It wouldn't shock me if they called him up for this next homestand. Rikuu doesn't really belong IMO. I totally get if they want to develop Braden more, but he's easily better than Rikuu at this point. He's got an absolute cannon too, which should be fun in RF. Does anybody know how his defense grades out in CF? He's played there more than RF so far in the minors.

Braden time, baby.

Before PCA sees this one.

Edited 9 hours ago9 hr by chitownsportsfan

6 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said:

Before PCA sees this one.

Brutal!

Just so I understand…..we’re ready to move on from Rikku after a monstrous 24 MLB ABs, despite knowing he’s been an OBP machine his whole MILB run?

7 minutes ago, Capn12 said:

Just so I understand…..we’re ready to move on from Rikku after a monstrous 24 MLB ABs, despite knowing he’s been an OBP machine his whole MILB run?

Dumb to not take your time with Braden.

The question isn't who is better now...it's what best serves the Sox longer-term 2027/28-30 window of contention?

61 combined AA (2025-26) games and just 25 or one month at AAA?

Barely a half season at the two highest levels?

Edited 8 hours ago8 hr by caulfield12

1 hour ago, chitownsportsfan said:

Before PCA sees this one.

Not the first time this season too 😆😆😆

I’m unable to select any of these options in good conscience - when he is called up is really dependent on his performance and the performance of the team overall.

While it’s exciting that we’re playing good ball again ( finally ) they have to do what is right for him long term.

Rushing prospects was one of a few major flaws in the Hahn rebuild era. I’m hopeful they will not repeat that mistake again.

1 hour ago, Capn12 said:

Just so I understand…..we’re ready to move on from Rikku after a monstrous 24 MLB ABs, despite knowing he’s been an OBP machine his whole MILB run?

Rikuu has a 0.050 ISO in his minor league career. That's really low. Are there examples of players with such a bad ISO performing well in the majors? Even Nick Madrigal had a 0.100 ISO in the minors. Juan Pierre had a 0.062 ISO, with a better batting average and slugging though.

I just don't see him being any good.

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by ron883

1 hour ago, caulfield12 said:

Dumb to not take your time with Braden.

The question isn't who is better now...it's what best serves the Sox longer-term 2027/28-30 window of contention?

61 combined AA (2025-26) games and just 25 or one month at AAA?

Barely a half season at the two highest levels?

Aint nobody got time to be patient. We need him up here. Take the kiddy gloves off, caulfield!

Is Everson Pereira close to being 100% and back with the Sox?

Montgomery may need the bigs to figure it out, who knows... but his high ground ball rate combined with his whiff rate usually causes an elongated learning curve in the big leagues and some initial issues.

8 hours ago, ron883 said:

It wouldn't shock me if they called him up for this next homestand. Rikuu doesn't really belong IMO. I totally get if they want to develop Braden more, but he's easily better than Rikuu at this point. He's got an absolute cannon too, which should be fun in RF. Does anybody know how his defense grades out in CF? He's played there more than RF so far in the minors.

Braden time, baby.

They don’t want to call-up Braden because he’s better than the current major league incumbent, they want to call him up when they feel his development is complete. His xwOBA is only in the 65th percentile amongst AAA players and his power numbers in AAA are down considerably despite his home park. His contact rate has been way better as of late, but his power hasn’t been materially different. I still think July is the likely ETA for Braden.

18 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Montgomery may need the bigs to figure it out, who knows... but his high ground ball rate combined with his whiff rate usually causes an elongated learning curve in the big leagues and some initial issues.

The latter is very true. A 59% groundball rate is a problem that needs to be addressed before he gets the call IMO. We don’t need to call up a rookie who has to make adjustments to get the ball into the air more all while adapting to major league pitching. Don’t see how that’s going to help us anytime soon.

2 hours ago, Falstaff said:

Is Everson Pereira close to being 100% and back with the Sox?

No, he’s going to need a lengthy minor league rehab assignment unfortunately. Hopefully that starts as soon as next week and he can be back before the end of the month.

10 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

No, he’s going to need a lengthy minor league rehab assignment unfortunately. Hopefully that starts as soon as next week and he can be back before the end of the month.

Pereira and Hays have not been available, and Brooks Baldwin was out from the get-go. Injuries do open up opportunities for others. Peters has taken advantage but Acuna not so much.