NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (danman31 @ May 4, 2013 -> 11:24 AM) At this point, anyone who rates either of those guys with any more value than as throw ins is making a big mistake. Walker is maybe close to that level, though I'd say a little more than a throw-in. Thompson is still worth a lot more than that, IMO. Neither are MLB-wide elite guys, but I think Thompson is still a B prospect with the tools for more.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ May 4, 2013 -> 11:38 AM) Yoandy Barroso has also been promoted to Winston-Salem, Kyle Hansen to Kanny, Justin Jirschele to Birmingham, Michael Earley to temporarily inactive list in B-Ham Jirschele to B-Ham? I guess he won't be starting. Good to see Hansen back in action.

Monthly update... Expectations for Brennan were heightened in the offseason, with Buddy Bell talking him up. But he's still raw, and his numbers so far in Kanny's rotation show it. In 5 starts, he's got a 7.43 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, and batters are hitting .323 against him. His K rate is 7.0 per 9, which is OK but not great. The walk rate is nice and low though, at 2.3. And he's inducing ground balls at a decent rate. He was drafted as a raw arm, especially by college player standards, so hopefully he can make some adjustments. His last outing on 4/27 was by far his worst, going just 2/3 of an inning, giving up 6 ER on 4 hits, walking 2 and striking out none. That really pushed his numbers in a bad direction. But as the season goes on, that one game could be less meaningful.

Monthly update... Ravelo was just promoted to Winston-Salem. He wasn't hitting for much of an average (.226), and his K rate is up a bit to 16.7%. No power numbers to speak of yet, though he is drawing walks at a much higher clip. The promotion may have been pre-determined. But the big news is... he was playing 1B at Kanny. And W-S media guy hinted he's likely to keep playing there. If he is indeed permanently at 1B, his prospect value goes down substantially. We'll see if that is the case.

Monthly update... At last note, Dan's knee recovery should put him back on a pitching mound sometime this month. He's down in AZ still, for now.

First monthly update... Mark had a decent, if streaky, first month with Winston-Salem. Scuffled a few games early, then went on an 11 game hitting streak, then had a few bad games, now back going well again. His current slash line is a nice .286/.389/.429/.817, and he has almost as many walks (14) as strike-outs (15). His K rate is a very reasonable 13.9%, and he continues to push that down each season. Walk rate is increased as well, and that .103 Iso OBP is pretty. Would be nice to see a few more home runs (he as 2 right now), but overall he's in a pretty good place. At this point, with Hawkins struggling, if an OF slot should open up at AA, he's probably first in line. And he'd be more age-appropriate at that level.

QUOTE (staxx @ May 3, 2013 -> 04:06 PM) Your right, when I re-read it I got that from it as well. Personally, I feel like the best way to do it would be a mix of both. A player obviously needs to learn on their own and learn how to make adjustments. However, I also feel that their should be some type of philosophy laid down, because in the end most of the people coaching these players have years and years of experience (whether that's a good thing or not). Being too relaxed can lead to extremely bad habits developing. I think the balance between those factors is at the heart of player development. And I'm sure the line is fuzzy, as well as different for different players. DeMichele came in pretty experienced with 3 years at an elite baseball program (and good results there), so with him you'd guess they should take a pretty hands-off approach at first. Now that he is struggling, I'd have to think they are starting to work with him on some adjustments. Or I'd hope.

QUOTE (staxx @ May 3, 2013 -> 03:37 PM) "The beauty of the White Sox is, they let you play the way you want to play, and figure it out yourself." Hmmmm. That's probably why we don't develop hitters. I had a similar gut reaction... but read the whole quote. It seems like he's saying, they want them to go out and play "their game", develop as they want to... but if they run into trouble, then start tweaking or making changes as needed. I think that makes sense, as opposed to trying to immediately lay down a philosophy of the organization down to a granular level. Better to let the talent show what they can do, then improve it along the way.

So many years of the Sox being so much better than the rest of baseball at keeping guys healthy. Plenty of credit for that goes to the training and conditioning people, but even if they are really good... bad luck had to hit at some point. I guess this year, so far, is that point.

