royoung

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Feb 6, 2014 -> 10:41 AM) How much do quality corner IF options and LH sticks get on the open market? They get paid nicely as bench guys. Gillaspie is an athletic player who can do a few things, and yes, that is valuable. A lot more valuable than Dunn. Don't count your Davidsons before they hatch. He's still a minor league player and for all we know your starting 3B of your 2015 Chicago White Sox may be one Connor Gillaspie, with Davidson in Charlotte floundering. You DFA Dunn & you gain a 4-5 year piece potentially in Gillaspie, along with a more verstatile bench and a useful player. This s*** is hilarious. I bet if Gillaspie were on another team & Hahn traded Dunn for him while eating a s***load of cash that this board would accept it. But because he's here he sucks. Why is that? Gillaspie had a nice April but was absolutely awful after that. He hit .241/.297/.400 after the All-Star break and had a .245/.305/.390 slash line over the whole year. He provides average defense at 3B, so no huge value there. His minor league numbers and his opportunities in SF/CHI has shown that he isn't capable of providing league average production at 3B. I don't mind him being on the bench and providing depth, but if Gillaspie is our 2015 3B this team is in serious trouble.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Feb 6, 2014 -> 09:42 AM) This isn't a quote but pretty close to what Hahn said, "Right now five of the top six guys are pitchers so I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up with one." Then he went on to talk about if the Sox sign someone underslot in the 1st it gives them loads of flexibility for the rest of the draft due to the top heavy bonus structure. I'm just throwing this out there, but if they like a guy like Kolek, but he has a setback or a poor season and falls to like the 8-10 spots and they sign him under slot we have a chance to take a 1st round talent in the 2nd or throw a bunch of money at a high school kid in the top ten rounds. I don't necessarily agree or disagree with this strategy because it's all about the players. Everyone points to what the Royals did with Hunter Dozier at #8 last year. Dozier had a great season is performing up to par with his slot. I think that worked out wonderfully so far but obviously it all hinges on the success they have with Manaea. A lot of people on the board really didn't like that pick on draft day. It was called nepotism because I believe he's Carlos May's grandnephew or something? Nowadays, that pick gets a lot of love from a handful of writers. He's been mentioned as a big dark horse in our system a couple times by mainstream outlets. That's unsettling to me, as I'd always want BAP, especially that high in the draft. What I could see them doing is going way under slot for a college player, who is further along and more major league ready, then roll the dice on over slot, high upside high schoolers the rest of the way. We do have the 43rd overall and 78th overall picks for elite high school guys. I just get the feeling the Sox really don't want to "miss" at #3 overall.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Feb 6, 2014 -> 08:46 AM) But it's part of the fun of being a baseball fan, I suppose. Nobody in a million years would have named Jose Abreu as our Opening Day 2014 starting 1B at those contract dollars a year ago, either. As soon as it was rumored he was going to be available I was actually very confident the Sox would sign him. It was a perfect fit in my mind; increased commitment to signing internationally+huge need for long term solution at 1B+Cuban connection+more salary flexibility.

I know a lot can change in the next four months, but my concern is Rodon and Hoffman will distance themselves as the top two guys. According to Dan Hayes, at Soxfest it was seemed the Sox were interested in adding college pitching. At least now, it seems pretty thin after Rodon and Hoffman, unless Beede or Nola interests you. I hope that a few other guys break out and make a solid top 5 at least.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Feb 5, 2014 -> 01:06 PM) I don't know what to tell you if you don't think the Sox are competing with the Cubs. The best way to "compete" with the Cubs is to build a successful and sustainable franchise by making shrewd baseball moves. Hahn has already reshaped our lineup with a younger core and he tried as hard as he could with Tanaka. Let the man work

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Feb 5, 2014 -> 01:02 PM) No way. Highest I would go is Snodgrass or Nester Molina. Gillaspie doesn't have a future on this team with Davidson in the organization. Even if Davidson doesn't pan out, a slashline of .245/.305/.390 isn't going to cut it at 3B in the AL.

QUOTE (Kevtrem @ Feb 5, 2014 -> 12:54 PM) Its so disappointing that I am excited about the possibility of Jose Lobaton. We might as well see if Gillaspie can catch. I feel like Lobaton's ceiling is rather "Gillaspian". But it's Gillaspie type production at the black hole of offensive efficiency we know as a "White Sox catcher."

