thxfrthmmrs

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 30, 2013 -> 11:30 AM) AA will (or should) have no bearing on his rankings considering he struggled overall at A+ in what will end up being probably 3 times as many games. The AFL could be a factor, but I really think that if people are ranking him in the top 100, they're jumping the gun just a bit. The case for him to make the list is overall, he had a very good year. He was still hitting near .300 in WS not too long ago, but he had a really bad two week slump, which brought down his overall number a little bit. If he fares well in AFL, it will be more telling to us and the baseball world, in the sense that he will be facing more advanced pitching, versus A ball pitchers. It won't be easy for him to put on a strong showing, so this is a huge caveat. So if he plays well in AFL, overall, he will have as good a year as any prospect in the Sox organization, and he has enough skills and tools to be considered a high floor guy which is why I think he has a chance to make the list.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 30, 2013 -> 10:42 AM) I don't think Micah Johnson gets anywhere near a top 100 list. Semien definitely will. Anderson could, but I am not going to count on that one. The only one I feel safely guaranteeing ending up in a lot of top 100 lists is Erik Johnson With his recent promotion to Double A, I think a strong showing in AFL will land him on some lists. In most people's eyes he's a good enough contact hitter, fairly good plate discipline, and has plus speed, which could lead to a pretty high floor. I think some analyst will be willing to overlook his defense at second base to put him on their list. QUOTE (ron883 @ Aug 30, 2013 -> 10:43 AM) He's averaging a strikeout and inning in AAA You can't just look at raw numbers and call someone a strikeout pitcher. He's getting guys out now based on control and command, but he doesn't have a big fastball or a wipeout slider that these prospect evaluators are looking for. He can get away with striking out almost a batter a inning now, but in the majors, I think he's more close to a 7K/9 inning guy. Personally I think he should be in the 40 range, but he will wind up ranking in the 50 range.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Aug 29, 2013 -> 09:54 PM) Where does EJ end up at on top 100 lists to start next yr? What a great season. My guess is around the 50-60 range. Many people will try to poke holes at his age and the fact that he isn't exactly a strikeout pitcher. I think Micah Johnson and Semien are on the bubble right now, but will crack the list depending on how they fare in AFL. Anderson will be in the 80+ range based on based, position, and his plus speed.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/08/...pitch-for-rays/ Not sure if anyone is still paying attention to this, but it looks like we will be luck to pick up cash from Tampa for this deal.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Aug 24, 2013 -> 10:08 AM) It's not as much age as it is the experience it implies. Give players out of high school 3 years to look at progress. The sox have a different approach then many other organizations, this may be why they don't produce hitters. Bell has stated that they are allowing Hawkins to do it his way and make his mistakes. If it works fine, if not then they will begin correcting his flaws. August stats seem to say that Hawkins worked on the his power but saw it didn't help his average. No he sacrificing some power and working on others things to help contact. Most of the first round picks, even high schoolers, start in Low A the next season if they played half a season at rookie ball after drafted. Hawkins is only 1 level ahead of his curve, and yet as many had point out, the difference between talent and experience is marginal between the two levels. 19 year old first round picks don't normally struggle like this, even if he is a bit inexperience for this level. Even if he was in rookie ball or Low A, once the pitchers start to exploit his weakness, he probably won't fare much better than he's doing now. I heard Bell's interview on the radio a few months back, and I strongly disagree with the approach. Given the Sox have nothing to show for in offensive development for the last 10 years, they shouldn't be continue to experiment this approach on a highly touted prospect, one that they, or anyone, have yet to have success with.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Aug 24, 2013 -> 12:13 AM) I don't know how he can say that while, at the same time, Hawkins is one of only like 3 guys his age in high A. It's so easy to jump on Hawkins these days I have been refraining myself from doing so for the past two months. But I wish people would stop using age as an excuse. The biggest reason Hawkins is struggling this bad is his inability to read and hit the breaking bad. Pair that up with a long and lousy swing, and poor hip rotation, he has no chance to make any contact with the ball. He had an impressive debut last year, but I believe pitchers didn't figure him out at that point. Almost every pitcher Hawkins faced this year in High A have been exploiting his weakness for breaking ball. Check out Nathaniel Stoltz's video scouting on Fangraph. Using the logic that people keep throwing around, that there isn't that much of TALENT difference between High and Low A, would you think Hawkins would have fare much better in Low A? Heck, if words got out last year that he can't hit the breaking pitch at all, I don't think he would have gotten out of rookie ball. We get that he's still 19 years old. But in the history of the minor leagues, there's probably only 1 player who had the strikeout rate that Hawkins has, and a comparable batting average, who turned out to be a successful major leaguer. Even that player hit .210 that year, and that's like .030 higher than Hawkins this year.

Good footage. Thanks Balta

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 23, 2013 -> 12:49 PM) You may be thinking of Myles Jaye, who was at #9 on BPN when no one else had him T20. I did see one guy, can't remember who, who mentioned Bassitt as a darkhorse to watch this year. Yes, thanks for the correction. Bassitt was on the sleeper watch on Fangraphs earlier in the year. Looks like his projection was a late game reliever, but now it looks like he has a chance crack the rotation. With his quality fastball, I think he has to be a legit prospect.

