NorthSideSox72

Now with the draft complete, assuming Rodon signs plus the guys who already have (plus keeping in mind the last few weeks' performances), my new I-haven't-researched-enough-yet list is: 1. Rodon 2. Anderson 3. Hawkins 4. MJohnson 5. Adams 6. Davidson 7. Beck 8. Sanchez 9. Michalczewski 10. Montas 11. Danish 12. Ravelo 13. Thompson 14. Adolfo 15. KSmith 16. Rondon 17. Bassitt 18. Snodgress 19. AMitchell 20. May 21. Barnum 22. Recchia 23. ALopez 24. Fry 25. Jaye Just missed... Olacio Engel Hansen Ortiz Coats Lowry Austin Jarvis Guerrero The list is much tigher now, lots of places on there where any of the guys could go up or down 3 or 5 slots and would feel about right too.

He's replacing Gorkys Hernandez, who was released by Charlotte yesterday.

I really think people need to get off the Micah Johnson to the Outfield bandwagon. People want that because of organizational need, but in terms of the likelihood of success, I think some of you are burying your head in the sand. Let's look at some reasons why Johnson to the OF is a good idea, in terms of player qualities: 1. He's fast Now let's look at some reasons it isn't a good idea: 1. He's been an infielder his entire career, even back to college and high school. Going INF to OF isn't just changing gloves - he doesn't know how to take routes, or how to read those types of hits off the bat. Those skills take time to learn. 2. His arm isn't all that strong, which would be exposed in the OF 3. His elbow ligament issues, while surgically solved, are likely the result of problematic throwing mechanics. If you start having him make 200 foot throws regularly, his injury risk goes up substantially. 4. Unless you can make him a CF, which seems incredibly unlikely given 1 through 3 above, his bat becomes less premium in the corner OF positions than it is at 2B. You are essentially downgrading his offensive value to the club. 5. It has been noted multiple times, even by Johnson himself, that part of his issue defensively has been a lack of focus and setup. Putting him in the outfield, further from the action, isn't going to help that (and might make it worse). Point is, let's focus on getting improvement where he stands, as there is a much higher likelihood of success for that than there is moving him to the OF just because he has wheels.

Beck and Eddy Alvarez are both very intriguing, those are names I am leaning towards. Walker is a no, he's got emotional issues and is really unhappy right now. That could be a disaster for all involved. QUOTE (ptatc @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 09:39 AM) Typically, players don't really enjoy being interviewed to talk about other players. He just signed his first pro contract, he is excited about what's gong on in his life. You don't want to put a potential interview for later by irritating him now. I really like the idea of Ramirez. I worked with him when he was in the juniors. He is a fun guy and would probably enjoy doing it, unless he is being overwhelmed from other sources. QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 09:48 AM) Yeah, it just depends with some guys. Obviously, he was selected by the White Sox at least 50% because of Rodon and their relationship, so it goes with the territory. And he's already made jokes online about Rodon not being able to get rid of him, and they are/were roommates I think. With the dearth of catching prospects in the Sox system, you could still make it 75% about the things he needs to do in order to stick at the catching position as he moves up (certainly he will as long as he's with Rodon before Carlos is promoted to the big league team)...maybe what going to college has taught him or the general experience of being around a college program with two Top 15 players in the country that failed to succeed and maybe why that happened...how his hit tool has blossomed from the time he was in high school and highly scouted and how he envisions his career with the Sox unfolding, what they've told him to work on, etc. This would have to be done very carefully. Obviously I could ask about Rodon, but it can't be a question that sets up any sort of negativity.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 08:47 AM) Do you know they are brothers? Could they be cousins and their birth dates would be correct? Their being brothers is known to the clubs and has been discussed in articles posted by MiLB and the Intimidators. Yet their birthdates say otherwise, unless one was adopted. The whole thing is weird.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 07:53 AM) I believe he is Ed Sprague's nephew. FutureSox.com ‏@FutureSox Jun 7. Jed Sprague's father was All-Star Major Leaguer Ed, and his mom won a gold medal at 1992 olympics #bloodlines # mlbdraft We have him listed as signed because he was in a Sox uniform taking BP at The Cell a couple days ago - but it is possible he hasn't actually signed, maybe there is a delay for some reason, or maybe his BP session was just a favor. The FS Tracker has been updated to reflect that.

Good suggestions all around so far, thanks. QUOTE (LDF @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 04:45 PM) those 4 plus Mitchell Andrew or Jared?

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 04:30 PM) Yeah but if Rodon doesn't sign then the Sox lose his slot money so there's still not enough moeny for de Oca. They lose his slot money - not the overage to the pool. If Rodon wants slot, they are going to sign him guaranteed. The issue is if he asks for well over.

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 04:25 PM) And perhaps not confident about signing Montes de Oca. I hate to agree with Keith Law, but as he said, I think Montes de Oca was a backup plan. Plan A is to sign Rodon, and give whatever remaining overage they can to MdO and see if he bites, knowing he likely won't. But if Plan A fails (which is unlikely), they throw a ton of money at de Oca instead and bank the rest for Int'l spending or the like.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 04:25 PM) Grabbing a guy like Adams or Fry would be awesome too as a new draft pick. Beat everyone else to the punch. I was thinking more doing this in the next week, which is before those guys will report to the affiliates, and therefore it will be a little harder to get to them (though not impossible). But definitely yes, will try to catch some new draft picks in July or August.

