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Fall/Winter Ball 2024


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Elko and Montgomery both make BA's hot sheet:

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9. Tim Elko, 1B, White Sox
  • Team: Glendale Desert Dogs
  • Age: 25
  • Why He’s Here: .357/.357/.857 (5-for-14) 4 R, 1 2B, 2 HR, 2 RBIs, 7 SO

The Scoop: The former SEC slugger led Chicago’s system in home runs in 2023 and tied Colson Montgomery for most in 2024. He reached Triple-A in the second half and is gaining more experience for a potential 2025 callup to the rebuilding White Sox. Elko has three home runs through six AFL games, albeit with one walk and 13 strikeouts. (ME)

10. Colson Montgomery, SS, White Sox
  • Team: Glendale Desert Dogs
  • Age: 22
  • Why He’s Here: .417/.611/.750 (5-for-12) 5 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 6 BB, 1 SB, 2 SB

The Scoop: This was the perfect kind of Montgomery week, as he once again demonstrated that if pitchers are going to beat him, they have to come into the strike zone. Montgomery leads the AFL with a .613 on-base percentage, which, not coincidentally, means he also leads the league with 11 runs scored. Montgomery has always drawn his share of walks, but the most important number in the AFL so far is that he has just one strikeout in 31 plate appearances (3.2%). That’s a massive improvement from his 28.6% strikeout percentage at Triple-A this year. (JC)

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/arizona-fall-league-hot-sheet-tigers-josue-briceno-continues-power-surge-in-week-2/

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On 10/23/2024 at 7:05 PM, PaleAleSox said:

Why is Law saying he looks like s%*#?

From Keith Law's latest:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5852621/2024/10/18/afl-notes-tre-morgan-zyhir-hope-grant-taylor/

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Colson Montgomery, who was the White Sox’ top prospect coming into the year but struggled in Triple A, still doesn’t look right, as he’s not moving that well — he looked like he was running in quicksand when he hit a grounder to short. He’s got a big hole on the inner third of the plate, where pitchers can attack him easily with velocity. Granted, only about one in every four pitchers out here can locate well enough, but I see a real need for the White Sox to try to retool Montgomery’s swing.

Maybe he's just cooked after a full season at AAA, then AFL. The Sox told him he's done for the year, so maybe they like where he's gotten to. 

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12 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

From Keith Law's latest:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5852621/2024/10/18/afl-notes-tre-morgan-zyhir-hope-grant-taylor/

Maybe he's just cooked after a full season at AAA, then AFL. The Sox told him he's done for the year, so maybe they like where he's gotten to. 

Even the whole "he looks like he is running in quicksand" doesn't make at ton of sense. Didn't he steal 3 or 4 bases? Also other people are saying he finally looks right. Seems like Law is the only guy shitting on him. 

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6 minutes ago, PaleAleSox said:

Even the whole "he looks like he is running in quicksand" doesn't make at ton of sense. Didn't he steal 3 or 4 bases? Also other people are saying he finally looks right. Seems like Law is the only guy shitting on him. 

I think a take on him is that his back wasn't healed until September. He's just played 50% more baseball this season than he's ever played in his life. 

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On 10/26/2024 at 8:22 AM, WestEddy said:

I think a take on him is that his back wasn't healed until September. He's just played 50% more baseball this season than he's ever played in his life. 

Maybe it has to do with the other players getting equal playing time.

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Grant Taylor, RHP, Chicago White Sox (Glendale Desert Dogs)
Some readers will recall that the fall before their draft year, Grant Taylor was slated to be LSU’s Friday night starter the following spring while Paul Skenes, fresh from the transfer portal, was the presumptive number two. A draft-eligible sophomore, Taylor blew out and needed Tommy John right before the start of the 2023 collegiate season and, as a result of his injury and a meager statistical track record that constituted one walk-prone season, he fell to the second round of that year’s draft. Taylor was only able to squeeze in 19.1 innings during the 2024 regular season once he was finished rehabbing, and came to the Arizona Fall League to pick up reps.

He looks sensational, flashing four average or better pitches, including a plus-flashing changeup that wasn’t part of Taylor’s college repertoire at all. Last week, Taylor sat 94-98 mph throughout his outing, and was mostly in the 96-98 range early on. His fastball has vertical shape that pairs nicely with his 83-ish mph curveball, which has fair depth but often lacks bite. Taylor’s 84-87 mph slider and 87-89 mph changeup are his two nastier secondary pitches. Breaking ball consistency will be key for Taylor moving forward. His slider’s finish is inconsistent but when it’s right, at that velocity, it’s plus. His changeup is going to give him a weapon to neutralize lefties that’s better than his curveball; the bottom falls out of it just as it reaches the plate.

Remember, Taylor has barely pitched since 2022. He’s unpolished but is incredibly gifted both athletically and from a stuff standpoint. Look at how powerful his lower body is and how substantial his hip and shoulder separation is at the end of the embedded video. This is a pretty special cat who is making an argument for inclusion on the Top 100 based on the quality of his stuff and the notion that he might develop as a craftsman as he accrues much-needed reps. Sometimes pitchers like this plateau and can look like Connor Phillips did this year.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/locally-sourced-arizona-fall-league-notes-grant-taylor-and-connor-phillips-are-nasty/

Edited by DirtySox
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