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All these things are why I have been repeating myself about why the Sox cannot have sustained success. There just haven't been any resources put into developing young players. This is on Reinsdorf. Luhnow runs his club ruthlessly. If scouts, coaches etc cannot fall in line with teaching things the way they want them taught they are gone. They have 75 high speed cameras throughout their systems. They not only take numbers and analyze them but tons of film to break down the farm and guide the youngsters. It doesn't work for everyone of course but at least they make a serious attempt to develop their players. Sustained success for a club like the Sox means they have to develop their players. They are almost 4 years into the rebuild and here we are looking at them only now trying to implement things, but I can guarantee it won't be close to how the Astros do things. After all Reinsdorf got a World Championship the old fashioned way so why bother with a new way of doing things. Too many too cozy in their jobs. It's great working for Reinsdorf but not so good at producing much success let alone sustained success. Like I said before. Where is our Max Muncy ? How many think if we had got our hands on him that he would be close to a 5 WAR player. The Dodgers took Walker Buehler with the 24th pick in the 1st round and turned him into an ace. All the Sox keep doing is picking up guys and releasing them . They catch and release. Rinse and repeat. Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result. Welcome to insanity.

That nearly 1.000 OPS might have something to do with it. Of course we would expect him to fail miserably .Which White Sox prospect among the top ones has come up and instantly been good ? Let's at least acknowledge he has been a cosistently good hitter in his minor league career and especially good this year .

Hardly guys who matter much. It's not like they are elite starting pitchers or 3-5 WAR types . I'm surprised you didn't mention Walker Buehler since I saw you bring him up in another thread. I'm no expert on who has found these hidden gem types in the draft or through other means but guys like Muncy and Buehler are difference makers. Hahn's idea of thinking outside the box was to draft and or acquire relief pitchers. You know those guys with the wildly inconsistent careers who all of a sudden contenders didn't want to pay much for in the recent trade period. Who needs every day position players or a good starting rotation when you have relief pitchers ?!?

The Sox are only slightly better than last year. Slight upward trajectory while Detroit and KC trending down. That's the difference. Minny is better but they always beat us regardless . Cleveland on fire now.

Look I don't like the way the FO office does things either but to start bashing the players isn't the answer. Injuries happen. The answer to that is depth like the Yankees have shown this year.That's why I don't advocate trading prospects just yet. Everyone finds fault with even the best players. All that does is create paralysis by analysis. No one is ever good enough. They are either too old , too injured, lucky , don't walk enough and on and on. You try to build a team that can win a championship. The rest of the stuff about sustained success is just a pipe dream The Sox haven't done anything for us to think they can have sustained success. They won't put the money into doing what is necessary to evaluate talent properly. How has drafting gone since the rebuild started? Have they done anything to think any kind of success can be maintained ? Have they discovered or developed any hidden gems ? How is it the Dodgers , Astros and Yankees can get all this depth or find hidden gems when a team like the Sox can't do it during a rebuild when the talent level is so low and they give so many chances. Where is our Max Muncy ? If the Sox had got him can anyone be at all confident he would ve ended up doing as well as he has with the Dodgers ? At this point I can't ,nor can I be at any point, in the future if things remain status quo. What has the status quo produced so far? Traded away young talent for 2 pitchers Samardzija and Shields . How did that work out ? Talent evaluation is terrible . Got a good closer for a terrible defensive catcher with years of control who was one of the few on an upwards projectory with the bat and also one of the few who had good AB's. If they got Colome to trade him that didn't succeed either. Failed to close the deal on Machado when he was there for the taking. SIgned a few friends and family who became some of the biggest stiffs they ever got. Just a small fraction of those dollars could've been spent on high speed cameras and some salaries for guys with knowledge to analyze the film or hired away people from the good teams. Apparently they can't develop hitters or good fielders. All they can do is try to sign the best free agents because they aren't much good at evaluating the middling ones either. The same guys are still in charge

Jack Jack Jack this idea that having a high batting average is mostly luck has got to end. Is it luck they make enough contact to find holes or hit balls down the line or over peoples heads or hard enough to get through holes. I agree that in the age of the shift its much harder to win multiple batting titles but guys like Gwynn, Carew, Mauer, Ichiro all who won multiple titles are just truly gifted with the bat. The more hits a team gets the better off they are so while a nice OBP is great a high OBP with a high batting average is even better. When you are young you have better skills, as you age more experience, to utilize those skills. But sooner or later skills erode so the experience means less. If we continue to say skills,age and strength have given way to luck then it's what you think you have learned about baseball that I have to question.

Why would anyone think playing 3rd is tied to his hitting ? It's his new approach that changed his hitting not because he switched positions. The best moves you can make is 1 move that plugs 2 holes Then we have really good players at 3rd and 2nd.

I've been saying that for ages except for the trade Madrigal part. You have money spend it. Keep prospects let them get better or worse . Still need depth .

Also it's not like the 2nd half has been all that many games so far. Pointing to his numbers so far in the 2nd half is a lot more ridiculous than saying how good he was in the WHOLE 1st half.

