caulfield12

Keith Staab has been a Texas area (based out of College Station, TX) scout for the Chicago White Sox. He signed Boone Logan, Lance Broadway, Kyle McCulloch, Jordan Danks, Matthew Long, Carlos Torres, Brandon Allen and John Ely. baseball-reference.com Mr. Molina in Birmingham also says hi (about the position change from hitter to pitcher)! Well, suffice it say, you don't want another set-up guy out of the 13th pick in the first round.

And Mitchell zooms back to .300 with yet another walk, 2/2, including his 11th double of the season. 37 RBI's. Jose Martinez is starting to look more and more dangerous. And, Molina's actually pitching a very good game, too. Everything's coming up roses, lol. 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA back down below 5, which is progress.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 08:27 PM) I hope he turns out good, obviously. But he has one of those "bust" names...."ah, remember that year we took Courtney Hawkins instead of Giolito?" Well, there's always an NBA career for him if he doesn't make it in baseball with that famous name. Or a career as the next White Sox closer.

BLUF: Raw athlete with big-time power potential and a right field profile. The Player: Courtney Hawkins (OF/RHP, Carroll HS) – One of the more improved high school players in this year’s draft class. He has improved steadily over the last two years. Through 29 games this spring, Hawkins was hitting .452/.589/.952 with ten home runs and 16 stolen bases. He is also an accomplished pitcher, posting a 0.83 ERA in eight games with 44 strikeouts in just 25.1 innings. Hawkins is committed to the University of Texas. Basis of Report: Industry Contacts Scouting Report Body (6-3, 210): Plus athlete. Physically mature kid. MLB body right now. Plus-plus strength. Explosive, fast-twitch strength and athleticism. Thick body with broad shoulders and chiseled features. Should maintain athleticism as he finishes maturing. Plus-plus pro body. Hit: Extremely raw hitter overall. Has exceptional strength in hands/wrists and can drive the ball to all fields. Lots of moving parts in setup and trigger. Head movement can take him off the ball and results in plenty of swing and miss, particularly against quality secondary pitches. Free-swinging approach. Doesn’t look for pitches he can drive. Handles big-time velocity very well. Can make contact in any part of the zone on fastballs. May never be more than a below-average hitter because of moving parts and approach. Grade – 20/40 Power: Big, powerful swing. Can drive the ball out of any park. Tons of present pull-side power. Has strength to go out the other way but raw hitting ability isn’t there for it to play in games. Has 25+ home run potential given raw strength and plus-plus bat speed. Doesn’t need a ton of loft in swing to drive the ball out. Can get out front and struggles to drive secondary pitches. Needs to temper approach and make more consistent contact for raw power to play long term. Grade (raw power) – 30/60 Arm: Has reached 90-92 mph off the mound in short bursts. Arm strength plays well in the outfield. True plus arm that can profile in right field. A quick release and solid accuracy help his arm play up. Grade – 60/60 Fielding: Has athleticism and raw tools to be a plus defender. Runs well, takes solid routes but is often late in his initial read off the bat. Scouts are split on ability to stick in CF as opposed to move to RF. Profiles as classic power, defense and arm strength right fielder. Grade – 40/60 Speed: Runs above-average once underway. Will flash plus times from home to first when he gets out of the box, but big swing typically slows him down to an average in-game level. May lose a tick as he completes physical maturation. Projects as fringe-average to average runner long term. Grade – 50/50 Summation: Extremely raw all around. Has plenty of power projection but has to hit for it to matter. Quieter pre-pitch mechanics will help hitting ability and could help make him more of a .250-.260 hitter long term. Unlikely to ever work counts consistently. Aggressive mentality and preference for big power will always hamper his raw hitting. Power could make up lack of secondary offensive skills if he can make enough contact. Power needs to play to profile in RF. Unlikely to have defensive ability for CF, putting more pressure on the bat. Relative Risk: High. Sort of a boom or bust type that could be a power hitting corner outfielder or be stuck in no-man’s land with a ton of swing and miss. Draft Projection: Potential to go as high as the middle of the first round. Athleticism, physicality and power potential make him intriguing and unusual for a high school player. http://baseballprospectnation.com/2012/05/...ney-hawkins-of/ Very strange his power's (his biggest asset) 30/60 and speed is a 50? Well, yet another detailed take on him. Jeff Manto can fix him, lol.

