royoung

QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 02:02 PM) Agreed on Ravelo. I was hopeuful for a nice power outbreak this year and it looked like it may be coming in April, but he's back to normal again now. Ravelo's ISO per month: April- .242 May- .105 June- ..075 Overall- .143 I do like Ravelo and hold some hope for future power, but he's borderline top 10 right now at best for me. In a weak system, I think he's solidly in the top 8 for me, even without the power numbers. He's young for AA, and he's hitting .295/.398/.427 there. His ceiling would be a poor man's Eric Hosmer, which is just fine with me.

Chris (KC) Do you think Bukauskas will sign? How about Montes de Oca? Klaw (2:05 PM) No to both. I think the WSox took BMdO as a backup plan in case Rodon doesn't sign - offer the kid a million bucks and make him turn it down. If that was the plan, I don't think many people would be consoled by Bryce Montes de Oca if we miss on Rodon.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 11:15 AM) I never wanted to do either thing. Hey I didn't either! We are rational fans!

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 11:14 AM) I agree overall, and I don't think there's a great chance that he's back, but completely ruling it out at this point seems premature. Agreed and Ravelo just turned 22 and still hasn't hit for the type of power you would want out of a full time 1B/DH type. So even if Dunn is back on a 1-2 year deal, it's no big deal. Ravelo isn't the type of prospect where you HAVE to make room for him on the major league roster.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 10:40 AM) Konerko definitely won't anyways. We'll see what happens with Dunn. I think it's funny that a few months ago people were screaming for us to cut Dunn, guys have countdowns on their profile until his contract ends, etc and now we want to extend him. I love that he's having a nice season, but he will be 35 next year, doesn't exactly fit into our future/core plans.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 10:48 PM) But can he catch or play LF? He rules the world from 1B. Dunn and Konerko aren't going to be around next year.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 01:11 PM) I think a lot of Sox fans are underplaying the type of prospect Dylan Cease is. His stock fell of a bit right before the draft but this guy was once considered a surefire 1st rounder. I don't love the Cubs strategy and would have taken Nola or Jackson #4, but I wouldn't be surprised if it works for them. I know Epstein has became a rag doll of sorts recently, but he's always been great in the draft. Originally I scoffed at what they did, but after thinking about it, it makes a lot of sense. It's basically playing the system and increasing your odds of hitting on more quality prospects. While I love the Sox first two picks, it seems like it was a bunch of "meh" after that, especially since it seems highly unlikely we sign Montes de Oca. If Rodon and Adams hit their ceiling nobody will care of course, but just seems like a lot riding on those two arms. I am looking forward to seeing the Cubs and Sox 2014 draft class develop.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/06/marl...yler-kolek.html Very interesting to see what total he signs at. I am guessing it's going to fall lower than Aiken's 6.5. If it's less then 6 million, I would think it would help us with Rodon's negotiations.

I figured this was as good a place to put this considering it's concerning our prospect rankings. Keith Law wrote an article titled "Five teams with new no. 1 prospects" and naturally we were one of them. His write up is below: http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/mlb-draft/...ts?refresh=true "Chicago White Sox: Carlos Rodon, LHP The White Sox's top two prospects coming into 2014, Erik Johnson and Matt Davidson, have disappointed thus far. (Johnson has also lost eligibility for the list by passing the 50-inning threshold.) That makes the top of their list muddled. There's Courtney Hawkins, who is having a strong second go with Winston-Salem of the high-Class A Carolina League; Tim Anderson, who is hitting for average (.309) and playing good defense at shortstop for Winston-Salem but has shown poor plate discipline; and Micah Johnson, now up in Triple-A after a brief but successful run with Double-A Birmingham. Rodon passes all three as a near-MLB-ready starter with a grade-70 slider and above-average fastball. Issues with Rodon's delivery have led to command problems and slightly reduced velocity, but the White Sox have an excellent track record of working with pitchers with unusual or difficult arm actions. Getting Rodon better extension out front and a cleaner finish will help him throw more strikes and maybe add more to his fastball. If all goes well, he should be in their rotation by this time next year -- perhaps with Micah Johnson playing somewhere behind him." A couple of interesting tidbits in here... very surprised he said Tim Anderson is playing "good defense" for Winston-Salem. Is he seeing/hearing something about his range, fluidity, play, that we aren't by just scouting his error total? Also, glad to hear he at least considers Courtney Hawkins for the no. 1 spot, he was a big fan of his pre-draft and was just as disappointed by his aggressive assignment as we were.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 09:10 PM) Ravelo 2-2, 2 doubles Rangel still rules the world.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 02:58 PM) http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?s...mp;ymd=20140611 Charlotte is off McCully- Birmingham Bucciferro- Winston Salem Barnette- Kannapolis Kannapolis and Winston-Salem rained out. Barons just underway after a delay.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 04:34 PM) IF he were to sign for slot, that would leave the Sox the ability to throw around $500k and a college full ride at him. Probably still not enough. Oh well. Enjoy college, kid.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 04:06 PM) Which makes me more confident than if they had only signed a handful of 2-10 picks And perhaps not confident about signing Montes de Oca.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 11:24 AM) How many of those five young "tough/questionable sign" arms can the Cubs realistically bring into the fold? 2? 3? Jim Callis ‏@jimcallisMLB 13m That order, but I bet all 3. @FantasyRundown: Of Sands, Steele, and Cease...rank them in terms of most likely signed by @Cubs? @MLBDraft I know those are the big three, not sure who the other two tough signs are. Didn't follow their draft that closely.

