caulfield12

https://theathletic.com/3375167/2022/06/21/white-sox-injuries/ Menechino on why Robert became a singles hitter… “The 10 days off really killed him,” Menechino told The Athletic. “He kind of lost his contact points. He kind of lost his confidence in stuff. Having 10 days off and coming back, now he’s starting to get back in the swing of things. It’ll come, it’ll come. Keep getting your hits and your confidence comes up and all of a sudden you’re not swinging as hard, you’re not trying to do too much. Home runs are thrown, right?”

He’s trying to say it’s Hahn’s fault and not TLR. 50% accurate. Both are equally culpable. Or you can split it 33.33% with strength & conditioning/training staff if you prefer.

Giolito would now be ranked 69th out of 71 qualified starters in ERA if he had enough IP. He currently needs 3 2/3rd’s more IP. Only three qualified in the majors with ERA’s over 5. Jose Berrios at 5.11, G.Marquez 6.16 and P.Corbin 6.60. xFIP at 3.73 actually .02 lower than last year’s 3.75. 5.2 fWAR to 4.5 (prorated) to 4.0 to 0.0 over the span of of three seasons. https://www.fangraphs.com/players/lucas-giolito/15474/stats?position=P

Mendick has to first be shouting at Burger that he has the angle on it and to peel off…

2/5 in his debut with the Sacramento River Cats Played 1B.

Cranking in Double-A June 7, 2022 Sosa has a .342/.392/.566 line with 11 homers, 39 RBI and a 14:32 BB:K through 49 games for Double-A Birmingham. ANALYSIS He came into the season known as a free swinger with modest pop, but Sosa's muscled up, hitting as many homers already this year as he did in 115 games last season. He's also brought his walk rate up a bit (6.2 percent) while striking out at his lowest rate (14.1 percent) since rookie ball, so all signs are pointing up for Sosa in his second Double-A go-'round. Sosa had been pigeonholed as a future utility guy, but if he keeps hitting this consistently (his longest hitless streak this season is two games), the White Sox will likely give him a chance to strut his stuff by next season -- and maybe sooner. With Tim Anderson in the fold and Sosa not known for his defense at shortstop, the 22-year-old will probably play second base when he gets to the big leagues. https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=15052 10 for his last 35 (.286) with a double and two homers during his current 8 game hitting streak In this writeup he was never in the Top 200 MiLB prospects (ranged 225-400 in 2018), then debuted at #76 in late May this year…

Unfortunately nobody will get to really appreciate it if they miss the playoffs yet again…

https://soxmachine.com/futuresox/lenyn-sosa-reportedly-skipping-charlotte-to-join-white-sox/

Far from the craziest highlight of that one…instant classic.

Best prospects/best raw stuff. But not the precise command/control you see in the big leagues. And not the control of more than just one or two basic pitches more typical at lower levels where pure stuff just dominates. The refinement almost always happens between AA and the majors, with multiple trips up and down. All that said, the missing development time in 2020-21 has been tough for a lot of players to work through…look at Andrew Vaughn, possessing perhaps the best prospect pedigree of any Sox hitter since Thomas and Ventura. Kelenic, Torkelson, Rutschman, Abrams, etc. It has been 2-3 years since rookies just came up and dominated from Day 1. Not to mention how much tougher bullpens have gotten, especially over the last 3-5 years.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonyblengino/2019/04/29/jose-ramirez-and-the-slump-that-wouldnt-end/?sh=2b4c14e64770 And his 2019 slump even made it into Forbes, lol. That guy is just so physically tough, he was born to play baseball even though he certainly doesn’t look like it physically.

What is your prediction on Sosa? It’s certainly a higher upside play than Yolbert Sanchez…but players numerous have had issues the last two seasons going from AAA to the bigs, let alone Birmingham to Chicago. That injury in theory doesn’t happen with the veteran Pollock more likely to take charge of the situation…versus someone new to the team and just trying to do whatever they possibly can to stick around and make an impression. …

The Guardians are in the process of poking a massive hole in the Twins’ bubble if this second miracle Naylor-esque comeback tonight holds up. Seems pretty likely Pagan will collapse as he has with the Rays and Padres. Twins had been 34-1 when leading after 8, Guardians just 2-25 when trailing after 8.

But 2-3 months of minor league play doesn’t change a player’s basic profile, either. Obviously, scouts cast Alexei Ramirez as a utility player and they were completely wrong. Sosa is not a left-handed hitter to balance out the lineup and he’s not a speed-based, dynamic game changing presence. Sometimes we do players a disservice when we expect too much…simply for NOT being Harrison or Leury or Mendick. It’s the classic back-up QB syndrome. I do hope he goes on an absolute tear offensively, but forty years watching the White Sox tells me the odds of this happening are not exactly the highest, either. Anything over a 675-700 ops would be a pleasant surprise.

He should be back tomorrow. The biggest issues are Engel and Giolito’s collapse at the moment.

“A right-handed hitter, Sosa owns some of the best hand-eye coordination and bat-to-ball skills in the system but needs to make better swing decisions to reach his offensive potential. He rarely walks and gets himself out too often by making weak contact. He has enough bat speed and projectable strength to deliver 15 or more homers per season if he can adopt a more selective approach. Sosa has good actions, reliable hands and solid arm strength at shortstop, but his below-average speed leads to subpar range. He fits better at second or third base, though those positions will demand more offense. He may be more of a bat-first utilityman than a true everyday player.” https://www.mlb.com/prospects/whitesox/lenyn-sosa-672820 Need to tap the brakes a bit…it’s exciting to see change, but a Top 10-15 MiLB guy like Andrew Vaughn didn’t even get everyday playing time.

That's the main positive. Easily fits the roster for Sheets' spot without costing a bundle in prospects.

Let's hope this Sosa has a better Sox career than the first...

That wasn't so abundantly clear at the beginning of the season. The Top Ten players on each team at max potential are more than comparable. It's the other 15 that are the problem.

One of the most intelligent, introspective players in recent memory.

He hit a robust .290 while replacing Anderson. Unexpected.

They should have just traded for cheaper and gotten the "lite" version of Taylor in their comfortable price range, Adam Frazier.

Are they really ready to DFA Harrison? Don't think so. I think they just want to see if he catches fire and can ride a hot streak...otherwise he goes back down and plays everyday at Charlotte or Birmingham. But they probably also believe he has more positional versatility than Sanchez...which might prove to be helpful as that was Mendick's main calling card.

Alvarez already at the 20 homer mark and climbing...

There aren't a lot of great pitchers that could be FA's. Musgrove is #1 currently, but I think Rodon is the one that would be the better bet for one of those Top 6-8 payroll teams that can take on significant contractual risk.