May 4, 20187 yr Given our depth at the position, I thought it would be a fun exercise to rank the top 5 OF prospects in the system. Here are my rankings: 1) Jimenez 2) Robert 3) Basabe 4) Adolfo 5) Rutherford
May 4, 20187 yr Fun idea. I'll even go deeper than 5... 1. Jimenez 2. Robert 3. Adolfo 4. Rutherford 5. Basabe 6. Gonzalez 7. Palka (if he counts for this exercise) 8. Polo 9. Tilson 10. Call 11. Dedelow 12. Cordell 13. Fisher 14. Frost 15. Booker 3-4-5 is a really tight group, could be any order really. And if I had to put a line at where players are likely to be contributing major leaguers or not, it would be likely around 13.
May 4, 20187 yr 6 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said: Given our depth at the position, I thought it would be a fun exercise to rank the top 5 OF prospects in the system. Here are my rankings: 1) Jimenez 2) Robert 3) Basabe 4) Adolfo 5) Rutherford This would also be mine.
May 4, 20187 yr Author Interesting to see Cordell that low. Were you not high on him coming into the season or did his struggles in April bump him down a few spots?
May 4, 20187 yr I'd put Polo higher just because there's no way a guy named Tito Polo doesn't make it.
May 4, 20187 yr My Top 5 1) Jimenez 2) Robert 3) Micker 4) Basabe 5) Rutherford And there is a pretty sizable drop off after those 5. I think those five have a chance to be above average to stars. Under these guys are players who have a chance to be league average type of players.
May 4, 20187 yr Can somebody rate them 1-5 defensively? I'm intrigued by Rutherford. Even if the pop never develops, he has really good bat control and looks like he can work the ball around the field (i'm basing this off the video available online. never seen him in person). If he's a plus defender, his bat will play, especially if we can make up for the lack of power in other spots around the field.
May 4, 20187 yr I heard last night that Palka was crushing the ball with Minnesota's farm before he got hurt, and then the Sox picked him up. Is he an actual player or just a tank filler?
May 4, 20187 yr 31 minutes ago, TaylorStSox said: Can somebody rate them 1-5 defensively? I'm intrigued by Rutherford. Even if the pop never develops, he has really good bat control and looks like he can work the ball around the field (i'm basing this off the video available online. never seen him in person). If he's a plus defender, his bat will play, especially if we can make up for the lack of power in other spots around the field. I could be wrong but I think defensively its probably: 1 Basabe 2 Robert 3 Rutherford 4 Adolfo 5 Jimenez Basabe and Robert both have CF capabilities. Rutherford has a bit more flexibility than Adolfo in the outfield but Adolfo has a cannon for an arm in right. Probably the best outfield arm in our system.Unfortunately the UCL injury jeopardizes that. Edited May 4, 20187 yr by KrankinSox Mixed up robert and basabe
May 4, 20187 yr Author 5 minutes ago, KrankinSox said: I could be wrong but I think defensively its probably: 1 Basabe 2 Robert 3 Rutherford 4 Adolfo 5 Jimenez Basabe and Robert both have CF capabilities. Rutherford has a bit more flexibility than Adolfo in the outfield but Adolfo has a cannon for an arm in right. Probably the best outfield arm in our system.Unfortunately the UCL injury jeopardizes that. This also seems right to me, although it’s impossible to say with Robert since we (or at least I) have seen so little of him. Does anyone know how Gonzalez’s defense is? I remember hearing an Inciarte comp, but that seems pretty bullish for obvious reasons. But if the glove is that good in CF he could quickly join the top 6 if he proves himself a bit in High A.
May 4, 20187 yr 2 hours ago, Chicago White Sox said: Interesting to see Cordell that low. Were you not high on him coming into the season or did his struggles in April bump him down a few spots? He was in the 20's on the FS T30 I think? His cold start wasn't a huge deal, but the injury complicates things in terms of the stack. Tilson may now get his shot in Chicago before Cordell does. Also, having seen him in Charlotte, I wasn't overly impressed. But I could also see having Cordell higher than my list, he was a tough call. I'm not super-attached to where he is. Also part of it is people who leaped him more than whatever he did negatively.
