Chisoxfn

Sox take a draft eligible freshmen (RS) out of UCLA with the 12th round pick. As a senior in highschool he was the 85th ranked prospect in the country by perfect game. Highly touted as a junior as well. Pitched in the game cod league this past summer (got hit relatively hard). Good fastball (90-94) and has been clocked as hard as 96. Was a potential 2 way player (not sure if he ended up doing such at UCLA). Command has been an issue with him but he also has flashed a plus curve ball. http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?topic_id...tent_id=8657105 Scouting video from when he was drafted by the Padres in 2010.

QUOTE (BFirebird @ Jun 5, 2012 -> 11:26 AM) I have an organizational question to throw out there for the ones in the know. Have the White Sox done a lot of re-structuring with their scouting or philosophy or anything? I guess what I am really asking is...does it appear they are going after different kinds of players for a reason or just going after best available? Sox philosphy shifted a decent amount under Bell and Lauman.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Jun 5, 2012 -> 10:41 AM) Retherford didn't play because he was blocked by two good pro prospects. That's why he went undrafted. He proved to be more talented than that. Completely agree with you. However, Retherford didn't have quite the bat speed. Whose to say this kid doesn't turn into a Howie Kendrick type player. And to be frank, given the fact that all players would be flawed, it seems to me that the Sox went with a guy here with a high floor that they think has pretty good odds of making it to the big leagues vs. a guy who has tremendous upside but a ton of downside. Given it is now the 3rd round, everyone is going to have flaws and the ceiling/floor gaps will be all over the place. The dude has done nothing but rake though. Not sure how well he'll hit going forward, but this is a guy that I fully expect to hit and excel early in his career. The real push for him will be how he handles more advanced pitching (and better stuff). That said, he put up great numbers in a very very strong conference (PAC 10 was legit this year; Stanford, ASU, Oregon, UCLA were all excellent teams). It would appear the bat speed and physical abilities are there for him to hit more advanced pitching (which is a good sign).

QUOTE (danman31 @ Jun 5, 2012 -> 10:34 AM) I hate to hate on picks, but man this reeks of CJ Retherford. Retherford was an undrafted free agent though. Big difference between the two. Retherford hit and hit and hit with the Sox (until he got the higher levels). The other question is, could he be Pedroia? I'm not saying he is, but this guy has above average bat speed. Dont' love the pick and he should be a relatively easy sign. Given that I'm not sure how much Beck will cost, I can live with this pick. Downside is a utility infielder, upside is a solid offensive 2nd baseman. Would have rather went other directions with this pick.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Jun 5, 2012 -> 09:43 AM) Love the Beck pick. One of my preseason favorite players. Was a top 10 guy before a down year. Fix him Sox. I like it more given our track record with pitchers. We have some very good coaches. Who knows if we can fix him, but hopefully the Sox can help him repeat his delivery and get him to be more consistently (consistently good that is). He's a guy, which isn't unique, whose stuff is great one day and not so great another day. Nate Jones had similar issues, however, those issues aren't near as severe as Beck's.

Nice. Chris Beck. Hard thrower, some project him as a reliever, but the dude has a strong arm. College pitcher from Georgia Southern. He was a top 10 pick in the preseason BA rankings. He did not have a good season, however, the guy was tremendous in the cape cod league. Beck has the stuff to be a front of the rotation starter though. This is a really sweet pick. I'm giddy.

White Sox are on the clock. Can you say pitching, pitching and more pitching right here.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 5, 2012 -> 09:04 AM) I didn't post that with the hopes of the Bulls getting one of them - I just meant it'd be interesting for the league. And yeah, it'll be interesting to see how this all plays out - I expect the Heat to play better tonight, but they are truly lucky to not be down 1-3. On the flipside, I could make the case that had some bounces went the Heat's way, they could be up 3-1. Boston did lose the Rondo game but they almost blew two other games late as well. They have been the better team this series, but that doesn't say much, both teams have looked plenty bad. Lebron has been fantastic though.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 5, 2012 -> 09:02 AM) I saw on Twitter that the Bulls are interested in Nash? That would be weird. And I have to admit, I liked Westbrook ALOT more as a player before these last two series. He is a heads down ballhog. Westbrook is incredibly talented and he gets his stats, but he is not good at running an offense and when you watch them in the playoffs it is really magnified. They would be better off with a guy like Rondo.

