Chicago White Sox

Oh I 100% agree, it’s a very unique strategy whatever they are doing.

Why would they just offer them slot + remaining pool money for no reason? I think the only options are they offered more once they were a few picks away to scare off the teams in front of them or the players themselves simply demanded x money up front or they’d be going back to colleges. I lean towards the former not the latter.

I was going to tell you Shields is worth less than this, but I'd be ecstatic to get a player like this for Big Game James.

The need for people to write off prospects as quickly as possible is quite amazing. Before Moncada went down with his injury, the kid was incredibly productive (.868 OPS / wRC+ 140) and was top two in exit velocity. While there was BABIP luck fueling those numbers, the power was beyond legit. He was also one of the highest rated defenders at 2B and I believe the highest rated base-runner in all of baseball. To say he was flashing superstar potential would be a massive understatement. What has happened since then I’m not sure and clearly his overall game is suffering from him pressing on the offensive side, but I will never doubt a kid with this much ability. Maybe he never reaches his ceiling, but I’m going to give a lot more time to figure his shit out because we’ve already seen what it looks like when everything is clicking.

From what patc has said, I’m not sure the Achilles injuries will affect his offensive game much and that’s what makes him an interesting prospect. I still think he can be plenty valuable if the injuries prevent him from being at least serviceable at 3B.

So I was able to dive a little deeper into your claim that Jose Abreu has lost bat speed as he's aged & is now unable to catch up to fastballs. Below are some numbers (four seamer data only) I've pulled from Statcast and my underlying findings: 2018 represents Jose's highest average exit velocity on four seamers (since Statcast started) 2018 represents Jose's highest line drive % of balls in play on four seamers (since Statcast started) Jose is swinging more on four seamers this year, both inside & outside the zone Jose's batted balls in play are down a bit this year, entirely due to pitches outside the zone Jose's swinging K percentage is up a bit this year, far more significantly outside the zone Jose's HR numbers are relatively flat, but with some small improvement within the zone Jose's XBH numbers are up moderately, entirely due to improvement within the zone Jose's batter balls in play are up significantly against high velocity pitches, both within & outside the zone Jose's swinging K % is down significantly against high velocity pitches, both within & outside the zone Jose appears to be struggling with low velocity pitches within the zone & medium velocity pitches outside the zone I see no evidence to suggest a substantial drop-off in bat speed or that his ability to catch-up to fastballs has been impacted

Thank you. Sheets could be a total flop, but he did hit 21 HRs for Wake Forrest his junior year. There is reason to hope the game power eventually materializes with a wooden bat.

Getz has already stated this.

Why Stevenson?

I fully expect more power than that.

I don’t think the people pining for Omar to be our next manager don’t realize how big into small ball he is. He has his guys hunting & running wild.

I really like Hansen, but I could see it happening. Kopech is going nowhere, the org seems super high on Cease now, and Dunning probably has the highest floor in the ceiling if healthy. I could see Hansen being the odd man out if they can add a cost controlled star.

Why wouldn’t he be fully healthy and why would you want to trade him?

Lol...are you actually suggesting 22 is old for High A? Regardless, a 12% BB rate & a 16% K rate is pretty good for a guy with 70 grade raw power. Maybe elite was too strong of a word, but the kid has demonstrated plus plate discipline no matter how you slice it.

Stephens collapsing in the 4th.

I know a lot of people are down on Sheets because of the lack of power (and rightfully so), but I remain cautiously optimistic due to the elite plate discipline. We all know the raw power is there, the Sox development people just need to find a way for Gavin to tap into it.

Dancing around the data? You couldn't even respond to my post that included Statcast metrics that suggests he's a better hitter in 2018 & 2017 than he was in 2016 & 2015. How do you explain that exactly, especially the 2018 results? I'm looking into your points above and will respond later tonight.

You still haven’t addressed the points / questions in my recent post. Still think you’re misinterpreting that statistic and drawing incorrect conclusions.

Smith battled but you’re 100% spot on with this.

Off the right center fence.

And like that Jason jinxed it.

Alright Moncada, let’s knock Timmy in here bud!

100% agree. I’d much rather see the velocity return at this point than the command.

I'm still skeptical of your theory and how you're using that pitch value metric. I was hoping to find exit velocity by pitch type, but unfortunately Brooks Baseball doesn't have that info available for recent years. However, I fully disagree with your idea that he's trending down as a hitter. So far in 2018, he has the highest exit velocity & hard hit % since Statcast data became available (so only excluding his rookie season) along with the 2nd highest barrel % in this time period. More importantly, this year he's putting up his highest xwOBA during this time period, which is far more similar to his 2017 production than his 2016 & 2015 output. So if he's somehow losing bat speed (which I still haven't seen proof of), he must be making huge strides in his ability to recognize & do damage against offspeed pitches & breaking balls because the Statcast data suggests he's an improving hitter. Again, I think you're misusing the pitch value statistic based on Fangraph's disclaimers below. From what I can tell, the statistic measures absolute production against a certain pitch and NOT ability against a pitch. If Jose were to get more heaters out of the zone and not swing at them, his pitch value for the four seamer would naturally go down. That does NOT mean his bat speed has decreased or that he's replacement level against fastballs. And given how much damage he did against fastballs his first two years, it's only natural to assume pitchers would stop challenging Jose with fastballs in the zone and use offspead or breaking balls against him when they're in a pinch.

Again, how do you know pitchers are simply no longer challenging Jose with fastballs and throwing more heaters out of the zone? When he came to the states, he was rumored to have “slider” bat speed and quickly put that theory to bed. I’m still skeptical you are using these numbers appropriately. Also, I’m not sure where you came up with the idea he’s seeing more and more fastballs, as that’s simply not true, at least in terms of 4 seamers which your stats are based on.