Getting called up by the Royals. Did the Sox whiff taking Hagen Smith over him? He has torn up the minor leagues. We all know the Sox are desperate for bats.

16 minutes ago, HoosierSox said:

Getting called up by the Royals. Did the Sox whiff taking Hagen Smith over him? He has torn up the minor leagues. We all know the Sox are desperate for bats.

Good thread. To me, Cagz or Wetherholt or Braden or (high schooler) Griffin was the pick for us. It seemed unimagined to take another lefty pitcher with an awkward delivery. The org seems to do well with those guys, and Hagan fits the mold, so let’s wait and see with him. But Jac was clearly not a Vaughn clone, and seemingly the best player available to us. I hope he kills it with the Royals. I think our Smith is gonna be good too, despite his walks, but those two positions players (sans Braden who we got) seem like they will be quite good. I like wetherholt particularly, seems like his injury concerns are a paper tiger. 

8 minutes ago, nrockway said:

Good thread. To me, Cagz or Wetherholt or Braden or (high schooler) Griffin was the pick for us. It seemed unimagined to take another lefty pitcher with an awkward delivery. The org seems to do well with those guys, and Hagan fits the mold, so let’s wait and see with him. But Jac was clearly not a Vaughn clone, and seemingly the best player available to us. I hope he kills it with the Royals. I think our Smith is gonna be good too, despite his walks, but those two positions players (sans Braden who we got) seem like they will be quite good. I like wetherholt particularly, seems like his injury concerns are a paper tiger. 

Just what the Royals need.

They've scored two or less runs in more games than the Sox.

9 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Just what the Royals need.

They've scored two or less runs in more games than the Sox.

They have a worse offense than we do! I’ve said before, I think, this royals team cannot be sustained despite Bobby’s greatness. New George Brett. I like our shot at a World Series compared to them, frankly. I like the Tigers best of all. 

I’m sure this won’t be fun to watch…

 

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article307675841.html#storylink=mainstage_lead

ROYALS

How does Jac Caglianone fit with Royals? A closer look at his potential MLB role

 

What position will he play? Where will he hit in the lineup? Beat writer Jaylon Thompson offers some predictions

 

 

Caglianone is that change. The Royals needed a spark after scoring one run in their last 18 innings. At 31-29, the Royals have clung to a winning record behind a pitching staff that’s carried the load for far too long.

For weeks, the Royals resisted the urge to promote Caglianone. He needed to cut down his chase rate and walk more. There was also the transition to the outfield and a learning curve that followed. Caglianone had the best help possible.

Longtime Royals coach Rusty Kuntz spent ample time working with him in the outfield. The Royals also deployed Caglianone in the outfield at least three games a week.

Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article307675841.html#storylink=cpy

Edited June 2, 2025Jun 2 by caulfield12

1 hour ago, nrockway said:

They have a worse offense than we do! I’ve said before, I think, this royals team cannot be sustained despite Bobby’s greatness. New George Brett. I like our shot at a World Series compared to them, frankly. I like the Tigers best of all. 

Going to take a $100-150 million higher payroll than today.

On the Gordon Beckham track.

Might regret this one.  Better hope Smith pans out at least.  

Good for the Royals.  They listened to their scouts.  Hopefully this is a learning experience for everyone involved. 

2 hours ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

Good for the Royals.  They listened to their scouts.  Hopefully this is a learning experience for everyone involved. 

Harold, this was a no-brainer for KC. Their decision was easy.  It's the White Sox who blew it.

The idea of watching a lineup with Braden Montgomery and Jac Caglianone hitting back to back is painful to think about. I'm sure Smoth will be fine but Cags would be generating some pretty genuine excitement. 

25 minutes ago, oldsox said:

Harold, this was a no-brainer for KC. Their decision was easy.  It's the White Sox who blew it.

I think that might be what he is getting at.  I seem to remember Harold loving Caglianone prior to the 2014 draft.

