Lillian

Could the shin splints be bothering him? He hasn't really been completely healthy, for a while now. He had the bruised thumb, at Charlotte, then the collision, and now the shin splints.

Anyone know what kind of velocity Kopech is featuring tonight?

The standard comp is Cano, with more speed. Moncada will have to go quite a ways to match Cano's rookie year, at the same age of 22.

Avi 3 for 3, should now be #2 in AL batting average, though a long way behind Altuve.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Aug 21, 2017 -> 04:36 PM) looks like a cutter. Thanks, I couldn't imagine a 95 mph "curveball," which is how Gameday is describing it. 95 is pretty good, even for a cutter.

I'm watching MLB's "Gameday," rather than the live video. What is this 95 mph curveball that the Twins pitcher is throwing?

That performance by Miguel should help Hahn net something decent in a trade, before the 31ST.

Dedelow with a well deserved promotion. Interested to see how he does.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Aug 17, 2017 -> 04:27 PM) I'll be at today's KAN game Do you know what Rutherford's status is? Not in the lineup again, and not listed with the players on the bench.

Welcome to AA and the "pitchers' park" in Birmingham, Eloy. Opposite field homer.

Eloy homers on first at bat.

Anyone know why Rutherford has not been in the lineup, the last couple of games?

Fangraphs' top 10 is the same as MLB Pipeline's, with a slight variation in the order.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 14, 2017 -> 03:07 PM) While MIcker Adolpho has a very high ceiling, he also has the floor of a low minors bust due to his K rate. Rutherford might not have a 40 homer ceiling, but everything else about him is higher than Micker. Which of our top 4 outfield prospects turns out to be the best is unknowable, at this point. So far, Jimenez is the only one who seems like a sure thing. My point was that Rutherford does not need to be a super star, like Trout, to be a big part of the rebuild.

If Rutherford were expected to be anything like the player, that Trout turned out to be, it would have taken a lot more than what the Sox gave up, in order to get him. Failing to be realistic is going to lead to a lot of very serious disappointment. He doesn't need to become a "Super Star' to be an important part of this rebuild. The Sox already have 3 other potential young star outfielders in Jimenez, Robert and Adolfo so he doesn't need to be a big star. Wouldn't you guys be happy with a solid defensive left fielder who hit something like Melky, but with more speed?

The Sox may be competitive, a little earlier than some have believed. I think that would depend upon how quickly the pitchers are ready. If they can get Kopech, Lopez and one more, out of the other top prospects (Giolito, Dunning, Hansen, or Cease) to join Rodon and perform well, then they could be competitive in 2019. It they were to draft a mature college arm, like Brady Singer and if he could be ready after only one year in the Minors, that also could fill out the rotation. It will also depend upon whether guys like Avi, Davidson, Delmonico and Leury Garcia are retained and continue to develop, or whether the front office decides to trade them for more prospects. If the front office elects to keep them and Moncada develops into a super star by 2019, then they might be able to compete. A lineup built around Moncada, Abreu, Delmonico, Avi, Davidson and Anderson, as the core, could be good enough, if the pitching were good. In that scenario, it might make sense to acquire 1 or 2 free agents on shorter term contracts, giving time for Robert, Burger, Rutherford and Jimenez to continue to mature and develop, on the farm. I personally don't favor spending big on long term free agents, such as Machado. I'd prefer that the front office use the big money to extend the best of the young prospects, such as Moncada and Jimenez, once they establish themselves, much as they did with Anderson, premature as that move may have been.

I suppose this is as good a place as any, to get a clarification on a question I have: Using MLB.com's "Pipeline," I don't understand how they derive some of these "overall" grades. For example, here is Alec Hansen's line: Fastball: 70 | Slider: 60 | Curveball: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 50. How do they compute a 50 overall grade from those numbers?

Blake is the youngest position player on the Kannapolis roster, and holding his own. He turned 20 in May, so it is way too early to be concerned. This video provides some interesting insight into what kind of person he is:

This report and video from 2014 provides a good insight into just how highly he was regarded, back then: http://m.mlb.com/news/article/80378086/sea...shot-at-majors/ Let's just hope that most of our current top prospects don't suffer a similar fate.

There is quite a disparity between the early scouting reports on Beer, before he went to Clemson and the current assessments. Look at how this report described him: http://www.fueledbysports.com/seth-beer-scouting-report "Average fielder with a plus arm, has the makings of a future right fielder." "Talented base runner with plus speed, looks like a guy that could steal anywhere from 10-20 bases a season."

QUOTE (Quin @ Aug 5, 2017 -> 10:49 AM) I think Rodon, Kopech, Hansen and Giolito all have #1 potential (in order of most likely to reach that potential) and Lopez has high #2 upside. I'm with you on Hansen, but skeptical on Giolito. However, three #1's, and a bunch of #2's would be just fine. Somehow, I still think that they end up with one more top of the rotation guy, before this rebuild is over. My dream of a starting five, which includes 4 #1's could become reality. Imagine a post season like that!!! With two more high draft picks and Coop's ability to help develop pitchers, it seems very doable. And the bonus is that the bullpen should be absolutely "lights out," just with the left overs of those who don't make the rotation. Stevens, Guerrero, Dunning, Cease and Burdi are my favorites, at the moment. I don't know what to think of Fulmer.

When do you expect Hansen to be promoted to Birmingham?

I just watched this YouTube replay of Singer, pitching in this year's College World Series. That two-seam fastball, running in and down to right handed hitters, is a terrific offering. That should play vs. Big League hitters. It's very impressive. I watched the first 6 innings: I have long believed, and asserted on this forum, that it should be easier to evaluate a pitcher, than a hitter. You watch a guy with a sound mechanical delivery, a ball that has velocity, movement and that is well commanded, and you can be pretty confident that any hitter would be really challenged to successfully square it up. Then you mix in an assortment of other plus pitches and it seems much easier to project how he would perform, at higher levels. You watch the pitch and think, I don't care who he'd face, he's going to be tough to hit. By contrast, you see these young hitters, who have never faced really tough pitching, and it is virtually impossible to know how they would do. Trying to evaluate them, hitting against significantly lesser quality pitching, just seems like a very daunting task. The hitter may have a beautiful swing and a lot of bat speed, but that won't guarantee that he will be able to employ those tools successfully against Big League pitching. In other words; the pitcher's arsenal can be evaluated, irrespective of just how successful he was vs. the hitters. It is what it is. It's not simply that he dominates hitters of lesser ability. You can discern that his stuff would be hard for anyone to hit. Contrasty, a hitter's performance depends upon the quality of the pitches, he's facing. He could look great against lesser quality pitching. Heck, he could look like Ted Williams in batting practice and yet be totally inept vs. a good pitcher. You just can't know, until he faces one.

Yes, of course we have several prospects who may be adequate bottom of the rotation starters. But just think what it would be like to have top of the rotation potential, at every slot. So far, I think Rodon and Kopech are the only two guys, whom I see as #1's. If we end up with too many guys of that caliber, they can be traded or employed as dominant relievers. And, when you factor in injuries and disappointments, we may end up with less than we anticipate. I just think that it's hard to have too much pitching.

I would be alright with a top level SS and I agree that we should not take any more corner outfield, or infield sluggers. However, having a dominant rotation, 1 through 5 and a lights out bullpen would be incredible.