Jordan Stephens and Blake Hickman

[KnightsOnMintSt]

I really hope that these guys really start to get more recognition.

 

Stephens has done so well at the Double-A level with a 0.98 ERA through 3 starts.

 

Hickman, not including tonight, with a 1.93 ERA through 3 starts as well. He is also allowing just 1 BB per start.

 

Always nice to have depth, especially considering we already have Giolito, Kopech, Fulmer, Lopez, Dunning, and Hansen.

[hi8is]

I really hope that these guys really start to get more recognition.

 

Stephens has done so well at the Double-A level with a 0.98 ERA through 3 starts.

 

Hickman, not including tonight, with a 1.93 ERA through 3 starts as well. He is also allowing just 1 BB per start.

 

Always nice to have depth, especially considering we already have Giolito, Kopech, Fulmer, Lopez, Dunning, and Hansen.

They are the two most underrated players in our system right now IMO but by this time next year, they'll become household names.

[Quin]

Until this year, I always had Hickman as my #30 so he would be on FutureSox's honorable mentions.

[turnin' two]

Until this year, I always had Hickman as my #30 so he would be on FutureSox's honorable mentions.

 

 

I have to say, I don't quite get all the Hickman love. I know he is a great story, but he has made, what, 3 starts? I saw people saying he was a better prospect than Danish at one time. Danish is younger and performing pretty well in AAA. Stephens has been injured this year, but he was fairly dominant last season at WS. I don't see how Hickman is in the same category of prospect as Stephens.

 

I have to plead a bit of ignorance on him, does he throw 98? Plus plus slider? Plus command? Why is everyone so high on guy that took 2 years to recover from a TJ surgery who is now a 23 year old in the Sally? He doesn't seem to K guys at a high rate (now, or at Iowa, and at Iowa he really walked guys at an alarming rate) and doesn't have a huge history or pedigree.

 

Sorry if this came off snarky, I don't mean it that way, I am just legitimately curious and likely uninformed.

Edited June 18, 2017 by turnin' two

[Feeky Magee]

I have to say, I don't quite get all the Hickman love. I know he is a great story, but he has made, what, 3 starts? I saw people saying he was a better prospect than Danish at one time. Danish is younger and performing pretty well in AAA. Stephens has been injured this year, but he was fairly dominant last season at WS. I don't see how Hickman is in the same category of prospect as Stephens.

 

I have to plead a bit of ignorance on him, does he throw 98? Plus plus slider? Plus command? Why is everyone so high on guy that took 2 years to recover from a TJ surgery who is now a 23 year old in the Sally? He doesn't seem to K guys at a high rate (now, or at Iowa, and at Iowa he really walked guys at an alarming rate) and doesn't have a huge history or pedigree.

 

Sorry if this came off snarky, I don't mean it that way, I am just legitimately curious and likely uninformed.

I'm with you.

[caulfield12]

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/c...urgery-20170617

Hickman returns with a flourish from TJS

 

 

“I feel like my first three starts I have thrown the ball pretty well, especially considering I missed close to two years,” Hickman said. “I’m commanding the strike zone pretty well and getting guys out. That’s all I can ask for is putting up zeroes.

 

“My changeup has come a long way. That was something I worked very hard on during my throwing program. It actually has become my second pitch and my strikeout pitch.”

 

Hickman said his velocity has consistently been 90 to 93 miles per hour, which is down a tick from pre-surgery, but he threw 95 in spring training. Speaking of spring training, he was disappointed not to get assigned anywhere at its conclusion this year, with the White Sox intent the weather was warm and he was 100 percent ready to go before sending him earlier this month to low-Class A.

 

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=m...tching/2017/ALL

Edited June 18, 2017 by caulfield12

[southsider2k5]

I have to say, I don't quite get all the Hickman love. I know he is a great story, but he has made, what, 3 starts? I saw people saying he was a better prospect than Danish at one time. Danish is younger and performing pretty well in AAA. Stephens has been injured this year, but he was fairly dominant last season at WS. I don't see how Hickman is in the same category of prospect as Stephens.

 

I have to plead a bit of ignorance on him, does he throw 98? Plus plus slider? Plus command? Why is everyone so high on guy that took 2 years to recover from a TJ surgery who is now a 23 year old in the Sally? He doesn't seem to K guys at a high rate (now, or at Iowa, and at Iowa he really walked guys at an alarming rate) and doesn't have a huge history or pedigree.

 

Sorry if this came off snarky, I don't mean it that way, I am just legitimately curious and likely uninformed.

