NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (WhiteSoxfan1986 @ Jul 13, 2016 -> 08:54 PM) Does anyone know how much this event costs? QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 13, 2016 -> 10:56 PM) Event is free to attend and the appetizers are complimentary. They have specially priced beers at the event (if you so choose). Matt or Dan can add more specifics or correct me if I'm mistaken. That's correct. Free to get in, free appetizers, reduced price beers. And a whole bunch of baseball writers of different stripes (not just blogs, but mainstream media types too) available to chat with.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jul 13, 2016 -> 07:52 PM) Zavala 2-3, HR, 3 RBI And was then ejected from the game in the 6th, resulting in the team's manager, Cole Armstrong, having to become the bullpen catcher for relievers.

Matt Davidson and Leury Garcia were both named to the team, but both are on the DL. It's just Goldberg.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jul 13, 2016 -> 06:35 AM) Slight exaggeration, but I see your point. Exception would be Charlotte, of all teams. There have been several call ups/injuries. Davidson, Kev Smith, Anderson, Sanchez, several pitchers. Hayes hurt twice, etc. Yeah, the real disappointments have been Kanny and BHAM, both of whom I thought would have competitive teams this year. Charlotte won their first half division, which I believe means they will be in the post-season at least.

Just want to say thanks to everyone for the very kind words. Brian did great work on this, and we always love the positive feedback when we hit on something people like. It tells us what to provide more of. Thank you!

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jul 12, 2016 -> 11:59 AM) Is Jameson Fisher hurt? As reported on the FS Twitter feed, Fisher has a mild shoulder injury from a diving play in the outfield. No DL trip, he's day to day. That's from the GF radio guy.

Kanny will be Jimmy Lambert, just promoted from AZL.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jul 12, 2016 -> 11:59 AM) Is Jameson Fisher hurt? I've sent out requests for info on that, will post here if they tell me anything useful.

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Jul 12, 2016 -> 09:40 AM) No. He was crushing A+ to start the season, got promoted to Birmingham and s*** the bed up there (.188.253/.238). He was also drafted as a 3B but didn't stick there, so he's been playing 1B/LF, but heard bad things about OF defense. He was actually drafted as a shortstop. Was a disaster there, moved to third. Was a disaster there, moved to first. Trying him in OF on and off too. His bat has some loudness to it, but it's a really long swing. He's very fringe if he's a prospect at all.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Jul 11, 2016 -> 04:27 PM) Good job on the interview. So, my question is...even casual fans have known the importance of OBP for like 15 years. Why are the Sox just focusing on those guys now? It's not that the Sox or any other front office don't understand the importance. It's a question of how indicative college performance in that area is, of how they'll do as a pro. It's not as simple as, players who get on base a lot in college or high school will do so in the minors or majors. That's where some debate between physical tools and baseball skills comes into play.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 11, 2016 -> 02:47 PM) Are they open to public? Just a small set of bleachers for scouts? Depends on the team. Generally yes, they are, but they make it sort of difficult to get to. Kim Contreras wrote an AZL primer a couple-few years ago that gives you the details (and she updates it yearly). Here is the link to it.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jul 11, 2016 -> 11:01 PM) Very nice Matt. I'm assuming Cooley isn't signing? I talked with Justin a few weeks ago, and he said he and his family were considering their options. I checked in again a couple days ago, but this time I haven't heard back. I kinda doubt he's signing.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 11, 2016 -> 02:28 PM) Some of them. The Sox AZL team plays at Camelback Ranch, which is gorgeous. Actually, they play most games on a back field - as do other AZL teams. So they have nice stadiums but rarely use them for the AZL games.

Zach Remillard signed for $10,000, under-slot senior sign, and will be assigned to Great Falls. That should likely close the book on the bonus pool, and possibly the full draft, for the Sox. They spent basically their entire pool, but did NOT go over, in the end. The Draft Tracker has a final update now, including all assignments, all reported bonuses, and a final pool math report.

