Bruce_Blixton

I'm not freaking out about Giolito yet, his recent struggles remind me a lot of Gavin Floyd when he was coming up. A highly touted high school pitcher and first round pick that seemingly lost his confidence once he hit AAA and the MLB resulting in Phillies fans throwing in the towel on him way too early. I've tempered my expectations with Giolito and don't see him as a top line starter anymore but I think the development staff can get a Floyd-type pitcher out of him, it's just going to take some time like it did with Floyd.

How the Big Board or the top 100 draft prospects has been shaping up I think the Sox can't afford to miss on their first pick and should target a college player in the first round, hopefully Haseley, Smith or Faedo are still around. Not really sold on any of the prep players in the first round, Addell is intriguing but the recent failure to develop Hawkins would cause me to shy away from him. There are also some quality prep players that should be available for our second pick, notably Garrett Mitchell, M.J. Melendez & Connor Usleton have some decent upside and play premium positions.

I wouldn't mind if the Sox selected Kevin Merrell in the second round, top end speed and an advanced bat with some pop. Probably won't stick in the infield but could transition well to CF which we have a dearth of in the system.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Apr 7, 2017 -> 09:11 PM) Joseph Duarte‏Verified account @Joseph_Duarte 32m32 minutes ago BREAKING: Houston lefty Seth Romero suspended indefinitely for multiple violations of university and athletic department policy. #MLB Pretty noteworthy. Had worked his way into top half of the first consideration. Depending on what his violations were I hope we pull the trigger on him if he slips to the second round, he was putting up some really good numbers this year.

Not sure that he'll "breakout" but I'm excited to see what Amado Nunez does this year. He had a really strong season in the AZL last year and hope he can build on it this year. I'm also interested to see what Zach Thompson does this year, a little old for his league but I really like his frame and hope he can stick as a starter.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jul 31, 2016 -> 10:09 AM) Tilson grew up a White Sox fan A difficult proposition for someone growing up in the North Shore.

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Jul 27, 2016 -> 11:10 AM) Not flying under the radar with FutureSox....not sure if you noticed he wasn't in the 16-30 list released yesterday Good to hear that he's getting noticed! Would love to see our international scouting to start paying dividends stateside.

Amado Nunez has been flying under the radar so far, he's been having a pretty impressive year for an 18 year old in the AZL. I guess his defense needs a lot of work right now but a .330/.355/.452/.808 line over 115 ABs is pretty encouraging.

The W-S team is going to struggle to score runs this year unless they rush some players up from Kanny.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Mar 15, 2016 -> 11:47 AM) Giles is a lot better than you're giving him credit for. He could be a stud closer like Kimbrel or he could be an Addison Reed but being a closer he already has somewhat limited value and the fact that Appel had to be included as part of a four-player package to get Giles should suggest how low Appel's value really is around the league.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 15, 2016 -> 11:38 AM) No one is paying up for Avi Garcia based on two weeks of spring training stats. Fair enough but I'm not sure if Appel would be that high of a price at this point, he was traded for a developing closer this offseason and not even one-for-one but part of a seven-player package. At this point I think Appel is nearing reclamation status like Gavin Floyd when he was with the Phillies.

I think we should trade him and try to capitalize on the his rising value, something like Avi for Mark Appel+a 15-20 prospect from the Phillies like Nick Pivetta, Alberto Tirado or Tyler Goeddel. I know Appel has really struggled since being drafted but a lot of the knocks against him concern the lack of movement on his fastball, which adding a cutter (Coop's specialty) could transform his game, but from all accounts his stuff is still electric. EDIT- Just saw LaRoche is retiring, I say let Avi slip into the DH and platoon with Melky since that roster spot opened up.

Jacob May hit for the cycle in Birmingham tonight.

Great interview guys, very informative and I have a lot more confidence in him going forward after reading this. I especially liked the tidbits he shared about Zangari, Mendick & Glines, looks like the cross-checker's confidence in Zangari is starting to pay off.

I'd like to see Delmonico, Montas, May, Erik Johnson, Barnum (Trey would be interesting but could use another year of seasoning, Barnum has missed a lot of time over the past two seasons so he needs as many reps as possible plus he seems to be figuring out A+ over the last month), Peter Tago & Coats. I know Coats isn't a sexy prospect but I'd like to see how he does against the more advanced competition the AFL provides.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Aug 2, 2015 -> 07:06 PM) Totally. I love that he's getting shelled. Now he knows he needs to come back better next year. Count me in as looking forward to seeing what he's made of. Exactly. It's tough to see him struggle this year but then I think back to when I was 20 years old and how immature I was physically and mentally and calm down. Even if he doesn't grow an inch or two in the next couple of years he will still naturally get stronger and, as you mentioned, he's figuring out what works for him and what he needs to work on to be successful. It's a very long-term gamble with this kid by challenging him, he might fade in the face of adversity and spend the rest of his career bouncing around the bullpen, but if he rises above the adversity then you have a bonafide competitor on your hands and an integral piece of your rotation for years to come.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 2, 2015 -> 02:51 PM) Danish destroyed yet again Growing pains for a 20 year-old kid in AA ball, no need to overreact. Any success at this level at his age should be viewed positively.

Offensive eruption from our DSL team today, 19 runs on 11 hits and 16 walks(!). Maiker Feliz is definitely a player to watch next year, hopefully they put him in the AZL and see what he's got.

Not a bad list, but I think Coats should flip with Jake Peter, I think he's earned a higher ranking even though he's not a flashy prospect. Kind of like Saldino, in that he's progressed through the system based more on baseball skill than tools.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jul 22, 2015 -> 07:35 AM) Matt, Chris Comito is the 14th rounder that took $170,000 over slot. Dopico was a slot signing. 27 Ks and a 0.95 WHIP in 17IP gets my attention too.

This thread was just posted on Reddit detailing some alleged inside info into a possible Reds-Dodgers trade for Cueto. Interesting to use as a basis for Shark trade to the Dodgers. https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/...n_the_reds_and/

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 18, 2015 -> 05:34 AM) Coats is a 25 year old in AAA puttimg up a .720 OPS. How can one project him to put up a .790 at the highest level? If he does, I hope someone with the White Sox reads this and hires you to scout, and I am not kidding. The reason I used the Conine comp was due to their similar path to the majors and skillset, Conine was a late round pick out of UCLA but quickly rushed through the Royals system and didn't make his pro debut until he was 26 so a bit of a late bloomer. Conine was an athletic outfielder in his prime and by all the reports I've read on Coats he has been very solid in the outfield. I'm not saying that Coats will definitely reach this level, but if he does maximize his tools I see his ceiling is Jeff Conine, a capable defensive player with a decent bat that can play in the lower third of the batting order.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jul 17, 2015 -> 08:47 PM) Jeff Conine was a stud hitter for 2-3 years. Slight exaggeration. Really? Conine was solid but never a "stud hitter" in my mind, a great 6-7 hitter in the lineup but never able to carry a lineup in the 3-4 hole. His 162 game average slash line was .285/.347/.443/.789 and he never hit more than 26 HRs in a season (even during the steroid era). I honestly believe that Coats could put up that type of production, maybe not his rookie season but given a full season of ABs I could see him eventually putting up a similar line.

Good games from Trayce Thompson & Jason Coats in Charlotte, I've been really impressed with Coats throughout his time with us. He's never dominated a league but he's never "failed" in a league either. I know he doesn't have amazing tools but I could see him having a Jeff Conine-type ceiling.

Damn, I hope this doesn't turn into a Morneau situation.