Edited June 2, 2025Jun 2 by WhiteSox2023

Just on pure draft strategy I'm OK if the general rule is don't draft 1B profile types with a pick in the top 15-20. If you're drafting late first or second round I'd be more inclined to go for offense over position. But when you have a top 10 pick you should aim for higher positional value. Given the Sox poor depth on the positional side I think you can justifiably criticize drafting a pitcher, but there's no doubt Smith has some impressive upside.

20 minutes ago, mac9001 said:

Just on pure draft strategy I'm OK if the general rule is don't draft 1B profile types with a pick in the top 15-20. If you're drafting late first or second round I'd be more inclined to go for offense over position. But when you have a top 10 pick you should aim for higher positional value. Given the Sox poor depth on the positional side I think you can justifiably criticize drafting a pitcher, but there's no doubt Smith has some impressive upside.

Also, to be clear, its not like he has been awful. 33 IP, 18 hits, 49 Ks (13.2 Per/9)

Gotta get the walks down, and I guess hope his arm isn't damaged now, but he's been pretty good in his pro debut. 

I wanted them to pick Jac (I was a late convert), but my number 1 wish was to not pick Smith. I was surprised when Smith was picked.

Hope it all works out,

 

Edited June 2, 2025Jun 2 by GreenSox

I will hold my hand wringing until both Jac and Smith have played in the Majors.  The value of what Smith could "Potentially" be is through the roof.  Can he get there, let's see.  Jac has won the 1st step of getting to the Majors before Hagen.

Lot to Be Determined still.....

18 hours ago, nrockway said:

Good thread. To me, Cagz or Wetherholt or Braden or (high schooler) Griffin was the pick for us. It seemed unimagined to take another lefty pitcher with an awkward delivery. The org seems to do well with those guys, and Hagan fits the mold, so let’s wait and see with him. But Jac was clearly not a Vaughn clone, and seemingly the best player available to us. I hope he kills it with the Royals. I think our Smith is gonna be good too, despite his walks, but those two positions players (sans Braden who we got) seem like they will be quite good. I like wetherholt particularly, seems like his injury concerns are a paper tiger. 

One of the podcasts had an interesting take on Vaughn. Look at the advanced batting metrics now with bat in the zone and such, they said that he would not have been in the first round today.

4 hours ago, ptatc said:

One of the podcasts had an interesting take on Vaughn. Look at the advanced batting metrics now with bat in the zone and such, they said that he would not have been in the first round today.

There was an old college stat/comment on Vaughn that I never saw until a year or so ago (probably here) that told how poorly Vaughn hit against the best pitchers, but he really feasted on the secondary pitchers in college. You would think that pro scouts would have noticed.

35 minutes ago, oldsox said:

There was an old college stat/comment on Vaughn that I never saw until a year or so ago (probably here) that told how poorly Vaughn hit against the best pitchers, but he really feasted on the secondary pitchers in college. You would think that pro scouts would have noticed.

Or that every homer he hit to opposite field was a wall scraper 

1 hour ago, oldsox said:

There was an old college stat/comment on Vaughn that I never saw until a year or so ago (probably here) that told how poorly Vaughn hit against the best pitchers, but he really feasted on the secondary pitchers in college. You would think that pro scouts would have noticed.

Since when do the Sox have ANY scouts that seem to know what they are doing. Hell they have some of the smallest number of them in MLB.

14 hours ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

Good for the Royals.  They listened to their scouts.  Hopefully this is a learning experience for everyone involved. 

Just like like the white sox execs listened to GG when they got their whips from South Oak am i right @Harold's Leg Lift

I think this dumbass piece of s%*# troll is tryig to tell me something but I'm not sure exactly what it is.  

1 hour ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

I think this dumbass piece of s%*# troll is tryig to tell me something but I'm not sure exactly what it is.  

lol nevermind, apparently that is a vehicle reference...

Edited June 3, 2025Jun 3 by T R U

2 hours ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

I think this dumbass piece of s%*# troll is tryig to tell me something but I'm not sure exactly what it is.  

I believe he thinks you are Garrett Guest — White Sox Assistant Scouting Director and VP of the South Oak Jeep dealership.

Edited June 3, 2025Jun 3 by WhiteSox2023