Where do they start the season?

[Y2Jimmy0]

1 hour ago, NorthSideSox72 said:

I like Nick a lot, but I think he's got a bias here too. I just don't agree that sending him to AAA to open 2019 is a good idea.

 

I understand that part of it. I don't think he has anything left to prove in Birmingham though is my point. 

[Chicago White Sox]

1 hour ago, NorthSideSox72 said:

I like Nick a lot, but I think he's got a bias here too. I just don't agree that sending him to AAA to open 2019 is a good idea.

 

I don’t disagree about a potential bias, but I do think he has a point with the quality of the umpiring.

[Dick Allen]

3 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

I don’t disagree about a potential bias, but I do think he has a point with the quality of the umpiring.

Maybe, but if he's anything like Moncada, he's going to get rung up on pitches not in the zone anyways. 

[bmags]

Putting my optimist hat on,

The person that makes me optimistic on Collins is Omar Narvaez.

Narvaez has a supremely good batting eye. He had zero power (and certainly has a percentage uptick in contact skills, but zero power).

Baseball theory would have it that pitchers, knowing he will not chase, but also that he will not punish you, would just attack the zone and he would be helpless.

That didn't happen with Narvaez, while not a great offensive player for a while, he still walked, because pitchers aren't THAT accurate.

Collins, it would seem, should be even more difficult. If he doesn't chase junk, they should attack zone, but he has more power to make them pay.

Mainly, I don't think it's true he won't walk at major league level. I think he will. And he has more power to be more helpful than Narvaez was when he was walking but nothing else. All that, and he still may hit .200 for a while. 

Chris carter i guess.

[Jose Abreu]

On 11/21/2018 at 6:33 PM, Y2Jimmy0 said:

Jimenez- Charlotte (Until April 16th)

Cease- Charlotte

Robert- Winston- Salem (Spends most of summer in Birmingham though) 

Madrigal- Winston-Salem

 Dunning- Birmingham

Rutherford- Birmingham

Collins- Charlotte 

Basabe- Birmingham (Spends most of season in Charlotte)

Hansen- Birmingham 

Adolfo- Birmingham 

 Walker- Winston-Salem 

Burger-DL in Winston-Salem 

Gonzalez- Birmingham 

Sheets- Birmingham

Agree with all of these but I'd add that I would hope/expect a healthy, 24 year old Dunning to be in Charlotte by June. I also think Luis Gonzalez is a guy we should push to AAA if his numbers are similar to what they were in Kanny/W-S

 

[Jose Abreu]

On 11/28/2018 at 10:27 AM, southsider2k5 said:

He really sounds like Yoan Moncada without seeing him for a second.  if it isn't in a teacup, he isn't swinging at it.  When he swings, it is at 100%.

Based on what I've read, I think Collins has an even better eye

[fathom]

13 minutes ago, Jose Abreu said:

Based on what I've read, I think Collins has an even better eye

And from the games I’ve watched, he swings at even fewer pitches (strikes) over the plate than Yoan does. The walks are great and all, but the huge strikeout rate is definitely due to only taking a swing or two every at bat.

[Jose Abreu]

Does Alex Call being out of the picture change anyone's outfield predictions? I guess he could've started in Charlotte either way

[SoxBlanco]

6 hours ago, Jose Abreu said:

Does Alex Call being out of the picture change anyone's outfield predictions? I guess he could've started in Charlotte either way

My outfield guesses:

AAA: Basabe, Eloy, Cordell (also Tilson and Polo)

AA: Rutherford, Gonzalez, Booker (also Fisher and Adolfo when he returns)

A: Robert, Walker, Dedalow (also Frost)

[buntforahit]

On ‎12‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 12:59 AM, Jose Abreu said:

Based on what I've read, I think Collins has an even better eye

Seeing many of his games and talking with team mates, his reputation of having a good eye gets him borderline pitches as balls. Conversely, free swingers do not get the same calls. Brutal system, but true!

Just fyi...

[NorthSideSox72]

On 12/15/2018 at 7:07 AM, SoxBlanco said:

My outfield guesses:

AAA: Basabe, Eloy, Cordell (also Tilson and Polo)

AA: Rutherford, Gonzalez, Booker (also Fisher and Adolfo when he returns)

A: Robert, Walker, Dedalow (also Frost)

This is pretty much exactly what I have on my big board now (except that Polo isn't in the org anymore, so he's out).

Eloy comes up by 5/1, whomever seems most ready from AA goes up to AAA, and Micker joins AA at that time.

