harfman77

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 01:04 PM) Trying to be completely unbiased, I think I would rather have Baez, Almora, Bryant and Soler than Eaton, Garcia, Davidson, Hawkins. They are prospects, so sure anything can happen, but it's easy to make a case for both is my point. The difference is if they played for the Sox, Buddy Bell would have had Baez and Soler start the season in AAA and Bryant would have been in AAA by the playoffs. They are good prospects, but none of them are on the level of a Sano or Buxton. I think Theo starts moving some of those guys for pitching this year before they move up much further and show their true colors. Almora and Bryant are legit, the rest have a lot of projection in them.

QUOTE (Mattchoo @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 01:03 PM) Cubs have the payroll to do it..... They also probably want to get it done for Cubs Convention... OR at least please the fans after the Clark the Cub debacle. OT: Clark the Cub was just poorly introduced in my opinion. I think a mascot is fine for the Cubs, but they should have introduced him in person at Cubs Convention. Not sure that they really do have the payroll to do it. The club is carrying a lot of debt and I would bet they are stealing from payroll to get that under control, other wise it will cripple them for the next 5 years.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 01:00 PM) Are they gonna win every game 10-9? More like lose every game 27-24. Many of those guys are pretty questionable defenders as well.

I am still not convinced the Sox are going to be in it at the end. What I am convinced of is that they are going to make it seem like they to drive his price up. That is why KW leaving incognito mode makes sense. Let it sound like the market is going to be really deep so that you can get the Cubs or Yankees to seriously over spend. If the Sox were to sign Tanaka, there is a lot of pressure on Hahn to upgrade the roster this season. That would mean getting a C and an established 3B so the team could compete.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 15, 2014 -> 12:00 PM) I actually agree. You need to leave yourself SOME room for flexibility. That team would be looking at the possibility of costing like $250-300 million in short order including luxury taxes. I still think he ends up with the Yankees. Their need is far greater than anybody else's and they can spend to make it happen. Personally, I think they'd be better allocating that money between Garza and Jimenez if they think they want to compete, but really, that team is closer to last place than they are first. I honestly think they'd be better tanking this year and trying to rebuild the team, but a 3 year contract to Beltran and a 5 year contract to McCann, along with all the other money tied up on the roster, prohibits that quite a bit. I think the Yankees are in for some dark times ahead. Too much money tied up in players that are not worth what they are paid. They still owe A-Rod ~$94M through 2017, even with him being suspended for this season. Add in Tex, McCann, Ellsbury, and Sabathia they are going to struggle to field competitive teams if they are going to continue and try and stay below the luxury tax.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Jan 15, 2014 -> 11:55 AM) I just don't see the Dodgers signing Tanaka. Between the Kershaw deal, the desire to extend Ramirez and all the other albatross contracts they have on the books (Ethier, Gonzalez, Beckett, Greinke, Kemp and Crawford) I just don't see where the money is going to come from. Beckett comes off the books after 2014, but the rest of the guys I believe are locked up through at least 2017 at around $103 million just for those 5 players. Add in the Kershaw, Tanaka and Ramirez contracts and you're talking $175 million+ for 8 players. I know the Dodgers are willing to spend, but I just don't see how that's doable for any franchise. Agree, at this point it is probably between the Yankees and the Cubs. They are both desperate for starting pitching and have the cash to get him. I think the Yankees have to be the odds on favorite given their market, their need, and financial situation. It was reported that he favored the largest media markets in LA and NY. The Angels and now Dodgers are presumably out, the Mets dont have any money, so that leaves the Yankees.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 14, 2014 -> 06:38 PM) He had a .420 OBP in AA with more BBs than Ks. Plate discipline may not be a tool, but it is a skill and Semien demonstrated it extremely well last year. Given the value of OBP, I'm not sure why this skill is less important than any physical tool. Sanchez had a .424 OBP in AA, playing the level two years younger than Semien. Granted it is a small sample, but it amazes me how many people are willing to give up on Sanchez and proclaim Semien a better prospect.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 14, 2014 -> 06:32 PM) Semien is simply not big league ready right now IMO. Webb, maybe not, they loaded up the bullpen like they thought he needed more AAA time as well. No, but he could be ready around the training deadline.

