royoung

I've been considering the Cubs strategy and I just have to laugh because it seemed to be the complete opposite from the White Sox. The Cubs went for three underslot guys in their first three picks, all are considered "safe" picks but not good value where they were selected. But that allowed them to take risky but very projectable high school talent in the following rounds, Carson Sands, Justin Steele, and Dylan Cease. The Sox seemed to go top heavy with their risky picks, Rodon at #3 overall, followed by Adams at #44. The next "risk" pick they had was Jake Jarvis, who seemed to have a pre-selection deal, since he signed almost immediately after being considered a tough sign. Thoughts? It will be interesting in a few years to see which strategy will work out better. If Schwarber and Stinnett reach the majors quickly and at least contribute and one of their lottery ticket high schoolers develop it could be a very nice draft for them.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 9, 2014 -> 08:27 PM) Stupid Astros, why didn't they take Bryant #1 last year? Bryant seems to be one of the better hitting prospects in a long time. Yeah he's unbelievable right now.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jun 10, 2014 -> 10:49 AM) I would say at this point Adams ceiling is a lot higher than Davidsons. Adams has a TOR ceiling while Davidson is resembling many of the scouting reports that we read when he was acquired, a ton of power though maybe not enough contact to make it play at the ML level, so his ceiling has fallen a bit to where he just may be a Mark Reynolds clone. You also have to factor the likelihood of said prospect reaching that ceiling, or at least their floor. Davidson has an very good chance of being at least a league average 3B, Adams has an extremely small chance of being a #1 or #2 starter. Hell, he probably has a slim chance of even being a starter at the major league level period. Sure Adams may have a higher ceiling than Davidson, but you could say the same for any freak athlete kid who dabbles in baseball. Just because it's possible, doesn't mean its remotely probable. And I say all this with the caveat that I absolutely loved the Adams pick. Probably my favorite in the whole draft.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Jun 9, 2014 -> 02:14 PM) Same question I asked in the draft thread: if the White Sox were genuinely confident of getting him signed, why not take him in the 11th round instead of the 14th? Seems to me it's more of a "well we'll take him here in the unlikely event we have enough to turn his head", rather than a genuine plan with a good chance of success. After the first ten rounds it really doesn't matter where you select someone because you aren't penalized for failing to sign them. In the 11th round there was only like 4-5 college kids selected. Not sure why Montes De Oca kept falling, guess people thought he was really unsignable and didn't want to waste a pick. I'm guessing the Sox grabbed college players (rounds 11-13) they were high on that others were passing on because they were going for high schoolers. After that, they decided to take a flier on him and see how the chips fall. It might pay off big time.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jun 9, 2014 -> 02:22 PM) Dan Hayes ‏@DanHayesCSN 2m Source said #WhiteSox have agreed in principle to sign 2nd-rd pick, RHP Spencer Adams, at slot. Suggested slot is $1.282 mill. LET'S GO!!! At slot is amazing. NICE! The at slot is the amazing part here, really frees up cash to sign Rodon/make a run at Montes de Oca.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Jun 9, 2014 -> 01:26 PM) One more arm injury and he could also be looking at a signing bonus of about $5,000. I agree with you, but it may not be what he's thinking or what people are whispering into his ear.

From the Baseball Prospectus chat with Nick Faleris... EthanSpalding (Glenview, Il): The White Sox signed Jake Jarvis, who was considered unsignable. Is he a legit prospect? Draft Wrap Chat with Nick J. Faleris: I didn't see confirmation that he signed, but have heard it was happening. He is definitely a legit prospect. He was announced as an infielder but has a legit fallback on the mound, as well. Good 10th round get for the Sox. Froglegs Jones Jr. (Palos Park): Do you think it's realistic to expect the White Sox to sign both Carlos Rodon and Spencer Adams? Draft Wrap Chat with Nick J. Faleris: I do; with Rodon being a better bet than Adams. Given their cap space, I see no reason why they wouldn't have room for both, and if Jarvis has in fact signed it's a good indication the Sox aren't worried about coming up with any extra money for their top two picks. In fact, drafting Jarvis in the first place was a pretty solid indication they think they are going to sign Adams and Rodon without issue.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Jun 9, 2014 -> 01:24 PM) If we come in exactly at slot for the first 10 picks and are willing to pay the tax the Sox can offer him about $590,000 which would put him at about the middle of the third round in terms of bonus. That will be really tough for a guy who has already had Tommy John once to turn down. He would basically be having to bet that he actually stays healthy for the next 3 years and that he pitches well enough to get taken in the first two rounds. I bet we have to go overslot with Rodon and Adams, but we can go way underslot with a lot of the seniors they drafted too. If they could get three potential frontline SP pitching prospects signed (Rodon, Adams, Montes de Oca) gotta be happy.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jun 9, 2014 -> 01:14 PM) I don't know how anyone could turn that down. Not many scouts would of batted an eye if he was selected in the 2nd round and those slot values ranged from 1 to 1.5 million. And that's him coming off of TJ surgery, if he preforms well in college he could be top 10 pick in the 2017 draft. It might be half a million dollars now, but it could be 2-4 million dollars in a couple years and the fun and excitement of college.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Jun 9, 2014 -> 01:04 PM) Doesn't Hahn supposedly have a hood relationship with Boras? This post will probably be edited to "good" from "hood" but I immediate picture Hahn and Boras wearing wife beaters and bandanas throwing up gang signs.

