Y2Jimmy0

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 06:59 AM) The Astros willy likely have a rotation of Keuchel, McCullers, McHugh, Morton, & Musgrove or Fiers, with Martes & Paulion at AAA to start the season. Dealing one of Martes or Musgrove does not hurt their depth. I think everyone here can see the real problem for them and that's not having a reliable TOR starter. Quintana is exactly what they need right now and his contract aligns perfectly with their competive window. I honestly have no idea what Luhnow is thinking, but I have a feeling he's going to be desperate for a TOR starter as we get closer to the deadline. I think something like Tucker, Martes, 3rd piece, 75th pick is fair. I'm not sure Rick Hahn agrees or this would probably be done.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 30, 2017 -> 02:08 PM) If Frazier repeats his 2016 performance, I make a qualifying offer without batting an eye. If Frazier has that many bombs at the deadline, he'll be on another team.

Waddle and Silvy today played Stephen A. Smith from earlier on Mike and Mike. Smith thinks that Jimmy Butler will get traded (he didn't know when). Nick Friedell thinks that the Bulls aren't a playoff team regardless, and that they will trade Gibson, Mirotic, and Rondo by the deadline. He also predicted that by this time next season, Jimmy Butler will not be in Chicago. He said they went halfway down this road in the offseason and there is a large segment of the FO that wants to rebuild.

Bruce Levine today said that he expects the White Sox to gather best offers and trade Quintana for the best one prior to the World Baseball Classic. He's been saying this all offseason though.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jan 27, 2017 -> 03:17 PM) Score interviews http://chicago.cbslocal.com/audio/670-the-score-interviews/ ESPN podcasts http://www.espn.com/chicago/radio/sectional?page=podcasts WLS http://www.wlsam.com/category/white-sox-weekly/ Rick Hahn sounds like a guy that's ready to make a few more trades.

Paying Frazier for 2 years in which Sox won't be competing for his age 31 and 32 seasons doesn't really make any sense.

QUOTE (spiderman @ Jan 28, 2017 -> 08:29 AM) How many players on the White Sox are in Law's top 100? Does Callis have a top 100? Anyone concerned that the White Sox still don't have many positional players who are top prospects? I guess 2 in the top 100 isn't horrible, but are there others in the pipeline? Law has 4. Callis/Mayo do a top 100 list together for mob.com. I'm expecting 7 White Sox on that one.

