7.8 Games

[flavum]

How can you tell if somebody has blocked someone else on twitter?

 

https://twitter.com/CHawkins10/status/354418337998057472

[Jake]

https://twitter.com/CHawkins10/status/354418337998057472

 

LOL

 

that's pretty funny

 

#GoldenSombrero? #blocked

[Chicago White Sox]

He will be 23 when the rankings comes out. Those Top 100 rankings usually look heavily age and the league they played in. The only 23 year old in the BA Top 100 list last year that played entire year below AA was Alex Meyer of the Twins, and he was a first round pick in 2011.

 

I think he's on the bubble right now, but if he makes it to BHam by year end, then he's in.

Why does is it matter what age he is when the rankings come out though? Why should he be punished for being born in December rather than March? He'll play the entire 2013 season as a 22 year old...that's what should matter when discussing if he's age appropriate.

[BPK]

As fathom alluded to, mechanical faults can make it seem like your pitch recognition is bad when it isn't. There are all kinds of things that can leave a hitter unable to hit more than one speed of pitch

 

My problem with him is how often he's unable to hit all pitches. Sure, he runs into more fastballs than anything else, but I've seen many at bats where he blindly chases three consecutive fastballs in off the plate and never adjusts. You just don't need good mechanics to stop swinging at the exact same thing out of the zone. Either he doesn't recognize what's coming towards him, or his approach is God-awful. Or both.

[Chicago White Sox]

My problem with him is how often he's unable to hit all pitches. Sure, he runs into more fastballs than anything else, but I've seen many at bats where he blindly chases three consecutive fastballs in off the plate and never adjusts. You just don't need good mechanics to stop swinging at the exact same thing out of the zone. Either he doesn't recognize what's coming towards him, or his approach is God-awful. Or both.

Then what happened last year when he seemed to be hitting a lot of pitches?

[thxfrthmmrs]

Why does is it matter what age he is when the rankings come out though? Why should he be punished for being born in December rather than March? He'll play the entire 2013 season as a 22 year old...that's what should matter when discussing if he's age appropriate.

 

Not saying I agree with it, but that' usually how the rankings work.

 

There are so many great prospects in the minors, a "23 year" old just finished A+ usually give ways to the younger or more hyped prospects when it comes to the rankings. And let's be real, those rankings don't usually get it right.

 

To be honest, I don't even care much about the Top 100 rankings. The Sox has placed more minor leaguers into the big leagues in the past few years than some of the "better farms" out there, yet we often get looked down upon because we didn't have more than one Top 100 'spect in a given year. Micah Johnson has a chance be a very solid regular by age 24/25, regardless he makes some arbitrary ranking.

[BPK]

Then what happened last year when he seemed to be hitting a lot of pitches?

 

I have no idea. I'm certainly not qualified to explain the difference. But it's obvious that things have been different this year, and it's just as obvious that he's completely overmatched. He's not seeing - or he's simply ignoring - whatever he saw that made him successful last year.

 

And I don't mean to suggest that all hope is lost. He's a 19 year old (or there about) in High-A, and 19 year olds tend to keep learning. But he doesn't have a clue what he's doing right now.

Edited July 9, 2013 by BPK

[flavum]

Trayce Thompson has an 0-28 going.

[Jake]

I will find some way to make Curley hitting a million home runs mean something

[BigHurt3515]

I will find some way to make Curley hitting a million home runs mean something

 

Why aren't we talking about this guy more?? Oh wait his age. Damn that age. Who cares about age, if he is 30 and gets to the big leagues and produces, that is all that matters.

[caulfield12]

Forgotten in all the discussion about prospects today is Carlos Sanchez.

 

It's as if he doesn't even exist anymore.

[danman31]

Hawkins is an embarrassment right now. Hopefully he can get his head right by next year.

[caulfield12]

Hawkins is an embarrassment right now. Hopefully he can get his head right by next year.

 

 

Someone with the Sox is going to have to play "bad cop" and tell him to shut down that twitter account.

 

It seems to be an unneeded distraction to him at this point.

[thxfrthmmrs]

Why aren't we talking about this guy more?? Oh wait his age. Damn that age. Who cares about age, if he is 30 and gets to the big leagues and produces, that is all that matters.

 

 

Age sure does matter. If he's 20 years old and put up these types of numbers, he has a much higher chance of making it to the majors. He's almost 27, way to old for the level, it is expected that he will dominate 21-22 year old pitchers in their 2nd or 3 year in baseball.

 

Take a look at our good friend Seth Loman. He was a year younger than Curley when he put up the same type of raw numbers in 2010. Yet he's approaching 28 now and struggling to hit in Triple A. There is a 0.1% chance a player makes it to the majors by 30 years and actually have a productive career.

[Chicago White Sox]

Forgotten in all the discussion about prospects today is Carlos Sanchez.

 

It's as if he doesn't even exist anymore.

Well his OPS is below .600 which isn't going to fly, even if he is the youngest player in the International League.

 

He's still a top 10 prospect IMO, but he definitely should be in the bottom half rather than the top half. I'd also rank Micah Johnson ahead of Sanchez without much hesitation.

[fathom]

Well his OPS is below .600 which isn't going to fly, even if he is the youngest player in the International League.

 

He's still a top 10 prospect IMO, but he definitely should be in the bottom half rather than the top half. I'd also rank Micah Johnson ahead of Sanchez without much hesitation.

 

Semien is above Sanchez, IMO. Semien's BB/K ratio is great

[danman31]

Well his OPS is below .600 which isn't going to fly, even if he is the youngest player in the International League.

 

He's still a top 10 prospect IMO, but he definitely should be in the bottom half rather than the top half. I'd also rank Micah Johnson ahead of Sanchez without much hesitation.

