Señor Ding-Dong

If Montas comes up, are we going to give him some starts or work him out of the bullpen?

Zach Fish and Sikes Orvis. For Fish, how is the transition to catcher going.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 06:24 PM) I'd like to see the Sox get a competent third baseman with a good bat and play Saladino at ss and keep Sanchez at 2B. I agree, and if/when Anderson forces his way into the picture you're left with a good problem to have.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 11:38 AM) I'd rather see the Sox find someone else to play 2B who can hit a little and move Sanchez to SS where his bat is closer to average. But then you're moving a guy with GG-caliber defense at 2B to SS where he would reportedly be average at best. I'd like to get Sanchez a look at SS, especially with September coming up, but I don't think I'd want to move him off 2B long-term. I believe he has enough potential with the bat, to go along with his defense, to be an above-average or possibly even all-star 2B. He's hitting .294 since July 1st. Just imagine what his numbers would be if he had hit just poorly, say to the tune of .200, instead of the awful .153 he hit during the months of May and June. We'd all be ecstatic at his prospects for the future. Point is, he has now been good for longer than he was bad and has certainly pushed the need for a 2B pretty far down the list, at least for the time being. But pretty much what Balta said, I'd rather leave Sanchez at 2B, dump Alexei, acquire a 3B, move Saladino to SS as the stop-gap starter, then move Saladino to a utility bench role once Anderson is ready (assuming he'll stick at SS and meet expectations).

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 03:34 PM) I was looking at his baseball-reference minor league fielding stats, which state that he has played 6 games at 3B since the start of the 2011 season. He may have been a 3B in the past, but he isn't anymore. Saladino played a total of 5 games at 3B in the minors and he seems to have adjusted to the position just fine. If we're moving people around, I'd rather get Sanchez a look at SS, but it's highly unlikely that Alexei will see less time. Having said that, I don't think the hot corner would be too big of an adjustment for Sanchez, aside from a non-ideal arm for the position.

Saladino is the perfect bench player, and I don't mind him starting as a stop-gap solution until a better option comes along. I'm down with him manning SS until Anderson is ready, which would allow us to decline Alexei's option and spend that money elsewhere. His defense is fantastic, and from watching him play 3B he clearly has enough arm for SS. I love the type of player that he is and he's my long-term utility guy, which is important as it will allow us to say goodbye to the likes of Beckham, Bonifacio, and Leury Garcia. Once Anderson is ready, the SS position should be his and Sanchez looks like the long-term answer at 2B, so hopefully we can aquire a 3B which would allow Saladino to be used in his proper role as a utility bench guy, getting a couple starts per week all around the diamond. I think that's there's an outside chance that his bat will play well enough for him to stick as a starter at SS, given his great defense and solid speed. If that happens, then he should become either a great trade chip or one of the best bench players in the league, assuming Anderson becomes what he should be.

Offensively, Michah Johnson is a ML caliber player right now. We saw that during his brief stint with the Sox this season. While unspectacular, he showed a good approach at the plate even if he struggled to take advantage of his speed on the basepaths. We all know about his defense, so I'm not going to spend too much time on that. I don't know if he'll ever figure that part of his game out, and he is rather injury prone, but I've love to have him as an unorthodox DH as his speed and bat could be real weapons in the majors. I doubt we'll have a strong enough lineup to allow us the luxury of having a non-power DH though, so he's kind of in a tough spot. I'd like to see his bat and speed in the majors, but I just don't see how we can work him in unless he's able to improve his defense significantly or we have a strong enough lineup to allow him to DH. Neither of those seem likely, so if he can be the key piece that brings us back a solid player at a position of need, I say go for it, given the positives that Sanchez and Saladino, to a lesser extent, have shown and the fact that we have Anderson and Alvarez waiting in the wings.

