harfman77

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 22, 2014 -> 01:27 PM) As a rebuilding team, wouldn't you prefer players with a higher upside as opposed to a higher floor? Not necessarily, you would want a good mix of players. You are never going have 14 all star level players on your roster so you need to pick and choose role players that can contribute at a reasonable level for an affordable amount of money. Sure you would want a lot of high ceiling guys in your farm system, but in the majors you need to have guys that can hold down a spot for a period of time. Gillaspie for instance, will probably never be an all star level 3B, but he is at least an average 3B and can hold that spot down for the next 4-5 years for a relatively inexpensive hit against the payroll.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ May 22, 2014 -> 12:47 PM) People really think Rienzo has more upside than Santiago? Rienzo has looked good but if one of them has a shot at being a #3 in MLB on talent alone it's Santiago. A few months ago had the Sox done Eaton for Rienzo instead of Eaton for Santiago I imagine that would have been quite the headscratcher to most Sox fans wondering why the DBacks would give Eaton away like that, as it was the trade looked pretty even. If the Angels offered up Santiago for Eaton and the Sox took it today it would be an even bigger head scratcher. Hahn did the right thing selling Santiago at his peak value. Rienzo is probably near his peak value now, so if you could deal him for a piece that may have long term value this is the time.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ May 22, 2014 -> 11:42 AM) Is he the only one Sox have an eye on? Who else have they been linked to and can we expect Hahn to sign any international guys? I know he would like to build through that also. I wonder if the Sox might go after quantity given they threw a lot of money at Adolfo last season.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ May 22, 2014 -> 11:29 AM) If Rodon and Aiken are off the board, I'd be fine with Kyle Freeland or one of the bats at #3 instead of Kolek. I just don't want Nola or Beede instead of Kolek. I could see the Sox getting Freeland on an underslot deal if they aren't in love with their options at 3. I am warming to the idea of taking Jackson over whichever of the 3 is left just to quench my yearning for the Sox to finally grab a prospect that does not have contact issues.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 21, 2014 -> 03:11 PM) Trading your good players for prospects is so Theo, and so maybe 2018. Just keep Alexei unless someone wants to give you something crazy. Two months ago most people here wanted Alexei gone no matter the return. Trading your good players for prospects is what Andrew Friedman has done to keep his team relevant. It really depends on the return that is offered, I didn't want Ramirez traded in the offseason because that seemed to be selling low given his power aberration last season. I still don't feel that you can get appropriate value for him in a deal do to the depth that most contending teams have at SS and the lack of financial flexibility of the rest. The value of a SS in deal is mostly a question mark, the two big name SS's that have been traded in the last fiver years were largely salary dumps (both by the Marlins). For Hanley the Marlins got a ML ready SP and a throw in RH pitcher. The Reyes deal was a part of a monster deal. To trade Alexei you would need to get a top 50 prospect back and another pretty good prospect plus a couple lower level guys. My ideal trade would be to get Joc Pederson back from the Dodgers and let them move Hanley to 3B again.

QUOTE (Greyone @ May 21, 2014 -> 02:43 PM) What about a team like Oakland for Ramirez, they should be a win now team. I do not have any clue what they have in the minors though, so I have no clue if they have a SS waiting. They have Lowrie and Punto there, both average, though they are pretty RH heavy in the lineup. They also should be able to absorb Ramirez's contract pretty easy, though it is Oakland. They have one of the best SS prospects in baseball that made it to AAA as a 19 year old last season. So they are probably out. It is really tough to find a contending team, other than the Yankees, with a need at SS. The Reds may be done with Cozart but have been said to have financial limitations that would probably get in the way of a deal. Detroit would be the other team, but I don't see how the Sox can make a deal with them.

Well that escalated quickly. Sabremetrics are what they are, some of the tools they provide are useful in building a roster and putting together a team, most are good for trying to put an end to discussions with your buddies of who was the better player when you were a kid. All statistics have some level of usefulness, though they must all be taken with a grain of salt since they are absent of complete context.

Looking at FA this season, I am not sure where the Sox are better served spending the money. They will likely not be contenders for the top two SP's and after that there is not a lot worth getting excited about. There are no big name international guys that will pop on the scene as we has last season. The Sox will end up surrendering an early pick plus a substantial amount of money to the mid-level guys that remain if they feel the need to be active. I would rather roll the dice on Dunn declining the offer and finding a multi-year deal elsewhere then throw that money at the crap that is hitting the market at the end of the season. There are no LH power bats in the system to take his place. I agree 1/$15M will be excessive, but its worth a gamble, with nothing better on the horizon.

