harfman77

QUOTE (bmags @ May 31, 2017 -> 11:36 AM) Is it just me or is that the most overused comp in mlb draft reports? Seems to be 4-5 Olerud comps every year, has there been a major league 1b like Olerud in last 10 years? Maybe Belt. Casey Kotchman maybe. Elite 1B defense, limited power, decent contact skills.

The Sox are still in a really good position. They have no need to trade Q at this point and someone is going to have to blown them away to get him. I think this years results are more of a product of having the revolving door of catchers that have not had experience handling Q in the past. His elevated K and BB rates indicate that they are taking a different approach to getting hitters out. Looking two years down the road, if Q is not traded, you have a rotation of Kopech, Q, Rodon, Fulmer, Lopez/Dunning/Giolito/ Hansen/ or Adams. At that point you can still either look at trading or extending Q depending on how things are working out for the team at that time and having a veteran in the sea of young arms will not be a bad thing. I am not against moving Q, but he is probably a guy that at this point has more value to the Sox if they keep him than anyone is willing to give up. That was true in the offseason when no one wanted to meet the Sox price and is true today. Whenever someone is willing to offer an appropriate value Q will be traded but there is still no need to make a move for the sake of trading him.

QUOTE (turnin' two @ May 30, 2017 -> 06:56 PM) Isn't challenging yourself and facing tougher competition really the only way to improve? Along with a more singular focus, better coaching and more reps? Except he hasn't been able to succeed at his current level, if he had improved in college, the step up in competition could push him to be better. Since he hasn't gotten any better at making contact, its more likely he just gets left further behind.

At this point if I am the Sox, my targets for the pick are Haseley, Gore, or someone that slides (McKay or Lewis). If those guys are gone I am moving on to Burger and Hiura and seeing who I can cut the best deal with. Both the bats will play and both have some defensive questions so I am going to try and get a discount and see if I can go strong after a HS player that slipped into round 2. Targeting someone like Quentin Holmes, Bubba Thompson, Nick Allen, or Hagen Danner you could also take a swing at Brent Rooker should he still be available. You could try and cut a deal with Kendall to try and halt his slide, I really wanted the Sox to pick him out of HS in the third round, but you can not draft him if your scouts don't feel there is something in the swing that can be fixed. In round three I would redraft Bryce Montes De Oca. Round four I would target a college senior to get some savings on. Round five I am getting Jake Adams from Iowa who is leading D1 baseball in HR's and has a 1.169 OPS.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 30, 2017 -> 09:13 PM) When's the last time a "true" or least projected 2B (like Hiura) went in the Top 10-12 picks in the first round? Ian Happ?

QUOTE (yesterday333 @ May 26, 2017 -> 09:17 AM) If the sox believe Burger can succeed at 3rd, similar to how they believe Collins will stick at catcher, would that make him an option for our pick? Depends how much they like him. Schwarber was projected to be a late teens to mid-twenties pick by most of the mock drafts before the Cubs got him, and if a team likes a guy enough, or wants to try and save some money if their primary targets are gone (Gore, Haseley, Wright) Burger on an underslot deal could make a lot of sense. I think the bat will play, defensively he may not end up at 3B, but its not like it is a non-starter. If you can get Burger underslot at 11 and then use the savings to get someone like Bubba Thompson out of his college commitment you really help put more talent into the system with a really high ceiling guy and a guy with a pretty high floor with a significant ceiling. If the Sox can get one of their primary targets at 11, he would not be an option, but if you are dropping down into a second tier of prospects on your board, Burger provides solid value and could provide the cost savings you need to add a second first round level talent in the draft.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 24, 2017 -> 01:17 PM) At the couple of returns we have heard about, I hope they keep him. It probably doesn't hurt to keep him as the veteran of the pitching staff when all these young guys start coming up. I would have to be blown away to trade him at this point because whatever you get back is going to have a hard time matching Q's production over the next three seasons when the core of prospects ascends to the majors.

