[Good news on Fabio Castro]

It was a mistake the White Sox made.  A big mistake.  The same reason guys like Bobby Jenks got released by the Angels or how Johan Santana got away from the Astros.

 

 

A mistake? Come on. The guy is a raw kid in A ball and you don't hand out 40-man roster spots to kids like that who aren't the top prospects.

 

Jenks wasn't a mistake. The Angels knew exactly what they were doing. The Sox were the recipients of the luck of the dice in that move and the Angels just wanted to wash their hands of him.

 

Santana I will give you.

[Top Rated Farm Systems--Fox Sports]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5418188

I'm sure I'll hear "the method for evaluation is absurd," or, "We had the Top Rated System in 2000--how did that go?" IMO, none of the team rankings appear unreasonable. The analysis (while not BP quality) suggests trades done this season by Williams decimated our minor league system. If we reep the rewards of another World Series championship, however, none of this will matter.

 

It's interesting to note that if you were to judge talent according to the point system provided within Perry's article, holding onto Giovanny and Young would have propelled our ranking from 27th to 8th. Even higher than my beloved Twins minor league club. Philadelphia would move down to 27th, Diamondbacks to the 2nd position.

 

Another noteable name:

 

This article was totally preposterous. An entire farm system rated just by top 100 players rated by a couple of services.

 

The same services that generally don't rate or under-rate prospects at the lower levels (which constitute 1/2 to 2/3rds of the entire system).

 

Lumsden wasn't healthy and he's a better prospect when healthy than Gio. Sweeney has been generally underrated in the past 12 months and Fields has been discsounted because of a rough first full-season (albeit in AA)...

 

I'm not as concerned about our farm system as some of you are. We are in the 15-20 range in the overall scheme of things IMO. 27? Puhlease.

 

Oh, and by the way... Robert Valido is a better prospect than at least half the guys on his top 100 list.

[2004 Pictures]

i was going through some old pics from my last trip to the USA and found this. We visited family from near to Bristol VA and got to a few games. I was wondering if anyone knew they were.

 

 

I have a couple of others that I will post later.

 

I'm not sure in that first picture. Guy in the background looks so familiar to me but I just can't pull the name right now. THINK it's Michael Swaim in the foreground.

 

Second picture is of Lucas Harrell (99% sure) and Jose de los Santos in the background.

[Anderson Gomes...the sleeper of all sleepers]

Can anybody find his stats in Japan?

 

I found his pitching stats in Japan...

 

All stats are for the Hawks ni-gun team(basically their farm team) in the Western League.

YEAR G W L SV IP H HR BB HBP SO R ER ERA

2002 5 1 1 0 12.2 10 1 9 1 7 6 5 3.55

2003 8 1 3 0 24.0 27 1 30 3 9 25 22 8.25

2004 4 0 0 0 2.1 ? ? ? ? 0 ? 0 0.00

 

 

His only 2 career AB's were in 2003 and he is 0-2 with 1 K.

 

Missed all of 2005.

[Anderson Gomes...the sleeper of all sleepers]

Supposedly runs a 6.5 60 yard and sub-11 100m... world class speed.

 

We'll see this year I guess. Has supposedly put on some awe-inspiring batting practice shows but wouldn't be the first guy to not be able to do the same in a game if it turns out that way.

[Sox rated 11th best farm system by Sports Weekly]

Would David Eckstein at 2B be Getz's ceiling?

 

Sounds about right as a ceiling. Nothing that get's people who rate prospects on tools and ceiling all that excited, LOL!

[Sox rated 11th best farm system by Sports Weekly]

Ya, that's true.  He just isn't the type of guy that usually makes a high impact on these lists if that makes sense.  He's not a high ceiling guy which the guys at BA seem to usually want up there.

 

 

He's an experienced college player with 2B skills. Last year everyone got all hot and bothered by Adam Ricks. This year it's Getz? He has utility player potential (althou he's mediocre at SS), and you generally don't see those guys ranked terribly high.

[Jim Callis on Haeger and Broadway]

2. I like college players as well and they are the safe bet but really it depends on the front office, are they more risk takers? Or do they like the money ball approach with the safe the pick?  I tend to agree with you about the college players but I have also seen some good prospects in high school and there are some players that are certainly worth the risk.