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_...54&c_id=mlb With Buxton, Hawkins and DJ Davis, those three guys are going to be compared over and over again throughout their progressions in the minors. Praying he ends up more like Kemp and less than the Padres' Donovan Tate who has fallen all the way to the #22 prospect in their system in 3 short years. Still, all things considered, you prefer to go with the guy (if you have to choose between speed and power) who has the ability to put the ball in the seats at USCF. Plus, we already have DeAza, Mitchell and Walker for the near future in terms of leadoff hitting possibilities. And it's hard not to see that video and think of Don Cooper's reaction, haha. Imagine having two outfield arms like that in Viciedo and Hawkins, with DeAza or possibly Mitchell in between them. Exciting. More exciting for a fan than yet another college pitcher, although surely most would have been excited had Appel fallen 4 more picks.

Raw in the "art" of hitting, Hawkins nevertheless possesses explosive bat speed and power to spare. Hawkins' speed is only average, but he profiles as an asset on defense. Still only 18, however, Hawkins will likely spend many years on the farm before arriving in "The Show." Power is a popular tool. We talked about it yesterday with Adam Brett Walker, but today we'll talk about it with Courtney Hawkins. I don't mean that to say that Hawkins has Walker's power, because he doesn't. Yet, Hawkins is a right handed power hitting outfielder in his own right. Plus, he's great athlete that is currently capable of playing center field, but his 6-2, 210 pound body will likely cause him to grow into a corner spot, which isn't a problem since he has an above average arm that will allow him to play in right. Hawkins is a busy man at the plate. I mean that as he has a lot of pre-swing movement including very busy hands. His swing is pretty complex with a lot of movement. He has starts out with a wide base and toe taps into a narrow base before stepping back into a wide base. We all know the issues with timing from the toe touch, but because of the size of step after his toe touch, he often times can lunge instead of stepping. That's an issue against quality off-speed pitches. It works for him now because it gets some more out of his legs for power at times, but more often he ends up out of balance. That's the bad news. The good news is that he's improved his pitch recognition and some other things at the plate to reduce his bad swings and improve his hitting ability. That's why he's shot up draft boards as he projects to hit for a much better average with above average power. If things just don't work out, he's a prospect on the mound as well due to a low 90's fastball and a slider that peaks your interest. Floor As with any other HS prospect, it's pretty low. He's got the power and he has the athleticism, but he still may not hit. Scouts feel better than they did about his ability to hit in pro ball, but he'll still strikeout on a good breaking ball. That leaves his floor as a corner outfielder that hits his fair share of bombs but just doesn't create enough contact to ever make it out of the minors. Think of a guy like Colin DeLome Ceiling The better you feel about his ability to stay in center, the better you see his ceiling. He's signed on at University of Texas to be a CF and plays it now, but they aren't professional level. He'll swipe his share of bags, and he'll play solid defense, mostly because of a strong and accurate arm. His ceiling is probably of that of a .280 hitter with around 25-30 home runs. http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2012/5/31/305...of-carrol-hs-tx As far as the ceiling thing, 25-30 is pretty conservative. It's pretty easy to have your opinion changed...coming into this season, would never have though Viciedo would approach 30 homers. Most would have predicted 20-25 with solid RBI production (at least for this season) and been quite happy with that. So we're seeing 25-30, 30-35, 35+ HR totals being thrown out, lots of different numbers but they don't mean a heckuva lot right now.

At least TheHammer is a cool name, lol. Armon Gilliam.