Here are some questions from the Keith Law chat today: Mike: I did not see Reynaldo Lopez on your list. Is this because you think he is 100% a reliever or was he not eligible? KLaw: Another one I think is absolutely a reliever. Can't start with that delivery. Olivio: Keith, looks like you let your ego get the best of you once again with that Yoan ranking. Seems he's a shoe in as a top 5 prospect. Why so low on him? KLaw: Yes, it's all my ego, not a rational examination of each player's strengths and weaknesses, which I then spelled out at length for everyone to see. It's just me. Padres Fan: Fernando Tatis Jr is someone a lot of people are including on Padres Top 10 lists, but to consider him a Top 50 prospect in all of baseball is pleasantly surprising. Is this ranking based on what he's done, or what you expect him to do in 2017? KLaw: It's based in this case entirely on scouts' feedback about him specifically and the list as a whole. I have yet to see him play. Travis: What fan base usually asks the most questions on a weekly bases? KLaw: Right now it's Atlanta, although there's been a strange uptick in White Sox questions lately. KLaw is out of his mind guy: A guy with makeup issues (and hasn't pitched above High-A) is the top SP prospect over two SPs who can throw nearly as hard, have better secondary stuff - and both have seen the bigs. Well, I'm convinced. (sarcasm detector in the red) KLaw: You lost me right there at "makeup issues." You almost certainly know nothing about Kopech's makeup except the secondhand stuff you've read. I would bet good money I know more about the subject, and obviously I'm comfortable ranking him where I did even knowing that information. And hey, feel free to omit the delivery questions I had on Reyes, since they don't support your whining. Parrot: Assuming Zack Collins can't stay behind the plate, how much of a gap exists between him and Matt Thaiss? KLaw: Large. He's got way more power. And I think he's a better hitter than I credited him for being before the draft. Johnathan: I understand your ranking of Yoan Moncada; but for those that see at 70 FV prospect ranked elsewhere, how do you explain the massive drop? Is his swing and miss issues that pronounced? Does he not still project to be a 70 FV to you? KLaw: I simply don't see a 70 Future Value as a likely enough outcome. Nils: Hi Keith, thanks for the top 100 list. From what you have seen and heard of Moncada, does he have the potential to become more than average defensively at 2B? KLaw: No. I liked him better at 3B, where the explosiveness plays up and his trouble getting down on balls is less of an issue. Matt: Just to dive a little further into Reynaldo Lopez, if you don't mind. Two years ago, when he had very little experience and, presumably, the same delivery, he ranked 75th on your list. Two years later, after a breakout season in which he dominated the minors as a starter and looked at least passable in the Majors (8.59 K/9), why has he only fallen in your eyes? KLaw: He hasn't "fallen," and that's your entire problem here. He doesn't have the delivery to start, ergo, he's not on the list. He even had a big split between starting and relief work in the majors (small samples for both, though). Mark: Your Moncada ranking is interesting as I figured he would be a shoe in for the #1 spot just based off of all the hype I've read about him and him being Minor League Player of the Year. Granted ranking him 17 isn't anything to sneeze at but from the write up it sounds like you're very concerned with his swing and miss. Obviously there have been former #1 prospects that were busts (like Delmon Young) how would you rank Moncada's bust potential? KLaw: Minor League Player of the Year doesn't affect my opinion of a player - it's just a vote. I think the swing itself leads to swing and miss and a major hole that he's going to struggle to close.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Jan 27, 2017 -> 12:02 PM) Good. I thought I remembered you asking for more than just those 3 guys a few weeks ago and was hoping that Law's list wouldn't sway your opinion that much. I've said in the past that I didn't think Pirates could get a Quintana deal without Meadows or Bell. With that being said, if they offered Glasnow, Keller, Newman, and another piece, that'd be pretty tough to turn down.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Jan 27, 2017 -> 12:07 PM) I also don't get his Kopech ranking. Don't get me wrong...I absolutely love the guy and think he has the potential to be one of the best pitchers in baseball if he hits his ceiling, but to rank him as the top pitching prospect right now? I don't think that's justifiable. He has never pitched at a higher level than A+ ball and his walk rate is mildly concerning. This is basically what was said about Michael Kopech: Pro career got off to rocky start Can touch triple digits, regularly sits up 90's AFL: 96-99, ridiculous arm speed and huge extension over his front side that must make hitters think ball is coming at 110MPH Feel for a hard slider and change up but neither consistent yet Modeled himself after Noah Syndergaard Other than slight cutoff in his landing, Kopech's delivery works and should allow him to develop average or better command Just needs to pitch. Both to build durability and work on fastball command and getting off speed pitches to regularly be above average Upside is of a #1 starter with 2 to 3 truly plus pitches and 200 IP regularly

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Jan 27, 2017 -> 12:05 PM) I'm just saying. What red flags could he possibly see that would make him rank Moncada so much lower than the rest of his peers? I just don't get it. This is basically what he says about Moncada: Enormous Explosive athlete that looks like Lawrence Taylor in a baseball uniform Plus runner, good bat speed and plus raw power Bad defender that looks stiff at 2B and a bit better at 3B Destroyed High A .277/.379/.531 but had a 31% strikeout rate Looked lost in big league promotion He said "Moncada wraps his bat and can't get to stuff thrown inside and backspin it, getting on top of those pitches or misses entirely. In his small major league sample, he looked like he never saw a breaking ball in his life". Law says the latter can change with development time (identifying breaking balls) but the former (wrapping his bat) is a more significant mechanical issue that reduces his ceiling. Should be a good leaguer, maybe above average but carries big risk.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Jan 27, 2017 -> 11:31 AM) I don't give a damn what his reasons are. Yoan Moncada is a consensus top 10 prospect at the very worst, even with that short MLB sample size. Period. But it's not a consensus because Keith Law has him at #17.....

