Chisoxfn Posted June 29, 2004 Share Posted June 29, 2004 The Jeremy Reed Fallout By Jason Gage June 29, 2004 FutureSox.com On Sunday the Chicago White Sox acquired the starting pitcher they desired in Freddy Garcia. However, some could argue that the price was steep. The package included top outfield prospect and last years minor league player of the year, Jeremy Reed, a good young major league catcher, Miguel Olivo, and a raw, but talented shortstop, Mike Morse. However, the volume this deal speaks is two fold. First off, it sends a message to the White Sox fans, the players and the media that the team is playing for now. The future is something they are willing to risk and it was obvious the Sox had a dire need when it came to pitching and they didn’t settle with a mediocre pitcher, they took the best one on the market. Speculation is trader Kenny isn’t done and that he has at least one more deal up his sleeve, possibly two. As a writer that typically focuses more on prospects then many people (hence FutureSox), I say fine by me (in regards to dealing prospects). While Jeremy Reed and Mike Morse will not come to fruition with the White Sox they still served the White Sox well by turning into an all star pitcher. They will also serve the Mariners well in the future. However, the future means nothing to the Sox or any other winning club, especially when it comes to a club mentioned in the same breath as the Red Sox and Cubs (other obvious winners - note the sarcasm). Now enough about the deal, which to me left the Sox a better team. This trade also sent a second, less obvious message. That message was directed straight at Joe Borchard. The message is that the organization hasn’t given up on him and in fact, they probably chose him over Jeremy Reed, at least partially. Borchard has long been remembered as the 1st round pick with the record (at the time) $5.3 million signing bonus. He has always been talked about as a player with loads of potential and showed that potential off early when he hit .295 with 27 HR and 98 RBI in 2001 for the Birmingham Barons. What is even more fascinating is that the Hoover Met is known notoriously as a pitchers park. Borchard has never approached those numbers again in the minors, but that potential still looms. However, not to sell him short, he did put up good numbers in Charlotte in 2002 (.272, 20 HR, 59 RBI) and hit his first career major league home run (in Toronto) that same year. It looked as if Borchard would be a fixture in the Sox outfield in 2003, but for whatever reason, Borchard went into a funk. He was hampered by nagging injuries and issues grew of whether he took every at bat too serious. Borchard continued to struggle all season until he caught fire right at the end. A 12 game hitting streak raised his average to .253 by the end of the season. While the average was a concern so was the power or lack there of. Borchard hit 13 home runs, which was far less than himself and management had came to expect. This season Borchard seems to be going with a fresh approach. He hit well this spring, despite minimal playing time due to a hamstring injury. Injuries like this, as well as a nagging back, bothered Borchard for the early part of the season. Borchard then came on like wildfire and is currently hitting .280 with 14 HR and 46 RBI. Another positive is that Borchard has cut his strikeout totals down. He has 55 so far this season compared with 20 walks. While thats still considered a little high, it is a major improvement. Borchard’s future in the organization once again looms bright. This is the same golden boy with the strong arm, light tower power, and good speed that the White Sox took back in 2000. This same player has now been faced with adversity on the field and seems to of stared back at it. With the possible departure of Magglio Ordonez it is quite obvious that the White Sox still see Borchard as their right fielder of the future, but it seems the window is closing and that very soon he’ll finally be that right fielder of the present. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aboz56 Posted June 29, 2004 Share Posted June 29, 2004 Borchard is now our top prospect and will most certainly be in the starting outfield come the beginning of 2005 at the age of 26. Good article Jas, maybe you should have me proofread more often.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan1 Posted June 29, 2004 Share Posted June 29, 2004 Great article Jas! As long as Borchard does well, I'm fine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danman31 Posted June 29, 2004 Share Posted June 29, 2004 Good article Jas, maybe you should have me proofread more often.... Yeah it was a great article Jason. I usually try to proof read his stuff, as you can tell it needs it. I don't think Borchard has it. 3 years in AAA...ouch. What else to say? I mainly feel that he can be a somewhat productive player, but not near what he was supposed to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wise Master Buehrle Posted June 29, 2004 Share Posted June 29, 2004 Great article. I still believe in Borch. He may be slower than the normal major leaguer, and it's apparent he's no Albert Pujols (In terms of coming into his own so quickly), but he's still got some great potential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasox24 Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 Great article Jas! I still believe in Joe; he could still give us 10 really good years, and he hasn't even hit his prime yet, so hopefully he'll get even better when he does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLAK Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 Hey Chisoxfn! I respect your thoughts and ask your opinion; during our many and agonizing threads about trades with the Braves I maintained that the proto-type of the player the Sox need most is JD Drew. Your fine article makes me speculate that JBorch could develop into a JD. How is JBorch doing against good RH pitching? or am I just dreaming? I can't tell from just reading the box scores, I don't know the opposing pitchers well enough to judge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted July 1, 2004 Author Share Posted July 1, 2004 Hey Chisoxfn! I respect your thoughts and ask your opinion; during our many and agonizing threads about trades with the Braves I maintained that the proto-type of the player the Sox need most is JD Drew. Your fine article makes me speculate that JBorch could develop into a JD. How is JBorch doing against good RH pitching? or am I just dreaming? I can't tell from just reading the box scores, I don't know the opposing pitchers well enough to judge. Hey Tlak, I just want to say I saw this and I'll post up a response tomorrow. Got two finasl tomorrow and gotta handle the server tomorrow night, but I'll definately give ya my intake and thanks for the kind words Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Honda Civic Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Sorry about the bump, but I was digging round the internet for some stuff on the Reed-Garcia trade... I thought it would be fun to revisit this one. Oh noes! Seattle has Reed and Borchard! and all we've got is a silly World Series Championship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Mar 20, 2006 -> 11:24 PM) Sorry about the bump, but I was digging round the internet for some stuff on the Reed-Garcia trade... I thought it would be fun to revisit this one. Oh noes! Seattle has Reed and Borchard! and all we've got is a silly World Series Championship and Matt Thornton. Fixed that for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dam8610 Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 QUOTE(YASNY @ Mar 21, 2006 -> 02:28 PM) Fixed that for you. You forgot Freddy Garcia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aboz56 Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 QUOTE(aboz56 @ Jun 29, 2004 -> 01:51 PM) Borchard is now our top prospect and will most certainly be in the starting outfield come the beginning of 2005 at the age of 26. Good article Jas, maybe you should have me proofread more often.... I guess when you're wrong, you're really wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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