Ozzie Ball

Today is Max Pentecost, top true catcher in the class.

Nick Gordon draft preview. Top SS prospect in the '14 class. Son of Tom Gordon, brother of Dodgers SS Dee Gordon.

QUOTE (Lillian @ May 30, 2014 -> 11:42 PM) It would really be nice to have a hard throwing rhp in the rotation to compliment Sale's lefty slider. Rodon is too similar. So, how soon could an 18 year old Kolek be expected to make it to the Majors? Is it completely unrealistic to think 2016, at 20? Aiken is the one who could possibly move through the system that quickly due to how polished his arsenal/command is. But even for him it's probably very unlikely. Kolek needs a lot more work on his change/command, even the breaking ball(s), so he would ceratinly need more time than that. Also I'd be thrilled to have 2 Chris Sale's atop the Sox rotation. Handedness be damned.

Today is Jeff Hoffman.

Today's preview is of Aaron Nola

Today's preview is of the top bat in the draft class Alex Jackson.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ May 28, 2014 -> 06:58 PM) My preferred way of doing this: 1) Kolek at slot or below, pick back otherwise 2) Aiken at slot or below, pick back otherwise 3) Hoffman way under slot, and go with overslot guys from then on This way we get SP with upside at the top and money to spend elsewhere. Kolek would look wonderful in this farm and on the mound in a Sox uniform & hopefully there are enough questions to get him to slip to #3, because on talent I think he's the #1 with Aiken close behind him. No way do I deal with Borass, but I guess I wouldn't mind drafting Rodon & playing the Hoffman game where you cap it at slot or below and take overslot guys throughout, and then when the window on Rodon starts to close, if he looks unsignable, you make a last minute push and offer Rodon's bonus money to a bunch of overslot guys in the later rounds, and go with the numbers & plan on getting that pick back. You can't do this. If you don't sign the #1 pick you lose the bonus amount assigned to that pick and then receive a compensation pick the following year.

Micah Johnson has been much better than I was expecting. Possibly Carlos Sanchez who I was very down on, though his .377 BABIP and career worst 20.2 K% don't point towards his production being sustainable. The uptick in BB% is nice though. Adam Engel's contact rate has been very disappointing. I liked him a lot. Semien has been a big disappointment. I was hoping/expecting him to take the reigns at 2B and never look back. Had some concerns about Davidson's K's, but could have never expected him to be this bad. Same for EJ, who could have predicted his diminishing velocity? I was somewhat hopeful that Trayce could put it all together this year. Was very encouraged by his improved K% last year and hoped it would carry into '14 along with a return to his normal power level. Rather it's been the K% that returned to normal and the power has been worse. Unfortunately more of these are on the negative side than positive.

Today's draft preview is Tyler Kolek. Tomorrow will be Alex Jackson, followed by Aaron Nola and Jeff Hoffman.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/prospect-wa...angeup-artists/ Some positives/negatives. The report on his changeup alone boosts his prospect status in my mind. I would still say he's not overly exciting to me, but he is at least a prospect worth monitoring.

Next up for the FutureSox draft preview is Brady Aiken.

Ben Badler links the Sox to Dominican SS Amado Nunez, calling him their #1 offensive target, with an expected price tag of around $1m. Says he is an offensively minded SS that will likely outgrow the position. Projectable power. Currently he's 16, measuring 6'2", 175. He also reiterates the Huscar Ynoa to Sox rumor. http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...arias-and-more/

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 22, 2014 -> 03:14 PM) BA (Ben Badler) now has Sox as favorite to land Huascar Ynoa (RHP, DR), their #9 prospect for 7/2. Article behind paywall. It is good to read but he's more joining the dots... Sox have money + are not linked with anyone else + KW/Hahn have scouted Ynoa = favourites. Hopefully it happens though.

The first of our 2014 MLB Draft content is up with a preview of Carlos Rodon. There will be an individual post for each of the top 6 or 7 prospects plus a "dark horse" type post. Hope you enjoy! http://www.chicagonow.com/future-sox/2014/...w-carlos-rodon/

Jordan Guerrero 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO Has thrown at least 2 innings in each of his last 4 appearances while pitching on a starters schedule. Similar to how Danish was handled last year. Wouldn't be surprised if he's in the rotaion later this year, or to start next year. 14 K in 13.2 IP this year with just 2 BB. Pretty good 1.78 GO/AO too. Much better vs. RHH than LHH, which likely points to the effectiveness of his change. I like.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ May 19, 2014 -> 02:23 PM) LOL at freaking out about a 19 year old's A+ ball debut. He will be fine. In which he had a 9.0 K/9, 1.8 BB/9 and 8 GO/2 FO Maddness. If he keeps putting up numbers like that he will be very successful.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 15, 2014 -> 04:01 PM) This is the one guy the Sox have been linked to. Ben Badler ‏@BenBadler 36m Huascar Ynoa will pitch in an IPL showcase game today in front of hundreds of scouts. One of the top July 2 pitchers: http://bit.ly/1sJ0Yhz Small snippet from linked article: http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...hing-prospects/

Bold move. I love it. The worst situation would have been to have Keppinger taking playing time away from someone (anyone!) else.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ May 11, 2014 -> 12:35 AM) Still good to see Phegley doing well in AAA. Just launched a 2 run HR 3 in 4 games now.

Just noticed that Mitchell came out of the pen yesterday. He was originally scheduled to start. 3 BB/3 K in 2 IP. I wonder if that's a permanent thing. His control has been awful.

Ben Badler has had a few July 2 preview pieces up at BA over the past few days (both subscriber only) http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...al-bonus-pools/ http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...names-to-watch/ No names linked to the Sox yet. Badler says that the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays and Brewers are expected to overspend their allotted bonus pool, with the Yankees possibly spending as much as $15m.

QUOTE (winninguglyin83 @ May 8, 2014 -> 03:14 AM) agree with your picks. Only other guys I might have included for honorable mention are: Anderson Engel Dykstra. I like Engel as much as any, but he did not have a strong April. .243/.310/.388 with 8 BB/31 SO. He's been hot recently though, so hopefully he can keep that up and make the May list. Anderson not much better at .250/.278/.435 2 BB/27 SO.

QUOTE (raBBit @ May 8, 2014 -> 03:26 AM) I'd be interested to see where his velocity is at. I loved the pick when he was drafted. Yeah if he's back to the low 90's or better with an advanced change that is very interesting.

Jordan Guerrero continues doing good things: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K 11 K/1 BB in 8.2 IP on the year.

Quick take from Ben Badler: http://www.baseballamerica.com/chat/?1399426035