Dam8610

That stuff is pure filth. He's going to lead the league in strikeouts if he stays healthy.

His fastball "rises", with THAT kind of break on the change? That's just not fair. Does he even need a breaking pitch at that point?

Covey seems like he would be an excellent swingman. A guy who can eat 2-3 innings on a night the starter doesn't give you enough, but can also pitch the 7th or 8th if you need him to. He seemingly always dominates the first time through the lineup.

9/0/0/0/27

People were just as sure about Carlos Rodon at this point in 2013. Hopefully this goes exactly like that minus the injuries.

Still hoping the Sox somehow end up with Rutschman. I really feel like he has a chance to be one of those franchise changing players.

I would think not because publications have a huge bias against college players below AA. Gonzalez is the type of guy I'd expect to see on mid 2019 lists if he keeps doing this in Birmingham, though.

Ideally the player you described wouldn't be good enough to start for the 2020 and beyond White Sox. It'll be interesting to see how they manage it if, say, Robert, Gonzalez, and Rutherford/Adolfo become starting caliber OFs, and they decide Collins isn't a full time C, but is a bat they want in the lineup. 1B/DH would likely turn into a rotation at that point.

All of the above should be an option.

You know, except for that guy destroying AAA.

Yes, it's not going to happen overnight, but that looks like progress to me. I'd be shocked if that percentage wasn't a higher number in 2016.

IMMACULATE INNING! These are actually more rare than no hitters.

I'm looking at a championship contention window that could start in 2021 and a playoff contention window that starts with 2020. A 2019 draftee at C could be up and starting by 2021. They'd have to take the Buster Posey development path, but that's the point of having a top 5 pick and drafting a C that high.

No, mostly that's playing the likely outcome game. Plus, I think the Sox draft a C in 2019 and he becomes the primary guy for the contention window.

I suggested Corbin in another thread. Now I'm reconsidering.

Sign Machado and Corbin this offseason. 2019 Lineup: 01) SS Tim Anderson 02) 2B Yoan Moncada 03) 3B Manny Machado 04) LF Eloy Jimenez 05) 1B Jose Abreu 06) RF Avisail Garcia 07) C Welington Castillo 08) DH Nicky Delmonico 09) CF Charlie Tilson 2019 Rotation: 01) Carlos Rodon 02) Patrick Corbin 03) Michael Kopech 04) Reynaldo Lopez 05) Jordan Stephens 2021 Projected Lineup: 01) SS Nick Madrigal 02) CF Luis Robert 03) 2B Yoan Moncada 04) RF Eloy Jimenez 05) 3B Manny Machado 06) DH Micker Adolfo 07) 1B Zack Collins 08) LF Blake Rutherford 09) C Adley Rutschman 2021 Projected Rotation: 01) Carlos Rodon 02) Michael Kopech 03) Patrick Corbin 04) Dylan Cease 05) Reynaldo Lopez That 2019 group looks like one that could get near .500, while the 2021 group looks like a powerhouse, especially since there are a lot of names you could easily interchange there with other players currently in the minors or on the MLB team.

The rebuild has absolutely been a net positive in Year 2, you just have to look in the minors to see it. There are so many guys on the farm who have had great seasons, some expected, some unexpected. Eloy Jimenez looks poised to be a cornerstone franchise hitter, while Carlos Rodon and Michael Kopech look to be the makings of a formidable 1-2 rotation punch. Meanwhile, guys like Luis Gonzalez, Jimmy Lambert, Bernardo Flores, Bryce Bush, and several others have come out of nowhere to establish themselves as legitimate prospects, and other guys like Spencer Adams, Jordan Stephens, Jordan Guerrero, Alex Call, and others have continued to chug right along and show that they probably have futures as useful MLB players, and a few players like Dylan Cease and Dane Dunning (before he got hurt) have stepped up their game and went from high potential to a realistic expectation of meeting that potential.

Well, there's that. There's Madrigal's plus hit and speed tools, which will likely net him extra bases on hits in addition to extra hits. There's the juiced ball, which tends to affect players with average to below average power the most. There's the several players in MLB showing that height isn't a limiting factor to power, guys like Jose Altuve, Jose Ramirez, and Mookie Betts. There's also the reality that pitchers would feel no need to try to do anything but challenge Madrigal if he rarely does more damage than a single, which would make it difficult for him to be a productive MLB hitter. If Madrigal does become a productive MLB hitter, it will likely be with a .120-.175 ISO.

Also that ISO projection is ridiculously low. He'll be closer to .150 (league average) than .060.

Bernie if he declares as a Democrat for a 2020 run. Maybe Kamala Harris if she moves left enough on economic policy.

Looks like Moncada is responding well to the lineup move. Walk (off of Bieber, which is hard to do) and a double so far.

They could've done a lot better than the Affordable Care Act with a supermajority in the Senate, as an example.

You're right that robust oversight and transparency would be needed to make it work. I just prefer that option to the current system.

Welp, better shitcan Jeff Luhnow, then.

And you don't see that as a problem? You're literally okay with letting someone die needlessly so you don't have to be uncomfortable with who runs the healthcare system or having to pay a little more in taxes? That's a very cruel and inhumane viewpoint. I know people wouldn't be happy with Medicare, but even that would be better than the current system. Hospitals would be cheaper for everyone if they didn't have to negotiate with the insurance companies, procedures were mostly set pricing, and the hospital knew they were getting a minimum of 80% of the bill. You want to talk about cutting administrative waste, that would be a HUGE cut to administrative waste. If 700 million people (underestimating intentionally) in Europe can be covered by single payer systems, 400 million people (overestimating intentionally) in America being "too big to cover" under a single payer system is not a valid argument. There is something wrong with a private company seeking profit when their method of ensuring that profit is to deny life saving or bettering treatment to a person because it would be too costly, despite the fact that that person paid their premiums timely for years, which is the modus operandi of the health insurance industry. It wasn't until 8 years ago that health insurance companies were required to cover people with conditions they didn't like to cover and had to pay a minimum percentage of premiums to cover medical services or refund the difference. So you can say they make their profit from investments, but the mandated refund checks people got after the Affordable Care Act went into effect tell a different story. Your opinion on the government's ability to handle it has been noted. I disagree with you and think the people in charge now are even more ill-equipped based on the results they've gotten, that being that we have the most expensive healthcare system in the world on a per capita basis, and our average health outcomes are nowhere near the top of the world. If this were baseball, our healthcare system would be present day Albert Pujols, overpaid for bad results.