danman31

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jul 16, 2012 -> 05:52 PM) Yeah, this guy definitely sounds like another Dayan Viciedo with more glove, but less arm strength. OK, really guys stop. Viciedo signed for millions as a 18 year old compared to this guy signing for less than half a million at 16. Viciedo was a much better talent when signed and had elite bat speed. This guy has 'quick hands and power.' That's a big leap from elite bat speed. I'm not allowing any Viciedo comparisons for a 16 year old because quite simply there aren't that many talents like Viciedo.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 16, 2012 -> 01:55 PM) Sounds like Viciedo, minus the arm strength. Willl probably end up a corner OFer or DH, but the more raw but talented hitting prospects we have like this kid, Thompson, Barnum, Hawkins, the better off we'll be. The main difference is that Viciedo's bat speed was always raved about. I think I remember it being described as elite when the Sox signed him. By now you know he can hit balls that most Major Leaguers have no chance at.

Sox sign DR 3B Luis Castillo for $450k Sounds like a good power hitter. FYI, $450k would be early 3rd round slot or just a few picks ahead of where 3rd rounder Joey DeMichele was taken.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 16, 2012 -> 09:43 AM) Phegley's played there at least once, right? And was/is it bad memory or did Mitchell play in the AFL in 2009 after he was drafted? Phegley was in the AFL before. Mitchell made his comeback in the AFL in 2010.

You gotta keep in mind there are only so many players they can take below AA. It's either one or two per team. I bet Rienzo goes. Maybe if someone gets a late season promotion to AA that's a sign that the Sox want that player in the AFL.

Knights won 4-0 Castro 3 IP then pulled, but it's also his first start off the DL Barons @ Huntsville Arroyo Dash off Intimidators @ Greensboro Johnson Voyagers DH @ Idaho Falls: Game 1 - Parrent Bristol DH vs. Greeneville game 1 starts at 5

I'm not saying the SPL clubs should have let them remain in the league, but I think the SPL got knocked down a peg the second Rangers got liquidated. We've already seen the piss poor European showing of both clubs in recent years so I think the view of the SPL isn't going to change. I don't see Motherwell striking fear into many UCL sides.

Knights won 2-1 Barons won 12-5 Mitchell with 2 HR. Big days for Saladino and Wilkins. Dash won 2-0 Bassitt 4 IP in a staffed shutout. Intimidators lost 12-2 Walker 1-3, BB, K. DeMichele 0-4. Great Falls and Bristol both PPD

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 12:38 AM) Bullpen blows 2 saves and probably deserves a C- for the game, but we survived. I hate to hijack the Youkilis thread, but the bullpen gave up 3 runs in 9 innings and that's a C-? Is this some reverse curve we're grading on?

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 12:05 AM) Broadway lost us a game in KC once I was at that game.

QUOTE (southsidepride15 @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 10:42 PM) No. And is that a man or a woman? It's Cristiano Ronaldo and he is rocking some serious man boobs in a tight tee in that photo. I gave it a double take before recognizing him.

You Celtic fans can have a laugh at Rangers' expense, but to be honest this is a terrible thing for Scottish football, Celtic included. The state of the sport in that country already wasn't pretty, but this really hurts it. You think Celtic is going to be a destination for any sort of attractive players without the Old Firm derby 5+ times a year?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 04:03 PM) You're right, in a way. When's the last time that someone like Steve Nash, Jeremy Lin or John Stockton was compared to black guards? If you go back to the MLB draft website, 90% of the comparisons are with players of similar ethnic groups. Look at Viciedo. How many white players have we been comparing him to in all the discussions of him since he was acquired after 2008? I can't think of many, can anyone? I guess Brian Anderson was compared to Torii Hunter, but it was more the offensive numbers that KW projected for him...and perhaps the defensive side, but Anderson was nowhere as great as Hunter in his prime defensively (2000-2004) for the Twins. I think it's worse in baseball personally, but baseball is also a more diverse sport than most others.

I know we have at least a few Assassin's Creed fans on here. This demo video blew me away. Usually the story trailers get me excited for AC games, but this time around it's definitely the gameplay.

