Chicago White Sox

We’ll see if this works! Go Sox!!

Great post. The best front offices are always going to balance scouting with analytics to make the best decision making possible. When data sets are limited, like when evaluating young players during their first major league season, scouting becomes even more important.

Oh I agree it’s a huge long shot. But all it takes is one GM to do something crazy. We all remember the Shelby Miller trade. It’s the exact reason everyone should always be available because you just don’t know when someone will do something a little bit crazy unless you are listening.

Regarding the major league players, this is what development looks like. You seem to think if a guy comes up & doesn’t dominate from the start he’s destined to flop. These guys are still learning and it’s these adjustments at the major league level that are the hardest. But oftentimes things will just finally click and these young guys will make massive leaps. You really need to give this rebuild more time before jumping to conclusions on the timeline.

Come on, can’t expect Hahn to give up the secret sauce to prospect development!

About half dozen young pitchers throughout the organization have made comments about Shields helping them with pitches, preparation, etc.

I mean, this is a site that gave KenWo a platform to write opinion pieces.

NBCSC is definitely overly optimistic, but given how this season has gone that can be a good thing at times.

Ugh, either call them up by August 1st or keep them down until April 15th of next year. Choose a path and stick with it.

NBCsportsChicago does a nice job with their coverage.

POTY. SSS is really, really bad without Margulas. And it seems like SoxMachine has less articles and more pointless podcasts. Thank god for James Fegan.

I don’t think there will be 40 man roster problems this offseason and I’m fairly confident Hamilton will be on the team early next year if not sooner. He doesn’t have much left to prove in the minors.

I just don’t think playing service time games with relievers is necessary. I’d get him up this year and let him start developing into a back-end of the pen anchor.

Looks like I was off on Vieira lol. At least I got the Danish & Volstad pieces right although not together.

Which is totally fine if teams don't value him as a controllable TOR right now. But if a team is offering up a haul for him right now, take the prospects and run. We can always use the acquired prospects (or the depth it creates) to land a TOR starter when the time is right (hopefully prior to the 2020 season).

What if we get pieces that can help us in 2020 though? I really don't think it's as simple as you're making it out to be. Rodon is still a bit of a wild-card, especially with his health issues over the past couple seasons. I understand there's a split of whether Mejia can stick at catcher, but if you believe he can, we just filled out biggest organizational question mark with an elite talent and can reallocate potential resources to the rotation.

I mean, yeah that would work. And I'm probably off-base on Riley. I thought he had much more proficient swing & miss issues but that does not appear to be the case. He could definitely be the positional centerpiece of a deal.

You'd really keep Rodon if you thought our first legit year of being competitive was 2021? Is one year of a TOR starter (assuming that's what he is) really worth the opportunity cost of forgoing a Quintana like pacakge (if we could get it)?

No, it's a very fair question and honestly it's probably a bit early to jump to that conclusion. I guess I thought he just looked different in his last start. Very good pace from start to finish, much better composure on the mound, consistently getting ahead of hitters, & using the changeup more frequently. Seemed like a different guy out there, although that's really the smallest of sample sizes.

I would love to add Riley, but he's not a good enough centerpiece IMO.

Rodon has three years of control. Saying he fits the window is very debatable. Furthermore, he's had a mess of injury issues over the past few years. If I can get Quintana like package for him, I'm taking that to the bank and running. We have almost unlimited financial resources in the coming years and no reason we can't add a veteran starter to partially offset his production in the short-run. Having said all that, I would need to be blown away to move him. Otherwise, let's hope he can stay healthy and anchor our staff for the next three years.

Which prospect?

Why is that sobering? Burdi & Hamilton are elite relief prospects. And despite showing much power, Sheets is still a talented 1B prospect in his first full year of professional baseball. I might put him before Sheets, but overall I think his ranking makes a lot of sense.

I guess I’m less concerned with left-handed hitters showing platoon splits in the minors, especially one who hasn’t been able to focus solely on his offensive game.

I was just reading BA’s write-up on him from their pre-season top 30 and it kind of got me down on him. His lack of speed is a bit concerning for a middle infield prospect.