Jake

Is Hawkins going to last the whole season? 27 K in 56 PA, .164 AVG/.175 OBP thus far

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 21, 2017 -> 08:20 PM) Something that will be interesting to watch is if Collins can hit lefties. It's been very ugly so far vs LHP for him Hit lefties better than righties last year in the minors

There are two ways to look at this. On one hand, the Sox have a very low payroll and so have excess money to spend on this kind of player. On the other hand, it has been the general disposition of ownership—though less so in the past 5 years or so—that big expenditures on young amateurs are generally bad investments. So you have a tension...you have money to spend, but you also have a feeling that it's a bad expenditure.

QUOTE (ChiliIrishHammock24 @ Apr 19, 2017 -> 01:38 AM) I'm not even kidding, I don't know if he has a right-handed hit yet this season. EDIT: He is 1 for 12 as a righty, and it was a HR apparently. He is hitting .406 as a lefty. In 2016, he hit .167 as a righty, and .305 as a lefty. And odd enough in his first pro year he was much better as a right-handed hitter

Let May play until he gets a hit and then start making plans to send him down or drastically reduce his playing time.

I know he hit a homer tonight but that's now 19 K in 33 AB for Hawkins (0 BB). Is he going to play in AA 3 years in a row and play worse each time?

A question worth asking is how much the level of competition matters for developing his defense. One explanation I've heard is that focusing on defense will detract from his bat, so keeping him at a level where the hitting isn't too challenging for him gives him the flexibility to devote his time to refining his defense.

I honestly didn't read that article as something to be optimistic about. The team is projecting optimism, but: - He's working on mechanics in games - He's lost velocity and is now being advised to back off even further so he can locate - He still isn't locating - He's adding another pitch, seemingly motivated by his inability to locate his best pitch (curveball) I'm hoping for the best, but everything I see about him is cause for concern thus far.

Carlos Quentin!

FWIW, Covey has basically no experience above A-ball. Having low expectations isn't being a Debbie downer. Even if you thought he was going to be something, it would be quite the leap to say he's ready right now.

Asche goes up there and looks like he can hit and work an at bat, but just never hits

The lack of professionalism is seriously stunning, we've always been better than this.

The lack of communication is just kind of baffling. I've been trying to figure out if I can go do some chores around the house but they've been acting like the game is about to start...but then not starting it....

Hahn = Cub fan, suspicions are raised

I'm guessing this may be a similar deal to what we did with them with Jesse Crain where the return is contingent on some component of his play. TBH, I would have rolled with Bourjos long enough to get at least a super low level prospect, so I'm hoping there's a chance of getting that rather than just a little money. International money would be welcome, though.

I think both have upsides as MLB regulars, the question is just what that floor is and how likely they are to get to their ceiling. Sanchez has a higher floor I'd say given that he's been a productive player in AAA. On the other hand, there's a little more mystery with May since he's arguably been rushed and has faced some injuries that an optimist might say have hidden his true potential.

Benetti/AJP? I'm down.

Fulmer threw 81% strikes in MLB games this spring. In MLB last year, he threw 57% strikes. Seems to me there was a concerted effort to make him throw as many strikes as he possibly could muster. Whereas some players may be told to throw a bunch of curveballs or changeups until they get a feel for it, it seems like the Sox must have told Fulmer to throw strikes until he has a feel for it.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 28, 2017 -> 11:10 AM) He is basically Carlos Sanchez with a lower batting average who plays CF instead of 2B. FWIW, Carlos Sanchez has a much better offensive track record as a minor leaguer than May. With that said, I still don't think all hope is lost for Sanchez as a non-terrible hitter.

Yeah, it sounds like he's going to be a better defender than Owens. Owens was a similar overall hitter, but walked more and stole more bases.

Jacob May = Jerry Owens

I also have reservations about Giolito because there's not a lot there that still justifies top 10 prospect status, especially with his reduced velocity and good-not-amazing minor league stats. Curveball is for real, though. But the trade was great. There is just as much, if not more, reason for optimism with Lopez and Dunning is as good as a 3rd piece in a trade ever gets.

QUOTE (Soha @ Mar 23, 2017 -> 08:13 PM) One obvious answer might to be to make sure he looks healthy and doesn't have a lurking injury. This was the first thing to come to mind. Might want to see how he's interacting with teammates and coaches too since the opposing GM might not be forthcoming with negative info about that.

The peak of the tourney to me was the first inning of the Netherlands-Puerto Rico semifinal game. You had two huge plays from Yadier Molina to make the first two outs and the atmosphere was just insane. Then Wladimir Balentien, who it seemed like was able to win games by sheer force of will, hits a bomb and just goes ham and as he watches it leave the yard. That was the most fun, but somewhere Ian Kinsler was s***ting himself watching all that disrespect.

Singleton reminds me of Matt Davidson. Had a clear path to the majors, succeeding at every level. Then once he doesn't get his second MLB opportunity he just languishes in the minors and regresses, all the while reaching new heights of striking out. On the other hand, at least Davidson actually did reasonably well in the majors.