Ozzie Ball

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ May 13, 2008 -> 08:15 PM) I agree, but I don't see KW going positional first because it makes too much sense. If we did go for position, Tim Beckham is a guy who comes to immediate mind. I don't like Gordon much because he seems like the typical Sox hitter. Mash or nothing. His swing gets long, but when he connects, he could get power. His best case scenario is Adam Dunn IMHO at SS. Thing is he seems to be getting bigger and he might have to move to 3B. Now if we didn't have any 3-4 hitters, I'd say he'd be a nice pick. Posey would be an excellent pick. He's AJ Pierzynski (good years) with an arm. I disagree with that, I think G. Beckham will stay at short and projects to hit for power and average in the Majors, I don't think he's he's an all or nothing type hitter. I think he'd be the perfect pick for us, an impact bat at a premium position and while he might not project to be a gold glover he should be an adequate defensive SS.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ May 13, 2008 -> 08:10 PM) I don't follow the draft too closely yet, but that list looks terrible. Crow at 24? That's because it is terrible, Skipworth at 30, the Beckhams, Posey in the second, it's a terrible list.

QUOTE(JoeCoolMan24 @ Jan 18, 2008 -> 02:55 AM) I hope he starts in AA, and can make it up to AAA by the end of the season. Then hopefully make the team by 2009-2010. I think it would be a mistake to rush him. I would be happy if he spent most, if not all of next season in A ball and just worked on his secondary stuff because if he gets his slider and change-up to a good level he could be a great pitcher, however, if you're throwing him into the minors with just his fastball and below average slider/change-up there's a good chance he'll get rocked.

Ok these are just bits directly from the chat: On Omogrosso: Omogrosso is defintely a prospect. He's got the build of a big-league pitcher, and can run his fastball up into the mid '90s at times. He had a great slider before his surgery at Indiana State, and has never quite gotten that back. The Sox were excited about the progress he made with his changeup last season, which they hope will make him effective against left-handed-hitters, who have been his downfall. He'll almost certainly be at Birmingham, either as a starter or reliever. His greatest upside could be as closer or a set-up man. It's not out of the question he gets to Chicago in 2008. On Kent Gerst: If Gerst turned out to be only a poor man's Ellsbury that would be something. Speed is definitely his best asset. I think the Sox are waiting to see if he can develop as a hitter. Even with his speed, he had only one extra-base hit every 25 at-bats last season at Bristol, which isn't going to cut it. He will compete for a job in the outfield at Kannapolis in spring training. On Griffith: Griffith ranked somewhere in the 20-25 range for the book. He's a kid with a mid-90s fastball but has some command issues. The White Sox have made some changes in his delivery, essentially trying to make it more repeatable by shortening his stride a little bit. He should have a good shot to start for Kannapolis but might benefit from quieter development in extended spring training. On Rick Brooks: Brooks move to the bullpen can't hurt his chances to get to the big leagues. He had solid numbers as a reliever at Winston-Salem and can open eyes if he gets to Birmingham and continues to get results. He would have less of a distance to cover than Ehren Wasserman, who was the Sox's minor-league success story of 2007. On Francisco Hernandez: It's too early to give up on a catcher who is above-average defensively, as is Hernandez, but his development has been slow. He seemed to regain his confidence when he was bumped back for a fourth year at Kannapolis, but it's time for him to show he can handle better pitching in 2008. He'll probably open at Winston-Salem but should hope he's not there all season, as it's time for him to start climbing the ladder. He did well in a limited opportunity with Estrellas in the Dominican Republic this winter, which is a good sign. I do think he has a chance to be a big-league regular, but he needs to hit better to make that happen. It helps his chances that he's a switch hitter. On Po-Yu Lin: Lin is from Taiwan. He received a significant bonus from the Sox ($300,000, I think) but has not showed the kind of stuff that projects to prolonged success. I'm not sure he ever makes it to Double-A. On Sergio Miranda: He is an excellent, fundamentally rock-solid fielder and a switch hitter who has always known the strike zone and been able to fight off tough pitches. I think the Sox stumbled into something really good with their 13th round pick for him. He slid in the draft because he is under-sized and not really toolsy (limited power, speed). But I think he is a ballplayer, and the system doesn't have enough of those. He was thrown into the fire in Kannapolis and played well there, which should give him a chance to open 2008 at Winston-Salem. I think he could develop into a No. 2 type hitter and an incredibly popular player. On Christian Marrero: He is somewhere around 14-15, and is considered a very projectable hitter. The question is whether he moves to first base or stays in the outfield. He seems to be a favorite of many in the front office. On Matt Long: Matt Long right now is a disappointment. He hasn't developed and didn't show the expected velocity in 2007. On Sergio Morales: Morales is in that stack of low-minors outfielders with potential. He did very well coming out of Broward J.C. I'd look for him to play alongside Martinez in Kannapolis at the start of 2008. Those two guys could push each other for years, which would be fun. On Lucas Harrell: Harrell could easily project into a big-league rotation. He was a workout room standout during his recovery from elbow surgery and was throwing low-90s sinkers and a plus changeup in the Instructional League. His slider is a bit of a work in progress but the overall package could play well in Chicago. In 2006, he held hitters to an average below .200 betwee high-A and double-A.

