Jump to content

the_Xsport

FutureSox Writer
  • Posts

    79
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Previous Fields

  • Favorite Sox Minor League Affiliate
    Charlotte Knights (AAA)

Recent Profile Visitors

352 profile views

the_Xsport's Achievements

Enthusiast

Enthusiast (6/14)

  • First Post
  • Collaborator
  • Conversation Starter
  • Week One Done
  • One Month Later

Recent Badges

0

Reputation

  1. Thank you everyone! I'm glad people find the updates useful. I know that I thoroughly enjoy doing them.
  2. QUOTE (Superstar Lamar @ Jun 2, 2017 -> 01:09 PM) Thank you for the work. Would it be possible to add the level the players are playing at next to their name or in the narrative for those of us who are more casual with our minor league knowledge? Absolutely. I'll do this for next week! Thanks for the suggestion and for reading!
  3. QUOTE (ChiliIrishHammock24 @ Aug 26, 2016 -> 01:26 AM) Really good stuff Owen. I love the comp to AJ Pollock. You'd expect most young prospects, particularly OFers, to say their comp is Mike Trout, Andrew McCutchen, Torii Hunter, some star like that who everyone knows. But AJ Pollock is not only a great player, but tells me Call actually follows the MLB pretty closely and that actually seems like a really nice ceiling comp pick in terms of a player who is above-average in everything, but not outstanding or poor in anything. Thank you! Yeah, I hadn't even thought of AJ Pollock as a comp for Call until he said it. Once he said it, I immediately thought of how great a comp that is, albeit for his absolute ceiling. Like 2015 AJ Pollock would be the ideal outcome for Alex, but it's not totally out of the realm of possibility. After speaking with him, I agree the make up is off the charts. He puts in the work and I personally think he'll add more mass to his frame. 15-ish HR was the ceiling I envisioned for him. Pollock had 20 last year... But I do think Call has the chance to have at least doubles power that can impact the game. Add in the plus glove and it's a player with a solid floor. The guys with a playable floor and simultaneously a glimmer of upside is the most ideal profile IMO. Not saying Call will be AJ Pollock by any means, but if he does succeed that is the level of success I think he can have.
  4. QUOTE (southside hitman @ Jul 28, 2016 -> 11:26 AM) I agree 100% with NorthSide here, they rushed Anderson and Fulmer to help the big league club try to stay in contention. Anderson (surprisingly to me) showed he belongs, Fulmer is a different case entirely. If the Sox have any aspirations of him sticking in their rotation, they need to send him back down to keep working with Birmingham's pitching coach J.R. Perdew. Perdew was his pitching coach in Winston-Salem and helped him through his early season struggles in Birmingham. Totally agree Rob. Very disappointed they took him out of his groove and he's gaining nothing in development by languishing in the pen and not consistently working as a starter. The stuff is obviously great and plays, but his command needs serious work still, especially if they have dreams of him starting.
  5. QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 28, 2016 -> 09:17 AM) This is a combination of that, but also because a lot of us are big fans of this draft. Curbelo was a sixth round pick and higher than Fisher or Call. Hansen had 1-1 potential going into the year. Burdi can be stretched into a starter. Personally, I'm a huge fan of Hostetler's drafting approach. I second this. The overhaul of the Top 10 with recent draftees is more a credence to the draft than an indictment on the system. At the same time, Corey Zangari, Tyler Danish, and Jacob May have all cooled to the degree that they're not Top 10 worthy. Courtney Hawkins in particular did very little to be even Top 20 IMO, which is reflected by his #23 rank. If it helps, I think Adam Engel is legit and myself and others had him a little higher than 10th, so that's one incumbent bat that you can hang your hat on.
  6. QUOTE (hi8is @ Jul 17, 2016 -> 09:39 PM) You're missing a 1B / 4 hitter in your lineup. I said the same thought process with some different names coming back - some of the same names, about 3 weeks ago. I'm on your train man. It's tough not to think of a 2017 rotation like this thou: Sale Q Shields Rodon Fulmer Shoot. I wrote this up really fast. Thanks for telling me, accidentally deleted that line. Yeah, that rotation could hang with anyone. The problem is that Fulmer's their best trade chip to get a true impact bat to support it and they've proven unwilling to spend for premium bats in FA. If they were going to sign Cespedes this offseason and throw some money at Weiters or something, I'd be on board.
  7. Really, there are two contingencies they should take based on where they're at in two weeks. ONEIf they're less than 4.5 out and 55-50 (Going 10-4 over final 14), then you definitely BUY That's a convincing run and puts them in a good spot to maybe snag a wildcard appearance. Anything can happen in the playoffs, especially with their pitching. If they have a 82-85 win season, you trade for a guy like Carlos Gonzalez this offseason (unconvinced he's moved at the deadline) and go all in for 2017. If the White Sox hover around .500 in 2017, even if you're just a couple games under, you do a massive fire sale. A purge of sorts. TWO If the White Sox are 7-8 games back and around 5 games under .500 (They very well could be considering this stretch) then you undergo a major sell off. Deal Todd Frazier to the Mets for an arm. Maybe Zack Wheeler can be had. He's coming off Tommy John Surgery, but him and a lotto ticket is something I'd do for Frazier in a heartbeat. It's in the division, but Melky Cabrera would look awfully nice in an Indians uniform. A headliner around Top 10-15 range for Melky makes some sense. I'd personally target LHP Rob Kaminsky. Duke and Robertson could both be dangled. In