OneDog847

So much is riding on the shoulders of Cease and Kopech going forward. Both of these guys need to hit the ground running and develop into top of the rotation arms.

CJ Abrams is a 2019 SS/MIF with a 6-2 182 lb. frame from Alpharetta, GA who attends Blessed Trinity Catholic HS. Long and slender athletic build, very projectable physically. Outstanding runner, 6.29 in the sixty, 4.19 on a turn on a triple, runs sub-4.0's home to first with little obvious effort, gliding easy runner. Left handed hitter, efficient load and trigger with a smooth and fluid swing, very good barrel control with loose hands, line drive contact middle of the field to pull side, gap power, going to lead some leagues in triples. Smooth footwork in the middle infield, very quick transfers, lots of athleticism, throws from a lower arm slot, has the tools for shortstop but actions might fit very well at second base. Good student, verbal commitment to Alabama. Again, if the Sox interest in this guy is legit than you know that KW is still lurking around the scouting department. Hostetler's draft philosophy has been college guys with high OBP and advanced hit tools since he took over (Collins, Burger, Sheets, Madrigal). Abrams is a total 180 of that.

Let Ruiz pitch all Summer in Charlotte. Bring him up in September if he is doing well down there. Cut bait with him in the offseason if he continues to get shelled in AAA.

Matt Kemp isn't quite washed up enough yet for the Sox. The Sox will probably wait until July 2021 to acquire him and sell a few Kemp t shirt jerseys before he retires.

Who lol? Probably a wise career move for Mr. Sowers.

Yep. If the Sox are really in on Abrams then you know KW is still lurking around the scouting department. Abrams can probably do back flips all the way down to first base but is he a baseball player?

2019 is a tank year. Wins and losses do not matter. The organization hopefully had a developmental plan with Cease and should stick to it. Underperformance and injury at the big league level should have no impact on Cease's development. My best guess is that he is up after 5 or more starts in Charlotte.

Very true. It's highly unlikely but I would love a long form journalism piece to come out one day about the Machado and Harper FA sagas. It seems pretty accurate to say that JR was heavily heavily involved in the Machado negotiations and the Machado friends and family plan.

Last I heard Jay was in Sn Diego carrying around Machado's luggage and arranging tinder hookups.

None of these dudes are that exciting. The Sox will be extremely lucky if one of them turns into a productive mlb pitcher.

Matt Foster? Who is that? Has Johnson even pitched in AA yet? Ian Hamilton has been getting lit up like a Xmas tree.

We are three years deep into this rebuild and the FO has been drafting college relievers left and right over the past few years. Something does not compute.

Says who? People in Chicago have unrealistic expectations on the pace of a rebuild since the Cubs did it so quickly. Sox are still a good 2-3 years away from competing.

Probably time to cut bait with Fulmer. Dude is a waste of a 40 man roster spot. Let someone with some actual upside take his place.

LMAO. You sound like a Blockbuster Video Executive telling his Board not to worry about the new invention called the internet.

Yep. And besides Robert and maybe Collins the minors are looking pretty barren. The tank is far from over unfortunately.

Nah. Abrams fits the KW prototype to a T. Mr. Williams is likely all over this kid.

I'm skeptical of that. Anyone get a reading on his velocity tonight now that he is in a AA stadium?

Whoever said a successful rebuild should take 3-5 years? What the Cubs and Astros did is an anomaly. The Sox rebuild is on its own trajectory. If the Sox ain't gonna pony up $ in FA then we are most definitely looking at a 6 to 7 year rebuild easy.

What is his velocity at? Something just isn't right with him. I don't think he will ever be the same after Tommy John.

Burdi is likely toast. Let's hope the Sox learned their lesson and will never draft a college reliever with a top 50 pick ever again.

Good. Get these guys up to the Show later this Summer.

Coop has a job as pitching coach for as long as he wants it. Him and the FO appear to get along well and that is all that matters. Managerial chemistry appears to be more important than results on the field for this organization. Next year is a huge year for the Sox pitching staff. Cease and Kopech are going to have to be on the levels of Thor and Kluber right out of the gate if they Sox plan on competing next year. No pressure there...

Ha. I'm pretty sure the phrase "prospect development isn't linear" was coined somewhere and sometime by a floundering general manager.

Too early to tell about the Sox rebuild. Just like with prospect development, rebuilds aren't necessarily linear. We might have to suffer through another two or 3 years of bad baseball before we see any light at the end of the tunnel.