WestEddy

Do you feel Monty's a 4-6 WAR shortstop going forward? Keith Law has written about how when talking to scouts about him, a collective opinion was that he didn't even look like a top 100 prospect. I get it, the back injury could have seriously hampered him in all aspects of his game. I'm even willing to say that as his growth stabilizes and they pay more attention to stretching and training, he could be *a* guy. I don't think he's Bobby Witt Jr. He's not going to be a perennial MVP dude. But he doesn't have to be. If he's a solid guy who hits and doesn't embarrass himself in the field, that's a clear win from the 22nd pick in his draft year. The power could play in a corner, and that's a nice guy to have for 6+ years. I just don't think he's "the franchise" anymore. That's over.

Twitter is still having problems with embedding, today. Martin Maldonado revenge game. Padres starting lineup for 3/11 vs CHW: 1. DH Luis Arraez 2. RF Fernando Tatis Jr. 3. CF Jackson Merrill 4. 3B Manny Machado 5. 2B Jake Cronenworth 6. SS Xander Bogaerts 7. 1B Yuli Gurriel 8. LF Jason Heyward 9. C Martin Maldonado SP - Dylan Cease

This is cool. Are you snipping the headers?

This lineup certainly has a B-game feel to it. Baldwin in CF and Teel starting are interesting.

Yes, I am referring to Montgomery as a major league player, going forward, and what kind of player he can be, comparing him to Benintendi's first 6+ years of control. I used Benintendi, as we all know him. Fangraphs' last rating of Montgomery pegged him as a 55FV prospect, meaning a player who give you 2.5-3.3 fWAR a year. If we got Benintendi's first 6+ years of production out of Montgomery, that would be a win.

Elijah Evans profiles some options for the opening day bullpen for Just Baseball: It's an Open Competition for Innings in the White Sox Bullpen | Just Baseball

Read the sentence. Tops. Out. As. A. 3.5 bWAR. Dude. Benintendi put up 4.8 bWAR in 2018. Then he put up 3.2 between 2 teams in 2022. That is a type of player. If C. Monty averages well over 2.0 bWAR over his first 6 seasons, that's a good player to have. So, Earth. On the world called Earth did Benintendi top out as a 3.5 bWAR dude.

The interesting thing is that most of the pre-Rule 5-draft prognosticators missed out on Shane Smith. Melissa Lockard of The Athletic is the only one who tagged him as a Rule 5 pick. The MLB draft brain trust of Callis, Mayo and Dykstra didn't even have Shane Smith as the top pick from the Milwaukee org. If he wasn't even on anybody's radar, kudos to pro scouting. Unless McKinven suggested him, in which case, you can't keep hiring new bench coaches each year to get special insight on another team's org. depth. Or maybe you can...

Sure, getting the extra year is a thing. You can get the extra year by leaving him down a month at the beginning of the season, or letting him get exposed, then sending him down for a month. Still the same month of service time saved. And with the slippage of Monty's star, maybe he tops out as a 3.5 bWAR dude. That's Benintendi. I would hope that in 7 years, we've produced another 3-WAR 3B or LF.

I coming to the realization that C. Monty's not the guy. But he may be *a* guy. Maybe he's a 3B who can hit you 25 HRs a year. Of a LF. He's no longer such a commodity that he needs to be handled with kid gloves. If he can hold his own, not embarrass himself at SS, you have a cheap position player. If he takes off, you might get the extra draft pick for top 3 ROY. If not, he gets exposed in the bigs, you drop him down and work on whatever is the new weakness. If Getz is establishing a pipeline of talent through the draft and international signings, there will be other shortstops coming through. They already have Gonzo and Bergolla who, if they can hit .260 w/10 HR and acquit themselves defensively, can move Monty off short as soon as next year. I don't think this rebuild will result in this Godly "These are the core 5 players we will build around!!!" It's just going to be a more steady stream of prospects coming through who can step in and hold down a position. Monty becomes a starter. Then Teel/Quero filter up. The better hitter moves from behind the plate. Zavala/Wolkow/Saucke/B. Monty - one or more of them start looking like a guy.

If he's rostered all year. If he's pounding out 2 WAR into July, I think he's gone. Unless the Sox slip through some vortex and are in the thick of a divisional race.

That, and the development feels a little more organic. It's not just a spate of first rounders and a bunch of trades.

Scott Merkin takes an educated whack at the OD roster. He has Benny and Slater on the IL, so Fletcher and Ramos make the team. White Sox 2025 Opening Day roster projection

I'm so glad we have such sage old souls here to warn us against irrational exuberance. I always thought that a 3-3 game in spring training meant a player would hit 1.000 in their 540 PAs during the season. Learn something new every day.

It's not even a sample size. It's a game. Teel had a good game. The end. Lord Almighty.

Ian Eskridge and James Fox break down the reasoning behind the top thirty and just missed lists. Great listen. FutureSox Podcast - 2025 Preseason Top 30

Ian Eskridge on The Au Jus podcast, talking about what goes into the rankings of prospects. Ian is a great listen. Beefloaf laughs too much for my taste.

Maybe Michael Taylor should bring his mitt to the plate when batting. Catch it and throw it into the outfield.

I saw the offensive side of the roster as: C - Lee/Thaiss 1B - Vaughn 2B - Rojas 3B - Vargas SS - Monty, or Amaya if he's unable LF - Taylor CF - Robert RF - Tauchman DH - Drury Bench - Sosa, Fletcher, Slater If Taylor gets cut, I'm guessing it's Colas or Baldwin. Meidroth doesn't seem to be crushing Amaya, and Baldwin just isn't getting the reps.

Bergolla has the hit tool, no real power. I think it's telling they have Shane Smith in the 5 day rotation in ST. The Brewers did a weird thing with Wilson last year, where they had a 1-2 inning opener for him, then he'd enter and throw 5. Maybe he's that guy.

I like this Bergolla kid, already.

Can't get Twitter to give me embed code. Amaya departed with hip tightness.

2-spot in the first. BB to Sosa, HBP Robert. Rojas singled in a run, Vargas w/the sac fly. Hold 'em and go home.

Yeah, I think they have that.