 

Hickman was looked at as a top 3 round pick before he was drafted. The injury and surgery pushed him back, but there is a decent amount of upside there.

[caulfield12]

The Intimidators can clinch the division and a postseason berth with a win tomorrow. The postseason trip would be the first for the franchise since 2009.

 

Kannapolis concludes its seven-game homestand with the final game of a three-game series against West Virginia on Sunday at 2:05 p.m. Gates open at 1 p.m. Tickets are available by calling the F&M Bank Box Office at 704-932-3267 or by visiting IntimidatorsBaseball.com

 

 

Btw, Kanny playing for 1st half division championship, playoff spot today.

Edited June 18, 2017 by caulfield12

[Feeky Magee]

Hickman was looked at as a top 3 round pick before he was drafted. The injury and surgery pushed him back, but there is a decent amount of upside there.

Whatever about where he was potentially viewed by some observers before a surgery (based it would seem on projection rather than any sort of college performance, which was seriously mediocre and actually regressed from 2014 to 2015), he is now a nearly 24-year-old (albeit with age caveats) throwing 90-93 in single A striking out 3.3 per 9. I don't see him as any sort of prospect without serious improvement.

[southsider2k5]

Whatever about where he was potentially viewed by some observers before a surgery (based it would seem on projection rather than any sort of college performance, which was seriously mediocre and actually regressed from 2014 to 2015), he is now a nearly 24-year-old (albeit with age caveats) throwing 90-93 in single A striking out 3.3 per 9. I don't see him as any sort of prospect without serious improvement.

 

Writing someone off based on their velocity and K rate for their first 3 starts pro surgery is more premature than a virgin on prom night.

[Dick Allen]

Whatever about where he was potentially viewed by some observers before a surgery (based it would seem on projection rather than any sort of college performance, which was seriously mediocre and actually regressed from 2014 to 2015), he is now a nearly 24-year-old (albeit with age caveats) throwing 90-93 in single A striking out 3.3 per 9. I don't see him as any sort of prospect without serious improvement.

He's no Eddy Alvarez,

[Feeky Magee]

Writing someone off based on their velocity and K rate for their first 3 starts pro surgery is more premature than a virgin on prom night.

I'm not, I'm just saying I'm not seeing where the love is coming from, as of yet. And I'm also factoring in the 16 starts he made at Iowa in 2016 with a 5.5 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9. And the 8.9 K/9 to 6.0 BB/9 out of the pen in 2014. And that was all before the surgery. What is it exactly that makes him a prospect as of this point?

[Feeky Magee]

He's no Eddy Alvarez,

Let's make a bet. 3 hours of future minimum wage* says Alvarez spends more time on the active roster than Hickman when all is said and done.

 

*should be $100 minimum under President Sanders in 10 years.

[Dick Allen]

Let's make a bet. 3 hours of future minimum wage* says Alvarez spends more time on the active roster than Hickman when all is said and done.

 

*should be $100 minimum under President Sanders in 10 years.

You do realize Hickman only pitched full time his last year at Iowa. I don't bet on any of these guys, but I do know all the things you criticized Hickman about as a pitcher, could easily be used to critique your 27 year old .220 hitting AA infielder mancrush.

 

I would bet 30 out of 30 GMs would trade Alvarez for Hickman.

Edited June 19, 2017 by Dick Allen

[Quin]

I like Alvarez and Blake. Both are two classy dudes.

[Feeky Magee]

You do realize Hickman only pitched full time his last year at Iowa. I don't bet on any of these guys, but I do know all the things you criticized Hickman about as a pitcher, could easily be used to critique your 27 year old .220 hitting AA infielder mancrush.

 

I would bet 30 out of 30 GMs would trade Alvarez for Hickman.

You do realise that Eddy Alvarez didn't play college baseball at all and has put up above league-average lines at EVERY stop (including his current one, with a .345 OBP and a below-average BABIP with improved power and good scouting reports on defence)? I hype him more out of how incredible his story is than his MLB future (I think his peak is a utility infielder, and his demotion was not a good sign for what the Sox think of him), but he stands a hell of a lot better chance than Hickman imo.

[southsider2k5]

Let's make a bet. 3 hours of future minimum wage* says Alvarez spends more time on the active roster than Hickman when all is said and done.

 

*should be $100 minimum under President Sanders in 10 years.

 

My bet would be that neither makes it.

[southsider2k5]

You do realise that Eddy Alvarez didn't play college baseball at all and has put up above league-average lines at EVERY stop (including his current one, with a .345 OBP and a below-average BABIP with improved power and good scouting reports on defence)? I hype him more out of how incredible his story is than his MLB future (I think his peak is a utility infielder, and his demotion was not a good sign for what the Sox think of him), but he stands a hell of a lot better chance than Hickman imo.