QUOTE (raBBit @ Feb 3, 2014 -> 03:22 PM) Not that how he performs changes this argument in hindsight, I hope Dunn goes .250/.350/.520 next year. +1

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Feb 3, 2014 -> 03:07 PM) Ok I see now. Well then in this context Dunn would be the 8th washing machine & it's constantly regurgitating detergent back onto the customers. Of course, this defective 8th washing machine might be quite a big hit at a rave party where the idea *is* to be bombarded with soapiness and bubbles, so maybe you send both this 8th washing machine and Dunn to said nightclub and the machine can pump out bubbles while Dunn's donkey ass can hand out bracelets at the door. He was 1st on our team in homers, RBI's, SLG, BB%, and wOBA. He led most of those categories by a very large margin. I am not arguing he is worth his contract or even good for this team but he was not "defective."

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Feb 3, 2014 -> 03:01 PM) This is like watching a train continuously crash into itself, like some f***ed up type of snake. Yes, the off-season sucks. And I say that even though I consider this off-season the best the White Sox have had in some time.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 3, 2014 -> 12:04 PM) Paulino may be good he may be awful. He pitched 37 innings in 2012 and 0 in 2013, and before that he was pretty awful. For anyone to suggest he has a decent chance to outperform Jimenez in 2014, is not basing it on anything you really should base anything upon. Just basing it on because they say so. I agree with you. I wouldn't bet on Paulino being a better pitcher than Jimenez in a vacuum, but I think it's very likely Paulino outperforms his contract and Jimenez does not.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 3, 2014 -> 09:17 AM) I like the collection of tools we are bringing in. Hopefully we have better luck at developing them. Seeing a guy like Marcus Semien repeat last years success would go a long way towards making me feel better about how our farm system is progressing. We will be graduating EJ and Davidson (most likely Semien too), but if Hawkins and Anderson have breakout years they both could easily be in the upper tiers of prospects next off season. I would also hope that whoever we take at #3 will be in that mix as well.

Remember when I told you guys Ben Badler of Baseball America was very high on Semien? WOW Ben Badler ‏@BenBadler 8m Buying the bat, high OBP potential at a premium position RT @Jaypers413 Curious what led you to rank Semien #41 on your list? #spoiler

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 31, 2014 -> 02:53 PM) We're terrible? You are the one who wants to eat $15 million and kick Dunn to the curb while then bringing in a player for the same exact type of contract! Hypocrisy, thy name is you Give Jimenez or Santana a 4 year deal and their contract could be as big an albatross in their last year as Dunn's is now.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jan 29, 2014 -> 02:26 PM) If Rodon is available at #3 there should be no way we pass on him. He's a top 20 prospect in the game right now. He's got an 80 slider with his fastball. Not that I think the two teams in front of us will be dumb enough to pass on him, we would have to meet whatever his demands were. You'd probably see the Sox sign some collegiate seniors in rounds 5-10 and sign them well under slot or maybe draft an unsignable high school kid in RD 3 at #78 and just take pick 78A in 2015. I don't think so either. It's an interesting strategy if you don't view one player as head and shoulders above another, because the difference between the recommended slot for #1 and #2 in 2013 was 1,082,000 dollars. So teams could start negotiating and haggling on who is willing to take what. Carlos Correa in 2012 agreed on a 4.8 million dollar contract when the recommended value of the #1 pick was 7.2. Because Appel in 2012 was a Junior, he had leverage that he could return to school, so there was no way he was signing for less than the 7.2. It saved the Astros nearly 2.5 million to spend elsewhere in their draft.

Good article on our prep work for this upcoming draft. http://www.csnchicago.com/white-sox/white-...tant-draft-1990 Our overall draft bonus went from 5.3 million last year to around 10 million year, due to us drafting much higher. We have apparently already interviewed Rodon, Turner, and Hoffman and have interviews planned for Kolek, Gatewood, and Beebe. Kind of surprised Jackson isn't in there too.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 29, 2014 -> 02:07 PM) How would that work? If a guy fell from #1 to #3, would that mean we'd have to underpay all our other picks in order to pay his bonus? Basically yeah. With the new system each pick has an "assigned draft pick value" for each slot. You can go over and under slot as you wish, but the money has to come out even or you get taxed for going over. This is last year's draft recommendation numbers and a brief explanation: http://ht.ly/k7AbT

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 29, 2014 -> 11:58 AM) You can bet that in the interviews the Sox are having with players, they are asking them what their demands are. If they can save some money early, they will use it late. I heard it's possible that Rodon could fall (a la Appel in 2012) due to his contract demands. If he knows he's the best in this class by a wide margin, he might demand it. It's conceivable that the Astros and Marlins might not want to commit that kind of money to one player and rather spread it out.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 29, 2014 -> 01:37 PM) I understand that, but to be excited because there are 3 White Sox prospects that he deems worthy of top 100 status doesn't make sense. I went back and looked at his 2010 list. Heyward was #1, Strasberg #2, but let's face it, the top guys are the easiest and most similar in every list. Mike Trout was #49. The Sox had 2 guys on there. Flowers at 58 and Mitchell at 95. The Cubs had 4 guys on there. Castro at 12, Vitters at 30, Jay Jackson at 50 and Cashner at 79. Here is his 2010 list: Are you arguing that prospects bust a lot? All scouts top 100 lists are littered with guys who don't make it. They have to make those lists based on things like "upside" and "development." Do I think that the three White Sox on that list are all going to realize their potential? Absolutely not. But it's a snapshot of their perceived value right now, at least. Whether a Tim Anderson, let's say, ever contributes to the White Sox or not, he has trade value right now because he makes lists like this. Because guys who write for sports magazines and websites aren't looking at anything different than scouts who work for baseball teams. That is actually one of my favorite things about following baseball is the massive changes in value of a player as a he develops, or as his contract status changes, etc etc