 

Semien is above Sanchez, IMO. Semien's BB/K ratio is great

 

Seeing a lot of people on this board fall in love with the flavor of the month types. I don't see why people on here rate Semien so highly. Sub .800 OPS (granted barely) isn't cutting it.

 

I'm not sure Micah defensively is cutting it.

 

Sanchez is the youngest so I'm sticking with him for a bit longer. The bottom line is none of our middle infield prospects are anything to get excited about.

[fathom]

Seeing a lot of people on this board fall in love with the flavor of the month types. I don't see why people on here rate Semien so highly. Sub .800 OPS (granted barely) isn't cutting it.

 

I'm not sure Micah defensively is cutting it.

 

Sanchez is the youngest so I'm sticking with him for a bit longer. The bottom line is none of our middle infield prospects are anything to get excited about.

 

Hey, I've been a fan of Semien since we drafted him

 

I do disagree with you about none of the middle infield prospects being anything to get excited about. Micah Johnson definitely has some potential, and Tim Anderson does as well (even though I don't believe you were taking him into consideration)

[Chicago White Sox]

Semien is above Sanchez, IMO. Semien's BB/K ratio is great

I was so high on Sanchez coming into this season that it's hard to backtrack on him, but I'm starting to move in that direction with Semien. He's shown a lot this year with the bat, especially in the plate discipline deparment. Hard not to be impressed so far.

 

Semien will likely be Sanchez's double-play partner at AAA in 2014 and it will be interesting to see how they each perform while at the same level. I see them auditioning next year for a 2015 major league job, and with Micah Johnson likely on their heels at AA the competion should be pretty intense.

[Chicago White Sox]

Seeing a lot of people on this board fall in love with the flavor of the month types. I don't see why people on here rate Semien so highly. Sub .800 OPS (granted barely) isn't cutting it.

 

I'm not sure Micah defensively is cutting it.

 

Sanchez is the youngest so I'm sticking with him for a bit longer. The bottom line is none of our middle infield prospects are anything to get excited about.

Kind of unfair to call Semien a "flavor of the month type" after he put up an .830 OPS in A+ last year. This year his .798 OPS would qualify him for 10th in the Southern League. The kid is only 22 years old, so while he's older than Sanchez, he's not old for his league by any means.

 

No one is saying Semien's a stud prospect, but he's doing fairly well in AA, and the plate discipline is promising. Sanchez on the other hand has yet to show much improvement over the course of this year. If I saw his AVG & OBP slowly climbing month by month, then this wouldn't be up for debate IMO, but right now that's not the case. He's just plained suck all year. Hopefully Sanchez shows something in July & August, but until then, I think a case can be made for Semien over Sanchez.

[BigHurt3515]

Kind of unfair to call Semien a "flavor of the month type" after he put up an .830 OPS in A+ last year. This year his .798 OPS would qualify him for 10th in the Southern League. The kid is only 22 years old, so while he's older than Sanchez, he's not old for his league by any means.

 

No one is saying Semien's a stud prospect, but he's doing fairly well in AA, and the plate discipline is promising. Sanchez on the other hand has yet to show much improvement over the course of this year. If I saw his AVG & OBP slowly climbing month by month, then this wouldn't be up for debate IMO, but right now that's not the case. He's just plained suck all year. Hopefully Sanchez shows something in July & August, but until then, I think a case can be made for Semien over Sanchez.

 

I would wait until next year. I am sure Sanchez is going to end up figuring out the pitching and hitting for average again. He will work hard in the offseason and be in AAA for a 2nd year which will help a lot.

[Chicago White Sox]

I would wait until next year. I am sure Sanchez is going to end up figuring out the pitching and hitting for average again. He will work hard in the offseason and be in AAA for a 2nd year which will help a lot.

Again, I'm not writing Sanchez off by any means, but prospect rankings should always be somewhat sensitive to current performance. The fact is a prospect whose game is heavily reliant on his hit tool suddenly can't hit. Obviously we know being one of the youngest players in AAA is contributing to that, but how much remains a legit question. I think you have to bump him down a few spots in the rankings until he starts showing actuals signs of improvement.

Edited July 9, 2013 by Chicago White Sox

[bighurt4life]

Again, I'm not writing Sanchez off by any means, but prospect rankings should always be somewhat sensitive to current performance. The fact is a prospect whose game is heavily reliant on his hit tool suddenly can't hit. Obviously we know being one of the youngest players in AAA is contributing to that, but how much remains a legit question. I think you have to bump him down a few spots in the rankings until he starts showing actuals signs of improvement.

 

A barely 21 year old who spent less than half a season in AA gets a lot of leeway from me, especially if you check out some of his solid peripheral numbers, he has low strikeout totals and decent BB percentage all things considered. Oh, also, his BABIP is about 60 points lower than his career average at .280 right now. He's easily a year or two ahead of the development curve right now, so if we're having the same discussion about his s***ty BA/OPS next season at this time then I'll start to be concerned.

 

 

Edited July 9, 2013 by bighurt4life

[bighurt4life]

Sanchez on the other hand has yet to show much improvement over the course of this year. If I saw his AVG & OBP slowly climbing month by month, then this wouldn't be up for debate IMO, but right now that's not the case. He's just plained suck all year.

 

Look at his OPS, it has climbed about 50 points every month this season with the exception of July which is an incomplete at this point. What else do you want??

[NorthSideSox72]

It seems that my past comments that were flamed have now become the norm around here.

Let's not go there. No one flamed you for saying Hawkins had some maturity issues, in fact people agreed with you. You know what people flamed you for, and it wasn't your opinion about his maturity level.