SoxBlanco

If this is someone Boston wants to dump, does that mean the prospect we get is better than the prospect we give away? Or does the fact that Boston might include money change things?

That’s a fair opinion. But when you phrase it like “Then he can’t…”, you make it sound like anybody who has a setback is automatically disqualified from being considered the best player in a system.

Hypothetically, if the White Sox acquire Jordan Hicks, would they be acquiring him to be a starter or reliever?

Huh? You’re saying elite talent can’t have setbacks, and if they do, they can’t be considered the best player in a system?

I’ve gotten tricked twice in a 9 hour period, thinking this would be a thread about prospects moving up a level.

Yep. It’s a fantastic discussion. Keep at it, fellas. I’ll just sit back and sip my beer.

Agreed. Crazy that he was the only player not ranked as a top 100 prospect to hit 20+ home runs at age 20 or younger.

I don’t even think he was referring to you. Your arguments always seem to center around the baseball side of things. I enjoy reading your disagreements with people because they are logical and level-headed, even if I don’t always agree with what you’re saying. Meanwhile, the disagreements between people like southsider, Eddy, and Cali are nauseating.

I’m really excited to see what Bonemer can do this year.

Instead of “bullpen days”, we’re gonna start having “Rule 5 days”. Paez pitches the first inning and Alberto pitches the second. Then the R5 veterans come in with Smith going innings 3-8 and Vasil closing it out in the 9th.

If you’re projecting ahead like that, then what about Bonemer? Could be Caleb at 3B, Roch at SS, and then Colson in the outfield or at 1B. Then again, maybe Bonemer moves to LF.

How do all those words you typed have anything to do with the post you quoted? We were discussing how players can sometimes struggle in AAA and then succeed in the majors, like Colson. It had nothing to do with using Smith in the bullpen.

Agreed. The numbers can especially be misleading for pitchers because we don’t know what they are being asked to work on.

When do people expect them to get the call up? Hopefully they follow Colson’s strategy of dominating in the majors after looking shaky in AA and/or AAA prior to getting the call. Seems like many fans have faded on both of them, similar to how they faded on Colson.

This was my first thought as well. “Highly likely” could just be another way to say front runner.

Good call. The 2018 draft is a pretty depressing list of names.

That stretch in Charlotte for Baldwin was insane. It honestly felt like he went deep every single game for a couple weeks.

Never thought there would come a time where Robert, at age 28, would have the lowest wRC+ projection in the lineup.

Really? You think they would make a decision now and then not change no matter what happens between now and the draft? Roch is the obvious pick right now. They would 100% pick him if the draft happened tomorrow. But they will obviously see how everything plays out.

How are you feeling about Smith? He had a solid showing in the AFL, I believe. Not sure how much that matters, but it seemed like he was getting better near the end of minor league season, as well.

You can get away with it if your starting 2B can play SS.

Love the Bonemer ranking. Credit to @Autumn Dreamin for this link:

Thanks. I didn’t realize Skubal had that velocity increase. You didn’t really answer the questions from my first paragraph, so I turned to Chat. It sounds like the run value stats are measuring results more than pure stuff, similar to ERA. Does that sound right? You could locate a perfect fastball with the bases loaded, but if the hitter breaks his bat and bloops one in for a couple RBI, it’s hurting your fastball run value (just like it’s hurting your ERA). Now, usually the best pitchers have the best ERA, so I’m guessing the best pitchers also have the best pitching run value stats. But it sounds like stats like FIP and xERA would be better predictors of future success. Would you agree with that?