harfman77

Aiken has no incentive to sign for any less than full slot and really not much incentive to sign anywhere if drafted this season. He could go to college for a couple years rehab and have a much better shot at getting back to the top of the draft. I like the concept of drafting a high end talent for less as the Nats did with Giolito, but I don't think it is a fit with where the Sox are picking. I also would not mind seeing the Sox draft someone that they cannot sign as will give the team a lot of flexibility to make an impact in next years draft which is thought to be a lot better.

It would have to be a really nice return to trade him this summer, given that the Sox would have two first round picks with the corresponding slot money to support that which will be worth quite a bit to injecting prospects into the system in next years draft giving the flexibility to go over slot in rounds 3-5.

QUOTE (southside hitman @ May 21, 2015 -> 01:27 PM) Sounds like you will get your wish. Keith Law said in his chat that Fulmer is option A, and Jay is option B for the White Sox. There is a chance that both are gone by then though too. Fulmer is in the mix for 1.1 and Jay has been rumored as a target as high as #3 with the Rockies.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ May 21, 2015 -> 11:57 AM) Never heard of this Harris kid, what's the scouting report on him? MLB has him ranked #10, BA has him at #25, and Law has him at #22. From mlb.com "In a spring in which many of the top pitching prospects have either gotten hurt or regressed, Harris has been a pleasant surprise. He has boosted his stock as much as any pitcher with the exception of UC Santa Barbara's Dillon Tate and looks poised to become the second-highest selection ever out of Missouri State, trailing only Ross Detwiler (No. 6 overall in 2007). A 33rd-round choice by the Blue Jays out of a Missouri high school three years ago, Harris took a step forward in the Cape Cod League last summer and has continued to improve as a junior. He works comfortably at 92-94 mph with his fastball, and it plays up because it has run and sink and he uses his height to deliver it on a nice downhill plane. He has added some strength and his 6-foot-4, 190-pound frame still has room for more, so he could pick up more velocity. His curveball, slider and changeup are all plus pitches at times. Harris has power and depth on his breaking balls, and he has made huge strides with his changeup and trusts it more than before. He also has improved his command and is doing a better job of pitching inside with his fastball." http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y20...yers#list=draft

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 18, 2015 -> 09:45 AM) If the rumor about his signing very soon is true, he would go to this year. If they could convince him to wait until July 2, then it would work. We are fairly close to the "no signing period" between the two July 2 sessions, I seem to remember it going into effect shortly after the draft last year, so that will help push it out. It will be disappointing if the Sox go in on him and don't make a larger impact with signing more of the higher profile July 2 prospects. Many of them are already spoken for and it seems a waste to go over unless you go over far enough to make it worth losing out on the next two seasons of prospects.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 19, 2015 -> 07:58 AM) Has there ever been a collegiate reliever taken in the Top 10 picks of a draft? I mean...someone who spent the majority of his draft year coming out of the pen but was projected by scouts as a starter at the next level? Any examples come to mind? I don't know why...maybe it's just the Kris Honel thing and the idea of going for the local kid often not working out (yeah, for every Joe Mauer there are a lot of counter-examples)...and that's kind of an irrational fear, but, as noted above, it's very hard to project someone when you haven't even seen them pitch much as a starter. How well will their stuff hold up in the 6th-9th innings? Do they have enough of a repertoire to start in the minors? Why, if they had three or more plus pitches and/or were in consideration for a Top 10-15 draft selection, would their coach not enjoy having them as the #1 starter THIS season, if not their first two seasons in university? Who are these other starting pitchers the coaching staff perceives as possibly better...or at least better suited for starting duty? Drew Storen was taken #10 overall in 2009, but it was assumed at the time he would stay a reliever. Jay seems to be a safe pick in that you will likely at least get a bullpen arm. Nobody knows if he can handle a starters workload, so it is a big gamble that he will ever make it as a starter. I would imagine if they draft Jay he will pitch 2-3 inning outings initially to try and get him on a starter schedule and build up his workload. Hes thrown a total of 116 IP in his college career which is less than he will be expected to throw in a season as a starter.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ May 12, 2015 -> 12:08 PM) One thing the Sox can do is take the BPA in June. If the Sox are out of contention in July, they can make a few trades using their major/minor league players to address the organizations weaknesses and hopefully bring back talent that could possibly help in the near future. Of course there are a few major league players that need to increase their value first. My two biggest concerns are C and 3B. 3B is especially frustrating because I absolutely loved the Davidson acquisition and was telling the wife all about it the day it happened. She was laughing at me for being so giddy. Oops, that one has not turned out so well. Though I still cling to hope. BPA is a myth in relation to the MLB draft. Sure everyone once in a while there is a sure fire guy like Strasburg or Harper that jump out as the best players in their draft, but other than that it is always a weighted argument. The factors that need to be balanced are players floors and ceilings, risk of a player meeting/not meeting their ceiling. Thing there are things like organizational and cultural (style of baseball) fit. QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ May 12, 2015 -> 12:28 PM) Law and McDaniel both have them on Illinois LHP Tyler Jay as well. I saw that as well, not sure that I like the idea of Jay that high. He has pretty good stuff but has been in the bullpen his entire college career and has a build that would indicate he will be a bullpen arm in the future. If they are viewing him as a bullpen piece to help them this season (like Finnegan) that could make sense.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ May 11, 2015 -> 10:23 AM) Keith Law and Kiley McDaniel have pretty solid intel. I'd be surprised if it's not a college pitcher for the White Sox Funkhouser seems to be the exact thing that the Sox tend to go after. Great FB, solid secondary pitches that should develop into plus, just needs a little refinement to reach his ceiling. Plus being a local kid really helps as well. Unless he is gone, I would be surprised if he is not the pick. If he is gone, the Sox may roll the dice and go underslot on Matuella and offer him $1.4M. Since he is injured the Sox are only required to give him 40% of slot value to get compensation if he does not sign. If he does, you have a guy that was the pre-season #1 overall pick (two years in a row) at a discount and can use the $2M saved to get some high end talent that slips due to signablitiy. If he doesn't sign you have two first round picks, including #9 overall, in what figures to be a much better draft next season.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 29, 2015 -> 05:12 PM) At some point, I hope the front office does plan on bringing a "above average" defender into the fold....and one who can also hit (consistently) as well, would help. As for the pitcher's build comments, it's always there....it was with Gio and Stroman, there are some who are concerned with Dillon Tate as well (and he's not "tiny" by any stretch of the imagination). I was just reading the early early 2016 draft speculation and one of the top pitchers is compared to Tate stuff-wise, and praised specifically for this very reason, the assumption of a more durable frame. Of course, it also wouldn't surprise me if someone like Tyler Kolek never makes it to the majors at all, with the "perfect" pitcher's frame in the minds of scouts (maybe too bulky for others). http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/pro...p?P=tyler-kolek Doing okay, but lousy peripherals and the SAL is one of the two "lower" full season A ball leagues. They have brought in Mitchell, Thompson, and Hawkins all who were thought to be plus defenders. I like the idea of Stewart taking over for Melky in LF or even Abreu at 1B when/if he moves to full time DH. There are a lot of intriguing options out there. None of the pitchers around that area are very appealing to me, you could reach for Matuela, but only if he comes in at a significant discount from slot value. This may not be the worst draft to not sign your first round pick as the #9 pick next season will likely be a better player than what will be there at #8 this year. Yes it may negatively affect your already light draft pool this year, but only if you were going to get someone under slot.

