2017 MLB DRAFT

[NCsoxfan]

Haseley's going to go 6-9 according to nearly everyone, correct?

 

Hostetler hyped Beck a lot, smokescreen to draw attention off Kendall? The problem with THAT particular theory is that nearly everyone is baseball knows we're after him, and unless the A's took him at 6th, he's quite likely to be there for the White Sox to take at 11th. No matter what the tool package, kids at the high school level with that much hype pan out about 10% of the time.

 

Guys like Smith and to a lesser extent Haseley...did they peak this year? How well will their power translate with wooden bats at corner positions (LF/RF and 1B).

 

With the insurance of Robert already in the fold, it does seem that you at least have the option to take the higher floor/lower ceiling choice in a Pavin Smith, but it's still highly unlikely either of those options are there.

 

As we've already gone through with Rodon/Fulmer and all of our pitching prospects (up and downs), taking Faedo at 11 when he's only throwing 90-92 is scary as heck. Having Robert AND Kendall, the odds are super high at least one of them makes it, if not both.

 

Where do you get this 10% figure? Excluding HS players and focusing on higher floor players to fit a certain timeframe seems like a poor recipe over the long haul.

[caulfield12]

Where do you get this 10% figure? Excluding HS players and focusing on higher floor players to fit a certain timeframe seems like a poor recipe over the long haul.

 

35 years of experience following baseball?

[fathom]

Really ugly AB from Kendall. Missed an 88 mph high fastball and then missed a slider by a lot

[NCsoxfan]

35 years of experience following baseball?

 

I don't doubt you follow baseball and know a lot. 10% hit rate on highly touted HS hitters taken in the top 10ish just seems extremely low.

[bmags]

Kendall with a rocket to center for an RBI base hit. He also looks extremely smooth in center.

[fathom]

For 2018 but that Missouri St shortstop was awesome

[bmags]

You guys think we draft ACE alumn Ro Coleman in the 11+ round territory?

[bmags]

For 2018 but that Missouri St shortstop was awesome

 

Yes he is

[shoeless_joe21]

You guys think we draft ACE alumn Ro Coleman in the 11+ round territory?

I'd be on board with that. He's been fun to watch.

[fathom]

You guys think we draft ACE alumn Ro Coleman in the 11+ round territory?

 

Definitely

[maggsmaggs]

Was watching a "Day in the Life" of Jeren Kendall from high school, and in the video, he has some Bears memorabilia in his room. The video later shows him taking batting practice, wearing none other than a White Sox hat.

 

I'm sold.

 

[Chicago White Sox]

Is Kendall's agent Boras? If so, that's a big turnoff for me.

[iamshack]

Is Kendall's agent Boras? If so, that's a big turnoff for me.

He's a fact of life though...there is not much use in trying to continue to avoid him as we did in the past.

 

One other issue, I wonder if Kendall's stock has risen as a result of his recent play.

[caulfield12]

Cue speech about Rodon and a few other White Sox players with Boros as their agent...

[bmags]

He's a fact of life though...there is not much use in trying to continue to avoid him as we did in the past.

 

One other issue, I wonder if Kendall's stock has risen as a result of his recent play.

 

Just listening to the Callis interviews by FS and SSS, I would be very surprised. Callis is just one guy, but he talked specifically about changing opinions due to tourney play (Bukauskus), and that most scouts would be offended with the idea that their judgment is just results based.

 

That, and the k's have been slightly lower but still some bad ones last night.

 

BUt for me, I've loved watching him. I am not someone that could really give much of an opinion on defensive ability, but he does look remarkably confident in his tracking and routes to the ball. He just seems to know exactly where it will go, coming forward, going back, didn't matter.

 

 

[Chicago White Sox]

He's a fact of life though...there is not much use in trying to continue to avoid him as we did in the past.

 

One other issue, I wonder if Kendall's stock has risen as a result of his recent play.

It's not about avoiding Boras for me, it's about selecting a guy with serious boom-bust potential in the first round who is unlikely to ever agree to an extension. I was 100% for selecting Rodon with the understanding we'd probably only control him for 6 1/2 years. He provided a rare mix of floor & ceiling and was hands down the BPA at his spot. The same can't be said about Kendall, who may have the loudest tools but also has some serious question marks. If he was hands down the BPA or we were talking about a 2nd round pick, I'd be fine with it. But when comparable overall talents should be available at #11, I'd rather avoid the Boras risk if possible.

Edited June 6, 2017 by Chicago White Sox

[steveno89]

It's not about avoiding Boras for me, it's about selecting a guy with serious boom-bust potential in the first round who is unlikely to ever agree to an extension. I was 100% for selecting Rodon with the understanding we'd probably only control him for 6 1/2 years. He provided a rare mix of floor & ceiling and was hands down the BPA at his spot. The same can't be said about Kendall, who may have the loudest tools but also has some serious question marks. If he was hands down the BPA or we were talking about a 2nd round pick, I'd be fine with it. But when comparable overall talents should be available at #11, I'd rather avoid the Boras risk if possible.

 

In the mlb draft who is not a risk though? Even many first round draft picks never make it to the major league level, either due to lack of ability or injury.

 

Every potential pick is a risk when drafting that high, but we need to weight both potential risk vs. potential upside and go for the best overall option.

