royoung

That is the lowest I've seen Hawkins ranked all off-season. God I hope he comes back and hits with a vengeance this year.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Feb 27, 2014 -> 12:10 PM) Getting something for free and then selling it for cash is generally a good business plan. Suck it Beane! *Rick Hahn laughs maniacally*

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Feb 24, 2014 -> 02:25 PM) If you look at him in any of the scouting videos, he is not a fat guy. Most of the weight is in the legs, no real signs of a gut. I mean, the kid is from nowheresville (Shepherd), Texas and probably has been living on fat, greasy southern cooking his entire life. If he gets on a professional exercise regimen and diet, that will take care of all problems. That is why the draft interview process is so crucial in determining someone's wok ethic, drive, etc. to make sure he will put in the work to be physically fit. Or he could get that big signing bonus and eat it. But you are right, the Sox have to do their due diligence on any prospect and feel great about their make up to select them with this important of a pick. My point is to take a HS kid at #3 overall when we are trying to do a "reload" I'd imagine it would have to be very impressive kid, like Courtney Hawkins was coming out of school.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Feb 24, 2014 -> 09:00 AM) Kolek is a typical Marlins pick, they love upside high school players. That body type scares me. 6'5'', 250 at 18 years old? I suppose it's the same concerns for a Chris Sale type of build, but at least he was a proven college pitcher.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 21, 2014 -> 11:42 AM) When you are drafted #3 overall, there is high level of expectations that come with it. No doubt. I hope the spring differentiates some pitchers from the pack to join to Rodon and Hoffman at the top of the board.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 21, 2014 -> 10:01 AM) The elite upside pitcher will be in the system in June. That number three pick in the draft is the future #2 to Chris Sale. Ha. No pressure kid.

