2018 MLB Draft

[GenericUserName]

Is this supposed to be a stacked year as far as pitching goes? I'm just surprised to see Hankins ranked 3rd among HS pitchers (presumably, by Eric L), let alone all pitchers who will be eligible. The dude has DYN-O-MITE stuff.

Yeah, HS pitching and pitching in general is supposed to be super deep. Kind of one reason I want us to go position with #4 because we could probably find a good pitching prospect in the second round.

[ron883]

Yeah, HS pitching and pitching in general is supposed to be super deep. Kind of one reason I want us to go position with #4 because we could probably find a good pitching prospect in the second round.

I feel ya, but you go with a pitcher if you think they are the better player. I trust this organization with pitchers more than I do hitters. You can always trade pitchers for positional prospects, as we saw with the Quintana trade. With the way some of these pitchers look, I can see the Sox taking a pitcher 1st round. Hell, if it is that deep with pitching prospects, take a pitcher 1st and 2nd round, if they are the best players there/ The draft is way too far away to realistically predict that though, obviously.

[knightni]

I was watching MLB Network yesterday and this is something that blew my mind. The SEC is a really good baseball conference, a couple of historic programs, but Frank Thomas is their only HOFer.

If he hadn't done steroids, Palmeiro would have been in there.

[ptatc]

If he hadn't done steroids, Palmeiro would have been in there.

If he hadn't done the PEDs he might not have had the stats. I remember him with the Cubs as an onbase/doubles guy. The Cubs didn't think he would ever develop power that's why he was available. They had an identical skill set player, Mark Grace, coming up who had even better on base skills.

[oldsox]

If he hadn't done the PEDs he might not have had the stats. I remember him with the Cubs as an onbase/doubles guy. The Cubs didn't think he would ever develop power that's why he was available. They had an identical skill set player, Mark Grace, coming up who had even better on base skills.

I wish I knew more about Palmeiro and his steroid usage. When did he start using and for how long? The guy could hit.

[ptatc]

I wish I knew more about Palmeiro and his steroid usage. When did he start using and for how long? The guy could hit.

Take a look at his season stats. It could be that he learned to turn his doubles power into home runs in his mid to late 20's. However, I would lean toward the PEDs.

[Balta1701]

I wish I knew more about Palmeiro and his steroid usage. When did he start using and for how long? The guy could hit.

If you believe Canseco, and well that involves believing Canseco, his first book says that he introduced Palmeiro, Gonzalez, and Rodriguez to steroids in 1992 when he arrived in TX. The next year Palmeiro's HR jumped from 22 as a 27 year old to 37 as a 28 year old. It's just Canseco's word and a circumstantial case, but then Palmeiro pointed at Congress, lied to them, and tested positive 3 months later. Canseco also said that one of the reasons Palmeiro was a fan of Stanozolol, the steroid he tested positive for, was that it helped you strengthen without exploding you a-la Barry Bonds, so that Palmeiro never lost the kind of smooth motion his swing had.

[steveno89]

If you believe Canseco, and well that involves believing Canseco, his first book says that he introduced Palmeiro, Gonzalez, and Rodriguez to steroids in 1992 when he arrived in TX. The next year Palmeiro's HR jumped from 22 as a 27 year old to 37 as a 28 year old. It's just Canseco's word and a circumstantial case, but then Palmeiro pointed at Congress, lied to them, and tested positive 3 months later. Canseco also said that one of the reasons Palmeiro was a fan of Stanozolol, the steroid he tested positive for, was that it helped you strengthen without exploding you a-la Barry Bonds, so that Palmeiro never lost the kind of smooth motion his swing had.

 

Casey Mize is a name to certainly watch, as I think he could easily end up in the top 5 selections if he is able to repeat what he did in to the SEC in 2017

 

I know everyone wants the Sox to go with a position player, but I would not be against selecting a quality arm.

[DirtySox]

BA's Draft Top 200 is up.

 

https://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/2018-...raft-prospects/

 

Surprisd to see Mize and McClanahan so high. Not surprised that Beer isn't top 30.

Edited January 12, 2018 by DirtySox

[bmags]

THat link didn't work for me, so here is another:

https://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/2018-...1IJTulu0VMhw.97

[bmags]

Here are the 5 around pick 43

40. RHP Sean Hjelle | R-R | 6-11 | 215 | Kentucky | Never Drafted

 

41. C Noah Naylor | L-R | 6-0 | 195 | St. Joan of Arc Catholic SS, Mississauga, Ont. | Texas A&M 📹

 

42. OF Joe Gray Jr. | R-R | 6-3 | 195 | Hattiesburg (Miss.) HS | Mississippi 📹

 

43. OF Zach Watson | B-R | 6-0 | 166 | Louisiana State | Never Drafted

 

44. OF Mike Siani | L-L | 6-0 | 180 | William Penn Charter, Glenside, Pa. | Virginia 📹

 

45. RHP Braxton Ashcraft | L-R | 6-5 | 195 | Robinson (Texas) HS | Baylor

 

 

Read more at https://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/2018-...F91DCS7qu0xQ.99

[Boopa1219]

According to BA, De Sedas is not a strong hitter from the left side of the plate, while he has been switch-hitting for two years and is committed to being a switch-hitter, some scouts wish that he would only bat righthanded.