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jan 29, 2014 -> 01:26 PM) http://deadspin.com/a-complete-roundup-of-...de-p-1511569573 Basically the article takes a look at each fanbase's proposal to acquire Price. Here's the Sox write up Between this, nothing about Stanton and the ESPN guys say every fan base overrates their own prospects, except for the Sox, I'd like to think we have a more realistic take on things compared to others. But really it is probably just the extreme pessimism. I bet we could get him for Sale

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 29, 2014 -> 01:14 PM) But oddly that was not the reason Law undervalued him. He thought he couldn't start because hehad an average breaking ball and wouldn't be able to repeat his delivery. As for him not ranking Abreu, that makes sense because he will not be a White Sox minor leaguer. He did however say when Abreu signed that the White Sox signing him made no sense, because in his opinion, by the time the White Sox are good enough to where he will matter, he will be in decline. And it would be one thing if he missed on Sale during the draft. He was still missing after Sale had been in the major leagues a year and a half. If Keith Law were half as good as he and some of his followers think he is, a team would be paying him a real nice wage to actually evaluate for real, where missing terribly can't be simply brushed away. As I said earlier, I don't put any more stock in Keith Law's scouting expertise than anyone else, I only highlight it because it's available. But if you try and discredit a guy based on "missing terribly" on a couple guys, there wouldn't be any credible scouts left. There isn't a baseball scout in the world who doesn't have a story where they thought somebody was a can't miss prospect or wrote off a future All-Star.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 29, 2014 -> 01:01 PM) Way higher. He would have to be a top 5 overall guy for sure. Callis said that he would rank Abreu 3rd among 1B prospects. LOL

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 29, 2014 -> 12:07 PM) Keith, what are your thoughts on Chris Sale? Klaw(1:25 PM) I ranked him 47th. The White Sox took him 13th. You do the math. Why is his opinion any better than any random "scout"? People always rag on ESPN, but if ESPN hires someone, he is considered some sort of genius guru in that field. The evidence shows Keith Law's opinions tend to be just as wrong as most everyone else. Even after the 2011 season, Law couldn't or wouldn't rank Sale in the top 50 players under 25. Klaw (1:17 PM) I don't like high-effort pitchers because they tend to either get hurt or end up in the pen because they can't repeat their deliveries. But I am open-minded - guys with bad deliveries sometimes work out as starters. Look at how I missed on Chris Sale - that's still one of the worst starter's deliveries around, and so what? Looks like he has realized his mistake on Sale. But yeah, I don't put any extra stock in him as a scout, but all his reports and rankings are available to me while 99 percent of scout's stuff isn't.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jan 29, 2014 -> 12:12 PM) C'mon, Eaton is a virtual lock to start the season in CF; he might not end the season there, but he'll almost certainly start it there. That's why they made the trade. Regarding Davidson, I remain surprised that so many here think he will start 2014 in AAA. I cannot see Hahn trading Reed for Davidson just to put him in Charlotte for more seasoning. Reed is simply too attractive to too many teams not to get a major league player for him. If Davidson starts at Charlotte and hits .250ish, this could turn out to be an unpopular trade, at least initially. Reed should do well in AZ. I don't think Hahn should give a damn about the perception of getting an immediate major league player in return for Reed. Davidson is part of the White Sox future and I think he could use some more time in AAA. I think the risk of him hitting .200ish in the majors and losing confidence is more real than him doing poorly in Charlotte. This quote also makes me think he is probably destined for Charlotte. "I want to stick in the big leagues," Davidson said. "I don't want to be just up and down. Whenever that timetable is, I'm okay with that as long as the long term is sticking there."

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 29, 2014 -> 10:48 AM) I think Eaton would have to be hurt or just awful in spring training not to be starting on Opening Day. He and Abreu are locks for Chicago. The others could all wind up in Charlotte. My opinion of course. I think Garcia has to be close to a lock as well based on his performance later in the year, right or wrong. Davidson is on the fence leaning towards Charlotte IMO.