Y2Jimmy0

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Oct 21, 2014 -> 09:09 PM) Hawks are stupid good this year. Might be their best team yet in this era. It's very early but I agree with you. They are loaded.

QUOTE (illinilaw08 @ Oct 21, 2014 -> 04:58 PM) Hold on... can we go back up this thread to where only Illinois fans accuse other programs of cheating? Likewise, of all the examples you are throwing out, Illinois has only landed one and has had a number of recruitments where they thought they led until late before ultimately losing out (Cliff, Evans, ET, even Snider with the switch to Louisville on signing day). So, to echo an earlier statement, if Illinois is cheating, they (1) aren't doing it well; and (2) are, in fact, being outbid by other schools. Ergo, Illinois fans are, in fact, right to think they are only losing top talent because other schools are cheaters! Isn't every program "cheating"? I am not a big college sports fan other than watching to see guys that might play professionally. My perspective is different because of that fact. If I were a fan of a college team, I'd want them to land the best players possible and not really care how they got there. I am pretty sure any consistently good program is doing something that breaks the so-called "rules".

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 07:29 AM) Greg, in today's game $18 million is really not all that much. That is roughly equivalent to a 3 fWAR player. Fangraphs has estimated Shields' value at an average of roughly $20 million over the past 4 years. A couple of bad post season starts isn't going to change that. He will get his money and when compared to what other players are getting, he deserves to be pushing that $20 million per year mark. Yep. I wouldn't pay Shields but someone absolutely will. I think he gets a 5 year deal at around $85 million.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Oct 21, 2014 -> 04:02 PM) 1.) Rodon - Ace upside - needs refinement on fastball command and consistency with change up. Should be a top 15 prospect in baseball. Starts in Charlotte. 2.) Anderson - Serious hands and ability at the plate, uses whole field, has pop, has great speed. Needs to develop an approach, improve defense and prove he can stay at SS. Starts in Birmingham 3.) Johnson - 80 speed, receiving rave reviews on improvement from 2013-2014 with contact ability, questionable defense at 2B, needs to stay healthy and show ability to put the ball in play at the MLB level. I think he should start in Charlotte but will be knocking on the door of Chicago. I give him the nod over Montas because of he's on the cusp of the MLB. 4.) Montas - Big time fastball, vastly improved control, strong slider. He needs to show a fuller body of work with command and change up as well as sustained health. Could be a #2/#3 type or a back end bullpen piece. Starts year in Birmingham. 5.) Adams - Love the stature and athleticism and has shown incredible peripherals in his first short season. Far off and raw but big time potential. Starts in Kanny. 6.) Danish - Has yet to fail at any level in his level. Seems to be quite the competitor and very coachable. He needs to prove he has the endurance of a starter despite his delivery/frame. His fastball and secondary stuff, as well as his ability to change speeds with his FB/SL, are very advanced for his age. Starts year in Birmingham knowing the Sox. 7.) Hawkins - Everyone knows the story... Would like to see another year of progress in BB%, K% and maturity. Power, athleticism and defensive ability are all there there, his success hinges on the ability to make contact consistently without compromising his power. Starts year in Birmingham. 8.) Sanchez - High floor, low ceiling. Has shown great defense at 2B. Needs to hit for contact and show patience at the plate to become a 2nd/3rd division starter with defensive value. Starts year in MLB, likely with another team IMO. 9.) Ravelo - Has held his own at every level despite being youngish for each respective level. Shown advance hit tool and plate discipline. Lacks a position, doesn't cut it at 1B. Power numbers has improved annually and that trend should continue in Charlotte/International league. He's probably best served learning LF and taking the role of a Mike Carp type player. Starts year in Charlotte. 10.) Beck - While the results aren't of the sexy variety, he's shown that he can throw strikes, force hitters to beat the ball into the ground and has had a strong track record of health with the organization. Obviously you'd like the K numbers to improve but he holds the makings of the an innings eating back-of-the-rotation starter. Beck is a guy who could make a huge jump with an advancement of a second pitch. I think the org likes him and will be quick to give him a shot. Starts the year in Charlotte and sees the bigs in 2015. Just missed it: Michalczewski - far off, BABIP, contact issues but overall nice package Davidson - AAA season and lack of defensive ability has me very down on him Adolfo - far too raw to make any real judgement but the tools are there. Ceiling is of the best in the system. Rondon - likely to see the MLB in some capacity. The capacity depends on the bat. A must youtube. Frye - Dominant in a big time college conference, sexy sinker/slider combination from the left side that the Front Office surely took notice of. I think he's overlooked because of he saw little time this summer. Should be a quick mover. Engel - Personal favorite. Every thing is there but the contact rate. High motor guy and elite defense. Could be a Drew Stubbs type with a little less power if something clicks with his swing. Good list. With some of the high upside pitching in the system, I actually think Chris Beck is kind of underrated. I agree with you about Jace Fry too. I'll be interested to see him potentially finishing the year in Birmingham this year. I love Engel's defensive ability. I hope he can hit enough to stick.

