Bruce_Blixton

I wouldn't mind seeing the Sox groom him into an "opener" role, I feel like he could dominate one time through the lineup.

Not a high school player but Timmy was about as raw as a high school player when he was drafted, I think he's a good example of when the Sox successfully scouted and developed a player. I understand the inclination to draft high-floor/lower-ceiling guys to provide a solid foundation in our system but if that tactic is constantly repeated you'll eventually end up with a solid but ultimately mediocre farm system. At some point they'll have to take some chances on their development staff to truly get some game-changers in out system again.

I doubt they go with a prep player this early given their recent track record of drafting signable HS players around round 6 or 7 (Michalczewski, Zangari and Curbelo come to mind) so I think we see a run on some college pitching in the next couple of rounds. Some pretty good names still left too, Pilkington is interesting, Dylan Coleman from Missouri State and Kyle Bradish from NMSU wouldn't be bad either.

Great write-up, didn't realize he had such a fiery demeanor on the field and was so dedicated in the offseason. He's my personal favorite of the top draft prospects and think he has the highest upside of any hitter in the draft this year. Definitely a long shot that the Sox take him but getting him at #4 underslot and splurging on another prep player that falls into the second round would be my ideal scenario.

I'm starting to think that the Sox development staff have Clarkin working on something mechanically, there's no way that he is this bad given his track record in the minors to this point. Add in the fact that Montgomery has 5 SBs on him tonight and it just seems like he's focused on the pitching aspects exclusively.

I seem to remember quite a few posters high on Jesus Luzardo too when discussing potential trades with the Nationals last year.

This, but unironically.

To get away from the #4 pick discussion a little bit, I thought I'd highlight some middle round college prospects that might be interesting (since the Sox have historically targeted these types of guys in rounds 4-10): LHP Starters: Adam Scott, Sr. - Wofford University: 6-3 Lefty has put up impressive numbers this year, albeit against lesser competition. He's currently sporting 11.63 K/9 rate while only walking 1.5 batters per nine innings. Given our dearth of LHPs in the system, seems like a decent cheap flier to take. Tarik Skubal, Redshirt Jr. - Seattle U.: Drafted last year in the 29th round, Skubal is on most scouts' radar and for good reason. Has carried a 10+ K/9 ratio each of the past two seasons, but command is a concern as his BB/9 has ballooned to nearly 7 this year. The control issues might scare away some teams but since correcting those issues has been a strength of our development staff I think he'd be a good player to target in the later rounds. RHP Starters: Miller Hogan, Jr. - St. Louis Univ.: Has been dominant this year with a 10.84 K/9, a miniscule 1.2 BB/9 and an eye-popping 9.00 K/BB ratio. Was drafted in the 32nd round last year by the Brewers, so might have to reach a little earlier for him but his command and control might make it worth it. Kyle Bradish, Jr. - NMSU: 6-4 righty with good size and stats, since the Sox have drafted players from this program in the past I would imagine he's on their radar. Has a very impressive 12.5 K/9 on the season but control issues are present as evidenced by his 5.7 BB/9. Seems to fit the profile of a typical Sox small-school pitcher pick, big frame and aggressive approach to hitters. Noah Song, Jr. - Navy: Might be a tough sign due to being a Junior with another year of eligibility left and his Navy commitment but should be mentioned as a potential draft candidate. Absolutely dominating the Patriot League this year with a 1.65 ERA to go along with a gaudy 12.4 K/9 ratio, walks are a bit of an issue (4.2 BB/9) but you would have to imagine that he has a great mental approach on the mound to go along with projectable size and stuff. Nick Sandlin, Jr. - Southern Miss: Not a typical Sox-type player as he's undersized at only 5-11 but you can't argue with his track record. His first year as a starter after being the Southern Mississippi closer for the last two years. Has been dominating a fairly decent conference to the tune of a 1.15 ERA to go along with a 13.1 K/9 rate and nearly non-existent 1.15 BB/9. His size will most likely sour a lot of teams on him but it isn't unheard of for a smaller pitcher to succeed. Also his past experience as a closer could help him transition to a reliever should starting not work out, reminds me of Ian Hamilton's trajectory. Infielders: Isaiah Pasteur, Jr. - George Washington: Should be an easy sign since he's already 22 years-old after transferring to GWU from Indiana after the 2016 and missing a year. Wasn't very impressive while at IU but had a breakout season this year against admittedly lesser competition. Has top-end speed nabbing 30 SBs while only being caught 3 times, has also shown developing power with 10 HRs this year. Not a terrible SO% at ~19% and a respectable 10% BB%, has a very respectable .973 fielding percentage manning the hot corner. Chase Chambers, Sr. - Tennessee Tech: First baseman with power and very good plate discipline, fits the profile of the type of hitter the Sox has been targeting in the past couple of years. Walks more than he strikes out (15.5% BB% vs. 8.5% K%) while still carrying a lot of game power as he's hit 31 HRs over the past two seasons. Definitely a first baseman only due to his size (6-1 245lbs.), reminds me a lot of Matt Adams when he was coming out of Slippery Rock in 2009.

