Keith Law Top 100

[bmags]

Seems to criticize Moncada for striking out, but has Meadows ranked above him who has been awful in his first 5 minor league games batting .056 and striking out 9 time in 20 plate appearances

 

Collins has been pretty impressive so far in 6 games, having thrown out 3-4 potential base stealers, only allowing a runner to advance with runners on third and first and he faked the throw to second

 

yeah.

[bmags]

Not sure how he can criticize Moncada's bat wrapping tendencies and be okay with Bellinger's swing long-term (it's got a serious hitch and wraps a bit as well) but that's just me.

 

The SO criticisms are certainly warranted, but from what I've seen he's not chasing pitches - guy actually has great plate discipline, which tends to translate to fixing problems like that. The strike out to end last night was the perfect example: he worked a deep count and got a bad call by the ump.

 

I agree with you, but this board is insane with the trashing any negative write-ups on players or prospects as biased and chasing any good reports as the "real" reports.

 

He has Moncada ranked THIRTEENTH. He obviously thinks he is good.

[Y2Jimmy0]

I agree with you, but this board is insane with the trashing any negative write-ups on players or prospects as biased and chasing any good reports as the "real" reports.

 

He has Moncada ranked THIRTEENTH. He obviously thinks he is good.

 

 

Yep. He also thinks Kopech is otherworldly. If his Sox reports are correct, this team is going to be very good.

[ChiSoxFanMike]

Do you think Moncada will be able to reduce his K rate in the minors? Or will he always be the type to swing and miss a lot? Frankly I don't care as long as he does damage when he puts the bat on the ball.

[Y2Jimmy0]

Do you think Moncada will be able to reduce his K rate in the minors? Or will he always be the type to swing and miss a lot? Frankly I don't care as long as he does damage when he puts the bat on the ball.

 

 

He could reduce it a little bit. He's not like swing crazy though. He has high OBP's. Guys that are patient and take a lot of pitches tend to strikeout a lot. If he was making weak contact and grounding out a ton people would be praising him for not striking out. It really doesn't make any sense.

[ChiSoxFanMike]

He could reduce it a little bit. He's not like swing crazy though. He has high OBP's. Guys that are patient and take a lot of pitches tend to strikeout a lot. If he was making weak contact and grounding out a ton people would be praising him for not striking out. It really doesn't make any sense.

True. Like I said, if he hits .300 with a plethora of extra base hits and gets on base at a solid clip, I really wouldn't care if he struck out 30% of the time. I do like his left handed swing much better than from the right side though.

[southsider2k5]

Do you think Moncada will be able to reduce his K rate in the minors? Or will he always be the type to swing and miss a lot? Frankly I don't care as long as he does damage when he puts the bat on the ball.

 

The dude is so green, and has just blasted through the minors. It is hard to tell what he will be able to do with the arc he is on, until it actually happens.

 

EDIT. He has played 193 games total in the minors.

[chetkincaid]

The dude is so green, and has just blasted through the minors. It is hard to tell what he will be able to do with the arc he is on, until it actually happens.

 

EDIT. He has played 193 games total in the minors.

 

I just don't want them to rush him. Please don't rush him. Let him get the proper seasoning in the minors. I'd hate for him to become another Gordon Beckham.

[OmarComing25]

I still don't understand why people think Beckham was rushed. It's not like he was overmatched when he came up, he hit .270/.347/.460 in his rookie season in over 400 PA.

[ptatc]

I agree with you, but this board is insane with the trashing any negative write-ups on players or prospects as biased and chasing any good reports as the "real" reports.

 

He has Moncada ranked THIRTEENTH. He obviously thinks he is good.

In general he ranks potential higher. In Moncada's case he flopped in the MLB debut. Kopech still hasn't proven anything but he goes by what he could be. He likes to sensationalize the potential which is what people who follow the minors like.

[Y2Jimmy0]

In general he ranks potential higher. In Moncada's case he flopped in the MLB debut. Kopech still hasn't proven anything but he goes by what he could be. He likes to sensationalize the potential which is what people who follow the minors like.

 

 

He was the low guy on Moncada prior to his big league time.

[Rowand44]

I still don't understand why people think Beckham was rushed. It's not like he was overmatched when he came up, he hit .270/.347/.460 in his rookie season in over 400 PA.

He wasn't.

[Dick Allen]

Keith Law updated his top 50. Basically didn't move any players around from his top 100 but he took out guys that have graduated from prospect status like Swanson, Bell, Benintendi etc: http://www.espn.com/blog/keith-law/insider/post?id=6988

 

#5 Michael Kopech

 

Best upside of any starter in high minors

Potential for 3 plus pitches

#1 starter build and delivery that works

Command and secondary offerings not major league ready

Struck out 10/18 batters in AA debut

Top 5 starter in baseball upside

 

#11 Lucas Giolito

 

Up and down showing in spring training

Working on restoring old delivery

Low 90's 2 seamer more and mid 90's 4 seamer less

Transition could mean more AAA time

 

#13 Yoan Moncada

 

White Sox bumped Moncada to AAA even though he came into year with just 53 games above A ball

Doing what he usually does, making hard contact when he makes contact and striking out more than you'd like

Playing 2B full time again.

