Eminor3rd

No chance

But it’s more than 20% surplus value, because a guy like that simply isn’t available on a one-year deal of any kind. It’s not really about the annual salary at that point, it’s about still having him without committing a nine-figure long-term deal.

You don’t think adding a full season of control at 80% market value to a star entering free agency is valuable enough to spend two weeks without him in his rookie year?

Could not disagree more. He’s a DH with a 111 wRC+. He has managed 3 fWAR once, while putting up -20 runs in RF. This year he’s on pace for just under 2. He’s Billy Butler with a bit more pop and way less plate discipline. He can fake the outfield but he’s a butcher. And Boras is his agent, who has failed to sign a deal with the Tigers for several years despite the fact that the tigers have been motivated to lock him up as a PR move. The ask on his contract is going to be a joke. It’ll come down eventually, but why not just resign Abreu for even less?

Just a joke, homie. Take a breath

I'm sorry, I'm too triggered by the fact that the PBP guy said it was Alcides Escobar to enjoy this

I just think that option is still there next year.

It is not time for an extension. He has a long bad track record and we control him next year. His BABIP is insane - even if he’s gotten a lot better, he won’t be THIS good, so it doesn’t make sense to pay him at this level. Give it time to see where he levels off, see if anyone else develops below him, etc., then offer during 2020.

Like what?

You've argued it forcefully, but you haven't provided any evidence, so it's not a great argument. For example, you made up a stat in your original post where you would find the percentage of RBI that a batter converts to an RBI. You hypothesized that it would correlate well with who you already think good hitters are. I imagine it WOULD correlate pretty well. Probably about as well as RBIs correlate, in fact. But you know what would correlate even better? wRC+. And there's tons and tons of research that proves it. I'm guessing, based on the stance you're taking, that you don't understand wRC+, but I bet if you read about it, you'd like it a lot. The basic premise behind it is pretty similar to your RBI/chances stat, actually, it just uses events that are actually stable and predictive of future performance, unlike RBI. If I'm sounding condescending, I'm really not trying to. I'm not suggesting that you aren't smart or can't understand wRC+, I'm just saying I don't think you've tried -- maybe because it isn't interesting to you or you already have negative feelings associated with other stats like it. I don't think you'd get snide remarks very often if you took the time to learn about the stats that you're railing against. Like, if you made an informed argument about why wRC+ ISN'T better than RBI or RBI/chances, in terms identifying the most productive hitting seasons, I don't think anyone would react negatively, even if he/she disagreed with your conclusion. That's where the anti-vaxxer analogy came from. I used it because I assumed you WEREN'T an anti-vaxxer. As you know and have demonstrated, it makes all kinds of sense to vaccinate your child. For someone to believe he/she SHOULDN'T do so, that person would have to believe some things that aren't true about vaccines, which means that person would have to have not really done much research on the subject. The whole "but different sites can't even agree on a formula for WAR!" thing actually tracks pretty well with that. Lots of people hear that line, and decide simply to dismiss the whole concept without ever checking the veracity of the statement. So I think the analogy works. It's not meant to call you ignorant, but it is meant to illustrate that ignorance is the result of choosing to be uninformed on a topic.

This is like the baseball equivalent of anti-vaxxer talk

Puig of the 88 wRC+ batting in an NL bandbox? Castellanos the 115 wRC+ DH? Idk, Ozuna would be a decent option. Same tier of productivity, probably. Certainly less risk. But he’s gonna cost three times as much, too.

*shrug* Enjoy Carlos Gonzalez then, I guess.

It's the best they're ever going to do. It's just reality.

No chance the White Sox get a top of the market guy. I’m an NPB fanboy, so take it with a grain of salt, but there’s a 75+% chance that Shogo Akiyama will be available as a true free agent this offseason. I think he’s exactly the type of player the Sox need, and I think the fact that he’s already a bit past his prime will make him affordable. He’ll be 30 or 31 going into next year. He was an elite defender in CF in his prime, and has definitely lost a step, but would definitely still be average or above in a corner. The arm strength is fringey but the accuracy is excellent. As a hitter, he’s extremely disciplined and complete; a high-contact doubles hitter who will run into 15-20 homers naturally, although he’s had more the past couple years. And he’s still fast, if not quite as fast as he used to be. And he’s a left-handed hitter. I think he can be a sneaky 2-3 win player in the MLB right away, and I think he’ll be affordable because his upside is behind him.

So it looks like the Sox, in order to go overslot/HS for picks 2 and 3, punted the entire rest of the draft. Interesting. Might be a good call, especially for an org that isn't great at finding value late.

Frank Thomas over Willie Mays is the homer-est thing I've heard since Hawk retired.

As I understand it, Burger was big raw power/exit velo, but Vaughn is a much better hit tool and plate discipline.

Reach?

Maurice Hampton?

Wow this is going to take a long ass time. Previous year's they gtfo when the pick is in.

I don't have a personal opinion on Hampton, but I know that every other mock I've seen has him going in the back half of round 1, so I think I would love it if the Sox get him here.

Thank you

Guys... am I dumb? I keep clicking things on mlb.com that says DRAFT COVERAGE LIVE NOW 6PM ET... but I cannot find a stream. Help?

He’ll be fine by the time it matters. Like all White Sox prospects, he has to develop while taking his lumps in the Majors. But he’ll have the leash and the talent to make it work, ultimately.