Jake

Bruce Maxwell is first division 3 player taken at 62. I was hoping he'd make it to the Sox, but damn that is a high number. Amazing, amazing hitter that kid is.

I don't hate the pick, but I can certainly imagine a scenario where we never hear this guy's name again. Sounds like developing his power tool or improving defensively could make him a dark horse to be a good MLB'er We've been pining for some guys in our system that project to certainly make enough contact to be MLB hitters and not MLB strikeout kings. Here you go. Average across the board, plus contact tool

Joey DeMichele - a productive type http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2012/5/29/304...b-arizona-state

Seems like there's some ease to his delivery. Smooth. I'm pretty puzzled as to why he had the down year though...walks were not real high or anything and strikeouts stayed high. Weird.

Very nice outing for Nestor. Here's hoping he keeps it up.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 11:01 PM) You have got to be kidding me. Don't scare off the new members!

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 10:33 PM) And I'd easily wager Smoral has better stuff than both those guys. I'd say Smoral has inferior stuff to Hector. Hector has better fastball and more than one offspeed pitch. The only thing Smoral has is size and age, which may allow him to improve in those areas (I doubt the fastball gets better)

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 10:16 PM) So far it has been an interesting philosophical change. I wonder if being able to dig up pitchers out of no where is pushing the guys to look at trying to bring in more hitting talent? Could be. I think we're somewhat just going after best players available. Sounds like Stroman was signed, sealed, delivered if Hawkins had been snagged up by then

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 10:15 PM) Did Sox/Blue Jays share the same scouts? Sox were rumored to like Nay as well. Well, one of our top guys now (what's his name?) was a top dog in their scouting department

I guess today is the day we start feeling good about our system. A year from now we can think it's barren again.

He'll be playing third base by September

I'm willing to roll with it. Looks like another big talent.

Color me happy to get something other than Smoral. But this is definitely a "who?" KW must agree with me as to where our organization is lacking

Looks like Barnes never would have made it to us anyway

Seems like the smart money is on Smoral

Stony Brook, cool place. Produced Joe Nathan as a SS back when it was a D3 school

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 09:51 PM) Aaron Poreda was a college lefty with a big sinking fastball. He threw in the upper 90's too and as a result was picked early in the draft. No comparison between Poreda and Smoral though. A lot of comps out there on CC or Johnson but that is more because of his size at this point. And you are greatly mistaken. There aren't many prep lefties that have this kids arm and potential (hence why he's a top 50 pick). If Smoral throws in the upper 90s, that changes everything.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 09:49 PM) 13-0, 0.18 ERA, 140 K in 78 innings. LAWLZ. The HS league he was playing in is riddled with pro and D1 talents, too

QUOTE (Cerbaho-WG @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 09:47 PM) No. There aren't? I'm happy to be the guy's biggest fan if he becomes a White Sox, but at this point he seems to have nothing on Aaron Poreda other than age. I just want someone to tell me the part I'm missing, my research on the kid consists of about 45 minutes of reading/watching

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 09:44 PM) What is wrong with a lefty who throws 90-94? There are a lot of lefties that throw 90-94 with one offspeed pitch that are going to go in the later rounds.

Does Smoral throw harder than the 90-94 reports I've heard? With his body, doesn't project to throw any harder unless there's a mechanical issue.

Someone tell me what to like about Smoral? Sounds like mid-back rotation at best

McCullers + Hawkins would make for a hell of a talented 1-2 draft punch

Comp round will move quickly.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 09:12 PM) Haha, no infatuation, just a remark about a guy that we were connected with that may drop out of the first round. I don't mean you as much as the folks that rated him so highly in the first place. QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 09:19 PM) Would Lance McCullers fall? Given we went upside, I wouldn't be opposed to taking him now. Some questions of whether he can start but he has legit stuff and at worse projects as an above average closer. I assume he'll be long gone though. Someone with multiple picks will take a chance on him. I'd be interested in him, but I suppose there's the signability problem. Do we still receive the pick the next year if we don't sign a player?