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QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 4, 2018 -> 11:34 AM) Kiley specifically may now have better info sources to pull on fresh out of a front office, but after last 2 years I don't really trust that people have good gauges on sox draft preferences. I mean, what we'd think at this point would be: - Emphasis on advanced approach at plate with power - Tend to pick from schools with trackman/statcast data - Confident they can get average defensive players to stick in more valuable positions - Value college relievers - Power arms? Can't tell if this is real or just a factor of going after relievers But what theoretically we should also expect this year: - A shift toward younger players as we have been very college heavy and Hostetler has mentioned as such - A move away from college outfielders where we have a huge bottleneck but would these tendencies show up in the first pick? Who knows. (College relievers, for instance, would not) I wouldn't be surprised or upset if we went college bat with the first pick (even if it is OF), but then go HS heavy in the other rounds. It would get us a good mix of security with the college bat (with potential bonus savings), but also upside with HS guys that have some holes but also some good tools.

QUOTE (steveno89 @ Apr 4, 2018 -> 09:48 AM) It seems like arms are going to be the top of this class, we should not be foolish and reach for a lesser player out of need. With a top 5 pick we should take the best talent. Yeah, but I think most feel at this point that Mize will be gone by our pick. There is a ton of talk connecting him to the Tigers and maybe more connecting Liberatore to the Giants, so we're kind of talking about other guys. Don't get infatuated with someone we probably aren't going to get.

I don't know how I would feel about a retractable roof rule, but they could make it more nuanced than what everyone is talking about. They could require that every new stadium north of a certain point or with certain average temperatures is built with a retractable roof. Stadiums that already exist don't have to have retractable roofs but you could incentivize them to do so by offering those stadiums all star games or not allowing them at stadiums without retractable roofs for a long period of time. Something along those lines would hopefully get enough teams to get domes that teams like the Cubs or Red Sox could keep their stadiums but play most of the series at the start of the year in warm weather or domed stadiums. Combine that with series at the beginning of the year being matched to midsummer series so that the series locations could just be switched and ticket holders could be alerted to this when purchasing tickets, and most of the weather related cancellations should be gone.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Apr 3, 2018 -> 05:36 PM) To be honest, I was never quite sold on Burger. At least not as a long term 3B. Losing a year of development hurts a bit too. Bohm seems to be much more highly regarded at this point as well. Though I'm still awaiting more of a consensus on his defensive acumen. Well so far in his career he has posted fielding percentages of .859 | .959 | .925 I know fielding percentage isn't a great measure, but he is pretty consistently low (the second year was probably inflated by playing ~20% of his games at first base) and he doesn't look great on video. I also don't really understand why everyone is talking about him having massive power when he has put up good power numbers, but nothing spectacular. Unless its something they see and think they can change to bring out more power, but that seems like added risk to such a high pick.

It would suck if there is an obvious top 3. Either get don't get any of them, or we probably have to go over slot to sign one. Eric also said he could see Connor Scott going in the top half dozen or so picks, so he might be in that second tier too.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 2, 2018 -> 05:47 PM) If the Sox are responsible for his option, they owe Shields $12 million more. If not, they owe him $10 million. At $12 million, we are talking about $2 million a month. Honestly I think they keep him around long enough to see if a miracle happens, and then when someone is ready, off goes Shields to unemploymnent. I'm pretty sure San Diego is covering the option buyout.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Apr 2, 2018 -> 10:22 AM) Can he have an agent while in high school and still go to college and play there? They have "advisers" which are agents that they don't sign with until they decide they are going to sign with a team.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Apr 2, 2018 -> 05:48 AM) That was not the suggestion by the poster above. The suggestion was that Thomas say he is going to college, don't draft me. If Thomas simply said, he only wants to be drafted by the Sox, there is nothing inherently wrong with that, but again, that was not the original suggestion and that would involve no deceit. I mean saying he wants to go to college and then signing isn't deceitful either. It happens to several players every year where they tell teams not to draft them, but they still do and try to make them an offer they can't refuse.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Apr 2, 2018 -> 06:54 AM) It’s way too early to write Rutherford off. For whatever reason, the kid was overhyped since draft day and I think those unrealistic expectations have caused some people to view him as a flop due to his poor 2017 production. This is going to be a huge year for him as he needs to show some level of improvement in the power department. Playing half his games at BB&T Ballpark should help out. The raw power is there, just needs to find a way to harness it. From every report out of spring training and the hitters camp, the raw power isn't there. I think it was Kiley at Fangraphs who said after seeing him at the hitters camp he would put a 45 on his future power. So his upside comp as a below average power corner OF is basically Christian Yelich. That is a hard profile to achieve.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 1, 2018 -> 05:16 AM) He will give up all his remaining money if he refuses to go to the minors and becomes a free agent. That would be dumb. I dont think people realize this. Only way he becomes a free agent is if he vacates the rest of his contract, and with how bad he is doing right now, he would be an idiot to give that money up. If for some reason he did, then sure, I would be willing to take a flier on him just to see what we have to work with.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 31, 2018 -> 02:44 PM) Austin Beck struggled last year in AZL, Jordan/Jo Adell performed much better. Those were the two high school picks who came before Burger last year. What is the comp for Adams? https://247sports.com/Player/Jordyn-Adams-91462 Kenny Williams pick? Seems like he committed (for now) to UNC for football...baseball as well? I feel like we won't hear much about him because he is probably going to college. With how good he is at football, its probably best for him to go to college to see which he is better at.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Mar 30, 2018 -> 04:14 PM) Mize Liberatore McClanahan Gorman Hankins I think Singer is barely top ten, he's hasn't been too hot. I like Rolison too. Kelenic is a top ten guy as well. If there is any team at the top that should know Kelenic its us. He is playing on a travel team instead of his high school team this year, so hopefully he faces some better competition and we can see what he's got. I really like him, but I also feel like he might be a reach because he kind of profiles similar to Blake Rutherford: might not have the speed to stick in center, might not have the bat to make it in a corner.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Mar 30, 2018 -> 12:10 PM) I know these rankings can & will change, but who are the top four guys at the moment? Mize, Liberatore, McClanahan, & Hankins/Gorman? Obviously it seems like we’ll probably end up with a pitcher and I’m fine with that. Adding another elite pitching prospect will give us the depth to move some arms to add a cost-controlled bat when the time is right. I'd say probably drop Gorman too, at least for now. There is concern from some about his ability to stay at third and some questions about his contact again. I bet we here more when all the scouts get back from NHSI, but for right now there does seem to be some growing uncertainty. My prediction for the next month or so is that Mize is going to continue to rise and establish himself as the #1, Liberatore will be linked to the Giants more, and McClanahan is going to establish himself as the best option available at #3. Eierman and Bohm are going to get talked about a ton, but both will fall off a little bit when scouts start scrutinizing them more.

