Boopa1219

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 09:00 PM) I like the Sox getting his feet wet in a softer setting versus just sending him somewhere. I wished they did the same with Courtney Hawkins.

There is a great article on Micker Zapata on whitesox.com: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/cws/chicag...p;vkey=news_cws And for those who are paying attention to the INTL market, Rick Hahn estimates having a spending pool of about $5 million for the July 2nd signing period.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 12:28 PM) The only caveat I would list is if for some reason the franchise moved from a short rebuild to a long term one. In that case Sale would be the first guy I would trade. If Rick Hahn is committed to 'doing things the right way', I think that the rebuild is going to take 3 years, and by the 2017 season starts Chris Sale will only be 27/28 and Avsail Garcia will only be 25 with their best years still ahead of them. Plus guys like Courtney Hawkins, Tyler Danish, and maybe Micker Zapata might be ready to contribute at the major league level.

White Sox 4 Years - 45 million Options for 5th and 6th year

I would like to see the Sox take their lumps for a few more years as they rebuild the team, and in doing so they'll accumulate high draft picks. I think Rick Hahn did a wonderful job at the trade deadline by landing a player like Garcia, who I think is going to be an all-star caliber player for years to come. And more importantly he shed tons and tons of payroll, granting the Sox major financial flexibility and room to operate. With this money I would like to see Rick Hahn completely overhaul the scouting department, by luring away top scouts from other teams, like the Dodgers for example. And most importantly I want to see this money go to amateur talent, whether its the draft or LA. The Sox could potentially land an impact prospect with the number 3 pick in the draft (Here's to you Jacob Gatewood), look at what Theo has been able to accomplish on the North Side in just a short amount of time. Since he became the President of the Cubs they have acquired guys like Albert Almora, Jorge Soler, Kris Bryant, Eloy Jimenez, and they traded for a guy like Anthony Rizzo. Maybe the Sox, should take notes.

How would you like to see Rick Hahn go about this off season? Should he overhaul the organization in a full scale rebuild that sees the White Sox place a renewed focus on scouting and player development as they build the core of their team through the draft, or should he chase after free agents and trade for veterans in order to compete for the AL Central title in 2014? What do you want to see happen?

Gatewood seems to have made some corrections to his swing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGrt-jrZIU8...jnzS5KU2wcxbGbA

I am really hoping that the Sox draft either Jackson, Kolek or even Gatewood, who I am very high on. I can see Jackson sticking at C where his value would rise, or he can move to either 1B or LF, I can see Kolek can becoming a Jose Fernadez/Matt Harvey/Jonathan Grey type pitcher. Gatewood could become a 30/30 player in the pros, and has really high upside I prefer drafting High School player than their college counterparts, but you always take the best player available.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 20, 2013 -> 06:34 PM) I've seen some experts discuss that Jacob Gatewood has not had an impressive summer and is unlikely to be a top 5 pick now. Seems like it's Rodon and Hoffman as the top 2 picks as of now. Don't read too much into that, he is a 17 year old kid, and these guys have a full season to play before the draft so don't read too much into anything.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 17, 2013 -> 12:33 PM) Personally I wouldn't have a problem with the 4 lefty rotation since they aren't the same kind of guy, but I somewhat doubt that the White Sox organization is bold enough to do that. That said, there are a couple other concerns as well. The Sox should also take into account what they can get for these guys and whether they are truly ready to put one of Rienzo and Johnson in AAA or in the bullpen next year (which I would absolutely hat - edit - I mean having them in the pen). I don't know who the top 1-2 3b prospects in baseball these days are, but if the Sox could get someone like that and a pitcher for Gillaspie and Santiago, I could very well be interested. A very intriguing 3B prospect is Corey Seager from the Dodgers, he was the 18th overall pick in the 2012 draft out of HS. They have him playing SS now, but he is 6'4 215lbs so a move to the corner is in his future. He's batting .293 with 14HR and 63RBI this year, and he has struck out 69 times and walked 42. The White Sox could get him in a deal since he is blocked by Hanley Ramirez and due to the fact that the Dodgers are in win now mode and are willing to part with their top prospects.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Aug 12, 2013 -> 02:51 AM) You would think wrong. He will outgrow the OF position as he continues to grow into his body and eventually his speed will decline, a move to first will benefit him in the long term. And out of the players down in the farm, who projects to be their 1B of the future? Its definitely not Keon Barnum.

