JUSTgottaBELIEVE

I agree but I was responding to a post that implied the Twins top 3 farm system in 2015 amounted to nothing because a handful of their top prospects failed to live up to expectations. They’ve got a good shot of playoffs in 2 of 3 years and may very well be the division favorite in 2020 assuming they fill their expiring vets through free agency or trades. It’s been a long time since the Sox were in a similar position but I’m confident it’s coming soon.

And the Twins made the playoffs in 2017 and look like a division contender this year. All while carrying a team payroll in the bottom half of MLB. They still have a top 10 farm system as well. I’d say they’re set up pretty well to serve as the Sox biggest division rival over the next several years.

Robert and Madrigal are both locks at CF and 2b imo (assuming health of course). Not saying they are surefire all stars but they are as close to surefire mlb regulars as you can get for still being in A+. That’s 5/9 positions filled with a really good shot of filling a 6th via the draft in 6 weeks. Collins would be a lock for a 7th guy if we knew he could stick at catcher because that bat will play. Each one of those guys is under team control thru 2023 at a minimum and even longer if Rick can find a way to extend Moncada. This provides the organization with a ton of flexibility to fill remaining holes. The Sox lineup next year will be more complete than any they’ve had since 2012 and in a couple years their lineup could rival the 2006 team.

And that’s the beauty of having so much of the young core already in place. Provides tremendous flexibility for mixing and matching to plug and play FA secondary pieces to fill holes.

Considering his performance over the past 9 months, I have to imagine Tucker’s stock is down. Likely still a top 50 prospect but no longer top 10. And I’m not sure the Astros want to rely on guys like Peacock and Miley down the stretch and into the playoffs plus they lose Cole after this season. Is there another starting pitcher that will be available this trade deadline that is better than Rodon?

I think Tucker and Alvarez or similar package would be enough for me to make the move.

Here’s the thing that’s most exciting. It doesn’t take a whole lot of external help (maybe 1 and at most 2 offseason additions) for the lineup to begin looking really formidable as early as next year. Heck, even with the dead weight they’re carrying this year, they already have the best offense in the division. Their team wRC+ of 112 currently ranks 9th in MLB and this is with guys like Engel, Palka, and Sanchez receiving a significant number of ABs.

Or they could just promote Dylan Cease

Yea, I was thinking Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. Astros can take Herrera too if they’d like.

Rodon has been a stud so far this year. He’s going to bring back a haul in July at this rate @Balta1701

I didn’t put a whole lot of thought into the #9 hitter. Just picked someone with reasonable potential that’s already within the organization to hold down RF on a regular basis and is already at the big league level. And sure they could always improve other positions externally, if needed. I just wanted to portray how incredible this lineup could be as early as next year with one external addition, a guy that certainly fits within the organization’s operating budget and past practices.

Who needs them when you already have the top hitting SS in MLB and Collins on the way this July ?

I mean if Cordell, Leury, or whatever else you throw out there is a 80-100 wRC+ guy, is it really a big deal as the #9 hitter in the lineup? And yes, I do view JDM as an extremely viable option for the Sox as I’ve previously explained in other threads.

The future lineup for the White Sox is coming together right before our eyes. 1. Madrigal - age 22.1 (120 wRC+ in A+) 2. Moncada - age 23.9 (155 wRC+ in MLB) 3. Martinez - age 31.7 (170 wRC+ in MLB, everyone here knows I love me some JDM) 4. Jimenez - age 22.4 (104 wRC+ in MLB) 5. Robert - age 21.7 (303 wRC+ in A+) 6. Vaughn - age 21.0 (1.24 OPS in college) 7. Collins - age 24.2 (148 wRC+ in AAA) 8. Anderson - age 25.8 (204 wRC+ in MLB) 9. Cordell - age 27.1 (367 wRC+ in MLB, 133 wRC+ in AAA) #GetExcited

Yep. The FA market isn’t exactly loaded at 1b this winter either. I guess Smoak would be a bit of an upgrade but not significantly and he’s the same age as Alonso. I guess what I’m saying is I don’t see it as the end of the world if Alonso’s option vests. $9M for basically a 1fWAR player is in line with what you’d be looking at in the FA market.

It’s the same Robert, he’s just finally healthy. He showed a glimpse of his ability back in Spring Training 2018 prior to his injury as well.

Jonathan India was your guy at #4. Same guy that is currently sporting a lower OPS than Madrigal in A+ and a 27.4 K%. and for reference, Moncada carried a 21.1 K% in A+ at 1.5 years younger than India’s current age

At a similar age, Kris Bryant posted a wRC+ of just over 200 in his short stint in A ball. Robert was at 288 coming into the game tonight and well over 300 now. This is next level stuff even at an “old” age of 21.

Unlike Robert, no one ever said Madrigal had the ability to hit 30+ homers in MLB one day.

Fathom was certainly one of many on here concerned about Robert’s lack of power last year. The pessimists weren’t accepting nagging injury as an excuse either.

^ and cheaper. Sox don’t have a better 1b option now or next year as far as I can tell.

You conveniently left out the part of your response where you implied the Sox are not seeing progress from their young core: ”The White Sox are like the 2014 Cubs in 1 way - a lot of the young guys they're relying on are now here and called up. They're not all here, but for the Cubs, they were legitimately seeing progress. If we're like the 2014 Cubs, we should be seeing progress. If we're like the 2013 Cubs, then we have a handful of scraps that we'll eventually need to trade, and we will need to basically replace everything on the roster before we're in place to do any damage. So the question is - are the guys who are here trending upwards?” The reason this Sox team is a mix of the two cubs teams and not just 2014 alone is because we also have elements (e.g., scraps) of that 2013 cubs team that need to be replaced and/or traded this July before competing starting in 2020/2021 - Herrera, Colome, Nova, Alonso, etc. That’s why I said 2013/2014 rather just one of those two.

I would agree with that. Just hope he comes back the same guy.

The outlook on the 2019 season would have been much different if Kopech was in the rotation instead of Nova/Santana with Cease waiting in the wings. That’s why his injury was so devastating.

And...Cleveland has regressed even more than I anticipated. I didn’t think their fall would really hit hard until next year but that team is more vulnerable now than any time over the past 4 years. I don’t think the Twins are a good team but they just might take the division this year, especially if Lindor struggles with injuries for a better part of the season.