bmags

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 5, 2017 -> 07:58 AM) This is the first in what will be 3 or 4 guest posts from Chris Kusiolek. Chris is a budding scout, who is about to head to the DR to work with a development pipeline down there. He's been scouting as an amateur the last few years, before getting this new professional gig. Fortunately, he got notes on a couple dozen White Sox prospects he saw in AFL and Instructs that he was willing to share. This article covers the first six reports. Future articles will cover more. Keep in mind that these are scouting NOTES - this doesn't read like a typical article. They are just his views on these players from his time scouting them. I'm going to guess that some of his takes here will cause some controversy, especially around Kopech, but also maybe on Collins and Hawkins. His views may not match popular theory on those players. Well, there's also Schwarber.

I don't want Garoppolo. Perhaps he is good and worth the risk, but I'd rather Bears just build a formidable base like Texans/Vikings/Raiders then take shots at finding a QB vs trying to recreate Colts.

QUOTE (Buehrlesque @ Jan 5, 2017 -> 08:29 AM) Rodgers, Frazier, Meadows and Bell would be the ones I'd prefer. No interest at all in Mateo. I don't get why people would want Maitan as a major piece in a Braves deal. The kid is 16 years old! Way too risky for me, considering the slam dunk certainty of Quintana the Sox would be giving up. There is plenty of high end prospect talent available without taking on someone so far away who has an enormous bust risk. I know he wouldn't necessarily be a centerpiece, but still, he'd cost a lot to acquire thus lessening other parts of the package, and it wouldn't be my game plan. Nobody wants to say no to a 16 year old Miguel Cabrera. If you are getting Albies. Could he flame out? They all could flame out. But hard to read "best venezuelan prospect since Cabrera" and not get excited: http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...hpZ2XSqxb5PA.97

If I were Texans I would cut my losses with Osweiler and try hard for garopollo. You would have 1 year of cheap garopollo and this year they face the biggest cap hit with Osweiler and can cut him more easily after. They'd avoid paying two rookie salaries and have a difficult FA, but when you are that close, may as well keep trying til you hit.

Mizzou basketball program is so dead. Amazing how fast it can happen.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jan 4, 2017 -> 06:54 PM) Would you accept a smaller package built around Torres or a larger package around Meadows? I would take a larger package around Meadows.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 4, 2017 -> 04:37 PM) They don't have less talent than they had 2 years ago. Their secondary is bad. The front 7 when healthy is pretty good. Two years ago they were heavy on skill players and barren on trenches. now have good/great play, young and improving dline play, and good linebacker core. And worse skill players.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 4, 2017 -> 05:27 PM) One of the contributors on the Garfien podcast yesterday sure seemed to think/know that the Hammel is interested in the Sox Yeah said he'd love to stay in Chicago. I think Hammel can find a two year deal though and I doubt we give it up.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jan 4, 2017 -> 05:01 PM) Still, if Hahn is asking for a deal similar to the Sale deal it'd look like Torres Rutherford Andujar Tate and that could be scaring Cashman off. Well, that goes back to my point of in my head cashman is willing to use Torres in a deal, but when Torres is added wants it to be in a situation where he is offering a talent so much more coveted than what other teams are offered he does not need to offer as much on the backend. Compare that with if Cashman is bidding Torres vs a Meadows, well, then they need to be competitive on the backend. But if Torres is dropped in an offer, Hahn isn't goint to respond "uh he's only half of 1/2 season of chapman therefore goodbye"

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Jan 4, 2017 -> 04:52 PM) Hahn is taking what amounts to less than a half season of Chapman for Jose Quintana. Obviously, that not how it works, but he'll want much more. No, it isn't how it works. Torres was sold to yanks after a rough first half, he then recovered for a nice second half while being incredibly young, then tore up AFL. Has always had good discipline and then showed off the pop. Torres is a top 5 position prospect now.

QUOTE (Con te Giolito @ Jan 4, 2017 -> 04:43 PM) Yankees are desperate to downplay their involvement that it wouldn't shock me if they are the most interested team. "We don't want Quintana noooo why would we? BTW what's Jason Hammel up to did I mention NO QUINTANA let me tell you about how much I want Jose Qui-I mean don't want. Nope nope nope" NOT BUYING IT, Cashman. Not buying it one bit. I agree with this. Irrational fan opinion: Cashman wants to drop the Torres hammer and not have to give up much beyond it. He does not want to drop the Torres hammer and add considerably more after in competing with another team.

Hey new info

Oh god, impartiality with sports announcers, who cares. "Hey man, I'm impressionable, you can't tell me your opinion about a game let me form my own opinion so I can make crucial decisions off of it"

QUOTE (shipps @ Jan 4, 2017 -> 03:22 PM) For some reason reading about the Yankees valuing their prospects more than the big names made me think back to when I was a teenager and that was the complete opposite. Is it because of the metrics that have been established that teams are more confident in prospect success (more valued as future assets to the org) and there is less of a roll of the dice as it used to be when talent evaluators went off of a couple stats and did mostly everything by the eye test? Why havent I connected the dots with this before now?! I am an idiot! I think it's probably more their post 2009 slow decline of teixera, ellsbury, sabathia, etc that they just needed a change. That and we already know that yank fans have preordered harper jerseys. This is a temporary reset. If you want solace, the yanks in any other year would not have had the farm to even think about Quintana.

Smith's numbers for zips aren't as bad as I thought. Narvaez were.

I'm more forgiving of baseball announcers especially, who have so many more games, and so much less field action than others. Football announcers, announcing 3-4 games of the same teams per season? They should have a lot to talk about so what they choose to discuss matters. For baseball announcers? Suure, tell me about the sausage you ate.

There are no opinions I can relate to less than people's bizarre fixations on announcing. Vin Scully reincarnate could appear today as a new sox announcer and half the people would say he sucks. It's the hitting coach of baseball team media jobs.

Royals trade for Peter O'Brien, was kinda hoping we got him for DH. I think he was on waivers for a bit?

The last 4 years he's draft a lot of guys that are not very athletic, can't rebound or steal. Niko is athletic but can't shoot or defend.

From Merk's mailbag: LOL http://m.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article/212...ier-jose-abreu/

Just to be fair to the OP, his original point was using Rodon to take the "lesser" packages offered for Q. I think that's a fair question not to get lost in the "better offer than Q" posts. But also I still don't think Rodon is at a good sell point. Fully expect him gone .5 season before FA though.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Jan 3, 2017 -> 02:04 PM) That would probably be their first choice. Look, Melky doesn't have much surplus value, but let's not act like the guy is a scrub. We all know you hate him - you crusaded against him more than anything I have ever seen on a message board in 2015. But the dude can flat out hit. He is still a very good bat, but one with some baggage. He's good, he'll probably out perform many inhouse options, but he's not good enough that teams aren't going to just squint at what they have and reason that they are better considering they don't cost 15 million + prospects.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Jan 3, 2017 -> 02:05 PM) One of these is not like the other. One is completely worth tanking for, the other is not. I've showed the graph time and time again: expected WAR of the first 2-3 picks is much, much greater than the rest of the 1st round. You need to suck hard to get the potential superstars. Yes, they don't always pan out, but more often than not if you draft top 3 you get at least an average MLB player eventually. It's a bit simplistic, but had we had the same position in 2015 that we had in 2014, we could have selected Brendan Rodgers (current Q target, top ten prospect), Kyle Tucker (current Q target, top 50 prospect), and Andrew Benintendi (self explanatory).

Going to be weird to have a top ten without any C+ players

He just lifted up SiX Chris Sales (how much WAR is that worth?)