 

What is the hardest thing to do in drafting and player development? (aside from finding/developing top catchers, ;-))

 

IMO, it's finding/developing ace starting pitchers. The problem with college pitchers is that most of the ace starters that have come from college are top 15-pick type pitchers.

 

You're going for the HR with HS kids. Projecting both physical and mental/emotional growth into something. College kids take much less imagination/vision to see, as much of the physical and mental part has already begun to mature.

 

It comes down to organizational philosophy. If your strategy is to sign/trade for ace pitchers and rely on your organization to supply you with 3, 4, and 5 starters, drafting college pitchers is the way to go. Not only is it more likely the develop, but they are also more ready to be tantalizing trade bait in said deals. It seems this is the philosophy KW has taken in the past 2 or 3 years.

[Lost in the shuffle...]

I got no idea whose going to pitch in Charlotte. The Sox are going to have to do some serious restocking.  If they deal Garland, that should help restock the system, but this years draft will be key as well.  Not that it will help for a few years, but it will be important to replenish the system.

 

 

Honel, Malone, Munoz (if he doesn't win the LOOGY job), Tracey (if he doesn't win a righty relief role), Reynoso (see Munoz), Baj (see Tracey)... Ulacia, Josh Fields, is Bullard still Sox property?

[2006 Barons]

Tom, what about Chris Getz as Barons starting 2B-man?  I mean, he had a 10/35 K/BB ratio, which is absolutely sick, so it's pretty clear he's ready for high-A.  And the Sox don't seem to have much hesitance skipping guys from Kanny to Birmingham.

 

He's a veteran collegiate player, so you'd expect to see him do something like that in low-A. IMO, W-S for Getz and a starting middle-IF of Valido at SS and Gonzalez at 2B in BHam, IMO.

 

(Although they could move Gonzalez to Charlotte at 2B and put Lopez at 2B in BHam as Lopez needs more AA at-bats)

[Danks Brothers]

I was reading in PHT about the thought of Danks from the Rangers.  There seemed to be a good vibe when we drafted his younger brother that he is not going to sign but hoped we would take him in the upcoming years.

 

If we did trade for his brother could we not draft him next year and sign him before the 2007 draft or is this just JUCO players? 

 

What are the parameters?  I thought we could do this with a Junoir in college but so could everyone else.

 

I guess I am just looking to see if there is anything to this?

 

Two Danks and Jenks makes for a-lot of K's.

 

 

The younger Danks is the one we drafted (and an OF'er) but chose to go to Texas. You can't draft him for 3 years (until after his Jr. season).

[Gio officially traded to Philly]

Gio is pretty much the best arm in our system however, sucks to let him go.

 

See, I just don't agree with this...

 

Best "Pitcher"? Best "arm"?

 

Lumsden has better all-around stuff than Gio and throws mid-90's. If "Arm" = "Stuff", I would rate Gio 2nd or 3rd.

 

Symantics I guess. Gio has a lot of ability but his mechanics really concerned me from the day he was drafted. He hasn't been able to stay healthy yet either. Nothing too serious we know about, but still...

[Gio officially traded to Philly]

Then I guess Liefer was accidentally picked in the first round since he was marginal from Day 1.  I was going to include Reed in the can't miss list but he hasn't necessarily "missed" yet since one season may not be enough to judge.

 

So Randar, do you consider Gio or Haigwood as "can't miss?"

 

1st round pick means "can't miss?" That's news to me! How's that "can't miss" Jason Dellaero doing for ya? How about Mark Johnson?

 

Neither Gio nor Haigwood is a "Can't miss" prospect. Haigwood played a fraction of a year in AA and has no tools that would stand out and wow you. He has an MLB curve, that's it. Gio? How can a kid with his durability concerns be called "can't miss"?

 

So, by your definition you can only call someone "can't miss" if they actually missed? *BOGGLE*

[Gio officially traded to Philly]

Agree completely.  I was mostly trying to point out that we gave up a lot of supposed "Can't Miss" prospects (Wells, Liefer, Rauch, etc.) and they have not necessarily torched the league as expected.  Many are serviceable but perhaps the best of the bunch (Cameron) netted us Kong so I think KW has done it right.

