Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 08:21 PM) Only way Micah would crack the Top 100 prospect is if he continues to hit like this and gets promoted to AA by the end of the year, or if he flat out dominates AFL. Very rarely would you see a 23 year old player finishing A+ considered a Top 100 player. On a side note, it's tough to be Courtney Hawkins on some days. EDIT: Uh oh... Rangel Ravelo 2nd homerun in as many days. First off, Micah Johnson is only 22 years old, which is completely age appropriate for A+. If he does well the rest of the way, he'll likely spend most of 2014 in AA as a 23 year old. I think these age concerns are seriously overrated around here, especially now that he has been promoted. Again, he completely dominated the SAL while demonstrating a well-rounded offensive game. He's off to a strong start at A+ and if he can keep it up, then he would have passed both tests this year with flying colors. We're talking about a guy with elite SB skills, strong OBP ability, and decent power. Guys like that are very rare and will typically make top 100 prospect lists. I don't see why it's so far-fetched.

If this is the real Josh Phegley, then that's one less hole we'll have to fill this offseason. Hopefully he can keep this going, because he's been nothing short of incredible with the bat all year.

I think Micah is a top 5 prospect in our system. I get that he was old for the SAL, but he also flat-out dominated. Plus he has elite base-stealing ability that he's not going to suddenly lose when he moves up the system. I also think the defensive concerns are likely overblown, probably the victim of poor field condtions and trying to do too much, but I must admit I haven't seen him play. If he has a strong 2nd half in Winston-Salem, then I don't know how he's not a top 100 prospect in baseball. I just think offensively he's more than exceeded every challenge he's faced and I've yet to see a huge red flag with him that suggests the floor is going to completely fall from under him when he hits AA.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 05:52 PM) That is totally my rationale right now. Take a Carlos Sanchez for a example. Best case scenario for him is Jeff Keppinger. When you have a guy with a potential 70 power number, how can you not rank him ahead of a Sanchez, even if Sanchez is closer to the majors. I'm not sure that's a great comp for Sanchez, but I agree with you for the most part. I think Zapata has to be somewhere in the 10-15 range bare minimum.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 04:38 PM) I see Alexei as the opposite of Rios. He is probably disinterested, frustrated, and bored from being on a bad team. I'd bet money if he were traded to a contender, he'd be the type to go on a big time run, and you would see he defensive lapses disappear. Completely agree. Playing for a god-awful team or being on the trade block can affect a player's performance, but smart GMs know being part of a playoff race can revitalize a player and will take that into consideration when making deals.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 03:03 PM) This is a fallacy -- there are dozens of variables that are different now than back then. The two biggest are (1) the risk -- regardless of age, he is signed for 1.5 years with a team option now versus 5.5 before, and (2) the market -- he's the best OF available in a very thin market where there are more contenders and fewer sellers than ever before thanks to the second wild card. Thank you. And the cost of talent has increased significantly since we acquired Rios. Look what B.J. Upton got this past offseason and then forecast what OFs are likey to get in the near future when each team has an extra $25 million to work with. It's quite clear that Rios is now signed to below market terms and there's a ton of value in that.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 7, 2013 -> 03:39 PM) They flat out blew it starting him at W-S at 19. The Twins just moved Buxton up to high-A. Why? Because he earned it. While I agree with what you're saying, I don't think him starting at Winston-Salem is that big of a deal long-term. It's clear by his performance this season he needs to make significant adjustments and if can't make those over two years in high A (assuming he repeats in 2014) he was never going to make the pros anyways. Hopefully the taste of failure for the first time in his sports career will force him to be more open to change, because he has all the tools to be a legit superstar at the major league level.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 5, 2013 -> 08:22 AM) And yet the odds of Jordan Danks being a starting OFer for Opening Day 2014 are minimal, at best. If Hahn trades both Rios & De Aza and moves Viciedo to 1B (which I think is a terrible idea), then there's a decent chance Danks is starting for us in 2014. Replacing an entire outfield from outside the organization is unlikely to happen. Having said that, my guess for 2014 is that Viciedo remains in LF, we go out and sign one free agent outfielder (perhaps Granderson), and either we acquire a young OF as part of our selloff or Danks gets a job until Thompson is ready.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 4, 2013 -> 10:16 AM) I'd still be happy to save 1/2 of his contract for next year. Completely agree. Hopefully his hot month fools a GM or two and someone takes him off our hands for a decent amount of salary relief.

