Y2Jimmy0

Some of it is timing, yes. I don't think Rutschman gets past Kansas City but I think Mike Elias goes HS. I read Astroball and he was the driving force behind drafting Carlos Correa when nobody else was really on him and then they saved $$ to spend on McCullers. Situation is obviously different in Baltimore but they are so far away. I could see them going with Witt or a diff HS guy for a discount and trying to import more talent into their system that better fits their organizational timeline.

I'm with you on this. I also just don't believe that Baltimore is definitely taking Rutschman.

I actually don't think they could have taken Tatum. If Boston thought that LAL would take Tatum, they would have just stayed at #1 and taken him instead of trading the pick to Philly. They made the trade because they knew they could get Tatum at #3

I've been echoing these sentiments about taking hitters as well but I have some caveats. If they are averse to taking a high schooler (they shouldn't be) then I would prefer Nick Lodolo to one of the 2nd tier college bats. If Vaughn/Adley are off the board, I hope they just take Bobby Witt. I also don't believe that Baltimore is locked on Rutschman though. I could see them under-slotting a high schooler at #1. Rutschman just doesnt make a ton of sense for their timeline and it doesn't really fit the path that I think Mike Elias desires.

Romy Gonzalez is injured and behind schedule. I was told it is a hamstring and he should join Kannapolis thereafter.

We are putting together affiliate rosters. Outfields should look like this at the outset: AAA Charlotte LF Nicky Delmonico CF Charlie Tilson RF Brandon Guyer/Preston Tucker AA Birmingham LF Blake Rutherford CF Luis Gonzalez RF Joel Booker Micker Adolfo (DH initially), Luis Alexander Basabe DL A+ Winston-Salem LF Craig Dedelow CF Luis Robert RF Tyler Frost Bench: Jordan George, Zach Remillard A- Kannapolis LF Alex Destino CF Steele Walker RF Logan Sowers OF Ian Dawkins

I don't think people understand the ceiling/floor argument. If he's an 8-10 HR guy with elite defense at SS, his ceiling is higher than utility guy.

I think that the Sox saw Steele Walker as a top 25-30 player on their board. They promised him $2 million to drop him down to their pick. That makes the most sense.

I'm assuming that they are going to overslot whichever college bat falls to #45

God I hope not. He's run producer. The #2 spot is perfect.

This is true. The beats have mentioned it and he caught Rodon throughout spring training

Okay? Kevan Smith is just a guy though. I don't really see the need for some greater meaning here. They had Castillo/Narvaez as a tandem with Zavala and Collins knocking on the door. I'm not sure why this is so hard to figure out.

Of course there were. But they likely didn't want to keep 4 catchers at the time. They also likely thought that Kevan Smith could be replaced if lost because he's 30 years old and extremely ordinary.

I think it's probably CF or 2B honestly. I'm not sure Abrams stays at SS

I'm not sure anyone does. Those moves aren't mutually exclusive though as I explained in this thread months ago. They needed Smith's roster spot to add Zavala. They weren't going to carry 4 catchers on the 40-man. They tried to sneak Smith through waivers with (Zavala, Castillo, Narvaez) on the 40-man. It didn't work and the Angels claimed him. Then the Sox got the opportunity to acquire a really good late inning reliever for 2 years in exchange for Narvaez (who isn't their long term answer at the position either). Losing Smith and adding McCann have nothing to do with each other. I didn't want McCann either. I preferred Martin Maldonado. That's a different argument though.

Thanks man. I appreciate it. We have talented writers over there.

Thanks. I understand those who are concerned and I don't disagree. I'm really trying to understand this from their perspective which is hard at times.

We are trying to put together the rosters at FutureSox. I've reached out to multiple people. It's not going well haha. I know that Sosa, Bush, Nunez, Zangari, Curbelo, Steele Walker, Pilkington, Stiever are all at Kannapolis though. Madrigal/Robert at W-S.

I think Basabe goes up to Charlotte when Robert goes to AA.

Birmingham should start with Gonzalez, Rutherford, Basabe (injured), Adolfo, Sheets, Rivera as the most interesting position players, yes. In the rotation it will likely be: Lambert, Flores, Medeiros. Tyler Johnson, Hunter Schryver and some AAA excess likely in the bullpen. All these close to ready relievers can't go to Charlotte

I would say Birmingham because they are loaded now and should receive Robert and Madrigal by early June

General consensus. He was mocked in the top 10 of those drafts that come out immediately after the current draft for the following year.

I wrote about this for today: http://www.chicagonow.com/future-sox/2019/03/white-sox-interested-in-22-year-old-cuban-ss-yolbert-sanchez/

I wrote about Yolbert Sanchez and what it would mean for the White Sox: http://www.chicagonow.com/future-sox/2019/03/white-sox-interested-in-22-year-old-cuban-ss-yolbert-sanchez/

At least Pilkington is left handed. They took Tyler Danish with a top 50 selection.