5/29 Games

[flavum]

http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?s...mp;ymd=20130529

 

Kanny won 1-0

Cose- 7 shutout innings.

Micah Johnson- 2 doubles, walk sb

 

 

Birmingham playing at Rickwood.

[flavum]

Daniel Webb--we're going to need him.

[caulfield12]

Thanks for your help today Lindstrom, always good to let all your inherited runners score.

 

Omogrosso doesn't even belong on a major league roster.

 

Sigh.

 

Every Sox minor league reliever is on notice. Perform, and you've got your ticket punched to the big leagues the 2nd half.

Edited May 29, 2013 by caulfield12

[winninguglyin83]

If the Sox lose again on Thursday, I'm ready to try anything.

 

What's it going to hurt?

 

Considering his age and all-around performance, I expect Micah Johnson to get bumped to Hi-A ball soon.

 

Maybe Phegley or Gonzalez will eventually get a chance to catch.

 

And we have a few arms.

 

 

[caulfield12]

If the Sox lose again on Thursday, I'm ready to try anything.

 

What's it going to hurt?

 

Considering his age and all-around performance, I expect Micah Johnson to get bumped to Hi-A ball soon.

 

Maybe Phegley or Gonzalez will eventually get a chance to catch.

 

And we have a few arms.

 

 

They're not going to displace DeMichele, and he's DEFINITELY not ready for BIRM.

 

I think they'll wait at least through the June All-Star games for various leagues before they start making more moves...as well as waiting on the draft.

 

And there's no way Gonzalez would be anything more than a replacement for Gimenez at this point.

[winninguglyin83]

I don't expect to see Gonzalez in the big leagues this season.

 

He's repeating AA -- and the benefits are obvious.

 

I'm fine with letting him stay where he is -- and hoping he can help us down the road.

[caulfield12]

I don't expect to see Gonzalez in the big leagues this season.

 

He's repeating AA -- and the benefits are obvious.

 

I'm fine with letting him stay where he is -- and hoping he can help us down the road.

 

 

He's been in our system so long, at some point, they'll need to make a decision on protecting him...maybe the minor league aficionados are more familiar with his exact status.

[BigHurt3515]

He's been in our system so long, at some point, they'll need to make a decision on protecting him...maybe the minor league aficionados are more familiar with his exact status.

 

Is he suppose to be a good fielding catcher??

He is batting .320 in AA ball. And he is only 22. That sounds promising.

[bighurt4life]

Is he suppose to be a good fielding catcher??

He is batting .320 in AA ball. And he is only 22. That sounds promising.

 

He has a cannon for an arm, he shuts the running game down

[BigHurt3515]

He has a cannon for an arm, he shuts the running game down

 

If that is true, I could live with him not hitting many home runs, hitting .260+ if he is still doing this well in AA the rest of the year and in AAA next year.

[caulfield12]

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/pro...guel-gonzalez-2

 

 

Gonzalez has a career minor league OPS of 643. 10 career homers in the minors.

 

He's going to have to hit like Phegley for a full season of everyday play before anyone starts hyping him as a POSSIBLE future starting catcher for the Sox.

[BigHurt3515]

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/pro...guel-gonzalez-2

 

 

Gonzalez has a career minor league OPS of 643. 10 career homers in the minors.

 

He's going to have to hit like Phegley for a full season of everyday play before anyone starts hyping him as a POSSIBLE future starting catcher for the Sox.

 

He doesn't need to hit a lot of home runs for us. We have enough of that. If he is a stud defensively. and can hit at a reasonable average it sounds good to me.

[caulfield12]

He doesn't need to hit a lot of home runs for us. We have enough of that. If he is a stud defensively. and can hit at a reasonable average it sounds good to me.

 

 

Other than Rios, Dunn and Konerko are complete mysteries and Viciedo's far from a finished product offensively....so it's probably too soon to say we don't need to worry about getting power from catcher, Gillaspie/Keppinger, Ramirez, Beckham, etc.

 

Only DeAza and Rios have outproduced what was expected, but its definitely had an adverse effect on Alejandro as a lead-off hitter to starting hitting all those early homers in April/May.

Edited May 30, 2013 by caulfield12

[BigHurt3515]

Other than Rios, Dunn and Konerko are complete mysteries and Viciedo's far from a finished product offensively....so it's probably too soon to say we don't need to worry about getting power from catcher, Gillaspie/Keppinger, Ramirez, Beckham, etc.

 

Only DeAza and Rios have outproduced what was expected, but its definitely had an adverse effect on Alejandro as a lead-off hitter to starting hitting all those early homers in April/May.

 

Out of the people you named I think Gillaspie and maybe Beckham if he figures it out will be the only players on the team when he is ready for the big leagues. I know we don't know who will be here to give us the home runs but I would much rather have a catcher who can be great on defense and hit for a decent average out of the 9 hole then someone like Flowers. I think catcher is one of the most if not the most important defensive position in baseball. We can see how bad Flowers defense has effected the team.

 

I don't know much about this Gonzalez guy except for him being 22 and him batting over .300 in AA. A lot of players don't do that. So there has to be something there to work with

[caulfield12]

Out of the people you named I think Gillaspie and maybe Beckham if he figures it out will be the only players on the team when he is ready for the big leagues. I know we don't know who will be here to give us the home runs but I would much rather have a catcher who can be great on defense and hit for a decent average out of the 9 hole then someone like Flowers. I think catcher is one of the most if not the most important defensive position in baseball. We can see how bad Flowers defense has effected the team.