My Current Top 10: 1. Carlos Rodon LHP: Should be everybody's consensus #1 prospect. 2. Tim Anderson SS: Will be a top 50 prospect on many lists. 3. Francellis Montas RHP: #1 starter upside, relief prospect floor. Will be on many top 100 lists. 4. Micah Johnson 2B: 80 speed, LHB at 2B. Defensive and injury issues but very high upside. Will be on top 100 lists. 5. Tyler Danish RHP: Had a very impressive year. Many think he could end up in bullpen because of pitching motion. 6. Courtney Hawkins OF: Bounced back this past year. Birmingham will be an interesting challenge. 7. Spencer Adams RHP: 2nd rd pick. 49 K/5 BB in short season. Top of rotation starter upside. 8. Matt Davidson 3B: Horrible season. Still a very high ceiling though. 9. Trey Michalczewski 3B: Very important season for Trey's prospect status next year. 10. Carlos Sanchez INF: Not a terribly high ceiling but very solid MI option. Just Missed: Micker Adolfo, Rangel Ravelo, Chris Bassitt, Cleuelis Rondon, and Chris Beck.

This guy is a decent twitter follow. He posted his White Sox top 20. http://topprospectalert.com/2014/10/14/chi...spect-rankings/

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 01:22 PM) Raise your hands if you remember a DJ williams play as a Chicago Bear. Last year he had a nice sack of Roethlisberger vs the Steelers on SNF but yes good point. Brock Vereen gets his first NFL start at FS on Sunday.

QUOTE (BaconOnAStick @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 12:54 PM) As of now the White Sox have nothing to even pin hope on in the pen and it's not like we have any reason to believe Miller or Robertson will be in the Sox price range. Montas has a huge fastball and a very good slider. Why not just try and cash him in now? Especially when the pitching depth through the org is improving so rapidly. Stop. Just stop. Why not cash him in now? Because frontline starters are much more important than relief pitchers. Why would you just say "ahh screw it, make him a reliever". It doesn't make any sense.

QUOTE (BaconOnAStick @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 11:36 AM) It's tough to assume Rodon breaks camp in the White Sox rotation. Give him the Sale trearment, let him work a year in the pen to get himself together then once he's ready put him in the rotation. I don't care about service time, I care about making him a good pitcher for us. As for Montas, he's headed to the pen anyways so why not get him in a leverage role now? I thought I addressed both of these in the earlier post. Those are both terrible ideas. They also won't happen so I won't waste my time discussing it any further.

Here is the Kiley McDaniel Fangraph's piece on the Cubs system: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/evaluating-...s-chicago-cubs/ I love that Kiley McDaniel is at Fangraphs and I can't wait for the White Sox list.