May 4, 20187 yr 1 hour ago, TaylorStSox said: Can somebody rate them 1-5 defensively? I'm intrigued by Rutherford. Even if the pop never develops, he has really good bat control and looks like he can work the ball around the field (i'm basing this off the video available online. never seen him in person). If he's a plus defender, his bat will play, especially if we can make up for the lack of power in other spots around the field. Defensively, just notes on the ones I have seen and/or gotten evals from people I'd trust... Jimenez will be at best average in LF. Robert, it's so early to say, but early reports were very good. Just can't read much into them yet. Rutherford is very good on the corners in all facets, and has plenty of arm for all three slots. CF is an open question. He showed an arm in Winston-Salem that will rival Adolfo's or close to it. Adolfo has the atheticism for LF or RF just fine, plenty of speed, and has an absolute cannon arm. But his routes, last I saw last year, are still on the immature side. Basabe looks pretty damn good in CF or the corners, though not elite. Plenty of speed, enough arm, routes and approach on and off. But like Adolfo, lots of room for growth in that area and all the tools to do so. Gonzalez looks really good in CF in all facets - a true center fielder already. His best asset probably.
May 4, 20187 yr Author 2 minutes ago, NorthSideSox72 said: Defensively, just notes on the ones I have seen and/or gotten evals from people I'd trust... Jimenez will be at best average in LF. Robert, it's so early to say, but early reports were very good. Just can't read much into them yet. Rutherford is very good on the corners in all facets, and has plenty of arm for all three slots. CF is an open question. He showed an arm in Winston-Salem that will rival Adolfo's or close to it. Adolfo has the atheticism for LF or RF just fine, plenty of speed, and has an absolute cannon arm. But his routes, last I saw last year, are still on the immature side. Basabe looks pretty damn good in CF or the corners, though not elite. Plenty of speed, enough arm, routes and approach on and off. But like Adolfo, lots of room for growth in that area and all the tools to do so. Gonzalez looks really good in CF in all facets - a true center fielder already. His best asset probably. I have not heard that about Rutherford’s arm. Everything I’ve read has mentioned LF being his likely home due to limited arm strength. Admittedly I haven’t seen his arm myself so I can’t really argue one way or the other, just sharing what I’ve read.
May 4, 20187 yr 2 hours ago, NorthSideSox72 said: Fun idea. I'll even go deeper than 5... 1. Jimenez 2. Robert 3. Adolfo 4. Rutherford 5. Basabe 6. Gonzalez 7. Palka (if he counts for this exercise) 8. Polo 9. Tilson 10. Call 11. Dedelow 12. Cordell 13. Fisher 14. Frost 15. Booker 3-4-5 is a really tight group, could be any order really. And if I had to put a line at where players are likely to be contributing major leaguers or not, it would be likely around 13. I agree the 3-5 could be in any order. Was going to say that myself, actually. Overall, solid list. My only question would be having Booker at 15. Is that simply him being on the old side for high-A? Other than a few glimpses in ST and scouting the stat line I don’t have a ton to go on, but from what I could see he looked like he might be interesting.
May 4, 20187 yr 3 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said: I have not heard that about Rutherford’s arm. Everything I’ve read has mentioned LF being his likely home due to limited arm strength. Admittedly I haven’t seen his arm myself so I can’t really argue one way or the other, just sharing what I’ve read. I was surprised myself. Watched him in two games, and two practice sessions. He doesn't have the pure arm strength of Adolfo for example, but Rutherford was dead-on accurate and had more strength than Booker or Call in my admittedly subjective viewing. 2 minutes ago, Blackout Friday said: I agree the 3-5 could be in any order. Was going to say that myself, actually. Overall, solid list. My only question would be having Booker at 15. Is that simply him being on the old side for high-A? Other than a few glimpses in ST and scouting the stat line I don’t have a ton to go on, but from what I could see he looked like he might be interesting. I've been arguing on this a lot lately. I don't think Booker is a major leaguer. What he has is 70-grade speed, good to very good glove work in CF, and he's a smart guy. All of that is good. But his swing and approach at the plate give me major pause, and his bat looks slow to me. I just think he will get exposed, and soon, at the plate. I don't think he'll hit for much average, almost no power, and he doesn't walk much. Clearly I'd happily be wrong, but that's my view on him. I really think people are reading far too much into one (very hot) month while returning to a level where he's a year or more older than the core prospects.
