Chisoxfn

Williams Pining for Pitching The Article goes on to mention that Kenny is not actively shopping any of the current playesr although he says no one is untouchable. It sounds like he's willing to give up any prospect in the organization and he went on to say the reason is because of 1917. Sounds to me like he's pining for a deal. It also says that its believed he is looking for a #1 starter and that JR has given him a large amount of leeway financially. Who knows if this is true, but I have no doubt Kenny is going to pull the trigger soon. The question is which prospects are going where and what pitcher are the Sox getting. All I know is that I"ll s*** a brick if I see a good prospect going for Kris Benson. However, if its Ben Sheets, I'd give up a good amount including the #1 prospect in the organization Jeremy Reed if thats what it took. Sheets could help the Sox get their this year and frankly thats what matters. Plus, getting to the playoffs boostes revenue and can help put the Sox in a position where they can add to the payroll.

Happy Bday to the two of ya. One of which is responsible for the Great Hot Chick Contest Hope you both have damn good ones

Thats really good.

Typically its because AA is where the best prospects are. The jump from AA to AAA isn't that big so if a team is very high on a prospect they may have them skip the level, especially if they think the player is special. The only difference between AA and AAA is AAA has a lot more minor league veterans that may be a little more patient, but overall, the raw talent level in AA is much greater then it is in AAA.

I think Borchard will be the 1st up, assuming his back isn't too bad. I know he was available to pinch hit tonight and I'm assuming he will be in the lineup tomorrow. I got a feeling the Sox don't want to rush Reed, especially since he's dealing with one of his first slumps in his professional career, which I believei s caused by his injured wrist.

I don't know. I think the Sox have some guys that are capable of turning into solid 5th starters, although the Sox will have to be patient with them and ease them into the development. I don't expect anyone in the Sox organization to come in and dominate. The Sox don't have any prospects that are capable of doing that, imo. However, I do feel that Felix Diaz or potentially Arnie Munoz could come in and eventually turn into a pretty good 5th starter after a few starts, well a lot better then what the Sox have had.

But since he's a two sport player you can spread the bonus around or something along those lines. Plus Fields has made up his mind to play baseball. This wasn't the case with Borchard. Borchard had no problem sticking around another year and playing football. As a 1st round pick, Fields will get a lot more guaranteed money then a 5th to 6th round pick in the NFL who will take a chance of beating. My thought is you can't not fire the trigger on a guy because something similar didn't work out a previous time. That would of been like not getting Colon last year cause the last time you gave up a few pitchers for one it ended up biting you in the ass (see the Ritchie trade).

From what I read he would be a later round selection. He has been very good for the Cowboys though. Some scouts feel he's a little too small to be a pro qb. He is 6'2 but it could be one of those 6'2 where he's really 6 ft. Also, each day I'm going to do another draft preview. The next one will focus on some players that should be available during the sandwich round (The Sox have two selections then) and then the following day will be in regards to the 3 2nd round players and then the following day one on random players I like that could be taken later.

What I suggested is having a ticker below and instead of talking about all the players do more of a focus on the early players drafted. Then start talkinga bout the organizations as a whole, drafting strategy, all those type of things because its something so few people are in. I don't think many people know how the MLB draft works and all that stuff. To me it would be neat if they did things like that. Included in that is showing video clips of some of the current prospects and what not. It would just be like a 2 day video session on future guys coming into the majors, talks with some gm's, talks with some scouts, video footage of guys that are currently in the minors. It be a great way for MLB to start hyping some of its FutureStars and while they increase their revenue by having it on tv, they also are going to help minor league baseballs revenue increase as well cause more people may end up checking out some minor league games because they are a little more familiar with some of the stars.

Dontrell Willis was pretty damn raw. I don't think he had any AAA time and he had very limited AA time if I recall. I think Brandon Webb made the jump from AA too, but not positive on that.

Its quite simple, the Sox can't have guys pitching on 9 and 10 days rest and expect them to come in and pitch good. IF they are going to go with a guy they need to do all they can to help them suceed. It is hard enough making the jump from AAA to the majors, let alone making it when your going to be rusty because you haven't pitched in your normal schedule. Pitching on the side is not the same as pitching in game situations. The Sox dicked around with Diaz, they did the same with Cotts and Rauch was and is a bum since his injury. Its not like the guys the Sox are bringing up are some of the best prospects in baseball. Some of them have potential, but in all honesty, the AAA level isn't very good pitching wise. I think Majewski has a MLB arm while someone like Diaz has a shot. Other then that, they have a good minor league pitching staff, but I don't think it will do much at the major league level. However, the Sox have quite a bit of good arms coming up in the lower levels.