Raw in the "art" of hitting, Hawkins nevertheless possesses explosive bat speed and power to spare. Hawkins' speed is only average, but he profiles as an asset on defense. Still only 18, however, Hawkins will likely spend many years on the farm before arriving in "The Show." Power is a popular tool. We talked about it yesterday with Adam Brett Walker, but today we'll talk about it with Courtney Hawkins. I don't mean that to say that Hawkins has Walker's power, because he doesn't. Yet, Hawkins is a right handed power hitting outfielder in his own right. Plus, he's great athlete that is currently capable of playing center field, but his 6-2, 210 pound body will likely cause him to grow into a corner spot, which isn't a problem since he has an above average arm that will allow him to play in right. Hawkins is a busy man at the plate. I mean that as he has a lot of pre-swing movement including very busy hands. His swing is pretty complex with a lot of movement. He has starts out with a wide base and toe taps into a narrow base before stepping back into a wide base. We all know the issues with timing from the toe touch, but because of the size of step after his toe touch, he often times can lunge instead of stepping. That's an issue against quality off-speed pitches. It works for him now because it gets some more out of his legs for power at times, but more often he ends up out of balance. That's the bad news. The good news is that he's improved his pitch recognition and some other things at the plate to reduce his bad swings and improve his hitting ability. That's why he's shot up draft boards as he projects to hit for a much better average with above average power. If things just don't work out, he's a prospect on the mound as well due to a low 90's fastball and a slider that peaks your interest. Floor As with any other HS prospect, it's pretty low. He's got the power and he has the athleticism, but he still may not hit. Scouts feel better than they did about his ability to hit in pro ball, but he'll still strikeout on a good breaking ball. That leaves his floor as a corner outfielder that hits his fair share of bombs but just doesn't create enough contact to ever make it out of the minors. Think of a guy like Colin DeLome Ceiling The better you feel about his ability to stay in center, the better you see his ceiling. He's signed on at University of Texas to be a CF and plays it now, but they aren't professional level. He'll swipe his share of bags, and he'll play solid defense, mostly because of a strong and accurate arm. His ceiling is probably of that of a .280 hitter with around 25-30 home runs. http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2012/5/31/305...of-carrol-hs-tx

Interesting we're seeing some reports that his speed is just so-so (comparatively) and that he's bound for RF...this last one, the rival Texas high school coach is speaking highly of his speed and his whole overall skillset. Sounds like we just got Soler, but for a WHOLE lot less money. At least, that's one way of looking at it. And we picked a guy who was slotted to go 9-12 in most pre-draft accounts, rather than a college pitcher we were reaching for who belong in the last third of the round but was picked due to easy signability. Does anyone have a time to 1B? 1B to 3B? 1B to home? Salivating imagining Viciedo, Mitchell and Hawkins in the same outfield. Or DeAza.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 06:05 PM) Heaney off the board. I don't really like Wacha, other then I can make comments like Wacha Wacha. Sounds like Shakira's World Cup song, that could easily be his theme music.

I'm sure the Twins don't like the Donovan Tate comparisons. They've had a number of similar players in their system in Span, Ben Revere and Aaron Hicks. Obviously, Buxton's pure upside is higher at this point. Seems those high school toolsy players are the ones who disappoint the most...but at least the Twins are being realistic in their idea of trying to take the best player available rather than looking at quicker fix college pitching.

As it stands, baseball's solution to the imbalance the draft causes for successful small-market teams is called the Competitive Balance Lottery. It will take place July 16 and offer six picks for the 2013 draft after the first round ends and six more following the second round – all of which are tradeable. In theory it's a good concept. Its deficiencies keep it from being anything more than a glorified food stamp for the poor. "It's a band-aid," one GM from a high-revenue team admitted. It's tough to take something claiming competitive balance altogether seriously when it includes a team that, according to Forbes, finished with the fifth-highest revenues in baseball last year. Because the St. Louis Cardinals play in one of the 10 smallest markets in baseball, they're included in the lottery. Nobody would mistake the Cardinals for a small-market team – even when they don't win the World Series, they're among the top 10 in annual revenues – but they've got a better chance this year of winning a draft pick than impoverished Tampa Bay, which parlayed superb drafting into a roster that teems with talent. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/new-draft-bon...-1-percent.html

