Lillian

I'm 100% behind giving him the CF job, next year and giving him every opportunity to figure it out. You find fast, good defensive centerfielders, but rarely one with potential power and a good arm. It is so intriguing.

A guy with tools, but not really a very good baseball player, is one thing. But Engel has so much potential. Having had the opportunity to see him play, it is easy to see why the Sox have given him every opportunity to succeed, despite his poor offensive numbers. His defense is off the charts. I can't remember a better centerfielder on the Sox. He is right up there with Jim Landis and Ken Berry, from my kidhood days. He has plus-plus speed, great instincts, a good glove and a very good arm. Perhaps he just needs more time to learn how to hit. If there is any way that they can get hm to become even a .250 hitter, with power, which he certainly possess, he would be worth keeping in center, just for that Gold Glove in waiting. What do you think he needs to do to make better contact?

The Nats fans, on that forum, can't hold a candle to the people on Soxtalk. Makes one appreciate the great insight, which this site provides. Thank you, guys.

QUOTE (2005thxfrthmmrs @ Sep 3, 2017 -> 03:47 PM) If you look at the numbers I posted earlier, he isn't hitting the ball significantly harder or hitting more line drives, yet his BABIP has increased signicantly, at a very unsustainable rate. He's bound to regress to somewhere around 1-2 WAR next year. Ok, however you don't see him beating out a lot of weak infield hits, or hitting Texas Leaguers.

The value of the BABIP stat is a little suspect. What is more significant is how the hitter is consistently "barreling up" the ball. If he is hitting lot's of line drives, rather than soft grounders and pop ups, his average simply reflects that. By contrast, if a hitter makes a lot of weak contact, it probably isn't simply bad luck that is causing his poor results. It appears that Avi is not trying to hit homers, and is not using an upper cut swing. His hits consistently have high exit velocity. If he continues that approach, it may not be unreasonable to expect him to have continued success. On the other hand, if he is to become more of a power hitter, he may have to alter his approach, which will significantly reduce his BABIP, and average.

Eloy has no protection in that Baron's lineup, and yet he is putting up the best numbers of his short career. It's surprising that opponents are still pitching to him.

Today is probably the realistic deadline and I haven't even seen a rumor. Have any of you heard anything?

Nice couple of innings for Burr. 4 K's in 2 innings, no base runners

QUOTE (BamaDoc @ Aug 29, 2017 -> 10:44 AM) I noticed in box scores, he is playing first and I think dh ing. I double checked and 11 games at third with 7 errors. 17 games at first 2 errors. 20 games as DH. Young enough to improve. Yikes!!!! 7 errors in 11 games, at third, does not sound encouraging. Have you seen a scouting report on his defense?

QUOTE (raBBit @ Aug 28, 2017 -> 12:57 PM) Kid is a beast. I hope he can pick it at third. To your point; how good is his defense?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 26, 2017 -> 11:57 AM) A player is only eligible for a qualifying offer if they remain with 1 team the entire season. Once they are traded, they are no longer eligible for the offer. This does not affect Gonzalez's trade value one bit. Frankly, Miguel Gonzalez is likely a 5th starter at best, and the Sox just haven't gotten the offer they want yet. There's no rush. He just has to be gone by midnight on August 31st, which means he must be traded on or prior to August 30th. If he is traded on August 31st, he is not eligible for the postseason, which doesn't mean he can't be traded, but it would greatly diminish the need for a team to trade for him, and greatly diminishes his overall value. http://m.mlb.com/glossary/transactions/pos...son-eligibility Thanks for the clarification. I didn't know that. Since coming off the DL, he has held the opposition to 1 or fewer earned runs in 5 of the 8 starts, while going at least 6 innings, in all but one of those games. Only one of those 8 starts was not a "quality start". Wouldn't you think that someone could really use him, for the stretch run? We may be surprised at how good of a return the Sox get for him, if he is traded before the 31ST.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Aug 26, 2017 -> 11:44 AM) Why would it hurt trade negotiations? No one would ever consider giving him a QO so it's a non-issue. If a team is considering their options, once the season is over, it might diminish his perceived value to them, in that they would not get a draft pick, unless they were willing to make that kind of qualifying offer. So, it means they would receive no additional value, beyond his contribution, during the next month and a half. Is that not a valid consideration? I don't know.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 26, 2017 -> 11:30 AM) Will be upwards of $18 million. Wow, really? I'm surprised that it would require that much. That hurts. Maybe a qualifying offer isn't such a good idea, after all. I wonder if that isn't negatively affecting any current trade negotiations.

How much would the Sox have to commit to a qualifying offer? That might make sense, if no team steps up to offer a worthwhile prospect. It wouldn't be such a bad idea to sign him to a one year contract. Someone has to start, until the Sox are ready to bring up Kopech, and Hansen to join Rodon, Giolito, Lopez and Shields. At that point, next season, providing he is still performing, maybe they can deal him at the next trade deadline.

Look at Collin's split stats, for the season. He has very good numbers vs. RHP. That should be all that matters, because as a catcher, he is not likely to face many LH pitchers. He will be platooned, as are almost all catchers, in order to provide the necessary rest from the rigors of that position. Between Winston-Salem and his first few games at Birmingham, he is hitting approximately .250 with a .400 OBP and .500 slugging %, versus RHP. He's also hitting XBH at a rate of about 30 doubles and 30 homers.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Aug 25, 2017 -> 02:39 PM) I think you read some old scouting reports, because I don't he has any future at 3B anymore. Yes, the scouting report was indeed an old one. I couldn't find anything current, regarding his defense at third. So, you don't think that he is capable of playing solid defense there?

