Lillian

Thank you. That is the kind of insight, which I was hoping someone might provide. At the very least, he provides one more college bat, in the event that both Rutschman and Vaughn are off the boards, by the third pick and Hostetler is determined to draft another collegiate player.

So, what about Hunter Bishop? Is the rest of his game good enough to vault him into consideration for the 3RD pick. A left handed bat, with that kind of power is certainly intriguing. His strike outs are down and his walks are up. 14 Homers and only 11 strike outs. He seems like a completely different player, from the one he was prior to this year. Anyone have any insight? He was a football player, who came to baseball late. K.W. will love this guy. Joe Borchard #2. if Rutschman is off the board, I'm leaning toward taking Bishop, providing his production holds up, although he can't continue at this torrid pace. If he can be taken under slot, which is likely, so much the better. This article provides some of the insight, for which I was looking: https://d1baseball.com/features/golden-spikes-spotlight-asus-hunter-bishop/

I'm wondering if they could give Leury a few more at bats, letting him play 2ND, in place of Yolmer, at least a couple of times a week. He has had a terrific Spring. Problem is that they are both switch hitters, who have better results, hitting left handed. Leury has a much better career average, from the right side, than Sanchez, but with very little power.

I just learned that the Sox have released Guyer. Therefore, I would assume that Rondon gets the 25TH roster spot.

Playing third base will not be the reason for Moncada's failure, if he doesn't succeed.

We've discussed this ad nauseam. Madrigal was the #4 pick in the draft. He is clearly part of the Sox future plans, however he does not profile anywhere, except 2ND base, where he is a potential Gold Glover. Moncada has the arm to play third, and will be fine there. Yes, Yoan would have a better chance at becoming an All Star second baseman, than third baseman, because second is a position that often features defense first, over offense. However, such considerations are not critical to building a winning team. Moncada at 3RD and Madrigal at 2ND, provides the best chance for team success. Isn't that the goal?

We discussed the roster, in another thread. If they go with just 12 pitchers, the 13 position player are: Moncada, Jay, Abreu, Alonso, Palka, Anderson, Sanchez, Castillo, McCann, Engel, Jimenez, Garcia and ??? The thirteenth spot would go to Rondon, or Guyer. My choice would be Rondon. In any case, Escobar is not going to be on the 25 man roster.

I've never had a torn Achilles, however I would think that he could perform such leg exercises as leg extensions and maybe even leg curls. Moreover, dieting is certainly an effective way to lose weight, even without much exercise. I've been actively weight training for 60 years. I started when I was just 15, and have never quit. I've also been very careful about what I eat, for most of my life. It's difficult, but if one's livelihood depends upon it, which mine didn't, it can certainly be done. It's disappointing to see that he hasn't taken better care of his body. The extra weight can't help him, in his quest to be a Major Leaguer. Here is a suggested protocol for rehabilitation: https://www.stoneclinic.com/achilles-tendon-repair-rehab-protocol

This article stated that the Royals are leaning toward Abrams, with their #2 pick. Although I'm pretty sure that few would agree that the Royals would actually prefer Abrams to Witt, that would be interesting, as that would mean that the Sox would have a tough decision. It would mean that they would have to choose between 2 of the consensus top 3. So, if the Sox really had the choice between Vaughn and Witt, which one do you think that they would choose, and which one do you think they should take? If they had to decide at this early stage of the season, my guess is that they would take Vaughn, but I'm not sure that would be the best choice. Witt seems like he certainly has the greater ceiling

He'll get plenty of at bats, starting against all RHP and pinch hitting, in games where a LHP is the starter.

This looks right to me. I like Leury as the back up infielder and Jay as the back up outfielder, who would platoon with Palka. That would give them a left handed bat, who hits lefties. Otherwise, you would have the entire lineup, with the exception of Alonso, hitting from the right side, vs southpaws. It's advantageous to give the pitcher the challenge, of having to face a couple of guys, hitting from the other side of the plate. I think that Santana may win the 5TH starter slot, which would otherwise go to Covey, or Banuelos. If they want to carry 13 pitchers, then Santana takes Rondon's roster spot and you go with just 12 position players. Given Leury's ability to switch hit and play all over the field, would afford them that luxury, if they want the extra arm.

Looking ahead to 2020, I agree with most of you and expect him to be in a battle for the 5TH spot, with Rodon, Kopech, Cease and Lopez being the top 4. Until Kopech and Cease are there, why not continue to see if Giolito can figure it out? There isn't much to lose, at this point.

Let's see if Lucas can find his curve ball, in the early cold weather games. It seems like last year, he had it in the difficult dry air conditions of Arizona, but lost it in the cold weather, at the beginning of the season and never found it, again. He still seems like a work in progress. They have made yet another adjustment to his mechanics. For me, the verdict is still out, on whether, or not, he can be part of the contending rotation.

