bmags Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 With their fifth overall pick, Sox selected Hagen Smith, LHP out of Arkansas over power hitter Jac Caglianone and others. Smith was a board favorite after dominating an OSU team that featured first overall pick Travis Bazzana. They then drafted a prep SS Caleb Bonemer before finishing the night with prep lefty Blake Larsen out of IMG academy. Caleb Bonemer was Baseball Americas 36th rated prospect. He made a name for himself by putting on a show turning on velocity for home runs in the summer showcase last year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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Chicago White Sox Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 Smith is going to come fast and should hopefully fill in the TOR gap left by a Crochet trade. With him, Schultz, & Thorpe all but guaranteed rotation spots (if healthy), it’s going to be interesting to see who can claim the remaining two. It’s a good problem to have and we could have a really good, entirely home grown rotation ready to compete by 2026. Taking high upside prep players in 2nd was also a great strategy. Gone are the days of going overslot for college bats like Gavin Sheets & Steele Walker. The only real concern with this approach (other than the higher risk profile) is it will take time for these kids to ever sniff the majors. Still, if your goal is to build a sustainable, highly productive farm system this is the way to go. While overall it was an exciting day 1, the big question right now is how they expect to build an offense that will be ready to go at the same time the rotation is. It’s unlikely we’re going to land anyone at this point in the draft who is a high probability to fill lineup spot long-term. And the farm system remains very weak on the positional side (and doesn’t help that Montgomery, Ramos, & even Gonzalez are all underperforming at the moment). Getz will have to kill it on the trade front this deadline and offseason, because outside of Lee there isn’t anything to really build around offensively on the major league roster. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 You look at Smith and figure this is a guy who could probably be picked 1-1 some years. His only question is he doesn't pitch a lot of innings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshPR Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 Still no focus on offense.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hi8is Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 I don’t mind it one bit. Hopefully they FINALLY learn the damned lesson and stop spending 2 to 8 million on a few scrubs rather than making a splash. Trade for a bunch of bats… sign a couple of pieces that aren’t in the Benitendi mold… and start developing. Tall asks… but anything with this fucking team is a tall ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted July 15 Author Share Posted July 15 19 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said: Smith is going to come fast and should hopefully fill in the TOR gap left by a Crochet trade. With him, Schultz, & Thorpe all but guaranteed rotation spots (if healthy), it’s going to be interesting to see who can claim the remaining two. It’s a good problem to have and we could have a really good, entirely home grown rotation ready to compete by 2026. Taking high upside prep players in 2nd was also a great strategy. Gone are the days of going overslot for college bats like Gavin Sheets & Steele Walker. The only real concern with this approach (other than the higher risk profile) is it will take time for these kids to ever sniff the majors. Still, if your goal is to build a sustainable, highly productive farm system this is the way to go. While overall it was an exciting day 1, the big question right now is how they expect to build an offense that will be ready to go at the same time the rotation is. It’s unlikely we’re going to land anyone at this point in the draft who is a high probability to fill lineup spot long-term. And the farm system remains very weak on the positional side (and doesn’t help that Montgomery, Ramos, & even Gonzalez are all underperforming at the moment). Getz will have to kill it on the trade front this deadline and offseason, because outside of Lee there isn’t anything to really build around offensively on the major league roster. I think there should be a hell of a lot more pressure on Marco Paddy than Shirley. Shirley has shown he can bring in an all stars and top 20 prospects without spending $60 million to acquire them. Meanwhile Paddy has all but retired when we need international to supplement so badly. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted July 15 Author Share Posted July 15 14 minutes ago, Dick Allen said: You look at Smith and figure this is a guy who could probably be picked 1-1 some years. His only question is he doesn't pitch a lot of innings. I like Smith, but if he wasn’t 1-1 this year there is no other year he’d be close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 1 minute ago, bmags said: I think there should be a hell of a lot more pressure on Marco Paddy than Shirley. Shirley has shown he can bring in an all stars and top 20 prospects without spending $60 million to acquire them. Meanwhile Paddy has all but retired when we need international to supplement so badly. Fully agree. It’s wild how little we are getting out of our LatAm program. If you look at BA’s latest update, we only have two LatAm signings in our top 20. It’s almost like the program is non existent. I get Reinsdorf is probably a roadblock there to some extent, but at some point you can’t turn a blind eye after years of lackluster production. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcq Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 Major issue missing Jac. We need hitters guys. Just my take. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joejoesox Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 Why would you rush Hagen Smith to the bigs if you don't expect to have a competitive team for at least 2-3 years. even if he's ready, why would you start his clock before the team is even good. keep reading that he could be on the team in 2025 or 2026, are you kidding me. If he's dominating the minors, try to extend him to a team friendly deal for like 8+ yrs, at least you've got him for a couple more years I've got bad news for those people who think the Sox are gonna be good in 2 years 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirmin' for Yermin Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 53 minutes ago, Dick Allen said: You look at Smith and figure this is a guy who could probably be picked 1-1 some years. His only question is he doesn't pitch a lot of innings. I believe averaging 5.25 in college is outstanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joejoesox Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 (edited) 43 minutes ago, bmags said: I like Smith, but if he wasn’t 1-1 this year there is no other year he’d be close. he set the NCAA strikeout record lol, the only reason he went 5th is injury concerns. his 17 strikeout game vs OSU, yeah he only threw 78 pitches. his ceiling is probably higher than every pitcher in our system. Edited July 15 by joejoesox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy U Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 20 minutes ago, joejoesox said: Why would you rush Hagen Smith to the bigs if you don't expect to have a competitive team for at least 2-3 years. even if he's ready, why would you start his clock before the team is even good. keep reading that he could be on the team in 2025 or 2026, are you kidding me. If he's dominating the minors, try to extend him to a team friendly deal for like 8+ yrs, at least you've got him for a couple more years I've got bad news for those people who think the Sox are gonna be good in 2 years You can’t hold guys in the minors forever. If he’s ready in 2025, bring him up. If he’s not ready until 2027, bring him up then. Should the Pirates leave Skenes in AAA? There’s gonna be a helluva competition for rotation spots in the next several years. Hopefully, the Sox pick the right guys. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buehrle>Wood Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 I'll reiterate I love the pick in a vacuum. What's awful is that we are using the drafts as a mean to supplant our star player rather than supplementing them. Hopefully I'm proved wrong there but f*** the Sox if so. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted July 15 Author Share Posted July 15 11 minutes ago, joejoesox said: he set the NCAA strikeout record lol, the only reason he went 5th is injury concerns. his 17 strikeout game vs OSU, yeah he only threw 78 pitches. his ceiling is probably higher than every pitcher in our system. ok, but this was not a strong draft and he went 5th, so no I do not think he'd be 1-1 consideration in a "typical" draft as this was atypical for how weak it was. Hell...a second baseman went 1st overall. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted July 15 Author Share Posted July 15 2 minutes ago, Buehrle>Wood said: I'll reiterate I love the pick in a vacuum. What's awful is that we are using the drafts as a mean to supplant our star player rather than supplementing them. Hopefully I'm proved wrong there but f*** the Sox if so. I really don't think this is true. I think with a top 5 pick Shirley and the sox would have really loved a strong up the middle talent, but they didn't exist in this draft, so you had to hope that some hitters that were already trending toward first base were not just a product of juiced balls, or were constantly injured, or were from a state that never produces talent, could fit the bill. Not surprised they just went after a guy that had some obvious ability in the mlb. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buehrle>Wood Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 15 minutes ago, bmags said: I really don't think this is true. I think with a top 5 pick Shirley and the sox would have really loved a strong up the middle talent, but they didn't exist in this draft, so you had to hope that some hitters that were already trending toward first base were not just a product of juiced balls, or were constantly injured, or were from a state that never produces talent, could fit the bill. Not surprised they just went after a guy that had some obvious ability in the mlb. Hope you're right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joejoesox Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 25 minutes ago, Timmy U said: You can’t hold guys in the minors forever. If he’s ready in 2025, bring him up. If he’s not ready until 2027, bring him up then. Should the Pirates leave Skenes in AAA? There’s gonna be a helluva competition for rotation spots in the next several years. Hopefully, the Sox pick the right guys. Pirates are in their competitive window now though, you can't compare them to the current Sox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 (edited) 1 hour ago, bmags said: I like Smith, but if he wasn’t 1-1 this year there is no other year he’d be close. He struck the 1-1 guy out 3 times. Health going forward is all that really matters. If he has it, he's a stud. If he doesn't, well...................College hitters couldn't touch him in the zone. Edited July 15 by Dick Allen 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted July 15 Author Share Posted July 15 1 minute ago, Buehrle>Wood said: Hope you're right One thing I give Shirley credit for that others in this damned org do not is the only time I got to see him speak (2020 soxfest), he described what he wanted as very athletic and big players whose bodies allowed them to make the adjustments to the mlb game. A lot of sox front office types have described what they wanted, and then went out and got different things. Shirley has delivered, when he has gone after outliers they have been guys that were super athletic and tall, not understrengthed and tiny. In the top three rounds, je has not brought in undersized RHP. He has not gone after limited corners. Even Jacob Gonzalez, who stood out, was more so with his swing choice, he is still 6'3, 220 and was a multi sport athlete, it's just he's not that fast to first. In his 5 drafts (2020-2024): - Crochet (6'6"), Kelley (6'3, 220) (2020 was a weird draft just gonna go first two guys - Montgomery (6'4), Kath (6'3), Burke (6'6, 230) - Schultz (6'8), Pallette (6'1 - tjs), Cannon (6'6) - Gonzalez (6'3), Taylor (6'3), Pallette (6'2) - Smith (6'3), Bonemer (6'1), (6'3), So some of the pitchers are borderline small last year, and boiling down that they are physical athletes just by showing their height is over simplified, but anyway I believe it's true and also no surprise that we finally have some guys that have improved through the increase in competition, not just slowly degrading as they move from college to pro ball. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joejoesox Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 34 minutes ago, bmags said: ok, but this was not a strong draft and he went 5th, so no I do not think he'd be 1-1 consideration in a "typical" draft as this was atypical for how weak it was. Hell...a second baseman went 1st overall. it wasn't a strong draft outside the top 5 to 10 from what I've read, but I don't think Rhett Lowder would've gone before Hagen Smith if they both were in this draft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted July 15 Author Share Posted July 15 5 minutes ago, Dick Allen said: He struck the 1-1 guy out 3 times. Health going forward is all that really matters. If he has it, he's a stud. If he doesn't, well...................College hitters couldn't touch him in the zone. I'm not saying he's bad, but like if you aren't going 1-1 this year it's unlikely your draft position improves in other drafts. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted July 15 Author Share Posted July 15 11 minutes ago, joejoesox said: it wasn't a strong draft outside the top 5 to 10 from what I've read, but I don't think Rhett Lowder would've gone before Hagen Smith if they both were in this draft I think he would have, I think Rhett Lowder is better than Chase Burns who went 2. But regardless "he would have gone 7th last year" isn't really the best counter argument that he was a 1-1 guy. He's super talented, dominated, but has TJS and a funky delivery. That's not usually the 1-1 guy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgrittenburg Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 1 hour ago, joejoesox said: Why would you rush Hagen Smith to the bigs if you don't expect to have a competitive team for at least 2-3 years. even if he's ready, why would you start his clock before the team is even good. keep reading that he could be on the team in 2025 or 2026, are you kidding me. If he's dominating the minors, try to extend him to a team friendly deal for like 8+ yrs, at least you've got him for a couple more years I've got bad news for those people who think the Sox are gonna be good in 2 years obviously they don't Getz it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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