harfman77

Best case scenario, if he can put things back together you make him a QO at the end of the season, if accepts it you keep him at what will probably be the same salary, if he declines you have the opportunity to add a draft pick. That said, I dont think he finishes the season with the Sox.

QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Apr 15, 2014 -> 02:24 PM) Agree on all counts. We're seemingly stocked with talent in the middle infield. Saladino doesn't appear to be a great defensive option at SS either. Not sure where/how he fits, but it's nice to see him rebound with the bat. How about a "good" defensive option at SS? How would he project in a UTL role?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 15, 2014 -> 02:05 PM) It's Beckham's draft position. People are so slow to give up on top draft picks even when their performance is as blah as Beckhams. That said, if the Sox do give him the job, I will root for the "good Beckham" to emerge again. I want to win even more than I do see Semien succeed. The second part of your statement contradicts the first part. It isn't his draft position, its that we have seen him perform at a high level in the major leagues. Then the wheels fell off. If he had never been any good, it would be one thing, but he showed he could be a player at this level. Then his sophomore slump set in and all the mechanical changes put into his swing seemed to take him further and further away from the player he was. Last year he seemed to be getting it figured out, though it was apparent that the wrist injury had zapped his power. Its not the draft position as much as it is his history, and seeing what Severson has done with Flowers, I think it is prudent to wait and see what he can do with Gordon when healthy. Semien could use more time in AAA seeing a lot of the same pitches he will see in MLB. There really is no reason to rush him, let him figure out how to make appropriate adjustments in AAA where there is a whole lot less pressure than in the majors.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Apr 15, 2014 -> 10:23 AM) Well, I think it needs to go beyond 150 miles unless another team is closer, but nobody should have more than 2 teams classified as local except for a few small areas. I think the real question is which RSNs are getting distribution in Iowa. If local cable/Dish/DirecTV aren't carrying CSN Chicago as part of their main package, then blacking out the Sox and Cubs is stupid. Same with the Cards and Royals and whatever RSN carries them. We do get CSN as part of our base package on DirecTV, the games that are blacked out are games that are either on ESPN or WCIU. One of the local stations has a new agreement with WGN to carry Cubs and Sox games on one of their alternated stations (9.2).

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 11:43 PM) Nope. Nothing against Burdi, but he makes more sense to a contending team that can fast-track him to the big league bullpen. He's a safe bet to provide value for his drafting team, but he is and will only be a reliever. I have heard that some teams are thinking about trying to convert him into a SP. You can bet that if the Sox took him, he would start off in the rotation until he proved he couldn't handle it. I really think the second pick will be a prep bat that falls into their laps, but anything is possible.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 05:26 PM) Mentions of Trea Turner being liked by the Sox scares me. Is that scenario, Rodon, Kolek, and Beede left @ #3? Most mentions of the Sox and Turner is that they like him more than most teams do, but no one really thinks that they will take him at #3.

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Apr 15, 2014 -> 11:09 AM) I would be quite surprised if Aiken and Kolek go 1 and 2. It would be the first time ever a HS pitcher went 1-1 correct? Say Aiken/Rondon go 1-2, it will be fascinating seeing Sox decide between Kolek/Hoffman/Beede. There have been two prep LHP's to go #1 overall, Brien Taylor in 1991 by the Yankees and David Clyde by the Texas Rangers in 1973. A prep RHP has never gone #1 overall.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Apr 15, 2014 -> 07:47 AM) I feel strongly that, with extremely few exceptions, there should be a limit of two teams claiming any territory. I can see Racine/Kenosha counties in Wisconsin having Cubs/Sox/Brewers I can see most of Connecticut having Yankees/Mets/Red Sox I can see some parts of Southern California having Padres/Angels/Dodgers I can see some parts of Central California having A's/Giants/Angels/Dodgers Outside of those, I can't think of any other place that needs more than two teams. Maybe the folks in Iowa can weigh in on how many fans there are of teams other than the Cubs and Sox. The majority of people are Cardinals and Cubs fans here and the rest are split between the Twins, Sox, Brewers, and Royals, probably in that order. I think it should be more of a 100-150 mile circle around the city that it is classified "in market" for each team. There is no reason I should be blacked out from 20% of major league baseball teams when the closest park is a 5 hour drive, it really hurts develop younger fans as the adults can go seek out the games at the local sports pub but the kids don't develop any attachment to the sport.

I would like to thank Passan for giving me a shout out for being blacked out from a bunch of Sox games.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 04:43 PM) Is it just me or does Hoffman seem even riskier than Aiken and Kolek? Maybe riskier than Aiken, but in no way riskier than Kolek. Every time I see the videos of him pitching I think Bobby Jenks 2.0. Aiken is probably out of the discussion for the Sox now though as chances are he will be off the board before the Sox pick at 3.

QUOTE (Bigsoxhurt35 @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 04:54 PM) Why not a guy like Jose Mijares? I wonder that as well. Maybe he is holding out for a ML deal.

ESPN's Draft blog is up. On Hoffman: ""He looks like a solid back-end starter to me," an AL West scout said. There's nothing wrong with that, but if you saw him over the summer you'd be disappointed with that prognosis. The slider/curve just isn't an out pitch like it was in the Cape Cod League, and without that, I don't see a guy worth a top ten pick."" Aaron Nola ""The command [for Nola] today was exceptional," an NL East scout said. "He located his fastball and breaking ball pretty much wherever he wanted today outside of the two leadoff walks in the second and seventh. I'm still not sure how well he's going to do verse quality left handed hitters, but when you're placing the ball where you want it may not matter."" Beede "Most scouts I've talked to believe that Beede is still No. 2 on the collegiate pitching board, but Nola and Hoffman both have a chance to pass him with strong finishes to their respective seasons." Says Aiken has is cementing himself as the consensus 1-1 pick. ""At some point you run out of superlatives [about Aiken]," an NL crosschecker said. "The kid just knows how to pitch, and I love the delivery. It's been a long time since we've seen a prep pitcher go first overall, but I really think this could be the year." " Alex Jackson - ""I think Jackson is the best hitter in the class," an NL scout said. "He had some timing issues early in the year, but he's impressed me with the way he's made adjustments. I think you're looking at a guy who can hit .300 and give you 25-30 homers during his best seasons, and I don't see any other hitter with that kind of potential this season at either the college or high school level. I think he's going to end up in right field, and he should be an All-Star there." '

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 03:37 PM) If Rodon is being misused by NC State this year imagine what they would do to him next year if he went back. RS him because he is gonna to miss the year with TJ surgery.

