whisoxman20051917

I'd like to see them trade for Mike Yastrzemski of the Giants, as he's posted solid stats as a left-handed bat over the past couple years. He's a late bloomer, but this will be his first year of arbitration so the price won't be cheap. I'm thinking Dylan Cease (would prefer to trade Reynaldo Lopez but don't think the Giants would do it), Andrew Dalquist and Nomar Mazara (with $4-5 million cash thrown in). If the Giants want a better major league-ready outfielder and don't care for Mazara (or Rutherford/Gonzalez/Adolfo for that matter), perhaps the Sox could work a three-way trade with another willing participant where the Giants can get a replacement for Carl's grandson. I'm not big on Pederson (we don't need any reclamation projects since our rebuild is over), and the White Sox definitely need an upgrade in right field (with preferably a left-handed bat) that won't be too much of a defensive liability. Thus, that's why I'm looking at Yastrzemski who's actually had a plus defensive rating in each of the past two years. George Springer is the best right field option who could be available in 2021's free agency class that isn't a defensive liability, but alas, he's a right-handed batter. Oh well, I could live with him manning right field for the next few years if we have to. Oh, I almost forgot: Yasiel Puig could be a cheaper possibility here as well. While we presently have a multitude of options beyond our top 2, the rest of the rotation will be full of question marks and/or inexperience for next year. As of now, possibilities include Kopech, Dunning, Cease, Lopez, Rodon, Stiever, Flores and Lambert. I'm not really considering Crochet since he'll likely be working on increasing his workload next year in the minors (he didn't pitch much this year in college or the Sox). I'd love to see the Sox add one of Trevor Bauer or Marcus Stroman; if the dollars and/or years are too exorbitant for the Sox to offer, cheaper possibilities could include Kevin Gausman and Jose Quintana. Finally, a decision has to be made about a closer. I'm OK if they decide to re-sign Colome for a two-year max deal; after all, while he doesn't possess wipeout stuff, he's stabilized the back end of the bullpen over the past couple years. However, a couple potentially higher-impact arms available via free agency would be Liam Hendricks and Trevor Rosenthal. The Sox actually should be fine otherwise with their bullpen for 2021. We should be OK financially for 2021 to splurge. Money off the books will include Kelvin Herrera, Nomar Mazara (if the Sox don't tender him arbitration), Alex Colome (though the Sox could re-sign him as a free agent), Edwin Encarnacion, Steve Cishek, Gio Gonzalez, Carlos Rodon (provided the Sox don't tender him arbitration), James McCann (who I'd love to see the Sox retain but I believe he'll go elsewhere to get a regular catching gig) and Leury Garcia (the Sox have a team option in 2021 for $3.5 mil). Of course, even with arbitration and increased salaries in 2021 for some players due to their extensions, the Sox should still have plenty to spend on a couple of the above guys. Other small salaries now off their books will be Jarrod Dyson's and Ross Detwiler's. Overall, not including Garcia who the Sox could conceivably opt in), the Sox will have nearly $55 million off their books for 2021 before any future transactions take place (free agency, trades, increases in salary due to arbitrations and/or extensions). There really should be no excuse to spend during this off-season.

My five-round mock: First round in order of who I think the Sox will select (not necessarily what I'd choose) I truly believe they'll go college here (which seems their M.O. in the first round), though I'd prefer to see a prep player like Ed Howard or Jared Kelley instead.They'd choose Reid Detmers or Max Meyer if either fall to #11. Provided that doesn't happen, I believe they'll go with this order: Garrett Mitchell, Heston Kjerstad, Patrick Bailey, Garrett Crochet and Cole Wilcox. Second round: There are a ton of prep arms in this round, and I wouldn't mind paying over-slot to grab one. I really like Tanner Witt here, but they wouldn't go wrong with guys like Justin Lange, Hunter Barnhart, Jared Jones, Ben Hernandez and Alex Santos here either if available for the Sox. They all have good arms. The last two may even be had at slot value or below, as their commitments to UIC and Maryland shouldn't be insurmountable. It may take going up to $600,000 over-slot to sign Witt, but I believe it'd be worth it -- he even wields an intriguing power bat which could play at right field or an infield corner. As teams can still spend up to 5% over the draft allotment without incurring anything more than a tax on the overage, most of the over-slot cash can be used with this pick. Third round: I really like Landon Knack of East Tennessee State with this pick here: He's a college senior whose velocity really ticked up this year. Throwing up to 98 mph with adequate off-speed pitches, he's got solid command with terrific control. All he did in four starts this year was post a 1.08 ERA and 0.52 WHIP in 25 innings, allowing just 12 hits and one walk while fanning a whopping 51! As a college senior, he still lacks some leverage in comparison with prep guys and college