QUOTE (hammerhead johnson @ Jul 3, 2013 -> 01:30 PM) This is the best thread on this site by a very large margin. Futures squad: C: Wellington Castillo 1B: Anthony Rizzo 2B: Starlin Castro SS: Javier Baez 3B: Kris Bryant OF: Albert Almora OF: Jorge Soler OF: Eloy Jimenez Someone post one for the White Sox. No, I'm just kidding. Man, why did they have to sign Edwin Jackson? They could have put that money towards resigning Garza. Look at all that pitching!

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jul 3, 2013 -> 11:08 AM) Why don't you do some research before you question me on this. I don't come on this site and just spout off nonsense. Nor am I a Cubs fan. Even with their 2nd largest bonus pool, they could not sign all of the guys that they wanted. They traded for more bonus pool money. It is something that not many other teams did. That is how they found loopholes and exploited the market. I would have liked it if the Sox did something like this. These teams aren't just giving the Cubs their bonus pool money because Theo & Jed are so charming. They are trading away some of their bonus pool money instead of giving up another asset. I still don't see what loophole they are exploiting here.

I know it's a small thing, but English being Micker's first language should really help his transition to the states. Being able to communicate clearly and easily with the majority of the coaching staff, players, and everyday people will make his life so much easier and aid in his development.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jul 2, 2013 -> 10:39 PM) It's a big move. The new draft rules really hurt the style of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer. But when you hire those guys you do it because you trust that they will be able to find the new inefficiency in the market and exploit it at all costs. They have done so with these moves. Not all of these guys will pan out but when you invest this much on the top talent some of them are bound to hit. Are you Dan Berstein? What inefficiency have they exploited here? They had the second largest bonus pool because their team sucked balls last year. That reason alone gives them an edge with the top players. It doesn't make Theo & Jed genuises.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Jul 2, 2013 -> 04:50 PM) Agreed. At this point we might as well let Ventura finish this disaster of a season out though. If Hahn doesn't wake up soon and make some deals to beef up the farm, shed salary and position his team to be competitive in the next couple years- his job needs to be evaluated as well. The dude has done NOTHING. And signing a 16 year old kid still hasn't changed my view on Hahn. I think SoxTalk has reached a new low with this post. Hahn has been our GM for a total of 8 months. That's 1 offseason and 1/2 of a real season. The lack of patience on this board is beyond incredible. Can we at least wait until after the trade deadline before we start with these empty threats?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 1, 2013 -> 05:18 PM) Rios was pretty bad in June. As we all know, it could linger with him. I would be really surprised, especially if he doesn't pick it up soon, if you could get one of a team's top 5 prospects for him. I'm shocked if you honestly believe this. Baseball is a game of ups and downs and GMs aren't going to overreact to one bad month like Soxtalk does. Teams are actually scouting him and will know if his June struggles are cause for concern (which I don't think they are). More likely, teams will see a guy who can be a difference maker in their lineup. There won't be a lot of alternatives that will offer the upside Rios does, and most of those players will only be rentals. Also, Hunter Pence landed the Giants' #2 prospect last year, which is a pretty similar comp minus a year of team control.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 1, 2013 -> 05:09 PM) Worth stressing again...the White Sox also are not forced to move Rios. He will not break the bank next year and he could be a useful cog if the White Sox field a competitive team next year. There's no minor leaguer pushing him right now, the only reason why the Sox should trade him is if they get an offer that meets their price. Exactly. People seem to forget that most players moved at the deadline are about to enter free agency, which forces sellers to make certain trades no matter the market for their players. The Sox have all the leverage with Rios. If a team doesn't meet our asking price, we can hold on to him and either look to trade him in the offseason or simply enjoy the surplus value he'll likely provide in 2014. Contenders that are desperate for an OF right now don't have the luxury of time. If they're serious about being a World Series contender and Rios potentially puts them over the top, then these teams will have to seriously consider paying a premium for him. Most organizations are going to value winning a World Series above all else and will take a gamble if they feel they're close.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jul 1, 2013 -> 04:46 PM) This is one of the stupidest things I have ever read on this site. An .800 ops is an .800 ops. He is not being paid to be the guy either. He's being paid to hit a s***load of homers and walk a lot. Clutch is bulls*** by the way. It is a myth. Gotta disagree with you here. Not all OPSs are equal IMO. If two guys have equal OPS, I'll always take the guy who has the higher OBP rather than SLG. Also, walking a lot is great, but when you hit .200, it's going to be tough to get that OBP above .305, which is exactly what's happened this year for Dunn.

