turnin' two

QUOTE (bmags @ Sep 13, 2017 -> 10:21 AM) So Callis said this is the best draft since 2011. Danny Hultzen and Trevor Bauer went 2 and 3 in that draft. With Dylan Bundy and Bubba Starling 4 and 5. A lot of better talent taken down in the draft... Hopefully the Sox don't look take a Trevor Bauer over a Lindor or Jose Fernandez. But, man was there a lot of impact talent in that draft.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 7, 2017 -> 12:57 PM) Klaw chat http://meadowparty.com/blog/2017/09/07/klawchat-9717/ Damn does that guy hate the Sox.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Sep 2, 2017 -> 09:30 AM) Give me a college hitter (Beer) over a HS arm any day of the week Hmmm, while I understand what you are saying, I think you need to take each case. With that mindset, you are saying you would have taken Drew Stubbs over Clayton Kershaw. There are hundreds more examples. And while I know there are hundreds of examples of the prep arm flaming out, if you want to draft a guy that is going to be a superstar, there will likely be some risk involved.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Aug 30, 2017 -> 06:01 PM) Sally might have to start looking over his shoulder next season. Jake Peter should already have him doing that, well that and his batting avg.

QUOTE (Alexeihyeess @ Aug 24, 2017 -> 08:10 PM) Lots of aggressive promotions to close the year. This is a real surprise to me. This doesn't seem aggressive to me at all. Hansen has proved he is beyond A ball. Keep in mind that by this time in Carson Fulmer's tenure, he had already been on the big league club. That is criminally aggressive, this seems about right.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 24, 2017 -> 05:38 PM) Pretty sure he recently posted Konerko-esque speed times Wouldn't you be absolutely thrilled with a draft pick that results in a Paul Konerko like player?

I just want to say that I have been pretty impressed with the Sox combination at catcher this year. Both Narvaez and Smith have been productive players. While they aren't necessarily destroyers in the lineup, they have both been solid contributors. They have a combined stat line of: PA AB R H 1b 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB 435 390 35 108 85 19 0 4 36 0 0 36 70 .277 .342 .356 .698 90 139 12 3 3 2 1 I'm not certain, but I would guess the last time the Sox got production like that out of their catchers was AJ. For guys that are essentially rookies, at a demanding position both physically and mentally, their play on both sides of the ball has been pretty darn good.

So...yeah... Something I have to add, is that I know this is just spit balling and all, but, by opening day, it will have been what about 20 months since Charlie Tilson played a competitive inning of baseball? Even if he can come back (I know I am rooting for him...) I highly doubt he won't need some minor league conditioning before joining the big club. And there are some king sized "ifs" that even play into that. I'm not writing him off, but even if he comes back 100% it will take some time to get back on the horse.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Aug 19, 2017 -> 09:49 PM) He's no exaggeration the single worst pitcher I have ever seen on the sox. They should absolutely offer him back and take the cash. He isn't the worst pitcher on the team right now.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Aug 15, 2017 -> 04:57 PM) Tatis is super exciting and likely to be a consensus top 30 prospect next year. But he also has struck out 30% of the time in low A ball and is hitting just .276. I will wait to crown him a future preferential all star until I see him show this kind of power and plate discipline against more polished pitching. But no doubt Hahn chose the wrong guy. Are you serious? Finding warts on his game? Hitting just .276? Striking out too much? As an 18 yr old. In A ball. He should be a high school senior for crying out loud. Even with the influx of talent in the farm, right now if the Sox still had Tatis, he would be the best player on Kanny, as an 18 year old. Ce la vie.

QUOTE (maxjusttyped @ Aug 17, 2017 -> 01:12 PM) Everything in regards to Rutherford's power potential right now is projection. Delmonico has shown the ability to consistently hit for above average power, at least in the minor leagues. This is not an argument in favor of Delmonico over Rutherford, whether it's as a hitter or player overall, but so far Rutherford has played ~500 career minor league games and his power hasn't translated to game action at all. Huh? You mean plate appearances? Not even close to the same significance. He has had about 1 season's worth of ABs. His first professional season. In A ball. He turned 20 during this season. The amount of hand wringing here over a kid who is the youngest on his team, was traded mid-season, hitting .275 and on pace for over 30 doubles seems extreme. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register...id=ruther000bla

I'd rather see him start than Holland/Shields.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Aug 14, 2017 -> 12:14 PM) I've said it before and I will say it again - the Sox should just go to battle with what they have next season. Maybe sign a couple relievers we could fix and flip, and perhaps maybe 1 arm in the rotation to make Giolito, Fulmer, Stephens and Guerrero earn their opportunities in AAA. But on the offensive side, we just need to give the guys we have at bats. The outfield is covered between Avi, Leury, Delmonico, Engel, Alen Hanson, Willy Garcia, Liriano, Cordell, May and Tilson. Plenty of guys that need MLB at bats. Corners are covered with Abreu, Davidson, Delmonico, Saladino, Gillaspie, Hayes and DJ Peterson. MI is covered with Anderson, Moncada, Yolmer, Saladino, Hanson and even guys like Jake Peter and Eddy Alvarez. I really see no reason to sign any bats to ML deals. Bring some guys in on minor league deals and start them in Charlotte - sure. But rest of this season and next should be used to get the fringe guys as any plate appearances as possible. Hopefully by 2019 we've found a 3 or 4 of those fringe guys that are worth keeping around. Seems right to me. I would like to see them sign maybe a pair of starters (and hopefully they have better luck than this year). For the rotation at the beginning of next year there is Rodon and Lopez ready. Shields is still there, but quite replaceable (obviously) they could have innings for guys like Clay Buchholz or Matt Moore. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/08/2017...agent-list.html Plenty of sign and flip candidates. More will likely come after the non-tender date.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Aug 14, 2017 -> 11:19 AM) Trout was also in the majors by the time he was Rutherfords age. Wait, so you are saying it is unlikely that he will turn out to be a historically great player? Rats.