 

[bmags]

I see Basabe in AAA but probably not until 6/1

[SoxBlanco]

3 minutes ago, NorthSideSox72 said:

This is pretty much exactly what I have on my big board now (except that Polo isn't in the org anymore, so he's out).

Eloy comes up by 5/1, whomever seems most ready from AA goes up to AAA, and Micker joins AA at that time.

 

I completely forgot Polo was out. Thanks for catching that. 

I’m really excited to see how Gonzalez and Rutherford do in AA this year. 

[NorthSideSox72]

2 hours ago, bmags said:

I see Basabe in AAA but probably not until 6/1

Someone needs to stretch for AAA, and Hahn has sort of hinted he might be that guy.

[CWSpalehoseCWS]

5 hours ago, NorthSideSox72 said:

Someone needs to stretch for AAA, and Hahn has sort of hinted he might be that guy.

But he hasn't even had a full season at Birmingham yet. I would think the Sox would want him to get some more reps down there. He didn't exactly light the world on fire after he got promoted. Newly acquired George and Bennett can both play the OF, and are age appropriate organizational filler. I also wouldn't be surprised to see a FA addition with S.T. invite.

[NorthSideSox72]

On 12/19/2018 at 10:34 PM, CWSpalehoseCWS said:

But he hasn't even had a full season at Birmingham yet. I would think the Sox would want him to get some more reps down there. He didn't exactly light the world on fire after he got promoted. Newly acquired George and Bennett can both play the OF, and are age appropriate organizational filler. I also wouldn't be surprised to see a FA addition with S.T. invite.

It's not about a need in Charlotte. They can find someone for that, as you pointed out. It's about getting the actual prospects playing time.

To illustrate, here's what I have as the likely OF depth charts at the various levels for April 2019:

• AAA: Jimenez, Cordell, Tilson, Basabe (plus probably a bench OF)
• AA: Rutherford, Gonzalez, Booker, Fisher (and then Adolfo starting 5/1 or so)
• A+: Robert, Walker, Dedelow, Frost (plus probably Brown on the bench)
• A: R Gonzalez, Dawkins, Sowers, Destino

So... if Basabe goes back to AA, how do you play to play him? Do you plan to have him, Adolfo, Rutherford and Gonzalez all play less often? Doesn't seem workable. Does someone else in AA look better to move up to AAA? Booker would crumble in AAA pretty quickly and even then you'd still have a playing time problem with Birmingham for the real prospects. Basabe makes the most sense as none of Rutherford, Adolfo, or Gonzalez have played above A-ball at all, and Booker and Fisher clearly aren't ready (and the latter isn't even a prospect anymore really).

[CWSpalehoseCWS]

23 minutes ago, NorthSideSox72 said:

It's not about a need in Charlotte. They can find someone for that, as you pointed out. It's about getting the actual prospects playing time.

To illustrate, here's what I have as the likely OF depth charts at the various levels for April 2019:

• AAA: Jimenez, Cordell, Tilson, Basabe (plus probably a bench OF)
• AA: Rutherford, Gonzalez, Booker, Fisher (and then Adolfo starting 5/1 or so)
• A+: Robert, Walker, Dedelow, Frost (plus probably Brown on the bench)
• A: R Gonzalez, Dawkins, Sowers, Destino

So... if Basabe goes back to AA, how do you play to play him? Do you plan to have him, Adolfo, Rutherford and Gonzalez all play less often? Doesn't seem workable. Does someone else in AA look better to move up to AAA? Booker would crumble in AAA pretty quickly and even then you'd still have a playing time problem with Birmingham for the real prospects. Basabe makes the most sense as none of Rutherford, Adolfo, or Gonzalez have played above A-ball at all, and Booker and Fisher clearly aren't ready (and the latter isn't even a prospect anymore really).

I could totally see Adolfo starting in WS to get his comfort level of playing the field back to normal - but only a short time. I haven’t given it much thought how this would affect WS though. They’ve been relatively patient with most of not all of their top guys, which is why I think they play it closer to the side of caution. I think we see a starting OF of Rutherford, Booker, Basabe, and Gonzalez in Birmingham + using the DH to get everyone consistent playing time. Fisher has been really terrible as a guy with no position, so he’s really a non factor and massively buried on the depth chart. Wouldn’t be surprised if they just cut him or force him to 1B. Once Eloy’s called up, that could change things, but I just don’t necessarily see the Sox aggressively pushing Basabe at this point. Personally I’d like to see him have more prolonged success before being promoted. I think he could be an impact-solid regular in the long run. 

