Chicago White Sox

Well other than last year when he put up a 138. But I already called out his rookie season as being an outlier, just like his 2016 season. I also mentioned in this thread he’s probably somewhere between a 130 & 140 hitter. I just don’t agree with Balta that his poor June is reflective of a downward trend whereas I believe that his 2017 output (and not 2016) is a more accurate dipiction of his current ability.

Lol...what? 36% above league average is good not great? There are literally 24 qualified hitters in baseball above that threshold right now. Whatever dude, I’m not wasting any more time on this. I think you are completely off-base here if you think his 2016 season is reflective of anything.

Below are Jose’s stats for April/May of 2018, FY 2017, & his career averages: BB %: 6.6% / 5.2% / 6.4% K %: 18.0% / 17.6% / 19.3% BABIP: .331 / .330 / .332 ISO: .224 / .248 / .221 OPS: .882 / .906 / .873 wRC+: 140 / 138 / 136 Which stats suggest an unsustainable hot streak or a sudden aging? His BABIP good luck in May simply offset his bad luck in April. Again, I really think you’re reaching here. Jose looked really damn good those first couple months.

What? One month ago it didn’t look like an exception at all. You really need to pull his rookie season out of the equation as his droppoff the following year was due to the league adjusting to him, not some sort of aging curve. Other than the season he was dealing with personal issues and a bad June of this year, he’s been consistently in the 130 to 140 range for wRC+. You are really reaching here to create this aging curve narrative. Are you actually suggesting he just suddenly lost all his ability in June? If not, what elements of his production in April & May were outliers?

Dude put up a wRC+ of 140 in the first two months of the season (normally when he’s cold) and looked the part. Now he’s suddenly on an age trajectory because of one bad month? I’m convinced you’re a robot that doesn’t understand players have bad stretches and oftentimes will start pressing. I’m guessing being the one legit hitter in the lineup on a struggling team isn’t helping matters. Regardless, I don’t know why you keep bringing up 2016 as if that was somehow the beginning of a downward spiral. It was well documented that he was dealing with personal issues and completely rebounded in 2017, so your theory is pretty off there.

You keep looking at variables in isolation and jumping to crazy conclusions. First only velocity mattered and so Dunning was going to be a flop. Now it’s all about spin rate so Lopez will be AAAA fodder. How about both of these factors matter amongst many others like command & quality of secondary stuff. Pitching is a very complex process and it can’t be explained with one number. But let’s say it could, Fangraphs had Lopez’s fastball amongst the highest rated in the game earlier this season based on their pitch value calculations. From what I can tell, command and his changeup have been his biggest two problems this season. Those can improve with time, but obviously that requires patience. I just don’t understand the need to write him off so quickly. And I find it laughable you have more faith in Giolito thank Lopez, but that an argument for a different day.

Rutherford batted .380 in rookie ball with a 1.000+ OPS.

lol...yes, because front offices overreact to slumps as much as the common fan. Teams will pay for Abreu based on what they project out of him in the 2H of 2018 & 2019 and if they believe they’ll get a comp pick for him when he leaves. They’ll certaintly use the slump as leverage in negotiations, but that doesn’t change his actual value. For a guy who seems to understand baseball, your hatred for Jose Abreu is quite bizarre.

Wasn’t he easily the top AL 1B before cold streak? Who else would people vote for? There are no other household names in the AL. Also helps that Red Sox & Yankees don’t have stellar options.

Between fathom’s unwavering negativity & Parkman’s hot takes, I figured Lopez must of given up about 10 runs or so with 0 K’s. Then I check the box score and see he had a respectable start. And I get the box score doesn’t tell the whole story, but my god these game threads are brutal, way worse than usual IMO. It’s really apparent some people can’t deal with the highs & lows that come with developing young talent.

Vizquel has to platoon key prospects for those minor league wins!

I really hate how much they sit Rutherford.

That giant text is an update from Renteria on Dunning per Fegan. Maybe there is some reason for optimism?

Renteria said they considered it “a moderate strain,” and said they’re not too concerned but acknowledged Dunning needs to be re-evaluated

I did answer back with my opinion, which is that his opinion is unjust & ridiculous. If someone wants to argue that Moncada might not ever become a star then that’s fine. But calling him Dustin Ackley this early into career when he’s already flashed elite talent and has like a 3 WAR floor is just plain stupid. And no offense, you of all people should not tell people to take this too serious. You literally get worked up over everything.

Can we pin this post? Just want to make sure a few years from now we all remember the time someone said Moncada reminded them of Dustin Ackley because the kid hit a rough patch as a 23 year old before he even reached the 600 plate appearance mark.

This team is pressing right now and could really use a win right now.

I’m sure he felt awesome (relatively speaking) all night and I seriously doubt the bullpen allowing two inherited runners to score will change that.

Clarkin?

You’re reaching here bud 🙂

I assume that means it would have been him over Rutherford if true. Not sure if I would have preferred that or not pre injury. He was definitely an ascending talent at the time while Rutherford was cooling down a bit. Tough call.

🤯

Haven’t been able to watch, but did Giolito actually hit 96 MPH this game? I just checked the box score and saw that and couldn’t believe my eyes. That to me is super promising if true.

I’m glad that Rutherford & Adolfo will both get a full year in High A. The old development staff would have promoted these guys at the first sign of success, but I think we should be patient with them. Given their age, there is no reason to rush their timelines.

Good for him. As bad as this team is (and it’s really bad), they’re still playing like absolute shit. It’s a mix of sloppiness & guys pressing and that falls onto to Ricky. He’s got to keep this team both loose & focused and he’s failed in that regard.