Eric Surkamp claimed by White Sox

[Andy the Clown]

Surkamp is probably just as good as Danks at this point.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Surkamp is probably just as good as Danks at this point.

 

I couldn't disagree more.

[Dick Allen]

Surkamp is probably just as good as Danks at this point.

And you say people are talking out of their ass about Beckham. I thought you like to aggregate data.

Edited December 24, 2013 by Dick Allen

[LittleHurt05]

Surkamp is probably just as good as Danks at this point.

 

Jordan Danks?

[GGajewski18]

I like this waiver claim. Gives us more options and depth for that #5 starter. Never seen him pitch but he dominates the minors, and hasn't really been healthy enough to see the MLB. Good risk.

[SouthsideDon48]

Eric Surkamp is a great claim by the white sox. I've been watching Surkamp for 2 or 3 years now. He will be like Quintana 2.0, as in another nondescript low-level signing/claim that pans out, I honestly believe that. When the Sox first got Quintana, I had a feeling that he'd be a good pitcher for the Sox, and now I'm getting the same vibes with Surkamp as well. Surkamp will be eons better than Humber and Axelrod, and I believe he'll be better than Santiago but not as good as Quintana. Just my predictions. Rienzo is meh.

 

I would not be at all surprised if the 2014 rotation turns out to be Sale/Quintana/Danks/Johnson/Surkamp.

[The Ultimate Champion]

Eric Surkamp is a great claim by the white sox. I've been watching Surkamp for 2 or 3 years now. He will be like Quintana 2.0, as in another nondescript low-level signing/claim that pans out, I honestly believe that. When the Sox first got Quintana, I had a feeling that he'd be a good pitcher for the Sox, and now I'm getting the same vibes with Surkamp as well. Surkamp will be eons better than Humber and Axelrod, and I believe he'll be better than Santiago but not as good as Quintana. Just my predictions. Rienzo is meh.

 

I would not be at all surprised if the 2014 rotation turns out to be Sale/Quintana/Danks/Johnson/Surkamp.

The difference between Q and Surkamp is that Q was a MiLB FA who could negotiate with any team. He just happened to sign with us thankfully, but there's no reason to believe other teams weren't as interested as we were.

 

With Surkamp, he passed through the entire National League on waivers and still got past the Astros. When a write-up says 2 plus offspeed pitches and excellent command of a fastball from the left side, that to me sure doesn't sound like a pitcher that would get through half the league and still pass Houston. It sounds like someone that would get taken pretty quickly.

 

I take these scouting reports with a grain of salt, he may be nothing like that at all. Someone mentioned Jeff Marquez on here, that guy threw garbage, definitely *not* a Major League arm despite scouting reports comparing him to Jon Garland and talking him up as a #4 in rotation. We'll see.

 

If Surkamp can at least be a lefty specialist for us then Hahn's done a great job with this claim. I say this all the time, but specialists shouldn't get crapped on/marginalized as much as they do by the fans, because often when the specialists come in they are coming in at key points of the game where you either win it or you lose it, or you drop so far behind that you can't come back. Having 2 lefties in the pen that can get outs would be huge for us right now, and if Surkamp/Leesman/Veal results in a solid second option behind Downs then Hahn has done an excellent job. But I wouldn't look for more than that, although it would obviously be great if we could get something even more valuable.

Edited December 24, 2013 by The Ultimate Champion

[The Ultimate Champion]

Surkamp is probably just as good as Danks at this point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

....no

[Quin]

The difference between Q and Surkamp is that Q was a MiLB FA who could negotiate with any team. He just happened to sign with us thankfully, but there's no reason to believe other teams weren't as interested as we were.

 

With Surkamp, he passed through the entire National League on waivers and still got past the Astros. When a write-up says 2 plus offspeed pitches and excellent command of a fastball from the left side, that to me sure doesn't sound like a pitcher that would get through half the league and still pass Houston. It sounds like someone that would get taken pretty quickly.

 

Q was a non-prospect at that point. He had been made a FA by two orgs.