 

Law gets criticized by Sox fans because he doesn't think Lopez and Fulmer are starters and he's the low man in the industry on Moncada. He's the high man on Kopech though and still believes in Giolito when many don't. But yes, he hates the Sox.

Law was down on the White Sox when KW was in charge. Just look at all his ridiculousness regarding Chris Sale. Even when it was clear he was wrong, he didn't budge for another year or 2.

 

I don't see much if any bias now, but for a while there, he definitely had a chip on his shoulder regarding the White Sox. It didn't help that most of their prospects did suck, but the ones that didn't, he was down on them all.

Edited April 12, 2017 by Dick Allen

[bmags]

He wasn't.

 

Sox make a big deal about wanting players to face adversity in minors before majors, that seems to be their takeaway with Beckham. I guess waiting for AAA to catch up to him could have done that, but moving him aggressively should have as well.

[ChiSoxFanMike]

Law was down on the White Sox when KW was in charge. Just look at all his ridiculousness regarding Chris Sale. Even when it was clear he was wrong, he didn't budge for another year or 2.

 

I don't see much if any bias now, but for a while there, he definitely had a chip on his shoulder regarding the White Sox. It didn't help that most of their prospects did suck, but the ones that didn't, he was down on them all.

Law was the guy that said Sale would be a future reliever. LMAO.

[bmags]

I think Law's framework for pitchers makes sense as a drafting philosophy (taller, mechanically sound pitchers tend to make majors more), but as a talent evaluator through minors I think it's a little boring. Its too rigid and doesn't put much thought into why different types of pitchers may be effective.

 

I like the BA guys for pitchers more, and law and longenhagen for hitters. Worth noting that both law and longenhagen aren't high on Robert.

[Y2Jimmy0]

Law was the guy that said Sale would be a future reliever. LMAO.

 

 

He did. He said it before he was drafted too though. It wasn't like he loved Chris Sale and then changed his mind after the Sox drafted him. That's how people act.

[ChiSoxFanMike]

He did. He said it before he was drafted too though. It wasn't like he loved Chris Sale and then changed his mind after the Sox drafted him. That's how people act.

Goes to show how some of these "experts" aren't always right like some people make them out to be.

[Soha]

He did. He said it before he was drafted too though. It wasn't like he loved Chris Sale and then changed his mind after the Sox drafted him. That's how people act.

 

Right. And to be fair, isn't the widespread perception that Chris Sale might/probably will be a reliever the only reason he dropped to #13?

[Dick Allen]

He did. He said it before he was drafted too though. It wasn't like he loved Chris Sale and then changed his mind after the Sox drafted him. That's how people act.

He also said it after he had been successful in the major leagues. Good thing Bauman was handling that draft for the White Sox and not the immortal Keith Law.

[bmags]

And Laumann thought Courtney Hawkins was better than Corey Seager. It's weird, almost like amateur players sometimes fail and succeed in a way that is difficult to predict.

[Y2Jimmy0]

He also said it after he had been successful in the major leagues. Good thing Bauman was handling that draft for the White Sox and not the immortal Keith Law.

 

 

When did I call him immortal? I sense an edginess that I don't really find warranted.

[ptatc]

He was the low guy on Moncada prior to his big league time.

Yes, he was. I'm just referring to his philosophy in general. You'll see the guys like Kopech who are lower in the minors talked about more than the ones in the upper minors. He values the potential more and likes to push it.

[Dick Allen]

And Laumann thought Courtney Hawkins was better than Corey Seager. It's weird, almost like amateur players sometimes fail and succeed in a way that is difficult to predict.

He was calling on Sale to fail when he was succeeding. Way, way, way off.

 

It's one thing to say a guy has potential (Hawkins) to be great, has a ton of tools, and they fail.

 

Just look what he wrote about Sale's slider. He said it sucked, and always will suck. His ceiling for Sale's slider, turned out to be way lower than the actual floor.

[steveno89]

He was calling on Sale to fail when he was succeeding. Way, way, way off.

 

It's one thing to say a guy has potential (Hawkins) to be great, has a ton of tools, and they fail.

 

Just look what he wrote about Sale's slider. He said it sucked, and always will suck. His ceiling for Sale's slider, turned out to be way lower than the actual floor.

 

I'm more confident about Moncada being a very solid major league player than I am about Kopech ever reaching his ceiling

 

I hope he does, but there is still quite a bit of development to go for Kopech. He has barely thrown in the minors yet and needs another two full seasons of reps to get his innings totals up.

 

Giolito I am concerned about. His delivery lacks deception, and his fastball velocity is in the low 90's. He is not showing top of the rotation stuff.