Dam8610

Sale might no hit the White Sox.

I agree. So saying anything before late 2019 (say mid 2019 or opening day 2019) seems foolish.

What are my other options in this scenario? There are teams who will be in playoff contention whose #5 starters are BAD. It might be worth it to one of their GMs to flip a lottery ticket to the Sox for a free starter who is better than any of their internal options.

Madrigal is likely on a fast track and projecting him for anything before late 2019 seems foolish.

The whole point of drafting a catcher that early is getting a guy who could give you good offense and defense from the position, thereby giving you an advantage over pretty much the whole league. The Giants got 3 championships in 6 years out of a team led by Buster Posey.

That's more like a 2022 lineup. No Machado or Arenado would be disappointing.

No, he doesn't. Santiago can have those innings if necessary. Also I'd like to see Stephens get a shot. Other than last night's start he's performed well all year, and he'll be 26 in September. If the White Sox are going to see if they have a backend to mid rotation starter here, they're going to need to give him that chance soon.

5'8" with consistent 15-20 HR pop and .800 OPS. I like the comp, but the only problem I have is that @greg775, @ptatc, @Lillian and others keep assuring me that such a result for Madrigal is impossible due to his height.

I meant in general. I'm pretty sure everyone knew Matthew Klug wasn't signing. The ACE guy in Round 40 likely won't, either.

And so the drama begins.

This is the same way everyone was drooling over Brice Turang and Joe Gray Jr. at this time last year. Unless the name Bryce Harper is brought up as a comparison to a HS player, I'm not going to get excited about them until MUCH closer to draft day, because so many of these HS players that are hyped as potential 1-1 picks flame out along the way, mostly because their hit tool fails them. I'll be a lot more excited about this Witt kid if he survives the summer with a plus grade on his hit tool.

"Possessing five tools" means he's 50 or better in each. That could be all 50s (Except speed, because you have to be fast to be considered a consensus #1 HS prospect). Maybe Rutschman won't grade out better, but the smart bet for who will go higher in the 2019 draft is the productive college player who plays a premium defensive position and switch hits.

Why would one have anything to do with the other?

Yeah, it's not like guys who are 5'8" or 5'9" could be near the AL lead in HR. Guys like Jose Ramirez and Mookie Betts could never be in the Top 5 in the AL for HR...oh, wait, they are. Maybe this whole "short guys can't hit for power" thing is overblown?

That's still a system worth gutting. They already gutted the Red Sox farm.

What's a Matthew Klug?

Why did he name him Cannon?

Nats just popped Cole Wilcox.

ALL OF THEM!

So who are the tough signs?

Obligatory "we need a C" pick or is there some upside here?

So an upside of a mid rotation starter with a downside of an electric reliever. I'll take it in Round 12.

This. Thompson and Engel don't both need everyday playing time. Palka-Tilson-Engel or Palka-Engel-Tilson from left to right would be fine with me.

Let's say he has this line in 600 PAs: 600 PA 550 AB 165 H 50 BB 40 2B 5 3B 15 HR That is a .300/.358/.455 slashline good for an OPS of .813. Don't think he can hit that many HRs? Then let's say he does this in 600 PAs: 600 PA 550 AB 165 H 50 BB 45 2B 10 3B 5 HR That is a .300/.358/.445 slashline good for an OPS of .803. So if he's a .300 hitter, a .800 OPS won't be terribly difficult for him to achieve. That said, if the 70 hit tool develops and is paired with 70 speed, he could hit a lot better than .300, especially with how little he strikes out and how much good speed positively affects BABIP.

48th Rounder in 1992