QUOTE(Vance Law @ Jan 14, 2008 -> 07:50 PM) Is anybody a subscriber and able to summarize anything interesting from the chat with Phil Rogers? There's not been that many interesting bits, he's choosing to answer the same questions over and over but once it's done i'll try any summarise any points of interest.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 14, 2008 -> 06:58 PM) And I have a really hard time putting a 16-year-old in the Top 10. I wonder how much BA actually knows about the kid. Here's part of his scout report: They say he has the highest ceiling in the system but he may end up out growing short. I'm getting the ever growing feeling that Phil Rogers has no idea what he's talking about, I understand he's probably not a draft expert but even still, just now in the BA chat he came out with this gem: Danks would have been an excellent name for the White Sox with their second round pick (if they still had it) but unless he starts showing some signs that he can and will hit for power there's no way he's a top 10 pick.

Around the christmas period I imagine activity on the site must be down Ok, I'll have a bash at this: 1. Fautino de los Santos- Good velocity on the FB which he can maintain into the late innings, a plus slider, has the highest ceiling of anyone in our system, change up still needs some work and control is not always there. 2. Gio Gonzalez- Outside chance of reaching the team out of ST, three pitch arsenal incuding one of the best curve balls in the minors, also has a solid fastball and change up. He was able to maintain his performance throughout the season and did not wear down like last year. Big improvement in his BB/9 and HR/9 rates which were big knocks on him coming into the season. 3. Ryan Sweeney- Didn't improve at all this season but I still feel he can develop into a quality Major Leaguer, I agree with a previous poster that he was probably rushed through the system. Supposedly made an adjustment to his swing during the AFL and finished strong (possibly as a result). Needs to take a step forward next season and start hitting for some power. 4. Lance Broadway- I was impressed by what I saw from Lance in his start at the end of the season, control wasn't good during the season however and that will need to improve if he's to have success in the bigs. 5. Jose Martinez- Very projectable, decent speed although that will probably go as he starts to fill out his body, should hit for good power as he matures and progresses. 6. Jack Egbert- Great numbers throughout his pro career, he's never going to be an ace but has the potential to be a solid #4. When your home ballpark is the Cell you can never have too many extreme ground ball pitchers like Egbert 7. John Shelby- Good athlete, has shown ability to hit for power, albeit as a 21/22 year old in Low-A ball, has shown good speed also. Haven't heard rave reviews about his defense and a move from 2nd to the outfield would affect his future value. 8. Aaron Poreda- Fastball has good velocity with lot's of sink and is his only plus pitch to this point, if he can develop his seconday pitches he could be great however I've not read anything so far that says he's going to be able to do that. Injuries this early into his career are a big concern. 9. Sergio Miranda- Very little power but appears to have a good on base ability. 10. Kent Gerst- Heard good things about him and not just from Mr. Employee171, size could be an issue but has plus speed and is a potential leadoff guy. 11. Sergio Morales 12. Alexi Ramirez 13. Francisco Hernandez 14. Kyle McCulloch 15. John Ely 16. Chris Getz 17. Adam Russell 18. Nevin Griffith 19. Oneli Perez 20. Lucas Harrell (numbers are meaningless from here as I'm just listing guys I think have potential, numbers were probably pointless from about 11 onwards) 21. Justin Edwards 22. Brian Omogrosso 23. Kanekoa Texeira 24. Silveiro 25. Carlos Vasquez

QUOTE(The Beast @ Dec 25, 2007 -> 03:52 AM) Funny, if Boylan becomes the coach, then I will try and get tickets off of his daughter, Shaina, a volleyball player at my school, EIU. Gotta love that name drop. It's no problem though, I'll just get my tickets from my fellow British bud Luol (yes, Deng).

Would you be able to rank the players in the lower levels that you have seen? Also after reading your first post I was just wondering what you thought about an organisation like the Mets who seem to love rushing their players up through the system, personally I really can't see the benefit to it, when looking at Pelfrey for example, by rushing him through he didn't have any time to develop his breaking stuff and as a result only has two pitches. Supposedly they think that their most talented guys will benefit from the challenge of skipping levels and while I can see some sense in that it just seems to be a bit of an odd philosophy.

QUOTE(maggsmaggs @ Nov 11, 2007 -> 01:03 AM) I disagree with part of his rankings. One, Carter should be a four-star prospect. He has been young for every level at his age, has tremendous power (star-level power) and a solid eye at the plate. Not to mention, he can be a pretty good first baseman defensively. I think Carter is underrated. I would also bump Eggy to a three-star, though he does have the best stuff, some guys just know how to get it done and he does. That should at least count for something. I was always under the impression that Carter was a defensive liability and more of a DH in the making.

Hey, I was just wondering if anyone has any information on Mr. Harrell, what his injury was/is and if he'll be back for next season. Thanks.