If you are talking about Rendon being injury plagued I'd like to know how he has put up 18.3 and counting bWAR the last 4 years while he should finish the year averaging 600 AB's for those years. Tell me he is not the best position player available and why you wouldn't want him. He also will not turn 30 until June next year. Try to get something right.

Tough yes, impossible ? No.That's all I'm really saying.

in 2016 Delmonico hit great in AA and faltered in AAA. But it's cool,many don't think he belongs in the top 30. I do . So be it. I am not doing a disservice to futuresox ,not even close. They are the experts and I am sure they value input. Frank Thomas was not a good 1st baseman, Edgar Martinez, David Ortiz are among many great names who played almost exclusively DH, Ortiz didn't make a name for himself until he joined the Red Sox at 27, Edgar Martinez had close to 250 career AB's before he got a real chance at age 27. My old English teacher said you write for you own satisfaction but you also write for the reader. The readers are Sox fans who want to know more about the happenings on the farm and who we can reasonably expect to have a chance to help the team in the future. Mercedes has a better chance to help the team than many on the list since he is so close to a call up. They do their jobs in listing the players they think have the best chance to be good players from every level of the minors. They also do feature articles on many players and podcasts. Maybe I just think the ones closest to the majors deserve special attention and that is not the job of those who rank prospects. The readers want to know the most significant names for the neat future. Only the most ardent fan gets excited about DSL guys. They are just too far away. Outside of Collins and Mendick, Yermin is the name I most see mentioned around here from AAA and Yermin is outproducing them both by a long shot. He can't turn back the clock and become younger, he can not become a great fielder but he can continue to hit and that could be enough.

Does Lucas even throw the curve any more ?

What exactly are the same things they said about Delmonico that even applies to Mercedes ? Did Delmonico jump 3 levels in 1 season ? Did Delmonico tear the cover off the ball in AA and AAA in the same season ? Was Delmonico never in the Sox top 30 prospects ? Were the same things people said after or before he was called up and had good games with the Sox ? It was reasonable to think the Sox found something when Delmonico was 24 and put up some decent numbers with the Sox just as it was reasonable to expect more from Palka this year. Both however crapped the bed thereafter, I just don't see any parallel between Mercedes and Delmonico. All I thought, and I completely understand why it didn't happen, was Mercedes could've been in the top 30 because he does have some hitting upside. Just a DH like a Nelson Cruz type can be very valuable. No big deal .

You are absolutely right. There have to be priorities , The Sox need to recognize this and act accordingly. The Sox have some of the worst production in the league at DH despite having a seemingly endless supply of bad fielders A huge upgrade there could be Abreu if only the Sox had the balls to tell him he will be DHing the majority of the time if he wants to stay with the Sox. Then they could sign a better fielding guy to play 1st who hopefully can provide offense as good is not better than ABreu. Despite many being down on him it isn't easy to replace his bat . Catcher is probably the 5th position on the list and I'm not real confident the Sox will be signing 5 free agents that will all be as productive as we hope. But we will need upgrades to the lineup too so Grandal may be one the more realistic options there too. I'd love Rendon at 3rd base and then up hugely upgrade 2nd base by moving Moncada there. I know Moncada's offensive production has coincided with the switch in positions but the 2 probably are not related and he should be able to continue his hitting abilities despite a position change. It would also provide depth .

He hasn't been a terrible minor leaguer but he does have some things in his past including bone spur surgery on his elbow ,suspension for violating Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program and also a disciplinary suspension a few years ago .https://www.milb.com/milb/news/houston-astros-no-6-prospect-david-paulino-undergoes-elbow-surgery/c-257048844

Of course I understand . But there are arguments to be made that he has never been to the big leagues before and DH is a legit position in the AL and has been for many many years. You guys are always saying development isn't linear and Yermin proves that. I don't think those things should be held against him. The Sox have a major hole at DH . Imagine him coming up and actually doing well for 5+ years. Despite being 26 does he still not have a floor and ceiling ? He is certainly a lot closer to helping the Sox and more realistically being called up then some in the top 30 will ever be. When doing ranking isn't that a consideration ? Don't you provide these rankings to help the average fan know who may help the Sox in the future ? He is a key name in that regard. I'm not saying you are wrong I greatly appreciate the service you provide but guys like Yermin deserve a spot . In my eyes it's a disservice to the fans to leave him off the list. More than just the diehard fans should be aware of who he is and your rankings would help that. He has done everything he can despite limitations to be a factor while guys with many skills fail all the time. I think he should be applauded not ignored.

And a 1st baseman

Just enough offense to hold off a 9th inning comeback from the A's. Eloy HR. Lopez gave up no runs in 6.1 innings to continue his recent run of good starts.

A save the hard way.

Ugh now Chapman wih 2 guys on. Bear down .

In other baseball news Mets came back again to beat the Nats 4-3 . Mets now have won 15/16. Aristides Aquino hit 3 HRs and that makes 7 in 10 games since he was recalled and Cincy pounding Cubs. Houston crushing O's 20-2.

Then it's fair.

Not sure what you mean .

Yerminator and Zack Attack.