I've been in Sanchez's corner for a while now and I've always thought his ceiling is higher than what most others give him credit for. He's a seriously overlooked and undervalued prospect. To me, he's the real deal, and I feel like if he played for the Cubs or something he'd be getting a lot more attention, both locally and nationally. He did okay in his brief stint with the Sox last season, and as everyone knows he was awful with the bat during the months of May and June this season. However, that's long behind him and he's been tearing it up since July 1st. Sanchez has hit at every level while progressing through the minors at a rapid pace, but he did struggle in his first go around in AAA only to tear it up once he adjusted to that level. It appears the same thing is happening with him at the ML level this season. While his July numbers (.323/.344) are likely unsustainable and largely the product of a hotstreak, the numbers he's putting up this month (.261/.311) are something I don't think he'll have much of a problem replicating going forward. I think we're looking at a young player who will consistently be in the Gold Glove conversation at 2B, hit .275+ with 7-12 HRs, a good amount of doubles, and a .330+ OBP. If he can do that, which I think is a real possibility as he continues to improve and adapt to major league pitching, you're looking at an all-star. I don't think he'll hit any lower than .260 as an absolute floor, and while his lack of power is concerning, 2B isn't exactly a traditional power position. He's only 23, and as he continues to mature I think he'll develop enough strength, which combined with playing his home games at the Cell, to allow him to hit in the low double-digits for HRs. As far as gap power/XBH, he was always thought of as a slappy, singles hitter, but he's hit a lot of doubles this season so hopefully that will remain a part of his game going forward, and I don't see why it wouldn't. I'm very high on Sanchez and he's my 2B until he proves he shouldn't be.

QUOTE (staxx @ Aug 12, 2015 -> 09:48 PM) The game is meant to be fun and for the players to have fun. It's a team sport and if it is something that brings them together then so be it. This. It's a game and games are meant to be fun.

Bad teams find a way to lose ball games.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 28, 2015 -> 02:39 PM) bold face for bold choices. Coats' ceiling may not be as high as some of our other prospects, but his floor is amongst the highest in our system IMO. I think he's a virtual lock to make it to the bigs and he has a pretty good chance to hang around for awhile. If he can play a competent CF on occasion then he profiles as a solid, all-around 4th OF with a decent chance to be a starter.

Why didn't we sit Ramirez and have Saladino or Sanchez play SS?

It's like they all woke up one day and suddenly remembered how to play baseball.

WTF?! Bonifacio got a hit...and drove in a run??? My head is spinning...

Holy s***, we've had more offense over the past week or so than the rest of the season combined.

1. Carson Fulmer RHP 2. Tim Anderson SS 3. Spencer Adams RHP 4. Frankie Montas RHP 5. Trey Michalczewski 3B 6. Tyler Danish RHP 7. Micker Adolfo OF 8. Courtney Hawkins OF 9. Micah Johnson 2B 10. Jason Coats OF

QUOTE (wsiskel @ Jul 27, 2015 -> 11:10 PM) Had best raw power on Kanny team (in May) – big project at catcher, not competent at all. QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Jul 28, 2015 -> 08:13 AM) I'm a big fan, just wish he wasn't already 22, he should be in W-S by now with that age Well, he's relatively new to catching after transitioning from the outfield so that may be why he's behind the curve a bit. It looks like he has some potential with the bat, so might as well see if he can stick behind the plate and he always has the outfield as a fallback plan.

