Chicago White Sox

I pointed this out, but Kay has been fine in May and there is reason to believe he can at least be a capable back of the rotation starter moving forward. And that is huge as it means there is only one blatant hole in the rotation right now.

Acuna goes whenever Hays is back.

I agree in terms of Rikuu being a guy you can cut bait on and not lose sleep if you were to lose him. I do think they will play him a similar amount as they did Kelenic though.

Gonzalez has been legit bad prior to this year. Don’t think it’s all that crazy to want to him to succeed for more than two months before calling him. If he can maintain his production, he will force the issue. Rikuu is simply a placeholder until a better LH presents itself.

Feels like we’ve eventually looking at the following: In => Nishada, Hayes, & Pereira Out => Acuna, Grichuk, & Kelenic IMO, Acuna is the one guy who definitely has to go. He brings some defensive versatility and speed, but is literally unplayable with the bat. I’m not optimistic Nishada’s game will translate to the majors, but he will provide a professional at-bat, gives you another option in the infield (really just 2B), and can serve as a pinch-runner. Ideally he’s used a role player who can start at 2B (or LF) against tough righties allowing Chase more rest. Long-term this spot probably goes to Jacob Gonzalez (or Bergolla), but right now Nishada is an upgrade over Acuna. The highlighted swap above still leaves you with a future OF crunch. Antonacci is a stud and the one guy who you can feel good about (developing defense not withstanding). IMO, Benintendi and Peters are the only other “safe” guys right now. While I eagerly await the day Andrew is gone, his bat is still around league average or slightly better against RHP and that plays at DH for the time being (Gonzalez could eventually push here as well). Meanwhile, Peters’ glove makes him a legit strong side platoon in CF even if the bat leaves a lot to be desired. That leaves a slog of RH outfielders (Hayes, Pereira, Grichuck, & Hill) and Kelenic for three total spots. I think there is a non-zero chance any of these guys could be DFAed in the coming weeks, but there are two who I think are more likely to stick than the other three. IMO, Hayes is the safest here for two reasons. First, they gave him $6M and I doubt they cut bait on that money this early. Second, while not great RHP, historically he’s not a true platoon guy. The other guy who I think has some roster staying power is Periera. They traded for him, he’s young & controllable, can fill-in in CF, and has the physical tools to be a potential regular. If it weren’t for health, he’d be with Peters & Benintend. That leaves one spot for Grichuk, Kelenic, & Hill. As many here know, I’ve been highly skeptical of Kelenic since the day he was signed. However, now that he’s up, I’ve also been willing to give him a bit of run to see if anything clicks before a better option comes along. That being said, I think I’m ready to cut bait even though his Statcast page shows a lot of red. His K rate of 50% over his last 11 games shows a player trending the wrong way and the defense leaves a lot to be desired. If the Sox feel Hayes & Pereira can handle the bulk of RF (at least until Braden is ready), then cutting Kelenic is a legitimate option. As for Hill vs. Grichuk, the decision becomes a bit harder to make and comes down to their broader role. Both are platoon guys who should only face LHP and both have been highly productive in such a capacity this year. However, Hill provides more “role player” value with his defense (including ability to play CF) and speed than Grichuk does. He also seems to be a big part of the clubhouse and I think cutting bait on him now would be risky. Sucks as both guys have earned their paychecks, but we can’t carry four RH outfielders and the tie goes to Hill for the reasons stated above. Cutting Grichuk is a move we may regret if Hayes or Periera can’t stay healthy, but think it’s right move to make at this time.

@Y2Jimmy0 - What this mean bro?

What happened?

For me, the issue was using two 40 man spots on Rule 5 guys without options while letting the Guardians get a chance to work their magic with Pallette who had options left. And honestly, I stand by the criticism, even if relatively small in the grand scheme of things.

Yes, it’s been absolute killer. At the same time, pitching can just suddenly click with the right tweaks, so always good to maintain faith with high talent arms. Just sucks that injuries are also a factor with two of the four above.

IMO, you really got to go the college route with the 1.01 and it really comes down to Roch as BPA or Lackey as best value for the overall draft (depending on how cheap he would be). Either way, there should be plenty of bonus to add some high ceiling preps in rounds 2 & 3. I get Emerson is a really strong talent, but can’t really see the argument for him over Roch. I don’t think anyone else is really an option as Lombard is way too risky for the 1.01. Regardless, I have full confidence in Shirley to come out of this draft with the most talent possible.

Fun fact….I own a Viciedo jersey! Thought he was going to be the real deal and bought one in my younger years. Who would have thought him and Tank Johnson on the Bears would have both flopped?

Imagine pushing “first black catcher in years” as a consideration with the 1.01 pick. We have officially jumped the shark here.

Did this just happen?

Acuna needs to go down for sure.

Ehh…don’t think I can agree here. He had three top 100 prospects in AAA plus Sandlin and some other arms. We also brought in Newcomb as a possible depth option. Injuries and backwards development have killed us this year.

Fedde is fucking garbage

Peters & Romo yes. I’d have Benintendi & Kelenic ahead of Meidroth for now.

I really like Peters. Long-term you want a bigger bat at the spot, but with his defense & speed he’s a competent nine hole hitter if the rest of the lineup is strong.

I can’t express how bummed I was when they Teel had his setback. This lineup is so much stronger with him in the 5th spot.

Meidroth will likely be the 10th man down the road who plays against LHP and fills in against RHP when a regular is down. Until then, play him most days, but zero reason that should be in the 5th spot.

That Meidroth bobblehead looks fire though

Fully agree!

Their ISO’s are roughly the same (15 points different), whereas their SLG are 89 points different largely in part due to batting average was my point. I haven’t seen any scouting grades that suggest radically different power.

Rodon has put up 23 career fWAR whereas the Aiken & Kolek never made AA…not sure how that’s a serious question. Also, Rodon not doing much until his last year should at least be partly blamed on the Sox’s lacking PD program. As for Lackey, I’m not sure his power is better than Roch’s…his SLG is simply better due to his batting average. What’s his experience playing CF? Seems like if you’re taking Lackey at 1.01, it’s because you believe he can be a plus defensive Catcher. I’m skeptical he’s an automatic plus CF due to athleticism.

But what are his numbers against Big 10 starters on Friday nights!! In all seriousness, the microanalysis is insane and oftentimes there is zero benchmarking done to put these random stats into perspective. Like of course a dude is going to perform worse against the best pitchers in college baseball and do better against the weaker ones. I also think there is an element of prospect fatigue at play here too. Reminds a bit of the Carlos Rodon draft where two teams got cute convinced themselves to go with HS pitchers instead of Carlos and almost immediately regretted it.