TaylorStSox

Avi has the tools to be a plus outfielder but his instincts are atrocious. He'll never be more than average at best.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 6, 2014 -> 02:19 PM) But not anywhere close to $14 million a year productive. Fangraphs has him being worth 0.1 WAR this season. I never said he was. I don't care about WAR. It probably penalizes him for bring a DH. He walks and he hits bombs.

QUOTE (onedude @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 10:53 PM)

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 6, 2014 -> 02:12 PM) No way in hell. I can't believe some people are softening on the Dunn issue. One year or two year contract at the most, please. A Keppinger-like deal, please. Or just forget about Dunn and move on. He's still productive.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jun 6, 2014 -> 01:38 PM) Zach Thompson: 6'7" 210lbs DOB: 10/23/93 Thompson is fairly new to pitching, but already has the plus velocity that many scouts look for. Thompson’s fastball will sit in the low to mid 90s and touch 96 mph but comes in straight too often, especially when he leaves it up. He also throws a changeup, curveball and slider, and all three will need a good amount of development in pro ball to become consistent weapons. He does have decent command of his pitches and has shown a willingness to go right after hitters, which could help his stuff play up. Although raw, especially for a college arm, Thompson should intrigue teams with his frame and arm strength. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2014/drafttracker.jsp Sounds like Danny Wright. Big kid. Live arm. Raw.

As much as I harp on velocity being overrated, I'd kill for a RH fireballer. We're very LH heavy. Those LH pitchers have to differentiate themselves by giving hitter different looks.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 03:19 PM) Yea I'm not seeing that. Aiken and Rodon and Kolek are widely considered potential aces. Rodon's stats in college compare well with Strasburgs. Is Strasburg really an ace though?

If team's could buy draft picks, what would the number 1 pick be worth?

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 02:49 PM) If you can get a potential ace for $5M you take the chance over a "sure" #2-3. I'd take a number 2 pitcher in a heartbeat and I'm sure most, if not all, teams would agree. Even drafting at #3, it's still a crapshoot. Look at the draft's history. What's a pitcher like Quintana worth on the open market versus the number #3 pick?

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 02:42 PM) At #3, no way! And that's the point, these guys you an find elsewhere. Let them fall into your lap. IIRC the Sox were the only team to offer him a 40-man roster spot. The scouting pays off on deals like this, but the #3 pick is more like a Tanaka situation than Quintana. Just think, for all the s*** people want to talk about Tyler Kolek today, if his name were Tylerio Kolekiedo freshly off his rattan raft trip from Cuba, my god at the amount of money people like Theo and so on would throw at him. I mean we're talking right now about a $5M+ slot bonus and in a little while we'll be throwing something like a coiuple million plus at some kid from the DR who doesn't even have his pubes yet. Perspective. The number 3 pick is a top 5 pitcher? Your perception is all wrong. There isn't a team in the league that wouldn't draft a sure thing at #3. Quintana is a #2 type pitcher.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 02:16 PM) I pretty much agree with this, I'd say more likely mid-rotation ceiling with everyone currently overvaluing his stuff and overhyping his ceiling as a "2" assuming he will be an overachiever. But IMO you never call someone a 2 unless you think he's an overachieving 3 or an underachieving ace. And since he's an overachiever calling him a 2 is a blatant admission that his stuff is capped around a #3, and Kolek's is capped at a true ace. I'd like a RH ace in between Sale and Q but I'm too a-scared we'll take Nola if he's there. Hoping for Rodon or Aiken to fall to us. You probably wouldn't want Quintana either.

QUOTE (Andy the Clown @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 02:08 PM) In the first round, you're supposed to draft guys that could be stars. Nola will never be a star. Why waste the pick? You can get low ceiling college arms later in the draft. Way too early to say he won't be a star. I try to stay out of the draft talks because I haven't seen these kids outside of highlights and scouting reports. I'm not going to sit here and bs about a player I know little about. I've read reports that say he has a high enough ceiling to justify his position though.

I'm just happy to see that Danks is still capable of being a plus pitcher. It might not ever happen consistently, but after that injury, it's pretty remarkable. Good for him.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 11:55 AM) You are talking about once in a lifetime HOF pitchers there. The vast majority of pitchers cannot do that. That's like teaching all hitters to hit off the front foot because Hank Aaron and Frank Thomas did. Very few can be successful at it. Using extreme examples to illustrate a point doesn't make it less valid. This is the internet, extreme examples are commonplace. Also, telling a kid who's used to throwing with max effort to not throw harder isn't easy. A lot of pitchers can't maintain their control when they ease back. It's like trying to ride a bike slow. It's hard to stay upright.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 11:05 AM) No that is not the case. Movement and control ADDED to velocity is always more important. In the Major Leagues you have to pitch off your fastball and then after that usually is the change. That's why Nola is the safer pick. But if you develop the guy that can work in the mid to high 90's with a plus slider or curveball then instead of the opposing offense having to force their opportunities by putting the bat on the ball they're in the dugout praying for rain. You dont have to throw 100 to pitch off your fastball. It's like people don't remember guys like Martinez, Maddux and, to a lesser extent, Schilling. They all were capable of throwing hard, but sat in the low to mid 90's with movement and control. You can have Nolan Ryan, I'll take Greg Maddux.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 10:51 AM) This is what I don't understand. Stone is just as anti-saber as Hawk. He mentions wins when judging pitchers seasons. Yet it is totally ignored. I do agree he knows a bit about pitching, and when they had the TJ segment the other day, his part where he showed how the younger HS guys throw breaking balls incorrectly causing eventual problems was top notch. But Stone is just as anti-HS pitcher as Hawk. It's probably because Stone isn't a loudmouth idiot. Anyway, it still blows my mind with how infatuated people are with velocity. Movement and control have always, and will always, be more important than velocity.

QUOTE (Bigsoxhurt35 @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 10:09 AM) He isn't a max effort guy like Peavy though. Everything I've read is he will be fine There isn't a human on this planet that doesn't need max effort to throw that hard. Maybe his body can take it, but that would make him the exception.

I wouldn't touch a HS kid that throws 103. No way.

QUOTE (onedude @ Jun 4, 2014 -> 03:58 PM) Not yet with Sansa.

I would take a chance on Joe Borchard every time. Incredible talent.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Jun 4, 2014 -> 12:18 AM) Hector Noesi's first win since May 6th, 2012, 40 outings ago (19 of them starts) Wow, that's crazy. He does have good stuff. Baseball is a strange game.

3-2 splitter to bring the tying run up? That's brave.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 11:53 PM) Uh, if eaton has Erstad's career as his prime years a Sox, I don't care of he gives the suck it motion to every fan at the Cell before he bats. "If he's super lucky," which really means it ain't gonna happen.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 11:49 PM) I'm not that perceptive, I just don't notice things like that. It's probably why his last team hated him. His ceiling is Erstad, if he's super lucky. He thinks he's a star. It's annoying.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 11:45 PM) He grandstands a lot for a role player. I'm fine with it, but he's not good enough to act like he's good. It's just annoying. He argues with umps and poses after catches. Lame.