Lillian

MLB Pipeline grades his arm at 60 and describes him as having a "strong arm".

Well, he's human, after all. He struck out.

I doubt that he will be the hitter that Trout is, but he's probably a little faster.

Looks like they should have sent him to Birmingham, instead of Winston Salem. He'll need to be challenged a little more.

Why isn't Cease getting the opening start? Collins is about the only player, in whom I have much interest to watch, in that game. What game looks like the best choice for my new MILB.TV subscription?

Ouch!! I didn't realize that Basabe and Adolfo only have one option left, after this season. That really complicates things. They better get back on the field and put up some numbers, so that they could at least net something worthwhile, in a trade. Makes me even more inclined to ultimately move Eloy to first base.

Who would be in favor of taking Bishop, if he should climb a couple more places, from his current #9, assuming that he continues to perform well, albeit not at his current insane pace? It's unrealistic to expect him to hit like this, all season.

According to FanGraphs, Bishop is now the 5TH ranked college player and #9 overall. He's moving up the boards.

Remember that Palka missed a lot of the early Spring Training, with that hamstring issue. He might just be catching up, and need more at bats. Power hitters usually take longer to get their stroke.

I agree that he should not be in the lineup against lefties. He's not very good, versus LHP and they do need to limit his playing time.

Alonso provides a much needed left handed presence in the middle of the order. You all know the value, which I place on that. With Palka's slow start, that importance is magnified. I love the current sequence of hitters, in the lineup; SW, SW, RH, LH, RH, LH. Those first 6 hitters represent the main run producing portion of most lineups. It will be interesting to see what they do when Jay returns. Unless either Leury cools off, or Yolmer starts hitting, they may give Leury some time at 2ND, and relegate Sanchez to the back up infielder.

Here is an interesting and insightful article about Bishop: https://www.usabaseball.com/golden-spikes-award/news/gsa-spotlight-hunter-bishop/c-305521148?tid=216631556 It does state that his arm is his only "fringe to average" tool. This quote from his coach speaks volumes about why he is such and intriguing prospect: "I think it's just funny, I've been thinking a lot about this, I hear guys talk about it. As always, you try to pick apart what he doesn't do - 'Oh he doesn't have any history, this and that.' I'm sitting here saying, 'I dunno, I've coached some pretty darn good players in my career. This guy's a freak, physically,'" Smith said. "He hits balls as far as anybody I've ever coached, he runs as fast as anybody I've ever coached. So not having history? To me that's a plus. Look at the jumps that he's made, to me it's the tip of the iceberg. There aren't people I've seen out there in college baseball doing what he's doing, not many of them, quite frankly in the last 10 years. His bat speed, it's ridiculous. He's in the same breath as Schwarber and Travis, but faster. I think he has the ability to play center field in the big leagues with that power. That's rare, I think."

Where did you find a scouting report on his arm? I haven't seen anything. Thanks. It wouldn't surprise me it Eloy ends up at 1B. He doesn't profile best as an outfielder and this system has a lot of potential outfielders. If the Sox draft Bishop for LF. Let Adolfo, Rutherford, Basabe, Gonzalez and Walker compete for the RF slot.

If the Sox take Bishop, he likely ends up in right field. That's probably the only outfield spot open, with Eloy and Robert almost locks for LF and CF. I understand that there is quite a potential log jam for RF, but Bishop would be fine there, if his arm is good enough.

Are you forgetting that Santana is probably going to be joining the rotation soon? The Sox have both Nova and Santana for that "veteran presence". The Rotation of Rodon, Giolito, Lopez, Nova and Santana is ok. Then there is the possibility of Cease being added later in the season. Banuelos is also available, if needed.

I don't think that any of us are extrapolating his numbers from just the first 5 games, to suggest that he will continue at this pace. The point is simply that he has apparently made some important adjustments and that they seem to be working. The kid was the number one prospect in baseball and was signed by Boston, for $31 million, before ever playing a game in America. Excuse us, if we are excited to see him making some positive strides.

Moncada looks terrific. He seems to understand the inadvisability of taking so many close pitches. Apparently he has taken Abreu's and the coaching staff's advice, to heart. One of the greatest joys of being a fan is watching a talented young player blossom into a star. We could be watching just such a maturation process. Anyone who won't let themselves dream that dream, is missing a lot of fun. Those two balls, which he crushed today were very impressive. We could ultimately be able to look back at the acquisitions, resulting from the Sale, Q and Eaton trades, as having been key to our next World Series Championship. Kopech, Cease, Giolito, Lopez, Dunning, Moncada, Eloy and maybe even Basabe, all have a chance to be significant contributors. It will be very interesting to see how those trades look in another year, or two. Patience is the key.

If Bishop loses a step, but still hits, I'd take that. Moreover, he's closer to being physically mature, as he will turn 21 in a couple of months. Isn't it a lot harder to project future physical stature, for a high school kid?

Watching video of Abrams, he appears to have a very slender, slight build. One has to wonder whether he would ever have much power, without gaining some weight. and If he were to gain weight, how much of that elite speed would he lose? It seems like he will either have one, or the other, but not both. That's one of the inherent problems of trying to evaluate high school kids. Who knows what he will look like, when he becomes a mature man?

I would imagine that Bishop will soon be moving up the rankings soon, and will be on almost everyone's top 10 list. His production is hard to ignore.

Yes, Bishop has been hitting behind Torkelson, all season.

I'll take a nice, new, bright shiny left handed, middle of the order bat. Thank you. I know that you don't pick, based upon need, but Bishop may turn out to actually be the "best player available" at number 3. We'll see.

Wild game, Arizona State won 17 to 16. Bishop 1 for 2, a double. 4 walks, 1 HBP and 1K. On base 6 times in 7 plate appearances. I guess that answers my question about his ability to take his walks, if opposing pitchers are going to stop pitching to him.

He was able to throw 94, even 95, in his last inning of work. That plus 8 K to 1 walk (to the first batter), is very encouraging indeed.

As of this moment, I would rate the top collegiate players, overall as Adley, Bishop and Vaughn, in that order. I have no idea how one would rank the high school guys against those 3 college players. Witt may go in the top 2, leaving the Sox to choose between Bishop and Vaughn. Again, a lot can change, between now and June. We'll see. Of course, I am only going off of stats and video clips. The professional scouts would have a much better idea. It will be interesting to see how far and how fast Bishop climbs the rankings. Rutschman having a rough day; 0 for 3 with 3 K's.