QUOTE (Alexeihyeess @ Aug 13, 2017 -> 09:21 PM) Kyle Tucker. And Martes!

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Aug 12, 2017 -> 06:57 PM) Joked with a Cubs fan buddy of mine(who is a smart baseball fan) Huh? Does not compute...

QUOTE (steveno89 @ Aug 7, 2017 -> 02:06 PM) Outside of the hit/power tools he has below average speed, and is a poor defender. Hmm, I'll take Frank Thomas descriptions for $500 Alex.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 7, 2017 -> 02:29 AM) Who is the last MLB star to grow up in Wisconsin? Just curious. http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=m...itting/2017/ALL Austin Beck hasn't exactly distinguished himself so far, fwi. Royce Lewis, though, has had a strong pro debut for the Twins. Hunter Greene will start out as a DH and potentially reliever for Billings as early as Tuesday. Jordan Zimmerman?

Fun! Love how you set up your lineup. Of course there will be surprises and guys not completely panning out, but anyways... Moncada 2B, -- Great speed, good power, good OBP, start the opposition off terrified. Rutheford RF/CF -- Good swing, projects for great contact and some power (personally not worried about lack of HRs yet at all. Tons of 2B, first full pro season, more will translate) Jimenez LF -- Big power, great contact, high OBP, seems like he could be a prototypical 3 hitter for a long time. Abreu DH -- Dude can hit. I don't think that is going to change any time soon. Stable veteran presence in the middle of the order. Burger 3B -- Good power, good average, good OBP, off to a great start, I'm hoping it is a sign of things to come. Avi Garcia 1B -- Let's hope this isn't a mirage! If Avi keeps it together, or -gasp- even gets better, wow! Otherwise Gillaspie or Sheets (or even Collins) could fit in this spot. Robert/ Adolfo CF/RF -- Either could be great. Power, Speed (moreso for Robert obviously), lots of 2B, plenty of HR, either could be very dangerous. Nice to have both to go with Jimenez and Rutheford. This time last year, Call and Fisher would have been here, and they still may, but these guys have astronomical ceilings. Collins C -- Great OBP. Great Power. This time last year I bet we were hoping he would develop into a 3 hitter. He still may, but his bat 8th would be quite intimidating. Anderson SS -- Good power and speed combo. Doesn't need high avg or OBP here. When he gets on he sets the table and can get the SB when needed. There is a bit of flexibility here which is even better. Guys like Leury, Smith, DelMonico and Davidson could keep themselves in the lineup. Guys like Engel and Sanchez (or Saladino) are perfect bench pieces. Some other prospects will join the system, others will play themselves up, and likely some others out. Guys like Abreu and Avi could easily be traded loading up even more on prospects, but personally I like having a couple veteran bats in the lineup to bolster the kids. This is a fun exercise, and who knows how these kids are going to develop, but right now there is a lot of depth at several positions. There are probably 6 guys in this lineup that could end up as that "3 hitter" type player. And the pitching may even be better. If these guys hit their projections, this should be a fun team for quite a while, but that is obvious, and kind of the point of this whole deal.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Aug 4, 2017 -> 11:25 AM) Burger, Rutherford, Adolfo were taking turns having monster days while the site blew up. That Kanny offense is absurd. WS hasn't been bad either!

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jul 31, 2017 -> 12:04 PM) I'm kind of surprised how many people want Engel starting over Cordell. May be due to the reality that very few have seen Cordell play and the we have seen great defense and speed with some offensive potential out of Engel.

I expect a Meadows/ Tallion return for Melky from the Pirates. If for no other reason, so that we have an irrational anchor so others can be called sheep when the deal fails to live up to this very reasonable expectation.

QUOTE (steveno89 @ Jul 27, 2017 -> 02:45 PM) .500 is crazy talk for 2018. We very well could be WORSE next season because we will not be held up by veteran players. Could be better if they aren't being held down by veteran players.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 27, 2017 -> 02:45 PM) Yep, thanks to everyone. So apparently, the White Sox have the "riskiest" Top 1/2 farm system in the history of baseball. Typical. With the least experienced (Getz) or most lackluster (Buddy Bell/Laumann still hanging on?) as key decision-makers... You b****ing about the talent in the farm? Seems weird. Yeah, it could all miss. It always could. That is why they are prospects. That is why you get 4 of them for good players. If Moncada and Kopech were guaranteed to meet their ceilings, there is no way they get traded. That is how it works

Seby seems too good for A ball. Also, does anyone think the picture of Collins on the WS site make him look a lot like Hamilton "the great hambino" Porter?