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Another efficient inning for Rodon 3 up 3 down on a popout ,a nice play by Saladino playing third on a grounder and another ground out. Rodon through 3, 1 hit ,3 K's and no walks.

Sox score 2 unearned runs. Melky singled in a run and Asche doubled in the 2nd run. 3 hits in the inning to go with 3 K's. Shoemaker 7 K's through 3 innings for the Angels.

Rodon 13 pitch inning in the 2nd. Engel robbed Maybin of a single with a nice catch and Rodon finished the inning by K'ing Carlos Perez .

Davidson triples off the wall at the 420 mark but Moncada goes down looking.

Rodon 22 pitch 1st inning . K'd Trout on 3 pitches. Threw a lot of strikes. Pujols fouled off a few pitches which got the pitch count high and eventually with the infield shifted to the left hit a little dribbler to the right which rolled about 20 feet onto the OF grass so pretty weak contact . Also K'd Valbuena. He looked strong.

I've been reading the recent Fangraphs articles about the top prospects and future values ( http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2017-top-100-prospects/ and http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/valuing-the...-100-prospects/ ) and I am convinced that when the Sox do trade Quintana that obtaining position player prospects is very important. The thing I get from these articles is that positional player talent is more valuable and easier to predict upside than pitchers because pitchers get injured more and low upside pitching is more valuable than low upside hitters. The Sox have received mostly high end pitchers in the Sale and Eaton trades and while that is very good it appears organization are aware that pitching is more of a crap shoot than hitters. This appears to be the difficulty with trading with the Yankees or Astros because they likely aren't budging on positional player talent because they are more predictable and, also, in some cases , plan to replace older players . The best bet at the trade deadline appears to lie with either the Yankees or Astro's contending but still needing a starting pitcher to make them World Series candidates. This is not news of course. But it also appears to me that even though a trade with the Cubs would seem unlikely ,they have to be considered among the teams that may end up needing starting pitching help and also have good position talent. Lackey is likely to regress sooner rather than later. Lester isn't getting any younger though is very consistently good . Arrieta showed a few cracks in the armor and Hendricks seemingly came out of nowhere to dominate. They just can't be as good as they were last year. All it will take is a likely Lackey regression, 5th starter problems and some regression from their excellence of 2016 and 1 injury . Unfortunately with their defense a lot of regression from anyone besides Lackey may not be likely. A heavy workload from the last season could also effect them. But since the baseball gods are fickle and with the Cubs having some high end positional talent it would behoove the Sox to consider trading with the Cubs if the situation warrants. Hahn & Co. cannot afford to overlook the Cubs just because they compete in the same city with them.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Mar 19, 2017 -> 09:05 AM) Good point. Actually it would be 1 good defender in an otherwise bad outfield. Avi was not as bad out there as some may think. While you have to make your own determination on the value of Catch Probability and other defensive metrics, Avi looks like the only OF who was at 100 percent in the 2 and 1 star categories. Granted he didn't have as many chances as some and his rating on the more difficult chances isn't very good but even Mike Trout didn't grade out too well in the 5 star catch category. Plus for whatever the OF lacks in range Avi and Melky both have very good arms. So overall that's why I generously called them mediocre rather than bad.

Coach Q is very impressed so far with John Hayden. I hope he continues to play well . He brings a physical presence that the Hawks need. His goal against the Leafs was quite impressive in that he took a pass at his feet directed the puck to his stick with his skate and shot it all in one motion. https://www.nhl.com/video/t-283423460/c-50509903 If Q starts using him on the power play, where he will provide a net front presence , he could stay with the hawks through the playoffs. He was very good on the PP with Harvard. Outside of Panik, Anisimov and Toews the Hawks need more of that and Toews takes a beating down there . Fun fact: On 3/18 he scored a goal for the Hawks , on 3/11 he scored a goal against Harvard. The Hawks have won 16 of their last 19 games and 11 of their last 12 on the road.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Mar 18, 2017 -> 07:17 AM) Very well could be true. But to what end? He's a placeholder on this team, and a 5th OF, if that, on a playoff team. Prefer to see fringe prospects over fringe "proven veterans" be the placeholders. Since Bourjos is most likely the Sox best OF defender the Sox have to take into consideration that better defense will help the pitcher look better for trades . I know one good defender in an OF of mediocre might not make much difference. However the Stat cast people have come up with a new stat called Catch Probability. This link explains it and its flaws http://camdendepot.blogspot.com/2017/03/th...-and-catch.html while this link https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/catch_probability_leaderboard is the Catch Probability leader board that shows Bourjos as making 7 5 star outs which puts him very high on the list for that category which are the most impressive outs recorded.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Mar 17, 2017 -> 10:38 PM) I could see Camelback Ranch from my roof if I wanted to. I drive by it often. With the rebuild in place there doesn't seem any excitement from my end. Part of that has been I'm so into the Blackhawks that I haven't paid attention to anything in the NFL or MLB. Are some of the prospects putting in some time, guys that most likely will not be on the Sox opening roster? I haven't been to a ST game in a few years. I thought about going maybe once this year but it seems like with a few guys gone it's like watching another team. What has your experience been and what would make it worth going? If you came from the Midwest this past week or this week it must be shock to experience 90+ weather. It is for me and I live here. The Sox are my fav team followed by the Black Hawks and I follow both closely. To that end I always think spring training is worth it. Can't wait for it to start tthen can't wait for the season to start. Once players get in a Sox uniform they are Sox so makes no difference to me if there is roster turn over. It's fun watching the young guys and imagining them all reaching their potential even though I know very few will. If you can't get excited about guys like Moncada and Kopech I don't know what to tell you. Even some of our left handed youngsters like Hayes and Delmonico have had nice springs. I suppose our levels of interest depends on our mindsets. You say with the rebuild you have lost interest whereas to me it's still the WHite Sox and they always interest me. Just because they are rebuilding and you know before hand they will lose many games it's really no different than previous seasons . Now the Sox are just being more honest with the fans instead of making half-cocked roster decisions and pretending to compete.

