NorthSideSox72

As the week closes, we finish off the infield in this series. Here are the Top 5 First Basemen in the system. The caveat with this group - which is probably the thinnest in the org - is that there are players at other positions who could or will move to 1B later. Collins, Burger, maybe others could all end up that way.

But I think bubba was actually saying he liked that.

Well I think those 4 infielders will all play some DH at Kanny because they will be rotating between 3 slots. But it should be just occasional for all.

Yeah I remember reading that, it was good to see this wasn't just Nunez being healthy and hitting in the PIO. He probably is best as a 3B going forward, but if he moves in step with Bush, Nunez might have to stay at 2B. I don't think shorstop is in the future for him. Plenty of arm, not enough range. That Kanny infield next year should be a fun group.

There is a bit of a crowd, but I also think Feliz and Beltre are more likely bench guys and won't be in anyone's way. My guess (and that's all it is) is that the KAN infield will be a 4-man rotation covering the three skill infield slots: Curbelo, Sosa, Nunez and Bush. Beltre as the bench INF on Kanny. Feliz probably repeats Great Falls, if he's still in the organization.

Next up in the series: the keystone. Here's our list of the top second base prospects in the system. The big thing that stands out in this group, for me anyway, is that many of these players could end up at other positions either up or down the "ladder" skill-wise.

Making our way from left to right on the infield, next up on our positional rankings lists is Shortstop. Where at catcher and third base the groups were thin and stilted with a big name or two and then a steep drop, this group is the opposite. Not top ten names, but it is in my view a sneaky good group all clustered around the bottom of, or just outside of, the top thirty overall. Here's the top five shortstops in the system. Who and how would you have ranked them differently?

We generally decided that players who were mostly at SS so far as a pro would be kept there for these lists. As it happens, most of the players on the list tomorrow look like they can stick too, which is good news. But... Curbelo is interesting. We decided he was a shortstop for this list, but many people feel he's destined for 3B.

Mercedes is a 1-tool player, was 25 in High-A and finished his 8th year as a pro. He's just not a prospect. Shortstop, which comes out tomorrow, for me is a sneaky good group. No one spectacular there, but a number of talented guys and one of them could pop and become a starting-level guy in the middle infield (though likely would be for some other team).

FYI if you're looking for Arizona Fall League discussion, there's a thread in the FutureSox board for that. Preview in OP.

We can use this thread to talk AFL. Here is the FS preview of the AFL, updated yesterday with the newly added 7th player (Dopico). Today (10/9) is Opening Day!

Our series continues into the infield, listing the top third basemen in the system. This is not the deepest of the groups - in fact it might be the thinnest, though 1B is right there too (that comes out later this week). Not surprisingly there were varying opinions among the writers, beyond Burger.

Someone listed them for you, but I wanted to extend our apologies on that. We've expressed our frustration and it's business-stupid, but it is still not yet fixed. Hopefully soon. Omar Narvaez was developed half by the Sox. Kevan Smith fully home-grown. That was literally the two MLB catchers on the squad for most of 2018. If you are looking for, say, an average or better MLB starting catcher, the Sox should get SOME credit for Tyler Flowers (especially his defensive improvements - he was very bat-first when acquired). Go back far enough and you get a few spotty seasons here and there of average or better production - Brook Fordyce, Ron Karkovice got there for a season or two. Context is key. There just aren't a lot of guys in all of MLB over the last couple decades that put up above average total value from the catching position for more than 2-3 years. Only a few. Those guys that put in 10+ years of mostly above average value? How many can you name across baseball since say the 1990's?

Since we get asked about this regularly... we're starting a new, hopefully annual tradition at FutureSox. We are ranking the prospects in the system by position. The series will run this week and next. I definitely hope to get some of your feedback as the articles roll out, since it's our first time doing it. There will be nine articles, from 5 authors (though the rankings were agreed across all the writers). First up; The Top 5 Catchers on the farm.

We looked at the Volt. It was just too cramped for the four of us, and didn't have the depth of features that other cars we looked at had (i.e. Toyota Prius Prime, Kia Optima PHEV, Hyundai PHEV, some non-PHEV cars we saw). It did have more electric range (like 50 miles I think versus the 29 we get) but everything else was similar or worse than the Kia.

Not sure Bust is the right word. He's never been healthy enough to pitch any significant number of innings. I guess I think of "bust" as a player who doesn't meet expectations on the field, so I'm not sure it counts if he's never on the damn field. Fortunately he was just a throw-in, 4th player in a deal. No big loss if he doesn't turn out.

That's kinda my plan too, going solar at some point for the house. Not going to go in now, but in a few years it will be cycle time for new shingles anyway, so that will be when I look into it. I've been making changes to go more electric anyway, like the PHEV car(s), and a new instant-on electric hot water heater (which has been great), so that I get as much out of that as possible. The PHEV and HWH are money-savers in their own right anyway. But I'll do some payback period math on a solar roof/cells/shingles when it comes time, and as long as that payback period is within the time we are likely to stay in that house, I'll be in.

The maintenance of a combustion engine is so, so minimal though, in this scenario. I get an oil change like once a year, a filter here or there. And in exchange I get a car with very high efficiency but also the ability to drive longer distances. It's the best of both worlds from my perspective. I should note the current PHEV we have is a Kia Optima. 4-door sedan, works just fine for almost everything we do. But for the runs to the hardware store or garden shop or with bikes somewhere, that kind of thing, having one of our cars as an SUV would be very useful.

After driving one for over a year now, I just want to say I am loving the plug-in hybrid concept. We've been using it in a way that it's an EV like 95% of the time. Put gas in it about once every 2 or 3 months. But then still has the range for long road trips and gets 41 mpg even after the battery runs down and it goes to straight-hybrid. In 2-3 years we will replace our current 2nd car (a 2012 Honda Pilot), probably with another SUV, and am hoping to get a PHEV for that too. Looking around, there are a bunch of those and more coming, but the problem is it's all expensive luxury brands: BMW, Mercedes, Audi... Volvo has some that are not quite as pricey but still pretty expensive. I'm really hoping that the Toyota/Honda/Subaru/Hyundai/Kia's of the world, or VW or Ford, start going down this road with SUV's too in the next few years.

I guessed that they'd all vote for cloture, so Murkowski is a surprise. So now the three to watch are Collins, Flake and Manchin. 2 of those 3 are needed for confirmation. We'll know Collins at 3pm ET, so then it will fall to Flake and Manchin's decisions.

lol "the basement of love".

They absolutely do not believe that. It was a semi-humorous way to illustrate the higher level of risk on pitching prospects. No one at FG actually thinks there is no such thing as a pitching prospect.

So he's Alito. The ultimate windsock.

Well of course there was a doubt, and still is, about his confirmation. But the way they are handling this report is indeed a sham, as many feared, you are right about that.

It might be thorough, but how would we know? She may be right. Let's see how the triad votes (or declares how they will vote).