I think White Sox brass views Garcia as the 1B/DH of the future.

Even after this year I am still pretty high on Courtney Hawkins, like the article stated the issue he is going through can be fixed easily, and there are signs that he has the potential to be an impact player at the major league level, like his athleticism, ability to hit for power and his ability to hit mistakes. I think that his flaws are being highlighted due to the fact that he is playing against players with much more experience. His swing needs to be tightened up though, but it wouldn't surprise me if he has a good year.

I would like to see the White Sox and Rick Hahn revamp the scouting department with the exception of Marco Paddy.

I am really hoping that the White Sox draft Jacob Gatewood because he has the highest ceiling and the most potential in the entire draft class. His power tool has to be rated 70-80, but where dose he play defensively. He's 6'5 190, so it is safe to say that we wont be playing SS in the pros, so a move to the OF seems like a possibility. Can you imagine a line up with him, Courtney Hawkins and Micker Zapata.

I think Jacob Gatewood has the highest ceiling and potential in the draft class. He won the Jr. Home Run Derby at Citi Field against Kel Johnson, where he it 13 HR (Johnson hit 9).

How is Ayala supposed to develop if he dose not play everyday?

If the White Sox were to make a trade with the Rockies I would like to see them acquire David Dahl, who reminds me a lot of Grady Sizemore and even Mike Trout. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...62&c_id=col

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 1, 2013 -> 04:51 PM) There's definitely going to be an inflationary effect in play. With all those dollars chasing fewer the same amount of talent (or even less, if you look at the free agent class), it's not going to be a HUGE advantage to the Sox. That money would be better spent on hiring more scouts, improving the minor leagues, upgrading our Dominican facility....building one in Venezuela, for example (there used to be almost 20 teams down there with academies and now it's back down to 6-8 with tensions increasing under the Castro regime)...or even Brazil. Or China. They need to start being more innovative and finding those niches they can get out in front of and exploit proactively. If they're going to go crazy and sign 3-4 bats (like the Mariners did with Morse, Morales, Bay and Ibanez), then that's fine. However, if they're only going to sign ONE guy, I'd rather they just completely sucked again next year and invested the money elsewhere. I totally agree, the Sox need to take that money and invest it in the future.

The 2014 is pretty solid compared to the last two drafts, there are a ton of players with high potential. I would like to see the Sox continue to build a core of high ceiling position players to go along with Courtney Hawkins and Tim Anderson. I hope they draft: Alex Jackson - C/3B/OF Jacob Gatewood - 3B/OF Tyler Beede - P Also keep in mind if the White Sox (Who if the season ended today, would own the 5th overall draft pick) continue to lose at this pace they would have a bonus pool of about $3,636,900 for Marco Paddy to play with in the international market.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jun 22, 2013 -> 07:11 PM) You have to start asking yourself when can you remove Hawkins from #1 status. How many more months/years of futility do you need? I'm pulling for the kid as much as anyone, but to have him listed anywhere near the top of the heap sends all credibility out the window. Hawkins is still the White Sox's most talented prospect, and the most talented position prospect that they had in a while. Yes, he is not having a good year at the plate but keep in mind that he is one year out of high school playing in High-A ball, he's gone from playing maybe two games a week to playing everyday, and he's playing against people with more experience than him. (I think that he should be in Kannapolis) It's understandable that he is struggling at the plate, and even with his struggles he's managed to hit 13 home runs. The talent is there and his ceiling is incredibly high, he just needs the experience.

Venture should be brought back, its a shame that both him and Hahn have to pay the price for Kenny Williams and his ill advised moves, especially the trading away of top prospects.

I would like to see Hahn and the Sox acquire: Corey Seager 3B - LAD David Dahl OF - COL Gary Sanchez C - NYY Matthew Olson 1B - OAK They're all young position players with high upside, and they can be paired with Courtney Hawkins and Tim Anderson to form the core of the team from a position player perspective.