QUOTE (ptatc @ Aug 25, 2017 -> 02:15 PM) Bone contusion is not the correct term. It really should be the stress reaction terminology. But I think that will scare too many people. "Ptatc," should we be worried about Moncada's long term health, or is this the kind of thing that will heal? When I hear "shin splints,' I think of Micky Mantle. That was the condition to which was attributed his loss of, once dynamic speed. Is shin splints the correct label for this diagnosis?

This should help: http://www.chicagonow.com/future-sox/seby-zavala/

The doubts about Zavala are based more upon his defense, than his bat. If he can prove himself to be a good catcher, perhaps he will at least become the platoon partner for Collins, when the team is ready to contend. It's hard not to like his bat. It doesn't have to be one, or the other, Collins and Zavala could both make it.

Nobody mentioned Rose's grand slam. He is putting up a solid slugging %. He's on a pace of 40 doubles and 25 homers, in a full season. I'm intrigued because he is purportedly a very good defensive third baseman, although he has played more first base, thus far. We may ultimately see a battle between Burger and Rose for the hot corner, with Davidson becoming a DH, if he isn't traded. Whether, or not, Burger can stick at third, is the biggest question. He is 2 years younger than Rose, so perhaps we will get a chance to see both of them get a shot on the parent club, before it all shakes out. At any rate, so far they are the 2 best hot corner prospects, in the system. However, no one should ignore Curbelo, who very well could be in the mix.

What do you think of Moncada leading off? After watching him run the bases, I'm beginning to think of him as potentially the most dynamic lead off hitter, since Ricky Henderson. As I posted the other day, he has a good eye and sees a lot of pitches. I'd rather not saddle him with the extra burden of having to hit in the #2 hole. Just let him concentrate on getting on and then turn him loose. Versus RHP 2B - Moncada RF - A. Garcia 1B - Abreu DH - Delmonico 3B - Davidson LF - Cordell CF - L. Garcia C - Narvaez/Smith SS - Anderson

They are going to need a defense first receiver, to work with all of the young arms, who will be promoted to the parent club, over the next two years. Especially next year, it won't matter how good the offensive production is, from behind the plate. The emphasis has to be on helping the pitchers. Who could they acquire, while they wait to see what they have with Collins?

QUOTE (Lillian @ Aug 22, 2017 -> 02:24 AM) Moncada's speed and the fact that he plays second base, are two factors that should hold him in good stead. As bad as he has looked, he is seeing a ton of pitches and taking his walks. He is only .25 points from posting a solid .350 OBP. With his speed, that would, at the least, make him a solid lead off hitter. If he can become a good base stealer, see lot's of pitches and post a good OBP, he might be a Ricky Henderson type player, although of course there was only one Ricky Henderson. I had originally thought that he was going to be a middle of the order bat, based upon all of the hype. However, even if that doesn't transpire, he could be an important contributor, playing solid defense, as a middle infielder and effective switch hitting lead off hitter, with significant power, at least from the left side. As is the case with so many players, I'd love to see him choke up, when hitting right handed, to see if he could at least be a good contact hitter, from that side of the plate. In any case, he has to cut down on the strike outs. With his speed, he would probably get a good share of infield hits. In any case, it's way too early to be overly concerned, and a guy with his tools should be able to ultimately be productive. I just watched last night's game, on the MLB replay video. Stone commented on Moncada's quick acceleration, and likened it to Ricky Henderson's. So, Stoney and I are thinking the same thing.

I don't know what it would take to sign Rodon to an early extension, but if I were a young pitcher, I would take the kind of deal that Sale took, rather than risk getting hurt and never getting a big pay day. The risk of an arm, or shoulder injury, which ends a career is too great, for the difference in the money. If we were talking about the difference between comfortable and rich, I could understand taking the risk. However, here we are talking about the difference between very rich and more money than one can spend. I would settle for the security, while being very rich, in a heart beat!!! I know that I'm not the first person to make this argument, but it seemed appropriate to reiterate it. Avarice is a human failing.

Moncada's speed and the fact that he plays second base, are two factors that should hold him in good stead. As bad as he has looked, he is seeing a ton of pitches and taking his walks. He is only .25 points from posting a solid .350 OBP. With his speed, that would, at the least, make him a solid lead off hitter. If he can become a good base stealer, see lot's of pitches and post a good OBP, he might be a Ricky Henderson type player, although of course there was only one Ricky Henderson. I had originally thought that he was going to be a middle of the order bat, based upon all of the hype. However, even if that doesn't transpire, he could be an important contributor, playing solid defense, as a middle infielder and effective switch hitting lead off hitter, with significant power, at least from the left side. As is the case with so many players, I'd love to see him choke up, when hitting right handed, to see if he could at least be a good contact hitter, from that side of the plate. In any case, he has to cut down on the strike outs. With his speed, he would probably get a good share of infield hits. In any case, it's way too early to be overly concerned, and a guy with his tools should be able to ultimately be productive.