2026 MLB Draft Thread...Sox likely a Top 3 pick here

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

On 2/14/2025 at 2:23 PM, caulfield12 said:

To add to the excitement lol...since everytime one looks up at 2025 it's simply maddening to draft tenth.

It is maddening. Stupid Commissioner. Baseball doesn't need an anti tanking rule. Picking the right players in the draft is harder than any other sport already and you instituted a lottery system. That's plenty good enough. No need to punish the worst teams fan bases too. The team being a mess is bad enough. Then you're going to throw in more labor problems to make things worse .The rich and east coast teams will keep spending just the way baseball wants it. God forbid Midwest cities like Milwaukee, KC , Cleveland, Minnesota,Chicago get lucky enough drafting to make the playoffs a few years in a row as they all struggle to pay their stars enough so they don't leave. Bad owners don't need to be rewarded but they already hurt their franchises and their fans enough without MLB stepping in with more gasoline to throw onto the fire. Competitive balance . What a joke.

There's only one reason why the Sox won World Series in 2005. Everything basically had to go right with most of their good players. Not great players. No HOF players on that team. No great Draft choices Internationally or Domestically except some pitcher drafted very late rounds named Buehrle .Crede, Cotts, Rowand were other domestic Sox draft picks who made good in 2005. Frank Thomas was mostly hurt. They were cobbled together into a good team for 1 year . Didn't make the playoffs the year before or the year after.One and done. Typical the Baseball Gods smiling on the Sox once every 100 years stuff.

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

On 3/15/2025 at 4:19 PM, caulfield12 said:

https://threequarterslot.com/2025/01/23/2026-mlb-draft-justin-lebron-ss-alabama/

Can't believe Lebron is 6`2" and has that much pop for such a thin frame.

Reminiscent of Alexei Ramirez in 2008 physique-wise.

Different era of course but Ted Williams was the Splendid Splinter. Hands, wrist, forearms, hips ,solid base, weight transfer, barreling it up.

I never read Ted Williams " The Science of Hitting " . Someone must've compared what he said then to today to see how it stacks up against modern thinking. I don't think all that much has changed. Velocity is higher for pitching .Hitters still need great eyesight. Williams was known to have great vision.

[caulfield12]

48 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

It is maddening. Stupid Commissioner. Baseball doesn't need an anti tanking rule. Picking the right players in the draft is harder than any other sport already and you instituted a lottery system. That's plenty good enough. No need to punish the worst teams fan bases too. The team being a mess is bad enough. Then you're going to throw in more labor problems to make things worse .The rich and east coast teams will keep spending just the way baseball wants it. God forbid Midwest cities like Milwaukee, KC , Cleveland, Minnesota,Chicago get lucky enough drafting to make the playoffs a few years in a row as they all struggle to pay their stars enough so they don't leave. Bad owners don't need to be rewarded but they already hurt their franchises and their fans enough without MLB stepping in with more gasoline to throw onto the fire. Competitive balance . What a joke.

There's only one reason why the Sox won World Series in 2005. Everything basically had to go right with most of their good players. Not great players. No HOF players on that team. No great Draft choices Internationally or Domestically except some pitcher drafted very late rounds named Buehrle .Crede, Cotts, Rowand were other domestic Sox draft picks who made good in 2005. Frank Thomas was mostly hurt. They were cobbled together into a good team for 1 year . Didn't make the playoffs the year before or the year after.One aCotts spent the 2002 season at Single-A Modesto of the California League, winning 12 games in 28 starts. During the off-season, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox in a six-player deal involving relief pitchers Billy Koch and Keith Foulke. nd done. Typical the Baseball Gods smiling on the Sox once every 100 years stuff.

Cotts spent the 2002 season at Single-A Modesto of the California League, winning 12 games in 28 starts. During the off-season, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox in a six-player deal involving relief pitchers Billy Koch and Keith Foulke. 

 

To me 2005 was all about Contreras' brilliance and Jenks' emergence in many ways, but every single member of the roster contributed...El Duque Blum Iguchi Pods Buehrle in relief Uribe Crede.  Cotts and Politte even Hermanson and Shingo earlier.

 

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

2 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

Cotts spent the 2002 season at Single-A Modesto of the California League, winning 12 games in 28 starts. During the off-season, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox in a six-player deal involving relief pitchers Billy Koch and Keith Foulke. 

 

To me 2005 was all about Contreras' brilliance and Jenks' emergence in many ways, but every single member of the roster contributed...El Duque Blum Iguchi Pods Buehrle in relief Uribe Crede.  Cotts and Politte even Hermanson and Shingo earlier.

 

I wasn't sure if Cotts was drafted by the Sox. I just looked at the roster and took my best guess. I left out Brian Anderson because he wasn't a big factor.

But yes a lot of guys had one of the best years of their careers all at once or at least were productive at just the right moment in time. The stars aligned , whatever you want to call it.  There was no sustained success involved.

[Autumn Dreamin]

This is the guy they threw a 20th round flyer at last year.

[DirtySox]