I sure wanna know what the deal with Bergolla is. Wild that what we thought was going to be a short DL stint has ballooned to 2 months now.

6 hours ago, DirtySox said:

Excited about all these moves, but Mason back in AAA is most exciting to me.

From Keith Law's chat today. You love to see this.

Liz R.

Very interesting to think about what the Chisox might do. An org in transition in many ways. I wonder how much confidence they have in their improved ability to develop players?

Keith Law

@Liz R. A lot. And they should. Colson Montgomery was a washout, striking out nearly 50% of the time in AAA, then they rebuilt his whole swing and approach and made him a viable regular. Jacob Gonzalez was a complete bust with 2+ years of poor performance; he changed his body, stance, and setup, and I think he's going to be an All-Star. They are doing real stuff with real results.

KLaw liking Gonzalez is something I never thought I’d read

Awesome comment.

1 hour ago, fathom said:

KLaw liking Gonzalez is something I never thought I’d read

The White Sox being able to fix offensive players is something I'd never thought I'd see either.

36 minutes ago, Sleepy Harold said:

The White Sox being able to fix offensive players is something I'd never thought I'd see either.

Same.

BA's in person scouting report on Hagen Smith.

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/in-person-scouting-looks-for-seth-hernandez-brody-hopkins-more-top-mlb-pitching-prospects/

Hagen Smith, LHP, White Sox

The Durham Bulls would be just fine never seeing Smith on the mound again. In two starts, the top five White Sox prospect went nine innings, allowed just one run on five hits and five walks and racked up 18 strikeouts. To do so, he leaned heavily on his bread-and-butter combination of a four-seam fastball and slicing slider, with a few cutters sprinkled in, as well. He did not throw a single changeup during his outing.

Until recently, Smith’s year had been pretty rocky. He was good in April, but in May he struggled to throw strikes, and the strikes he did throw got pounded. That’s not a great combination anywhere, but it’s especially unforgiving when half your games are played in the offensive oasis of Charlotte.

Things have smoothed now—Smith made this week’s Hot Sheet—in part because of some alterations to his delivery. His arm slot is slightly higher, and he’s doing a better job getting on top of the ball, which seems to have helped him command the ball a bit better.

The overall delivery still points to a multi-inning reliever’s role, where his fastball and slider could neutralize hitters in the later innings. It would also allow him to reach his highest velocities—he peaked at 97 mph in this outing—on a more regular basis.

I know they are crazy rare to see, but I wonder if you could do a prospect swap with Billy Carlson for another similarly regarded pitching prospect. You can never have too many SS, but you also can't have too many SPs. This is assuming we grab Roch or Emerson.

I wonder if they wish they could have that pick back and go with like an Arnold, or someone else - now that they control the #1 pick.