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Jan 27, 2017 -> 11:36 AM) Please don't tell me people are going to start changing their opinions on potential trade packages solely based on Law's rankings... Oh no definitely not. People on this site have treated Mitch Keller like some throw in though when he'd probably be the headliner. That's the point. If the Pirates were offering Keller, Glasnow and Newman, I think the Sox would have already accepted that.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 27, 2017 -> 11:15 AM) Why is that nonsense? How do you think his job performance is evaluated exactly? Do you think someone at ESPN does a post-audit on his rankings every few years? Of course not, they simply look at how much traffic he drives to ESPN Insider. I'm not suggesting that's his reasoning for the Moncada ranking, but let's not pretend there isn't an obvious incentive here to stir up interest in his articles. ESPN has numerous shows where dumb viewpoints are the underlying hook. Why do you think Skip Bayless lasted as long as he did? Also, it's real annoying when the ranking Nazi's come out and accuse people of being "butt hurt" for questioning a specific player's ranking. First, this is a message board and we're meant to discuss things like rankings here. Second, we don't have to accept whatever a professional writer puts on their website as gospel. The amount of policing on what could be good, quality debate by certain posters is getting out of control here. The post that I replied to suggested that Law put Moncada at 17 and Kopech at 7 so that people would talk about it and to stir interest. I will clearly state again that it's nonsense and that it's a stupid opinion that isn't true. You can disagree with his rankings or the process by which he determines them. Coming out and saying that he put those guys there to drum up interest is garbage though.

QUOTE (Con te Giolito @ Jan 27, 2017 -> 11:11 AM) Even if he does feel that way its pretty ignorant to think relievers, especially after what we saw last postseason and the deadline, are still this inferior member of the team. To have this blanket rule that "relievers cant be in the top 100" makes him seem out of touch with today's game, or more importantly tomorrow's game. Completely disagree. They aren't as valuable. Just because teams trade a lot for them doesn't prove otherwise. They throw like 70 innings a year. They aren't worthy of being top 100 prospects.

Looking at Law's list a return of Glasnow, Keller and Newman would be great package. Mitch Keller is 16, Tyler Glasnow is 25, and Kevin Newman is 33.

QUOTE (Con te Giolito @ Jan 27, 2017 -> 10:56 AM) his reasons for Moncada seem pretty legitimate. His reasons for not ranking Lopez at all are dumb as hell. They aren't dumb as hell. He doesn't think Lopez has any chance to start, therefore he's not on the list. We really shouldn't be butthurt about what Keith Law thinks anyway though.