Given the injury to Garcia, I wondered if that changed the perspective of Soxtalk on what will happen with the former LF platoon.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 03:00 PM) I stand by the thing that you try as hard as you can to get Rodon, though obviously within reason. If he hits his ceiling, Rodon, Sale, and Q at the front of a rotation is terrifying. The problem with Rodon is though he has an 80 slider, hitters can sit on it cause he can't throw anything else right now. I would take him at 3, but only for slot or below but you can't risk not signing him when the top of this draft is loaded with pitching and who knows what next years will produce.

I will say that I think Hoffman has the most development left of all the three college pitchers talked about at the top and has the highest ceiling at this point. I think Beede has the highest floor as a #5 and the lowest ceiling as a 3. But you know you are getting an MLB caliber pitcher. Rodon's command has been so awful this season, his floor is now as a RP but still has a #1 ceiling. Hoffman is a guy that if gets to his ceiling can be a Cy Young guy, but will take the longest to reach the majors and his floor is probably as a AAA SP. I think Kolek's floor/ceiling are pretty close to Rodons and Aikens is more like Hoffmans.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 12:37 PM) Yeah, since when did this get set in stone? I mean, Hahn has said Rodon is the best college arm. I don't know that it is in stone, but from the reports from those that have sources, the Sox are very much connected with Hoffman. We have heard that have had checked in on Beede and know they scouted an Aiken start, but in this thread by our insiders and in different scouting notes, the Sox are consistently linked with Hoffman. I think Hahn never dreamed that Rodon would be in the discussion, and you never know about the smokescreen he may be laying for negotiations or what not. It is more just an accumulation of indicators leading to a reasonable hypothesis than anything concrete. Of course, all of the Hoffman stuff could be smokescreen from the org as well but there has been little about other potential Sox targets other than Trea Turner.

QUOTE (Jake @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 12:33 PM) Anyone know why Beckham was pulled after 1 AB yesterday? He had two PA's, a hit and a walk. The game story just says he was lifted for PH.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 12:00 PM) I agree with this. I think he's just a better player. Saw this stat this morning: White Sox infielder Marcus Semien is hitting .412 (7-for-17) in the seventh inning or later. That makes him 5 for 34 (.147) against starting caliber pitching, and not great SP either based on the teams the Sox have played. Semien needs to go back down and get every day at bats, pushing him up to early will result in having the same conversation about him in three years that every one wants to have about Beckham. Beckham pretty much mirrored his breakout rookie season last season, minus the power, which is not unexpected given a hamate injury. Selling low on him is akin to the Indians giving up Brandon Phillips for a RP. You need to let it play out and see what you really have not that he appears to have his approach in order. You can really blame his second and third seasons on him being rushed and not learning to make appropriate adjustments in the minors, and the majors is not a forgiving place to learn how to adapt your approach, especially with lift and pull as your hitting coach. If Beckham were on any other team, fans would want to pick him up to see if we could get him to turn it around. There is no reason not to take a flier on him this season and see where it gets you. If he regresses, hes non-tendered, if he puts up similar numbers to last season and the power comes back you have a top 5 second basemen.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 11:02 AM) Maybe I'm just overthinking things, but hasnt it been plainly stated in this thread who the Sox want to be there at #3? Yes. But, that person may not be there at #3. I think we all know option A, but if that is off the table, who knows what option B is? I think a lot of the speculation now is moving toward potential second round targets, and that will be greatly impacted but the deal the #3 pick gets.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 10:15 AM) Thanks for the update. Any idea how Kolek and Aiken pitched? No, HS stats are a lot harder to collect as they don't seemed to be reported with any consistency.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 10:20 AM) Like I said a few weeks ago, Webb has been tagged by mgmt to have the role by summer unless Lindstrom turned out to be dominant. That seems like an appropriate timeline, especially if Lindstom is dominant.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 10:21 AM) No contender is going to trade for Matt Lindstrom as a closer. But some may want him as a middle reliever, it does nothing for him or the team to leave him there if he's not cutting it. You could have said the same thing about Jason Grilli two seasons ago, but he ended up proving that he could handle the role. You have to give Lindstrom every chance to succeed in that role in the hopes of increasing his trade value in the summer. If this were a team expected to contend, than yes, you get the best guy in the role immediately. But when you are rebuilding, you give guys a lot of chances in the hope that you catch lightning in a bottle.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 10:46 AM) I'd rather the Sox move on from Beckham. He's drawing walks, playing solid defense, and his bat is starting to come around. I also strongly doubt he continues striking out at this current pace. The Sox need to play Beckham in order to create a market to move on from him. Giving him away is a terrible idea. There are not enough at bats for Semien between Beckham on his rehab assignment and Kepp soon to start his.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 10:16 AM) Wow, a terrible move (Cahill's contract) by Towers that I hadn't even heard about. Its really not that bad of a deal. He bought out Cahills arb years a year removed from his 138 ERA+ season as a 22 year old. Injuries have derailed his career, but this was not a bad move at the time.