 

 

Liefer???? LOL! That guy was marginal from day 1. Wells crapped his pants regularly in the majors prior to being traded.

 

At one time some considered Wells and Rauch as "Can't Miss", but Liefer was never in that picture. On that entire list, when they were actually traded, only really Reed and Cameron were considered "Can't Miss".

[Sox Pass On 1st Round in Rule V Draft]

If Castro is so great, why didn't we protect him since we had a spot open.  Even if we didn't like him, he obviously had trade value.

 

 

Because he's nowhere near ready for the MLB and protecting him would have meant exposing someone more likely to be selected and able to help us this year if needed.

 

I would be shocked to see him kept on a MLB roster all year, but stranger things have happened.

[minor league trades]

yeah, just look at last year the Sox traded Alex Escobar for Jerry Owens of the Nationals.  We won that trade, but it was minor leaguer for minor leaguer.

 

Well, Escobar was on the 40-man and had spent time in the majors previously. Not sure that's a good example.

 

However, you could trade minor leaguers for minor leaguers, but it usually isn't done unless a guy is near-MLB ready or MLB ready and the current team doesn't have anywhere to play them or doesn't like them for their team for whatever reason.

[Restocking The Lefties]

I don't think it would be equal defense.  Every one of Uribe's tools (except speed) is better than Valido's.  If Uribe continues to develop there is no reason he won't be the starting shortstop on the southside for a long time.

 

1) More consistent.

2) more range up the middle.

3) reads plays in front of him and charges them better.

 

Tool-them all you want, but Valido's instincts are far better and he makes more consistent plays on the ball.

[Restocking The Lefties]

Unless Uribe just turned 35 or so, why are we worried about who is going to play SS?

 

How about this one:

 

"Juan Uribe will make $4.15 million in 2007 and a team option for $5 million in 2008 if he is still with the White Sox."

 

For the record, Valido would make $330k or so if he was ready to play in the majors. For equal defense, if he hits anywhere near what Uribe hits, .260 with occassional power, it would be stupid to pay Uribe 4-5 million in lieu of Valido...

 

 

Uribe contract status:

Juan Uribe: signed 3-year deal worth 9.75M thru the 2007 season on 12/16/04- he will make 2.15M in 2005, 3.15M in 2006 and 4.15M in 2007- + the deal includes a 5M Team Option for 2008 or a 300K buyout Agent: Scot Boras?/Martin Arburua? Service Time: 3.089

[Restocking The Lefties]

Gonzo moved to Second at the break to make room for Pedro Lopez last year he hit .275 with 4 homers and played better Defense at 2nd than Shortstop so maybe that is his future I believe he will start in Birmingham with a promotion to Charlotte

 

Andy has shown more patience in the last year or 2 than he did earlier in his career, but he has lost some of the aggressiveness/power he showed as well.

 

BHam or Rex, how was he at turning the double play from second?

 

He has a 3B glove/arm and a 2B bat, part of the problem, IMO.

[Restocking The Lefties]

I think long term...Valido will be the better of the two defensively.  I still question whether Valido will hit at higher levels, but he has the abilities.  The thing that I like most about him are his smarts.  The guy just knows what to do with the baseball on the field.  He looks more like a guy the Twins would bring up in years past in the sense that he knows what to do with the ball, is heady on the basepaths and seems to be able to use all fields. 

 

He still needs to produce in AA before we start annoiting him a great SS.  I think upside wise, he would be a slappy SS with 10-15 HR pop and 30-50 stolen bases (probably closer to 30).  I don't know if he'll win a gold glove, but he has the tools to be an above average defensive SS and I don't think he'll ever win the batting title.

 

I could see him producing a .280-310 AVG, 10-15 HR, 30-50 SB with a .360ish OBP.  Ie, I could see him turning into a pretty darn good leadoff or 2 hole hitter.  That said these are really ridiculous estimates right now because he's simply played in A ball.  If he produces like he did this past season in Bham, than I'll stand by those projetcions.