 

I obviously have concerns about the swing and miss in Kendall's game, but there's no denying that the rest of his game is average or well above average.

[caulfield12]

Isn't the "good/younger/healthy" Austin Jackson a pretty good comp for Kendall...?

[Y2Jimmy0]

Isn't the "good/younger/healthy" Austin Jackson a pretty good comp for Kendall...?

 

 

Kendall is left-handed and I think his arm is better. I really like the Ellsbury comp actually.

[Y2Jimmy0]

It's not about avoiding Boras for me, it's about selecting a guy with serious boom-bust potential in the first round who is unlikely to ever agree to an extension. I was 100% for selecting Rodon with the understanding we'd probably only control him for 6 1/2 years. He provided a rare mix of floor & ceiling and was hands down the BPA at his spot. The same can't be said about Kendall, who may have the loudest tools but also has some serious question marks. If he was hands down the BPA or we were talking about a 2nd round pick, I'd be fine with it. But when comparable overall talents should be available at #11, I'd rather avoid the Boras risk if possible.

 

 

Will there be comparable talents on the board though? I don't believe there will be. Jake Burger and Evan White are significant steps down from Kendall ability wise. Austin Beck and Jordon Adell have similar issues and are further away.

[bmags]

Dealing with Boras is mainly annoying because you know he'll suck up every bit of bonus but good for him.

 

But I just can't say that I'd want signability after 6.5 years of mlb control to be a driving factor.

 

If Kendal gave us two 4-5 WAR seasons that drove him out of our range to re-sign him that means we had a hell of a player for 2 years and that is worth going for. If he never makes it to the league...then it didn't matter.

 

I understand your argument CWS but to me it was worse with Rodon because he seemed so certain to drive himself into the MLB early while still developing. We see that now. But for Kendall I think it's less of a concern, there is low rationale to fast track him like Rodon.

[steveno89]

Dealing with Boras is mainly annoying because you know he'll suck up every bit of bonus but good for him.

 

But I just can't say that I'd want signability after 6.5 years of mlb control to be a driving factor.

 

If Kendal gave us two 4-5 WAR seasons that drove him out of our range to re-sign him that means we had a hell of a player for 2 years and that is worth going for. If he never makes it to the league...then it didn't matter.

 

I understand your argument CWS but to me it was worse with Rodon because he seemed so certain to drive himself into the MLB early while still developing. We see that now. But for Kendall I think it's less of a concern, there is low rationale to fast track him like Rodon.

 

When drafting a player I don't think who his agent is should have a significant impact on whether you draft him or not. With the way draft slotting works now there's really not much argument for a player taken #11 overall that they deserve anything over slot when ten teams passed on said player.

 

If a player performs well enough that resigning him after 6 1/2 seasons becomes a concern I would say that is an excellent problem to have because you squeezed some serious production out of that guy on the cheap.

[Chicago White Sox]

Will there be comparable talents on the board though? I don't believe there will be. Jake Burger and Evan White are significant steps down from Kendall ability wise. Austin Beck and Jordon Adell have similar issues and are further away.

I mean overall in terms of ceiling and floor. No doubt Kendall has more ability than guys like Burger & White, but I think they both have much better chances of becoming solid major leaguers (and normally I prefer going for upside in the 1st, but in a weak draft, floor might be the way to go). To me, they're all roughly the same caliber of prospect, but I'm also someone who has serious concerns over college bats with swing & miss issues. And right or wrong, the fact that our organization still hasn't show it can develop these type of players makes me even more concerned with someone like Kendall.

 

Honestly, I think this may be the perfect draft to target a Burger or White type guy for an underslot deal and then gamble on some high upside high schoolers later in the draft. For whatever reason, White is super intriguing to me, especially if you believe he can be an above-average OF defensively. I'd much rather gamble on his power concerns than Kendall's swing and miss issues.

[NCsoxfan]

Will there be comparable talents on the board though? I don't believe there will be. Jake Burger and Evan White are significant steps down from Kendall ability wise. Austin Beck and Jordon Adell have similar issues and are further away.

 

Beck and Adell you can argue are greater talents with higher ceilings, just with lower floors/significantly higher bust risk by virtue of being HS players.

[Chicago White Sox]

Dealing with Boras is mainly annoying because you know he'll suck up every bit of bonus but good for him.

 

But I just can't say that I'd want signability after 6.5 years of mlb control to be a driving factor.

 

If Kendal gave us two 4-5 WAR seasons that drove him out of our range to re-sign him that means we had a hell of a player for 2 years and that is worth going for. If he never makes it to the league...then it didn't matter.

 

I understand your argument CWS but to me it was worse with Rodon because he seemed so certain to drive himself into the MLB early while still developing. We see that now. But for Kendall I think it's less of a concern, there is low rationale to fast track him like Rodon.

By no means do I think Boras should be a #1 consideration, but I think it should definitely be a factor when dealing with comparable players on your board. I do think the bonus pool concern is a great call-out, taking a Boras client in the first typically impacts the rest of your draft pool flexibility.

 

As for Rodon specifically, I agree with your point, I guess I envisioned a smoother transition to the majors than most. I fully expect Kendall requiring a couple painful years in the majors to adjust even if all goes well. And that may be fine if you're confident that you'll get a good four elite seasons out of him, but I simply don't have that confidence.