Sowers is pretty damn good. The guy flat knows how to pitch, but I don't see much of a chance on him falling to the Sox pick. If he did, not a chance in hell they would pass him though.

MVP, but I've heard ESPN is pretty good too.

Or if they are in the JUCO world series, then they can get an extension of some sort or something?

I can honestly say, my curveball has more break then Rauch's and when I throw my curve it goes down in the zone. I do struggle throwing it for a strike, but when I used to pitch on a consistent basis I had every bit the curve Rauch had today. That was brutal and it was finishing at the letters.

Ya, but Billy just struggled. No matter what, Billy has been nothing but a team player and I don't think anyone will deny that.

I'm guessing draft and follows...let me look up some info on them from the draft writeup last year. 42 or 43 Eric Everly: The White Sox must really want Eric Everly, as this was the 2nd time he was drafted by the Sox. In his first year at Olney Central Junior College, Everly showed a good K:IP ratio, and continued that success with the Waterloo Bucks, who play in the Northwoods League. Could be a candidate for draft-and-follow. Brandon Johnson: 44. Brandon Johnson, 18 – L/R – 2nd – Crowder College (Freshman) Brandon Johnson is a freshman at Crowder College, who played his high school baseball at Glynn Academy in Brunswick Georgia. As a freshman it is likely that he is a draft and follow candidate. Johnson, like many latter round picks, doesn't have good odds to be a major leaguer, and will likely be a tough sign, simply because the odds are stacked against him and the money isn't there. Plus he has the leverage of being able to play another three years of baseball at the collegiate level, trying to improve his draft status. The Sox may have some other draft and follows signing soon. I think they have within like a week of their season ending or something along those lines. Rex, do you know exactly how much time they have to sign the potential draft and follows?

Well it will be interesting what happens. Did Rauch sound sincere? I'm guessing though that the people within the organization know what really happened and I don't think any of us will ever know the actuality. Maybe Kenny jumped the gun or maybe Rauch is full of balognie. Either way I don't expect to hear anything else about this other then speculation. Still, I fully believe it was the wrong thing to do, even if he was supposed to drive down, you wait until you hear from someone within the organization. Plus, I'm assuming he would be flying and not driving so he would have to wait for the Sox to set things up for his plane ticket. I just know I lean to it being Rauch's fault cause I've heard numerous bad things about him and his attitude.

No idea, but I know there have been a few articles in regards to televising the draft. I don't see why they wouldn't. I have a lot of ideas they could use that I didn't mention in the article cause I didn't want to go too in depth. When I started writing the article I wasn't planning on even talking about it and then it ended up kind of going there. I should of added more content to it though.

Munoz is who I think it will be. I just made mention of it on the post about Rauch.

I'd say Arnie Munoz is next on the list. The only thing is, if the Sox handle Munoz like they have the previous candidates, it can really set him back. Rex mentioned on the minor league board that he thinks Arnie could hold up at the major league level, but if the Sox are going to go his way, then they need to be willing to stick by him and do whatever they can to help him suceed.

I think he belted one today. I was watching the big 12 game. Huston Street pitched pretty solidly till the 6th inning when he seemed to fatigue. Fields looks like strong powerful hitter...I like him too.

The guy is a big leaguer. He's played professional baseball at the minor league level a long time and has a few outings at the major league level. Their is absolutely no excuse for this. Tells me that me and some others beliefs on this guy from the very get go were true.

Beastly...Rauch left the lockeroom and left US Cellular before the game was over. His teammates were upset and thats not a classy move. I don't care how s***ty you pitch, you stay there and cheer your mates on, especially when your a freaking rookie. Good riddance Rauch...I'd rather see you cut then ever pitch again in Chicago and Kenny I give you major props for your stance, it shows that this is a team and that the Chicago White Sox won't accept his actions. I can honestly say this is worse then what Paniagua did last year because in this case Rauch was letting down his teammates, big time.

