Chisoxfn

I would too...Larish is a freaking stud. He was hurt this year and dealt with a change of position. This was the best college rated hitter entering the season and lik you said had an absolutely sick season, plus he had a tremendous eye and would of filled an organizational weakness (1st base), although he has a strong arm. I guess one stat guy got him in Depodesta. Still, I'm absolutely shocked he slid so far. Teams must of called him and the agent said he wanted 2nd round money no matter where he went so they let him go. He was a junior so I assume he'll re-enter again next year. Either wya I'd of taken him and considering all the Sox reaches in the earlier rounds, they could of probably given him good money. Can't only blame the Sox though, cause all the other teams minus the Dodgers were fools as well for letting him continue to drop.

Ya, some of their reaches really had me confused. I think the reason was so many high picks made them take some of them, but I was puzzled at them not taking Jason Vargas when he was still on the board as well as them passing up on Szymanski. Still, can't say I'm too dissapointed, plus its so damn hard to tell anyway.

He's going to be a pitcher, or at least thats my belief. Has a very good arm and some serious raw potential. He's a bit more of a project then you would like to see that early in the draft though. But left handed power arms are hard to find.

Hard to say thus far cause it depends heavily on the signings. I'm pretty pleased with the draft, although I would of taking Jeff Larish from ASU, sometime during his slide to the 13th round. Still, Sox looked to get some guys with potential high ceilings. Depsite that, I don't really like rating it, but I like the guys they got, now its just letting them play and seeing how they all pan out.

An Overview of the First Day By Jason Gage June 7, 2004 FutureSox.com The Chicago White Sox started the draft by taking Josh Fields, a 3rd baseman that had been considered a favorite to go to the White Sox. Fields, like another top prospect Joe Borchard, was also a college quarterback. While Fields was likely to be selected in the NFL draft, it wouldn’t be until the latter rounds and Josh realizes baseball is his future. However, while Fields was the first pick taken in the draft, he isn’t the player that intrigues me the most. That notion belongs to left handed pitcher Giovany Gonzalez. Gonzalez attended Monsignor Pace in Florida, but was kicked off the team a week before playoffs due to an incident between his mom and the head coach in regards to Giovany’s brothers playing time. Despite that incident Gonzalez was Monsignor’s ace pitcher and featured one of the best curve balls in the high school ranks. He also throws a good fastball (88-91) that has good movement and has an impressive changeup. Its very rare for a high school pitcher to feature three good pitches as well as good control. He has committed to the University of Miami, which will likely make him the most expensive of the compensatory selections. Another unique thing about Gonzalez is his high leg kick. In short, Gonzalez may have the highest ceiling of any of the players selected by the White Sox. Once signed he is one of a few rookies that could potentially see Kannapolis by seasons end. Another pick that surprised me was the White Sox selection of Stanford catcher Donald Lucy with top catchers Kurt Suzuki and Jason Jaramillo still on the board. While both Suzuki and Jaramillo have had better, more productive college careers, but Lucy is the one with the most upside. He’s an athletically gifted catcher who would have been a 1st or 2nd round pick out of high school had he not already committed to Stanford. He then played second fiddle to Ryan Garko (Now with the Indians) and became a starter this season. Offensively he has a lot of power potential and defensively he is quick behind the plate with a strong arm and quick release. He’s shown the ability to block pitches and has quick reflexes for a catcher. Matthew Olson, a 3rd round pick, also looks interesting. Olson did nothing but win for Oklahoma City University going 12-0 with a 2.55 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 81 innings. They were the #1 junior college team in the country during the season. He features a good fastball (89-94) with a very good knuckle curve. Realistically, you can make comparisons of Olson to Kris Honel. Olson wore down as the season went on and should be carefully watched because he was limited to 38 innings his first due seasons, thanks in large part to tendonitis during his sophomore year. The last player I’m going to heavily highlight on the 1st day is Adam Russel, who was selected in the 6th round out of Ohio University. At 6-8, 250 pounds Russel strikes fear in the opponents before making a pitch. Then hitters see his fastball, which consistently hits 95 MPH, and they are struck with more fear. Russel lacks a good secondary pitch, but his arm was worth being taken this high and he was projected to go a little earlier in the draft. Other Prospects to Note: Raymond Liotta - Liotta is a very odd pick. He has a solid fastball and a good curveball that has lots of late movement. The odd thing about him is that according to MLB.com’s scouting reports, he didn’t pitch all of last year. It appears that Liotta pitched for Tulane two seasons ago and then transferred to Gulf Coast Community College. The likely reason he didn’t pitch last season is that he was in-eligible. Lucal Harrel – Likely draft and follow pick who features a good fastball (90-93). He appears adamant about playing at least a season of junior college. Brandon Allen – High school linebacker, who is a first baseman. He shows great power potential and is a good athlete. Has hit better with wood bats, which bodes well. One flaw is he has trouble making contact, but he should improve now that he will be focusing on baseball full time. He could potentially play left field as well. Nick Lemon – Lemon, who went to BYU, is much like Adam Russel (featured above). He features what might be the best fastball in the draft (98 MPH) but has no control and absolutely no secondary pitches. He walked 50 and hit another 8 in just 37 innings this past season. However, he did limit opponents to a .217 AVG, which is a testament to his potential. Ryan McCarthy – He was a very good defensive shortstop for the UCLA Bruins (5 errors this season), but will likely move to 3rd base in the professional ranks. He has shown some power potential and could be a sleeper. Of course he has #1 pick Josh Fields ahead of him. Adam Ricks – Ricks was drafted as a second baseman and grades out as a good defefnsively infielder, but some scouts believe he could make the move behind the plate. Offensively he has a very smooth swing and uses all parts of the field. Could be a definite sleeper. Fernando Alvarez – Drafted out of Florida International, which is the same school that Ricardo Nanita came from. Alvarez is a little raw, but has the tools to become a good outfielder. He generates some power and grades out to be a good defensive outfielder, although a move to first base is also a possibility.

