NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (raBBit @ Feb 4, 2014 -> 03:44 PM) Kyle Hansen is a guy I can see making a dark horse move next year. Peripherally speaking he had a very strong year at Kanny last year. He's also a massive guy with a 6' 8" frame so I'd give him a little extra time to sort out his mechanical issues. Probably doesn't have the secondary stuff to hang as a starter but could make some noise is a reliever. Fits the Sox profile as big dude with sinker ball. Ortiz is a guy I really like. His velocity has increased from '12-'13 and as the season went on in '13. Even held up when he moved into a starting role. His stuff passes the vision test and paper test. Great life on fastball, great drop on slider and high K/9 numbers. His slider is of the best pitches in the system. His FB-SL combo is MLB type stuff. Needs to harness his control obviously. Interesting the Sox moved him into a starting role as he seems destined for the pen but maybe they see something in his mechanics they think they can fix. The Sox moving guys from the bullpen to a starting role doesn't necessarily mean they see a starter. Sometimes it does. But just as often, if they see a guy they like as a reliever, they sometimes have them start for a couple years to work on going form thrower to pitcher. For a guy like Ortiz that makes a ton of sense. And occasionally (i.e. Bassitt) they actually end up improving as starters, and then voila, you found a bonus starter.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Feb 4, 2014 -> 02:40 PM) Yeah I think Wendelken can be at AA by the end of this next season with a good year. With Lowry, with a good couple of months, you see him at Kannapolis? Lowry ran out of gas before he even started his pro season. He needs a lot of conditioning work. I think a shorter season is better for him at this point, going straight to 130 IP would probably not go well. I could maybe see, if he opens at GF really well, he finishes at Kanny.

Well, the Sox have tended to break PECOTA more than any other team so... hell if I know. 75 wins seems pretty close to right though.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Feb 4, 2014 -> 01:34 PM) My favorites: Braulio Ortiz - Really had a strong last couple months last year. Brandon Brennan - Comming back from TJ. Thaddius Lowry - Young LHP who has some good potential. Will he start in Kannapolis? Brad Goldberg - We'll probably see him in AAA by the end of the season if he does well like last year. Kevin Vance - I'll be interested if he can manage his control better. One name that I'm interested in that you didn't name is JB Wendelken (we acquired in Peavy trade). He had a pretty good year with Winston Salem last year, still young, and I think he can be a good bullpen option too. Wendelken was one I almost put on there, though I was running out of room. I could have written up another 10 guys easily. The system is just a lot deeper this year. I think Lowry will need another year in rookie ball, probably at Great Falls if I had to guess.

And now the Pitchers article is up too. 16 of them in this case (there were 12 position players). A bunch of guys worth watching in here, I had fun writing these up. Favorites of this bunch? Anyone else we should have written up?

Abreu kind of split the world in terms of the definition of "prospect". BA included him, so did FS. BP, MLB and ESPN did not.

Jason Parks just said he's got the Sox as the #19 system in baseball.

QUOTE (beautox @ Feb 3, 2014 -> 02:00 PM) I agree that combined with who we get when we unload from the likes of De Aza, Ramirez, Beckham and Dunn in that order will go a long way, strong possibility we're looking at a mid ranked farm system(13-18) next year. I think the biggest thing that could get the farm stronger is the development of some of the LatAm bonus babies. We've spent a couple years now dramatically increasing spending down there, and will do so again this July. There are 5 or 6 guys we already signed that are just starting DSL ball, or will be soon, that should be reaching state-side affiliates in 2014 and 2015.

There is also at least one poster from Spain, can't remember his handle. ETA: I found this site while I was overseas myself. I was in India on business for nearly a month, and bored out of my mind in the evenings, so I stumbled upon this one during the White Sox pennant run in 2005. Was a great way to connect to the community when far away from it.

There is a Mod on this site who is from Australia (DBAH0). There is also another mod and FutureSox writer in the UK (ozzie ball).

