NorthSideSox72

After losing all that time with TJ surgery and recovery, it was great to see Brandon come back and pitch pretty well in 2014. He looked like a potential sleeper for 2015. But, as the season opens, Brennan is yet again on the DL. No word yet what the injury is (or if it is more of a "disabled list" thing), but if he misses significant time again or it is another arm injury, that could really put him in a deep hole.

QUOTE (LDF @ Apr 14, 2015 -> 08:48 AM) i don't know is this will be a good one, how bout Erik Johnson and what happen last yr and etc... also about how he increased his speed, that is unless it is about more maturing of the body growth. He's already on my list. He didn't increase speed so much as returned to what he had up through 2013.

QUOTE (Señor Ding-Dong @ Apr 13, 2015 -> 07:45 PM) For Kannapolis, how about Thad Lowry? Young guy, relatively high pick, and he just had a really nice start the other day. He's a good one. We (Balta1701 in that case) interviewed him in rookie ball a couple years ago, but he's probably changed since then.

Here's the recap, featuring the Erik Johnson of Old, Martinez' debut, and Hawkins' first AA HR.

QUOTE (newguy @ Apr 13, 2015 -> 04:05 PM) Bruce Blixton, thanks for the kind words about Brad. (my son) I wouldn't normally have responded, but I wanted to build on your comment about "not having a lot of mileage on his arm". I know we are very early into the season, but since he was converted into a pitcher, we have always emphasized about being efficient, as it relates to the pitch count. Strikeouts are fine, but over-rated. (even Greg Maddux would say so) The main goal is to pitch to contact & get the ball in play within 4 pitches. There's 8 other defenders to help make outs & it saves the arm. Having been a former shortstop, he knows what it's like to have pitchers throwing 5, 6 or 7+ pitches to every batter & he doesn't want to be that guy. Last year was his 1st full year as a pitcher & his pitches/inning were a pretty good 15.8 with a 63.2% strike rate. We set goals before spring training of getting the P/Inn to 14 or less & strike % rate to 70%. As I said, it is still early, but the P/Inn is currently at 11 & the strike % is at 67.3%. He's got 5 total innings in 2 games with only 55 pitches. I think the thing I'm most proud of is getting the ball in play in 4 pitches or less. So far he has faced 19 hitters & balls in play in less than 4 pitches is 14! (73.7%) (10 of those batters were 2 pitches or less) That saves the arm & keeps the fielders on their toes & into the game, cause the ball will be put in play. There are so many numbers as it relates to Sabermetrics these days, and admittedly, I sure don't understand them all. I try to stick with the few basics: First-pitch strikes - 11-19 (58%) - needs to improve a little there. Granted, it's only a 2 pitch difference, but the goal is 67% (13-19 would be 68%, but it's still a goal) Strike % on a 1-1 count - 4-5 (80%) - very happy with that - a strike thrown on a 1-1 count favors the pitcher by a difference of roughly .200 points in batting avg. than if you throw a 1-1 pitch for a ball Getting the first batter of the inning out - 5-5 (100%) - very happy with that Pitches per batter - (2.9) - very happy with that. So far, so good. Just need to keep focused & working hard. Also by the way, I think your son's story of converting from position player to pitcher could make for an interesting story. We've had a few players write guest posts for the blog (FutureSox.com) over the last couple years (i.e. Kevan Smith, Scott Carroll, Chris Bassitt, Mike Recchia), focusing on some one unique part of their stories. I'd love to see if Brad is interested in writing one on that conversion process, so I may reach out to him via Twitter if that's alright.

OK guys, I'm going to be at Charlotte and Kanny on May 2nd and 3rd respectively, to report live, get some video, chat with scouts, etc. But also I'll be interviewing some players while I'm there. Just out of curiosity, who on those two teams would people be most interested in hearing from? I've got a tentative hit list that looks like this (these aren't necessarily in order): CHARLOTTE Tyler Saladino Matt Davidson Trayce Thompson Erik Johnson Carlos Rodon Chris Beck Carlos Sanchez* (if his English is strong enough or if I can get a translator) KANNAPOLIS Brett Austin Eddy Alvarez (though I interviewed him before) Tyler Williams (Kenny's son - just want to meet the guy really) Jordan Guerrero Spencer Adams David Trexler Luis Martinez* (like Sanchez, if I can make it work) Brad Salgado and/or Jacob Morris (the converted position players to pitchers) I'll also chat with Joel Skinner (Charlotte manager), and since I've already interviewed Tommy T before, one of his coaches in Kanny. Who else would you want to hear from?

QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 13, 2015 -> 04:08 PM) Kanny's rotation almost makes up for their uninspiring group of position players. Adams, Guererro, Martinez, Lowry and then the less exciting Almonte to round it out. I was a little disappointed to see Trexler sent to the pen but it's hard to put much weight in anything at that level. They have a 6 man rotation, so there is still a question who the last starter is. Seems it would have to be Trexler or Valerio, both of him have pitched, but perhaps as their side days. They both pitched just once on the 10th, so that could be their side day work in essence. By the way if you want a chuckle, look at Trexler's profile picture on MiLB.com. He may be "old for level", but he looks like he's about 15 in that picture.

QUOTE (newguy @ Apr 13, 2015 -> 04:05 PM) Bruce Blixton, thanks for the kind words about Brad. (my son) I wouldn't normally have responded, but I wanted to build on your comment about "not having a lot of mileage on his arm". I know we are very early into the season, but since he was converted into a pitcher, we have always emphasized about being efficient, as it relates to the pitch count. Strikeouts are fine, but over-rated. (even Greg Maddux would say so) The main goal is to pitch to contact & get the ball in play within 4 pitches. There's 8 other defenders to help make outs & it saves the arm. Having been a former shortstop, he knows what it's like to have pitchers throwing 5, 6 or 7+ pitches to every batter & he doesn't want to be that guy. Last year was his 1st full year as a pitcher & his pitches/inning were a pretty good 15.8 with a 63.2% strike rate. We set goals before spring training of getting the P/Inn to 14 or less & strike % rate to 70%. As I said, it is still early, but the P/Inn is currently at 11 & the strike % is at 67.3%. He's got 5 total innings in 2 games with only 55 pitches. I think the thing I'm most proud of is getting the ball in play in 4 pitches or less. So far he has faced 19 hitters & balls in play in less than 4 pitches is 14! (73.7%) (10 of those batters were 2 pitches or less) That saves the arm & keeps the fielders on their toes & into the game, cause the ball will be put in play. There are so many numbers as it relates to Sabermetrics these days, and admittedly, I sure don't understand them all. I try to stick with the few basics: First-pitch strikes - 11-19 (58%) - needs to improve a little there. Granted, it's only a 2 pitch difference, but the goal is 67% (13-19 would be 68%, but it's still a goal) Strike % on a 1-1 count - 4-5 (80%) - very happy with that - a strike thrown on a 1-1 count favors the pitcher by a difference of roughly .200 points in batting avg. than if you throw a 1-1 pitch for a ball Getting the first batter of the inning out - 5-5 (100%) - very happy with that Pitches per batter - (2.9) - very happy with that. So far, so good. Just need to keep focused & working hard. Glad to have you aboard! I'll be down at Kanny the first weekend of May to report live, and I'll try to say hello to your son if I get the chance.

Delmonico is on the Restricted List. Seems weird. So now with the rosters all final, these players were not assigned to full season clubs but are (as far as I can tell) still in the org. This is among players who were in the US last year, so I'm not including guys who were only in DSL... RHP Chris Freudenberg Josh Goosen-Brown Connor Walsh Brannon Easterling Matt Cooper Tanner Mendonca Matt Ball Zach Thompson Evin Einhardt Lucas Shearrow Victor Done LHP Aaron Bummer* Tanner Banks* Ben Brewster* Mike Gomez* INF Ryan Jones (1B) Ryan Leonards (2B) John Ziznewski (3B) Juan Silverio (3B) Jake Jarvis (2B) Audry Santana (SS) Victor Velazquez (?) Jordan Yallen (2B) Johan Cruz (SS) OF Michael Danner Micker Adolfo Antonio Rodriguez Louis Silverio C Zach Fisher Ryan Plourde The names in bold were the surprises to me. Marin is on loan to the MEX League.

