Timmy U

Nope. Just went through a Top 30 prospect list from back then and the only starters listed other than Kopech, Cease et al are Alec Hansen and Konnor Pilkington. I'll admit there was 1 year of Hansen hype, but Pilkington didn't rise to the level of even a Gowens, let alone Iriarte, Nastrini, Bush, Batista, etc etc etc. Sox development may still suck, but they've got more depth than they did back then.

I disagree. When Giolito, Kopech, Cease, Lopez, and Dunning were traded for, the rest of the Sox pitching in the minors was pretty thin. The prospect pedigree on Giolito, Cease, and Kopech may be slightly > Schultz, Smith, and Taylor, but, by the time the Sox got them, both Giolito's and Cease's stock were down considerably. That's why they were available. Schultz is currently one of the top 3 pitching prospects in the minors (alongside Jobe and Painter). Smith is coming off one of the most dominant college seasons in history. Taylor may be more of a stretch, but having seen him pitch, I think he's a very bad man. After that, there's like 10 guys fighting for spots. John Ely says "don't sleep on Carela" and I personally love Batista. Even their super young guys like Larsen, Oppor, Reyes, LaCombe, etc have upside. I think the pitching depth in their system is waaaaaay better than it was 6/7 years ago.

I thought, didn't we have this guy last year? Of course, I was thinking of another near-miss Boston 3b prospect Michael Chavis. Man, trying to make a living hitting a baseball is a brutal business.

I would call it good, not great. I think you could slap a 50 on it. His strength at every position defensively is baseball smarts. Son of a coach. Always in the right position. Good footwork, so he maximizes his tools. He played mostly 3b in Kanny and his arm was fine over there. At short, it might be a tick light on plays in the whole, but so was Ozzie's. In the outfield, he gets rid of it in a hurry and he hits the cutoff man. He's not Fletcher or Colas or Zavala or Braden Montgomery, but he's fine in any outfield position. I wouldn't make him an everyday CF, but he can play the position. I bet he'd score average or better at 6 or 7 positions defensively.

The answer to this hypothetical is currently unknowable. If Smith and Schultz are just okay, sure preserve the roster spots. If they dominate in a way that announces their arrival as future core rotation pieces, you may have to be flexible. The Pirates certainly don’t begrudge Skenes’ roster spot. See what the season brings. The good ones tend to come quickly. I hope Smith and Schultz make it hard on them.

Yeah, and Bobby Witt Jr. put up 10.4 fWar. Develop 1 guy like that, then spend all you want on FA.

Bannister likes to give starters some exposure to mlb out of the bullpen when they have basically reached their innings limit a la Iriarte last year. They are not putting Schultz and Smith on the Sale/Crochet plan.

The logic isn't terrible, but does a guy like Kim really move the needle enough to make the risk worth it?

Interesting. Thanks for this. I think you may be light on Dumesnil. He’s got the kind of tools that, if he performs, he could be a top 5 guy. But that’s why they play the games.

Morton has had a great career. That said, they are really rolling the bones by bringing the fences in and not getting higher level pitching. They better hope Rodriguez develops into a true ace or they’re gonna waste a window of some of the finest young talent in the last 20 years.

Baldwin has solid tools across the board. His ceiling is big league regular. Will he reach it? Who knows? But he definitely has the talent to start sometime in his career. He absolutely dominated a great pitcher’s league in AA.

Let me play Devil’s Advocate and it is about development. Ramos is a decent defender who has lapses throwing the ball. Sosa is pretty bad at 3b and a knucklehead at 2b. Vargas is brutal wherever he plays. The Sox have like 15 young pitchers they are gonna try and develop over the next 2 years. What if you have a plus defender at 3b to take platoon at bats and some late inning defensive replacement innings? Might that not help the pitchers develop? Ramos, in particular has massive platoon splits. Is it so bad to ease him into mlb at bats? I think this is a decent signing that may reflect a desire to have some of the Sox B/B+ prospects earn their time rather than just handing it to them. Plus, I would love to see Vargas DH/1b only. He is a hazard with a glove in his hand.

Sosa is out of options and Meidroth isn’t on the 40 man. I think there’s a solid chance Meidroth and Ramos begin the year in Charlotte.

Sox are gonna be like the Padres, except instead of shortstops, every position is going to be manned by a second baseman. It is a fine buy-low attempt. I wonder who gets DFA’d to make room? My guess is Scholtens or Amaya, but players they don’t like, e.g. Colas, are suddenly in the picture.

31 year old with 0.0 mil in trade value. Maybe he surprises, but there’s nothing to indicate he’s “good.” I guess, faith in Bannister says, “possibly cromulent”?

To me there’s one thing you could judge about Vargas in the Spring: Has he adjusted to the 4-seam? If not, there’s very little hope for him. You literally cannot find a single decent player who struggles against 4-seamers the way Vargas does. If he makes the adjustment, give him half a season. If not, I don’t know why you would.

Why did he feel it necessary to say “not the White Sox”? It feels like salt in the wound.

Combs looks like a piece that doesn’t need 40 man protection for several years. Gilbert is a DFA that may or may not make the team. I don’t know wtf they are thinking.

You don't need one of the partners to run the joint. You could hire a team president who speaks for the club at the mlb level (like Kevin Warren) and then either Reinsdorf or another owner is a level up. Now, it is possible that LaRussa is the de facto President right now, but he is not qualified for that role. I would love Mellody Hobson to step up and run the team, but she is very busy running a hedge fund and promoting her book. I doubt she wants to run the Sox. But it would guarantee the best Star Wars night in all of baseball.

Both of those guys have the stuff to force the issue. If they dominate higher levels, the Sox won’t have much choice. Gotta challenge them to improve. I would start Schultz at AA and Smith at A+ to make it difficult on them to Zoom right up though.

Vargas cannot play LF. Full stop. There is an opportunity cost with just giving him 3b. That would mean no chance for Ramos and maybe Sosa. I think Vargas is a dh. Not against trying him at 3b if Ramos and Sosa don’t earn a shot, but I want to play the best man. I would make it an ongoing competition.

If you’re talking Montgomery or Ramos or Teel or Quero or even Vargas, sure. But Fletcher is a low ceiling 26/27 year old guy. He is not a future piece. He is a now piece. He hits, play him. He doesn’t, minors.

I am tired of letting people play long into their suckitude. Sure, if they hit. But Fletcher was not a highly-ranked prospect, plus, he was bad in the majors and worse in AAA than either Colas or DeLoach. Vargas was a good prospect but he has not made the jump. And he was so bad last year, I find it hard to believe he’ll have more than half a year to prove himself.

Or now he can concentrate on learning either Korean or Japanese. He is going to need it.

I will kill for them to be average at 1 thing. Maybe Bannister is doing that with pitching development, but they aren’t there yet. Everything else, they seem to be bottom third or lower.