BearSox

QUOTE (Brian @ Jun 6, 2008 -> 03:27 PM) Why would KW Jr have to work with Owens or why would he? That is what we have coaches for. A #9 hitter in a college line up is going to go to AAA and coach their starting CF? Don't think so. I think you misread what I said. I never said KWjr. coached Owens, I said I wouldn't be surprised if KWjr. worked with Owens as in getting tips from Owens and such. KW probably had KWjr. at a lot of the side practices and such, and I wouldn't be surprised if he had/wanted Owens to give him a few pointers. You have what I said in reverse.

KWjr. is strikingly similar to Jerry Owens in his stance and approach (at least from the left side). I would not be surprised if KW had KWjr work with Jerry Owens in the offseason and such. KW has the fascination that fast guys with weak sticks should have goofy stances that provide them with no power.

Man, it would be fantastic if we can sign Danks. We almost signed him out of high school, and we have a good relationship with his family. Plus, he could be with the same organization as his brother... I'd give him the 1st round money.

I like that Steven Upchurch pick in the 11th round... hopefully we can get him signed. It'd be fantastic if we could get Danks to sign as well.

Hunt seems to have run into some arm troubles this year as he had a lay off from Apr. 20 till June 4. Not quite sure what the deal was. However, in his 8 innings pitched this season, he has been decent. 1-1 record, 1.13 ERA, 2 SV, 5 H, 5 K, 4 BB.

Chris who?

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 02:48 PM) Holey moley. I think I can see the hotel balcony where my second child was conceived. . . We had to make due with the the balcony, since child number one was asleep in the room. Yeah, that's right. I'm a SCREAMER! And let that be a lesson to all you highschoolers who have been told you can't get anybody pregnant if you're standing up. I believe that, but I still believe you can't get anyone pregnant from the bottom... It's laws of gravity, it's impossible!

On a different site, someone I know who is real good with prospects and such compiled his own short list of who he feels it the "best of the rest." Nate Recknagel seems like he could be a good option in round 7 as the power hitting 1B/DH we have lacking in our system. However, of everyone on that list, I'd prefer Eric Thames. He's fallen due to an injury, but he's a legit prospect. I'd love to see us draft him and pay him the money he wants. And I wouldn't mind if we take a flier on Danks later on as well.

well, I got 7 picks correct in my final mock draft. Not too bad.

QUOTE (False Alarm @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 10:22 PM) like you said. (trib blog.) http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune....-day-draft.html lol if anyone actually believes that garbage.

My grades so far based on first impressions for the first day of the draft: 1-008) MI Gordon Beckham, Georgia While he might not possess the pure hitting tools that Smoak does, he does possess athleticism and a good bat none-the-less. I don't think he will be anywhere near the type of hitter he was in college in the MLB, but I could see him as a 15-20 homer guy, with a .280+ average, .350+ OBP, and plus defense at 2B (or average to below average D at Short). I think Smoak should have been the pick here due to his pure power from both sides of the plate, but you can't argue too much about this pick as hard nosed players like Beckham with his ability don't grow on trees either. GRADE: A- 3-086) 3B Brent Morel, Cal Poly He might be some-what un-known, but from watching his video, he seems like a decent prospect. While you can't tell much from the scouting video they give you, it looks like he will have the ability to stick it at third, plus he looks to possess the athleticism to play SS, 2B, and the OF as well, IMO. His bat looks pretty good, but I wouldn't expect much power from him. He's not also going to give you a high OBP, but he's going to put the ball in play a lot as he does not K a lot. Bit of an overdraft in the 3rd round, but he seems to be a pretty decent ball-player. GRADE: C+ 4-120) RHRP Andrew O'Neil, Penn St. I can't really say a lot about this pick as there is no scouting video for him, but based on what I've read, he seems like a pretty promising relief pitcher in the mold of Joe Smith. If the article is correct, he has a low 90's fastball from a sidearm arm angle that he can sometimes get up to about 94-95. Also, the article said his fastball has some real nice natural sinking motion, and that could be evident by his GO-AO ratio. If he is as good as hyped, I could see him progressing quickly through the system. GRADE: B- 5-150) RHP Dan Hudson, Old Dominion This pick I really like. The video didn't show much of his breaking stuff, but it did show he has a very good fastball. It sits in the lows 90's which is plenty fast with the amount of movement his fastball has. I think this is a very good pick, and Hudson can be someone who surprises. However, I wish they showed more of his breaking stuff. GRADE: B 6-180) OF Kenny Williams Jr., Wichita St. What a f***ing horrible pick. What a horrible pick when the organization is in need for such need. This was a selfish pick by Kenny Williams and the whole world knows we picked him because of who his dad is. It's one thing drafting family later on, but in the 6th round when there are still plenty of top talents out there? Give me a break. This pick brought down the grade of the whole first day for us dramatically, IMO. GRADE: F FIRST DAY GRADE: D+

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 08:26 PM) And how much have you seen these two kids play? How many amateur kids have you scouted that turned out to be big league players? As a 20 year old watching baseball in the games you play and on TV, your experience in seeing what "translates" isnt very extensive. There are literally millions and millions of people out there with the same exact baseball experience you have, its not like you are above and beyond what other kids your same age have seen or done. I never said I was a better or worse scout then other people. It's in my opinion about these two guys. Other have different opinions. I could very well be wrong. God knows I've had my fair shares of being wrong. I don't see what the big deal about ME having an OPINION is.

