This guy is nice. The swing and miss numbers are off the charts.

Just now, DirtySox said:

Do people care about spoiling remaining picks other than the White Sox picks later on?

Personally I don’t care now

Here's Law on the Smith selection.

Quote

The Chicago White Sox drafted LHP Hagen Smith with the No. 5 pick.

Smith has improved every year at Arkansas, coming out very hot to start this year with a 17-strikeout performance against Oregon State in Week 2, after which he probably could have just taken the rest of the spring off and still gone in the top-10 picks. He’s 92-97 mph with a plus slider that he uses to left- and right-handed batters alike, with a changeup exclusively for right-handed batters. Because he starts on the extreme first-base side of the rubber, he doesn’t locate the fastball to his glove side and has to go to the slider to throw anything inside to righties, often trying to get a chase on a slider aimed at the hitter’s back foot, with the fastball and the changeup both going to the outer third of the zone.

It’s a funky delivery that he doesn’t hold together deep into his starts, and teams will be scrutinizing his mechanics even more closely because he’s already had one Tommy John surgery, back in high school. He takes a huge stride towards the plate to generate all that power, starting his arm late and then accelerating it very quickly, with a low three-quarters slot and arm path that have earned him some comparisons to Chris Sale. That’s a dream scenario, of course, as Sale improved the moment he got into the White Sox’s system and then threw about 1,000 innings before arm trouble began to hold him back. Smith has No. 2 starter upside if he can hold his stuff deeper into outings, and perhaps if he moves towards the middle of the rubber so he can work to both sides of the plate.

Quote

The White Sox take Hagen Smith, the top lefty in the draft class and an advanced starter whose 17-strikeout game against Oregon State in February had scouts saying it was one of the best pitching performances they had ever witnessed.

He offers the White Sox a little of both worlds — he could get to the majors very quickly as an SEC product with now stuff, but they didn't leave anything on the table by taking him as he was miles ahead of the next pitcher still on the board.

 

Edited July 14, 20241 yr by DirtySox

1 minute ago, DirtySox said:

Do people care about spoiling remaining picks other than the White Sox picks later on?

Nah, I will allow it.

1 minute ago, southsider2k5 said:

So much more excited for Hagen Smith than any of the hitters that were there.  The White Sox develop pitching well.  Play into it.  Besides wonder if the Sox get some decent cap savings here, but also wonder if they think they are going to be able to get some hitting in here with the trade offers they have seen so far?

Exact opposite. Sox aren't in a position to draft to development strength over org needs. Would have liked any of the three position players there.

3 minutes ago, SoCalChiSox said:

We needed fucking bats Chris 

Guess it’s coming in trades. Probably a better strategy since they can develop pitching. 

1 minute ago, mac9001 said:

I feel like Smith's floor in starting in the bigs. Which I think I'd prefer over Cags floor which is hitting .150 with a 40% k-rate in AAA 

Short of his arm blowing up, I feel the same way.

Pitching is nice but if you can’t score does not matter who pitches!

Just now, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Exact opposite. Sox aren't in a position to draft to development strength over org needs. Would have liked any of the three position players there.

Same

Crochet, cya

 

Getz better cash tf out dealing crochet in the next 2 weeks. I am so annoyed.

3 minutes ago, DirtySox said:

Do people care about spoiling remaining picks other than the White Sox picks later on?

Not at all. 

1 minute ago, joejoesox said:

Crochet is getting dealt, there's your bats

Jimmy said people don't want to trade their position prospects tho 

 

This pick is an indictment of Reinsdorf's refusal to pay to retain our own talent. It's a Crochet-proofing choice, and that sucks.

1 minute ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Exact opposite. Sox aren't in a position to draft to development strength over org needs. Would have liked any of the three position players there.

Sure, we want more position players, but do you trust the Sox to play into the weaknesses of any of those kids?  Can they get less swing and miss out of their guys?  Can they keep hamstrings healthy?  Can the develop a really raw high school kid who didn't see real competition? 

I trust them way more to turn Hagen Smith into a really good major league starting pitcher than I trust them to develop anyone with those flaws into a really good major league hitter.

And now I have sources saying Christian Moore to LAA after JJ goes

Just now, SoCalChiSox said:

Jimmy said people don't want to trade their position prospects tho 

 

yeah but i think last minute desperation will probably kick in, Dodgers entire rotation is more/less hurt right now

4 minutes ago, DirtySox said:

Man did I not expect this from your post. 

I love Hagen Smith.  For me this was a two man draft.  Cags or Smith.  I'm very happy they went with Smith.  

 

So has he had TJS yet?

2 minutes ago, SoCalChiSox said:

Fucking idiot. 

You better get Kjerstad now.

And I don't want to hear excuses about how Elias doesn't want to give him up.

The deadline better be ALL about bats. 

I have zero faith in the Sox ability to scout and develop hitting, so I’m not upset with the pick of a pitcher. But I 100% agree that acquiring hitting must be a focus in later rounds and at the deadline. 

Just now, ScootsMcGoots said:

So has he had TJS yet?

Yes.

Maybe they can still teach Hagen Smith to play RF. 

Just now, ScootsMcGoots said:

So has he had TJS yet?

Yes, in HS>