This is very true and guys like Kolek and Aiken prove your point but with this year's draft I feel like the highest upside at the top of the draft is with the prep pitchers. Not really sold on Madrigal, Bohm or Swaggerty. I think Madrigal would have to max out his skillset to be successful in the majors and even then he most likely profiles as a light-hitting second baseman with average speed. If he was more like Trea Turner I'd be all for it but I think he'll be league average at best. Unless Bohm works extremely hard on his fielding a la Ryan Zimmerman I feel like he'll inevitably move to first and power-hitting first baseman can be found in the later rounds. We've all been over Swaggerty's limitations so I won't bemoan that anymore.

I'd be good with a prep pitcher at #4, Liberatore is interesting but I also really like Kumar Rocker. Great size and stuff, just seems like he'll be a durable workhorse in the mold of Sabathia.

Agree with you on the positional players at the top of the draft, they all seem to have glaring flaws to their game that I just don't trust the development staff to rectify. I know this is out of the realm of possibility but ideally they would draft a prep player like Kelenic with an underslot deal and splurge on a player that drops to the top of the second. (e.g. Kelenic at #4 and throw a bunch of cash at Hankins if he's still around at #46, very unlikely but would be amazing)

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Jan 5, 2018 -> 08:39 PM) I find it humorous that every trade or potential free agent signing has now become a “flip” scenario I think it's the position the Sox are in that creates this mindset, as a rebuilding club the Sox are not a very attractive location for the top line free agents that are looking to sign with a contender. This forces Hahn & Co. to look for FAs that are either good value signings or someone that will sign a short-term contract to rebuild their value in hopes of getting moved to a contender or line up a bigger pay day next offseason. For the next couple of years the Sox are basically going to have to go dumpster diving during free agency, might as well target some players that Coop has a chance to work with and maybe catch lightning in a bottle.

I voted for a starting pitcher, I'm surprised Andrew Cashner hasn't been signed yet. Could make a pretty solid flip candidate to a contender at the deadline.

Anyone else interested in Realmuto a little more than Yelich? I think he could be an anchor for our defense and lineup for years to come and could come at a cheaper price than Yelich. Maybe Cease+Collins+Dunning could work? Miami could sell it to fans as a couple of local (*Florida) kids coming back home in Collins and Dunning and it wouldn't deplete our system too much.

