Chris. Thanks for the effort. To me, it seems like no one really questioned Schoop having the ability to play in the infield. The real question whether he would be too big/slow for 2B and whether he would have to move to 3B. I don't think anyone dismissed him out of hand as having a chance to stay at 2B.
With Mountcastle, I don't see anyone (except for your three guys) even mentioning the possibility as 2B as a landing spot for him. I think everyone knew that Mountcastle has ZERO chance of staying at SS but the Orioles insisted on putting him there for developmental reasons. The fact that Mountcastle played SS in HS means virtually zippo. You found lots of bits on Schoop before he played in the majors. Anything by Callis or anyone outside of this site who considers 2B a possibility?
Yeah that's pretty much how I remember the Schoop talk going. It became mostly a 2B/3B conversation at some point, but he really made some great improvements as he moved through AAA to the ML with his work around the bag. I know it was a point of the debate about the time we were all debating Headley, and the debate Rob and I got into was if it was better to get the established 3B or keep Schoop and see what he develops into cause they played similar positions.
I can't talk about Ryan a lot, I saw him twice last year in Bowie, but I was just there with my girls and spent much more time explaining positions and what plays to make in certain situations (my 9 year old is a fastpitch P/2B) than watching the players. I tried to keep a little eye on him and Edwin but don't really remember much standing out. I do remember commenting that INF defense was far from watching Manny and Schoop, just didn't have the range or quickness out there, but I don't remember if that was directed at Ryan or just the team in general. I feel like if he was THAT BAD that he obviously couldn't play SS/2B it would have stood out as much as if he were really good out there. Just vague impressions though, wasn't paying much attention.