Given the track record of Japanese pitchers coming to MLB, I would be really reluctant to go beyond 5 years.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 14, 2014 -> 03:59 PM) 1. E. Johnson 2. Davidson 3. Semien 4. Hawkins 5. Anderson 6. Danish 7. Sanchez 8. M. Johnson 9. Beck 10. Bassit 11. Thompson 12. Webb 13. Rienzo 14. Engel 15. Snodgress Lower-ceilinged but close to the Majors guys like Webb/Rienzo would be MUCH higher in seasons past. The system depth has definitely improved. Agree, the system has gone from bottom feeder to mid-tier, probably in the 18-19 range now. There is still work to be done, but based on draft position and international money available, its not out of the realm of possibility that this is a top 10 system a year from now. Semien, Webb, and Davidson all likely graduate, perhaps EJ depending on the ST competition with Surkamp and Paulino and if there are injuries.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jan 14, 2014 -> 03:05 PM) You guys did not include Micah Johnson. I would get him in the Top Ten somewhere. He is tough to project because he hasn't found a defensive position yet that he can play to be a regular. His bat is obviously not good enough to DH and his glove was bad (29 errors). His numbers in A+ were OK, but not eye popping. He dominated A- as a 22 year old should, but we'll see what he can do in a full season at AA this year.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jan 14, 2014 -> 11:58 AM) This looks like you took the Sox top 15 prospects, picked 9 out of hat and then threw Mittchell at 10. Thats fair enough, I think I value some of these guys a lot differently than other people. I am willing to give Mitchell another chance after the AFL. There is a thought that sometime players number suffer due to "level fatigue", not sure that is the case here, but it is worth a roll of the dice. Davidson is one of the closest to his ceiling, so there is not as much projection left. He seems to have a floor of Mark Reynolds and a ceiling around Matt Williams. I like Becks combination of upside and polish. I think he is a guy that can be a 2-3 in another year. Sanchez is a young guy that can get on base and handle the bat. He is an ideal #2 hitter for me. This years numbers weren't great on his "challenge assignment" but he winter league numbers showed he is still legit. EJ is the closest pitcher to the show, but I think his upside is probably a back of the rotation arm. Semien is a solid prospect, close to being ready, just isn't really exceptional at one thing. Hawkins has more upside than anyone in the system, numbers were down thanks to the incompetent handling of the farm director, but still has a boatload of talent. Danish is the highest upside SP in the system, but has very little track record yet. Anderson has a lower ceiling than Hawkins and played at a lower level at the same age. He has a chance to make a big jump to show his legit this year in high A. I think Webb is one of the best closing prospects in all of baseball, but relievers have less value because they have less impact in a game than any other position.

1. Davidson 2. Beck 3. Sanchez 4. Johnson 5. Semien 6. Hawkins 7. Danish 8. Anderson 9. Webb 10. Mitchell

QUOTE (PolishPrince34 @ Jan 8, 2014 -> 11:19 AM) In the chat, John Manuel also mentioned how the White Sox aggressively push the prospects in the minors: DeMichele, Walker, Hawkins, and hopefully not Anderson. Sox need to reflect and realize this isn't working the aggressive push on such raw high ceiling players. No. Buddy Bell will keep doing it until he finds one that works so he can show everyone he knows best. Most organizations send their hitters to learn to have success, the Sox send their hitters to learn to be overmatched. They have a pretty good track record for handling pitching prospects, but this "challenge assignment" philosophy is a huge fail as it not only gets prospects on a bad path, it also saps all of their trade value. If Hawkins was allowed to play a full season of low A ball and put up the numbers he did in his limited time there, he would be a top 50 prospect, but since Buddy decided that 65 AB's in low A is good enough, he is on the verge of being viewed as a fringe prospect. If you dont give a guy enough time at a level to struggle when opposing coaches/players figure him out, they don't learn how to make appropriate adjustments to get back to that level of success. Instead we send a guy up to be overmatched and his adjustments get him back to being overmatched. Even thoguh Trout dominated Low A, he still played 85 games there over two seasons. Byron Buxton played 68 games at low A. Both hitters more advanced than Hawkins and the Sox decide 16 games are sufficient. It is such poor handling of hitting prospects that it is almost criminal.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 04:47 PM) I'd sign Andrew Bailey to a two year deal and groom Webb for closing in '15. Bailey puts it together this year and you move him at the trade deadline or in the offseason. I would take Perez or Madson as buy low candidates and try to flip them at the deadline and give the younger guys some more time at AAA. Also give you a chance to ease Jones into the role, he wasn't very good to start the season last year and I dont think you want to put a lot or pressure on him again out of the gate to perform.

