Leaderboard

Y'all can pay $2 to FutureSox for all the free content you get. It's incredibly poor taste to ask the author to give you paid content for free. FutureSox isn't BA, BP, FanGraphs, or ESPN. It's posters here operating on a shoestring budget to bring you A+++ quality content specifically for the team you love.

Probably asking for a smaller commission. Expect an extension shortly.

I am only one fan, but if they add any more teams to the playoffs, I will lose interest. The regular season is supposed to mean something. This will only cheapen it. One thing that was great about MLB is that it was different than other sports. Making it similar to the NBA of NHL is a dumb idea. And playing the World Series on the eve of November is also dumb. MLB can shove this crap.

Excited to see Kopech and Madrigal very much even if it won't be right away. Super excited to see Robert , You keep hearing about the speed, power and fielding and the stats back it all up. Just to throw a little tidbit out there; Robert was the 1st minor leaguer since 1961 who was 30/30 (HR's and Stolen bases) +300 Total bases.

Rob Mackowiak

He said it again today on Chuck’s podcast (must listen). I still think Holt is an amazing fit though.

And Hahn did say in an interview at Soxfest (I think?) That it is a 2 way street. I think they have kicked the tires on some of these guys. But They're just not interested knowing Madrigal is about ready.

I pick and choose what I pay for as well. I pay for The Athletic because it's awesome. ESPN comes with my Disney Plus subscription and I have to have Baseball America. FutureSox is basically still free. Everything we did before, we are still doing. It's rankings week. Our patreon subscribers are getting separate articles with each of our individual rankings all week. They will also get insider content and weekly podcasts all year. I completely understand not paying for it. I get it. I have a good international source and I'm the only person who has published the names of the 6 players I listed today. I'm sure that will come out eventually and when we do the International Preview, there will be more info on them free for all to consume. For now though, the only people who will see the names are patreon subscribers or someone that takes the names from the post and puts them somewhere. I'm a teacher. That's my full time career. I don't need the money. The site does though and every little bit helps.

How does it really stop tanking though? Teams like the Royals, Tigers, Orioles, Marlins, and Pirates still aren't competing even if 14 teams make the playoffs. I don't really see how it changes anything. Maybe a few more of the .500ish teams hold onto expiring assets as you head into July in hopes of grabbing one of the last playoff spots, but in reality, this change would do nothing to stop tanking, and would greatly diminish the importance of regular season for all but the #1 seeds.

You’re the only person on the planet to do this.

Hopefully an extension is next!

I think Holt first but then probably Miller due to his defensive versatility. Miller looks like he can hit a bit with some pop as well. I wouldn’t be upset with either guy and they are definitely the most “utility” of the guys in the list.

I was nervous that this was going to say Boras when I clicked in here.

A Moncada extension would be great, but i am also down to just enjoy the fuck outta Moncada for the next 4 seasons. I don’t think we’re getting much of a discount at this point, and I can’t blame the guy. At some point it just makes sense to let it play out for both sides.

I agree with you on Holt.

Already signed with the Padres.

Manny Banuelos signed with the Mariners; hate to see such a talent leave the organization.

Nobody wants to come play 2B for the Sox knowing that a top 20 MLB prospect is penciled in for 500 PA after April is up. Furthermore, they aren't going to add anybody to the 40 man wily nily from this point until hopefully sometime around 2026. For those two reasons you're unlikely to see anybody brought in but a minor league invite.

They project the Sox at about 83 wins. https://www.baseballprospectus.com/standings/#ale

I'm cool with them adding another wild card team in each league. Do 2 Wild Card games and the 2 teams with the best record in the league get to face the winner of each of those games. It expands the post-season a bit without going too overboard. And this works even better when the league goes from 30 to 32 teams. Go back to 2 divisions in each league and then you would have the first place team in each league as the "best record" teams and then the top 4 teams after that get to do a one-game playoff. Or make it a best of 3 series.

