I'll go counterpoint on your #2. Did we really think we had guys in the minors that would step right onto a MLB roster and set the world on fire? Matthews started the season at High-A for crimony's sake. He more than exceeded any sort of expectations by getting to The Show as soon as he did. If you're looking at the youngsters through a 2024 prism, yes, they're not what a team considering itself to be a contender needed to get over the top. They could have been good supporting actors for spot duty here and there but not the main characters they had to be. But if you look at this from a 2025 and beyond perspective, this was a great year for them. They got all of the rookie initiation stuff out of the way and all four players (Lee, SWR, Festa, Zebby) have a baseline that they and the organization can use to build for future goals. Orrrrrr, they have put stuff on tape for scouts that could make them good bargaining chips.
The guys I'm disappointed by are Lewis, Miranda, Julien, and AK. Those are young players who had a similar taste of the majors over the last couple of years and with the exception of some mercurial stretches, they were largely subpar the majority of the time.