NorthSideSox72

Per Baseball America, Rodon will go to AZL first to start pro career, then go to Winston-Salem around July 28th.

Bunch of interesting pitching to watch tonight, between a new guy (Wang), an AA debut (Sanchez), a key prospect (Danish), an up and coming prospect (Guerrero) and a relatively high round 2014 draftee (Thompson).

QUOTE (shysocks @ Jul 18, 2014 -> 10:03 AM) Davidson 2013 AAA: 115 G, .280/.350/.481, 32 2B, 17 HR, 9.2 BB%, 26.8 K%, 117 wRC+ Davidson since Jun 1: 39 G, .250/.323/.534, 6 2B, 12 HR, 8.5 BB%, 24.2 K%, 133 wRC+ Safe to say the slow start was just a glitch in the Matrix. Hard to say 2 months is a "glitch" where as 1.5 months is indicative. But he is certainly now doing more like what we all expected, so that's encouraging.

In addition to Johnson, there were a number of other nice pitching performances last night. Dykstra with a nice A+ debut: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K. Recchia 1 ER in 6.1 IP, keeping his ERA under 3 (though he only K'd 2). Lowry came back from DL and threw 5 1-hit innings, 2 walks and 6 K. Luis Martinez in AZL went 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K and he's still just 19.

On Johnson, if you read Seth Lakso's game story, it's clear he had his best outing in a long time. Got bit by the ump and his defense in his last inning. On Phegley, he's been throwing runners out very effectively, but the concerns are two-fold. His receiving of course, as mentioned. But also the fact that on more than one occasion, he's been benched or sent to MiLB camp (in ST) because of a perception he wasn't staying focused on the pitchers. Hopefully that changes, and until it does for a while, the Sox won't call him up.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jul 17, 2014 -> 02:00 PM) You are the reason catch - alls shouldn't exist. Chill out, this thread is used for transactions all the time and that works. In this case maybe it's worth it's own thread, but no need to make it personal here.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 17, 2014 -> 11:30 AM) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAL_007 The Russians killed 269 on a Korean Airlines flight in 1983 by shooting it down (on that occasion, an air to air missile as the plane was misidentified as being American and breaching their airspace). They also shot down a KAL flight in 1978, but there were 107 survivors. Also the US accidentally shot down an Iranian Airlines plane in the Gulf, I want to say in the 80's maybe?

To Keith Law's credit (can't believe I am saying that), he had a funny tweet during the ASG about Sale. Said something like "I told you Chris Sale was destined to be a reliever". He ate his crow.

Thad Lowry activated from DL for Kanny, Alex Powers sent down to Great Falls.

It's Lowry for Kanny, just activated off the DL.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jul 17, 2014 -> 07:31 AM) I just looked up his 2011 numbers. Played at Tampa (A+). 30 appearances, including 12 starts. 102 IP, 2.91 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 7.8 K/9, 3.1 K/BB. Now, I know absolutely nothing about the Florida State League, maybe it is a very pitcher friendly league, but if not, those are pretty decent numbers. They don't look like numbers of a guy that a team should be giving up on. However, I'd appreciate the opinion of somebody with much better knowledge of the minors and prospects. QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jul 17, 2014 -> 08:14 AM) It was just a scouting snafu by the Yankees. They thought he was just a strike thrower and too far behind other, better prospects when it came time to put him on the 40 or let him go. Also the Mets let go of him after the MiLB PED incident. I'm not sure what happened there but obviously they were quick to pull the trigger as well. You have to wonder how much more difficult it is to take supplements but not ones banned by MLB when you are in another (poor) country where everyone is a salesman. Mets were even du,ber than the Yankees, at least the Yankees made the move because they were forced to protect him. Mets cut him for no reason. TUC pretty much covers it. Those numbers are good in the FSL but nothing outstanding. More important is the scouting end, not the numbers. Yankees had a 40 man roster crunch, the scouts picked a few guys other than Quintana. They got it wrong, happens all the time.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jul 17, 2014 -> 07:01 AM) Scout: Rick, you're wasting your time claiming these pitchers. Maybe 1 in 10 becomes a productive major leaguer Rick: **Claims 10 pitchers** This nails it. Always worth taking a shot at some guys that have some intriguing tool(s) or talent, especially pitchers, and see who rises to the top. Sox do this a lot, and are particularly good at helping raw pitchers. It works.

A semi-comp for Dane Stone might be Dan Remenowsky. Tall pitchers with leggy deliveries and an upper 80's or maybe lower 90's fastball and excellent command. Except Remenowsky had a much broader repertoire with a slider, change and cutter. So Stone is a poor man's Remenowsky, perhaps.