We've got a new fella coming on board shortly. If anyone else wants in, let us know soon if you can.

Adolfo speaks English fluently, but he might be a hard get because he'll likely be on the AZL team. They are owned by the big club, and we don't yet have contacts down there. So that one may have to wait until later in the year. But worth considering for later. Not sure about Montas' or Sanchez' English, I will find out.

We haven't done a prospect interview in a while, and I want to do one soon. My goal is to look for a player who we haven't interviewed in the past year or two, who people want to hear about. Who should we interview? Below is a list of who we HAVE interviewed this season or last (in order of most recent), so try for one not on this list.... James Dykstra Chris Bassitt Dan Black Thad Lowry Trey Michalczewski Sammy Ayala Micah Johnson (twice) Courtney Hawkins Kevan Smith Joey DeMichele (twice) Mike Recchia Myles Jaye Jake Cose Chris Curley Mark Haddow (no longer in the org) Jacob May Brad Goldberg Tim Anderson Tyler Danish Keon Barnum Adam Lopez Stew Brase (no longer in the org) Marcus Semien Erik Johnson Anyone else is fair game. ONE CAVEAT - some of these guys don't speak a lot of English, so we usually shy away from those unless one of us is there in person with a translator available.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 01:43 PM) It's very confusing between the two Leyer's, so specification might help a bit. I thought they were brothers, then noticed Robinson is 4 months younger than Euclides. Unless, of course, Mom is a warrior the likes of which the obstetricians had never seen. They are brothers. One of them clearly has a false birth date on MiLB. The thought is that the older one is incorrect in his age and is actually much older.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 12:12 PM) That's sad about Cose. He was a sleeper prospect of mine. What did he do to his back that needed surgery? And where do you think Brennan and Bassit start their seasons? Brennan in Kanny and Bassit in Birmingham? Not sure what caused it, but Cose had to have a discectomy. Leaving aside brief rehab starts, I'd guess Bassitt is in AA (McCully and Blough are suspect in that rotation), Brennan at Kanny. Just my guesses though. Lopez probably in A+.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 11:51 AM) Charlotte's staff has been a revolving door of reclamation/recovery suckage, between Hanson, Paulino, Boggs, Surkamp, the mysterious EJohnson and others. Boggs by himself has probably cost them 5 wins, and has blown throughout, yet somehow remains. The Knights have "taken one for the team" this season - I'd hate to be season ticket holder there, though. And can someone give me some good news regarding Bassitt and/or Lopez returning to action soon? Those two, on top of Cose, Brennan and other injury losses, could have really helped. Last I spoke with both of them, Bassitt was targeting an ASB timeframe for return (which is pretty soon, if he meant the minor league one), and Lopez was "May or June", so should be soon. Bassitt info is from a couple weeks ago, and he just recently started throwing I think. Lopez I haven't talked with since April. Brennan has started his throwing program, I'd think he shows up maybe in July (I haven't spoken with him). Cose had significant back surgery (I talked with him around March or April just before his surgery), is almost assuredly out for the full year, and may not come back at all.

Lower level teams have been playing much better lately, upper level not so much. Charlotte is awful, which isn't surprising since there's (virtually) no pitching talent there.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 09:18 AM) The fact that Fry hasn't signed yet gives me pause. I would have thought a deal would be done by now. And it may BE done, we just don't know about it yet. It sometimes takes a few days for things to filter down, and the draft only finished a few days ago. Fry does have some leverage as a junior, but he was taken at pick 77 vs concensus 90's ranking or not top 100 on some lists and he's got TJ history. I just don't think he'll give up a $600-700k payday with all those dynamics at play.

I'd bet 3, 8 and 9 all (or at least 2) go below slot to save even more, I could see us having 600-700k available. Jarvis at or slightly over maybe. I think Rodon will eat a bit of that too, but I'd also bet the Sox end up with north of 500k in extra money (which is to say 600k to offer) to Montes de Oca.

Recap posted.

Both lower level teams have been improving, BHAM is kinda treading water, but Charlotte just keeps going downhill. THat's what happens when you have to call up a dozen guys from AAA in the first couple months of the season.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Jun 10, 2014 -> 02:25 PM) I'm less bullish primarily because his numbers at Reno, an absolute hitter's paradise with altitude AND dry desert heat, are rather pedestrian in the PCL scheme of things. I like his AA performance and his time in MLB was too short for a "book" to have developed on him. Cautiously optimistic still, but with emphasis on the caution. I don't think the PCL vs IL issue can come close to covering the downfall he's had in Charlotte. His K rate should ne relatively unaffected (unless his K issue is almost entirely due to swing-and-miss on big moving breaking stuff), and his numbers in general are significantly worse acros the board. Given his HR and K totals, I am concerned he's just plain swinging for the fences too often.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 10, 2014 -> 09:40 AM) Why are we so high on Danish again? Some of us are less high on him than others. What wite said all makes sense. Though for me, I have serious concerns about not only durability (translating to velocity), but also just plain stuff. I just don't see that 2/3 starter ceiling people put on him as anything more than an extreme best case. I think it is much more likely he's a 4th starter if his body holds up with that delivery, or a middle reliever if it doesn't. I could be wrong of course, and hope I am.

Recap posted.

Tracker (link in OP) is up to date on FS. So far looks like 13 guys confirmed signed or saying about to sign.