QUOTE (Sockin @ May 22, 2017 -> 04:29 PM) FWIW Law was just on ESPN and said he hasn't seen him in person but the scouts he's talked to that has have given him mixed reviews. He said every scout said he can run and the power is there but no one is sure he's going to be able to hit. He said is he were in this year's draft he'd be picked in the teens. So basically he is Jordan Adell?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 20, 2017 -> 04:38 PM) Hmm... Thats the wrong Garcia, Jose Adolis Garcia has already signed with the Cards.

QUOTE (2005thxfrthmmrs @ May 20, 2017 -> 04:42 PM) How much did Sox sign their lower tier prospects for in years past? I'm wondering if there are teams that will sign the more interesting next tier names for slightly over $300k to beat out the penalizing teams. They may, but it counts against their cap if they do.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 20, 2017 -> 04:22 PM) Next period is now officially worthless to the White Sox. That is a huge misconception. I have seen other posters say that they should start scouting 14 year olds because the next two signing periods are already over. That is totally false, the Sox are going to be able to sign 20 kids over the next two offseasons for $300K. With the new cap, teams are going to be able to acquire more talented players for less than $300K than ever before. Looking around the league, it is about a 50/50 split of guys from LA that had huge bonuses to guys that had bonuses less than $100K. There is still a lot of work that can be done, and this is where you rely on Paddy to find you the guys that grow into ball players.

Three months of Chapman brought back a top five prospect in baseball, a major league starter, and a third top 10 org prospect. 15 months of Robertson is going to have some significant value at the deadline with few legit closers on the market. Robertson is paid a little below market value now based on the contracts handed out to closers last offseason and will bring back value with his combination of track record, value, and control. Robles is probably off the table, but given market conditions and the value established last season, no one is else in that system should be unattainable.

Yolmer was always a promising prospect who was young at every level and always took a while to adjust offensively. I have held out hope that he was going to be able to hit at the major league level with more consistent at bats, and he is starting to produce. What Yolmer does is keep from having to pull Moncada up early and gives the Sox another potential trade chip towards the deadline if he can maintain consistent production. I think Sanchez can be an above average everyday MLB 2B.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ May 17, 2017 -> 09:04 AM) It doesn't make sense for them to chase a title now considering Harper will walk after 2018? I don't get that logic at all. If anything they should do whatever they can possibly do now to win this year and next. It doesn't make sense for the Mets. The Nats likely aren't going to need the help with how weak their division is.

I think the bidding for Q will come down to the Cubs and Cards. Both have a need at SP and cost controlled SP at that. I don't see the Nats doing much to their rotation as they are likely to run away with that division in the second half and with all the injuries the Mets have, it doesn't make a lot of sense for them to be chasing a pennant this season.

I think once Shields is back you can dump Covey in the bullpen where he can be coached up on a daily basis by the ML coaches and then be used in low leverage situations until the Sox make a decision on whether to keep him long term or not. Then when Rodon comes back they will need to make a determination of whether he is worth that roster spot going forward. Covey is exactly the kind of guy you want to have during a rebuild, a guy with a high level pedigree that hasn't been able to make it click. If you get the lights to come on, you have a gold mine, if not you dump him for cash and move on to the next project.

QUOTE (raBBit @ May 3, 2017 -> 01:00 PM) I disagree. Both arms will be sought by contending teams who are short on pitching and who want a TOR arm. The cost may be very different I'll say that. Teams like the Cubs, Yankees, Dodgers and maybe Houston aren't going to be scared off by the money Verlander is owed. The Sox will have an advantage if the market was teams like the St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Colorado. No one ever said that any players were directly comparable. Players play the same roles. Moose and Frazier are similar players in the sense that they both play 3B. Teams that need a 3B will be in the market for those two guys. Because one is better or does different things doesn't mean anything other than they'll be preferred/more expensive. The bolded is my point. The Sox have the flexibility to make a trade with some prospect rich teams that can't afford to take on a lot of money. The Dodgers would be the favorite for Verlander due to their propensity to eat money to hold on to prospects, the Angels, Mariners, and Orioles would be in play due to their ability to take on money and the lack of elite prospects to make a deal. The Cubs are probably out on Q for non baseball related reasons. The Sox have no inclination to move Q for salary relief while that is a driver behind the trades of Verlander and Greinke. Q will bring back a prospect package that dwarfs what Verlander and Greinke get and there are not many teams that can meet that price. There will be some overlap in the form of the Yankees and Astros, but for the most part, the teams involved will likely be very different. Moose is a LH bat but more of a defense first player with little in the way of power at the position, Frazier is a RH power bat that has a passable glove, yes, they can both play 3B but what they provide a team is very different.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ May 3, 2017 -> 12:41 PM) Red Sox seem like a perfect fit for needing a 3B so we need the Royals to pick it up so they go after Frazier instead of Moustakas. Unfortunately I don't have any faith in them turning it around, they're bad. They still have Panda and Holt as in house options once they heal up to bridge the gap to Devers.