May 4, 20187 yr 3 minutes ago, NorthSideSox72 said: I was surprised myself. Watched him in two games, and two practice sessions. He doesn't have the pure arm strength of Adolfo for example, but Rutherford was dead-on accurate and had more strength than Booker or Call in my admittedly subjective viewing. I've been arguing on this a lot lately. I don't think Booker is a major leaguer. What he has is 70-grade speed, good to very good glove work in CF, and he's a smart guy. All of that is good. But his swing and approach at the plate give me major pause, and his bat looks slow to me. I just think he will get exposed, and soon, at the plate. I don't think he'll hit for much average, almost no power, and he doesn't walk much. Clearly I'd happily be wrong, but that's my view on him. I really think people are reading far too much into one (very hot) month while returning to a level where he's a year or more older than the core prospects. Thanks for this. It’ll be interesting to see what happens if/when he gets pushed to AA.
May 4, 20187 yr 17 minutes ago, NorthSideSox72 said: I was surprised myself. Watched him in two games, and two practice sessions. He doesn't have the pure arm strength of Adolfo for example, but Rutherford was dead-on accurate and had more strength than Booker or Call in my admittedly subjective viewing. I've been arguing on this a lot lately. I don't think Booker is a major leaguer. What he has is 70-grade speed, good to very good glove work in CF, and he's a smart guy. All of that is good. But his swing and approach at the plate give me major pause, and his bat looks slow to me. I just think he will get exposed, and soon, at the plate. I don't think he'll hit for much average, almost no power, and he doesn't walk much. Clearly I'd happily be wrong, but that's my view on him. I really think people are reading far too much into one (very hot) month while returning to a level where he's a year or more older than the core prospects. One reason I advocate for moving up Booker is Birmingham will clarify all of that (and quickly) and remove one more question from our crowded outfield.
May 4, 20187 yr I think Northside got them all. I'm tempering my enthusiasm for a lot of these guys until they float in the AA pool.
May 4, 20187 yr 1 hour ago, NorthSideSox72 said: Defensively, just notes on the ones I have seen and/or gotten evals from people I'd trust... Jimenez will be at best average in LF. Robert, it's so early to say, but early reports were very good. Just can't read much into them yet. Rutherford is very good on the corners in all facets, and has plenty of arm for all three slots. CF is an open question. He showed an arm in Winston-Salem that will rival Adolfo's or close to it. Adolfo has the atheticism for LF or RF just fine, plenty of speed, and has an absolute cannon arm. But his routes, last I saw last year, are still on the immature side. Basabe looks pretty damn good in CF or the corners, though not elite. Plenty of speed, enough arm, routes and approach on and off. But like Adolfo, lots of room for growth in that area and all the tools to do so. Gonzalez looks really good in CF in all facets - a true center fielder already. His best asset probably. Adolfo isn’t getting a bit slower? He’s a really big dude.
May 4, 20187 yr I'd fairly optimistic with all our OFers except for Rutherford. If we had statcast data I'd imagine his exit velocity would be pathetically low.
May 4, 20187 yr Author 27 minutes ago, mac9001 said: I'd fairly optimistic with all our OFers except for Rutherford. If we had statcast data I'd imagine his exit velocity would be pathetically low. Kid has 8 doubles, I’m sure it can’t be pathetically low.
May 4, 20187 yr 29 minutes ago, mac9001 said: I'd fairly optimistic with all our OFers except for Rutherford. If we had statcast data I'd imagine his exit velocity would be pathetically low. He’s also 20 and literally still growing. At this age Adam Eaton was a college OF with an extreme lack of power and no projectability. Power is the last tool to develop. Bat control/approach and ability to put strength on his frame are more important at this point. He’s not a slap hitter (i.e. Tilson), he’s just a lanky 20 year old growing into his frame. Edited May 4, 20187 yr by username
May 5, 20187 yr 20 minutes ago, username said: He’s also 20 and literally still growing. At this age Adam Eaton was a college OF with an extreme lack of power and no projectability. Power is the last tool to develop. Bat control/approach and ability to put strength on his frame are more important at this point. He’s not a slap hitter (i.e. Tilson), he’s just a lanky 20 year old growing into his frame. Very well put. He's hitting the crap out of the ball right now.
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