Chicago White Sox

Damn, there is that HoT FiRe ?!

Awesome! I threw this out there yesterday as an idea if Avi were to miss time. Here's how I would like to see the lineups shake out: vs. RHP vs. LHP 1. Moncada, 2B Anderson, SS 2. Sanchez, 3B Moncada, 2B 3. Abreu, 1B Abreu, 1B 4. Delmonico, LF Davidson, DH 5. Davidson, DH Castillo, C 6. Palka, RF Delmonico, LF 7. Anderson, SS Thompson, RF 8. Castillo, C Sanchez, 3B 9. Thompson, CF Engel, CF

I’m suggesting they may prioritize other needs because of those guys. That may very well be a dumb suggestion, just throwing it out there because I’m bored and would love to somehow add Machado.

Great post Jimmy. I’ve been ragging on Collins quite a bit lately, but that has more to do with approach at the plate right now than doubting his ability. I fully believe he can be a valuable major league contributor despite a low BA if he can stick at catcher defensively. The key though is making sure he’s swinging enough and hitting the ball hard when he does, because it’s the mix of power & OBP that will make or break his offensive game. From what I’ve seen this year he’s been far too selective, passing on hittable pitches and getting himself behind in counts. When he gets behind and going into protect mode, the contact has been very weak. While he’s obviously been unlucky, his BABIP should probably be on the low end of the spectrum. The good news from what I can tell (and I’m no expert), but this is all approach based and can be fixed. Way too early to write him off as the package of tools / skills are there to be a very valuable player. He just needs to figure his shit out.

Just thinking about this, but does the Yankees having an IF of Gregorious, Torres, & Andujar change their desire to add Machado to a record breaking contract? If so, who else would be serious threats to add him?

Thanks for sharing. This probably isn't the place for it, but if we were to draft Madrigal I don't think moving Moncada off 2B is a serious option now. I know for a while people were tempted to play him in CF, but he's simply too good of a defender at 2B to consider such a change. And 3B would be a waste of his incredible range IMO. Therefore, Madrigal would have to steal the SS job from Anderson or be trade bait.

I think he'll be up after a couple more starts. Right now he's at 26 high A starts, he won't make more than 30. Kid is clearly ready for AA.

I agree with this take. If Hansen were 100% healthy right now I’d take him over Cease, but given the uncertainty over his injury I’d say it’s a toss up.

Some stats on Yoan so far this year: 19th in fWAR at 1.0 57th in wRC+ at 131 2nd in avg exit velocity 1st in base-running value 23rd in defensive value This kid is already a fucking monster and will only get better if he can cut that K rate down a bit.

Can someone more stats savvy provide a summary of Moncada’s defense? I’d love to hear what the advanced metrics actually say. He’s looked fantastic in the field to me, but the eye test obviously has its flaws. Part of the reason I ask is to see if his defensive value is sustainable. Right now he’s on pace for an 8 WAR season and I’m just curious how much of that (if at all) is driven by flukey defense. I hope the answer is it hasn’t, because if that’s the case the kid will blow everyone expectations for 2017 out of the water.

Just let us know what we can do to make your SoxTalk experience more enjoyable for you Joe. Would hate for you to have to skip two or three posts in this giant 20 post thread. And obviously pointing out significant flaws with Collins’ game that several of us have witnessed by actually watching him play this year must constitute as b****ing. Don’t worry Joe, no one will share feedback like this anymore to avoid any further HoT fIrE rips from yourself.

Am I crazy or is Fulmer our 2nd best starter right now? Lopez > Fulmer > Shields > Giolito > MiGo

Remember when Chris Beck was a top 10 prospect, good god those were some dark days.

We can only hope. So far your Tatis obsession has definitely been a quality jinx this year.

Can Skole play the OF or RF for that matter?

Did that one fan who missed the catch get hit in the balls?

I’m not giving up on Collins yet, but he has to change his approach at the plate and be more aggressive. Zavala has really impressed me though with the bat. Seems like he has a solid chance of being a good major league hitter. His path will obviously be much easier if he can stick at catcher.

Beef with some quality frames tonight.

He’ll get more of those calls with time.

Trayce in CF & Palka in RF? ?‍♂️

The frustrating part to me is I just don’t see how anyone could see him being able to hit enough to be an everyday regular. He’s a far better defensive player than he’s shown (ignoring the noodle arm), but the bat is always going to be a compete joke.

Trayce Thompson is only our hope.

I knew that would work ?

Engel is two hitless/walkless at-bats away from his OPS dropping below .400. That still may be nearly double Jacob May’s OPS with us last year, but seems like he should suffer the same fate if Trayce shows any amount of ability.

Don’t worry about the HR Carson, just get the next guy out.