Morel, O'Niel, and Hudson don't look like all that bad of draft picks... however, that KWjr. pick is f'n retarded.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 08:32 PM) You want go get a good grade in the draft. Beckham Meville and yes throw first round money at him, you dont have a 2nd rounder anyway. Danks Then you can draft the rest in your order, they will all still be there. Well, it looks like Danks is committed to going back to Texas for his senior year, as no one has drafted him.

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 08:24 PM) just give alexei the starting 2B job for the rest of 2008, seriously. this should be a no brainer at this point, even if he slumps for a decent period of time, he's just flat out better than Uribe, and his range is unbelievable He's going to make a fine SS once Cabrera leaves next season. Ramirez and Beckham will hopefully form a nice tandem up the middle of the infield.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 07:19 PM) How can you grade a baseball draft this early? I just don't understand that. It seems that people grade on if they liked the players. What if KW jr is the next Curtis Granderson. Nobody knows, I think you should wait 5 years to grade a draft. If Kenny Williams Jr. ever sniffs the big leagues, I'll f***ing kiss your balls.

I hope we go with Xaiver Scruggs tomorrow. We need a big power bat like his in the system.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 03:12 PM) He has the arm and I think he has the ability to stick at SS. From what I have seen, his arm isn't all that great. I think he is a lock to be moved to 2B. The only way I see him sticking at SS is if we need a SS really really badly.

QUOTE (TCQ @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 03:53 PM) I would like to know your baseball experience, if you dont mind i dont know how you can make these predictions. How can you saw beckham's power wont translate to the bigs and smoaks will. Ya know there was a guy in our system with a natural swing. His name was joe borchard and he good sir is a bum. What does my baseball experience have to do with anything? What, you have to be a pro to be able to evaluate prospects? For your information, I have been playing baseball my whole entire life, and have been following it my whole life. Granted, I might not even be able drink legally yet, but I think for the almost 20 years I have practically lived baseball, I have picked up on a few things. Does this make me a pro-scout? Far from it... but as someone who was born holding a baseball bat and has been hitting his whole life and has studied hitting his whole life, I think I have decent knowledge of a players hitting ability.

didn't Kenny Williams Jr. get in trouble with law a few years ago to?

And we wonder why our system is in the s***s. It's one thing to draft freaking Oney Guillen, or whatever the hell his name is, in the 40th something round of the draft cause it's the managers son. It's another thing to use a pick that has value like a 6th round pick on your crappy son.

very un-impressive stats by Williams... he looks like a better version of Jerry Owens.

Looking at the video, Morel doesn't look like all that bad of a pick. O'Niel doesn't have a video, but if that tidbit someone posted is correct and he is a sidearmer with a low 90's fastball w/ movement, he might be a decent pick. Somewhat like a poor man's Joe Smith? Would have liked Scott Gorgen there much better however. Hudsen looks like a meh pick. Besides for the 1st round, the players we are drafting this year seem way to similar to the ones we did last year.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 01:58 PM) You know who has a mechanical type of swing? Ken Griffey Jr... so how's that bad? Did I ever say it is bad? No. The majority of hitters in baseball have manufactored swings. Even Smoak's swing has been manufactored some. However, some have more mechanical swings than others.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 01:54 PM) Gordon Beckham actually had better offensive numbers in almost every category than Smoak did in 2008. Check it... Beckham: .397 BA, 24 HR, 65 RBI, 85 R, .781 SLG, .505 OBP Smoak: .383 BA, 23 HR, 72 RBI, 63 R, .757 SLG, .505 OBP And Beckham is a far better overall athlete, able to play multiple positions, probably. So tell me again how it is that Smoak is so much more game-changing than Beckham? Like I said, college stats should be taken with a grain of salt. Beckham is the better athlete and the more hard-nosed player. From the video I have seen and the games I have watched, Smoak is the much better natural and pure hitter. The ball flies off of his bat. His power easily translates to the pro game. Plus, he has 40+ homerun power from both sides of the plate. However, Beckham's power most likely won't translate to the bigs. He might have a couple 20+ homer season, but I see him sticking in the 15-20 range. His swing has more flaws in it, and I absolutely hate his high leg kick when he swings. This is not to say Beckham is a bad hitter, as he is good. All I am saying is that Smoak is the better hitter overall, and is that impact bat we have lacked in our farm system for so long. Beckham is the better athlete and provides more speed and such. Beckham wasn't a bad pick, but I would have prefered Smoak.