The money for Dunn is gone, we all know this. The question is, how do you best get value out of his current DH slot? Let's look at the options... 1. Keep Dunn there. He posts a .750-.800 OPS or the like (his OPS vs RHP last two seasons: .817, .786 - and that is who he will hit against), maybe better if we're lucky, and the team will probably be mediocre in any case. He boosts his value, the Sox can trade him to save a few mil, and maybe get a prospect out of it that is worth something. Or if the team is actually by some miracle competitive AND he is doing well, you keep him around. VALUE: average to below average DH production, possible savings of a few mil and/or a prospect. 2. Release him, as suggested by some. You save zero dollars and obtain nothing in return for him. And replace him with... what? Let's break down the possibilities... 2 a. Major leaguers that are extra right now - Keppinger, Gillaspie and Viciedo/De Aza. What kind of value do you think those players will provide in a platoon? Likely less than that .750-.800 OPS, but let's say they equal Dunn. OK, at best, you break even on performance. But save no money and get nothing in return. 2 b. Minor leaguer? Andy Wilkins is the only guy who appears maybe ready. But it is unlikely, with only a short AAA stint, that he can provide even Dunn-like performance overall. So you get even less value than 2 a, and again, no money saved, and no prospects in return. 2 c. Get a re-tread free agent? They'd maybe be as good as Gillappinviciaza, and cost the team extra money. They'd need to perform significantly above Dunn and/or Gillappinviciaza to make that a worthwhile move. That's really all there is to it. Releasing him makes zero sense in any baseball world. There is no added value in doing so. If you keep him, worst case is you get no value, but there is a decent chance you get some money and/or prospects out of it. Releasing Adam Dunn is nonsensical. There is zero good reason to do so, unless some team is willing to give you something (money and/or prospects) for him RIGHT NOW, which NO ONE IS.

You guys are really bothering to engage Marty on this topic? He's decided that Dunn's very presence is more important to the fan base than how good the team is, or anything else for that matter. It is an absurd concept on its face. He's toying with you.

Rosenbloom is such a garbage writer. Trash article again, regardless of how you feel about Dunn.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jan 30, 2014 -> 02:47 PM) Thanks for the insight. Sounds like Iglesias, except that .200 in A ball might translate to .100 in the majors if he can't develop the bat. Now if they do work out a trade for Nieto, they'll still have to keep him on the 40 man after the season so that he doesn't get Rule fived from them, right? Correct.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Jan 30, 2014 -> 12:52 PM) Rondon really intrigues me. QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jan 30, 2014 -> 01:44 PM) Butch Wynegar was an all star catcher right out of the box. Nieto has a much lower bar to stick, and I bet he does. * Phegley back to AAA. I'm bullish, or maybe just hopeful, on Mitchell. He was also very raw for a college player when we drafted him. Longer development time doesn't surprise me. Also interested in that SS we got in the Peavy trade. *Reasons: 1)It's not a huge stretch to think he'll hit as well as Flowers or Phegley 2)The Sox are system-thin at catcher and he has the most potential as best I can tell. 3)Nats front office is notoriously difficult to deal with, making a trade problematic and likely unequal. You should have heard the guys I talked with in Kanny talk about Rondon. A scout, the team manager, their PR/radio guy and a coach all said things about his defense that were amazing. Tommy Thompson, the manager for Kanny last year (moves up to WS this year) said he had never seen a better defender in his time coaching and managing in the minors ever. I myself only saw one significant play, but he made a play most 2B's can't even attempt look like he could have done it in his sleep. I don't agree on Nieto being likely to stick, but I certainly agree the Sox were desperate for catching talent.