QUOTE (TheFutureIsNear @ Jul 20, 2017 -> 12:17 PM) What would you really expect in return for Yolmer? At best I think it would be a prayer on a "Coop'll fix 'em" type relief pitcher. Can't see it being anything significant in return. Sucks Luery got hurt for so long. He would have been the guy to cash in on in my opinion. I think trading Yolmer would be a great way of getting a couple of younger arms to replenish our bullpen (especially since Burdi went down), like other posters have mentioned the Angels would be a great fit for Yolmer to pair with Simmons up the middle. Their system is pretty weak but they do have some interesting names that could help us in the short and long term, Eduardo Paredes is a 22 year-old right hander that has put up some really strong numbers in the minors and is currently wasting away in the Angels bullpen. I think he could step in right away and eat up some of the innings that Swarzak and Beck have been eating up, plus some scouting reports on him indicate that he could eventually close down the line. In addition to Paredes, I'd also try to get another piece or two, maybe Conor Lillis-White who has been an impressive lefty so far out of the pen in their minors or maybe we can swing Jose Suarez an undersized, crafty 19 year old lefty with some projectability.

Accidentally misread the title as "highest career ERA" and voted for Giolito, Lopez and Fulmer, having actually read the title I'd switch my vote to Kopech, Stephens, etc.

I know that DSL stats are practically meaningless but I've been taking notice of Kleyder Sanchez, only 17 years old but has been playing catcher and batting third or fourth in every game that he's appeared in. Definitely someone I'll be keeping an eye on next year.

QUOTE (Sleepy Harold @ Jun 26, 2017 -> 10:38 AM) I'm very excited to get the chance to watch Alec Hanson and his marvelous pitch-face tonight. At least he doesn't have resting pitch-face.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 26, 2017 -> 10:30 AM) Zach Collins isn't blocking anyone at this point. I hope so, but people do succumb to the sunken cost fallacy. Collins still has a chance to turn things around too.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 25, 2017 -> 12:55 PM) Zavala vs. Collins, discuss...Collins all the way down to .210, Zavala with second homer of the weekend. Late starts for most games. The similarities between Yan Gomes and Seby are getting eerie, both were athletic players in college that played multiple positions but ended up being drafted as catchers. Both were drafted later in the draft and not considered top prospects and now both appear to be blocked within their respective systems by top catching prospects. (Gomes was blocked by Travis D'Arnaud in TOR and Zavala being blocked by Collins.) Now I'm not saying that Zavala is going to turn out to be Gomes but they do have a lot of similarities. Hopefully Hahn is smart enough to give Zavala time to develop and even surpass Collins rather than trade him away for peanuts like TOR did with Gomes.

Would love Garrett Mitchell here.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jun 10, 2017 -> 08:01 AM) Highly highly doubt he only falls to rounds 3 or 4 I'm pretty sure he was projected to go in the 3rd or 4th before this revelation, I think he's going to go way later in the draft if he gets drafted at all. I agree with other posters sentiments, people deserve second chances in life especially when they do something regrettable as a teenager. What he did was reprehensible but he should be allowed to show that he has reformed before being cast aside.

Spencer Adams with a Maddux, been very impressive this year.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 1, 2017 -> 08:22 PM) It would be pretty funny if they took Peterson and he became the next Mark Buehrle....after spending all this time debating collegiate hitters. Then they used some of the cost savings to double down and find another potential stud in the second round. Obviously a much bigger pitcher with a better fastball, but certainly not a Sale/flamethrower type either. I think Peterson is a closer comp to Kyle Freeland, an unheralded college lefty that pitched himself into the top 10 with a dominant junior season. I don't think it would be a huge stretch to see Peterson go higher than has been projected and I wouldn't be overly disappointed with the Sox taking him either if Haseley, Smith, Addell and Beck are gone.

QUOTE (beautox @ May 23, 2017 -> 03:02 AM) WARD: Mock Draft 3.0 After watching Faedo's last outing versus UK, I'm starting to sour on him. Don't really like his delivery and his stuff isn't that impressive. I'm starting to get intrigued with David Peterson, 6'6" lefty with excellent command. Also the more I read and see of Austin Beck, the more I like him even though I'm a little wary of our ability to develop position players.