.
October 16, 201511 yr that's how I felt last week during the Nobel prize calls..... Yep. I was so busy with answering prospect questions that I probably missed their tweet to me...dang.
October 16, 201511 yr Bummer that he is moving on as I liked reading what he had to say. I didn't always agree but I felt he was right more often than wrong about players. I too would have liked the Twins to tap him for his knowledge but maybe the Twins are a bit stuffy and too sniffling for Kiley anyway. Good luck to him it is a well deserved promotion in my opinion.
October 16, 201511 yr More and more of this is happening. Although he wasn't the first, I think Kevin Goldstein to the Astros was the first such thing... There was a Baseball Prospectus analyst that was hired in 2002 (full 10 years before Goldstein to Astros) by the Blue Jays. His name? Law; Keith Law.
October 16, 201511 yr There was a Baseball Prospectus analyst that was hired in 2002 (full 10 years before Goldstein to Astros) by the Blue Jays. His name? Law; Keith Law. Different situation there, though, as Law had gone through MLB's scout school with the intention of leaving BP for a scouting job.
October 16, 201511 yr Different situation there, though, as Law had gone through MLB's scout school with the intention of leaving BP for a scouting job. "Scout School?" He had a BA from Harvard and an MBA from Carnegie-Mellon. Methinks that "Scout School" helped a tad less... Plus part of his job with Toronto was contract negotiations (like what Antony does with the Twins.) Edited October 16, 201511 yr by Thrylos
October 16, 201511 yr "Scout School?" He had a BA from Harvard and an MBA from Carnegie-Mellon. Methinks that "Scout School" helped a tad less... Plus part of his job with Toronto was contract negotiations (like what Antony does with the Twins.) Law was the first graduate of MLB's scout school. Ben Lindbergh (formerly of BP and now with Grantland) went to the school over this last offseason.
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