Lillian

Are any of you as impressed as I am, with how far Yolmer can hit a ball, with a seemingly effortless swing? I have noticed this, several times. He has surprising power. Who knows, maybe he will morph into a guy like Cleveland's Ramirez. I'm not suggesting that he could become a comparable slugger, but perhaps 15 to 20 HR's.

For those who haven't seen some of these guys play, this whole game video of Auburn vs. Florida features Mize, Singer and my favorite, India:

Who are the 7 guys, the Sox are considering for their first pick? Hostetler referred to the "list," but never named them. I would assume that it's Mize, Singer, Bohm, Madrigal, Bart, not necessarily in that order, but who are the other two?

Sounds right to me. To quote Inspector Clouseau, from the Pink Panther movies; "That is what I have been saying, all along".

Then too, there is the perspective that they might be able to help this team. Perhaps instead of thinking about flipping them, they could actually be useful. Oh wait, I forgot. We are trying to tank, again. Never mind.

I would also take a .360 OBP, but there is evidence to suggest that it might be even higher. He really has an exceptional ability to draw walks. He leads the Southern League in walks, by a good margin, and is averaging better than one walk per game. It will be interesting to see what happens when he gets to the Majors, where pitchers have better control. Establishing the fact that he doesn't swing at many pitches out of the zone, will give him more chances to see good pitches. If he can make better contact, he could become a very good run producer. Is he striking out swinging, or more often on called strikes?

Until Kevan Smith is back off the DL, I'd expect Dustin Garneau to be called up from AAA, to at least shore up the defense, behind the plate. He can't hit, but he is supposed to be able to catch.

No one can blame you fellas for being so negative, during such a debacle, but there were some good things to be encouraged about. Anderson continues to demonstrate terrific power, for a speedy young SS. Covey looks like he might be worth keeping. That was a pretty tough Cleveland lineup, he faced today and he did alright. Engel had another decent day, at the plate. And finally, for all of his defensive short comings, you have to be impressed with Palka's ability to absolutely smoke the ball. He hits the ball as hard as anyone and as badly as this team needs left handed power hitters, there is some potential there. I'd love to see him work with Thome and learn to hit to the left side. His power is easily sufficient to take outside pitches over any left field wall in baseball. Moreover, there are a lot of base hits through that left side of the infield, with that shift. Oh, and I forgot Skole's MLB debut. I'm quite sure that he won't. So, for a sloppily played game, by a rebuilding team, without it's regular right fielder, DH and catcher, it wasn't all bad. Cheer up gentlemen, and try to think about all of those great young prospects, who will soon be arriving.

You have a point. Any of these free agent contracts can become financial albatrosses. In any case, I'm sure that the front office will find some place to spend that money. There are always the injuries, particularly to pitchers and some of the "can't miss" prospects, may indeed miss.

I understand that. I'd like to see them use some of that financial flexibility, to resign Abreu. Then, they might think about locking up some of these young guys, if they develop, as anticipated. And then, there is the bullpen. I want a "lights out" pen. Hopefully, they can accomplish that internally. However, if not, that might be a good place to spend the money. Those guys rarely require long term contracts, to which JR seems adverse.

That is still a possibility, depending upon whether, or not, they resign Abreu, what they do with Davidson and how fast the crop of other young outfielders develop.

It does sound like he is talking about Madrigal, in that context. If that is the case, perhaps the 2020 infield will see Madrigal at 2ND, Anderson at SS and Moncada at 3RD. Works for me. Madrigal becomes the lead off hitter, and Moncada moves to the middle of the order, providing that much needed left handed presence. Those are 3 very speedy guys and 2 of them with power. Now, you stick Eloy, Collins and Abreu in there, and yes I want Abreu extended, and you have plenty of run production. Davidson could still be the DH, as you have Collins and Moncada to provide the LH hitting balance. Who plays CF and RF would be the only unanswered questions and the Sox have plenty, from which to choose. Heading the list would be Robert, unless he needs more time. Adolfo is my favorite for RF. Then there are all of the other guys who could vie for a spot. Gonzales, Basabe and Rutherford come to mind. Oh, the possibilities. I can't wait. It all makes watching this losing season, more tolerable.