QUOTE (BaconOnAStick @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 10:27 PM) 1 Adam Eaton L CF 2 Carlos Sanchez S 2B 3 Jose Abreu R 1B 4 Jay Bruce L RF 5 Avisail Garcia R RF 6 Adam Lind L DH 7 Alexei Ramirez R SS 8 Conor Gillaspie L 3B 9 Tyler Flowers R C BN Marcus Semien R UTIL BN Leury Garcia S UTIL BN Mike Morse R DH/1B/OF BN Adrian Nieto S C 1 Chris Sale L 2 Jose Quintana L 3 Hector Noesi R 4 John Danks L 5 Daniel Corcino R MR Brandon Morrow R MR Jake Petricka R MR Daniel Webb R MR Scott Snodgress L MR Josh Outman L SU Francellis Montas R CL Carlos Rodon L Adam Lind 2 years $18.5m Mike Morse 2 years $9.5m Brandon Morrow 1 year $5.5m Josh Outman 1 year $4.5m Dayan Viciedo, Micah Johnson, Courtney Hawkins to Cincinnati Reds for Jay Bruce, Daniel Corcino. --------------- -Lind and Morse platoon. When facing lefties Morse plays the field for Abreu or Avisail, who themselves slide into the DH spot. -Coin flip really between Semien and Sanchez over who starts the season at 2nd, I picked Sanchez because defense. Whoever doesn't start at 2nd will sub the IF positions. -Open tryouts for 5th starter (or 4th starter); if one fails a new comes up from the minors. -Rookies with great stuff make good bullpen pitchers. When Rodon joins the rotation (which could be midseason...) Montas is ready to move straight to closer. I love the Jay Bruce idea. I hate the idea of Rodon and Montas to the bullpen though. If any of Rodon's service time is spent in the bullpen it is a huge mistake. What's the rush on making Montas a closer? He has the chance to be a potential front of the rotation starter. You let him fail before you even consider putting him in the bullpen.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 02:02 PM) How come Brother Rice traveled to Michigan to lose a game and Indianapolis to lose a game? Aren't there enough teams to play in the Chicago area? It's their only two losses so far. What am I missing here with that kind of schedule? The reasoning? I believe Brother Rice will get their 3rd loss tonight at Providence.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 01:27 PM) I actually don't think it is at all. They're still going to try and re-sign him, but if they can't, he will get a lucrative multi-year deal elsewhere. This isn't quite the AJ Burnett situation from last year where they were unsure if he'd sign elsewhere and they didn't want to be on the hook for $14 mill if he chose to sign with them. Yeah you are probably right. I just thought they'd be afraid of having to pay the $15.3 million if they had to. I think this takes the White Sox out of the Russell Martin derby if they were even in though.

QUOTE (striker @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 11:19 AM) The only person I'd consider for more than 2 years is Headley. The rest are on the wrong side of 30 or aren't anything special. Martin projects more like a 2 WAR player, which is what Tyler Flowers is. I'd try to find a right handed starter that you can either extend (trade market) or a 1/2 year stop gap via free agency (Peavy, McCarthy, etc). I'd prefer financial flexibility over a free agent gamble. As the Yankees have proven year over year, buying players doesn't translate to winning. They went nuts last year and didn't even make the playoffs. Jon Heyman tweeted that Pittsburgh will give Martin a QO. That's somewhat surprising.

This was the excellent post by lasttriptotulsa that detailed Rodon's situation in the Prospect Watch thread: You still don't quite have it. If he starts with the team next year, he will not be Super 2. To qualify for Super 2 status a player must have more than 2 years, but less than 3 years service time and rank in the top 22% of all 2 years players regarding service time. If he is with the team next year opening day, he would not have enough service time after his 2nd year to qualify for Super 2 as he would just have 2 years and 1 month. Here are the ways his time with the White Sox could be laid out. If he starts with the team next year regardless of whether he comes up in September: 2015: Team Control (near minimum salary) 2016: Team Control (near minimum salary) 2017: Team Control (near minimum salary) 2018: Arbitration 1 2019: Arbitration 2 2020: Arbitration 3 2021: Free Agent If he comes up in September and doesn't start with the team next year but gets called up BEFORE his Super 2 cutoff (August-ish): 2015: Team Control (near minimum salary) 2016: Team Control (near minimum salary) 2017: Team Control (near minimum salary) 2018: Arbitration 1 (Super 2) 2019: Arbitration 2 2020: Arbitration 3 2021: Arbitration 4 2022: Free Agent If he comes up in September and doesn't start with the team next year but gets called up AFTER his Super 2 cutoff (August-ish): 2015: Team Control (near minimum salary) 2016: Team Control (near minimum salary) 2017: Team Control (near minimum salary) 2018: Team Control (near minimum salary) 2019: Arbitration 1 2020: Arbitration 2 2021: Arbitration 3 2022: Free Agent If he doesn't come up in September and doesn't start with the team next year but gets called up BEFORE his Super 2 cutoff (July-ish): 2015: Team Control (near minimum salary) 2016: Team Control (near minimum salary) 2017: Team Control (near minimum salary) 2018: Arbitration 1 (Super 2) 2019: Arbitration 2 2020: Arbitration 3 2021: Arbitration 4 2022: Free Agent If he doesn't come up in September and doesn't start with the team next year but gets called up AFTER his Super 2 cutoff (July-ish): 2015: Team Control (near minimum salary) 2016: Team Control (near minimum salary) 2017: Team Control (near minimum salary) 2018: Team Control (near minimum salary) 2019: Arbitration 1 2020: Arbitration 2 2021: Arbitration 3 2022: Free Agent While it may seem like a good idea to hold off on calling him up until after opening day next year because you push his FA date out until 2022, a good portion of that extra year will be spent in the minors and you will end up paying him a hell of lot if he qualifies for Super 2 because of the 4 years of arbitration. If he doesn't qualify for Super 2, you're waiting until the season is more than half over so he spent the majority of the time in that "extra" year pitching in the minors. I think the best thing to do is just call him up in September to let him get his feet wet, start him next year with the big league team to go through the growing pains and then in 2016 we should be ready to compete and Rodon will have a year plus experience and should be ready to really help the team.