 

I don't know much about this Gonzalez guy except for him being 22 and him batting over .300 in AA. A lot of players don't do that. So there has to be something there to work with

 

The thing is, he's not playing everyday....or close to it. He's a platoon catcher in the minors, which is never a good sign.

 

When you have a minor league career OPS of 643, your MLB predicted OPS would probably be 575 if you were lucky, but probably even worse than that.

 

Not many teams can get by with players down in that range (and yes, I realize Keppinger has been doing it for most of the season, Morel/Hudson last year, etc.)

[BigHurt3515]

The thing is, he's not playing everyday....or close to it. He's a platoon catcher in the minors, which is never a good sign.

 

When you have a minor league career OPS of 643, your MLB predicted OPS would probably be 575 if you were lucky, but probably even worse than that.

 

Not many teams can get by with players down in that range (and yes, I realize Keppinger has been doing it for most of the season, Morel/Hudson last year, etc.)

 

I didn't know he was platooning with another catcher. Guess that changes it.. He should be playing almost everyday if they are at all serious about him

[witesoxfan]

I didn't know he was platooning with another catcher. Guess that changes it.. He should be playing almost everyday if they are at all serious about him

 

Pretty sure this statement answers itself then

[NorthSideSox72]

Miguel Gonzalez hasn't been a starting catcher since 2010. Sample size, guys. He's not even among the top 5 catching prospects in the organization at this point. There is an outside chance he earns his way back to a starting role, i.e. if he continues to hit AND Phegley is promoted AND there isn't a Flowers/Phegley in Charlotte AND Smith isn't good enough to get promoted to AA yet AND Blanke is kept back. That's a lot of ifs.

 

DeMichele has been improving of late. He was .170/.257/.239 (26 K in 88 AB) in April, .240/.322/.385 (23 K in 104 AB) so far in May, .262/.354/.405 (7 K in 42 AB) in last 10, .381/.434/.619 (1 K in 21 AB) in last 5. So, if the Sox feel he's got it going, and he keeps hitting better, he may indeed head for B-Ham in June or July (allowing Micah to move up).

 

 

 

[danman31]

Miguel Gonzalez hasn't been a starting catcher since 2010. Sample size, guys. He's not even among the top 5 catching prospects in the organization at this point. There is an outside chance he earns his way back to a starting role, i.e. if he continues to hit AND Phegley is promoted AND there isn't a Flowers/Phegley in Charlotte AND Smith isn't good enough to get promoted to AA yet AND Blanke is kept back. That's a lot of ifs.

 

DeMichele has been improving of late. He was .170/.257/.239 (26 K in 88 AB) in April, .240/.322/.385 (23 K in 104 AB) so far in May, .262/.354/.405 (7 K in 42 AB) in last 10, .381/.434/.619 (1 K in 21 AB) in last 5. So, if the Sox feel he's got it going, and he keeps hitting better, he may indeed head for B-Ham in June or July (allowing Micah to move up).

Gonzalez is still a top 5 catching prospect in the system because there aren't five catching prospects in the system. Phegley is No. 1 and you can make a strong argument that Gonzalez is 2. Smith isn't putting up the numbers to make up for his age. Gonzalez is outhitting Blanke at the same level while being two years younger. The other catchers are Bryce Mosier and Jose Barraza who are too young and unproven to consider yet. Mosier hit sub .700 OPS in rookie ball last year and Barraza is going to miss this season with an injury.

 

I'm not saying Gonzalez is great, but to say he's not top 5 is baseless and incorrect.

 

As for DeMichele, none of those numbers support the thought of promoting him. I'd maybe consider having Micah skip to AA though. Anyone else?

[NorthSideSox72]

Gonzalez is still a top 5 catching prospect in the system because there aren't five catching prospects in the system. Phegley is No. 1 and you can make a strong argument that Gonzalez is 2. Smith isn't putting up the numbers to make up for his age. Gonzalez is outhitting Blanke at the same level while being two years younger. The other catchers are Bryce Mosier and Jose Barraza who are too young and unproven to consider yet. Mosier hit sub .700 OPS in rookie ball last year and Barraza is going to miss this season with an injury.

 

I'm not saying Gonzalez is great, but to say he's not top 5 is baseless and incorrect.

 

As for DeMichele, none of those numbers support the thought of promoting him. I'd maybe consider having Micah skip to AA though. Anyone else?

Well, I just don't agree with you about Gonzalez at all. The guy proved for years he couldn't get it done as a full time player. I'd put Phegley, Blanke, Smith, Ayala and Barraza all over Gonzalez at this point. Not that that is a pretty list or anything, as Phegley is the only guy who would be T25 right now.

 

To be clear, I wasn't saying I think DeMichele SHOULD be promoted. I don't. I was pointing out the trend because, this organization sometimes makes promotions with certain player they feel can get there soon, more quickly than might seem to make sense. I got the impression the Sox saw Joey D as a fast-mover, so any indication he's adjusting, they might act on, especially with Micah behind him.

 

I might consider the double-promotion, except... I do still think DeMichele will continue to improve and be ready for AA himself in not too long, for one thing. For another, you have Saladino and Semien alternating between SS and 2B at B-Ham right now, and they should definitely both be playing full time. Maybe promote Semien to Charlotte to make room?