People need to look past typical player valuations when discussing deadline deals. If a team feels they're one player from being a legit World Series threat, more often than not they'll be willing to pay a premium to get that player. With the new wild card rules, we now have even more buyers and less sellers than we normally would, which only increases the amount of teams willing to pay such a premium. Rios is going to be one of the few impact bats available at the deadline, at a position of need for many contenders. He's also under team control for 2 1/2 seasons at below market rates. He should be one of the most valuable players at the deadline and there's a very good chance IMO tha someone will be willing to offer something stupid for him.

QUOTE (Noonskadoodle @ Jun 30, 2013 -> 01:14 AM) It just came down to him or Q for me & with Santiagos ability to move to the bullpen I figured I would keep Q in the rotation. Just don't like 4 lefties in the rotation. But ehhh what's it matter?...None of have a clue what's gonna happen Call me crazy, but if you don't like 4 lefties in the rotation, I'd seriously consider trading Quintana right now for a crazy package. I know everyone is down on Danks at the moment, but part of me thinks him not being 100% may force him to learn how to actually pitch and help him in the future. Also, even if you could move him right now, it's going to be a simple salary dump. I'm not necessarily against that idea, but at some point you can have all the money in the world and not enough players to make smart investments in. Unlike Danks, I think we might be able to get a crazy package for Quintana. He's young, cheap, left-handed, and has a ton of service time left. He's also currently 40th overall in pitcher's WAR. If we can get a package built around two high-upside position prospects close to the majors along with a couple A ball wild cards I think I'd have to do that deal. And even if you dealt Quintana & Peavy, you'd still have a rotation or Sale, Danks, Santiago, Johnson, & Axelrod. I'd probably look into free agency for an upgrade over Axelrod, but at least you have a nice foundation (assuming Danks comes back 100% next year) to start your rebuild with.

Caulfield has accounted for 52% of the posts in this thread. I think it's safe to say he loves his Puig.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 29, 2013 -> 06:59 PM) Who are you going to play at 2B then, if Keppinger's traded? Tyler Greene or Angel Sanchez? I guess it doesn't really matter anymore, though. It's hard to say right now because we don't know what we'll be getting back for guys. I've got to believe Hahn will be targeting position players close to ready with his big pieces. If you get a middle infielder, then that's your answer. Otherwise, Greene & Sanchez become real possibilities.

QUOTE (Noonskadoodle @ Jun 29, 2013 -> 06:52 PM) Beck possibly sliding to the SS position? I would like to see him move over there for a bit & see how he performs if Lexi is moved. This is what I see happening. I really think Alexei will get moved prior to the deadline and Beckham will get a couple months at SS to see if can handle it.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 29, 2013 -> 10:20 AM) BTW, we're currently in position for the 4th draft pick. If Milwaukee wins and we lose today, 3rd. Going to be hard to get into that first or second position, though. Agree, let's get first place and likely second out of our thoughts. Third would be a nice consolation prize though.

I doubt many players have been converted to pitchers at the major league level.

QUOTE (MEANS @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 10:15 PM) f***ing beer cut off after first inning.....WTF?!?!? Honestly, if fans can't enjoy a few beers while watching this garbage; then the White Sox don't deserve anyone showing up.