QUOTE (pablo @ Jan 27, 2017 -> 10:52 AM) Just like any opinion articles, these rankings are made for debate. Law gets more attention for ranking Moncada #17 as opposed to #1. Just the same as he gets more attention for ranking Kopech #7 rather than mid twenties like most publications will do. In my opinion, these ranking systems are like Mel Kiper or other analysts that do NFL mock drafts. They put them out a few times before the draft starts, but there is never any research afterwards to see if they were accurate or not. If there was an analysis of accuracy, I'm guessing Kiper would have lost his job a long time ago. This is nonsense. He does't put Moncada at #17 so people will talk about it. He thinks Moncada is the 17th best prospect in baseball. You people are nuts.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Jan 27, 2017 -> 10:40 AM) I'm not upset, but this list lost all of its credibility after he ranked Moncada 17th after a small MLB sample size. Ridiculous. You should probably read the write-up. He has reasons for it.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 26, 2017 -> 08:33 AM) http://www.espn.com/blog/keith-law/insider/post?id=6270 40. Walker Buehler RHP LAD 39. Amir Garrett LHP Cincinnati 38. Lewis Brinson OF Milwaukee 37. Francis Martes RHP Houston 36. Ronald Acuna OF Atlanta 35. Leody Taveras OF Texas 34. Corey Ray OF Milwaukee 33. Kevin Newman SS Pittsburgh 32. Kolby Allard LHP Atlanta 31. Alex Verdugo OF LAD 30. Mickey Moniak OF Philadelphia 29. Dominic Smith 1B NYM 28. James Kapreilian RHP NYY 27. Clint Frazier OF NYY 26. Ozhiano Albies SS Atlanta 25. Tyler Glasnow RHP Pittsburgh 24. Manuel Margot OF San Diego 23. Cal Quantrill RHP Stanford 22. Blake Rutherford OF NYY 21. Anderson Espinosa RHP San Diego 20. Jason Groome LHP Boston 19. Brendan Rodgers SS Colorado 18. Francisco Mejia C Cleveland 17. Yoan Moncada 2B White Sox 16. Mitch Keller RHP Pittsburgh 15. Nick Senzel 3B Cincinnati 14. Josh Bell 1B Pittsburgh 13. Lucas Giolito RHP White Sox 12. Eloy Jimenez OF Cubs 11. Rafael Devers 3B Boston 10. Alex Reyes RHP St. Louis 9. Austin Meadows OF Pittsburgh 8. Victor Robles OF Washington 7. Michael Kopech RHP White Sox 6. Cody Bellinger 1B/OF LAD 5. J.P. Crawford SS Philadelphia 4. Gleyber Torres SS NYY 3. Amed Rosario SS NYM 2. Dansby Swanson SS Atlanta 1. Andrew Benintendi OF Boston

QUOTE (JUSTgottaBELIEVE @ Jan 27, 2017 -> 08:14 AM) Moncada at #17? LOL. Maybe he does hate the White Sox... Did you read the write-up? He has Giolito at #13 and Michael Kopech at #7.

Keith Law has Yoan Moncada at #17, Lucas Giolito at #13, and Michael Kopech as the best pitching prospect in the league at #7 overall.

QUOTE (Con te Giolito @ Jan 26, 2017 -> 01:57 PM) They were 20th in RS, I doubt just losing Eaton moves them down 10 spots. Especially if the rebound from Abreu (seems to be board consensus) materializes. If you really think the Sox will be a bottom 5 offense you better be willing to donate Todd Frazier, Brett Lawrie, Melky Cabrera or anything else not nailed down for whatever you can get because that kind of team prediction would require some absolutely abysmal individual performances. I laid all this out for you in detail yesterday. They are going to be terrible. Rick Hahn knows this. Rick Renteria knows this. Come on, man. People are all entitled to their opinion, especially on a message board but this is getting out of hand.

QUOTE (Con te Giolito @ Jan 26, 2017 -> 01:44 PM) I'm just saying the idea that our offense has been completely neutered by firesale trades is wrong. The Sox infield of Frazier-Anderson-Lawrie/Saladino (inevitable injury)-Abreu is probably going to score a lot of runs this year. If Tilson has so much as a pulse at the plate he'll give Jewel-brand Eaton production with his bat. If Melky does what he did last year as a DH that wont be too bad. Eaton is so ridiculously overrated by a couple nice throws from RF its sick. Good on Hahn getting the deal he got for him, still cant believe it. I agree with whoever said in another thread that the Sox lost about 8 wins with the trades. I dont think any of those are coming from the offensive side though, more the obvious rotation downgrade from Sale to Holland and the looming disaster in RF. They have a bottom 5 offense in baseball.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 26, 2017 -> 01:11 PM) It is my guess that the Bulls aren't very far from seeing their ticket sales falling off. That could be the onus for change. I doubt it. That place is always full.