For Charlotte???

Not a problem, I have a blast doing this type of stuff. Its my hobby. Some people surf out where I am, I like writing stuff on baseball and prefer snowboarding during the winter

Well the McCarthy kid from UCLA was a shortstop, however he's likely to move to 3rd base. He did just commit 5 errors though, so he is good defensively. Steve, your list is up now . Now I'm going to write up an overview on just a few of the players taken in day one.

2004 Draft Choices By Jason Gage June 7, 2004 FutureSox.com The first day of the major league draft came to the end with the White Sox taking 3rd baseman Josh Fields to start the day while taking RHP Brett Scarpetta to finish the day. The final 32 rounds of the draft will go on tomorrow and tomorrow night FutureSox.com will have an updated list of all the White Sox picks. Check back with FutureSox in the coming week to ten days to check out FutureSox.com’s draft review where we will give tidbits on every player selected. One trend to point out is the fact that the White Sox went very college heavy, which should make the players easier signs as well as give them at least a little bit of a head start in their development. Just 5 of the Sox first 22 picks were from high school. The Sox also selected 14 pitchers, one of which, Nick Lemon, can throw up to 98 MPH and was rated as having one of the best fastballs in the draft. 1. Josh Fields – 3b – R/R - Oklahoma State University 1s. Tyler Lumsden – LHP – Clemson University 1s. Gio Gonzalez – LHP – Pace Monsignor High School (Florida) 2. Wes Whisler – LHP/1st – UCLA 2. Donny Lucy – C – R/R - Stanford 2. Raymond Liotta – LHP - Gulf Coast Community College 3. Matthew Hansen – RHP – Oklahoma City University 4. Lucas Harrel – RHP – Ozark High School (Missouri) 5. Brandon Allen – OF – Bats: Left – Throws: Right - Montgomery High School (Texas) 6. Adam Russel – RHP – Ohio University 7. Tim Murphy – LHP – Glascock County High School (Georgia) 8. Nick Lemon – RHP – Brigham Young University 9. Ryan McCarthy – 3rd/SS – R/R - UCLA 10. Adam Ricks – 2nd – S/R - University of Miami 11. Garry Bakker – RHP – University of North Carolina 12. Daron Roberts – CF – R/R – Cal State San Bernardino 13. John Egbert – RHP – State University Rutgers 14. Michael Swain – 3rd – L/R – Wabash Valley College 15. Carlos Torres – RHP – Kansas State University 16. Fernando Alvarez – OF – L/L - Florida International 17. Jacob Wild – RHP – Bakersfield College 18. Brett Scarpetta – RHP – Hononegah High School (Illinois) 19. Caleb Cooper - 3rd - R/R - Cal State Hayward (Sophmore) 20. Michael Dubee - RHP - Riverview High School 21. Brian Flores - LHP - Carlsbad High School (New Mexico) 22. Matthew Mansilla - SS - American Heritage High School (Florida) 23. Derek McNeil - SS - R/R - St. Leo College 24. Josh Hansen - C/OF - R/R - University of San Diego 25. Justin Sincock - RHP - Millikan High School (California) 26. Daniel Jordan - 3B - R/R - Gulliver Prepatory 27. Logan Williamson - LHP - Pensacola Junior College 28. Gregory Young - CF - R/R - Delaware Tech Community College 29. Frank Viola - RHP - Florida Community College 30. Matthew Zaleski - RHP - Indiana State University 31. Nichols Walters - LHP - Mountain Ridge High School 32. Eric Sheridan - RHP - Saddleback Community College 33. Brandon Cooney - RHP - Broward CC 34. Mario Suarez - 3rd - R/R - Florida International U 35. Evan Tartaglia - CF - L/L - Elon U 36. Kenneth Williams - CF - S/R - Plainfield HS 37. Robert Grinestaff - C - L/R - Okaloosa Walton CC 38. Shaun Spearman - SS - R/R - St. Pius X School 39. James Leigh - LHP - Bryant HS 40. Justin Roelle - LHP - Iowa Western CC 41. Matthew Rozier - RHP - Meridian CC 42. Michael Schower - LHP - Riverview HS 43. Ian Murray - RHP - Jefferson College 44. Steven Muck - RHP - Covington Catholic HS 45. Jason Sullivan - RHP - Crowder JC 46. Jason Rodriguez - SS - L/R - Alta Loma HS 47. Richard O'Brien - C - R/R - No School 48. Peter Vuckovich - C - R/R - Clarion University 49. Dennis Guest - 2B - R/R - St. Joseph College 50. Bryan Wagner - RHP - Thunderbird HS

