NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 25, 2016 -> 12:26 PM) If the Sox sell pitching, they will not have much of a choice but to have Fulmer starting in the majors, just by a pure numbers game. I don't think that's the case. Part of any rebuild is making the decision to protect certain key prospects that are part of "the plan", which in this case means they'd go get some scrap heap guys, combined with a few of last year's AAA guys that are fringe prospects or AAAA guys, and finding stopgaps for the rotation.

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Nov 25, 2016 -> 11:57 AM) One of the issues I think over the last 15 years or so concerning the lack of development by Sox minor leaguers is how capable in fact, the Sox minor league staff is overall. Can someone more familiar with the minor leagues try to answer the question of basically how good are these people? Can they actually teach the game? Remember years ago, to cite one example, the one season Hawk Harrelson was GM, he insisted that all Sox minor league instructors be former major league players...I don't think that's the best way to assemble a staff, especially if they can't teach. So I'm just curious what the minor league experts at Sox Talk thinks about the staff in general and do they think this is a better overall staff then in years past? Mark There is nothing objective about this, sadly. Determining how good instructors are at their job is very fuzzy. Overall as a system, they certainly have done a decent job developing pitchers, but less so with hitters. So that's a theme to grab onto. The fact that they injected some new blood seems like a good thing. But still at this point, you generally hear a lot more positive about PC's like Dotson, Perdew, Bautista, and even Zaleski, and now they added a major league guy in McCatty too. But on the hitting side, I've mostly not heard anything at all. Charlie Poe has a good reputation, but I just haven't heard people say much on the other hitting-side guys. And asking people within the Sox isn't going to get you a straight answer in any case.

Last week, the Sox announced an entire slate of Player Development roles, including affiliate managers and coaches, roving staff, front office, etc. We didn't get a chance to do more than just report the names at the time. Now we've got a more in-depth look, with notes, fun background stories, and/or links to interviews on basically all of them. So get to know the Sox player dev staff here, with Julie's usual humor sprinkled in.

I pretty much agree with what everyone else has said so far. He should be starting, in AAA, to give him a nice long look in that role. He was moved up so quick, he was with the Sox while still tweaking his delivery. Give him at least a few months in his final version of delivery, and see what he can do. I think he's still got a decent shot to start, so you absolutely chase that first. I wouldn't go bullpen until 2018, probably.

Here's your weekly look at news from down on the farm. We'll have more in-depth articles on the AFL, and the recent managing/coaching changes in the minors, as the week goes on. The recap is a good overview.

QUOTE (flavum @ Nov 18, 2016 -> 02:37 PM) Wouldn't surprise me if another minor deal happened today and Will Lamb got added. Late moves have happened before. Possible, but in the next hour? Lamb becomes the biggest draft risk, with Delmonico behind him some distance, then a list of really-not-likely guys. It seems the Sox like Purke better than Lamb as a left reliever.

Today is the day. My predictions: DFA: Brennan, Purke, Minaya, Kevan Smith ADD: Engel, May, Lamb, Delmonico Leaving the 40-man at 37.

So first, say hello to Julie - our newest writer. She is 'DestroyBaseball' on SoxTalk. This is her first post for FutureSox. For reasons I can't fathom, for her first article she chose to sift through the starting third baseman in Charlotte for each of the past 11 seasons and see where they went from there. But I'm glad she did, because it's kind of car-crash-fascinating, and she makes it fun. You should give it a read here, and welcome her aboard.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 17, 2016 -> 04:37 PM) 99.99% of the country didn't know who the guy was until the media told them he was racist. Because... QUOTE (shysocks @ Nov 17, 2016 -> 04:54 PM) You say this like it's a bad thing that the media informed people about something. I mean, I happened to know who he was even before he joined TrumpCo, but I didn't know a lot. Reporting the information that Bannon has said and done things that suggest he's racist, anti-semite and POSSIBLY a wife beater are kinda important. This is not a bad thing. I agree with Soxbadger. I don't expect Republicans to self-criticize, but I do expect that sane heads stands up and say "hey, ya know, maybe not the white supremecist for a major policy role?" instead of just staying silent. That's what I'd like to see. And I don't recall Obama OR Bush nominating or naming anyone to a major role showing hate left and right. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

QUOTE (flavum @ Nov 17, 2016 -> 02:18 PM) http://m.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article/209...-40-man-roster/ Merkin mentioning Engel and Goldberg. Surprised he made no mention of Will Lamb, even as a consideration. Lefty reliever who is nails against LHB, proved it in AAA for a year, they acquire him for a legit prospect (Jaye) so the club obviously sees something in him, and lefty relievers are exactly the kind of player that other teams go for in the Rule 5. But we'll see.

Here's an interesting thought. Part of what influenced the election is that wave of fake news that some people fell into. Especially through Facebook and social media. Now go back to 2008 and 2012 - part of the reason Obama won so effectively was the data they had. The revolutionized analyzing election landscapes. So, in a sense, Trump beat the democrats at their own game - technology. And did so by taking the complex, and making it dumb.