OK, found some specific reports from Stoltz - looks like Stone may have lost some velocity from earlier reports (which may explain why he was released). Looks like in 2013, he was more 85-90 with the fastball, low 70's curve, and that's it. Here is his mlbfarm page.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 10:06 PM) Dane Stone with another gem of a start. 8.0 IP, 3H, 0ER, 1BB, 6K. Posted this about him last week: Northside? He's 23, and is yet another example of an arm the Sox pick up out of indy ball (and in many cases, including his, he was a pro before that). People who do general scouting (not Sox-specific) have pointed out before that the Sox have been better at this than just about any other team. Stone has pitched 80-some-odd innings at various levels of A ball as a reliever, so he really should be dominating in the Pinoeer League. He's 6'7", has a low 90's fastball, but his curve is the specialty pitch. I've haven't seen anyone put any sort of plus tag on anything he throws (there are a few scouting reports out there for him), but he has excellent control. Ill drop a line to Stoltz, who I know has seen him before in person, and see what he says. But for now, I'd just say he's something along the lines of Jacob Sanchez - a nice org pickup who maybe, if everything goes right, can do a little more than that (in Sanchez' case, as a minor deal trade chip).

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 02:05 PM) Not sure if this belongs here, but to make long story short. My cousin is a 20-something lawyer in chicago who makes good money. He got put on some big cases as far as doing some of the 'grunt' work -- flying out to various cities on the company dime to talk to experts, etc. Staying at nice hotels, living the good life on the road. Sounds perfect -- travel, money, being thought highly of at the law firm and a rising up and comer. However he has to work tons of hours (he's not married or dating anybody anymore) so he decided he hated the profession and quit. The boss talked him into taking a six month leave of absence instead of quitting. The leave of absence will run out soon and he's thinking of returning to school to be some other occupation. My questions to you: -- Do you think this is a generational thing? Kids that are raised to just be praised and receive participation trophies have some unreal expectation of the workplace? I mean it's called 'work' for a reason. Or do you think he has the right to quit and start over, to go from making mega dollars to nothing? Obviously his mom and dad are freaking out. They thought they had a rich son on their hands, now he's preparing to go to school again and be poor. Geez. If you were him would you simply suck it up and use your law degree and rake in all that money the rest of your life? Or would you return to school to be a much lower paid profession? Is this a troubled kid to give up all that money? Give up putting his law degree to good use?? 1. The legal profession is very, very tough nowadays. Far too many lawyers, and making partner or even associate is grueling and never comes for many people. That really makes life tough for anyone. 2. Money ain't everything. 3. A law degree could be used for other work that isn't typical lawyering. For example, he could work for the FBI, or some other government agency. Many of those agencies pay good (not great) money and have reasonable work expectations. For that matter, if he goes into a "regular" corporate job and gets an MBA too, the MBA/JD combination can be a gold mine.

AAA ASG too, Phegley to play.

There were only two games, and here is the recap.

James Dykstra promoted to W-S. Brandon Brennan off rehab at GF, sent to Kanny. Justin Jirschele from Charlotte back to W-S. W-S has one too many, and say they will make a corresponding move to make room before the game Wednesday.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 08:08 AM) Jesus, is there still people who think we got Eaton for Reed? I mean I know Davidson has had a rough year, but geez. D'OH! I still get those two deals confused, don't ask me why. Sorry. Point remains - the idea that Reed gives us 12 more wins is ridiculous. Whatever return we got for Reed (Davidson) just adds to the silliness.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 07:27 AM) Lindstrom was very mediocre anyway, and Jones had no closer experience, still prefer him as a set-up man for what should be Reed...or reincarnated Jenks...Reed probably could have gave us a dozen more wins this first half alone You cannot be serious. A dozen more wins? You think with Reed here, and no Eaton, this team would have been 15 or more games above .500? Meanwhile Reed has been one of the least successful closers in baseball.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 13, 2014 -> 09:53 PM) His minor league stats this year are pretty good, 42 RBIs. *hits head against desk repeatedly*

Jason Coats with an RBI 3B. Before that is even on the books... June: .330/.360/.566, just 12 K in 115 PA. July: .378/.462/.511, 8:7 K:BB in 52 PA. Wasn't walking a lot, but lately has, I'm guessing they are pitching around him now. 24 years old so he should really be in AA, but he missed a year of development too. Would like to see him in Birmingham this year, I'm intrigued.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Jul 13, 2014 -> 08:09 AM) How big of prospects are Wheeler, Guerrero, and Mitchell: Wheeler: 3.38 ERA, 78K is 64IP Guerrero: 6-0, 2.95 ERA, 46K in 42IP Mitchell: 3-2, 5.25 ERA, 64K in 48IP All key pieces to Kanny's near firstplace team and bullpen, take notice Ken and Rick, champs have fully rounded teams and an actual 'pen...not some clusterf*** valued at s*** Wheeler and Guerrero are interesting. Mitchell is too but look at his walks. And why do people still seem to forget that the heart of the White Sox pen was taken out early on with the two most likely closer candidates, Jones and Lindstrom, going down early? Few bullpens in baseball could take that without struggling.

QUOTE (Bruce_Blixton @ Jul 11, 2014 -> 02:23 PM) I'd really like to see what happens when Jim Thome gets to work with him, maybe he can unlock that untapped power we're all waiting for. Is he still in Charlotte working with Davidson or is he more of a roving instructor? There are some parallels between those two. Both were 3B who went to 1B for defensive reasons, both hit for high average but only hints of power through their middle-minors careers, both were said to have power potential but didn't show it for a few years, both hit plenty of doubles. One could do an interesting parallel study there.