 

Lopez has been pushed far too quickly due to his advanced D. If his bat ever catches up to his defense, he'll be valuable as a utility guy, IMO. He really needs to repeat a level at some point in the near future.

 

IMO, Valido is the ideal #2 hitter for an Ozzie-style team. His approach was very similar to Iguchi's, yet he is a better base-stealer with better speed. I don't think he'll ever hit more than 10-12 HR's (aside from possible USCF inflation), but he will have ~35 doubles and 4 or 5 triples, IMO.

 

Again, if he can hit anything over about .260, he's a valuable asset due to his defense. Defensively, I think he would have been mentioned for a Gold Glove THIS year had he been in the majors. That is rare for a SS at the lower levels. Many times it is the defense that never develops.

 

Valido is such a smart player, great kid too. He really is the kind of guy who has that high-IQ intangible that makes him play far above his physical skills, which are not negligible to begin with.

 

He's going to have a big year in Birmingham, IMO, as the spacious dimensions will really benefit him, similarly to how they may have helped Jerry Owens more than a Sweeney or Chris Young, for example, although Valido has more power than Owens.

[What do you expect?]

Rogo hit .293/.374/.444 last year at Birmingham.  Real nice OBP there, but the SLG% is very, very low (obviously). 

 

I'd start him at Charlotte, and in late '06, '07, use him in a Ross Gload type role pre-injury, playing LF/RF/1B.  Ozzie likes versatility, plus, if he can add a little power, there's a chance he could be a pretty decent hitter.

 

 

Well, Rogo would be a liability in RF, IMO, but LF is feasible.

 

He could fill that Gload-type role, but with Thome and Konerko, I think they likely need more guys along the lines of Ozuna who can play 3B, 2B, 1B, OF, and they definitely need a better back-up SS option than Ozuna.

 

I don't see much of a role for Rogo with this team over the next 3 years, meaning he should probably be dealt if anyone becomes interested or as part of a deal to get help at the deadline if they need it.

[What Do You Expect?]

ummm everything I heard has said Hernandez is a great defensive catcher and has a cannon for an arm too.  I dont know how he does in calling a game but it cant be worse than Olivo  .

I could be wrong but I thought for sure Hernandez is apposed to be a defensive stud behind the plate.

 

Yes, but he is raw. Lucy is the best all-around defensive catcher that is a prospect of any kind in the org, followed by Stewart and Hernandez in a tie, IMO. Fransisco is lacking experience and game-calling refinement. Yes, that is a big part of the game that is not always learnable, but he has superior tools to Stewart and is more mobile behind the plate. Let me also note that I did not get a chance to see Stewart this year, so that is something I will be looking forward to evaluating this spring/summer.

 

Lucy is Ausmus-esque, IMO, trying to find a better comparison to someone a little more athletic, but defensively, that's about where I'd place him. Sound, well-rounded, good feel for the game, handling of pitchers, the whole defensive package. Not as flashy as Ivan in his hey-day, but very effective to say the least.

[Restocking The Lefties]

Our lefty depth will depend a lot on the development of Liotta and Ryan Rodgriguez, who I think is poised to have a great year. In addition, Lumsden getting healthy and Whisler figuring things out, all go a long way.

 

Hell, might as well include Malone in this as well. We have some high-ceiling lefties, hopefully a couple reach that potential.

[What Do You Expect?]

Alrighty, this may be one that's a bit more for the minor league experts....

 

Do you see Chris starting off in AAA catching this year? Will his offensive numbers middle oout between 04 and 05 numbers? Is his D still something to be excited about? Will he be the *gasp* next Raul Casanova, late season savior?

 

He'll likely start in AAA, could he be the 2007 version of Chris Widger?

 

He's a guy I really need to see play this upcomming spring/summer. I haven't seen him in a long time, Rex really likes him... I've seen Lucy and Hernandez, need to see Chris play to better understand his ability/potential.

[Jerry Owens]

That OBP should make ANYONE drool.  When PODS makes too much money, we can get good value for him and insert this guy no problem IMO.

 

Well, that OBP is inflated by the .386 average, no? Even so, if that projected to .300/.370, I don't think anyone would complain.