One thing that stood out to me regarding Hawkins, sounds like the Sox had scouts at practically every game he played at. They definitely appeared to do there homework on Hawkins. That makes me very happy and i'm guessing that was the case with a lot of the guys they were looking at in the earliest rounds. Makes you wonder if the Sox saw something in Bynum other teams didn't. Seems like there are a mixed bag of answers but some scouts saw a guy with patience who hit scorcing liners, but in BP, crushed the ball. Depending on how you project him, that could be a guy that could project as a .300 plus hitter with big time power. If that is the case, fantastic. In fact, some reports have both of the bats the Sox taking as being guys who can hit for a high average. When you add in there overall power potential, it is those projections (which I'm assuming the Sox scouts saw) which are the reason we see these guys picked where they were. Plus Hawkins is a plus athlete.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 5, 2012 -> 08:56 AM) Oh, well, yeah, there's no doubt about that (again assuming health). A healthy Bulls team could have made the NBA Finals this year with the corpse of Rip Hamilton. If they had James Harden they'd crush the entire league, and then I would immediately not believe that James Harden is a douche. They just need some semblance of a 2 guard and some semblance of health at some point. Totally off-topic, but what do the Heat do if they don't win the Championship this year? Many are speculating that one of the big 3 would move, most likely Bosh, but quite possibly Wade. That would be interesting. I would want Bosh. I would not want Wade. Heat still have a good shot though. They should be able to beat Boston and will be a different team by the time they play the Thunder. They are missing there 3rd best player and while Bosh isn't a superstar, he's still one of the best 4's in this league and makes them a completely better team.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 5, 2012 -> 08:39 AM) These points are noted, for sure. Harden is clearly larger than Ben, but he's also going to get a larger contract. It was the first comparison that came to mind, and it doesn't disprove the fact that he will be paid to be a 1 and whatever team does it is going to be screwed. And he is also a douche, and he gets away with being a douche for reasons unknown. I guess simply because the Thunder are 2012's America's Team. At least people are finally realizing how awesome Serge Ibaka is! I'll go this far, if the Bulls were able to replace Boozer with Harden (not at the 4, obviously, but given their existing depth down low), they would be my favorite to win the championship next year (as long as Rose is at 85%). Harden would be a great fit on the Bulls and him and Deng could play together along with Rose.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 5, 2012 -> 08:39 AM) These points are noted, for sure. Harden is clearly larger than Ben, but he's also going to get a larger contract. It was the first comparison that came to mind, and it doesn't disprove the fact that he will be paid to be a 1 and whatever team does it is going to be screwed. And he is also a douche, and he gets away with being a douche for reasons unknown. I guess simply because the Thunder are 2012's America's Team. At least people are finally realizing how awesome Serge Ibaka is! Gordon got a pretty fat contract in his own right so I'm not too sure how much more Harden gets (if any). And I don't care whether he gets paid like a #1 or not, the fact is, he's a good player and much better then Ben Gordon. I'm not evaluating his contract (nor am I signing him to a contract). Boozer is a solid player too (in his own right). Gets hated because of the fat deal he signed. Sure he signed it, but don't blame him for that, blame the Bulls for overpaying him. Boozer really has been the type of player we could expect (at least this past year) based upon his historical performance. Ibaka is very good and he'll only get better.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 5, 2012 -> 08:35 AM) Ben Gordon was just as good as James Harden in the 6th man role. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/gordobe01.html Look at those stats. Gordon was draining 3s over 40% year after year. In his third year he had a PER of 18.2. It's actually not that far off, and I don't think Harden will be a quality first option which he's absolutely going to be paid as by a bottom feeder. And he's still a douche. None of which you countered with your post. I don't think he's a douche, but I also love the beard (and purely based on that could never hate on him) and I did say he isn't going to be a #1 on a championship team. He can start on a championship team though and I didn't feel that was ever the case with Gordon. Gordon had too many issues (undersized + poor defensively) which Harden doesn't have. So while both were pretty efficient scorers (Harden is still far more efficient though, can get points in the paint and outside and doesn't need as many shots to be effective) in their time, one is not a complete liability on the other side of the court.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 5, 2012 -> 08:13 AM) Since KW Jr isn't getting out of the way (even if he should), there has to be a chain reaction starting from the top. Like... Danks2 gets promoted with Fukudome released/DL'd... Mitchell goes to AAA to take D2's spot... Early or Shoemaker moves up to AA to take Mitchell's spot... Haddow moves up to take Early/Shoemaker's spot. That sort of thing. This has actually been a pretty good year for some outfielders in the Sox system. Danks2 still K's a lot but is improving... Mitchell looking good... a bunch of marginal guys pounding the ball (Early, Haddow, Shoemaker)... just need Thompson and Walker to come around. No need to move Mitchell up this soon. He just rebounded from a slump and made some adjustments and is hitting the ball well again. Let him stay in Birmingham for another month or so then if you think he's ready, move him up. However, there is no problem with him staying in AA. It is a talented league and he's learning a lot this year (and growing a lot as a player).

