NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jun 5, 2012 -> 07:36 AM) Bases loaded 1 out. DP grounder, Castro steps on second and starts running to the dugout, instead of throwing to 1st. Thought there were 2 outs already. Tying run scores. I've never really heard him speak, so, someone help me out here... is Starlin Castro suffering from ADHD or something? Or is he just immature and spacey? Or is he just plain dumb, like box of rocks dumb? Young players make mistakes, but I can't remember a player ever making as many truly bone-headed ones as this guy has so far.

Hawkins and Barnum are taken already... but rounds 2-15 of the draft are today (starting 11am Chicago time), and as they are announced, you can stop by and claim players.

Today, rounds 2-15, starting at 11am Chicago time. See the discussion in this thread for details. Remember too, if you want to "adopt" a prospect, just go to this thread and claim him. Also, this thread shows who has what prospects right now, and who is available. First post for a given draft pick gets that AAP, so post in that first linked thread above as the draft picks come in.

Remember everyone, if you want to "adopt" a prospect, just go to this thread and claim him. Also, this thread shows who has what prospects right now, and who is available. First post for a given draft pick gets that AAP, so post in that first linked thread above as the draft picks come in.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 03:34 PM) (Poreda 2007) That's true, so its 2007, not 2006. I stand corrected. And neither 2007 nor 2006 went very well going that direction. They may draft a pitcher, I don't know. I just think its hilarious when people insist they "know".

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 02:20 PM) Remenowsky's been to AAA before and didn't do so well, don't know about the others. I still think the most intriguing guy in their pen is Santos Rodriguez, because he's a 6' 5" lefty, and we'll need more lefties sooner after we trade Thornton and/or make Hector a starter. He may finally be figuring it out, and could possibly add to our return from the Javy trade. I'd like to hear JPN's take on the recent SR. Santos was interesting a while back, but he's kind of stalled the last few years. 2011 he repeated High A and his peripherals went mostly downhill. This year he seems to be back on track. He's 24 now, so not young anymore, but not really old either. We'l see what happens in AAA. And to be clear, I wasn't necessarily saying those three NDFA guys were the most talented... just the ones with the best results, at this point.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 03:15 PM) It's a lock that the White Sox will take a college pitcher. LOL, OK, yeah, its a "lock". Nevermind that since 2006 the've only done that once with their first pick (Sale in 2010). I love when people call this sort of thing a "lock". Did you buy a lottery ticket today?

Just noticed something interesting. The three dominant relievers in Birmingham are Dan Remenowsky, Brandon Kloess and Ryan Kussmaul. They are all NDFA signings - pretty amazing for three undrafted guys to be the three strongest relievers on your AA squad. And the similarities don't end there. They are all striking out about a guy an inning, all walking guys at a similar relatively low rate, all holding batters around .150 AvgA. They are ages 25, 26 and 27. Who sees AAA first?

Monthly update on Shirek... Predictably, Charlie's numbers have started to fade as he piles on the innings. K rate is decliing, hits against him are increasing. The guy has reliever written all over him. Here is an interesting look at some of his peripherals in April vs May: APRIL: .252 AvgA, 1.3 BB/9, 7.9 K/9 MAY: .296 AvgA, 1.4 BB/9, 3.9 K/9 Still has good control, but he's become much more hittable. It is a mystery to me why he's not been converted to a reliever. Overall so far in 11 games, 66 IP: 4.23 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, .278 AvgA, 1.4 BB/9, 5.6 K/9

Monthly update... Rem continues to put up strong numbers in B-Ham. He's not striking out as many guys as he was last year, though he's still over a K an inning... but his ERA is more than half a run lower, and hitters have a much lower average against him. WHIP is about the same as it was last year. Stats so far... 14 G, 25.2 IP, 13 H, 6 ER, 10 BB, 26 K 2.10 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, .148 AvgA, 9.2 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 He, Kussmaul and Kloess have been the dominant relievers in B-Ham thus far, and have been putting up eerily similar numbers. Those are the three relievers who would be jockeying for promotion to AAA, should the opportunity come up. They are all NDFA's.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 09:05 AM) Age and natural athletic abilities/tools This^ But there is certainly an interesting discussion to be had about outfielders in the Sox system. You have athletic, toolsy guys like Thompson, Mitchell, Martinez and Walker... but only Mitchell among those is really putting it together with the bat, so far. Then on the flipside, you have some lower round picks and/or older guys, like Haddow, Early and Shoemaker, who are just hitting the s*** out of the ball, but have lower perceived "ceilings". Its good to have both kinds in the system, but the question becomes, how patient are you with the boom or bust guys? When do you decide to give a better shot to the guys performing? There is no magic answer, but, I will say I'd like to see some of the outfielders who fit none of the above categories - KW Jr, Nick Ciolli, etc. - moved out of the way to give both the high performers and the toolsy guys a better shot.

Hudson has been a disappointment so far - iffy defense and almost no bat. His most recent double was a lost fly ball, so his numbers are even softer than they look. He's barely an improvement offensively over what Morel was doing, and he's a significant downgrade defensively. Hudson has also made baserunning gaffes. Morel is hitting the ball hard in rehab in AAA, which is funny because a lot of people felt he needed a trip to AAA regardless of injury, to get his mojo back. I think when Morel is fully healthy and ready, you give him one more shot - at least a month - to put it together with the bat. If he can do that, and show no ill effects from the back, then you move on with him. If not, then in early July you start looking to see if Youkilis can be had for cheap. The hard decision is, what do you do when Morel comes back, as far as the roster goes? My inclination is to have Escobar back in AAA getting more regular at-bats. Or, maybe you just release Hudson.