 

And Kelenic is very much a grinder but super intense and scouts think he may not handle failure well as a professional.

Edited January 19, 2018 by Joshua Strong

[GenericUserName]

According to BA, De Sedas is not a strong hitter from the left side of the plate, while he has been switch-hitting for two years and is committed to being a switch-hitter, some scouts wish that he would only bat righthanded.

 

And Kelenic is very much a grinder but super intense and scouts think he may not handle failure well as a professional.

 

This might explain why I see Gorman consistently ranked above De Sedas even though he plays a lesser position and had some strikeout problems during the summer. If De Sedas is weak from the side which he will see much more and is insistent on batting switch, his profile is then probably more risky than Gorman because you know Gorman has power and you can explain away the few rough stretches he had. It's really starting to look like their is no HS bat that is will separate themselves from the pack. If that happens, I might want to go with Liberatore or Hankins if they are available.

[southsider2k5]

https://theloopsports.com/2018/01/27/white-...he-farm-system/

 

This morning Rick Hahn said that the club was currently looking at college pitching and high school hitting in the first round of the upcoming 2018 MLB Draft in June, and Hostetler confirmed such. Picking at number four this summer, the White Sox will have a plethora of options, options that we can get into closer to the draft because a lot can happen between now and then, including a shift in the early-first round landscape according to Hostetler, “It seems like this every year, that college bats, as the draft starts to get closer, start to rise,” Hostetler said. “I think a part of it is, the last thing we’ve seen really a lot of is the high school position players in the tournaments, Area Code games, etc. The two focal points from an industry standpoint as far as depth goes, are high school infielders and college pitching.”

 

 

[GenericUserName]

https://theloopsports.com/2018/01/27/white-...he-farm-system/

 

[/i][/b]

This kind of scares me that we wouldn't take Hankins if he fell to us.

[Squirmin' for Yermin]

This kind of scares me that we wouldn't take Hankins if he fell to us.

 

If we passed on Hankins (assuming all things remain the same), then I have lost faith in our scouting department

 

[Dominikk85]

Sox should take the best player no matter what position. Ideal would be a shortstop but a tor starter would also be nice.

[Lillian]

Sorry if this question has already been answered, but I'd like to know whom most of you prefer, between De Sedas and Turing, if you wanted a H.S. SS?

[bmags]

I like the idea of De Sadas more but it will be easier to tell once we get more reports on these guys.

[GenericUserName]

Sorry if this question has already been answered, but I'd like to know whom most of you prefer, between De Sedas and Turing, if you wanted a H.S. SS?

Right now, De Sedas. He has a much higher offensive upside apparently. That said, he's been struggling with switch hitting and the only knock on Turang seems to be power, so if De Sedas struggles and Turang shows power this spring I would probably switch.

[DirtySox]

Sounds like we get some Kiley draft stuff tomorrow at FanGraphs.

[Dunt]

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/mlb-draft-r...-2019-and-2020/

[bmags]

Obviously click on the link, but gonna point this out:

De Sadas

"The switch-hitter doesn’t blow scouts away but has a wide base of average to above-average tools and feel for the game, though some question if he can stick at shortstop."

 

It had been a while since we'd heard scout input on him and that sounds like not a 4th overall pick.

 

Turang:

"While Turang has been as the top player in his prep class for years, some scouts saw regression this summer, while others think he’s bored. He has 50 raw power, 60 speed, can be plus at shortstop ,and had a long track record of hitting that came to an abrupt end last June."

 

At 4th overall (though this isn't a mock draft), they had Liberatore:

"Liberatore is the prototypical high-school pitching prospect. He’s an athletic, projectable 6-foot-5 with a low-90s fastball, plus curveball, and promising changeup feel. You can go nuts projecting on his stuff, and he already has somewhat advanced feel to pitch."

 

A pretty favorable Madrigal write-up too. Not the most exciting read in the top ten in terms of position players, though Kelenics was fun. Gotta hope some surprises happen in college that could push a Gorman/Hankins down.

 

Although judging by recent drafts, doesn't it seem likely that Singer is gonna be there at 4?

[caulfield12]

Kelenic would be the best choice from that write up...but everything will change again completely in 5 months.

 

Don’t really want to risk a pick that high on a pitcher already with one TJ, or high school pitchers in general.

Edited February 12, 2018 by caulfield12

[bmags]

Liked this write-up at 20

Xavier Edwards SS North Broward Prep HS FL Vanderbilt

Some argue the 5-foot-9 shortstop is better than Turang, but only his size is making scouts hesitate. Either way, the tools are real: an 80 runner with a 60 arm, tools for shortstop, and lots of contact from both sides of the plate.

 

There are a lot of interesting writeups on OFers. It feels like with our situation we may avoid OFers though.