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 5, 2012 -> 08:15 AM) That shot by Harden was so irresponsible, at the bar it got a collective "WHAT ARE YOU DO... WOW!" It's going to be funny when some bottom feeder signs Harden to a ridiculous offer sheet to be their primary scorer and he turns into Ben Gordon. James Harden is a quality scorer in the NBA, but his newfound "celebrity", for lack of a better word with his increased role, 6th man award, and exposure, is clearly going to his head. He's taking far more bad shots, and I don't know why it's taking everyone so long to start thinking the guys a big piece of s***. I mean, if Dwyane Wade did half of what Harden does, with the stare downs, the stupid looks, the hand signals, he would be crucified on this board. Please don't compare Harden with Gordon. Harden is a very very efficient scorer. The guy is a very good player. Star, no, but he's significantly better then Ben Gordon. And he's came up big when the Thunder needed him.

Also fun that last year, the Sox have more picks and I think got a better pick in the comp round then what we took last year in our 1st pick (47th overall) in Walker. Not saying I don't like Walker, but there is just something fun about getting a couple guys with the ability to grow into potential middle of the order hitters.

QUOTE (Springfield SoxFan @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 08:13 PM) What was the point they were making about compensation picks that do not sign? You lose the money? Do you know get an extra pick next year if your compensation pick does not sign? You lose the pick (comp picks do not get passed on to the next year; that, along with the concerns over going above slot given the new system, is the reason the only teams that will take these guys that fell in the comp round are teams with multiple picks as they can better afford to miss out, plus they have had more money allotted so they could pay overslot for one guy and then go under on 2 guys to even it out).

QUOTE (Cerbaho-WG @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 08:11 PM) Seems like he was knocked because he is locked into 1B defensively. So? He's all about the bat and power. If you don't hit you're probably not going to make it to the big leagues anyways. Excellent points. I wouldn't even be surprised if the Sox try him in left field. Sounds like a few teams talked to him about it. You already know he can play solid defense at 1B, so why not try him elsewhere (unless of course a team just really doesn't believe he can do it). Worse case, you move him to 1st a few years from now. The key with him is his bat and that seems to grade out well (swing can get a little long, but you can't coach the bat speed and raw power potential he has).

I'll say one thing, if you grade the picks based upon MLB's comps, then the Sox win out (Howard & Kemp). All that said, one thing stands out about both of these guys. They have mlb body types now and great bat speed. It is something that stood out about Viciedo as well. I like the fact that we are getting guys with some upside if they pan out. These two guys immediately become the best power prospects in the Sox system (Sox really didn't have any other then the raw Thompson, unless you look at a guy like Wilkins). And these two have better power potential then Trayce.

Rangers are a fantastic organization and just went with a guy way off the radar (from a comp round perspective). Just putting things in perspective.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 08:05 PM) SOS with KW and company cheap signable guy and drafting way above projection. Remember, the Sox have actually produced quite a bit of major league players through the draft (comparatively speaking). I don't like it but I also like the potential of the guy the Sox picked (other guys more, but thats not saying the Sox picked a crappy player). This isn't Kenny Jr the Sox picked here. Or even Wes Whisler (who was a garbage pick).

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 08:04 PM) There goes Jose's kid Sox should have taken him just because, but then I saw he didn't have the stache and realized why he slid in the draft and didn't go #1 overall.

When it is a comp pick too, I am even less surprised the Sox reached. They want to make sure they get a pick (vs. taking a tough sign who they could ultimately get nothing out of if he held out). Blue Jays take 2 guys I liked (STroman and Smoral). Maybe the Sox surprise me though and use the savings later in the 1st 10 rounds. Clearly this pick was a reach (from an overall rankings perspective) but at the end of the day, we'll know more a few years from now.

I don't like taking a prep 1st baseman this early. Like his power potential though, just prefer other guys. That said, its the sox and I'm never surprised when they take the cheap route. I will also say, they've done a very good job in the draft the past years though and when you factor in the fact that they have been so cheap, it makes it better. Still, I take the lefty pitcher any day over a guy who has to really rake to stay at 1B. Good body though.