QUOTE (raBBit @ May 21, 2014 -> 10:27 AM) This. Get Semien out of here and into AAA. I don't understand that logic. I really do think Keppinger was hated in the clubhouse because he wouldn't be a horrible fit for this time other than his garbage defense. I think the problem is that they now have a roster crunch in Charlotte as well with Micah, Davidson, and Sanchez all needing to play everyday as well. Eventually one of those three (Semien, Johnson, or Sanchez) is going to need to be deal to bring back some depth at other positions and alleviate the logjam.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 20, 2014 -> 06:15 PM) Rondon and Montas (in particular) have the ability to jump into the Top 10. 1. Hawkins 2. Micah Johnson 3. Davidson 4. Anderson 5. Beck 6. C. Sanchez 7. Danish 8. Ravelo 9. Trey Michalczewski 10. Montas 11. Adolfo 12. Rondon 5-10 drive you crazy. So many question marks with each of those guys. For the moment, decided to move on from believing Thompson will ever put it together. I would have Montas in the top 10 if I didn't think he eventually ends up in the bullpen.

1. Hawkins - Still has more upside than anyone in the system and is now playing like he belongs in pro ball 2. Anderson - A lot of upside, still very raw 3. Micah Johnson - We'll see how he adjusts to AAA, but has done a solid job at every level thus far, probably not All-Star level upside though 4. Davidson - Big power but the big holes in his swing keep him dropping down the list 5. Danish - Great GB rate, needs to miss more bats to be more than a mid-rotation guy 6. Carlos Sanchez - Still really young for AAA, rebounded well in the winter and a guy that could be a solid #2 hitter for a long time 7. Rondon - Best glove in the system and developing offensive talent to give him a chance 8. Michalczewski - Great job going overslot to grab him, settling in as the first home grown 3B prospect since Crede 9. May - A rough start to the season, but there is talent there 10. Beck - Once predicted as a top 10 pick, needs to develop his slider to reach his potential

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ May 20, 2014 -> 11:14 AM) Thanks for the info. I was gonna guess 4 years around 16 million. That's what I would probably give him. From mlbtr, it says he is looking for a four year deal, but teams have offered between 5 and 7 years.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ May 20, 2014 -> 12:18 PM) Tallion is currently one of the top SP prospects in baseball...I'm failing to see why this would be bad now. Yes, and he had two plus secondary pitches coming into the draft, Kolek has one average level secondary pitch. Kolek may be able to develop good secondary stuff, but your scouts have to have determined his feel for pitching and whether he has the potential for developing that stuff, something he has never needed before. Aiken on the other hand has four secondary offerings, three of which are considered plus.

I'll take him. Put him in the OF with Avi and Eaton and the defense goes from below average to plus. Even if he hits .240 he still will have value as a defensive player with the ability to move on the bases. Sign him and stick him down in AA and let him work his way up. The Sox have no other OF prospects that are going to be ready in the next two seasons, this would seem a good way to bridge the gap if he can be signed at a reasonable cost. Barring other moves the opening day lineup in 2015 would be: RF Eaton 2B Beckham 3B Gillaspie 1B Abreu DH Viciedo LF Garcia CF Carbonell SS Ramirez C Flowers Pretty right handed heavy, but solid to plus defensively at every position.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ May 19, 2014 -> 03:46 PM) How many starting pitchers profile with a good curveball and the fastest fastball of the draft era? Not really sure, there was James Taillon that through 99 in HS, but his secondary offerings, SL and CU were considered plus at the time he was drafted. Maybe Mike Foltynewicz and Jeremy Jeffress are good comps in terms of repertoire, but he has the physique of Matt Hobgood. Not really a long track record of HS RHP's going near the top of the draft over the last 15 years.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ May 19, 2014 -> 12:11 AM) Kolek is a starting pitcher, if he aj closing games for the Sox then they failed at developing him properly. Except there are many starting pitchers with his profile that end up as bullpen guys. He has a big fastball but not much else at this time, if nothing else develops - which is a real possibility given the track record of high school pitchers - you are looking at a bullpen guy at best.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 19, 2014 -> 01:08 PM) A couple others have suggested that when he gets close to his innings limit he might well actually see some time in AA pitching out of the bullpen. That'd be a plausible setup as well. I think that is probably the best path, moving him to the bullpen regardless of the level. You don't want him to hit his innings cap in July and sit and watch the rest of the season.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 19, 2014 -> 02:02 PM) More interesting than who they trade, will be who they target. Have they changed their minds at looking for another catcher? Does pitching pop back onto the list? OF's? I think that is the ticket. If they can move Ramirez for a LH OF prospect and then trade Viciedo for Nick Franklin you have a pretty good and inexpensive offensive core locked up for a while which would free up so more cash to either trade for an established SP in the off-season or pursue one in FA.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ May 19, 2014 -> 01:11 PM) We lost a couple games in Houston but it's too early for trade talk. What if we are in the hunt for a wild card spot? I think the expectation coming into the season is that this will serve as a rebuilding year, if the team has a legitimate chance at competing you would need to re-evaluate. The question becomes how many chips to you want to push in to make a run at an all or nothing playoff game versus trading off some pieces now to strengthen your core group when you have a better opportunity at maintaining a window of success. Nothings over yet, but this team is at least one above average to great SP away and one more LH hitting OF away from being a solid contender.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 19, 2014 -> 12:55 PM) Given his utter dominance of A-ball, I don't see the problem here. For that matter, I don't think it is a problem if he has the occasional meh outing like he did this time. He WILL struggle at some point, there is no value in pretending otherwise, and a small jump from A to A+ can provide that for him. If he is unable to adapt to that, then he's not going to be a major league pitcher anyway. This is a good plan overall, I think. Let him finish in A+ this year as he hits his inning limit. Bad outings happen, I dont think that one outing is any type of indicator, I just feel that prospects should be handled very conservatively. He is an age appropriate level, and there is no real necessity to push him up. I am all for a jump to A+ at some point this season, though would have preferred it were in the middle of the season. But if as the previous poster said his season IS half over, the move is much more understandable.