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 09:53 AM) completely agree. this team has been successful because of that terrifying 3-4 punch we've got now that we also have a leadoff man who gets on base. our success is due to: De Aza Paulie Dunn Peavy Sale without any one of those guys, we don't have the badass record we do now. Without Viciedo and Beckham firing on all cyclinders, we're not talking about a 14-2 run and first place, either.

QUOTE (Wedge @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 09:50 AM) Let's put it this way, Youkalis has been scuffling by his standards this year: .245/.322/.402/.724 with an OPS+ of 95. But contrast that to the production we're getting at 3B: Morel: .177/.225/.195/.420, OPS+: 16 Hudson: .184/.295/.289/.585, OPS+: 60 Escobar: .178/.275/.244/.519, OPS+: 43 Even a scuffling Youkalis is an enormous upgrade. And if Youkalis can get healthy enough to replicate his worst, non-rookie season (2006), you'd get .279/.381/.429/.810, OPS+: 106. You're talking about shoring up our only real hole with a guy who in bad years is an all star bat and in good years is a fringe MVP candidate. If the rotation stays healthy, adding Youkalis makes this team a real WS contender. And Boston's going to give him up to a team they might meet in the playoffs JUST for salary relief? It won't be THAT easy. And it's going to take more than just exchanging the Thornton and Youkilis contracts.

No more OSU players. Josh Fields didn't turn out so well. Go with Stroman and roll the dice with the higher upside guy. Or Hawkins...just someone exciting and somewhat interesting, please!

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 08:47 AM) How in God's name is that man not an A+ considering you have De Aza and Sale as A+'s? Hell, he would probably be the AL MVP if the season ended today. DeAza was actually better statistically last year (especially OPS/power), but he's been more consistent this year and has supplied a number of "clutch" hits. On the other hand, his defense was very shaky during that 3-11 stretch that knocked us back. Not an A+, but an A-/A.

Konerko is the beloved franchise hero. Dunn was nearly booed out of the city last year and has the "Thome" tag around him...no matter what he does offensively, everyone will always focus on his K's. I don't think anyone is wishing we had Kotsay/Andruw Jones as our DH again. For as bad as Alex Rios has been for MOST of his time here, that he's putting up "decent" numbers (at least coming somewhat closer to earning what he's being paid, compared to 2009 and 2011) and is rewarded with a B, I'm just not getting that newfound love for him.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 09:19 AM) I would say Beckham is probably a C+ at this point as well. If he hits 20 homers this season, I'll be ecstatic, and he's on pace for 24. Still the BA is not where you want it. If we did this a week ago, Dunn's definitely closer to an A and Beckham's a clear C/D. Using the expectations card again, and not comparing him to the "potential" he showed in 2009 and some of 2010, you'd have to be ecstatic (well, maybe that's not QUITE the right word) very pleased with his results and upward trendline since his insertion into the 2 spot. But clearly the assumption would be that Beckham ends up at least in that .260-.280 range by season's end.