QUOTE (spiderman @ Jul 22, 2015 -> 10:39 PM) Or a White Sox forum who talks about the White Sox COULD answer the question. Not that difficult of a question. The real question is how one could spend time on a White Sox forum about the White Sox and not know the prospect status of Tim Anderson. A very difficult question, indeed. Seeing as how you have the entire internet at your disposal, you could take five minutes out of your life to check Anderson's stats, read his scouting report, and maybe even watch a little film rather than asking anonymous message board posters, expecting them to answer, and taking their word for it if they do answer.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jul 20, 2015 -> 10:18 PM) last yr, he still hit and cooled off and i will say no more on that. i can offer other opinions but not with out proof. He hit well for half a season then 'cooled off' and never really heated back up. Feel free to say more and/or offer other opinions, as I'm not really sure what you're getting at. I don't know where you got the idea that I'm singling Conor out or blaming him for the team's poor play this season. I simply said that he hit well for the first half of last season, is terrible on defense, and that 'sucks' isn't an entirely inaccurate description of him. All of which is true. I wasn't talking about the whole team, I was talking about Conor because this thread is about Conor... I don't know what the rest of the team has to do in a discussion about Conor... Maybe his foot problems contributed to him being DFA'd, but the fact is that his defense is unplayable at 3B and he offers no other positional versatility. He used to mash RHP and then for whatever reason couldn't hit righties in addition lefties. He always had well below-average power for a 3B as well. What good is a righty platoon 3B who can't hit righties (or lefties) and can't play 3B or any other position? I mean, one could easily ask what's the point of keeping Bonifacio and Beckham and they'd have a point, but DFA'ing Conor is just the first step to clearing the dead weight off this roster. I have no idea what you're talking about, and don't take this the wrong way, but English is not your first language, is it? Can you clarify what you're refering to? And for good reason. Conor no longer deserves any sort of playing time. We made the right choice in giving Saladino an oppurtunity. Again, I don't follow. Conor was a crappy defender before he hurt his foot so the injury doesn't excuse that. I'm not even going to get into his hitting again. I don't see where the conspiracy fits in. Conor was DFA'd because he couldn't hit or defend at an acceptable level, his roster spot was reduntant and wasted with Saladino, Beckham, and Bonifacio, and there are other players who deserve that roster spot over him. Conor is not an MLB-caliber player at this point. Perhaps injuries played a part in that and maybe he'll bounce back, but DFA'ing him makes perfect sense considering the factors I already mentioned. Is this not a lot of consternation over a player who has had only one good half of a season in his career?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 20, 2015 -> 09:02 PM) I don't think that calling him up now would be "rushing" him any more. He's actually getting on the verge of a full year in AAA which is what should have happened with him in the first place. If his defense is not significantly better than it was during his short time with the Sox, then he's not ready yet IMO. The exception to that I guess would be if we had enough good defenders around him to make up for his sub-par defense. It's too bad he's not really a candidate to switch positions or be a full-time DH as a fallback if he never improve his defense enough, as it'd be a shame to not utilize his speed and hitting skills.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Jul 20, 2015 -> 02:15 PM) Very happy to see Micah's development in AAA after being sent down. I really cannot take anymore Carlos Sanchez. He's a great little fielder but he just doesn't have the bat speed to be an everyday player. He has a .214 wOBA which, if he had enough PAs, would be the worst among MLB players. He also had the fifth worst percentage of hard hit balls according to Fangraphs. I believe Sanchez has the potential to be a future Gold Glove winner at 2B and if the White Sox feel the same way then the extended oppurtunity they've given him is well warranted IMO. Just as Micah has game changing speed, Sanchez has game changing defense, which we've seen plenty of this season. Sanchez has been young for every level and has hit at every level. Even during his cup of coffee with the Sox last season he hit a respectable .250. While he's primarily a slappy singles hitter and will likely never be dynamic with the bat, all he has to do is get on base once per game. If the Sox were as good at hitting as they were projected to be this season then they easily could afford to sacrifice offense for defense at 2B. Besides, it seems as if Sanchez is finally starting to become comfortable with major league pitching as he's been in a groove the past few weeks. He is now hitting .192 after dipping to as low as .141 at one point. He is hitting .262 so far in the month of July, .333 over his last 7 games, .260 over his last 15, and .227 over his last 30. His BABiP is also .241, which suggests that he's hit into some bad luck and eventually some of those outs will turn into hits. Most projections believe he'll hit around .250 the rest of the season, which will be more than acceptable given his defense if those projections due indeed prove true.