Jonathan Mayo ‏@JonathanMayoB3 2m As @CarrieMuskat reported @KyleSchwarber's $3.125 mil bonus, savings allows @Cubs to use almost $1.5 mil elsewhere in top 10 rds @MLBDraft Cubs sign Schwarber.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 09:56 AM) For Rodon? For Fry? For both? I'm assuming Rodon. He posted earlier saying his signing is coming "pretty soon."

QUOTE (knightni @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 10:01 AM) Why did Lechich sign for so low? College senior. No leverage whatsoever.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 11, 2014 -> 09:26 AM) And it may BE done, we just don't know about it yet. It sometimes takes a few days for things to filter down, and the draft only finished a few days ago. Fry does have some leverage as a junior, but he was taken at pick 77 vs concensus 90's ranking or not top 100 on some lists and he's got TJ history. I just don't think he'll give up a $600-700k payday with all those dynamics at play. Agreed. I bet they had a very good idea he would sign for slot or below considering he was picked after two potentially tough signs in Rodon and Adams.

Gah I can't believe Mariners paid Gareth Morgan 1.3 million over slot. That's insane considering he was projected to go around there anyway. How did he have so much leverage? Makes Adams signing for slot look like a complete steal. Some wacky overslot numbers going on in the 2nd round.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 10, 2014 -> 04:05 PM) Most baseball players are not on a full ride scholarship. Schools get 11.7 scholarships for 30 players. The promise of a free ride is a huge bonus that vast majority of the players aren't getting. I would assume any high schooler that is being offered overslot to lure him out of a commitment would be on a full ride or close to it, but I admit I don't know how baseball breaks them up.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 10, 2014 -> 03:38 PM) Honestly, for a lot of the high school kids that get drafted, you almost have to think that a $200-300k guaranteed contract plus the guarantee of funding for a college education makes it worth it to sign. I think some kids overvalue the experience of college ball. I played division I college athletics and it was the high point of my "career," but I wasn't given the option of signing a pro contract. If a kid thinks he can have both, they gamble on their health for having it all.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jun 10, 2014 -> 02:52 PM) I am right there with you, thats what makes him resemble a young Mark Reynolds. He could bust out like Donaldson and Davis, but the probability on that is not great. The odds are he improves to the point where he is a guy that can hit .245 with 20 HR's a year. He still has a shot to be great, but it is less likely today than it ever before in his career. Yeah I don't know what peoples expectations are, but if he hits .240-250 and hits 20-30 homers, I consider that a success. That's probably right around league average and for the money, that's great value. I understand people dream bigger when it comes to your teams #1 prospect, but hey value is value and he wasn't acquired thinking he was a boom or bust guy.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jun 10, 2014 -> 01:48 PM) And there's an outside chance the Sox sign Montes de Oca. I'll take the Sox strategy If we get sign Rodon, Adams, and Montes de Oca this draft would be a fantastic influx of talent that balanced risk and projection, IMO.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 10, 2014 -> 01:19 PM) It looks like Sox went out to grab a 9 and a 10 in the first couple rounds, and then balanced it out with some 1's and 2's later, where the Cubs brought in a bunch of 6's. The kids they took round 4-6 were all highly rated, just fell to signability concerns. I've always been a BPA guy, but they could look smart by playing the system and spreading the wealth around. With that being said, I think they would of sprinted to the podium to take Rodon if he was available. Which means they almost had to have two different big boards based on how their 1st pick was going to play out.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jun 10, 2014 -> 12:13 PM) I totally get that. You need to evaluate the players max potential, their current ability, and the likelihood that they meet that ceiling. Adams has a extremely high ceiling and there is no way to measure the floor or probability until he actual pitches as a pro. Davidson's ceiling might not even be everyday MLB player, I don't know how you can look at Davidson and say he has a chance to be much more than he is, there is very little projection left in him. Perhaps he is having eye issues like Olt was and needs to get that taken care of, but his 32% K rate (small sample) in the majors last season and his 33% K rate this season make it less likely he will ever be a league average 3B. Its quite possible that pitchers have learned how to pitch to him and he will have a hard time ever being more than he is now without some mechanical changes. Does Davidson have a chance to be a young Alex Rodriguez? No. But he just turned 23 and has consistently hit for power over his minor league career. His power numbers are on line or above his career averages and his BABIP is 60 points below his career average. I think you could plug him into the lineup next year and take the 20-25 homers and live with the .240 batting average. And who knows, some players make huge strides after a couple of major league seasons, Chris Davis and Josh Donaldson for example. Davidson has the power and there has been no questions about his overall hit tool, I think he'll provide value for the Sox soon.