QUOTE (CWSpalehoseCWS @ Nov 16, 2016 -> 08:54 PM) Sox prospects in danger of being lost per MLB.com: Chicago White Sox (6) 6. Adam Engel, OF 10. Jordan Guerrero, LHP 12. Jacob May, OF 14. Courtney Hawkins, OF 25. Luis Martinez, RHP 27. Nick Delmonico, 1B/OF Sox have the 40-Man set at 38, so you have to figure two of those guys will be added before Friday. See the pinned article and thread on this. Also I am pretty sure Martinez is not eligible, but even if he was, he's so far from MLB that no team would take him.

Tomorrow (Friday) is the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man rosters in order to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. Here's a look at who is currently exposed that may need protection, and who is already on-roster that could go. What the Sox do Friday could perhaps be an indicator of direction for the offseason.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 16, 2016 -> 09:41 AM) Interesting. I never expected him to actually follow through on this. http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-roo...transition-team I like it. Though some of the cabinet positions still frighten me, the white supremecist anti-semite bigot primarily.

Blake Hickman has been rehabbing from his post-draft Tommy John surgery. He's a 7th round pick from 2015 but has yet to pitch in live games, though he's pretty much ready for that now. Here's his second article for us, this one discussing his last rehab outings and where he stands.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 15, 2016 -> 03:14 PM) http://athletics.bellarmine.edu/news/2016/...ganization.aspx Thanks. How did you find this?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 15, 2016 -> 09:41 AM) I think for them its because their state is always going to go blue. Kind of like ours. Sometimes the electoral process disenfranchises people. That's incredibly lame. First, there's a lot more than one office in an election (usually), and even in Illinois there are plenty that are red and blue. Second, red and blue is just one construct around bigger questions - I vote GOP a lot more often than DEM but there was zero chance I was going to vote for a dangerous bigot like Trump. Third, if they all voted, they could actually make changes to things they don't like. I find no valid excuse to not vote. (I don't like the Electoral College either, but it's the current system)

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Nov 15, 2016 -> 09:39 AM) More than half of the Trump protesters arrested in Portland didn't vote I almost always avoid generational talk - it all seems artificial to me. But it puzzles me how reliably young people DON'T vote. Drives me up a wall.

Here's your weekly sweep of all the White Sox minor league-related news! I have a feeling these will start getting much more interesting in the next few weeks. But there's plenty going on now as well.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 11, 2016 -> 03:41 PM) Trump and Pence would literally have to commit treason or murder before December for the electors to flip. QUOTE (illinilaw08 @ Nov 11, 2016 -> 03:44 PM) Yep. I'm extremely anti-Trump, and I also think the Electoral College is archaic and should be scrapped. But it's the system we have now. Faithless electors would be an absolute disaster. Agreed on both. I despise Trump but this can't happen.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 11, 2016 -> 04:25 PM) https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/hea...omepage%2Fstory All of Trump's health care reform ideas being changed to GOP boilerplate or Paul Ryan plan/s. There's nothing to change, because he didn't have a plan before. Now he's adopting one.

QUOTE (Two-Gun Pete @ Nov 11, 2016 -> 03:21 PM) Oh, I know. I knew you'd appreciate me doing so, and I appreciate your work; Remenowsky was a guy I was really pulling for back then as well. But he's also much more EXPERIENCED than his competition. You call him a "19 year old," I call him a "3rd year pro." Many, if not most of his opponents have less EXPERIENCE in the pro game than he. You were the one who touted his "power, arm, and athleticism." Barnum and Davidson are/were both lauded for [wait for it].... Their "Raw Power." So too is Adolfo. These [and many other players] are examples of abject failure in terms of emphasizing EVERYTHING other than the HIT tool. The HIT tool is everything, and yet, this team has squandered picks and signings on other tools. To me, this explains the overarching majority of this org's failure to produce many everyday position players over the past decade. You also lauded Adolfo for his athleticism. I merely picked MJ, Jared Mitchell, and Keenyn Walker as examples of athletic failures in this organization in terms of never amounting to anything. Again, this [athleticism] is an attribute that means far less to a prospect's future chances than his HIT tool. He's already had 3 seasons, and he's made little-to-no progress. Agreed that tools matter, but we should also respect the numbers. At some point, if he had a REAL chance of making it, we probably would have seen some improvement in the numbers. Alas, he hasn't, hereto fore. I just think you are giving up on the guy far too early. 3 years, ages 17-19 after skipping DSL and not having the benefits that US prospects do, is not much. No one is saying he's a T100 guy, but he's certainly a prospect. At those levels and ages, tools should be the far-dominant angle, with numbers on the small end of importance. That balance shifts as they move up and age. And I should note, I am not at all defending the Sox org in terms of hitter development. It's been very bad. Not saying otherwise. Also thanks, glad you like the writing! And I do appreciate your in-depth analysis here, it took real thought and even if I disagree I love the discussion.

