Chicago White Sox

lol…you hate breaking up seasons of rookies? Yes, let’s pretend that development is linear and only full season metrics matter for first year players. The best part is you said that you watched his first handful and that he didn’t get better, which is objectively not true.

What in the f***? Thorpe was a consensus top 70 prospect prior to TJS. And Burke struck out over 12 per 9 in final 10 appearances last year. Apparently he was fooling plenty of people during that stretch.

Median outcome may be #4 starters, but I think both Thorpe & Burke have higher ceilings than that. I can’t really comment on Kay, but regardless, my main point is it’s ridiculous to say these guys all “stink”.

Rest of year wasn’t any better for Burke vs. his first few starts? First 10: 6.19 K/9 | 5.06 BB/9 | 1.69 HR/9 | 6.14 FIP Middle 8: 8.59 K/9 | 2.86 BB/9 | 1.43 HR/9 | 4.32 FIP Last 10: 12.33 K/9 | 4.68 BB/9 | 1.49 K/9 | 4.17 FIP He flashed much better control during his middle eights starts along with a better K rate and then really ramped the K rate down the stretch. While the consistency wasn’t there, he flashed significant improvement as the year progressed. I really have no idea what you are talking about in regard to him. I have no idea what Kay is or will be, but he’s a mystery box that Bannister had a lot to do with and hopefully that means he won’t stink at minimum. Anyone saying otherwise without having scouted him in Japan is legit full of s%*#. The Thorpe hate is just straight bizarre to me. People on this site have basically declared he sucks because of lacking 4 seamer velocity and a couple of bad starts during his initial cup of coffee when he was clearly injured. Regardless, this is a kid with a 70 grade change up and 70 grade command who generated extremely weak contact in the minors. If his velocity jumps up a tick post TJS, this is a kid I believe can become a quality #3 starter.

Interesting. So a former consensus top 70 prospect stinks because of why? Did you actually watch Kay pitch in the NPB? And I guess Burke performing fairly well down the stretch is meaningless for reasons unknown.

Historically awful in what context?

You think Burke, Thorpe, & Kay stink?

Yeah, I don’t think we need to add 4 high leverage relievers to perform at a semi normalized level in one run games. Add veteran like Fairbanks, use Taylor more in high leverage situations, and hope for some better luck. We don’t an elite bullpen to not underperform our expected W-L record by 10 games.

Which is why I’m saying we should invest in a high leverage reliever.

Their expected W-L record last year was 70-92. If their performance in one run games normalizes, this is already a much better team than people are giving them credit for.

I fully expect Antonacci to push Chase for the 2B job at some point. Whether he succeeds in dethroning remains to be seen, but at minimum I expect him to be a key part of the infield mix within a couple of months. He’s another guy I feel like should end up getting some LF time too. All that being said, eventually two of Vargas, Meidroth, Antonacci, & Sosa will be on the bench, so infield depth should not be a problem for us.

I think there is a shot to be competitive next year. Would I put money on that happening? Hell no, but I don’t think it’s impossible. If we keep Robert, I think there is a real possibility our positional group will be league average or better. So many of the young guys found their stride in the second half of the season and I expect many of them to continue to grow. And if we can somehow get 90 bombs or so out of Colson, Robert, & Murakami, then there is a real chance this group can actually be good. The pitching is what gives me cause for concern. Smith is the only dude right now I feel confident in, but there are a lot of guys who could contribute next year. I still like Burke’s stuff and he performed well over his last 10 appearances. If healthy, I expect Thorpe to surprise at some point. He’s getting slept on way too much for a couple of bad outings before he went down with injury in his rookie year. I’m not quite sure why Martin’s K rate was so bad last year, but hopefully they can make some arsenal changes and get him right. Kay is a wild card but should provide innings at least. Then you have the wave of minor league that could (should) hit next year at some point in Schultz, Smith, & McDougle. How this group all comes together is hard for me to say right now, but the amount of talent increases the odds of a few of them out producing expectations next year. Another veteran SP couldn’t hurt, especially if they are willing to pay up for a mid tier guy. Finally, I do think we need to add a legit high leverage reliever to improve our chances. We were terrible in one run games and a better bullpen is perhaps the fastest way to add a few wins. Right now, the pen is filled with multi-inning guys (which isn’t necessarily bad), questionable lefties, and two Rule 5 guys. Someone that can anchor the 9th for us would help a ton. A more established lefty would also help, but I don’t see us adding more than one semi-expensive reliever at this juncture and with the number of guys already in place.

