Look at Ray Ray Run

I mean, guys. That isnt Torii Hunter on the left.

Mike Trout came up as a 6'2 220 lb CF'er. Luis Robert is coming up as a 6'2 220 lb CF'er. I'm not saying but I'm just sayin'.

Yeah, to use a football comparison. Robert is a little shorter but roughly the same size as Julio Jones - who is one of the most impressive physical specimens in the nation's most physical sport.

To put Robert's size in perspective, Buxton is about 6'1/6'2 190. Robert has 20-30 pounds on the guy but runs at similar top end speed readings.

Yeah, but he's 6'2 about 220 now. That is absolutely massive for a guy who probably has about 4% body fat. That is a lot of weight to carry with elite speed, and speed can diminish a bit more quickly when you're that size as a kid. He could still fill out a bit more too.

Right now Robert is a freak defensively. The concern is he's absolutely massive so people think he'll eventually size his way out of CF. Hes big and bulky but fast as all hell. Not something to worry about today though.

Yeah, I think this is related to the fact that he doesnt really know which pitches to target quite yet. When he guesses right and squares it up he's an absolute monster. When he doesnt pick the right pitch with his aggressive approach he induces himself into softer contact.

Yeah, but the issue with a guy like Robert is he had absolutely zero reason to change his approach. He was so dominant. Once he struggles a bit he may adjust quickly - hes clearly talented enough. Also, K/BB numbers dont correlate great from A ball to MLB. Franco is awesome and discipline matters but it's simply a skill that doesnt always transfer as you move up. You need to be able to hit the ball with authority in the big leagues to get the most out of good plate discipline.

There are so many ways in which Brinson and Robert are nothing alike though; which is why I hate how lazy the comp is. Also, every single player in the big leagues will have a "comp" that ended up being a bust. To compare the two, let's just start with their MiLB iso's. Brinson' best season had ISO's of 236 and 231. Robert had an ISO of 296 between three levels last year. Robert's wRC+ was 20 points higher than Brinson best year. Robert was the best player in MiLB last year; Brinson never held that title. The ONLY place they are similar is in their K/BB. It's a lazy comp.

It may be one of their only wheelhouses, but at least it's one they can call there's!

ZZZZZZ; there stubbornness with Luis Robert is just ludicrous at this point.

Yeah; I don't think an extension makes sense for either side today. Moncada would be smarter to bet on himself one more year, duplicate his production and sky rocket his value. The Sox would be better off waiting to invest 200 million than investing 150ish now with some uncertainty about his sustained success. I think locking up Abreu and Robert actually makes it easier to extend Yoan as well; assuming this is a fun year for them. I think we're looking/talking about a Yoan extension next year and not this one and that's OK with me.

Betts fits their target demographic more than Springer - Hahn said the Sox feel comfortable giving huge deals to guys under 30. Springer being older might mean they are more hesitant to offer him; regardless, I think the Sox make another huge splash next off-season as they'll still have a ton of money to work with now that they locked up Robert.

And I said it before, but you just can't say this very often about the White Sox; they are the best in baseball at this and it's a really important and underrated aspect of rebuilding and sustaining success/window. The Cubs didn't extend anyone and now they are in a tough spot because they are up against the tax and they can't pay their young stars due to overpaid FA's. This is an excellent move by the White Sox to maximize their window, even if it does take on a bit more risk.

I love Robert, but all prospects have an inherent amount of risk attached. While I believe he's a safer prospect due to his 5 tool package, there's absolutely no guarantee he's a + player at the big league level. If he was below average, the Sox overpaid him by quite a bit. To use the poor Lewis Brinson comp that fangraphs fears, if he was anywhere near as bad as Brinson this would be an albatross of a contract. Obviously there's a lot of upside to cancel that out, but it's risky to guarantee 50+ million dollars to a guy who has never stepped foot on a big league field. There's a reason this is a record setting contract - as was Eloy's - and it's because the White Sox are one of the only teams in baseball willing to take on this kind of risk for their young stars.

Yeah, one thing I truly find fascinating about this organization is their risk assessment; Jerry is more comfortable guaranteeing someone like Robert, who has never played a big league game, nearly 100 million dollars total, than he is doling out long term deals for veterans. I think the logic here is that Hahn has shown that he succeeds doing this, and Jerry is happy to accept that risk because their is a big potential reward for it. FA contracts really don't have huge possible rewards as they are almost always paid market value. A guy like Robert may actually end up being worth 200 million so Jerry will take the shot on him. It's interesting how they assess risk, and to be honest it's honestly something the White Sox might be the best in all of baseball at doing.

BOOOOOM goes the dynamite!

8+6 is not more than 20 or 21. Neither gio or moncada can come close to matching because they were bad one year. I'm not projecting a 9 war season from yoan eirher. They'll get about 7-8 million each. Lopez about 4 million.

Even with arb salary growth, that would be crazy. Mookie had accumulated 21+ WAR in 3 seasons pre arb and he got 10 million dollars. Bryant got 11 million after an mvp campaign and 21 WAR over 3 years. Moncada and giolito cant come close to those numbers.

I think there are really only two possible outcomes for Robert: 1. The slider hurts him and he doesn't lay off it so he puts up like a 250/295/500 type slash line - still a 3ish WAR player - but his discipline hurts him this year until he makes further adjustments. 2. He is so damn talented that he can lay off it easily when it's actually hurting his production (which he hasn't had to do yet), he makes the quick adjustments and absolutely pummels mistakes for a 285/330/585 slash line because he's one of the most talented players on the planet. You can't really judge how a player will adjust when he's never had to make that adjustment yet. Some guys pick it up really quickly; some take a little time (like Eloy last year) and some take 800-1000 PA's to figure it out.

The one thing I've said about Madrigal more than any other is he is never ever overmatched - regardless of stuff or level. That should make his transition easier as he won't be working on approach as much as what pitches to attack to maximize his outcomes. His approach and hands are as good as it gets, and he won't get himself out and he won't get overpowered by anyone really.

Yeah, that team above is like a 95 win team. Hard to calculate WAR without defense, but assuming the same production defensively and on the bases: 1. Robert - 5.5 2. Moncada - 6 3. Abreu - 1 4. Grandal - 4 5. Encarnacion - 2.1 6. Eloy - 3.6 7. Anderson - 3.8 8. Mazara - 1.8 9. Madrigal - 2.9 That's 30.7 WAR just from your bats with no bench players. Add 2 WAR for the bench, and this team would have had a higher WAR than every team last year but for the Dodgers and Astros. That's a lot to ask. Add in the arms you did - I'm leaving so can't run those through to get projected WAR with those stats - but you're projecting like a 95 win team above.

If this is Robert's slash line, that's one hell of a rookie season. That .878 OPS would be pretty impressive and assuming he's a + runner and fielder, that makes him a 5-6 WAR player as a rookie. I'd lower your expectations for his bat even though he is certainly talented enough to absolutely dominate.

I think Trubisky reflects poorly on Pace, not Nagy. I truly believe if Trubisky was capable, Nagy would have gotten more out of him. I don't know how to judge Nagy because the driving force of an NFL offense is the QB and he doesn't have a capable one.

Yikes, from a pretty well placed source who has a lot of knowledge: The Bears primary target this off-season will be Alex Smith. Yuck.