SkokieSox

Nothing burger

Abel nor Howard dropped far enough where both would be possible

Team barber

Interesting. Could Kelley be had under slot at 11? Could be a really nice pick over Abel if it leads to better opportunities in rounds 2 and 3.

High school arm, unless Meyer or Detmers falls

Jared Kelly pulse - Anyone disappointed if that’s who is selected?

Quite a few mocks have Max Meyer dropping to the Sox. If size is his biggest red flag, I’m interested.

If his average dips to that extent, I would expect his homers to increase

https://www.prosportsdaily.com/articles/white-sox-a-dark-horse-to-sign-stephen-strasburg-602098.html Sox are a “dark house” for Strasburg.

Shogo Akiyama should be in the conversation. Not tremendous power, 20 homers last year, but known to be a very good defender. Turning 32, so a switch from CF to RF would seem appropriate. Good average and OBP, .303/.392 last season over 143 games. 12 stolen bases. I don’t think he’ll be very expensive, even though a few teams have interest. I like the balance and good defense he could provide. Good to have a Japanese fan support base as well.

He changed his approach. Maybe he regresses, but to dismiss the year he had as an anomaly and nothing more is short changing adjustments players make. His success came from hitting the other way, something he’s admitted to not doing very often previously.

5th

JD Martinez DH Shogo Akiyama RF

Shogo Akiyama per Rotoworld Nippon Professional Baseball recently confirmed that outfielder Shogo Akiyama is an international free agent. That means he is free to sign anywhere without having to go through the posting system. Akiyama, who will turn 32 next April, batted .303/.392/.471 with 20 home runs for the Saitama Seibu Lions. He was once considered a terrific defensive center fielder, but the feeling is that he's declined in that regard in recent seasons. Still, it sounds like there's a good chance he could come to the states next year and there should be interest.

Strasburg 5 years $200 mil

Steve Stone and him seem to be really good friends.

Didi Gregorius

Benetti earning his money tonight, watching on mute

Thanks! Didn’t realize, very promising! I’ll try finding that article.

He’s a good story! I don’t know much about his capability to be a great pitching coach. Is there some background that suggests he’s the guy?

Regarding Rutherford’s power concerns, this was a quote from last year. Does anyone know if Rutherford still trains with Yelich in the offseason? If so, I’m willing to be patient and let him continue learning his swing. "He's always been known as a line-drive hitter, gap to gap. Hits the ball hard," Rutherford said of Yelich. "He said it's always easier to be a good hitter and be able to hit the ball hard to both fields. "As I get stronger and I learn my swing and approach better, those line drives will take off and become homers. He tells me to work on being a gap-to-gap hitter and being an all-around hitter, and then let the power come when it comes."

I doubt Vizquel is managing in the minors because he’s bored. Promotion to AA looks like the plan is to stay with the future core.

Vaughn sounded like a no bullshit, cool dude

There’s 25 guys on the roster, why does he have a right to a spot that will be taken away from one of them? These are players that are developing and essentially showcasing for a future role. I’m excited about Eloy, don’t mind that he’s pushing to come up. With that said, he isn’t entitled to anything. That’s the price of being an employee.

I admittedly do not follow the minor leagues very closely, but I have to think excessive bunting has more to do with development than anything else. I could very well be wrong, it would seemingly also fit Omar's style of play.