[yesterday333]

1 hour ago, NorthSideSox72 said:

It's not about a need in Charlotte. They can find someone for that, as you pointed out. It's about getting the actual prospects playing time.

To illustrate, here's what I have as the likely OF depth charts at the various levels for April 2019:

• AAA: Jimenez, Cordell, Tilson, Basabe (plus probably a bench OF)
• AA: Rutherford, Gonzalez, Booker, Fisher (and then Adolfo starting 5/1 or so)
• A+: Robert, Walker, Dedelow, Frost (plus probably Brown on the bench)
• A: R Gonzalez, Dawkins, Sowers, Destino

So... if Basabe goes back to AA, how do you play to play him? Do you plan to have him, Adolfo, Rutherford and Gonzalez all play less often? Doesn't seem workable. Does someone else in AA look better to move up to AAA? Booker would crumble in AAA pretty quickly and even then you'd still have a playing time problem with Birmingham for the real prospects. Basabe makes the most sense as none of Rutherford, Adolfo, or Gonzalez have played above A-ball at all, and Booker and Fisher clearly aren't ready (and the latter isn't even a prospect anymore really).

What do you think happens when they move Robert to AA? After a great afl I cant imagine them wanting him to stay in A+ for a long time. Do you see this or do you think he stays A+ for a significant amount of time?

[NorthSideSox72]

21 minutes ago, yesterday333 said:

What do you think happens when they move Robert to AA? After a great afl I cant imagine them wanting him to stay in A+ for a long time. Do you see this or do you think he stays A+ for a significant amount of time?

I don't think that happens right away, but after a couple months there should be a chance to promote someone else from AA to AAA. I don't think Robert is getting to MLB in 2019, and even Charlotte isn't all that likely in my eyes, the way Getz does things.

 

[yesterday333]

4 minutes ago, NorthSideSox72 said:

I don't think that happens right away, but after a couple months there should be a chance to promote someone else from AA to AAA. I don't think Robert is getting to MLB in 2019, and even Charlotte isn't all that likely in my eyes, the way Getz does things.

 

I agree. the only way he makes it to AAA is if he blows up both A+ and AA. And he would have to be at AA for a long stretch. I think its likely he blows up A+ but we will see how fast he moves from there.

[Timmy U]

The AA outfield situation is interesting.  Here's a reason to move Basabe to AAA:  Charlotte's a much, much better place to hit.  So while Basabe will be seeing a lot of breaking stuff and people pitching him backwards more, he'd at least be rewarded when he did hit the ball hard.  Results in Birmingham sometimes don't reflect how well a guy's swinging it.

That said, Robert, Basabe, Gonzalez, and Adolfo are the key guys here.  Pick what's best for them and fill guys like Booker in as needed.

[SoxBlanco]

Figured it would be good to bump this thread now that February is approaching. Any changes to people’s predictions? It looks like Collins will start in Charlotte, which was heavily debated a couple months ago. 

[NorthSideSox72]

I really think putting Collins in Charlotte is a mistake. Splitting playing time between Collins and Zavala slows both their development for one thing. Also Collins had major issues with AA pitching as it is - why throw him into a league with more mature pitchers? And nearly everyone feels Collins is not nearly ready to be a catcher full time, and they want to rush him up? Makes no sense to me. Feels like someone trying to protect their reputation by advancing a high pick even if they aren't ready.

 

[CWSpalehoseCWS]

1 hour ago, NorthSideSox72 said:

I really think putting Collins in Charlotte is a mistake. Splitting playing time between Collins and Zavala slows both their development for one thing. Also Collins had major issues with AA pitching as it is - why throw him into a league with more mature pitchers? And nearly everyone feels Collins is not nearly ready to be a catcher full time, and they want to rush him up? Makes no sense to me. Feels like someone trying to protect their reputation by advancing a high pick even if they aren't ready.

 

Agreed. I think having both Castillo and McCann as FA's at the end of the year has something to do with it as well. Sox need to know what they have in both of these guys by the end of the year. I can't see the Sox picking up the $8M option on Castillo when they can buy him out for $500K.

[pcq]

Nice write up in SSS on Walker who was part of the recent DR bonding tour. Has a smooth LH swing but described as explosive. Likes to play CF. Played at three levels but struggled at K-town with oblique and hamstring injuries. Does not sound like he would start at WS from what I gathered. Could prove to be a force in the Sally League and take it from there.  That first season for top college picks is a real whirlwind with all the changes and bouncing around.