TheFutureIsNear

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39853186/mlb-2024-rankings-most-fun-teams-watch-braves-orioles-dodgers-cubs 29. Chicago White Sox(12) Star power: 2 | Youth: 1 | Baserunning: 2 | Catches: 3 | 425+: 2 | Minutiae: 1 Bonus: 1, for the new "campfire milkshake" concession item I'm pretty sure Luis Robert Jr. accounts for most of these points, from 4-star catches to speed on the bases to long home runs. The White Sox have done a nice job improving what was a weak farm system just a couple of years ago, but only Colson Montgomery is likely to make much of a contribution this season, so this rebuild is filled with older players. Unfortunately, "veteran leadership" does not score well in watchability. And looks like only the campfire milkshake kept us from being dead last. Way to go Jerry.

Mehh I don’t care. I know it’s a cardinal sin to say the Sox aren’t 100% inept, but if Clevinger was a problem in the clubhouse he wouldn’t be back. Flexen is bad enough that the Sox might get investigated for deliberate tanking if they continue to run him out there. And we can only count on so many innings from Crochet, Nastrini, and MAYBE Eder. There’s 100+ innings that will have to be mopped up. Might as well be Clevinger, regardless of some fans’ hurt feelings.

Am I the only 1 that still can’t get over how horribly the Oscar Colas situation has gone? In 1 calendar year we went from having a top 100 prospect who was too good to leave in the minors, to signing scraps late in spring to play over him. Was Colas that immature/unprofessional? Just seems like Getz and crew made it apparent that Colas was never going to get a shot at the RF job from the beginning. And I’m not saying Colas has really earned anything, but with the state of this organization doesn’t it make sense to just give him a shot to bounce back?

It’s honestly hard to grade because the reality is that we were all VERY wrong on Cease’s value across the league. It’s hard not to be disappointed because of the collective hope/expectation. I’m curious if rumors will come out on what other offers were. I’ll say it’s a C for now

I think it’s a little extreme to say that it can’t be fixed for a 21 year old kid in his 2nd year being a full time baseball player. Especially for someone with his type of electric stuff, I could see if he can’t harness 94/95 but 98-100 makes a lot more sense…at least to me

Well…we clearly overvalued Cease’s worth. Fully expecting Orioles fans to flood back here. I assume Getz knows he will never be able to sign even an above average SP under age 35 on the open market so prioritized getting 2 arms that could be in the rotation in the near future. Zavala seems very interesting and complete opposite of every other White Sox player in that he gets on base. I don’t think this trade is a catastrophe or anything…but hard not to feel foolish about what we expected vs what we got Edit: If Iriarte can’t be a starter this might be a catastrophe.

Count me in on the Brody Brecht hype train. He has the type of electric arm and stuff to be a bonafide ace. Even if he takes an extra year to fully develop than other college pitchers his potential ceiling would be well worth the wait imo.

No idea what the solution would be but that bottom 3 is an out waiting to happen. If the offense ever were to get momentum those 3 in a row is going to kill it.

They have to be doing this on purpose at this point right? 10/10 troll job by Getz

I don’t disagree with you. But unfortunately we all know hoping for high $ free agents to turn the team around is beyond pointless.

Organically as in cross our fingers and hope enough prospects develop because our cheap owner isn’t going to sign the type of free agents necessary to take the team over the top.

CAN? Sure, if by compete you mean push for the division and possibly make the playoffs. But is ownership willing to do what’s necessary to get there? No I don’t think so. Going to have to build it organically and 2026 is probably best case scenario…and even that is pushing it

The big difference is that Wendy’s is upselling for the exact same product. There’s a massive difference between a team like the Royals and a team like Yankees coming into the home park.

Does Herrera go directly into our top 10 prospects? Seems like a legit high ceiling talent and we really only have 7 prospects…

The arm is special and he’s so new to being a full time starter…he’s definitely on my short list of targets.

7-9 is utterly depressing. I mean the rest isn’t great…but piling up 3 outs at the bottom like that is going to be a killer. Maybe in an alternate universe a young middle infielder actually steps up and earns a job?

I’m very interested in seeing what Brody Brecht does this season for Iowa. If he shows more polish in his 2nd year as a fully dedicated pitcher he could shoot into the top 5. Obviously risk involved, but the sky is the limit for him

I think it would be easier to do a Mount Rushmore of players/coaches that have actually worked out. Too many to choose from in the failure category

Seems like there’s a very fine line between that being a positive thing for Mena and just organizational mismanagement. Being promoted to AAA at 20 without any kind of sustained success in the minors is definitely an interesting development path to say the least. It would be 1 thing if Mena had dominant stuff and just needed to hone it, but the fact is that if he doesn’t add at least a couple of MPH’s to his average fastball velocity he’s going to have a real uphill battle. His fastball was killed in AA/AAA last year. My fear for him is that his + curveball worked well vs young minor league talent, but won’t get as many chases as he advances in levels and the rest of his arsenal being average will get exposed. But of course he’s still very young so he could prove me wrong. At the end of the day Mena is the Sox 9th/10 best prospect…meaning he is the 17/18th best prospect in most respectable organizations. The typical “lotto ticket” arm we’ve all been asking for as the 4th piece in a Cease trade. The fact that we traded that for a 26 year old that has a decent shot at being an above average MLB regular really shouldn’t elicit any overly negative reactions.

Where did I compare them? I responded to someone saying that Fletcher is a minor league free agent level talent. Which is indeed ridiculous given his track record.

What world do you live in where 26 year olds that have a great track record of hitting at every level are just floating around on the free agent list? What a ridiculously bad take. And Mena is a mediocre prospect that got overrated amongst the mess the Sox have in the minors. A RHP that has a 90 mph fastball and below average control isn’t a recipe for success…and the results show so far in the minors.

That list after the top 7 is pretty depressing. Still a long way to go for the system. Maybe after a bountiful Cease trade and the upcoming draft it will look a lot closer to respectable/top 1/2 of the league

My only problem with Varsho is that he’s not good at hitting a baseball…other than that he’s great.

What a gift it is to be left handed as a pitcher…Tim Hill gets a major league deal and Breslow (who was closing games fairly recently) has to settle for a minor league deal.

Maybe I’m alone but I’m fine with Kjerstad, Beavers, Horvath and McDermott I think Beavers is a an underrated 2nd piece, he’s got the tools to be at least a borderline all-star. 20/20 hitting .270 with a .850 OPS and really solid D in either corner. (fully expecting Orioles fans to say this is too much)