chitownsportsfan

Zips rest of schedule update projections. These are what they are now projecting rest of the way based on what the system has seen so far this year. It's pretty clear from that link that the Sox have about 5 position players worthy of a roster spot and about 10 that are replacement level. Yolmer, TA, Jose, Moncada, Castillo and maybe you could add Davidson if you think ZIPS doesn't have enough info on his new swing and approach. Moncada is already our best player. That's a good thing for the tank and long term.

If Basabe really is a CF his upside is 6 WAR, I don't see that from Micker. Micker is a pure corner guy and depending on how his arm comes back is an average asset in a corner OF or maybe slightly plus. That said, it's awesome how well Micker is doing. I did not know that in 2013, Eloy was the #1 rated International signing, Micker was #2. And yea, the Chris Sale trade, as of this day, May 4th 2018, looks really fucking amazing. I'm literally knocking on wood.

haha suck it twins, never gets old.

TRAYCE!

robots.

wow our old friend addison reed.

TA's OPS plummeting. Ugh.

As I posted in another thread -- there are real improvements in his discipline profile, which is even more impressive given how often umps have screwed him 3-2 this year. His oZone swing % is down over 10% and he's making more contact (fouling off more tough pitches, which reflects his improved balance and swing) when he does swing, both inside the zone and outside. He is absolutely crushing 2 seam fastballs this year as well. He's almost 5 linear weighted runs above replacement on them. I've done a 180 on him. He's still a DH at the end of the day but now he looks like he might actuall by a 2-3 WAR DH. Oh and that play he made on the popup over by the stands the other day in St Louis was very impressive. He wouldn't have gotten that ball last year. He has worked hard I give him credit, including putting in the time to cut his body fat.

Neither one of them can field a god damn lick. That's the most frustrating thing to watch on a nightly basis.

DFA Narvaez. What a joke.

watching this team on a nightly basis is not fun. Might have to check out soon for my own sanity. May just started.

I tried to listen to Wimpy and Jason and it was too cringey. Switched back to the Twins crew. Sigh.

He's got no hit stuff early.

Lopez puts a smile on my face. 96mph right where he wants it. Nice to see.

Puke. Narvaez as the everyday catcher is not going to help this pitching staff.

I asked about him the other day after noticing the same thing. Not much out there on him. Seems like a generic mid round RHP. He's old for WS but he's dominating, hopefully his velocity did increase and his stock is up.

Great, Lopez just lost 5-6 calls.

Too bad Yoan's out. At least with Lopez pitching there is a reason to tune in.

Eminor did a great job explaining it but just to add -- an option ALWAYS benefits whoever holds it. Now, how much $$$ that option is worth is up for the agent, club, and player to decide. If Machado is insisting on an opt-out option then the Sox should be insisting on a much lower AAV. In general I am with Balta and Eminor: I'm loathe to give an opt out. It leaves the club holding all the downside risk and none of the upside risk. Now, if that's what it takes to get him signed then maybe we have to hold our nose and give one. We'll see.

Yesterday was the first time I think he's flashed that really good breaking ball and command on all pitches that we saw in spring. Velocity was good if not ideal. He'll have a lot more margin for error with his command and breaking stuff if he was at 93-95 instead of 91-93 but at least he improved a couple ticks yesterday. It's a completely stat free observation but he seems to really struggle from the stretch. Don't know if it's a mental issue or physical issue or somewhat of both. I think part of it is that he just can't challenge hitters with his fastball like Lopez can when he's behind in the count and needs an out. I mean he tried and gave up the dinger. Think that was a 91mph fastball dead middle. If that's at 95 maybe he fouls it back. At this point I don't really see any reason to consider him a TOR future talent. Looks like he should settle in around a decent 3 or a good 4 if he can come out more often than not with the stuff he had last night.

I just stumbled on this and it's pretty amazing, some random Fangraphs, roto oriented profile of Yoan from last year: We can see that the profile of below average contact isn’t quite the negative it appears to be for Amed Rosario, when above average exit velocity also part of the profile. Does that mean that Moncada is turns things around immediately, absolutely not. Oddly enough, the name that comes up most frequently on similar seasons to Moncada is Ryan Howard. I say oddly only because my perception is that if you are visiting Fangraphs, comparisons to Howard likely don’t invoke much confidence. However, given that athleticism is not an issue for Moncada, and this comparison is only based on offensive value, this would be an extremely favorable outcome. 9 Ryan Howard seasons meet the criteria we have outlined above. The next closest players are Giancarlo Stanton and Carlos Pena, both with 6 seasons. Chris Davis and Mark Reynolds each have 5 similar seasons. Perhaps this is a further indication of the oddities of Yoan Moncada, these players are all power first corner players (mostly 1B with the exception of Stanton). However, Moncada possess athletic ability that surpasses nearly all of his offensive comparables. Dude pretty much nailed it before Yoan played more than a few dozen games in the bigs. He's an incredibly unique talent and profile in the new three true outcome era.

One thing about Yoan so far in his career -- he posts, just like his idol Cano. They have so much in common. But, like Robbie said the other week -- Moncada has got the speed and explosion Robbie never did. In theory, the upside for Yoan glove wise is elite 2B whereas with Robbie he was never much more than average. Here's hoping the kid can stay healthy.