QUOTE (LDF @ Apr 29, 2015 -> 06:16 PM) is there a minimum offer or value for that round all the way thru 10 rnds?? For protected selections (first three rounds) teams must offer 60% of slot value in order to get compensation.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Apr 29, 2015 -> 01:58 PM) Let's say that the Sox trade for a comp pick and it fall in the 33-39 range, I would draft Aiken and offer him $1M, Kiley McDaniel said that a lot of teams consider him undraftable. Thats wasting a pick and whatever you had to trade to get the pick. Aiken has no reason to sign now, he can complete his rehab and come back in the draft as a junior with a chance to be a top 5 guy again if his recovery goes well. If you are going to take a chance on him, draft him in the tenth round.

I can't see anyway the Sox take a high schooler at #8. The Sox have only taken one high school player (Hawkins) with their top pick since 2001. I think they will go get someone at a discount. The draft is pretty deep in that the guy you draft at #30 will grade out about the same as the guys you draft at #8. There are three players that are viewed a little higher, but then it seems there is a mass of players that could go at any time in the rest of the first round. I think the Sox find a college guy that will cut them a break and roll the money saved out to some high schoolers later in the draft. I like the idea of DJ Stewart, probably the best college bat in the class, limited defensively, but should be able to play above average LF in the pros.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Apr 21, 2015 -> 02:27 PM) Reyes is not a outfielder in the majors, he'll be playing first base in majors. I believe Kiley McDaniel reports and you can pretty much chalk up Reyes to the White Sox as a done deal. Once it is officially announced by the club on July 2nd, I am going to start think of him as the first baseman of the future and as Abreu's potential, long term replacement. And you said that the Sox are going to want to save money with their pick, thats the whole Houston Astros m.o., they save as much money as they can in regards to amateur talent and spread their resources around. That probably rules out Tucker for them as well. I see that they are mocked to Tate, who is a college player in this draft, but I can see Tate getting every penny that he is entitled to and not signing below slot. That has been the Astros way, but they also have not picked lower than 1 since they have employed that model. They did trade for an extra comp pick to add to their bonus pool so I could see them getting both of these guys for about 80% of slot value and then going really cheap in the comp round to spread those savings out later.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Apr 20, 2015 -> 08:05 PM) You are absolutely correct, at reddit when we did our reports on players, we wrote our projections under the assumption that everything pans out for that player and that's what I wrote for Kyle Tucker. That's what I wrote when I 'scouted' him and that's what I'm sticking to. I don't think the Sox are going to go high school bat in the first round without second and third round picks as they don't have a way to back up the pick with a higher floor player. I think if the Sox are going to sign Reyes, they have enough depth in the system at OF not to go after Tucker who will cost probably most if not all of your slot at that pick. The Sox are going to need to be creative to add as much high level talent as possible in the draft, going all in on a first round pick is not a good path to success. Tucker likely is gone by the Astros at #5 anyway so the point is pretty moot. Judging on buzz thus far: 1. Arizona - Brendan Rogers 2. Houston - Dillon Tate 3. Colorado - Carson Fulmer 4. Texas - Chad Smith 5. Houston - Kyle Tucker 6. Minnesota - ? Mike Nikorak 7. Boston - Alex Bregman 8. SOX - ?

