turnin' two

Haven't you ever heard of Batman? Or Superman? He is obviously trying to protect those he loves from endless Sox fan hounding.

It would have looked a lot like the Mets rotation that hasn't done much the last couple of seasons.

Yeah. This. If this is the guy that is your weakest link, your lineup is pretty darn good.

Adios. Getting so worked up over the 8th hitter, who is a huge upgrade, will likely hit 20 HRs and 25 2Bs and still be somewhat productive is an effort in futility.

Don't forget that Brinson's best season was also in Colorado Springs.

This looks great. Also a reminder that the teams needs to keep adding talent to the lower levels.

Rizzo and <ahem> Starlin Castro. So to your point, yeah, this is the Sox wheelhouse.

The 20s will be roaring! Hmmm.... sorry.

This seems like the best plan, whether Harris or Hudson. Sign one and trade for one. Hope Burdi and Johnson come through and Hamilton gets healthy. You can never have too many pitchers. And you can never really have too many relievers.

His elite speed should factor in here as well.

Is this true? I wonder. It certainly could be my bias but I feel like they have done worse. Especially considering how highly they have been selecting. But maybe you're right. For Mitchell and Hawkins being complete busts, there is Sale and Anderson being complete home runs. It is too early to tell, but I guess a lot rests on the fates of Madrigal and Vaughn. I;d guess you are more or less right. It is just easier to remember all the busts.

https://www.mlb.com/news/mock-draft-for-first-round-of-2017-mlb-draft-c235886620 Looks like 15 and 24 for Mayo and Callis respectively. https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2017-mlb-mock-draft-45/#rltODBsyPfuS6ep5.97 24 These are both draft day mocks.

Yeah, I seem to remember him being mocked mostly in the 18-20 range, something like that. The Sox were heavily linked to Lux with their 2nd pick, but obviously he went prior to that.

Well, you're probably right, as many people freaked out when Walker was traded, and he is older and a level down, and also has no power. I wouldn't love trading for Givens, as he has gotten worse each of the last 2 seasons, and really wasn't very good at all last year. He really has walked a lot of guys. He'd be ok, but I really think they should be going after Hudson.

Honestly, I think they could be really good. They will start the team as a competitive team. With probably Edwin and Grandal being our 4 and 5 hitters and Keuchel and Gio being our 2-3 starters. If everything goes right (which it probably won't), the middle of the order by June or July could be Robert-Moncada-Abreu-Eloy with Edwin and Grandal hitting 6 and 7. Wow would that be a deep and dangerous lineup. The order may not even matter that much in the middle, as they could have just a bunch of guys that can mash. In the rotation, Keuchel and Gio could legitimately be our 4 and 5 starters before too long. With Giolito, Kopech and Cease in front of them. When Rodon comes back, he may even force Gio out of the rotation (though I am an advocate of putting Rodon in the pen where I think he could stay healthier and just dominate). The most important question is can this team challenge the Yankees in a 7 game series. Things would have to go right, but I think they could. Having said that, I am so high on the futures of Kopech, Robert, Moncada and Eloy. I think Kopech has ace (as in one of the best few pitchers in baseball ace, not best guy on a particular team ace) potential. Put that with what Giolito has shown himself to be and that is a dangerous combination. With Robert, the sky is the limit. I wouldn't be surprised, if as a rookie (at least if he is up early) hits .265 with 35 doubles and 30 HRs. Not that I am expecting that, but I don't think it is out of the question either. Moncada is probably the most complete player on the team, and with a couple years of experience now, could be a legit candidate for an MVP, not saying he will be better than Trout, but he can do everything. If he improves just a little bit, he is an elite player. Once he got his feet under him, and his injuries behind him, Eloy mashed. His September was truly monstrous, and if that is a window into the hitter he can be, yikes. Having those three in the lineup with veterans like Abreu, Grandal and Edwin, and that is a tough group to face. I haven't even mentioned Tim, who is a completely dynamic player who is just scraping the surface of his talents and entering his prime. I wouldn't be surprised if he hit 25 HRs and 40 doubles next season. I am a bit curious to where in the lineup he hits, but wherever that is, I know Tim will hit and hit and hit. The pitching will determine how good they can be. The offense will be good. They will score runs. They'll be fun. If it comes together for Cease and Kopech, they could be among the best teams in the game next year. And they should just get better over the coming seasons.

He will likely be the 8th hitter. He doesn't need to be a superstar, though he still may have some potential to be more than he has been. If he puts up a .268/.318/.469 (.786 OPS) slash line out of the 8 hole, that is pretty decent (exactly the line he put up last year, by the way). For reference, out of the 8 hole last year, the Sox slashed .239/.305/.324 (.630 OPS). Out of 7th spot they slashed .248/.303/.398 (.700 OPS). From the 6th spot they produced .253/.316/.407 (.723). From the 5 spot they slashed .264/.304/.433 (.737 OPS). From the 4 spot they slashed .232/..299/.413 (.712 OPS). The doom and gloom worrying about a 8th hitter that will likely hit 20 HRs and 25 2B seems like you're missing the big picture. Though he moved around a lot, he mostly hit 4th for the Rangers last year. There is no way he is that much of a pressure position for the Sox next season. I would guess he hits 8th. Maybe 7th. But he shouldn't be hitting in the middle of the lineup which will likely be in some order Moncada-Abreu-Eloy- Grandal- EE-at 2-3-4-5-6 on most nights. You still have to account for Tim, who could hit 1st or 7th, then you have Robert and Madrigal to fill out the other spots. There is no reason to freak out about having a guy that is basically league average as what could very well be your worst hitter. He is far from the complete black hole the Sox have been trotting out at several positions the last couple of years. Oh yeah, and he is still just 24 years old and had a much better 2nd half than first last season.

That article is a joke. He does all that WAR research, then just says, let's say they are replacing replacement level guys? By my math and bWAR, they are replacing -7.1 WAR with the guys they have brought in, on offense. With guys that were basically RF, DH and C (not including McCann). ( I took the numbers for Alonso, Cordell, Castillo, Delmonico, Jay, Reed, Rondon, Skole, and Tilson) They are basically dumping -3 WAR on the pitching side just with replacing guys like Covey, Despaigne, Detwiler, Banuelos, Santana and Santiago. So, let's say that his 9.6 number is right on for what those guys bring to the table next year. Then you'd have to consider the -10 games they are losing, so, that makes a 20 game difference right there. And, that isn't how WAR really is supposed to work anyways. But yeah, bad data anyway.

Hahaha! I love this. I think stuff like this happened in olde tyme baseball.

He could be wrong. Or lying.

Cmon. What a disappointment. They couldn't get Bieber as well? At least Clevenger?

Robert will easily hit a couple hundred, so him.

This seems like a best case scenario at this point.

No, but he has been getting worse ever year since 2015.

While he wasn't the top tier option I would have preferred, it is another useful guy off the board. Ugh. The saddest part of me hopes we don't miss out even on Nova.

Cool. I don't know someone and they have more money. That gives someone free license to be a complete douche?