QUOTE (Two-Gun Pete @ Nov 11, 2016 -> 02:59 PM) Yes, I am. And, I’ll attempt to do so, using 3 links as data points, and a few observations about Micker Adolfo. Prospect Value, Success Rate, and Bust Rate for Top 100 Prospects Summary: Most top 100 prospects fail to become productive [READ: >3 WAR in their first 6 years], and Micker Adolfo is light years away from being a top 100 prospect. Even if he were able to get himself into a Top 100 list somewhere, the most interesting part [to me] about this piece is that more than 56% of hitters ranked 51-75, and almost 64% of hitters from 76-100 provide Strikeout Rate, Walk Rate, and future success for top prospects for 1990 – 2006 Prospects Summary: 1. Initially, the writer thought that "High K" prospects almost always busted. 2. However, “high K” prospects can succeed, IF they also walk a lot, AND are high power hitters as well. [Meaning, IN games, not so-called “raw” power/batting practice power.] 3. Unfortunately [For Micker Adolfo] many of the “High K/High BB” prospects were either steroid cheats, and/or HOF/near-HOF power types. 4. Additionally, Adolfo is the worst type of prospect: “high K,” but “low BB.” On top of this, his supposed “power” hasn’t manifested itself, but then Avi was supposed to have a good amount of in-game power as well. Dan Remenowsky and Low Minors Pitching Dan Remenowsky was a WELL-above average pitcher in the low minors who never amounted to anything in the high minors. Micker Adolfo struck out to a ~30% clip to opposing pitchers that are, by and large, inferior to Remenowsky. By extension, this would infer that Adolfo is MORE of a “no hoper” than Remenowsky, not less. About Adolfo: 1. His “Power” means NOTHING if he can’t get on base. Ask Keon Barnum, Matt Davidson, and all the other “raw power” types that Laumann and KW chased for years, and then how many of them amounted to anything at all. 2. He won’t be in the lineup frequently enough to use his “Arm,” if he can’t get on base. No manager will have a black hole in his lineup, no matter how awesome that offensive black hole’s arm is in the field. 3. His “athleticism” means NOTHING if he can’t get on base. Ask Mitchell, Walker, hell, even Michael Jordan if their “athleticism” made them ballplayers or not. I certainly hope I’m proven wrong on Adolfo, but he’s a 3rd year pro who has made little-to-no progress hereto fore at the dish. My ideal outcome for him would be for him to have a “career year,” then be packaged with other pieces for some REAL prospects who can actually hit. So, here's something funny - I wrote one of those three articles. Anyway, your hitter analysis articles are all focused on statistics. And I think you need to take any stats with a huge pile of salt at those levels, especially for a player who is notably younger than his competition. Barnum and Davidson aren't good comps anyway - Barnum failed repeatedly at levels all the way through and didn't have any of the tools Adolfo does aside from power, and Davidson actually succeeded for years until failing at AAA/MLB. And Michael Jordan? Come on. If you are saying Adolfo isn't a T100 prospect or close to it, I agree. No argument. But you called him a non-prospect, which is outright silly. Give him a season or two to see if the tools translate, which they mostly haven't yet.

Our last FutureSox Top 30 list came out in late summer, and we won't have the new one until January. We do that so that the list doesn't immediately become stale with trades. So for now, just to prompt some discussion, here's a quick and dirty T30 from my view: 1 Zack Collins 2 Carson Fulmer 3 Alec Hansen 4 Zack Burdi 5 Jordan Stephens 6 Trey Michalczewski 7 Amado Nunez 8 Spencer Adams 9 Micker Adolfo 10 Luis Curbelo 11 Rymer Liriano 12 Jake Peter 13 Adam Engel 14 Alex Call 15 Jameson Fisher 16 Eddy Alvarez 17 Jordan Guerrero 18 Corey Zangari 19 Seby Zavala 20 Nick Delmonico 21 Charlie Tilson 22 Jacob May 23 Tyler Danish 24 Aaron Schnurbusch 25 Matt Davidson 26 Bernardo Flores 27 Mason Robbins 28 Johan Cruz 29 Matt Cooper 30 Carlos Perez Just missed: Josue Guerrero, Joel Booker, Thad Lowry, Jimmy Lambert, Ian Hamilton What's your list?

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Nov 11, 2016 -> 01:06 PM) IF, and I mean IF, the Electoral College didn't get Mr. Trump to 270 votes needed. it goes to the House of Representatives and then THEY vote from the top 3 vote getters from the Electoral College. So, if it was Trump, Clinton and let's say Romney, the House chooses between those three. Well wait... let's say this one-in-a-million (or one in a Greg?) scenario happens. If the Electors give Clinton 270, doesn't she win, end of story?