If he can maintain a .400+ OBP, and hit 25+ homers, as the primary catcher, when he gets to the Big Leagues, he will be a very productive player. Remember, he is a catcher and a left handed bat. The key will be whether, or not, he is an adequate back stop. If he is, I wouldn't care what his strike out rate would be. A catcher, batting left handed, in the middle of the order, would be fantastic. So far this season, versus RHP his stat line is: .295 .469 .562 1.030

The way I look at it, at #4 we should get either the best college hitter, or pitcher, or the best high school hitter, or pitcher. If the Sox are stuck on taking a college player, we should at least get the best, or second best, college hitter, or pitcher. Duh. Now, the trick is finding him, as there doesn't seem to be much of a consensus. The only college pitcher, at the top of most lists, is Mize. The next 3 potential picks seem to be leaning toward Bart, Bohm, Madrigal, or Singer. Some suggest that Madrigal is the best college hitting prospect. I think the problem is that he would need to be a .300 plus hitter, with tons of walks and stolen bases to be a Major League star. That is a tall order, for any player. Guys like Bart and Bohm, or even my favorite, India could become significant contributors, by being run producers. In this age of baseball, that is easier to do. And finally, just to reiterate, I'm still convinced that Madrigal has to stay at second base, to be a plus defender. Since Moncada will likely be there for the next 5 years, Madrigal would likely be 27, by the time he would get his chance on the Sox. I like India because his bat is solid, with power and the ability to take walks. Moreover, he profiles well at either 3RD, SS or 2ND. That makes him not only a better bet to be able to contribute to the contending young Sox team, but a better trade candidate. No one is likely to give up much for Madrigal, unless they need a second baseman. If Singer is really the second best college pitcher, in this draft, I'd be very happy with him, at #4. However, how confident are we that he is indeed the second best college pitcher? Again, not much of a consensus, on any of these guys, which mitigates the value of the conventional wisdom, of taking the "best player available". "Best player," says who?

I just looked at the hitting stats for the conferences, in which Madrigal and India play, respectively. India had the best numbers of anyone in the SEC, which is arguably a tougher conference. There were a few other guys, who outperformed Madrigal, in the relatively weaker, PAC 12 Conference.

Ricky Henderson may not have been tall, but he was hardly a "little guy". He was very strong. I would compare him more to Moncada, except probably stronger. He was one of the best built baseball players, in history. Madrigal is a runt, compared to Henderson: http://www.baseballcardbust.com/2013/05/rickey-henderson-1992-score-dream-team.html

Yes, except Bonds, with that juiced, super human body, had the ability to wave that bat around, like a tooth pick. And he was choked up, on the bat, as well. That hitch would not be recommended for little guys. Regarding the competition; One would have to think that the disparity of the various conferences would significantly affect the relative performances of players. A guy from one of the best conferences, who could put up great numbers, would have to be more highly regarded than a player, who put up similar numbers, agains lesser competition. That is why I so highly regard India's performance, this year. The SEC is probably the toughest conference in college ball.

If he plays today, he should be the DH and Rondon should be at SS. He can't throw with that thumb taped up and hurting.

Those two errors, yesterday, are likely the result of his playing with the thumb, on his injured throwing hand, taped up, . He should have been removed, for the bottom of the 9TH, but with both Davidson and Leury unavailable, and Rondon already in the game, I don't know who might have taken his place. In any case, when you watch Anderson play, you can't help but muse about his potential for stardom. He has some elite tools, well suited for SS. His range, speed and athleticism, combined with a strong arm and power at the plate, make him a guy who could become great. Regarding Machado; I would guess that his wanting to play SS, has been a ploy aimed at making him more valuable, as he approaches his mega contract. As many of you have suggested, it now appears that teams will view his "insistence" on playing SS as a negative. He will almost certainly be a third baseman, for which ever team ponies up the $300K to $400K, for the next 10 years. His skill set will become more and more suitable for 3RD, than SS, as he approaches the middle, to later, years of that new contract.

Beer is very unlikely to last through the first round. He finished with terrific stats and plays in a tough conference. But then, I said that the other day.

Jenista looks like an intriguing prospect, but comparing his hitting prowess with Beer, he doesn't have the same track record. I'm wondering how Wichita's competition compares with Clemson's.

Seth Beer has been on fire, to close out the season with very good stats. I doubt that he makes it to our second round pick, but if he does, there is potentially that left handed power bat, which I covet.

I wasn't aware of the fact that something already exists. I agree that it should be up to the player, however I can't understand how a pitcher would not want protection. Would a catcher be willing to sit behind the plate, without protection? Hitters are using all kinds of protective equipment. The pitcher is arguably at more risk than a hitter. The batter is completely ready for and focused upon the incoming pitch. The pitcher is in his follow through motion, and not as focused on the ball coming back at him. As hard as hurlers throw, they still cannot quite reach the velocity, at which balls are traveling, when they leave the bat.

With the maple bats, juiced ball and velocity of batted balls, it may be time to innovate a protective head piece for pitchers. Sixty feet, six inches is just too close to the plate, in today's game. Someone is going to get killed.

And, of course, Moncada.