I think we’re stuck with him for at least half of this season. I do think at some point they might consider cutting him.

Pereira is worth a gamble as the weak side platoon partner for Baldwin in RF. No guarantee there obviously, but he’s the exact type of player we should be taking a chance on for that role. The others I’m unsure on. I think people here are writing off Mead way too early though. He’s another guy I feel could eventually rotate in at a few spots against LHP, but he’s very redundant with Sosa. If we keep Robert, then Hill doesn’t do much for me. I think Lee is fine as a backup catcher, but he won’t serve much purpose other than injury insurance. I do think Antonacci will be a key bench piece by the 2nd half of the season. And one of our corner OFs will likely he delegated to a reserve role once Braden comes up. With the versatility of certain guys, I feel ok about a learn bench. But to me, that is assuming Sosa is the 10th man and playing quite frequently.

I agree on Sosa, but don’t agree on Benintendi. He can’t field at all and has bat is basically league average at this point. I guess he could fit as a role player, but I’d rather go find a LF upgrade and cut ties altogether. Again, I just don’t see a great role for him if we are planning to use Quero as our primary DH.

Was just about to post this. This kid just wants to fucking hit bombs and win ballgames. And the fact he’s already making adjustments for the MLB is fucking impressive. I haven’t been this excited about a White Sox player in years.

Does anyone know how to watch the Murakami press conference?

Yup. We’ve had a lot of signings go to s%*#, but thinking a light power, bad defending LF was the final piece was just terrible process and the final gift from an incompetent Rick Hahn.

If you keep Quero, you have to give him consistent at-bats at DH when Teel is catching. As such, it really limits how much Benintendi can also DH. Something has to give there IMO or you have to accept shitty LF defense next season to ensure Quero’s bat can develop. As for Sosa, we now have four LH hitters in our lineup and one switch hitter who is far better from the LH side than that right side. Sosa as the 10th man who fills in at multiple spots (especially against LHP) can work. Meidroth being able to cover SS allows us to carry a non-traditional backup infielder like Sosa. Honestly, if he can learn some LF, he should be able to get plenty of playing time. It’s actually Mead who seems kind of pointless as the roster is currently constructed.

He’s last place in OOA for LF at -34 runs from 2023 to 2025. That’s out of 32 guys with 1,000+ innings at the position during that timeframe. And if I break his OAA down between range and arm, he’s still dead last in range at -22 runs. To illustrate how bad that is, the 5th worst is at -11 runs or half of how bad Benintendi is.

So do Sosa & Vargas though. Honestly, I need to see Quero impact the baseball more and hit less ground ball before I move him up above any of the other guys. If Meidroth can’t get his OBP to the levels I’m expecting (.370+. vs LHP), then he could eventually move down. But I want high OBPs in front of my best two power hitters against LHP in Sosa & Robert.

Zero chance I’m moving Robert anywhere below 4th in the lineup when he has a career 130 wRC+ vs. LHP. He’s got to be a top 4 hitter against LHP. I could see a strong argument batting him second though. That being said, I kind of like the idea of keeping him in the 4 hole regardless of pitcher handedness and letting him focus primarily on impacting the baseball rather than getting on-base. I could be convinced on swapping Montgomery & Murakami for sure. Whomever ends up better against LHP should be in the 5th hole IMO.

Last year yes, but I don’t believe he’ll ever replicate a .287 ISO again (his career avg against LHP is .134) and his defense is god awful. Candidly I don’t want him on team as I think he’s got a 1 win ceiling at this point in his career and gun to head I’m taking the under on that for sure.

He was very bad against LHP last year as a righty. Maybe that changes at some point in time, but Pereira is a natural partner for him.

Against LHP: 2B - Meidroth (R) 3B - Vargas (R) DH - Sosa (R) CF - Robert (R) SS - Montgomery (L) CA - Quero (S) 1B - Murakami (L) RF - Pereira (R) LF - Hill (R) And to be clear, I don’t love the idea of Hill on this roster, but I’m using Fangraphs’ 26 man projection as my basis of available players. As such, against LHP, our best LF option is Hill by default due to plus defense and a career 115 wRC+ against lefties (SSS).