QUOTE (raBBit @ May 3, 2017 -> 12:28 PM) This and we should be rooting for the Tigers and Royals. If Tigers fall out and make Verlander available... Royals could sell off Moutstakas, Cain and relievers. Verlander and Q have way different markets. Verlander is owed $70M over the next 2.5 seasons with the opportunity to vest another $22M. Meanwhile has one more year of control at half the price. The teams interested in Verlander are not the teams that will be in on Q, those are the teams that are willing to eat money to preserve prospects. Those are the same teams that will be in on Greinke this summer. Herrera is probably the one piece that either of those teams have that could directly impact the trade value of any of the guys the Sox are looking to move. Moose and Frazier are not similar players, Cain and Cabrera are pretty much opposites.

QUOTE (striker @ May 2, 2017 -> 03:40 PM) With Swarzak, Gonzalez and Holland, we should be able to get some A, A+ talent. I'd give them Gonzalez/Holland and Swarzak for Justin Dunn, Guereror and a flyer. Gonzalez for one of their SS prospects and a lottery ticket arm.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Apr 18, 2017 -> 11:50 AM) If you are rebuilding, why are you looking for players who are closest to the majors? That doesn't make any sense to me. The Sox need to add as much talent into their system as they possibly can. So that means they should be looking at guys with high ceilings, Adell certainly has one of the biggest. Much lower bust rate when guys are closer to the majors. Look at what the Cubs have done in their drafts since Theo took over 2012 - HS OF, 2013 College 3B, 2014 College C, 2015 College OF. The 2012 draft was a terrible draft for college bats with Zunino, Zimmer, and Naquin the only three taken in the first twenty two picks. The high school position players are supposedly a big weakness in this years draft. Adell is a guy with big time contact issues that will only get worse as he sees professional level breaking balls. If Hunter Greene were to slip to the Sox, than we could talk about players with high ceilings, but the Sox shouldn't go after ceiling for the sake of having players with ceiling. The Sox need good baseball players, not toolboxes that can't hit.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Apr 21, 2017 -> 11:49 AM) Absolutely. However, with the wide difference of opinions of the "experts" I don't think this is a given. There was also a scout quoted on mlbtr saying that Robert is the baseball player in the world, right now. I think its a safe assumption that Robert would be a top 20 prospect in baseball, he would hands down be the #1 pick in this years draft.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 20, 2017 -> 01:11 PM) I thought they were still paying the actual bonus, which could be spread over 3 years, and not the actual taxes owed on the bonus? Per this article, the Red Sox have already paid off Moncada over his first three years - http://www.12up.com/posts/4228270-report-w...hris-sale-trade The Red Sox are paying the remaining tax as part of the deal.

QUOTE (Sleepy Harold @ Apr 20, 2017 -> 01:01 PM) That's the guy I have my eye on. Hoping he's there at #11, guy has been MASHING. Yeah, I have a hard time seeing the Sox pass on Hasely for Adell when Adell has some legitimate concerns around his bat to ball skills. Haseley is trending similar to the way Benitendi did when he was drafted.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 20, 2017 -> 12:37 PM) Looking at the Forbes list, the Houston Astros made $76 million in profit last year. The White Sox made $42 million, the Cards made $40.5 million, the A's made $25.5 million, and the Padres made $22.8 million. Even if you look at just those profit numbers, the list of teams interested is flush with cash to spend. That list doesn't include a lot of revenue streams, and it also isn't including any projections for this year. In addition, as we found out with the Moncada trade, those tax payments on overages are not due within the immediate year after a signing, the Red Sox still were paying off the $31.5 M tax they owed.