You'll see him in the rotation after the Super 2 cutoff. This was all detailed in another thread somewhere. I will try and find it.

QUOTE (fathom @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 09:14 AM) Anderson's getting some great reviews so far with his performance in the AFL. http://m.mlb.com/news/article/98576616/whi...in-glendale-win

QUOTE (fathom @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 09:14 AM) Anderson's getting some great reviews so far with his performance in the AFL. He should be. Kid is a stud. Legit top 50 prospect.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 15, 2014 -> 11:13 PM) Erik Johnson was so bad. Man. Sox have money to spend and could easily swipe needed righty Shields from the Royals' grasp. In fact, it might be wise to steal Shields, Aoki and Butler and take away their mojo. Suddenly we have to worry about the Royals being the new Tigers. Hahn could really strip the mojo by signing those three Royals. Shields ... 3 years 45 million. Butler ... 2 years 12 million with option year. Aoki ... 2 years 10 million. Is it worth the risk? Throwing 67 million at Royals over 7 years? It's just 26 million to Royals for next season. Sox payroll is fine after adding the 26 mill. LOL. Shields will get a 5 year deal around $90 million. I would like more power than Aoki provides out of the other OF and Butler is meh. The guy I'd sign from the Royals is Luke Hochevar.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 07:54 AM) The one positive to Melky's past PED use is that it should limit the overall contract length. My guess is he gets something like 3/$45M and maybe even a little less in terms of AAV if he's given a qualifying offer. I really don't think anyone will be willing to go four years with him due to his baggage. While I do have some concerns about Melky going forward, I think the deal I mentioned above is a no-brainer for us. Melky for 3 years and $45 million would be outstanding. I think he gets more than that though.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 15, 2014 -> 11:14 PM) Are these Melky rumors really valid? Thought of him being on the team is already ruining my offseason. Why would that ruin your offseason?

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 05:41 AM) this is where I would like to ask, would you put him #1 in the lineup and Eaton #2? 1. Eaton 2. Markakis 9. Johnson That's how I'd go...

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Oct 15, 2014 -> 12:23 PM) Trading the little bit of young pitching we have is not advisable. That's how we got into this mess. Sox couldnt' even cobble together a decent starting 5 last year, not to mention a bullpen. Sure as heck don't need another Swisher trade. Sox are actually pretty deep with young SP. Just isn't really close to the majors. Carlos Rodon Francellis Montas Tyler Danish Spencer Adams Luis Martinez Chris Beck Chris Bassitt Erik Johnson That doesn't even mention the bullpen types. I'm not advocating trading them. I am just pointing out that the system is as flush with quality SP as it's been in awhile.

QUOTE (Greyone @ Oct 14, 2014 -> 01:09 PM) Same, I can see having a team you like/ or a team you follow in the other conference but never in the same. I have a hard enough time emotionally following one team, could never follow another that deeply. My girlfriend is a Pittsburgh sports fan. I'd like to see the Pirates and Steelers win if the Bears and Sox don't but I'm never affected by losses.

I'll never understand having a 2nd favorite team. Doesn't make sense to me. Maybe I'm just weird.