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 16, 2015 -> 03:49 PM) I think he has an article coming out in the next few days, but Kiley McDaniel has said a few times he's heard teams in the 6-10 range of this draft are planning on cost-saving deals with their first pick (ie: Cubs last year with Schwarber). Thats where I think Matuella could be a fit, or DJ Stewart as I have mentioned a couple times in thread. The Sox will not draft Matuella if he wants full slot value, but if they can get a discount and roll that money into some high school kids later in the draft it could make sense. I think it will almost definitely be a college player at number 8 as they are likely to roll the dice on some high school kids in rounds four and five.

I have a hard time seeing the Sox pass on Matuela if he is there. While he is recovering from surgery, he should be in line to be ready for ST next year and could push in way through the system faster than anyone in this draft will, except perhaps those headed for bullpen roles. I still like DJ Stewart, if I were the Sox I would contact them both and throw out a dollar amount and say the first one to accept will be our pick.

If the Sox are in contention, I think Rodon could come up mid-summer in a bullpen role to help acclimate him to the majors and limit his innings for the stretch run, then he could slide into the rotation in August.

QUOTE (LDF @ Apr 8, 2015 -> 05:34 PM) a nice wide array of positions, except for the outfield. They signed three catchers and three shortstops, they are all unlikely to remain at those positions. Nunez was being talked about as a 3B last year when he signed, so some of these guys will get moved around once they are in pro ball and it is determined whether they can handle the position long term. I wouldn't read too much into the positions that they are playing at this time, if they can handle SS, they can be plugged in anywhere on the diamond.

QUOTE (LDF @ Apr 8, 2015 -> 05:31 PM) the thing is, the FO wants to keep it slow for Adams, but lets think of it this way, i know i am a homer and rooting for Adams, but what if he comes out blazing. just utterly destroying the comp there. the org may not have a choice to move him up. i really truly think he is going to open a lot of people eyes and move up quickly. I think that is a problem that they would love to have.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Apr 6, 2015 -> 12:45 PM) They have not posted one yet. They just finished with the NL teams. Since it is behind a paywall I don't want to plagiarize the content of the article. Here are some names though that we really did hear about signing last summer. Jose Colina - C - Venezuela Edinxon Arias - RHP - Venezuela Jorgen Rosas - SS - Venezuela Andres Sanchez - RHP Cuba (via Venezuela) Carlos Perez - C - Venezuela Yosmer Solorzano - RHP - Dominican Republic A lot of good things about each. Interesting that Carlos Perez is the brother of the other Carlos Perez that the Sox were rumored to be interested in when they selected Nieto in the Rule 5 draft.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 7, 2015 -> 02:26 PM) Both Blue Jays and Cubs fans think they already have him signed. He might be out of the Sox price range considering the penalty. The fans may think that, but all of the reliable media reports that I have seen indicate that he has a deal for $4M+ with the Jays. Obviously these things aren't binding, but, these "leaked" signings from guys like McDaniel are seldom wrong.

Interesting that the Sox signed 18 kids from LA last year and the Cubs under spending restraints signed 47.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Mar 31, 2015 -> 02:45 PM) Would you be able to post the report on the Sox signing class? They have not posted one yet. They just finished with the NL teams.

Somewhat related - the top 40 International bonuses of 2014: http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...l-bonuses-2014/ White Sox: T-20 - Amado Nunez - SS - $900K T-27 - Jhoandro Alfaro - C -$750K T-27 - Ricardo Mota - SS - $750K The Sox tied the Astros and Rockies for second place having three guys on the list, the Yankees were far and away number one signing 12 of the top 40.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Apr 1, 2015 -> 03:02 PM) If Aiken and/or Matuella are there for the Sox at 8 I will be ecstatic. Sorry to hear about both of them regardless, it sucks. I wonder if Aiken skips the draft this year and comes back later. He could go to a four year college and be a draft eligible sophomore, rehabbing his arm, and building himself back up to #1 overall. He had $4M on that table last year that he walked away from, so he may not want to jump for less than that.