Flash

Rutschman hit HR #5 yesterday (1-3 w/BB).

Hoping 2019 is year where are young OFrs establish real value and we get a bit of seperation in order to forecast who to keep and who to package in trade.

My current order of preference: Guessing Adley and Witt go 1...2 . 1) Adley C 1)a Vaughn 1B 2) Witt SS 3) Abrams SS 4) Espino P

if only he was taller he might be able to hit

Vauhn is inhuman. No one doubts his bat and every report suggests he will be among the fastest to MLB where he will be a fixture in the heart of a lineup. He won Golden Spikes last year (best college player) and, along with Rauchman is in two-horse race this year. 1B is one of 8 positions that needs to be manned. Reports are that he is a strong fielder. Not everyone can play middle IF. From my perspective, given Sox needs and track record of player development, he is a complete no-brainer and anyone who passes on him because he doesn't fit their idea of a protypical 1B will regret it.

WS need talent and depth everywhere. We can talk ourselves in or out on any number of players/positions. No one has a crystal ball but past and current performance is a good indicator of future. As we sit here today, it appears we have reasonable OF depth. IF is another story and there is room to improve at every position and no real rising phenoms to look forward to. That said, my biggest concern is pitching, especially if Dunning is out. The more I read about Espino, the better I like him.

Only reason they might be interested is to clear some payroll and OF spot for Harper.

Myers isn't expensive until 2020 and then, only if he doesn't perform. Guessing he would have led WS in WAR last season. I would definitely take him and his contract on if it meant nabbing a couple of high upside prospects. Who we give up in return would obviously depend on the prospects.

I was thinking along same lines but with Padres. If we can't sign Harper, lets help the Padres by taking Wil Myers off their hands. Padres have 5-6 guys rated between 15-25 who I really like, including Nayler, Xavier Edwards and Potts.

If you commit to trading Rodon, could we do better? I don't know the answer but I'm guessing several teams might want in.

Thats actually an interesting trade.

Rox 3B prospect Colton Welker might be available. He's bench material for next 8 yrs.

From Baseball Farm predicting WS buck their historical MO and pick a HS pitcher at 3: Daniel Espino is strong, athletic and absurdly flexible (he can do the splits) with an advanced 6-2 frame. Espino uses that strength and flexibility to get into positions most guys simply can’t. As a result of this, he’s able to hold 95-98 without extreme effort and has touched triple digits at times, including breaking Hunter Greene’s velo record for Perfect Game events. In addition to the insane velocity, Espino throws one of the better sliders in the class, a solid curveball and a decent changeup that will play up due to his fastball velocity. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pitcher with this high of a ceiling have this kind of arsenal at his age. Espino pitched 26 AB against players on the combined MLB Pipeline draft top 50 and Perfect Game draft top 300…in those 26 AB against names including Bobby Witt jr, batters were a combined 1 for 25 with 1 BB and 17 K! That’s dominance against the best!

well said

Through six games, Vaughn is 11-for-19 (.579) with three home runs, nine RBI, eight runs and 11 walks vs. 2Ks. Dude is a machine.

If Sox aren't players for Harper, let's help Padres clear space. How about we send them Alonso and ??? for Wil Meyers and Hudson Potts/Xavier Edwards? Padres are loaded at SS and 3rd base and Meyers is an upgrade (2+ WAR) in OF, even at his $20MM contract.

Vaughn reminds me of the first base version of Mike Trout

Its befuddling the Sox quickly threw in the towel on Harper unless the whale-hunting exercise was a head fake to begin with. As we sit here today, there doesn't appear to be an obvious destination for Harper and its not written in the bible that he's going to get 10 years at $30mm plus. This situation appears ripe for some stealth gamesmanship but we are tucking our tails and surrendering. What gives?

Assuming the $1B return on $20M invested is accurate, owners will have realized @$15% ROI on their initial investment. This is a healthy return but not crazy so.

For me, the biggest casualty of losing Machado is watching other teams sign the Grandals and Pollocks while we bungle the whale hunting. We could have dramatically improved this team for years to come for less than it would have cost to add MM but there doesn't seem to be any direction to the rebuild except placate the fans by going through the motions on high profile FAs. I'm guessing the same exercise will repeat itself with Harper.

Made extra painful by having to pass on FAs who would have helped while whale hunting.

Has anyone seen/heard of how the $300M is structured? Do we know if it is front-loaded? Incentive-laden?

You would think the FO would have a cogent communication plan with consistent messaging and a plausable explanation instead of KW acting like he's shocked.

Have the terms of the deal been published? How will the $300M be structured?

Vaughn 2-3 w1HR/2RBIs and 2 more walks.