Apparently, the Royals just signed Chavez. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/12/mino...er-machado.html The Royals announced that they have signed infielder Brian Bocock and outfielder Johermyn Chavez to minor-league contracts. The 28-year-old Bocock has 38 big league games on his resume and last appeared in the majors in 2010 with the Phillies. He has a career .226/.297/.309 minor-league line. Chavez, 24, has never appeared in the big leagues. He's hit .261/.340/.438 in nearly 3,000 minor-league plate appearances.

I would rate them: 1. Rodon 2. Hoffman 3. Jackson 4. Gatewood 5. Turner Any of them are good/great. I think Jackson and Gatewood jump over Turner because of the possibility of being elite bats, but Turner has a higher floor. I think the Sox end up with Hoffman or Jackson unless Rodon can't pitch this spring. In the second round I like Jeren Kendall and Ti'Quan Forbes.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 13, 2013 -> 02:05 PM) That says that Hahn either doesn't like Ackley or he values Viciedo more. I would agree with him there too. Viciedo is younger and has put up better numbers. I would definitely take Ackley, but it would have to be for De Aza or perhaps as a piece in a Reed deal.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 13, 2013 -> 12:28 PM) I wouldn't have a problem going into next year with 2B platoon between Beckham and Ackley with Ackley getting some ABs in LF against tough RHSP. Viciedo getting the majority of the ABs in LF and Beckham and Ackley splitting the ABs at 2B. I believe Bucket, or maybe Rock, said in the Winter Meetings thread something about Ackley being talked about as an option at 3B. Edit: Found it in Viciedo to Mariners thread - QUOTE (chisoxfan310 @ Dec 10, 2013 -> 05:07 PM) * Now that either De Aza or Viciedo are going to be possibly dealt, do you guys think we can get a respectable deal for Viciedo from Seattle who could use an outfield power bat? Timely post. If you like Ackley (shifting to 3B for the Sox) that's recently been proposed by Jack Z. I believe Rick countered with Franklin. Stay tuned.

Beckham had a pretty respectable season last year despite missing a bunch of time when he was injured. You trade him if you get a package that improves the club today, by not to clear out the position. I agree that this season is probably his last chance to put it all together here and I think it helps you keep Semien, Garcia, and Sanchez in AAA for at least half the season to get them at bats, develop them, and hold down their service time. If Beckham breaks out this season, as some think he may, you can move it at the deadline for a pretty good haul and bring up whoever from AAA is most ready to fill that spot on an everyday basis.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 13, 2013 -> 09:15 AM) I generally agree, though there absolutely are instances where a team will ask for an absurd return and there is no longer any interest. Stroman and Sanchez is the beginning of a package for Chris Sale (I'd say David Price, but Rays wouldn't trade him within the division, at least I don't think they would), and theoretically, they wouldn't have to include a lot more. Chris Sale is twice the pitcher Samardzija is. Samardzija reminds me a bit of Javy Vazquez. I would not trade Sanchez straight up for Samardzjia, given his years of control and that is floor seems to be at least a rotation contributor and in my mind he will be a better pitcher by the end of the season. I would not take Stroman as a piece in a Sale trade, his value is too high right now for someone who has a greater chance than not of becoming a bullpen arm.

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Dec 13, 2013 -> 06:07 AM) I know the numbers don't really support it, but I reckon Ackley's the perfect example of a guy who needs a change of scenery. If you put him in a hitters park, I'd like to see what he could do for a season or 2. An .809 Post ASB OPS shows what he's capable of, he just hasn't been able to put it together on a consistent basis. He may never do that though. I agree a De Aza for Ackley deal would be OK with me. Ackley has been playing CF/LF and has some upside that I think he can still achieve. It saves ~$4M this season and gives you some more roster flexibility with Ackley being able to play 1B/2B/OF.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 13, 2013 -> 08:18 AM) I could ask for gold flecks on a sundae while eating it off Kate Upton's stomach, but that doesn't seem very reasonable either, does it? That seems like a totally reasonable request to me.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Dec 12, 2013 -> 03:29 PM) Money + players. Sox don't have the prospects to trade. They have a ton of prospects of the ilk they gave up in the Peavy deal. Thats why you leave some wiggle room so you can grab a valuable player without having to give up as much in prospects. Much like a team sould not have to give up much in prospects if they want to grab Dunn and take his salary, but if they are not taking it on, they will have to give something pretty valuable up.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Dec 12, 2013 -> 01:36 PM) I think we really need to trade Beckham. I want Semien to start from the start of the season to see what he can do If you believe what RV said, that Beckham never was healthy last season, I think you would want to roll the dice to see if you can get more in July, which would also allow Semien to get a little more seasoning.