Is this where we post signing updates? Not sure how much this means, but Kevin Burrell (White Sox scout) tweeted a picture with Spencer Adams with a Sox cap on, which Adams then retweeted. An encouraging sign I would say. https://twitter.com/KDB_MLB/status/476019697813815296 Would be nice to have him and Rodon signed quickly so we know how much leftover cash we have to throw at Montes de Oca.

Wow, didn't realize Keith Law had Bryce Montes de Oca #32 overall on his big board. If we somehow find a way to sign him that would be a huge, huge win. Also, I don't see Jake Jarvis on BA's top 500? Am I missing something? I thought he was highly regarded?

I think our biggest steal was Spencer Adams. I know of a few experts who were convinced he was going to the Dodgers at #22, and probably would have if not for Holmes falling to them.

From MLB.com "It hasn't been easy to see Peter on the mound, as he didn't pitch as a freshman and worked just 22 1/3 innings the past two seasons as a part-time closer. In those brief looks, he has shown a swing-and-miss fastball that sits at 92-94 mph and tops out at 96. He's not a big guy, but he has a quick arm and a reasonably sound delivery. Peter shows signs of a decent breaking ball and has the competitive edge to develop into a late-inning reliever. Like most two-way performers, he prefers playing everyday to pitching, so the team that drafts him may have to send him out as a second baseman and make him a full-time pitcher down the road. Peter is a prospect as a second baseman, too, though his ceiling is more as a utilityman than as a regular. He handles the bat well, lacks pop and is an average runner, so he'll probably fit toward the bottom of a pro lineup. He has a strong arm and is a surehanded defender who made just two errors as a junior." That's not a good sign when they spent half the write-up talking about his pitching ability then say his ceiling is a ULT guy.

Cubs get Cease. Finally going to start using some of that saved money.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jun 6, 2014 -> 10:51 AM) You are probably in love with Davidson's potential, and you probably loved the Reed trade when it happened. Fact is, his average was between .240 and .280 throughout his minor league career, going back to 2009. Then he goes downhill this year. Fact is, this is his 6th year of pro ball. Fact is, the star of Montas appears to be rising, and I say this objectively. He has a long way to go, but he fits the description of prospect; Davidson does not. Things might change later for both players, but right now any ML franchise would love to have Montas; Davidson, not so much. Davidson will never be a .300 average guy, that is not his appeal. His value is his power for doubles and homers at a premium position. He is right at or above in all the key percentages this year: 2014: HR% 3.6 XBH% 47.2 BB% 8.6 BABIP .246 Minor League Career HR% 3.2 XBH% 40.5 BB% 9.5 BABIP .306 Notice the big difference in BABIP? Do you think that it would stay around .250 because of 200 plate appearances or return to his career norm over nearly 3,00 plate appearances?

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 11:23 PM) 1.) Rodon 2.) Anderson 3.) Adams 4.) Hawkins 5.) Davidson 6.) Johnson 7.) Montas 8.) Sanchez 9.) Beck 10.) Danish 10b.) Trey M. I'm drinking the Montas kool aid. God does our system look so much better already. Seems like every updated top ten has Adams over Danish. I am just curious why everyone vaults an unproven high schooler drafted in the 2nd round over last year's 2nd round high schooler who has dominated low-A ball and has done well in A+. It's true Adams is rated higher at the time of the draft then Danish was, but all Danish has done is get people out so far.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 11:41 PM) So I imagine the FO is ecstatic right now? I know everyone loves Reetz but his swing left-handed isn't pretty. You can definitely tell he's a natural righty. I do like the idea and would be happy with the pick but at some point we have to start scaling back to afford Rodon and Adams. I'd say just about everyone is ecstatic about the first two selections. Rodon is a legit stud who is not far from contributing to our major league team and Spencer Adams was a first round talent with considerable upside. It's a best of both worlds, knock it out of the park, round 1 & 2.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 06:36 PM) Nah, they want a middling colllege bat apparently. Gammons, senile as he is, seems pretty convinced "he's the most advanced college bat". Uh, no, that's Jackson. Jackson is a high schooler

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 06:10 PM) Spoilers allowed in here? Guess so? EDIT: DON'T DO IT

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 06:08 PM) Aiken to Houston per Law and Manuel DAMNIT

Man this is anti-climatic. MLB needs to call whoever runs the NFL draft. Get an audience, get a big clock, whatever

Kiley McDaniel ‏@kileymcd 4m Sounds like none of the top picks are set w/5 minutes until the draft starts. Industry is throwing its hands up. My mock has no prayer. Haha that's awesome!

http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/mock-...the-final-mock/ Another Kolek selection. Seems to be all Kolek or Nola.

QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 04:16 PM) John Manuel ‏@johnmanuelba 1m Here's how volatile this #mlbdraft is: team in top 5 may switch gears in a big way, here 2 hours prior to start. Chaotic first round WHAT DO YOU MEAN JOHN MANUEL??? TELL US YOUR SECRETS!!