Tim just took a walk! What even is this!

Interesting note, Hahn said they were going to try to have Pinto be a starter again. They're sending him down to WS so he can get stretched out again and then he will head to AAA. Also the Sox outrighed Jose Ruiz to Winston-Salem, so the 40 man currently is at 39.

QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 29, 2018 -> 08:52 AM) Agree with everything here. Bigger issue is sox didn't know, with Robert, if they could commit to guys. This year will ideally be different. We already know a few they are tied to, but i'd guess quite a bit more are signed that we'll hear about throughout the year. Totally agree with your second paragraph. I think Kiley had that in a chat recently. He added up price of running a DSL team, said they could load it up with a lot of the older prospects (18, etc) and just hope one hits and the math would probably show the investment was worth it. I had been thinking about that idea even before he said it, but then I heard him on a podcast and what he said really sold me. He was saying how a lot of the older kids that break out are signed for very little money because they develop after they turn 16 (like many draft prospects) but because they were already passed over for their initial J2 period, no one pays attention. So it basically turns into whoever can see the kid first gets to sign him for a small amount and hide him from other teams. It kind of makes you reconsider how much of a long shot all of these prospects really where when they comment how they only signed for a few thousand. What really might have been the case is that they developed later and the first team that saw that got them cheap. I think that is an area we should really try to exploit because we are never going to have the top level of bonus money and we don't have the name recognition of other teams.

QUOTE (BamaDoc @ Mar 29, 2018 -> 08:34 AM) I saw someone mention that the cross town team, who was also in the international penalty, signed 36 or so international talents. Obviously, they are under 300k (if done legally cough cough Braves) and show some teams take a quantity approach. I don't know how many we signed beyond a kid from Aruba, but if we can't find at least a dozen then I question our scouting ability. I have long advocated setting up a couple of academies to get the kids in contact with us early, teach baseball, english, and some basics(nutrition) so if they do get over hear there is less culture shock. The Moncada twinkie story was cute but if it had continued could have prevented him from reaching his potential. If a kids potential is a 1-2 war player that matters. We have signed like 10 kids. I think the bigger problem for us was that we didn't know if we were getting Robert or in what period, so we didn't agree to any deals early. The Cubs had the benefit of knowing they were going to be in the penalty to find some guys they could lock up for under $300K. Personally, I would like us to get a second DSL team and sign a ton of guys for small amounts. I believe that anyone signed under $10K doesn't even have their bonus count against the pool, so we could find anyone with an inkling of talent and try to sign them for that and see what we can have them do.

Nolan Gorman is playing in the NHSI right now. Link can be found here

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Mar 28, 2018 -> 09:02 PM) Ugh... figures I was all in on him on the fan bandwagon for quite a while and now he's getting 1-1 hype. Anyone that we want at #4 is probably going to get at least some 1-1 hype. That said, a lot of people are connecting him to the Giants and it might end up being the case where they tell him he won't make it past them.

Did anyone catch the whole top 10 they were showing? I think I got the top 6 but I'm not certain 1) Mize 2) Madrigal 3) Liberatore 4) McClanahan 5) Swaggerty 6) Bohm

Its so funny watching like two dozen radar guns right behind home plate be put down after each pitch

He was also #15 on the Phillies 2016 Pipeline list. I wonder if we'll try to teach him a cutter so that he actually can get some movement on his fastball. Could be an interesting relief profile and maybe a swing guy.

Liberatore's team plays in the NHSI today. MLB is streaming the game. You can find the link on this page. I don't know if he is pitching, but I'll tune it to check it out.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 28, 2018 -> 11:00 AM) Much like Michael Kopech last year, he needs to get to 150 innings before we start talking about him being a major leaguer. Yeah, to me he needs to hit that in the minors before we worry about bringing him up. Since they say you shouldn't increase a pitcher's innings more than 50% year over year, this year we are probably shooting for him pitching a strong ~130 innings (more if he keeps the pitch count low, less if he can't). That would put him on track to pitch a solid chunk of 2019 at AAA and then maybe come up in the bullpen or for some starts at the end of the year. 2020 is really when we should look for him to be a real part of the rotation.