QUOTE (danman31 @ May 2, 2013 -> 11:56 AM) I think Ravelo was always going to be a timed promotion. He hasn't done especially well this season, but hopefully that was just a matter of getting back in rhythm after so much off time last season. His core results haven't been there. But this is interesting... his walk rate is a very good 16.7% this year so far, versus a much lower 6.1% last year. His OBP is .364, despite a .226 AVG. His K/PA is identical to his BB/PA this year, which is also a good sign. QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ May 2, 2013 -> 12:41 PM) I just wish they'd play him at 3B, because he's never going to cut it at 1B. He could potentially develop some power, but he's a long way from there right now, so I have to agree. Unless his defense is brutal at 3B, which does not mesh with the reports I had read up through last season. No one was saying he was great there, but it was along the lines of hopefully-good-enough, not really-bad-move-him-now.

Also, Hawkins to DL.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 2, 2013 -> 10:39 AM) K-Town Intimidators ‏@Intimidators 16m A couple roster moves to announce today, including a promotion to Winston-Salem. Who could it be? We'll tell you soon... In now... Ravelo to W-S, Tanner down to Kanny, Marjama to DL. The Ravelo mystery tour continues. He was on DL. Not sure which position he plays in W-S.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 2, 2013 -> 10:50 AM) Micah Johnson? With DeMichele there? Doubt it. More likely... Hawkins to DL, and Coats to W-S, if I had to guess. Then Hawkins may go to Kanny when he's back. That is just my guess by the way, no inside info here.

Check it out here. Thoughts?

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ May 2, 2013 -> 07:59 AM) I'm pretty sure some scout said Thompson was the best defensive OF in our minors last year. And that was including Jordan Danks. Sorry, were we just talking outfielders? Thompson and JorDanks definitely considered plus out there. Mitchell has gotten good reviews for range and glove, but not arm. Walker apparently also has big range and a good glove, and a better arm than Mitchell, but Walker doesn't have the route instincts yet (or didn't last I read anything about him - could have changed by now). Hawkins is raw of course. Haddow is supposedly a solid glove and a plus arm. That's about it for OF guys I know of, defensively.

There are quite a few prospects in the org noted for defense. Anyway, W-S is saying Hawkins is day-to-day, but they won't get into further detail just now.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Apr 30, 2013 -> 06:24 PM) Stop lying, you weren't there in AZ I assume you are joking around? floridafan is Eric's Dad.

QUOTE (Jake @ May 1, 2013 -> 02:38 PM) I seem to remember another NDFA from Samford that threw sidearm... Haha, yes, he was an AAP of mine. But he was more submarine than Gunter is. And Wassermann made it all the way to the bigs, for a brief stint.

Hawkins before his 2-day break: .157/.224/.451, 34 K in 58 PA (58.6%) Hawkins since his 2-day break: .231/.310/.500, 11 K in 29 PA (37.9%) Small sample sizes, but definite improvement. And his K's per game since the break have been 3, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1.

QUOTE (kevo880 @ Apr 29, 2013 -> 10:15 PM) So is it time to say McCray is a legit prospect yet? I'd like to know more about him, I can't find much on his stuff. QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Apr 29, 2013 -> 10:35 PM) Eh, turns 26 at the end of the season, doesn't strike many guys out. I think he could be a potential option for a spot start or injury replacement, but I don't see him as a future piece in the rotation in Chicago. Do you know anything about him, stuff-wise? Just curious, I'd like to know more.

QUOTE (hammerhead johnson @ Apr 29, 2013 -> 01:23 PM) Courtney Hawkins has his strikeout percentage up to 55%. There have been 8 games where he had 3 or more strikeouts, and his season just started on April 5. Our top prospect, correct? Lovely. Feel free to discuss in the FS forum. There is even a thread, and an FS article, discussing it. Meanwhile, this has zero to do with the current team.

Considering the weather, the larger than average number of April games, a struggling team, and few games against teams with big followings... I'm surprised they are actually higher. Thought it would be lower. This is good. The May schedule has games against the Cubs, Red Sox, Angels and Marlins. Cubs and Red Sox are always big draws, Angels somewhat so, and Marlins are terrible but interleague games tend to do better than average. So look for Sox attendance to go up quite a bit next month.

Take a gander here, where we take a good look at some Hawkins videos and attempt to find some of the problems causing those strikeouts.

We're doing prospect interviews again over at FS this season. First up is danman31's interview with Jason Coats. Watch for more interviews as the season goes on.

I find it embarrasing that Hawk is our announcer. He's bad at his job, and now this episode makes him look like a buffoon. But... I actually LOVE the idea of this #TWTW marketing campaign. This team and its fanbase needed a shot in the arm, and this might work. I like it, even if it was planted. Either way it works. I hope they run with it.