As a teaser for the article, in case you are still debating reading it, the players we covered for this one are: IF's Joey DeMichele, Andy Wilkins, Cleuluis Rondon, Dan Black, Christian Stringer OF's Jared Mitchell, Keenyn Walker, Jason Coats C's Adrien Nieto, Kevan Smith, Miguel Gonzalez, Sammy Ayala So if you want to read up on any of them, this article is for you.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 30, 2014 -> 09:59 AM) Sorry, that Ross Gload for Andy Wilkins. Dan Black seems more like Jack Cust (without the power) or Daric Barton (without the defense). OK, that makes more sense. Wilkins does have more power than Gload did though, and strikes out more. But that is a closer comp. I was sort of puzzled when I thought you were talking about Black.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 30, 2014 -> 09:54 AM) I think the pitchers are going to be far more intriguing. I've always loved Dan Black, but he might only be a .250/.350/.375 player in the majors, and at 1B, there just isn't much value in that. I think Wilkins' tools translate better, but I personally think it seems like a Ross Gload upside is his best case scenario. DeMichele showed some power in Australia just recently, so that's nice, but I don't have a lot of hope for him. Legitimately, I think the most interesting name on this list is Jared Mitchell because of the AFL performance. I think he gets this year to prove something though or he's done. I don't see the Ross Gload comps for Dan Black, they are very different hitters. Black draws a lot walks, Gload never did. Black has a little more power. Gload was a much better contact hitter and line drive guy, and better defensively at 1B, plus could fill in the OF as a backup. Mitchell probably has the highest ceiling of anyone on that list. I'm already writing up the pitchers, and there are more of them than position players, about 16 of them. Lots of interesting arms.

Wow, he's high on Micah and Mitchell. I think he's probably not fully aware of some of the risks with Micah Johnson. Mitchell is an interesting prospect but I can't see him as top 10.

We did this last offseason and it seemed pretty popular, so, here we go again. But we're splitting it into two this year, as there are simply more names worth mentioning than there were last year. Here is a review with small capsules of a dozen or so White Sox position player prospects who missed the Top 25, but are worth watching in 2014. We'll publish the pitcher version in a few days. Any favorites among these? Anyone we should have included and didn't?

I personally think the fact that prospects are so hard to evaluate, and there are such varying opinions, makes it all the more interesting. Plus the fact that often times, they are ALL wrong on some players, in both directions.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 28, 2014 -> 11:21 AM) Stalinist Russia is preferable to many HOAs. LOL I have a funny story about that. My wife and I own some undeveloped property out west (mountain property), and it is part of a development and has a Landowners' Association. They charge $50 per lot in dues each year to maintain the private, dirt roads in the development. About half the lots are currently undeveloped. A few years ago, I started getting weird mail from the LOA asking for extra dues from some road damage. Then mail came from a DIFFERENT address, claiming to be the LOA, and asking not to send more money. Then asking for more money a few weeks later. Kept getting mail from two parties claiming to be the LOA, each accusing the other group of some sort of coup de tat, replete with documents about lawsuits, etc. Then, the mail from all of them just stopped. For like 3 years. Finally got a newsletter from the "LOA" like a year ago, showing financials, talking about missing money, and please pay your back dues so the roads can get fixed. I ended up calling a few people to get the story, and this LOA is apparently now in good standing, but there are some lot owners who refuse to recognize it. There is still a pending lawsuit, and someone got arrested for something in all that mess. We are now trying to sell our lots. It sucks, but I can't deal with the drama, I'm not there to keep track of things, and half the neighbors are psychotic.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jan 24, 2014 -> 02:40 PM) Went to a lecture from a climatologist yesterday. She was showing us projections showing that North Africa, Southern Europe, and the Middle East will be facing huge decreases in precipitation in the next 50 years. Most of the world will be getting wetter, but of course those places...of course not. The American West, much of it, will also be (by models I have seen) getting less precipitation. Desertification continues. And at least in that regional case, it is exaserbating an existing problem. The southwest has been drying steadily for a few thousand years now, but the rate is increasing.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 29, 2014 -> 12:45 PM) Getting better, but still thin. Law also said the system would be ranked higher if he included Abreu, who BA and FS both included (but BP, MLB.com and Law did not in their various rankings).

Anderson was known to have the right raw tools to be an above average defender... nice to hear he is already translating those effectively to playable skills on the field. Not the first time we've heard those reports either. Very good sign he's already doing that.