 

Coming into 2012 he was our #32 ranked prospect and we had the worst farm system in baseball at the time.

 

Q is Kenny and Coops best dumpster find ever. And I'm not ragging on Q, s***, we've nicknamed him after an Aztec deity.

 

I think Surkamp could be another Quintana though, as he has good control of his pitches which helped him amass his gaudy K numbers. That sounds perfect for Coop to work with.

[BlackSox13]

Q was a non-prospect at that point. He had been made a FA by two orgs.

 

Coming into 2012 he was our #32 ranked prospect and we had the worst farm system in baseball at the time.

 

Q is Kenny and Coops best dumpster find ever. And I'm not ragging on Q, s***, we've nicknamed him after an Aztec deity.

 

I think Surkamp could be another Quintana though, as he has good control of his pitches which helped him amass his gaudy K numbers. That sounds perfect for Coop to work with.

Absolutely and I'm sure we all remember how frustrated Cooper was with Santiago's lack of control so Surkamp should be a pleasure for Cooper to work with. Will be interesting to see how Surkamp developes.

Edited December 25, 2013 by StRoostifer

[Andy the Clown]

My comment was tongue-in-cheek, but if you compare Danks' and Surkamp's Oliver projections for 2014 you'll see it's not as far fetched as you might think.

[Jake]

After seeing how much an extended run in the bullpen dicked up Santiago's stuff, I'm not one to endorse moving a guy who might have value as a starter to the pen. I also don't care about righty-lefty balance, especially when Surkamp is a totally different type of pitcher than anyone else on our team. He throws a two-seamer and big curveball, primarily, with some changeups mixed in for good measure. Q throws a relatively straight heater, a cutter, a slider, and a changeup. Danks is primarily fastball-changeup, with cutters used prominently as well. In terms of pitches and pitch shapes, Surkamp is most similar to Sale...except not similar at all on the whole because he throws so much slower.

 

Anyway, Rienzo is promised nothing as he is a less promising prospect than Surkamp as a starting pitcher and had a similarly bumpy ride to Surkamp in his brief stint in the majors. Rienzo has had an extremely unremarkable run through the minors as well. Hahn has said more than once that they aren't planning for Paulino to be ready to start the year, so I don't see him being competition out of ST. Surkamp should get an honest look at 5th starter in ST and will probably be kept in AAA as depth otherwise.

Edited December 25, 2013 by Jake

[witesoxfan]

A pitcher with Sale's shapes but slower velocity sounds a bit like Ted Lilly, which, ok, cool, but it also didn't affect Sale. I also didn't notice much difference in stuff between Santiago starting and relieving other than his screwball not being particularly effective as a reliever.

 

Frankly, with this team, I want them to take the best twelve pitchers north. If that means Surkamp over Leesman and Veal for the second lefty spot, cool; if it means Surkamp over Paulino or Johnson for the last rotation spot, cool; if it means he's in AAA, cool. It's a waiver claim. The Sox have a tendency to actually push these guys as they tale their waiver claims more seriously than a team like the Cubs. If they claim someone, you can bet your butt they are going to try and use them.

[bear_brian]

The best example I can think of in more recent Sox history of a left hander who never showed outstanding stuff, but had the great combination of poise, command, confidence and a pitcher's intellect would be that 38th round draft pick by the name of Mark Buehrle. Would that Surkamp be able to emulate Mark, but not sure he has Buehrle's makeup, which Quintana does seem to have. It is the consistent ability to throw your pitch, not the hitter's pitch, and it does not mean you have to throw 93+ to be successful.

[The Ultimate Champion]

I hope you guys are right, but I just can't buy it. He got through half the league and past the Astros, how does that happen? Teams can always remove a player from the 40 to make a claim. The prospect comments make him out to be a legit LHSP prospect, and I just can't see him being that and still making it so far down the line, all the way to us. Anyway, I hope for the best, and if he's a solid second lefty out of the bullpen then that's a huge plus as it is.

