FT35

Yes...Yoan Moncada is one of the young stars in the game right now. Superstar? No not yet...it's important to keep the terms straight though. Moncada belongs in this group--solely based on what he has shown already: Albies, Acuna, Benintendi, Moncada, Hoskins, Torres, Bellinger, Bregman... Not a single guy hitting over .300 on that list--yet all young stars based on ability/performance.

Say what? That's the most backwards way of interpreting that I've ever heard! Who implied what you said? Who said he wasn't good now? Go back and read the post...the little words are the big words...the 4 letter word that looks like "peak" is the key word to focus on. With that in mind, now go back and read it while thinking of what the word peak means. Now apply that comment. Would you want a player's development to peak at age 23 then be all downhill from there or be strong at 23 and continue to improve?? Would it worry you more to see him go through a rough patch now or if someone said we have seen the best from Moncada already and then if Moncada followed that downward trajectory (away from his peak) from here on out?

Typically if you have a contender at the deadline, they have plenty of stars already. For evey team looking to land an impact player, there is another looking for smaller pieces who could fill holes. Obviously there are mega stars who could be available and they would make a larger impact, but don't underestimate the impact that a few "upgrades" could make to an already contending team.

I think it would worry me more if a 23 year-old top prospect's game was at its peak at age 23. The guy's a star now with so many ways to improve.

No joke. I'd take the game part though...Swish had some baller years.

I felt the same way about Walker...he seems like a very "safe" pick--nothing really seems to stand out about him and normally with a 2nd round pick, you see a reason why he's a 2nd rounder. An OFer to boot--in a system who loaded with OF prospects. Just through there were better options on the board for US--shoot, I could see Pilkington picked there in the 2nd round--luckily he was still there in the 3rd. I did read somewhere that people believe Walker is one of the most likely to contribute to a MLB team this season....but there are a lot of ?? about that statement...

Figured they'd go college RHP.

Rd 5 predictions? I'm going with Zack Hess, RHP out of LSU.

I don't think Hahn built this team to lose as many games as possible. This is the bridge team--only it's not a suspension bridge over a river, it's more like a few small stepping stones that span a large lake. I think this team is the RESULT of trying to WIN as many games as possible in the future. We traded our present for a better shot at a better future--the cost is what we see now. Also...the on-field product we see right now is also a result of several years ago's scouting/player development failures. Talking about the team of people who drafted Engle, Thompson, Beck (all the draft picks who weren't as good as them ?) and supplemented with acquisitions of Tilson, Avi, Shields, Delmonico, Davidson, Leury, Rondon, Narvaez--these are all guys who we either went out to draft, received in trade, or went out to get. You don't waste draft picks on players who help you lose games. You also don't trade good players for players you believe will help you lose. You MAY be able to stretch a FA signing to fit your theory--but there aren't many players who fall into that category. The more realistic view was...our front office looked at this list 2 years ago and thought "holy $*%&" we're going to be awful in 2 years, it's time to rebuild. Truth be told, it's staggering on how many draft picks they have missed on--I can assure you, that's not intentional. But to be fair, we should remember the good prospects that were moved for "win now" seasons. Gio Gonzalez, Marcus Semien, Tatis Jr., Eduardo Escobar. The guys you see now (minus Giolito, Moncada, Lopez) were the best our 2014-2016 "future" had to offer before we traded Sale, Eaton, Quintana and crew. NOW...luckily we did that then so we can have at least some hope in the present day future.

Keep him. Yes he's older--but he's VERY consistent and seems to be getting better with age. Plus last time we kept a 1st basemen around who was on the "wrong side of 30," we got 4 more all-star seasons out of a guy named Paul Konerko.

I don't think the problem is Renteria--it's the fact that Moncada hasn't gotten his RH at bats figured out yet this year. He's a completely different hitter RHed--one that plays as a 6th guy in the lineup. He's hitting .154 vs LHP so it makes sense to bury that number into the lineup rather than to lead off with it. As soon as he starts putting up numbers RHed--I think you'll see him slot differently--maybe not leadoff but def a more important spot than 6th.

Ownership also might not have liked the details of a KW rebuild. I think what ultimately sold them on RH's plan was the timing of it and how all sorts of details came together around the league to create the perfect storm for the Sox. Had they set out down that path 2 years ago, it wouldn't have been nearly as productive in my opinion. The fact that it came at a time when the conteding teams were also the large market teams who also had the top farm systems--at a time where we held the most valuable positional assets on several players in high-value/high-demand positions (SP, RP)--with very little competition from a weak FA class--not to mention very few other full-on rebuilding teams to contend with. It was a "fool-proof" as it gets from a timing perspective.