This is an insert from an article titled "Five biggest draft storylines" by Christopher Crawford of ESPN. He highlights my fear that Rodon and Hoffman go 1 and 2, then we are left with a tough decision at #3. 2. Who's No. 3? He may not be the lock that Rodon is at the top spot, but East Carolina right-hander Jeff Hoffman is the clear-cut No. 2 talent in the class to start the year, with a fastball that touches 97 mph and a curveball that could already be a big league offering. Hoffman is the most realistic candidate to challenge Rodon for the first pick, though Miami is likely to consider several options with the No. 2, including hard-throwing right-hander Tyler Kolek from Shepherd (Texas) HS. The third spot, which belongs to the Chicago White Sox, is very much up for debate. Most believe that catcher Alex Jackson of Rancho Bernando HS (San Diego) starts the year in that position, but the lack of a knockout tool could see Jackson slide towards the back half of the top 10. Jacob Gatewood of Clovis (Calif.) HS is the type of player the White Sox have coveted in the past, an athletic player with plus-plus power from the right side, though the concern that he may not have more than a fringe-average hit tool concerns teams. Chicago has very little pitching depth in its system, so arms such as Hartford left-hander Sean Newcomb or UNLV right-hander Erick Fedde could move their way into consideration with big campaigns; if Hoffman were to "fall" to pick No. 3, the White Sox would likely jump for joy.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Feb 20, 2014 -> 02:16 PM) Who will be the opening day starter at 1B? Do the Sox send Paulie out there symbolically as a tribute or defer to the rookie? With how under the radar Konerko likes to be, I really doubt he would want to included in the opening day lineup as a tribute against a righty. I'm sure this whole year is going to be tough for him.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 20, 2014 -> 10:29 AM) I don't understand your position. You say ARods contract is an albatross, yet the Yankees spent half a billion this offseason on free agents. You say Fielder had an awful contract, yet Dombrowski was able to move it. If you are making a point that taking on these contracts will keep you from doing anything else, (and Santana or Jimenez aren't exactly at ARod or Prince's price level) I think you are using some really bad examples. If anything, they go totally against your point. I would say a better example would be the Cubs circa 2010. They were handing out misguided contracts like candy; Soriano, Silva, Lilly, Zambrano, Lee, Dempster, Ramirez, and Fukudome all received 4 or more years at 10 million plus per year. That is terrible team management and it forced them to jettison those contracts for next to nothing or simply eat them.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Feb 19, 2014 -> 04:06 PM) I think Tyler Beede, at least in Kiley McDaniel's list, is being overlooked to an extent. I'd appreciate any ESPN insiders who could say where Beede ranked on Law's list. Rabbit, Keith Law put the first round draft prospects into tiers today. I'll copy and paste the first three tiers. Some players of interest...He doesn't appear to be as high on Trea Turner as others, and Gatewood in tier 2 was the highest I've seen him. Tier 1 Carlos Rodon, LHP | NC State You know you're a boss when you have your own tier. Rodon is far and away the best available player in this draft class, with a 70-grade fastball (on the 20-80 scouting scale) and at least a 70 slider, a track record of missing bats, and a pretty good swing too. The Astros aren't guaranteed to take him first overall, but they did buy four season tickets down in Raleigh, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's in their mix. Tier 2 Jeff Hoffman, RHP | East Carolina Tyler Kolek, RHP | Shepherd (Texas) HS Jacob Gatewood, SS | Clovis (Calif.) HS Alex Jackson, C/3B | Rancho Bernardo HS (San Diego) Right now, this looks like the decision set for teams drafting second or third -- with the obvious, enormous, I-can't-emphasize-this-enough caveat that it's February and teams won't even think about limiting themselves to just a few names until we get to mid-May. Hoffman has one of the best fastballs among college starters and will show the necessary secondary stuff, but until the Cape Cod League last summer he didn't have any real history of success. Kolek is already massive at 6-foot-5 and roughly 250 pounds, but hit 100 mph last week with a better slider and curveball than he'd shown last summer; the Marlins pick second, and scouting director Stan Meek is a big fan of physical power arms like this. Gatewood is ahead of Jackson in the early going among prep bats; Gatewood has the power, but is now showing he can use the whole field instead of just trying to pull everything 500 feet, while Jackson appears to want to move off catcher, meaning his hit tool will have to carry him to stay in the top-five selections. Tier 3 Tyler Beede, RHP | Vanderbilt Sean Newcomb, LHP | Hartford Erick Fedde, RHP | UNLV Max Pentecost, C | Kennesaw State Trea Turner, SS | NC State Derek Fisher, OF | Virginia Brady Aiken, LHP | Cathedral Catholic HS (San Diego) Grant Holmes, RHP | Conway (S.C.) HS Justus Sheffield, LHP | Tullahoma (Tenn.) HS The six college players in this tier could all move up a tier with strong springs in which they address specific questions about their skill sets. Beede shows the stuff to be in the second tier but not the command, as does Newcomb, whereas Fedde has flashed that kind of stuff but needs to show it more consistently. Pentecost -- no relation to Karsten Whitsun or Michael Mas -- looks like the best college position player in the draft, a true catcher with ability at the plate, standing out in a class with little catching at either the college or high school levels. He's a better bet for me than Turner, an 80 runner with no power and an unorthodox swing; or Fisher, the toolsiest college position player in the class who has to show better ability to hit. Turner may still be the highest drafted of the three, however, with the bankable run tool and the fact that he'll be seen extensively while playing behind Rodon every Friday night. After Kolek, Holmes, Aiken and Sheffield are the cream of the rich high school pitching crop for now, but I don't think any leaps up into the top eight overall picks barring a velocity spike. Sheffield is the biggest variable among the three, whereas Aiken is the most polished and Holmes offers the least projection because he's already physically mature.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Feb 19, 2014 -> 12:39 PM) I'll take Rodon. Would love for Hoffman, Rodon or Turner. Not sold on Kolek

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Feb 17, 2014 -> 05:29 PM) 1 down, 1 to go. Chris Cotillo ‏@ChrisCotillo 8m #Orioles are closing in on a deal with Ubaldo Jimenez, according to @masnRoch. Appears to be a 4-year, $48MM deal. 48 million over 4 years isn't much less than what was predicted for him at the beginning of free agency. It's actual almost exactly what Garza got with no draft pick compensation.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 17, 2014 -> 01:44 PM) I think the Sox see Surkamp as a starter, so I just don't see it with him. That really only leaves Veal and Leesman in the mix. I would have figured it was Leesman, since he was solid vs LHH in Charlotte last year and has the added benefit of being a long man when needed. However, two things got in the way. First, just this morning, Scot Gregor as a guest writer on Baseball America said that Leesman is being kept a starter to compete for the 5th slot - which was a bit of a surprise. And the other factor here is, Veal is out of options. So it looks like Downs and Veal for the lefty pen slots. Veal has the stuff and had effective stretches as a LOOGY. Considering we DFA'ed Leesman last year I have a hard time believing we have big plans for him unless he really impresses in ST.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Feb 17, 2014 -> 02:29 PM) You wouldn't do that from the White Sox perspective? Are you kidding? Bogaerts is going to be a MONSTER. He's a consensus top 1-2 prospect in baseball. That's not nearly enough for him. The only reason I wouldn't make that deal is because the only way it would be on the table is if Bogaerts either severaly injured himself or was about to go to jail for 20 years. It reminds me of the deadline when some on Soxtalk thought the Rangers would trade us Profar. Uh no.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Feb 17, 2014 -> 02:31 PM) I saw somewhere that Rodon got hammered. Anyone see the line? Carlos Rodon 6.0 IP, 4 H's, 3 R's, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K's. Not exactly getting hammered.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 12, 2014 -> 10:01 AM) While I'm all for keeping Dunn, people seem to overlook he was a negative WAR player last year. Part of the problem is that he sucked offensively when DHing and sucked defensively when playing 1B. I think last year may be a bit of an outlier, but even in 2012 he was clearly better hitter when playing 1B. There really isn't a great solution here as Abreu should be playing 1B most of the time. Honestly, the only reason I want to keep him is I think platooning him will increase his overall value and make him a positive value player in 2014. Wow good catch. In 2013 Dunn started 70 games at 1B and hit .262/.376/.512 and in the 74 games he DH'ed he hit .184/.269/.386. That's crazy. It's not just 2013, his career splits are nearly as dramatic. I know he's not a defensive wizard as 1B, but he when he plays in the field he turns into a legitimate hitter. TAKE NOTICE NATIONAL LEAGUE TEAMS