Probably directed at me, so I'll respond. That's a fair comment. I am not acting like $2 is a lot of money. I also get being a writer is a tough gig and all - I was a journalism major in college and literally dreamed of being a sports beat writer for the majority of my teenage years - I get it. I decided to change my career pretty much immediately upon graduation because I didn't want to make $35k or less a year for the majority of my young adult life. Fast forward 8 years, and I couldn't be happier with my decision to ditch that plan. I will pay the $2 to support the futuresox crew for their great content - but I will also say that people are always going to get content for free whether one likes it or not. Poor taste? Maybe. But its also reality. Especially when its content people have historically had access to for free. Roast me for that opinion if you'd like - that's fine - and I get why the FS guys want to make a few bucks for their work. Making money writing about sports ain't easy.

I've convinced myself that this is a good idea, as long as it is cheap and they can cut him if there are any issues. Grandal has already backed him and I wouldn't hate for him to be the guy that gets regular at bats if/when Eloy or Mazara go down with injury.

You can't go over the limit anymore. The international market is hard capped now. The Sox should have like $5.6-$5.8 million to spend. Vera is getting $1.5 million and 6 additional signings are getting like $1.8 million. That doesn't leave much for Colas.

So the Sox will be able to get Colas and this kid without going over the limit? Is there someone out there next year worth the penalty for going over? Good to see them spending the money regardless. This pitcher looks like he might have a 1/4 shot to be a decent 3rd starter and if not looks like he projects as a decent middle reliever if his fastball plays up a bit out of the pen.

I agree with this. I always think its such a misrepresentation when playoffs roll around. In the regular season you have to survive on SP depth and your 4/5 guys are very integral part of winning 100 games. But then you get to the playoffs and theres so many off days that teams just basically play their top 3 SP. Thats how you end up with the Nationals winning it all ... not saying they weren't deserving ... but that's the recipe right now. Get yourself a 3 headed monster and you can win the WS.

Yah, I don't really think the travel logistics issue matters much.

14 teams making the playoffs is gross. What is even more gross is getting 2nd in the AL and then matching up with the 6th place team in a 3 game series. Anything can happen in a 3 game series in baseball, and this would devalue the regular season so damn much. I hate it. I hated adding a 2nd WC, and I hate this even more. If you're going to go this route, you have to ditch divisions and leagues, and go to a full balanced schedule.

Are any of the 6 names worth being excited about?

It says the Sox have a deal with Norge Vera, it lists the other 6 players they are signing with some video and discusses the possibility of signing Oscar Colas.

The idea from MLB perspective - make it so that more teams are in the race until the end and have a chance. Therefore it will drive trades, FA signings, etc. This should in theory drive attendance and viewership - therefore ad money. Once you make the playoffs anything can happen within reason (think more NFL rather than NBA) and this is good for business. The reality -- the MLB is missing the point. The MLB just doesn't seem to get it - it's not how many teams are in the running - it's the fact that you aren't bringing in young viewership. This starts at the ballpark - where it's generally too expesnive nowadays for a family to attend. Now the bad teams have done their best & I actually think it's affordable in many locations ..... as long as you adhere to the deal -- aka the Sox for like 4UD tix + 4 dogs + 4 drinks for like $48 or something. That's a good deal. But you can't freely go to the park and get whatever food you want or park where you want, etc. for a good price. But that horse has been beat to death & we all know it needs revising like the Atlanta Falcons have tried to do thus far - that's only like 25% of the pie. The remaining 75% of the pie has to do the at home viewing experience. Biggest issue is the duration .... not how many playoff teams. Duration of both season & games. Every game should be like a Mark Buehrle game. If you take the duration from 3hrs+ to 2hr 20mins you now have a product that is sustainable. Additionally if you're expanding playoffs then you need to shorten ST and Regular Season. 140 games and cut 10 games off ST. Each game counting for more = viewership. Finally the last part of this -- the MLB needs to learn how to market their star players better. Mike Trout is a pleasure to watch and I barely get to ... the MLB network does a great job each night covering games. Need more of that. Likewise these TV deals are a joke. The cubs are a great example this yaer. Dodgers in the past. The fact I need cable or streaming to watch the Sox is dumb. Let me pay $200 to watch the Sox for the year if I want - no blackouts. Where else in the world can you want to buy a product and not be able to? If i want a car - i go buy it. food go buy it. watch a movie? go buy it. Why is it so hard to pay to watch the Sox?

