caulfield12

56 pitches through 2. Gutting it out so far...not sure how long it can last, though.

Two out runs this inning. 26 pitches already.

White Sox and Guardians tied for third worst in majors with 50 stolen bases allowed...ouch.

Off to a promising start. Watching LAD at TB. Texas @ Baltimore and SD @ NYY also interesting matchups.

It’s happening! Walk highlights. Next thing you know, James Beard will miraculously crack the Top 250 list. In all seriousness…is there any chance in a million years Tatum can play RF if Colas flops? Because he looks like more of a CF/LF type from highlights. Great, he sounds exactly like a cross between Luis Polonia and Benintendi…lol. Middle paragraph pretty much par for the course with the way the last 2 years of Sox baseball have gone. “Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 45 | Run: 65 | Arm: 40 | Field: 55 | Overall: 40 Tatum spent his first three seasons at North Carolina State as a part-time player, then hit .317/.423/.543 with 12 homers and 16 steals as the Wolfpack reached the College World Series semifinals in 2021. He hit a massive home run to beat Jack Leiter and Vanderbilt, 1-0, in Omaha shortly before the White Sox made him a 16th-round pick. He played just 42 games in his first full season because he drew a 50-game suspension after testing positive for amphetamines, and an ankle injury limited him to just six contests in the Arizona Fall League. Tatum collected just 600 at-bats in the past five years between college and the Minors, so he has more untapped potential at the plate than most 23-year-olds. He has a quick left-handed swing and a willingness to work counts and draw walks, but he also strikes out way too much (30 percent of his plate appearance in his first two pro seasons), puts the ball on the ground far too often (28 percent) and uses the opposite field almost to a fault. He has enough bat speed and wiry strength to produce at least 15 homers per season but will need to turn on and lift more pitches to get there. With his well-above-average speed, Tatum is dangerous on the bases and covers plenty of ground in center field. His below-average arm is playable in center and left but limits his usefulness in right. His speed and defense could help make him a useful fourth outfielder if he doesn't provide enough offense to be a regular.”

Handily or right-handedly???? That’s what got Clevinger and McGwire into trouble.

Only rivaled by Call, Fisher, Steele Walker, Basabe, Lu Gon, Adolfo (biggest concern for that offseason was losing him), Rutherford, etc.

https://www.mlb.com/news/terrell-tatum-eyeing-big-league-chance You can pretty much guarantee that every single legit minor league prospect is going to get a shout out soon. Not sure where this kid fits if it’s not RF. Would certainly be better off with him playing LF from the second half of 2024 onwards if the goal is to save as much money as possible again…if someone will take at least half of Benintendi’s salary or more optimistically 65-70%. https://www.milb.com/player/jonathan-cannon-686563 Next one will be this guy for the rotation with the same mid to late 2024 timeline in mind…since Norge Vera seems about as far away from the bigs right now as Yosimar Cousin. Mena will be on the list with Thompson as well…since Martin has a long road to TJS recovery now.

https://www.mlb.com/news/eduardo-rodriguez-tigers-trade-candidate

Might as well add Conforto to the list along with Gallo… https://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy-baseball-waiver-wire-top-players-to-add-streamers-to-target-153750915.html “Conforto brings a slugging component to outfield group in this article, having reclaimed his power stroke by hitting seven homers this month. This is the perfect time to grab the 30-year-old, as he has long fared best against right-handers and is scheduled to face righty starters in eight of his next nine games.” Even though he’s more expensive per year, the two year timeline was perfect…and the White Sox really could have used that $39 million they won’t have in 2025/26/27 due to the much larger overall commitment to Benintendi.

Then you can pretty much say the same for Moncada because of 2019…and another OBP dependent/defense-first season. Not to mention long Covid. And $24 and $25 million price tags in 2024/25. But I will play along. We would be better off this year with Leury because he can play everywhere on the field at least fairly competently and the odds of him being overexposed would be greatly diminished. Instead, that sunk cost went in the direction of Alberto and Andrus, but nothing has been solved at all long-term.

Leury Garcia in all likelihood .

You’re deliberately leaving 2018 out where he had 2.6. We’re not talking someone making even a fraction of Moncada money here. What happens when we do the same with Benintendi over his last 3-4 seasons and don’t just focus on his time last year playing a complementary role on an absolutely loaded Yankees’ team? You get more pricey Hahn misjudgements. Hahn was way wrong on Pollock (coming off 3.0), way wrong on Benintendi…and yes, I would have taken Odor over Andrus/Sosa because the White Sox batting order can barely handle one rookie in Colas playing, let alone too.

Then fWAR is completely pointless if one believes players like Eloy are of equal value...simply because even if he puts up Yordan Alvarez numbers, everything else in his game will almost completely negate those offensive positives. I mean, you could make the same type of argument that Burger has been just as impactful (ONLY on offense) when he's had opportunities these last two seasons.

Have you ever watched him throw? It's just like Pollock over there over again...except Eloy is 3-5x likelier to get hurt and certainly more likely to injure Luis Robert inadvertently. Is it really a brilliant idea to have the likes of Eloy Sheets and Vaughn so close to completely screwing up one of the most important players in the AL Central (in terms of value to his franchise) with yet another injury?

The thing with Odor is that prior to last season, he was worth 2.6 1.0 and 1.3 in full seasons. Only 29 and gives you multiple infield positions and likely at least a 1-1.5 fWAR season for a very affordable price. I know the bar should be closer to 2-2.5, but those players are much more expensive to sign in FA or trade for. What you can't do is be at NEGATIVE fWAR at so many positions. Virtually nobody thought Andrus would come close to a repeat, especially at a totally different position than where he's played his entire career. And that would be a one year band aid solution at best to surround the core of your rebuild with.

Boston StL Atlanta Texas Houston Cincy... all come to mind as well. Cubs' fans with Fukudome.

2-3 would be more than enough. 5 tools you're talking maybe 25-30 players across the entire sport... Luis Robert obviously for the Sox.

Quality depth, is more accurate. Andrus, Romy, Erick Gonzalez, probably Sosa would be fourth option but it would be a stretch. Starting to appreciate Danny Mendick's versatility more and more. Same with Leury.

Morel has been unreal since he was recalled. Top Ten NL MVP race, arguably. Nowhere for Madrigal with all of Morel and Hoerner and Swanson on the roster.

Gallo has been one of the best bargains...and not a long-term commitment, either.

Luis Robert and the Cardinals the one exception. Konerko taking less money from the Sox, as well.

I bought a bunch of his baseball cards directly from Japan...so PROFIT, lol.

Ironic that LAD went to scout Fulmer at Vandy and ended up even more impressed with Walker Buehler.

At the very least, you need to see what you have in Carlos Perez for at least three months of 40-50% playing time. They already know everything there is to know about Zavala.