Thomas_Ventura_Roberts

They might trade him before the year begins. If they don't, they can let him learn as the 3rd catcher; but more likely, they send him down to AAA and renew trade talks for him as he gets some more experience down there. The Sox have leveled with him that he still needs to develop his game calling and defensive skills; therefore, spending a few more months in the minors will not harm his psyche. In short, though, the Sox probably are entertaining offers for that that include packaging him and another player or two in a big trade. I think the Sox are high on Collins but feel the necessity to make the first priority developing the young pitchers who are here or coming and thus know trading him becomes part of the puzzle.

Stanton credited Menechino with being his guru that propelled him into the hitter he became. Menechino seems to be able to fix both mechanics and mindset on a high level. Steverson seemed to be good with the mindset aspect of hitting but may not have been a diagnostician of swings.

The Sox were often times putting Robert first and Madrigal second when they played together in the minors; however, I see where Renteria (or was it Stone) said you can put Robert anywhere from 2 to 5. Makes one wonder where they think he would fit best. Madrigal would make the ideal #2 guy because he can give hit a ton of singles and doubles. If the lead-off man got on base, he can drive him in. If the lead-off man made an out, Madrigal can use his hit and speed tool to generate a one out spark. I like Robert at #1; however, I probably would like him anywhere from #1 through #5 too. With Robert, Madrigal, Moncada, Jimenez, Vaughn, and Anderson at the top of the lineup, things should be in quite good shape.

I'm sure the Sox will be aggressive at both trying to trade for and sign free agents. Right now, the Sox seem to want specific things that don't automatically fall into ones lap, such as legitimate starting pitchers.

It was a twitter quote. You can see it on his twitter page.

Love this Steve Stone quote and wonder if it might shed light on the Sox's thinking: "The main job of the front office is to evaluate the organizations talent and figure out who is the future and who should be in the rear view mirror going forward. The Dodgers historically have been brilliant at that. You have to know your own players better than anyone else" The reason that it might be relevant with regard to Hostetler would be if they value Hostetler's general scouting judgment. Hahn may want Nick to help him when it comes to evaluating major league players but also to be part of the conversations when the Sox management team is trying to rank their own internal players. Of course, I am presuming that we really will not know what is going on until the Sox hire their new Scouting Director and until Rick, Nick, and the new scouting director talk about how they view things. I know that Nick already declined to be interviewed until the new Scouting Director is hired.

Steve Stones said the Sox are keenly interested and working hard on trying to acquire starting pitching. He also said a left-handed hitting outfielder is a need. Presuming that Steve would have some insider knowledge, I wonder what pitcher or pitchers the White Sox are trying to acquire. Will we see an exciting trade along these lines by Wednesday? Would love to know who they are asking about and what they would be willing to give up in each scenario. Until recently, one name that I would not have put up in the possible give up list would have been Zach Collins, but that might be a name that has value that they are dangling.

He is 25 years of age and 1 year removed from 57 saves with fantastic metrics. Given his performance drop-off this year for his ERA and saves, one would presumably have a positive opinion as to how good he still is. Even for a young team like the White Sox, having a deep bullpen is not a bad thing. Of course, would they be interested in what the Sox would be willing to offer? Trades can be surprising. The Mets hypothetically could be interested in Sox prospects who have value but also have more uncertainty associated with them. Who knows?

How sad that one can't even wait 24 hours to get the straight scoop. Some reporter probably broke the story prematurely. By this time tomorrow, we might have a lot more answers.

I would wait to see what the explanation is before jumping to conclusions. Nick had said there were 3 regional directors who would eventually be scouting directors, and maybe the Sox wanted to promote one of those guys into Nick's position so as not to lose him. In addition, maybe Hahn thinks he needs to have someone who can thoroughly do a good job of analyzing minor league players on all teams, including the White Sox's own, so that we can maximize trades consistently instead of trading the wrong players either coming or going. On the other hand, Kenny Williams wanted to go with the athletic shortstop this year, and this could be an internal disagreement about the direction of minor league scouting in general. I'm guessing that is less likely; but until we know who is the new scouting director and how they describe Nick's new duties, I don't know how to get a feel for what actually is happening.

Sox announce that team has promoted Nick Hostetler to special assistant to the general manager, with a particular focus on major league scouting. They say they'll will work quickly to fill his previous role of director of amateur scouting.

Based on Baseball America's numbers, 50% of 1st rounders will turn out to be relatively good, 33% of 2nd rounders, 25% of 3rd rounders, 20% of 4th rounders and so forth. If one were to just go by the numbers, one would probably have to wait 8 plus years to fairly grade a Scouting Director based on the results of how players did. Of course, the internal people have more than just the final results to grade someone on and don't have to wait 8 years. In addition, the first draft of a scouting director may reflect as much of the prior regime as the new scouting regime, and that probably makes it even a bit more ambiguous to judge if only using a few years of results. Again, that is as an outsider. I'm sure there are qualitative considerations that the insiders can evaluate in addition to the results metrics.

He should be, but there seems to be "politics" with those lists, especially with Baseball America's list. I just tend to focus on whether the Sox have a lot of good players in the pipeline.

Could mean guys were promoted.

I agree with Steve Stone's prior statement that he could be a starting center fielder if he hit .250 plus because of his superb defense. One game is not a lot, but his swing looks better. In his past 30 games in the minors, he was hitting .400. In June, his OPS was .804, and in July, his OPS was .923. The White Sox always thought Adam might be a late bloomer. He's only 27 years of age. If he plays well the rest of the year, he might build up some usefulness for the Sox or have a bit of off-season trade value. In any case, I've always enjoyed his defense and enthusiasm. In his evaluation phase comeback, he now is hitting even better than his June and July minor league numbers (.545) or 6 for 11. I would not be surprised if he makes it as a defensive oriented center fielder who can hit over .250. If he hits at that level and with his defense, someone will want him to play center field for them.