The swing mechanics were there last year, but this year he's really made the jump. Making consistently hard contact when he puts it in play. The guy just hit rockets all over the park.

Absolutely! Forces the pitcher to nibble--which will ultimately lead to more hitter's counts. He'll strike out a lot still--but he's swinging at strikes--that's a good sign for sure. And it sure didn't take long for him to get back into the zone coming off the DL. I would NOT want to pitch to him right now.

He's quickly turning in to must see TV for me. I do admit I watch his ab's and then work around the house for a bit--come back to see his next ab--repeat. Something about his swing is just fascinating. May be the beginning of a man crush.

I'm not saying they are silly or worthless--they certainly have the ability to give us some useful information, HOWEVER, THIS ABOVE is why I look at the new metrics with a raised brow. Sure...a number can be used to conclude Lopez as being bad and Shields as being great...but let's not lose site of reality--which factors in ALL numbers and gives you a REAL tangible/observable result--and a MUCH more accurate destination to an evaluation. Look at the pitcher, not the math--using real observation, you can see that Lopez is the better pitcher. I'm sure if you spend all night, you will find that there's a number out there that Adam Engel has on Mike Trout--but using that number to say that something like "Engle is the much better player because Trout has a higher average of balls in play that extends beyond what luck should yield and Engel's is bound to catch up and pass Trout's?" All because an "advanced number" comes out a whole point better than Trout? You can't lose site of reality and true human tuition when evaluating. Just ran the numbers...Jose Rondon's xFrTym came back at a -.00529 and that is .0057 higher than the RANx0-9 of Yoan Moncada. Factoring out the bad luck factor--he actually had a .00012 chance of not going 0-4 yesterday in Pitsburgh...meaning we should have waited 2 days to activate Moncada. Based on those numbers projected over the course of a season, Rondon is our best option at 2nd base over Yoan and it's not even close. Math will NEVER explain everything about a human being.

What ever happened to Seth Beer? Is he out of the converstaion now?

Yep. Forgot about that.

Twins are the dark horse for me. That new pitching staff is starting to take shape—Romero, Berrios, Gibson. Plus Rosario looks like a budding star, with guys like Buxton, Sano and even Escobar. Dozier has several more good years in him. Plus they have Royce Lewis in the system. They could be a big FA signing or 2 away from a serious contender.

Yes...but think about what all he's endured...what he's been forced to watch. The Robin Ventura era of White Sox baseball was enough to turn the ever-optimistic Spongebob into a grumpy old "I told you so" grandpa. You have the Ronald Belasario closing experiment and his 8 losses and 4 blown saves, riding the Gordon Beckham train into the ocean, watching Viciedo self-destruct, DrakeGate, Courtney Hawkins as your ONLY hope in the farm system, 1064 Adam Dunn ABs in 2 years. Try to fill air time with optimism with all that going on! Hawk aged 15 years in 4 seasons because of the level of on-field product decay.

You're right...it shouldn't matter if the guys like each other, but I'm not saying it matters. I'm pointing out more along the lines of the culture being good. It's difficult to create a good culture that is focused on learning and development. Throwing in a guy who has a poor attitude and has struggled with alcohol issues isn't the best influence on a group of young players who are learning to play the game the right way. They might love him...but at this point, that type of signing probably isn't the best now that the ship is finally moving in the right direction after 12 years....

I wonder how long we’ll wait till we see Moncada (or any White Sox player) on some of the MLB made commercials. Maybe an all-star selection does it?

Sox have a good thing going—seems like a close group, very positive clubhouse, lots of learning—why take a chance of derailing that?

Obviously we won't be alone at the top when we start to get good. Who do you all think is shaping up to pose the biggest threat to the Sox during our contending years? I think Houston and the Yankees will still be around and great. Boston will likely stay relavent. Cubs will have a competitive core still. Washington will look different if Harper leaves. Toronto, Philly and Atlanta's prospects are starting to put them on the map and my surprise team is Minnesota. Why? Because they are always a thorn in our side when we are contending...they also have some nice players in the que. Yankees will be tough to beat...even with us roling out a Moncada, Jimenez, Robert and Anderson core every night.

And still playing at a high level. I like it!