Did you really expect Gordon Beckham to have a 700+ OPS at this point in the season? I'd give him a B or B-, at worst, taking into consideration his defense, especially. If you throw in that homer against the Angeles that Vernon Wells robbed, he'd be sitting in the 725 range, which isn't far off from 2009. I don't think you can realistically "expect" 800+ OPS numbers out of Gordon, but anything in the 725-750 range is great and we'll take it and run with it. Dunn is B/B- as well, particularly when you take into consideration very very uncertain expectations. We always knew he was going to K a lot, but he's won a number of key games for us, he's earned his money so far this year. If Rios is a B, then Dunn has to be one as well because Dunn is killing Rios in the OPS department. Humber should be a C or at worst a C-, because, once again, expectations couldn't have been THAT great, particularly because of the way he faded down the stretch in 2011. Assuming Danks has been injured, he probably deserves a C-. Nobody expected him to be a #1 starter, he's being paid like a #2, but that's not completely on Danks, nobody forced KW to give him that type of money. With his velocity down by 2 MPH, you had to feel there was something wrong and that he was trying to pitch through it. Maybe an incomplete and we'll see much better results when he's 100% (hopefully). And you're being too hard on Wil Ohman...if Stewart's a C, then Ohman definitely has to be, because he's being used incorrectly against RHBers and not primarily as a LOOGY.

The Yankees had a bottom 4 of Swisher, Andruw Jones, Jayson Nix and Chris Stewart a couple of days ago. Also have Boone Logan, David Aarsdsma and Freddy Garcia. We know the pitching names...enough to compete for the any division with Sale, Hudson, Gio, McCarthy, Richard, Harrell, etc. It's the position players we've always had great difficulty developing, especially this last half decade. Unless you count Viciedo and Alexei, it's very bleak. Beckham might end up being a keeper after all, and that would be huge. And DeAza's kind of like a "found" lost prospect, too.