That seems to qualify as a "big" tidbit.☺️

Just remember, most other teams will add similar amounts of talent via Latin America and the draft though. It’s not like we have bigger bonus pools and additional picks to quickly narrow the gap. It’s going to take hitting big on a couple of classes before we are back to being middle of the pack IMO. Hopefully the 2019 draft is the start of that.

Expand the roster to 30 players and eliminate off days. Let's make this shit a real war of attrition!

Mark me down as rolling with the "I would be very surprised if this happens" clique.

Yeah because I always framed it from the defender's perspective. I've never understood why RF and LF weren't reversed. I always thought it was weird that a RH batter pulls the ball to LF and a LH batter pulls the ball to RF. Just my opinion, but if I created baseball RF would be to the right of the CF and LF would be to the CF's left, and thus the opposite of current convention.

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/driveline-baseball-buys-pitching-sensor-company/ I'm sure this won't be a viral post, but thought it was worth noting that Driveline BAseball acquired Motus Global. Driveline is pretty popular and we know about it, but Motus Global was where Ben Hansen worked as VP of Biomechanics and Innovation. Ben Hansen was hired by the sox to be there Senior Biomechanical Engineer, as excellently detailed by @Y2Jimmy0 in the article below. That hire was a bit under the radar, but I'm not sure it isn't as big a move forward for this organization as Driveline's Boddy moving to Cincinnati. It is excellent to have someone this familiar with the new tech and how to instruct with it in Hansen. http://futuresox.com/index.php/2020/02/03/brave-new-world-white-sox-enter-the-realm-of-biomechanics/ Massive kudos to Getz as well as KW and Hahn for finally putting pieces into place here. If you are into the player development news for the sox, this winter has been incredibly informative. There is also this great piece from Fegan: https://theathletic.com/1577744/2020/02/05/fixing-fegan-an-up-close-look-at-how-two-white-sox-coaches-can-help-hitters/ https://theathletic.com/1563110/2020/01/27/we-look-at-the-numbers-every-day-white-sox-tout-technology-usage-in-scouting-player-development/

So you've been a baseball fan for a long time and always thought the left side of the infield was in front of a place they call Right Field while the right side of the infield was in front of Left Field ? Always thought it was kind of self explanatory but hey now you know ; Some times our brains betray us. As a kid and not knowing much about death and having some relatives who threw around words like babushka and klotzskis, I'd often hear the term "who died and left you boss" ? I thought died and left was one foreign word in German or something. Diedundtlefft. I eventually figured it out .

Im petrified. Please do so

Moncada, Engel, Madrigal and Mazara also in camp. Chomping at the bit.

Players with a .400 obp last season: Mike Trout (.438) Christian Yelich (.429) Alex Bregman (.432) Anthony Rendon (.412) Cody Bellinger (.406) Juan Soto (.401)

Vera likely falls in the same range as Thompson/Dalquist

Also helps being available for vet minimum vs. asking for several million dollars.

46 days is way too far out. I live a couple of hours away from KC and am planning on going to 7-9 games to watch the Sox play. Last year I went to 0 games. Thats how excited I am! If anyone is going to those let me know

You're talking about a very small portion of the population ?

Can't wait to see (our best player) Moncada bunting again like last year.

A manager loses 20 games on his own?

No. But he is a friend of mine. He didn't kick him, he punched him. AJ took a bounced pitched to the balls. When the trainer came to him to ask him how he feels, AJ punched him and said "like this, what do you think."