With his 1 for 1 performance today, Moncada has his batting average up to .265 with a .918 OPS .

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Mar 17, 2017 -> 04:31 PM) You're probably right; still I would rather see fringe prospects play ahead of fringe veterans. Avi is only 25, so I can understand it. But Bourjos is 30 and was cut, as the deadspin guy said, from the 91 loss Phillies. I think Bourjos might be quite happy to be back playing mostly CF and we could see a bit of a rebirth from him. He may have lost a step but he is still a very good fielder. Staying healthy is always a problem for him.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Mar 17, 2017 -> 05:29 PM) That's what I thought. Pretty sure I read something recently that Kopech was working on a CB. The third strikeout looked like a 12-6 hammer and not a Slider. If he can harness a four pitch mix, man is he going to be nasty. Kopech's potential reminds me of a few other Texans, Josh Beckett and Kerry Wood. Or that other famous Texan Nolan Ryan if Kopech can harness the curve. We can dream.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Mar 17, 2017 -> 03:42 PM) http://m.whitesox.mlb.com/video/v1240940383 Has Kopech added a CB to his arsenal? That third strike out looked to be on a 12-6 hammer. Pretty wicked pitch. He's working on a change and curve. Coop like's his starters to have 4 pitches. Not sure if a 2 seamer and 4 seamer count as 2 pitches, so fast ball , slider, curve, change .

Kopech in.

Schwarber 3 run HR off Holland.

Sox have all the regulars in the lineup with Danny Hayes the DH. Bottom of 2nd Anderson singles but caught stealing. Saladino triples and Geo Soto singles to drive him in. !-0 .

Of the 22 HR's the Sox have hit this spring only 6 have come from players who were on the Sox at the beginning of last season. Saladino 3, Avi 2, Abreu 1, Anderson has 1 as does Yolmer Sanchez so 8 total from players who spent significant time on the Sox last year. Not counting Davidson or Kevan Smith who each have 1 but were injured upon debuting and had very limited AB's. The other 12 HR's are from Cody Ache 3, Rymer Liriano 2, Yoan Moncada 2, Eddy Avarez ( inside the park ) , Bourgeois , Everth Cabrera , Nick Delmonico, Danny Hayes

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 15, 2017 -> 05:12 PM) No. Speed does not equal range. He's an IF'er and 2B is a great spot for him But speed is a large component of range. Jumps and routes the others but Billy Hamilton disagrees.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 14, 2017 -> 11:38 AM) There are other true CF's in the system. Engel and May for example. But among the seven in the article, he's the one most clearly a CF, though others (Call for one) might be able to stick there too. For Booker, the question is, will he be able to do enough with the bat to get on base enough. If yes, he will jump up the boards. Of course I am aware of Engel and May it's just I am hoping his hitting and on base skills continue to advance more than Engels or Mays ever have while still continuing to be a good fielder.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Mar 14, 2017 -> 08:24 AM) http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-consens...ct-katoh-hates/ This article would make me nervous about acquiring Rodgers as a centerpiece. So Rodgers did dominate but he also played in an extremely friendly hitter's park, basically Coors on steroids and he didn't hit well on the road. Good point, It's nice seeing some real analysis on these prospects and hopefully the Sox do this kind of due diligence before acquiring them. One would expect better home numbers from most players but drastic splits are a bad sign. All around consistency is much more indicative of the true talent level.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Mar 14, 2017 -> 08:58 AM) I'm not sure why Saladino is so slept on around here. Dude was an above-average bat the final two months of the season when he got more consistent playing time. Even with some regression offensively, he can still provide plenty of value with his plus defense at 2B or 3B & smart base-running. Ultimately I think he can be a 2 to 3 WAR player with regular playing time, which would be attractive to many teams. To me, the biggest concern with him is health. He's had his share of problems staying on the field. Once a player gets pegged into a certain role or mindset it literally takes something drastic to change someones mind. If you take into consideration his minor league career ,age, and his performance on the major league level you have the not that young anymore quality utility man. It's much easier to keep him as that than to use a little imaginary and project him as more. It took Quintana years around here to stop hearing things like "smoke and mirrors" or "4th starter ceiling:" when discussing him.

Booker seems like an intriguing prospect. If his glove work , routes and arm are all as good as the article says along with his speed and outstanding stolen base percentage he seems like one to follow closely. If he develops he might be the closest thing the Sox will have to a true center fielder/lead off type .

QUOTE (ptatc @ Mar 13, 2017 -> 08:15 PM) No one is going to give the Sox much for Saladino. He's a good utility player. If he tears it up for the first half, that's all it will be a good first half. Every team and system has these guys. With 550-600 at bats maybe he hits .285 with 20-25 HR's then what, huh huh ?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Mar 13, 2017 -> 01:53 PM) Glad the 2B spot is now open for him. He deserves a shot at being regular IMO. Or even 3rd base eventually. He's also the Sox emergency catcher.