[The Ultimate Champion]

The best example I can think of in more recent Sox history of a left hander who never showed outstanding stuff, but had the great combination of poise, command, confidence and a pitcher's intellect would be that 38th round draft pick by the name of Mark Buehrle. Would that Surkamp be able to emulate Mark, but not sure he has Buehrle's makeup, which Quintana does seem to have. It is the consistent ability to throw your pitch, not the hitter's pitch, and it does not mean you have to throw 93+ to be successful.

Buehrle was a draft-and-follow guy. The 38th round thing is a product of the old system, which they do not allow for anymore. You used to be able to select a guy and watch his progress, then sign him later. MB IIRC pitched at a community college & then the Sox signed him after. IMO if they still allowed that system you'd see a lot more "finds" like that, and I'm sure there have been some other pretty good draft-and-follow guys signed out of other organizations in the past. The way it is now though, you get until the signing deadline to obtain the rights of a player & if you can't come to terms on a deal then he's eligible for the next draft.

[The Ultimate Champion]

Also wite's comment about Ted Lilly seems appropriate, but like I said, I can't see an MLB-ready pitcher who looks like he could be another Ted Lilly make it to us on waivers. The Giants know pitching & didn't want him, neither did anyone in the National League. We'll see what he looks like in Spring. Often these guys, when they're on the field, don't seem to match the scouting reports at all.

[Jake]

Mark Buehrle has zero good pitches. He is a man of pure mystery. He has a bad curveball, a straight and slow fastball, a straight changeup, and a barely moving cutter. He locates beautifully, is very smart in pitch selection, and never tips his pitches. He is a freak of nature as far as I'm concerned.

 

Surkamp's stuff is objectively better, it's just a matter of whether he has half of the moxie and savvy of a guy like Buehrle.

 

He has been compared to Barry Zito which is a good comp to me considering the very slow fastball and plus curveball and plus change.

[Quin]

Buehrle was a draft-and-follow guy. The 38th round thing is a product of the old system, which they do not allow for anymore. You used to be able to select a guy and watch his progress, then sign him later. MB IIRC pitched at a community college & then the Sox signed him after. IMO if they still allowed that system you'd see a lot more "finds" like that, and I'm sure there have been some other pretty good draft-and-follow guys signed out of other organizations in the past. The way it is now though, you get until the signing deadline to obtain the rights of a player & if you can't come to terms on a deal then he's eligible for the next draft.

 

Nope. Mark was taken and signed, no follow.

 

He's possibly the most unique pitcher ever in terms of how he succeeded.

[ScottyDo]

I hope you guys are right, but I just can't buy it. He got through half the league and past the Astros, how does that happen? Teams can always remove a player from the 40 to make a claim. The prospect comments make him out to be a legit LHSP prospect, and I just can't see him being that and still making it so far down the line, all the way to us. Anyway, I hope for the best, and if he's a solid second lefty out of the bullpen then that's a huge plus as it is.

This may have more to do with coming off TJ surgery and not wanting to take the risk with a 40-man spot than any aspersions on his pitching abilities. We may be amongst the minority of teams willing to use a normally-valuable roster spot on someone with high upside and high risk with whom we are not that familiar. Most teams probably have a prospect or two he'd be blocking. Not us. That said, there's no way he's a guaranteed ace or anything. Definitely a project.

[The Ultimate Champion]

Nope. Mark was taken and signed, no follow.

 

He's possibly the most unique pitcher ever in terms of how he succeeded.

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2013/4/19/4...ve-mark-buehrle

[The Ultimate Champion]

This may have more to do with coming off TJ surgery and not wanting to take the risk with a 40-man spot than any aspersions on his pitching abilities. We may be amongst the minority of teams willing to use a normally-valuable roster spot on someone with high upside and high risk with whom we are not that familiar. Most teams probably have a prospect or two he'd be blocking. Not us. That said, there's no way he's a guaranteed ace or anything. Definitely a project.

This is the only thing that would make sense to me.

[Quin]

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2013/4/19/4...ve-mark-buehrle

Touché.