fact, it would make sense to call the Cubs on David Robertson. Eloy Jiminez is an up and coming outfielder in the Cubs system, an oft-rumored guy that could be used for a reliever. Pay down some of Robertson's deal and getting the #7 Cub prospect seems doable. Cubs would control D-Rob for 2 more years, plus the rest of 2016. He'll come cheaper than Andrew Miller or Aroldis Chapman. The Cubs and White Sox aren't adverse to making deals. On Sale and Quintana, I've finally come to terms with the best way to handle the pair. You'll never get fair value for Quintana GMs obviously aren't as skewed to name value as fans but it's a tough sell to your fanbase to trade top chips for a 1-A. Although, I personally feel Q has reached top-tier at this point; just below the superstar echelon. First, why do the White Sox have to trade one of these two arms? Well after 2017, a year Chicago is unlikely to see the playoffs, the White Sox are potentially losing Frazier, Melky, and Lawrie anyway. That leaves them with new holes to fill for 2018 in 3B, 2B, OF. Meanwhile, who knows who has taken the reigns in CF. That's another hole, along with DH and C. So it's the 2017 offseason and you have 2/3rds of your line up to fill and there's a dearth of free agents on the 2017 market. The farm system has more fruit by that point, but not the depth or middle tier of prospects that can get you 4-5 replacement level to above average position players. So if 2018 doesn't work because again, not only are Eaton/Sale/Q/Abreu a couple years older, but they're also insulated even less than they are now for the aforementioned reasons. So you have one year of Chris Sale left and then the championship window clock really runs out. That's why I'm dealing Chris Sale in the 2016 offseason. I think you run him by Boston for foundations like Moncada/Benintendi or Bregman/Reed from Houston. Now I think it makes sense to keep Quintana. He's controlled through 2020 and will fit very nicely at the top of the rotation supporting this revamped line up. Combine this with burgeoning prospects like Collins, Anderson, and Fulmer and this looks like a real window that could open as soon as 2018: 1. CF Adam Eaton (L) 2. SS Tim Anderson ® 3. 2B Yoan Moncada (S) 4. LF Andrew Benintendi ® 5. C Zack Collins (L)* 6. 1B Blake Swihart (S) 7. DH Jose Abreu ® 8. 3B Trey Michaelczewski (S) 9. RF Eloy Jiminez ® *Collins' bat should be ready in 2018. His glove may take a bit longer. If that's the case, stick him at 1B. Caveats are that Trey and Adam Engel (Mid-tier starter or 4th OF) may not make it through the system, although I like both players. If so, there will be plenty of money off the books to at least temporarily plug these holes. Rotation: Jose Quintana (L) Carlos Rodon (L) Carson Fulmer ® Zack Wheeler ® Spencer Adams ® Alec Hansen has a world of upside. Certainly a high risk, low-hit prospect but has front of the rotation stuff if he can hone in the command. Maybe by 2018 or 2019 that's the case. Here's the plus side. The 2018-2019 FA class is historically stacked. Not smart to bet on it because there will be flux in injuries, extensions, and performance but this young core will be very cost-controlled. In fact, so cost-controlled that if Reinsdorf actually wanted to open the pocketbooks for a Jose Fernandez or Manny Machado, it would work financially. Overall, that's just one direction they could go in. Of course, trade returns are never guaranteed. One of Moncada or Benintendi could very well bust, but this is merely a template. Let your minds run wild with your own targets.
  8. QUOTE (ron883 @ Jul 10, 2016 -> 08:36 PM) I think it's time, folks. Jose has been a complete and utter disappointment this year. .748 OPS is unacceptable from him. His OPS has taken a .100 point dip each year since his rookie year. Like I previously predicted, Jose has been figured out IMO. You throw him junk outside and he can't resist. Jose Quintana is much more deserving of being on the banner. Thank you ron883, you have encouraged me to come out of the woodwork and write my first Soxtalk comment. "You throw him junk outside and he can't resist." Did you know Jose Abreu's contact% on pitches outside of the zone is 62.4%. In 2014 it was 58.7%. He's also swinging at outside pitches in line with what he's done since coming stateside. In fact, almost everything about Abreu is almost a photocopy across the board. His batted ball data is relatively the same, as are his line drive, fly ball, and ground ball rates. He's hitting the ball to all fields still. His strikeout rate is actually the lowest of his career. Now, I'll concede that the eye test says Abreu has been a different guy, and the counting stats tend to agree. The truth is that earlier in the year pitchers weren't getting him to swing at junk on the outside, but they were jamming him inside. Not all that different from how he's been attacked since his arrival. The true disparity was that he wasn't barreling up balls on the outer third or even center cut, locations where he's made him money in the past. Guess what, the quality of the contact has gotten a lot better since early June. Abreu was always a guy that could look awful on two pitches and then rope a gap double on the next. He's a very talented hitter, see him taking a 102 MPH pitch down low back up the middle against Cabrera the other day as a prime example. Not many guys can do that. Abreu hit .306/.355/.531 (.885 OPS) in June and appears to be back to his old self. If you're so inclined to double his stats, an imperfect practice to be sure, he's looking at 22 HR, 38 2B, and 104 RBI. Not exactly something I'd complain about. I don't think it's crazy that he'll hit 15 or more bombs in the 2nd half and get closer to that 30/100 mark again. I'm glad you predicted this awful demise. Please double down on your prediction and place it on your own banner. We'll see if you want to hang it up after the season.
×
×
  • Create New...