Hawkins first AA HR. 1-3, no K's so far. Blackmar got hit around.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Apr 13, 2015 -> 01:39 PM) I didn't know CJ Wittman posted on the site...... He's the only BP or BA guy we followed from the FS Twitter account, only to then unfollow him because his feed is just intolerable.

QUOTE (Señor Ding-Dong @ Apr 13, 2015 -> 01:22 PM) I just realized that Mike Blanke, who last year converted from catcher to pitcher, is no longer in the organization. He actually went catcher to pitcher and back to catcher. Then was traded for cash, I think maybe to the Reds.

Haviland and Johnson are sharing a starting slot for the time being, working tandem. I'm a little surprised Blackmar is starting over Garcia or Sanburn, but that makes me more intrigued about Blackmar.

QUOTE (LDF @ Apr 13, 2015 -> 08:50 AM) with the speed of the change-up, will it really fool the hitter?? his change-up is as fast as some pitchers fastball. lol Velocity-wise, the effectiveness of a change-up is about differential between it and the fastball. 10 mph is a good number for that.

I've deleted a couple posts. If you think an idea is dumb, attack the idea (and say why). Not the poster(s).

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Apr 12, 2015 -> 04:13 PM) Is there a reason Ynoa left after one pitch? Injury, no word as to nature of injury yet. QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Apr 12, 2015 -> 07:02 PM) Final line for Montas: 5.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 8 SO. Excellent start to his season. Hit 100 with the fastball. His change-up was 90, lol.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Apr 11, 2015 -> 07:35 PM) Saw Kanny drop a game today and will see them again tomorrow, took away some notes: - Eddy Alvarez is probably the fastest guy on the team - Mason Robbins was killing balls the other night and now homered to right, Fish went deep too but was poor behind the plate and on the base paths - Yelminson Peralta doesn't have too much special to him but he was fooling hitters early until one awful inning - Bruening was wild but had a good outing I'll be back tomorrow for the series finale, Lowry on the mound Robbins is a guy with some natural power I'm keeping an eye on. Alvarez I keep hearing positives on his defense, that's great to hear at SS.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Apr 11, 2015 -> 07:37 PM) This deserves some more interest, c'mon now Some folks aren't here all the time! As I said on the last one, we greatly appreciate the insights. All good info, please keep it up!

Our final season preview, this one for the A- Intimidators. Some interesting arms on that club, and some speed as well.

Recap of last night's action (from one of our newer writers).

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Apr 10, 2015 -> 11:24 AM) I saw Guerrero and Kanny live last night, tough to give an scouting reports since it was Day 1 in freezing weather and borderline snow, but was able to take a few things away: - Guerrero topped out at 93 but had some filthy change-ups (83,84) that he used to make batters look silly - Chris Curley was no Trey Michalchewski at 3B, Trey made some filthy plays at 3B last year while Curley looked lazy, weather may have factored in - Eddy Alvarez is tiny but his thighs are solid (as expected from an Olympic speed skater), he made some nice plays at SS last night and took some nice cuts - Toby Thomas looks like the smallest player on the team, built like a bat boy - Not that this means much as we'll find out shortly but Trexler was hanging with bullpen guys all night, doing jogs with them, he may stay in the 'pen I'll be seeing them all weekend for better "reports" This is great info, thanks! Good to see Guerrero as high as 93, he worked some games last year barely hitting 90. He's got a very good change and a good curve, if he can add velocity and/or movement to the fastball he already commands pretty well, that is great.

Daily Recap for 4/9: Davidson hits big, Dash dominate

Not often we get all four pitchers going for full season teams that are T30 names.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Apr 10, 2015 -> 09:25 AM) Why is Wendelken in the bullpen for AA? Not really a surprise. He was a reliever when the Sox acquired him, was seen as one long term - was just doing the classic White Sox starter detour for relievers.

Recap will go up this morning, link will be here.