That or they may of had both rated similarly and Szymanski is probably a little more raw. Plus Fields does also fill a need in the organizatoin. Need is something I don't like to look at typically, but if two playesr rate out similarly then you look at signability and organizational strength, imo.

Ya, working on something for FS now on it. I'm just doing a ton of reading trying to catch up on all that was missed by going to my damn summer school class

Didn't Chat Hutchinson end up getting hurt? And Drew Henson can't really be considered on this scale cause he was away from baseball for so long. Also, I don't have any numbers in front of me, but I can guarantee you there are also some pretty good playesr at the major league level and talent wise, Fields was not a reach. He basically went at a position he was slotted. I wasn't even a fan of Fields up until a week or two ago when I saw him swing. The guy has loads of power and should be a good average hitter. Since he's a two sport star, the Sox can spread out his signing bonus as well.

At 18 I thought Fields was a good pick. I liked Szymanski more because of all his upside, but Fields is possibly the best pure hitter in the draft. I am dissapointed the Sox didn't draft Larish at one point during his freefall to the 13th round. Fields will come in and fill an organizational need, but thats not it, he has a shot to be one of the best power hitters in the organization and that includes the major league level. I wasn't high on Fields until I saw his performance in the big 12 championship series (7-17 or so with 2 HR's) and some doubles and his homers were CRANKED. Very good swing and he seems to have an advanced eye.

He could be older though which would make him eligible for the draft. If so, I'll make sure I see him play. They are playing Fullerton at the super regional this weekend.

Sounds like a Kris Honel clone.

Thom, thanks for the updates. Also want to point out to you and anyone else following the draft that if you look on the futuresox board, there is a thread on all the draft picks

Who did the White Sox just take?

Their will be a partial one tonight and a full ass one in a week or so. Full ass one takes a ton of time. Also, no more updates to FS till tonight cause I'll be gone at school.

Ya, I saw where he played for the Cape Cod league and really excelled, especially as a pitcher. From the sounds of it they are going to use him as a pitcher. Whisler has a good arm, can get it into the mid 90's, just have to develop his other pitches and such.

Guys, I'm gonna take it back, Lucy will be a good one. I remember seeing this guy play a while back and remembering he stood out. Only reason he didn't go higher is because he was playing behind Ryan Garko up until this year. Guy has a very strong arm and is probably the most athletic of the college catchers. Hit .313 this year with 12 HR and 47 RBI. I know Suzuki is a better player collegiately and maybe even a bit more talented, but I'm sure this has something to do with the high number of picks so the Sox had to make some pre draft deals. By the way Vargas just went off the board to the Marlins.

He's supposed to have a power arm so the Sox must think they can make a project out of him. He shouldn't of gone this high, but he entered this college season as a pretty highly thought of lefty.

Jarmillo jumps off the board now.

What the freak.....Suzuki is a damn stud.

No, I'd say the odds are very slim. He knows baseball is his future.

Ya, he was a really good pick where the Sox got him. Probably a bit of a tough signing, but the Sox usually are pretty solid at judging this.