White Sox Draft Preview: 1st Round By Jason Gage May 29, 2004 FutureSox.com The MLB Amateur draft starts on June 7th and the Chicago White Sox will have a great opportunity to further improve their minor league system. In the most recent draft the White Sox did a tremendous job adding outfield talent (Brian Anderson, Ryan Sweeney, Ricardo Nanita) as well as some good looking middle infielders (Robert Valido, Antoin Gray). The one area the Sox struggled to add was starting pitching. However, the Sox lower levels do have some good arms (Brandon McCarthy, Daniel Haigwood, Ryan Rodriguez, Brian Miller, Sean Tracey). This time around the White Sox have seven picks in the first three rounds. They pick 18th overall in the 1st round and then have two sandwich picks (supplemental for the losses of Bartolo Colon and Tom Gordon). The sandwich picks are 34th overall and 38th overall. The White Sox also have 3 second round picks (53rd overall, 59th overall, and 69th overall) and then have one 3rd round pick (89th overall). All of these early picks should give the White Sox a great opportunity to add some quality arms and a bat or two. The reason I say quality arms is because this is a pitching heavy draft and it’s a college heavy draft early on. The top picks should be college pitchers, starting with Jared Weaver and Jeff Nieneman. Nieneman, from Rice, appears to have a higher ceiling then Weaver who has been fantastic all season long for Long Beach State. Weaver is putting up numbers similar to Mark Prior, but shouldn’t be compared to Prior who has a little better stuff. However, Weaver has very good control and knows how to pitch. Nieneman, on the other hand, had some early season injury concerns but has tremendous stuff. Either way none of these players will be available when the White Sox pick, however they should have their pick of a few quality college pitchers as well as some pretty talented position players. The following are players that are projected to be taken sometime around the White Sox 1st round selection: Justin Orenduff – RHP – Virginia Commonwealth Orenduff features a good sinking fastball, changeup, and slider. He has a nice smooth delivery that is easily repeated resulting in good control of all three pitches. He is the second best pitcher in Virginia, behind Justin Verlander. Orenduff pitched well for Team USA this off-season and is 4-5 with a 2.93 ERA this season. Thus far this season he has pitched 89 innings giving up 74 hits while striking out 114. David Purcey – LHP – University of Oklahoma Purcey is a big, strong, left hander (6-5, 240) that was drafted last year by the New York Yankees in the 17th round (Purcey was a draft eligible sophomore) but the Yankees failed to sign him. For the past few years Purcey was known as a one pitch pitcher (low-to-mid 90’s fastball) but he has since improved his curveball and has further improved his control. Purcey isn’t going to be the 1st LHP selected, but he does possess the best left handed arm. He is still rather raw for a college pitcher, but has tremendous upside. Baseball America reported that the White Sox have shown some interest in him. He is 6-4 with a 2.97 ERA. In his 91 innings he has given up 67 hits while striking out 97. Zach Jackson – LHP – Texas A&M Zach Jackson is a junior college transfer from the Louisville area who has done a very good job for the Aggies this season (10-3 with a 3.02 ERA). He is a lefty that features both a two seam and four seam fastball. His fastball is clocked as high as 92, but usually is in the 88-91 range. When Jackson is on he will go right after hitters, mixing his pitches well, while hitting his spots. He also throws a slider and changeup and has good command of those pitches as well. Josh Fields – 3rd Baseman – R/R – Oklahoma State University Josh Fields is one of the more intriguing position prospects in the draft, plus he plays a position that the Sox lack depth in (Schnurstein is their only good 3rd base prospect). Fields has stated that he wants to play baseball full time, but he is a two sport player and is Oklahoma State’s starting quarterback (55 TD’s in his career). Fields is still a work in progress, but does have a strong enough arm to play 3rd base and his footwork is improving. He projects as one of the best raw power hitters in the draft and has very quick hands. He also could hit for a good average, although some scouts believe he will struggle to make contact (personally I disagree). Fields should take off when he plays baseball full time, but as Sox fans know from Borchard, there is a risk in taking a two sport star. However, one advantage is that the Sox can spread the contract over 5 years because he is a two sport player. This season Fields is hitting .352 with 6 HR and 36 RBI. B.J. Szymanski – OF – S/R – Princeton Like Fields, Szymanski is a two way player. B.J. is in just his second season of college baseball as he specifically played football his freshman year at Princeton. He caught 44 passes for 823 yards last season for the Tigers. Unlike Fields, Szymanski plays a position of depth in the Sox organization. However, it is my opinion that a team should draft the best available player regardless of the organizational depth and Szymanski could very well fit that bill. He is a true 5-tool player that is still very raw. He has flashed big time power potential, a good eye, a strong arm, and has good speed (6.45 60 YD Dash according to Baseball America). He is also very strong and lanky (6’5, 205). Szymanski has been compared to Rocco Baldelli by his college coach, although he projects to have more power then Baldelli. This season he is hitting .378 with 6 HR, 8 triples and 48 RBI. My Pick: B.J. Szymanski/David Purcey Despite the Sox depth in the outfield (Brian Anderson, Ryan Sweeney, Jeremy Reed, and Joe Borchard) you can’t pass up on a prospect like Szymanski. He is capable of doing amazing things at the major league level and would be the only one of the Sox top prospects that truly would project as a centerfielder. David Purcey would be who I selected if I went with a pitcher. He is a big strong left hander who has a lot of potential. While he is a bit of a project, he could be the next C.C. Sabathia and has been making tremendous strides since playing in the Cap Cod league this past summer.