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Feb 11, 2014 -> 08:49 PM) BTW anyone think that when we DFA Dunn it'll be on fireworks night? It might actually be worth hanging onto him for a few games just to do it that way. Sox fans in attendance will get the news immediately after the game & then as the news spreads and fans begin to rejoice the fireworks show will begin. I understand the disappointment in Dunn but don't understand the hatred. He's not a team cancer, never a PED suspect, and overall seems like a pretty decent guy.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Feb 11, 2014 -> 12:35 PM) I suppose I should have seen this coming...it's well known that Keith Law loves the White Sox. But apparently not Gordon Beckham...fringe defense at 2B at best? Non-tender? Ouch Keith.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Feb 11, 2014 -> 11:41 AM) Which three? 4. Erik Johnson, RHP | Chicago White Sox Maybe more a workhorse than a future ace, Johnson has made a ton of progress since the White Sox drafted him two years ago out of Cal, and he has a couple of potential out pitches in his arsenal, along with the build for 200-plus innings a year. He could easily be Chicago's third-most valuable starting pitcher in 2014. 10. Matt Davidson, 3B | Chicago White Sox Davidson has some competition for the regular third-base job, both in March or if he should scuffle in April/May, but he's the best option on their 40-man roster and a good bet to hit .250/.330/.425 or so if he gets regular playing time, with average or just below-average defense. 13. Marcus Semien, IF | Chicago White Sox Semien could play any of three spots for Chicago -- short, second, or third -- or he could just play a lot of each of them as a true "super-utility" player, getting 400-450 at bats while spelling all three starters. Second baseman Gordon Beckham hasn't sniffed a .330 OBP or a .400 SLG since his rookie year, and he's a fringe defender at best. Semien could end up taking over that job by midseason and forcing a trade or non-tender of Beckham before 2015.

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/keith-law/post?id=1809 Three White Sox in the top 20 impact prospects for 2014.

Adam Eaton and Erik Johnson. Abreu will struggle in the first half of the season but finish strong.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Feb 10, 2014 -> 01:54 PM) Yeah I have too much confidence in Jones' ability as a closer to trade him now. Let him rack up saves for a season and then shop him over the offseason. Ideally, Jones racks up saves this year, posts nice peripherals, gets a team-friendly contract, then shortly after is traded for a high-quality position player or SP prospect, with Webb taking over and another young guy stepping into Webb's former role. Rinse & repeat. On a team that is ready to compete, you would like established high leverage relievers. But on a rebuilding team there is no real point to have a pitcher for the sake of having an closer. Hopefully Nate Jones and Webb pitch in the post season for us.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Feb 7, 2014 -> 02:17 PM) Hold your horses, hot shot. Bragging rights would totally depend on the price anyway. ESPECIALLY since an unnamed someone would have been fine with 4/$44M. If we get Santana for 2/$16M or something ridiculous like that, that person definitely doesn't get bragging rights. He's certainly running out of suitors with Arroyo going to the D'Backs. Hilarious he was asking for 100 million when free agency began.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 6, 2014 -> 03:22 PM) I wrote a little piece looking at some of the recent (2011-present) Latin American signings in the Sox system, and who to watch for to "pop" this season. Give it a read and discuss. Thanks for the article Matt. These young international guys go dark (understandably) after their signing announcement so it's good to hear a little something about them. Thanks for the reminder we made some investments in Latin American, hope one of them comes to fruition!

I am just going to put this in here because I can't find the original we signed Abreu thread. Joel Sherman ‏@Joelsherman1 7m Mentioned on Hot Stove teams believed to have bid over $60M on Jose Abreu were winning #Whitesox plus #Redsox #Brewers #Astros Surprising that the Rockies aren't mentioned as there were reports they were finalists as well.