NCsoxfan

Guys remember who Rodon has pitched against too. His whole career he's faced UNC who has had one of the top offenses in the country. Go back and look at his stats in those games. He absolutely dominated them, many who will be drafted this weekend including Michael Russell etc

As a NC State alum and someone living in the Raleigh area who has watched Rodon pitch dozens of times live, I just can't believe we drafted him. Unreal to me. His game against Cuba at the Durham Bulls park was amazing. This is a case of Rodon being overanalyzed after a lukewarm year. He is that good! Congrats everyone!

As a NC state grad and NC resident, I've been watching Rodon pitch his whole career now. It's remarkable that we might have a chance to pick him- would be amazing. My favorite outing for him was when he pitched for Team USA last summer against Cuba at the Durham Bulls park.

Would the sox have had any interest in the Cuban SS that the Dodgers just signed?

Gordon and Brittany were married recently - best of luck to them.... pictures look great but don't think it's appropriate to share them on a forum like this

QUOTE (scs787 @ Oct 19, 2013 -> 08:14 PM) That 30+ number is actually makes him sound slow compared to what he actually did lol. He was 57 of 61...in 63 games...That's remarkable. If he pans out we're probably looking at at least 40. His 2nd year, which like you said he was indeed dealing with a foot injury, he still stole 30 bags in 56 games which is nothing to scoff at. I also like the fact that he walked 41 times as a freshman and 38 times(in 7 less games) as a sophomore. You know teams didn't wanna walk him yet he still managed a large amount so that tells me he was a pretty good eye/approach up there. As far as not knowing if he can play CF, that's not an issue. His D at SS has been called plus-plus. As long as Rodon stays healthy I have to think he's a lock for #1. I'd be thrilled if Turner fells to us at 3.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Oct 19, 2013 -> 06:57 PM) Just 20-30 stolen bases? I think he'll be a candidate for far more than that. It's his blazing speed that sets him apart from the other prospects and what has him in discussions about being a top five pick. He's already been described as a "base-stealing phenom" at the collegiate level. And with that speed, combined with his good bat and excellent defensive skills at a premium position, to me he's the easy choice for an organization whose farm system lacks elite position players. I, for one, hope he's available when it's the Sox' turn to pick next year and that they select him. Maybe a bit conservative. He was a bit slowed by the foot injury so maybe I'm forgetting his freshman year.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 19, 2013 -> 05:39 PM) Ah, ok, my bad, can never tell when guys are in HS or college from posts here. Apologies. No big deal. It's the one time ever where my alumni has a relevant player that could be drafted by the sox. Freshman year he probably stole 30+ bases. He had a foot injury this year that slowed him down. I could see him being a 20-30 SB player in the big leagues. He's been playing short stop and has a great arm. Not sure if he could project to CF. He's still pretty lanky and will fill out so maybe some more power potential? I would think his HR potential would be in the 20ish range. I'm a huge fan but maybe I'm drinking the koolaid since I watch a lot of the games. Just my two cents

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 19, 2013 -> 05:31 PM) Turner is 17 and in high school still right now right? So when he's 23 and at an age when guys would normally be pushing the big leagues...it'll be 2019 and we'll be gearing up for the primaries for the 2020 election? Trea Turner will be a Jr this year at NC State

As a NC State grad and avid follower of their team - I'd be ecstatic if we landed either Rodon or Turner. Turner would be quite the catch. Speed, live bat, power, you name it.

That was Keith Law's ESPN insider write up FWIW

Jose Abreu should hit with power, but the timing of the White Sox is peculiar. I'm not surprised at all that Cuban star Jose Abreu received a huge payday, given this year's free-agent class and the increasingly limited ways for MLB teams to spend their money; he's one of the only potential impact bats available this offseason, and signing him won't cost a draft pick. However, the White Sox are a peculiar fit for him given what else is on their roster and where they are in the success cycle at this point. Abreu has enormous raw power, probably a 70 or perhaps higher, on the 20-80 scale. The power is evident in BP and should translate to 25-35 homers a year in the majors. The concerns about him revolve around his bat speed and his conditioning, only one of which can be fixed or improved at this point. The conditioning is a smaller issue; he's not a great athlete and has been heavy when scouts have seen him, although the same was true of Yasiel Puig last summer, and he worked to get his body into shape after signing, resulting in the player we saw this year in Los Angeles. Abreu is a below-average runner with the hands to play first base if he slims down, but otherwise is limited on defense and could end up at DH. The bigger concern scouts have about Abreu is that he might have more of a “slider-speed” bat that will struggle with velocity, especially on the inner half. He's extremely balanced at the plate and very strong, with a setup like a right-handed David Ortiz, and very good follow-through for power to all fields. He hasn't faced many pitchers with plus fastballs, and between his size and the questionable bat speed, several scouts indicated to me that they're concerned that major league pitchers will eat him up with velocity on the inner half. He's got a quiet approach at the plate, like Puig's, but he doesn't explode to the ball in the same way as Puig or current Cubs prospect Jorge Soler do, and Abreu's pitch recognition and plate discipline are largely unknown, putting a wide variance on his potential production in the majors. The fact that the swing is good is a strong positive, but he's coming to face the best pitching in the world and it would be disingenuous to forecast a big batting average based on all of these other question marks. Peter G. Aiken/USA Today Sports By signing Abreu, the White Sox have essentially replaced Paul Konerko. Chicago's angle in this is harder to see. On the one hand, MLB teams with extra cash lying around -- that is, all of them -- don't have many places left to spend it thanks to the Rule 4 draft caps and the caps on July 2 players (amateurs from outside the United States). Cuban, Japanese, and Korean professional free agents have already started to cash in because spending on those players is unlimited. And with the early success of Yoenis Cespedes and Puig, MLB teams are going to be even more willing to spend on Cuban players who look like they can make an immediate impact. In fact, the excess demand and limited supply almost guarantees teams will overpay for these guys, because they're underpaying for talent in the two amateur arenas. However, for the White Sox, a rebuilding team that looks to be a few years away from contention, Abreu is a dubious fit. At 27, Abreu looks like his biggest impact will come now, not when the rest of the roster is strong enough to push this team toward 90-plus wins, which might be 2016 or 2017 depending on how fast the team can acquire some starting pitching to back up staff ace Chris Sale. Abreu replaces Paul Konerko on the roster, but doesn't free them up to trade any position player assets to fill any areas of need. Abreu might also relegate Adam Dunn to bench duty or to waivers -- not that he hasn't earned either of those demotions. Even if Abreu meets or exceeds all expectations, adding four wins of talent to this roster doesn't make the White Sox a contender this year or next, and given his body type and marginal bat speed, he's the type of player who could lose value quickly once he hits 30.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 12:17 PM) Yep. Hard for someone to disagree with the this. The Tigers or Sox needed to push for more since the Red Sox got away with a straight fleecing. Hahn isn't business to help out Boston. If there were better packages out there, we would've taken them. I doubt anyone would prefer a Michael Choice or David Holmberg centered package.