I don't know how one would go about trying to evaluate a high school kid's ability to hit. He has likely never faced anything close to the kind of "stuff," which he would see in professional baseball. At least a pitcher can be evaluated on the basis of his pitches and command.

How do these numbers compare to those produced by Harper, Trout, A-Rod and Ken Griffey, Jr.? Those guys were all drafted out of H.S.

How often do veteran pitchers end up requiring TJS? It seems like it happens much more frequently to younger pitchers. The answer could significantly affect the values of the various age groups of pitchers. Healthy veterans, with a long history of being able to avoid this injury, might become much more desirable targets of trades and free agent acquisitions, assuming that they are still effective. Someone like Verlander, or Hill, up to a reasonable age, could become more attractive than a young "fire baller". From another perspective, perhaps teams will simply have to anticipate, or even plan to have their young hard throwers undergo this procedure. They might begin to manage the contractual time tables, including service time, around when such a procedure should be performed, in order to avoid falling victim to a circumstance, like the one which involved losing Kopech, right after he began his service time. Maybe they should have young pitchers undergo some sort of thorough exam, before starting the clock on their MLB service time. It wouldn't be surprising if someone eventually creates a procedure to strengthen that Ulnar Collateral Ligament, as a means of preventing these injuries. Perhaps inserting some sort of bionic mechanism, to reinforce the ligament. I had previously directed a post to "Ptatc," to which he responded that there has been some exploratory work done, but with very limited success, to date. In any case, this seems to be becoming endemic. Something is going to have to change.

This thread is irrelevant. If the Sox were to sign him, he'd just end up with Tommy John Surgery, within a week. So what's the point.

Yes, I've noticed that. The first part of Cal's schedule included some schools that don't seem to provide very stiff competition.

The ability to hit the ball much farther than the fences, in most parks, is of little value. Of course, it does suggest that a hitter, with that kind of power, will get his fair share of home runs, on balls which would otherwise be merely fly outs, by lesser guys. However, the contact rate and ability to take walks is much more important, in my opinion. I'd much rather have a Joey Votto than a Joey Gallo.

If both Rutschman and Vaughn go first and second, is there another college player, who could emerge at #3? All of the projections seem to indicate that Witt or Abrams will round out the rest of the top 3 names. I'm too old to be waiting around to see a high schooler make it to the Big Leagues. Not saying that I won't live long enough, but it's just hard to plan on being here, at my age. LOL. Could Stinson climb the rankings, all the way to #3, or is the Draft deep enough to consider going under slot? I really hope that somehow Rutschman falls in our laps. You know me, a middle of the order LH bat (switch hitter) would be so perfect.

There is a good chance that teams are going to stop pitching to Vaughn. He is absolutely dominating collegiate competition. Maybe if he just compiles a huge number of walks, but stops producing at such an incredible rate, he will fall to the Sox, at #3. Otherwise, he may go #1. 7 homers, in 34 at bats. 15 walks vs 5 strike outs. His average is now .529. Yikes!!!

We better hope that one of those two guys slows down, or they'll both be gone, by the time the Sox pick. They are starting the season like elite college players. I can't imagine any team passing on them. No one is going to have Witt above either of them, on their board.

It must have been something they ate. The whole team is playing like they're sick, or something. I wouldn't take this game too seriously. I doubt that it's indicative of much of anything. Just a weird day.

I know it's only Spring Training, but can they find someone to get a few outs? Geez. This is embarrassing.

Vaughn is hitting "out of his mind". In the first 9 games, look at his stat line: AVG OPS GP. AB. R. H 2B 3B HR RBI TB SLG BB HBP SO GDP OBP 500 1.700 9-9 30 11 15 1 0 5 13 31 1.033 15 0 5 0 .667 What stands out the most is the 15 walks versus 5 strike outs and the 5 home runs.15 hits and 15 walks in his first 45 plate appearances. Just insane. He may be off the board, with the first pick, at this rate. I know, it's early and he's a first baseman, yada, yada, yada. But, that kind of bat is hard to pass up, especially for a good defensive player, at any position. He will obviously slow down, at some point, No one can hit like that, consistently. Nevertheless, it certainly does appear that last year was no fluke. Although, Rutschman isn't far behind, in his early performance. His numbers are almost as good: AVG .400 OBP .595 SLG .920 OPS 1.515 12 WALKS 5 STRIKE OUTS & 4 HOMERS So far, in the early going, Rutschman and Vaughn are the top 2 picks. I don't know about the rest of the class, but it's a shame that we're picking third, instead of 2ND.