This is quite amazing. The Sox have signed over slot guys in the past, but having them come to terms with just about every pick is astonishing. What a change.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 12:39 PM) Well, they were all speedy/dynamic 2B prospects or "future starters" at one time or another. I could have gone Ruddy Yan to be really obscure. You failed to mention another thing all those players have in common. It's not racist, but comps of color/race are lazy.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 01:11 PM) WTF, his numbers are pretty decent. How are we just producing pen arms? The farm got criticized for having a lot of arms that looked destined for the bullpen (still seems to be the case for a number of current prospects), but in reality that's not so bad. Other than the stunning play out of Quintana and the unusual circumstances around Sale's draft selection, they haven't developed starters. Higher upside players (ie starters instead of relievers) grade out better with the prospect gurus so the system has always rated lower. That said, almost every pitching prospect the Sox had recently has had the stuff to be a good reliever. The Sox are very good at teaching control and mechanics and in recent years they've taken to drafting and acquiring big pitchers with big fastballs thinking they can refine the pitcher's stuff. Basically, they're taking advantage of what they do well and this is the result. Pretty cool, huh?

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 08:02 PM) Think the Sox will agressively push Walker up to W-S soon, or keep him in Kanny all year? He is 2/3 with a 2B, 3B right now. Batting .284 and a .400 OBP to go along with 39 SB. Only blemish is his K numbers still. 81 Ks which is around 27% K-rate. If you want to be picky he has little power. I don't see the need to rush him. There's less than 2 months left in the season anyway.

I don't think I agree that Saladino's floor is that high. What makes you think he's a lock to make the Majors?

QUOTE (The 815 @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 02:40 PM) Stuff-wise, whats the difference between Pedro Hernandez and Matthew Heidenreich? Both seem to be similar control type pitchers with Heide having a slightly better k/9 and h/9 while Hernandez has given up fewer home runs. Hernandez has struck out more guys in previous years. He struck out 43 in 41.1 IP in AA last year. Plus there's an assumption that the K numbers drop a notable amount for Heidenreich when he gets to AA since it does for most pitchers, especially ones with lower K rates.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 10:10 AM) Heiden is young, has put up good numbers, however, his overall stuff is relatively fringy. He is a lefty and he has seen some increases in velocity since joining the system (which is a plus). Heidenreich is a righty. QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 10:34 AM) I would perhaps even include Olacio in the bottom of the top 25 base on age and size alone, not to mention that his K rate is almost 1 per inning in Low A and Rookie ball as a true 18 year old starter. I don't get why people have ranked Saladino as low as 17. I think a lot of people have overlooked is his home and road split. The B Ham park is more of a pitchers park, his home OPS is an atrocious .588, but his road OPS is .908! His regression in hitting is more of his inability to adjust to a pitchers park rather his regressing as a hitter overall. He's actually hitting a lot better post all star break. Hitting 16 homers in the W-S hitter friendly park is definitely unstainable for him, but I think he also sacrificed some of his power to work the count, draw walks, get on base, and utilize his speed more often. He showed major improvement in that department this year. His regression as a hitter is overblown by some folks here. The kid just turned 23, provides average defense at SS. If SS doesn't work out for him, he will definitely be adequate at 2B. A middle infielder with potential for .800 OPS and ability to steal 30 bases would rank a lot higher than 17 in a system like this. I agree on both Olacio and Saladino. I had Olacio in my top 20 and Saladino as the No. 6 prospect in the system. Basically what you said about Saladino is my argument for keeping him in the top ten. The only stat that is suffering is the batting average. His K rate is actually quite good. Same could be said for Andy Wilkins, but I've had a harder time sticking up for a 1B than a middle infielder.

QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 02:37 AM) Is there a reason the last game/box thread was closed for the minor league games? Probably a misclick. There's a feature for the admins and mods where all you have to do to close/open a thread is to click the folder icon to the left of the thread title. Nothing intentional I assure you.

QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 02:38 AM) The Sox and Cards both always offered to pay for his college education at the beginning to the best of my knowledge. And that's usually automatic in a negotiation.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 10:25 PM) I haven't seen the post-AJP catcher in our system to this point, or I'm a long way from sold on any particular guy at any rate - maybe this is the guy. We gotta bring AJ back for two more years, no matter what. It's not for a lack of trying. Between trading for Flowers and drafting Phegley, Barraza, Ayala and Kevan Smith fairly highly they've gone after a lot of catchers in the hopes of finding the catcher of the future. Flowers and Phegley haven't exactly panned out. Throw in semi/former prospect Mike Blanke and Miguel Gonzalez and you have what once was the deepest position in the farm. Now...it's a bunch of maybes.

You should learn to spell his name if you're such a fan. I'm not really a believer yet, but we'll see. Garland already had 100 strong innings in AAA at 21 while Heidenreich just got to AA. I think that comparison flatters him a bit.