underclassmen. Thus, it wouldn't be out of line to sign him to under-slot to help afford a prep guy in the second round and perhaps the fourth as well. Fourth round: If the Sox sign Knack, that gives them the financial flexibilty to go after Arkansas recruit Cayden Wallace. He reminds me a lot of a young Todd Frazier with his power and defensive potential, and an under-slot signing of Knack (or other guys like Miami's Brian Van Belle, Louisville's Luke Smith or South Alabama's Drake Nightengale) could help get that done. If the Sox go a more traditional at-slot pick in the third round, guys who could be available here include Oklahoma's Dane Acker, Louisville lefty reliever Michael Kirian or Georgia Tech's Ryan Webb. Fifth round: OK, the first four picks would include Garrett Mitchell, Tanner Witt, Landon Knack and Cayden Wallace. This is such a strong pitching draft, that I believe the White Sox must go with yet another pitcher in the fifth round. A dark-horse candidate I really like is Tulane's Braden Olthoff, who converted to pitcher as a senior in high school. All he does is throw strikes, He's got a good build (6'4", 208 lb.) and doesn't have much mileage on his arm. In four starts totaling 28 innings for Tulane this year, he posted an impressive 0.32 ERA and 0.54 WHIP by surrendering just twelve hits and three walks while striking out 47. His fastball isn't overpowering (tops at 93-94) which explains why he may fall to the fifth round (his highest ranking is by Baseball America at 192), but also features an above-average changeup, along with an adequate slider and curve. With his command (plus he's never surrendered a gopher ball in his three years of JUCO and Division-1 baseball), he could be a quick riser. It's likely that Olthoff could be signed for a slightly under-slot bonus if need be as well. UDFA: With bonuses maxed out at a mere $20,000 for all players beyond the fifth round, we won't see any high school guys or many college underclassmen in the UDFA ranks. The likeliest to sign would be college seniors who've already graduated, or even likelier, players who were already fifth-year seniors who already getting up there in years. There could be strong competition for these players, and with the inability to spend more than the next guy, the odds may be with signing local guys. The Sox also have a propensity for signing players in baseball families. Here's my list of who the Sox could target: Justin Dirden: For SE Missouri State, he hit 9 homers and knocked in 26 over just 70 at-bats while hitting .414/.471/.900. He profiles as a corner outfielder and turns 23 in July. Dan Bolt: With Bradley this year, he slashed .357/.449/.881 with 7 homers in just 42 at-bats. Like Dirden, he profiles as a corner bat. Will Simoneit: A Glen Ellyn native, he slashed .377/.462/.642 as a catcher with Wake Forest this year. Ty Johnson. A fifth-year senior with Tulane, he slashed .362/.492/.681 while catching the likes of the aforementioned Braden Olthoff. Brett Auerbach: A versatile player who could play left field, third base and catcher, he slashed .388/.506/.642 with three homers, 12 SB, 17 walks and just 8 strikeouts in 17 games for Alabama. Dylan Dodd (LHP): A native of downstate Danville and formerly of Kankakee CC, he posted a 3.37 ERA and 1.09 WHIP as a starter for SE Missouri State while allowing just 22 hits and 7 walks while fanning 36 in 26 1/3 innings. Colton Johnson (LHP) With Illinois State, he posted a 3.60 ERA by surrendering just six walks while fanning 37 in 25 innings. Tristan Weaver (LHP) A native of downstate Auburn, he posted a 1.85 ERA and 0.66 WHIP for Indiana State in 24 1/3 innings by allowing just eight hits and eight walks while fanning 34. Jarret Olson (LHP) A native of LaSalle, he posted a 2.02 ERA and 1.05 WHIP this year for Michigan State with 13 hits, 15 walks and 28 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings. Eric Orze (RHP). A native of Carol Stream, Orze has determination by the bucketful as he's already survived both testicular and skin cancer. He's got the classic pitcher build (6'3, 185 lb) but profiles as a reliever as he understandably runs out of gas quickly. In 19 2/3 innings for New Orleans this year, he posted a 2.75 ERA allowing just five hits in 19 2/3 innings. Jason Ruffcorn (RHP) Son of former Sox hurler Scott Ruffcorn, he pitched eight innings of shutout relief as an Oklahoma senior as he allowed 3 hits and one walk while fanning 12. Ty Madrigal (LHP) Twin brother of Nick, he posted a 4.43 ERA for Loyola Marymount this year as a redshirt senior. His best year was as a junior when he posted a terrific 1.90 ERA and 1.08 WHIP with 54 punchouts in 47 relief innings. Chase Maddux (RHP) Wouldn't it be nice to win a public relations coup over the Cubs with this son of Hall-of-Famer Greg? At a lanky 6'2" and 145 pounds, he really doesn't profile as a prospect but he did well as a fifth-year senior out of the pen with UNLV with a 2.59 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 24 1/3 innings while walking four and fanning 19. Other impressive arms who could be difficult to sign but are worth pursuing include Portland's Christian Peters (RHSP), UCLA's Kyle Mora (RHRP), Miami's Brian Van Belle (RHSP), Luke Smith (RHSP), Auburrn's Carson Spiers and Florida Sta LHRP Antonio Velez.