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 20, 2015 -> 02:17 PM) I think we have enough at bats to go around at 3B / SS / 2B if the Sox thought they saw enough in these guys and were ready to acquire someone else at one of those positions depending on how they evaluate everyone based upon their collective minor league careers to date, tools, and of course what they show at the major league level. This of course is dependent on moving Ramirez. If we wanted to, we could definitely go young in the infield and put Micah at 2B, Saladino at 3B, and Sanchez at SS. Sanchez and Saladino are obviously already in the majors, and Micah's done enough with the bat to justify putting him in the lineup. In the big picture though, would that move be in the best interest of Micah or the Sox? I know everyone wants to see Micah back up because his speed and hitting potential are very intriguing, but personally I'd rather not see him back until rosters expand in September because he needs as much time as possible to iron out his defense. AAA is the perfect environment for him to do that as it's low-pressure and winning isn't the first priority. Put him in the majors right now and not only would he run the risk of costing us games, but his confidence could take a hit if his defense hasn't improved to at least playable. Unless he truly has improved his defense to below-average or better over the course of the past two months, what would be the point of calling him back up? It would be the same as before: solid bat, great but undisciplined speed, and poor defense. What was the point of sending him down in the first place if we're not going to patient with him and wait until his defense is more acceptable? Let him continue to work on his defense in the minors where he can receive individual, personalized coaching that he would be unlikely to receive in the majors. If he contnues to rake in AAA, great. He has a lot of potential, and I would prefer not to rush him when it's clear that half of his game is not major league ready.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Jul 20, 2015 -> 06:34 PM) Is it also not fair to say he was a horrible defender in the majors based off of 27 games in the MLB. Who says he wouldn't have improved while up he was up here and getting more comfortable? Okay, that's a fair point. Micah likely would have improved with more time to get acclimated to playing defense in the majors. By how much though? Maybe slightly, but even then his defense still likely would have been unplayable given how bad it was to begin with. Defense has always been the big question mark for him, even in the minors, so it's not like his stint in the majors was the first time he's struggled defensively. Besides, I don't think the difference between playing defense in AAA compared to MLB is anywhere near as drastic as the difference between hitting in AAA compared to MLB. Based off what I've seen, defense more or less translates from AAA to MLB. Maybe there's a slight adjustment period, but nothing too drastic. My reasoning is based off of: I've seen great AAA hitters struggle in the majors. Some eventually figure it out, some never do. But players who are viewed as good/great defenders in the minors typically prove to be at least average in the majors. I don't recall seeing too many players who were touted as good/great defenders in the minors turning out to be below-average in the majors. In the case of Sanchez, I would say it's the opposite. He was viewed as a good defender in the minors (most scouts and experts rated his glove as a 55), but he's been a great defender since joining the Sox IMO. Then again, I'm no scout nor do I have any first-hand experience of the difference between AAA and MLB, so I may be way off the mark.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jul 20, 2015 -> 10:09 AM) conor sucks.....yet how do you explain, last yr a hitting avg of 280 +/- when some players can't hit their weight. Gillaspie hit .326 during the first half of last season. That's great. Then he hit .228 the rest of that season. That's bad. This season he's hit a total of .237 despite playing almost exclusively against RHPs, something which should have maximized his production given his righty/lefty splits last season. So basically, Conor hasn't hit for almost a year now. Add that to his unplayably bad defense and saying he 'sucks' isn't entirely inaccurate.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Jul 19, 2015 -> 03:14 PM) Davidson falling off a cliff again. No need to see him on the South Side, now or ever, probably - he'd hit .150, maybe. Give Saladino 3B for awhile. Dude appeared to have some talent at one point. Amazing how little development of hitters ever takes place in this org. Or maybe not so amazing. I wonder how much blame the Sox deserve for Davidson's apparent failure to develop as anticipated. Is he the product of inferior coaching and development techniques that made him a worse hitter than he was prior to joining the Sox? Is he the product of poor scouting by the Sox? Or did he simply experience unforeseen regression that was inevitable regardless of what organization he played for? All three likely played a part, but I have a feeling the bulk of the blame can be put on this organization's inability to properly develop hitters. This organization's philosophy on hitting is outdated and ineffective. I really wish we could clean house and bring in some people who will instill a new, modern, and most importantly effective philosophy on what to look for in potential players and how to develop those players once they're in the organization. Give me some players with baseball skills who can make contact, take walks, and play defense and some coaches that are capable of improving those skills and developing those players. How many times are we going to fall in love with the toolsy former football player with immense raw power only to watch him fail? This rant isn't directed at Davidson, but rather the Sox philosophy. At least we know how to handle pitchers.