I think one publication had Chris Bassitt as a preseason Top 10 in the org earlier this year, and I think he has to be sniffing Top 10 again, even though our system is much improved. At 6'5", he has the ideal frame for a major league pitcher, and he supposedly threw around mid 90's as a closer in college. He also just shut down a pretty impressive Tennessee offense. I think he has potential to be the next Andre Rienzo. Also, Jacob May has shown surprising power so far. I think he's at least a 3-4 tool player.

I don't see how this is news. ESPN uses bWAR and the stat can be found on ESPN since its inception last year. I do think bWAR place too high of an emphasis on park factor, that's why, according to them, Sale is the second best pitcher this season. Other than Derek Holland ranking ahead of Sale, I pretty much agree with what the fWAR numbers are suggesting.

Like Escobar, this guy is also a switch hitter, who also had his breakout season at age 21. He's no Gregory Polanco, who was rumored at the July deadline, but he's an inexpensive utility infielder who play several positions and provide great defense for us, and a plus runner who can pinch hit and run in late game situations. He's not a sexy player, but he seems to be a very versatile player, and I expect him to be completed for a 25 man spot during Spring Training.

Eduardo Escobar with more speed

Damn, I wished someone would have bit on that. Imagine if we shred Dunn, Rios, Alexei and maybe even Danks contract. We will be running on a $25 mil payroll next year

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 07:56 AM) How about the coaching? Semien, when I interviewed him last week, specifically credited Gary Ward for some improvements in his approach. Gary's the hitting coach in AA. Ha, that's what I meant. coaching staff, not pitching staff*

I just made an observation. Everyone who's played in Double A B-Ham is having a career high or close to a career high in BB%. I am not sure if this is a factor of the park, the league, or hopefully the pitching staff, but the team as a whole is getting on base a lot. Guys like Semien and Dan Black posted ridiculous walk numbers, while others guys like Walker, Thompson, Jared Mitchell, Andy Wilkins, Saladino (especially last year), even Michael Blanke are posting the highest BB% of their career at BB. Then I tried to picture Courtney Hawkins eventually playing at Double A, and my mind just blew up.

By the 2015 Gordo will be 29 and Tank will be 27. They should be considered veteran as well based on service time hah

We can create 5 different banners. Each of them will be our starting pitchers pitching in the empty Cell. We will switch to the proper banner on the day the pitcher starts.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 09:45 AM) Dayan, Avisail, De Aza, Beckham, Gillaspie, Phegley - That's not a bad young core to start building around. Get one or two of Semien, Wilkins, Sanchez, Trayce Thompson, Brandon Jacobs and you're doing pretty good. Hopefully Dayan and Avisail really figure it out, because they both have some insane upside as 3-4-5 bats That's a hell of a anti-OBP and anti-Sabermetrics lineup. I dont see three of those players as even league average players. If we get OBP guys like Semien and Wilkins to Pan out and sign a guy like Ellsbury, then it would be much more pleasant.

On the bright side, this means we can shed about $40 million in payroll next season (could be more pending Rios and Alexei deals), and we got a slightly higher upside version of Tank to fill his position. Not bad. Since the Red Sox clearly STOLE this deal, I also think there's a bonus kicker where the Red Sox will force Ellsbury to sign with the White Sox in the offseason for a discounted deal

QUOTE (knightni @ Jul 30, 2013 -> 11:29 PM) Avisail Garcia = the next Magglio Ordonez? I've been pushing for Carlos Lee. Similar built and similar skill set. Garcia should play left as well.

QUOTE (daggins @ Jul 30, 2013 -> 11:23 PM) Grimm is Lance Broadway, Olt has been terrible in Iowa, CJ Edwards isa great A-ball pitcher and Neil Ramirez has questionable medicals. And what can we say about our return? I dont think our return is that bad, but expectations were too high. And people are down on Olt too early. He was the 22nd ranked 'Spect coming into the season, and I think his vision loss affected his bat greatly. I believe he will make a full recovery from the injury. Olt can also stick at a more valuable position while adding plus defense. Edwards is the obvious X Factor here as he could be the best of the bunch.

I am just hoping Garcia can turn into a slightly lesser version of Carlos Lee. Ultimately, we got a lot lesser than what the Cubs got for Garza, when trading arguably the more talented pitcher.

Don't know much about this kids besides the good contact and absurd BB/K rate. Is a slightly lesser version of Carlos Lee a good projection for this kid?

Sean McAdam @Sean_McAdam Despite interest from 4 teams - Red Sox, A's, D'backs, Cards - sense is White Sox are coming down on Peavy asking price. #RedSoxTalk There are rumors that states otherwise. If Rick wants to come down on the asking price, it just goes to show you the franchise plans for a full rebuild next season.

It's cute how the casual fans commented on the Sox official release on Facebook and bashed the team on trading away our all star reliever. I guess you can't satisfy everyone.