I disagree that he's projecting more as a reliever. I think he's a starter long-term. But I agree that a bullpen look THIS year probably makes sense. He struggled at first in AA, made a few adjustments, now he's dialed in. I think you send him to AAA now, and if he still looks good, you put him in the Chicago pen by August. Then he can go to the rotation in 2017.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Jul 11, 2016 -> 09:49 AM) Hell yea. What's his line since he snapped outa the funk? Since June 1st (31 games): .327/.397/.509, 5 HR (!!), 13 BB, 20 K in 134 PA. And his BABIP is .354, which isn't aberrantly high for a speed guy like him. I'd say he's got it dialed in now.

I loved what Nick said about publications and what the scouts tell them before the draft.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jul 8, 2016 -> 05:53 PM) I assume you mean Amado Nunez. Are there others? Cruz and Rodriquez are struggling at low A. I don't think I'd say Cruz is struggling. He's a 20-year old with a reasonable K-rate, drawing a few walks, and showing some power in a stadium that is not conducive to it. He's a couple years younger than the average player in that league. If you want to look at core stats, his OPS went up by about a hundred points each month from April to May to June, so he's improving. And this while playing shortstop. I'd say he's doing pretty darn well. Rodriguez yes, he's struggling a bit. I watched him play a couple games recently - he's quite raw, but there's a ton of athleticism there. He's 21, still young for the SAL too.

Our Brian got an exclusive 1-on-1 interview with Scouting Director Nick Hostetler, to do a sort of post-op review of the 2016 draft for the White Sox. There is some good insight in here, in fact a couple surprises as well. Here's the interview article. This is really good stuff.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 8, 2016 -> 01:08 PM) To me, I think it's the lack of anyone that was in the system coming into the season doing anything to put themselves on the prospect map. Closest has got to be Jordan Stephens, IMO. There are a number of prospects whose stock has gone up. I'd put Stephens, Nunez, Ynoa, Thompson and Coats in that camp. But of those, only Stephens is a potential T10 guy in the system right now, with Nunez having that kind of ceiling for later maybe. Most of the higher-ranked guys from our Preseason list have either just kind of treaded water (Fulmer, Adams, Adolfo, Michalczewski, May) or fallen back (Guerrero, Engel, Danish, Hawkins, Clark, Alvarez).

Before the draft (and these lists, I think, don't include the draftees), with Anderson no longer eligible, the system is pretty rough. Not hopeless - seeing a nice spike from some key LatAm names for example. The new draft is huge. There will probably 4 2016 draftees among the top 10 in the Sox system on our upcoming Midseason list, though that could go up or down by one.

QUOTE (BaseballNick @ Jul 7, 2016 -> 03:55 PM) Zach Remillard is one of only ten players drafted in the first ten rounds who hasn't signed according to SB Nation. I understand he was playing in the CWS and may need a break, but I really hope they sign him. He seems like a very well rounded player. He's a senior and will sign, likely for well under slot. I've reached out to him to get a report on when, we'll see if he responds. Morrison already signed and is with Kannapolis starting today. Remillard, not sure yet.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 6, 2016 -> 02:33 PM) Rocking horse isn't very big, surprised how many guests will be there. Last time, we essentially had run of the back room (the pool table became just a table), plus the back patio was almost all our crowd, and a few people around the bar. It's not an event with like hundreds of people - maybe a few dozen. As long as it isn't pouring rain, the back porch makes it workable.

Eno Sarris of Fangraphs is organizing a Chicago Baseball meet-up, at Rocking Horse (on Milwaukee). There will be $4 pints of quality beers, free appetizers, and about a dozen media folks and baseball writers there to answer your questions and talk ball. We did one last year and it was a great time. Here's their press release. Come on out! Not only are there 2 FutureSox writers going, there will also be people from Fangraphs, Baseball Prospectus, The Athletic, CBS Sports, CSN, Yahoo Sports, etc. so far (others being added).

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 6, 2016 -> 12:08 PM) Another good start for Fulmer. 10k in 5 innings. Burdi having a terrible inning so far. He's not close to being MLB ready. Been saying since I saw him pitch, his command is not close to ready yet. But the media around the Sox seem honed into the idea that he'll be in Chicago this month. Either they are delusional, or they know something and the Sox are delusional. Not sure which.