Crawford and Klaw have their best tools in the draft article up. http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/mlb-draft/post?id=1695 Of note: Tyler Kolek - Best Prep Fastball Carlos Rodon - Best College Breaking Ball Brady Aiken - Best Prep Changeup Alex Jackson - Best Prep Hit Tool Others in consideration: Jeff Hoffman and Sean Newcomb for Best College Fastball Jeff Hoffman for Best College Breaking Ball Brady Aiken for Best Prep Breaking Ball Casey Gillaspie for Best College Hit Tool Alex Jackson for Best Prep Power Tool

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 19, 2014 -> 12:50 PM) One other thing to remember is that he's on a 100 inning limit according to reports. At the time of this promotion he'd thrown 40 of those innings. If they waited until the AS game, which I'd assume is more than a month from now, he'd be probably at 75 innings or more and would get basically no time in A+ after a promotion. That could well have fit into why they did this now even if you could argue it's a little soon; they'd rather have him get 60 innings in A+ than something like 20 in a month. Thats fair, I like to have players move forward with the expectation in their mind that they dominate every time out. If they are concerned about an innings limit and he is already half way through his cap for the season then it does make sense.

We are about a month away from trade talks kicking into high gear, before the season the thought was to trade De Aza, Viciedo, Gillaspie, Beckham, Dunn, Flowers, Lindstrom, Ramirez and Keppinger. Kep's already gone, but are the rest of the guys still trade bait with Garcias injury? Is there someone else that will likely be moved?

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ May 15, 2014 -> 12:34 PM) can't believe I missed this. Colleen Kane @ChiTribKane Tyler Danish is going to be promoted to Class A Winston-Salem tomorrow. He is 3-0 with a 0.71 ERA in seven starts with Class A Kannapolis. 1:55 PM - 14 May 2014 Youngest player in the CL, I believe. A few folks here need to look up the definition of overrated, as I see that being tossed around so loosely. Quite the reverse. You guys might compel me to go all Caulfield-Puig on yo ass, and nobody wants that. Timing is good. Barring setbacks, which are, of course, very, very possible, if not probable, seeing as he's a pitcher, he'll be ready for 2016 - and he'll be our second best arm. But first things first. Futures Game, then a few starts in B'Ham before the shutdown. I think this move was done to quickly, I think they should have waited until the first half was over, let the kid pitch in the AS game and then move him up. Let him experience dominating for a while and help build that confidence. Give him the whole second half of the season in A+ in hopes he is ready to start AA next spring as a 20 year old.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ May 16, 2014 -> 02:08 PM) I would love 1 of Aiken, Rodon or Kolek. Why are many down on Kolek? For me, I just think he is going to have a hard time maintaining his body as he ages, I am not really a big fan of his delivery, and velocity is the third or fourth most important thing to me when looking at a pitcher. I am no scout and he will probably be very good, but Aiken to me has the whole package. Rodon is terrific, though you probably have to figure he is going to have to have TJ somewhere along the way which may slow his time to the majors.