The fact that there isn't the initial "WTF" response means this is a good trade. Once everyone calms down, looks at the total return ($ included), the consensus will be that Hahn did very well.

@BenBadler: I like the Montas addition as an add-on for the White Sox. Not sure if he's a starter but the guy has freakish arm strength and misses bats.

What to make of the hardest throwing pitcher in the Red Sox system, at a time when he’s beginning to string together some dominant starts? Francellis Montas has long had a reputation that preceded him. Even before he pitched in the States, word started to circulate about the teenager who could reach triple-digits with his fastball. Still, in his first couple seasons in pro ball, he struggled to harness his power, as evidenced by the fact that he walked 30 (the same number that he struck out) in 34 1/3 innings in the Dominican Summer League in 2010 and 2011. Last year, however, he took a considerable step forward while spending most of the year in the Rookie Level Gulf Coast League. He struck out 41 and walked just 12 in 40 2/3 innings. This year, despite a 1-4 record and 5.08 ERA, he’s been even better than that while facing more age-appropriate competition in the Single-A South Atlantic League. The 20-year-old Montas continued what has been a string of eye-opening starts by tossing five innings in which he permitted just one run on one hit (a solo homer), walked one and struck out eight. On the year, Montas now has 49 strikeouts and just 10 walks in 39 innings. His 11.3 strikeouts per nine rank 18th in all of minor league baseball. Of the 17 players who are ahead of him on the list, only one (19-year-old Tyler Glasnow) is younger. Of the 58 players with 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings (or more) this year, his rate of 4.9 strikeouts per walk ranks sixth. So, he’s in a somewhat elite class when it comes to having power stuff (a fastball that, as a starter, sits in the mid- to high-90s, along with a slider that has made considerable progress to become a wipeout pitch) while having the willingness to attack the strike zone with it. And Tuesday continued what has been an increasingly impressive stretch for the right-hander. In his last five starts, he’s punched out 31 and walked just four in 23 innings (12.1 strikeouts and 1.6 walks per nine) with a 3.13 ERA. Still, because Montas is in the South Atlantic League, pitching against hitters who have rarely experienced the kind of velocity and power stuff he brings to the table, such numbers can be challenging to interpret. For instance, on Tuesday, he reached 100 mph, but ultimately, threw strikes with just half of the fastballs he threw. Similarly, a pitcher who possesses a legitimate breaking ball in Single-A will typically get tons of swings and misses from players whose eyes are relatively untrained for pitches with such movement. It’s also worth noting that Montas, while showing some feel for a changeup, currently looks more like a two-pitch bullpen arm. But if the 20-year-old is able to learn to change speeds or generate better downward movement to improve his groundball rates and address some of his homer-prone tendencies (he’s now yielded seven in 39 innings), the upside is undeniably considerable for such an arm.

This is a really good outcome for us. Maybe not the names some wanted but a very good return for an expensive player who won't help us materially in the future. Prospects are icing on the cake

@alexspeier: Red Sox are including other players in the deal, lower level minor leaguers. Working on specifics... http://t.co/304AIQGJQR via @WEEI

Sounds like its just Garcia

@JonHeymanCBS: red sox and white sox have a peavy deal.

@Ken_Rosenthal: Source: #RedSox close to acquiring #WhiteSox’s Peavy.

QUOTE (Frank_Thomas35 @ Jul 30, 2013 -> 02:55 PM) Quote: John Perrotto #Pirates and #WhiteSox have at least discussed the parameters of a trade in which Jake Peavy and Alexei Ramirez would come to Pittsburgh in exchange for Jameson Taillon, Alex Dickerson and at least one other prospect. #MLB #BUCN 29 minutes ago Link Anyone report this yet. That would be one hell of a get!! Wow that would be awesome

QUOTE (hi8is @ Jul 29, 2013 -> 10:02 PM) What kinda tunes does Sale listen to? That's the real question... Sublime

@NotDonCooper: Yeah sure the Sox are "keeping" Peavy. Just like I'll be "keeping" away from strip clubs tonight. Ha

This is just starting to get good - I love it