 

Looking at the laundry list of players in front of him, he really has zero chance at major league time with the White Sox.

[bmags]

The future Sox board has an absurd tendency to suggest that any level 20-30/fringe prospect ever getting mentioned more than once like totally is overrating them as we all know you should only talk about players in proportion to their future impact.

[bmags]

I mean throwing Hickman's k rate after 3 starts and missing his first two years is just so ridiculous. Hickman was an intriguing value with a nice story that lost 2 years not due to his own fault, and people are happy he's making a comeback. Gee what a wonder why people are rooting for him.

[Feeky Magee]

The future Sox board has an absurd tendency to suggest that any level 20-30/fringe prospect ever getting mentioned more than once like totally is overrating them as we all know you should only talk about players in proportion to their future impact.

I was specifically responding to suggestions in this thread that he's one of the two most underrated prospects in our system right now and would be a household name next year, with curiosity as to what that was based on. I quoted his K-rate after 4 starts (and added in his K and BB rates in circa 40 college appearances) in response to his ERA after 3 starts being quoted to show how well he was doing.

 

I'm sure he's a stand-up guy but sometimes I think there's a tendency to put too much stock in the draft rankings and potentially getting a steal versus guys already performing in the system. For example, more people putting Hickman in their top prospects than Brian Clark, meanwhile Clark is just 4 months older (again noting Hickman's age caveats) with a 8.3 K/9 v a 1.9 BB/9 at AAA.

[Dick Allen]

You do realise that Eddy Alvarez didn't play college baseball at all and has put up above league-average lines at EVERY stop (including his current one, with a .345 OBP and a below-average BABIP with improved power and good scouting reports on defence)? I hype him more out of how incredible his story is than his MLB future (I think his peak is a utility infielder, and his demotion was not a good sign for what the Sox think of him), but he stands a hell of a lot better chance than Hickman imo.

And he's 27 years old, and cannot hit, and the White Sox keep acquiring middle infielders. It's a nice story and he's a nice guy, but as a major league prospect, he isn't much of one.

 

I personally think guys can learn how to pitch after a late start, than learn how to hit. Alvarez isn't going to hit. His second year of AA as a 27 year old isn't better than his first. Huge red flag. He isn't getting better.

Edited June 19, 2017 by Dick Allen

[steveno89]

And he's 27 years old, and cannot hit, and the White Sox keep acquiring middle infielders. It's a nice story and he's a nice guy, but as a major league prospect, he isn't much of one.

 

I personally think guys can learn how to pitch after a late start, than learn how to hit. Alvarez isn't going to hit. His second year of AA as a 27 year old isn't better than his first. Huge red flag. He isn't getting better.

 

Alvarez is a nice story, but his chances of sniffing the majors beyond a September cup of coffee are virtually nil. He's 27 years old playing in AA and we just drafted a slew of younger players.

 

Stephens and Hickman are great organizational depth, both are unlikely to stick as starting pitchers, but I could see one of them being a solid bullpen piece.

[fathom]

Jordan Stephens had some of the best peripherals in all A+ ball last year and has the stuff showing with it. His FB and the CB are MLB pitches. This is a guy that stat guys and scouts both like. He gets high praise for his makeup and competitiveness. There is plenty to like about him and he just got lost in the flurry with all the new prospects and his injury. There is a lot to like about him. At the very least, I think we should at least wait for the guy to struggle before we write him off as org depth.

 

To me, Stephens is a better starting pitching prospect than Fulmer.

[steveno89]

Jordan Stephens had some of the best peripherals in all A+ ball last year and has the stuff showing with it. His FB and the CB are MLB pitches. This is a guy that stat guys and scouts both like. He gets high praise for his makeup and competitiveness. There is plenty to like about him and he just got lost in the flurry with all the new prospects and his injury. There is a lot to like about him. At the very least, I think we should at least wait for the guy to struggle before we write him off as org depth.

 

RaBBit, I did not mean purely organizational depth, as I think Stephens has the chance to produce at the mlb level. He's a bit older than most of our other prospects, and will turn 25 years old in September.

 

I meant depth beyond our top 10 organizational prospects who can realistically help the mlb club in the not too distant future.

 

He's very much in the mix to push for a future rotation spot and/or a bullpen role.

 

Hickman just has not pitched enough for us to determine what he can be.

Edited June 20, 2017 by steveno89