With studios taking a big cut of every ticket sold, the only fixed income a theater owner can count on is his concessions. In the past, the studio cut, while always a hurdle, could be offset by a film with legs that would stay in theaters for weeks and weeks, with exhibs taking home a greater percentage the longer it remained onscreens. But these days, studios are pressing to shrink the release window to bring in ancillary coin more quickly. "With a good theater, you look to have 10% profit at the end of the year," says Jon Goldstein of Highlight Investments, which oversees seven theaters via its stake in Emagine entertainment. And while National Assn. of Theater Owners director of media and research Patrick Corcoran says those who buy concessions do so regularly, reportedly fewer than half of patrons buy anything other than a ticket. "Without those sales, you'd have to cover your expenses with a higher ticket price," Corcoran says. Indeed, theater owners have a particular amount of overhead that needs to be covered by concessions, no matter the number of people who go to the stand. "All the people who say 'I bring my own food,' well, that's great, but you're causing the people around you to shoulder the burden of the cost of the business," Goldstein says. "I don't like that model, because you're punishing your best customers." Getting most of theatergoers to regularly buy popcorn and Raisinets in the lobby is a concern of Craig Chapin, CEO of Allure Global Solutions, a provider of digital signage and other software. He says theater owners need to accent the positives of stopping by the concession stand by using signage that shows customers how many points they've accumulated when they swipe their loyalty cards. "We're in a very unique space of being a single-visit, dual-transaction business," Chapin says, referring to box office and concessions as the two primary purchases of the moviegoing experience. "How do you have a cohesive message? The people who are doing it best are the ones thinking about (moviegoing) as one congruent model." Goldstein sees a solution in a one-price model, by charging each patron $15 for admission and unlimited concessions. It didn't fly, he says, because the studios stepped in. "When they see 'bundling,' they want their percentage from that one price," he says. Theater owners who redefine the movie experience may have more luck hitting building a better revenue model, but franchises like Brooklyn's Rerun Gastropub Theater or the Alamo Drafthouse (which recently announced plans to expand into New York City) are more restaurant than moviehouse. The percentage profit may be higher in such places, but they have bigger staffs and higher expenses. AMC Entertainment, too, which was just acquired for a record-setting $2.6 billion by Chinese investor Dalian Wanda, is looking to delve into the wine-and-dine sector -- and the company's latest cash infusion will make that easier. Cinemark has also made forays into the movie tavern approach, with varying degrees of success.Then there's the luxury theater market. Chains like Arclight and Landmark offer reserved seating, a retail connection (books, memorabilia) and memberships. Tim League, founder and CEO of Alamo Drafthouse, says that while that model can work, those houses are just as reliant on the success of the industry as bigger chains. "It's dangerous to press concession and box office prices up to the point where you're getting a significant number of your customers who find it untenable," he says. "The reality is that the overall industry has to be healthy, even for us who offer alternatives." Increasingly, filmgoing alternatives include renting out empty theaters midweek for group meetings or special events. Many theater owners are expanding their programming to include more than just movies, adding streamed performances of concerts, sports, town hall meetings, rotary gatherings and even giving individuals the ability to program -- and pre-pay for -- screenings via Tugg.com's crowdsourcing approach. For his part, Joe Paletta, CEO of Spotlight Theaters, says he has aimed to make the exhib a "community meeting place," not just a space for movies.But success really boils down to showing a film that's so good customers don't notice how much it costs to go, and those don't come around every week. Once customers pay attention to prices, increasingly, they're opting out. "It's a very delicate balancing act to get to the price point where we sense that the customer is getting value for what they're buying," Paletta says. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118054907/ Thinking outside of the box here... 1) Ticket bundling (all you can eat, parking) could definitely work in some seating sections as an option or alternative. It won't work in theatres because the film distributors want a portion of the profit from the food sales as well, but that wouldn't be true for most major league baseball stadiums. 2) Developing the ballpark more to draw attendance year-round through events like hockey games, football games, concerts, community events. This doesn't seem to work nearly as well on the SouthSide as for Wrigley. 3) They've always had the restaurant and luxury suites, so there's not much more they can do for the "wine and dine" crowd. 4) Maybe something more with "exclusive membership" packages for children and adults....for the Bulls/Sox academy, stadium tours, picnic in the park, fireworks shows, concerts, I don't know.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Jun 3, 2012 -> 11:57 PM) Just what the White Sox need, another f***ing right handed pitcher. One can't assume that Gavin Floyd will be around next year, so a RHP pitcher isn't the WORST idea in the world. Humber's far from a sure thing at this point in time. And we're going to have to replace Jake Peavy, so it makes sense. Or our pitching prospects, Quintana is first in line right now, and he's another lefty. Castro and Molina are the best prospects, and they're still at least half a season away or more...and far from sure things. We don't want another Honel, McCulloch or Broadway, but we DO need a mid-rotation guy. And one's confidence in Molina being a 1-2-3 caliber of starter hasn't exactly been elevated in April and May.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/new-draft-bon...-1-percent.html And here's a great follow-up/companion piece by Jeff Passan. As it applies specifically to the White Sox, it definitely will enhance our position vis a vis the Tigers, who threw a huge bonus at Porcello, for example. Not that Rick has become anything resembling a staff ace, YET. Looks like the international free agent draft will be in 2014, and that $3.2 million per team will be available (for signing international free agents) instead of the previously reported $2.9 million. And the Cardinals being included in the "small market" teams list for bonus picks that's supposed to help level the playing field...or the Brewers (?), that's a complete joke.

In the last five years, the White Sox spent only $18.3 million on the draft, the lowest total among the 30 teams and almost $34 million less than the Pirates, who have been the biggest spenders. That's the biggest reason that the Sox have a farm system that doesn't get much love from national analysts. "The draft is the biggest bargain in talent acquisition,'' Baseball America's Jim Callis said on WSCR-AM 670 last week. "If you're willing to spend $10 million a year, you can compete with anybody. I just don't believe Jerry Reinsdorf believes in paying amateur players.'' Callis said he'll be watching to see if the White Sox opt to spend their full allotment in the draft, as they spent only $2.8 million last year. "I'll believe the White Sox aren't going to be the cheapest team in the draft when I see it,'' Callis said. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...,2830493.column Does make one wonder why they took those huge risks (comparatively) on Borchard and Viciedo...? Those two big bets seem to be the exception to the rule and represent $15.3 million in Sox investment/s.

Not unlike Cowley after his twitter barrage. Hopefully lessons are being learned by the media, but it doesn't always seem like it. "That will never happen to me!" Until it does.