mac9001

I honestly don't understand why cable companies can't just offer a local sports add on option. I've been debating cancelling my Xfinity cable package, just let me pay whatever it's gonna be to watch or I'm done with the whole cable package thing.

Seth Keener is a passable change up away from being a legit starting prospect. His command needs work but he has stretches where the command is pretty solid so the development may come, but without the change up he's probably a reliever. I like him a bit better than Batista because the slider is a legit MLB plus pitch.

McDougal has really good stuff. It's top 50 stuff. I think I would just keep starting him until he's out of options and then throw him in the pen once you have to roster him at the big league level. It's guys like him that truly speak to the ability of an organization to develop pitchers. Shultz was throwing strikes day 1, he's not necessarily a huge development achievement, he was likely going to succeed with anyone. But turn this guy into a legit MLB starter and it's a major accomplishment.

Go check out any suburban stadium development with acres of entertainment, food and booze options. There's never a shortage of people. This is definitely one of those if you build it they will come. The 78 would make for a great location, but you could devote 80 acres in AH to just bars/restaurants/entertainment, right now you'd have to walk to Michigan Ave from the 78 until you hit any notable density of food/drink options (not bad but still 4 blocks). If the 78 for whatever reason does not work out and there won't be another opportunity like the AH development and you sure as hell won't find a development partner that would bring the kind of serious cash that the Bears/NFL would funnel into that site.

Something about Fox's fastball just looks odd to the naked eye. Just doesn't move like you would expect a fastball to move and he has a super short dart throwing motion. I can only imagine how it must look to a hitter.

I really hope they just start throwing some of these bullpen arms into the bigs. If you're getting people out in AA/AAA let's see what you can do on the South Side. I'm not convinced there's a single bullpen arm on the ML roster right now that's still here when the team is respectable again.

I said this the second the Bears bought the land in AH, but if you're going to develop 300+ acres into a entertainment complex it would help if there more than 10 Bears games a year and they don't want to shoulder that development on their own. There's enough room there for 3 stadiums and it's not like the Sox are getting anyone to show up on the south side. Put 30-40 bars/restaurants around those stadiums and people will show up. The Sox and Bears won't get a single penny from the state, but if they both jointly make a move for AH they might actually get the city to fold and at least plow some serious money into the 78 development.

There's a good chance after this Thorpe will spend some additional time in AAA thus pushing his arb clock back a bit as the competition for rotation spots will intensify quite a bit next year. As things stand you have to assume he would need to earn his way back into what's shaping up to be a very crowded and competitive 2026 rotation picture. But all the TJs also illustrate how foolish it would be to trade a cost controlled asset like Davis Martin. Unless you're getting an above average starting position player having depth in the rotation will be more valuable than just getting low A ball high ceiling prospects for the likes of Davis.

For a timing perspective at least it's happening early enough where all these guys should be pitching at some point next year. We're not going to be competitive in '26, so really at least they have time to get back and show they're ready to contribute in the bigs come '27.

At this rate they might need to create a 2nd team in Arizona for all the rehab starts, the Sox Tommy John's.

Shane Smith after this spring training definitely scores a 10/10 on the intrigue scale. You don't generally get high level talent out of a rule 5 pick so it would be so outside of what anyone would have expected when he was drafted if he's routinely hitting 97-99 as a starter.

Meidroth had an average EV of 88.6 last year with a 34% hard hit rate (EV 95+). Colson was at 85.8 and 34.2% respectively. Difference between them is Meideoth hits everything on the ground or a line (thus high BABIP, low HR), while Colon his everything in the air (below avg BABIP, average HR rate). He has no issue making solid hard contact, he's just not putting it on the air and thus won't generate XBH. But with his plate discipline and ability to hit the ball hard on the ground he'll be able to maintain an above average batting avg and likely elite OBP (with minimal ISO). If he plays an avg 2B he'll have plenty of value, the floor is high enough where he'll have a long MLB career.

For those interested, every Tommy John since well...Tommy John: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1gQujXQQGOVNaiuwSN680Hq-FDVsCwvN-3AazykOBON0/htmlview?pli=1

For all the hate that Colas gets his overall offensive number were pretty comparable to Colon's.

There's something unique about Chase. He had an absurd 30% swing rate (lowest in bigs is Soto at 37%) and a microscopic 3.2% swinging strike rate. The dude doesn't swing the bat and when he does he pretty much always makes contact. The only reason he strikes out is because of the absurd amount of pitches he takes. His EV and hard hit rates were pretty comparable to Benintendi's. He'll probably be fine.

Honestly, watching Burke in AAA he started the year off very rusty. There was a very noticeable improvement in his command. He's likely always going to have above average walk rates, but his last 4-5 starts in AAA I don't think he had a single non-competitive AB where he just walked someone on 4/5 pitches. He has the stuff to make mistakes at the big league level, someone like Cannon had zero room for error, but Sean can just let a 98 MPH, 7+ extension, 18+ IVB rip over the plate and he's still going to get swings if its anywhere near the zone. That has some serious staying power when you have the stuff to widen your margin of error.

Davis seems too competent to end up back in Charlotte but I figure the odds of Burke being back in AAA have to be 60%+, Cannon 50%+, Smith back in the bullpen 50%+ and Wilson and Perez getting non-tendered 50%+.

Ironically if I had to pick which starter is the most likely to end up in back in AAA (or non-tendered) Burke would be at the top by a mile. But at the same time I don't see anything wrong with giving him the nod, its not like anyone else has earned it. Personally would have gone with Davis, but I'm more concerned with who's going last and I hope they keep Wilson in the pen and give Shane Smith a chance at starting.

Those sound like quotes from someone who thinks he's going under the knife.

Colon looks magnitudes better at short this year. Sliming down a bit has made a big difference.

If Martin pitches well (AS level well) I really hope they don't just take the best offer on the table for him. He has so much service time remaining you really don't lose any value holding him for a year or even two until someone just caves and blows you away on a offer. To assume our top pitching prospects all stay healthy would be foolish and trading away solid cost controlled pitching depth without significant surplus on a return is not going to age well.

Good chance Mason is shut down for a few months at a minimum even if they don't recommend TJS. Thus the probability of him getting any big league time just dropped to essentially zero.

Most of the recent bats acquired and some of our notable prospects that are likely at some point get ML at-bats do have above average walk rates. It's possible the walk rate for our hitters may actually improve notably from last year.

Taylor's curve was absolutely filthy today. He either threw it for a called strike or got a swing on miss on just about every curve thrown. The 99 mph fastball didn't really even play that much today. There at most a half dozen guys in all of minor league ball that have better stuff than him.

Not sure Wilson becomes much of a trade asset if you let him start.