Jeez, the B-Ham offense suddenly explodes the last two games. Even Dubler put up big numbers.

Terance Marin has an ERA now. I said this the other day... Jordan Danks has a 26% K/PA rate in his third year in AAA. He has no value to speak of in trade, and he's not a future major league starter. At best he's a 4th OF and defensive replacement.

Well, I have 3 email addresses... so I did my 75 votes.

Take only cash or a certified instrument (bank check or the like) as payment. Never let them drive off with the car, without you in it. Putting an ad on cars.com or the like is likely less risky, but who knows. Do not say anything to a buyer that might even remotely sound like a guarantee or warranty.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 1, 2012 -> 12:46 PM) Quintana, Santiago and Pedro Hernandez don't count? We already have Sale and Danks. I wouldn't say ANOTHER lefty is the highest priority in the world at the moment. Its Keith Law. He may end up being right about who we draft, its just guessing anyway, but the guy has made clear that any "analysis" he provides about the Sox should be placed in the trash.

Danks is 26 in his 3rd year at AAA and still has a K/PA rate of 26.5%. He's not a future major league starter. Therefore, I'd be fine with him taking Fukudome's spot at this point. Ryan Kussmaul is 25 and an NDFA signing, but he's been pretty solid as B-Ham's closer. K rate is over a guy an inning, miniscule ERA... but the walk rate is a little high. My new AAP Mark Haddow on a 13 game hitting streak. Last 10 games: .486/.548/.622/1.169. Season so far: .332/.404/.495/.898.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 31, 2012 -> 09:30 PM) See Nathan Jones and Hector Santiago. Except of course those are entirely different situations. Santiago was 23 last season when they had him starting, had only about 250 innings at that point, and was only just touching AA. Also, he's seen as a guy who may actually start later. Jones had less than 200 IP at the point they had him start are W-S in 2010, and was 24 years old, and went back to relief work for AA. Shirek is the opposite - 500+ innings, three years older, starting all along. The situations are really nothing alike.

QUOTE (danman31 @ May 31, 2012 -> 01:47 PM) Phegley isn't putting up solid hitting numbers though. He has 6 walks and 1 home run and an OPS just south of .700. I barely rate Phegley in the top 20. Wow, I hadn't realized just how far he dropped off in May. His April line was .382/.405/.539/.945. In May it is .191/.238/.266/.504. Yikes. He does seem to be putting it back together the last few games though, going 9-for-34 w/ 3 2B. I obviously hadn't looked at his numbers lately. That said, I still think he is more in that first tier of players mentioned, than the 2nd. Even with a .700 OPS, having a catcher like that in AAA is big value. And if he bounces back and suddenly gets that number closer to .800, that's even better. His strikeout rate is reasonable, but he does need to draw more walks. Of the position players mentioned in that post earlier, I'd go: Mitchell Thompson Phegley Saladino Walker Ravelo And there may be others that I'd put in between some of those bottom three names. And I could flip-flop Phegley and Thompson.

QUOTE (danman31 @ May 31, 2012 -> 01:27 PM) You answered the question for me. I wouldn't say it any different. I'd put Phegley ahead of Thompson, Walker and probably Saladino. Definitely ahead of Ravelo and Semien. Pre-draft, the only position player who really jumps past Phegley is Mitchell, in my view. Josh is a catcher, putting up solid hitting numbers in AAA, and staying healthy. His position makes his bat very valuable. His ceiling isn't as high as Thompson or some of those others, but he's got a good chance of being a major league catcher, whereas guys like Thompson and Walker have a good chance of never really getting there.

2 months in, coming up on the draft, seemed like a good time to bump this thread. Also, saw some discussion in other threads of who supposedly did or didn't see this team contending. Of the 64 votes in the poll, only 5 put them in 95+ loss territory. The large majority figured for over .500, with the bell curve forming around the 82-85 win band. Some of the posts are interesting. Will be fun to come back to this again in August, and in October.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ May 31, 2012 -> 12:18 PM) For innings. I think most guys start in the minors simply to get innings and to have opportunities to pitch in a wide array of situations. You can probably evaluate a guy better long term the more innings he has and the more situational experience he gets. Also, just to illustrate further, check out Charlie's splits from 2011 at B-Ham, as a reliever vs a starter: RELIEVER: 35.0 IP, 29 H, 12 ER, 0 HR, 13 BB, 29 K... 3.09 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, .223 AvgA, 1.67 GO/AO, 7.5 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 STARTER: 53.1 IP, 65 H, 26 ER, 6 HR, 15 BB, 28 K... 4.39 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, .302 AvgA, 1.31 GO/AO, 4.7 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 That's pretty dramatic. Look at the AvgA, ERA and K/9 numbers.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ May 31, 2012 -> 12:18 PM) For innings. I think most guys start in the minors simply to get innings and to have opportunities to pitch in a wide array of situations. You can probably evaluate a guy better long term the more innings he has and the more situational experience he gets. Charlie Shirek is in his 6th year in the minors at age 26, and he's pitched 518 innings over 114 games (80 of them starts). He's got 72 innings in AAA and 247 innings in AA. At this point in his career, it really doesn't add any more value to give him an array of situations. At this point and level, he should be performing the role that makes him most likely to add value to the club or in trade, and it seems pretty clear to me that is relieving, not starting. If we were talking a guy 1 or 2 years in, in A ball, I might agree with you. But in this case, it just isn't useful anymore.

Found it. Per MLB Important Dates... July 13, 2012 5 p.m. ET, signing deadline for players selected in the First-Year Player Draft