http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article....articleid=16418

 

Nathan Jones, RHP, White Sox

Taken out of Northern Kentucky University in 2007, 11 rounds ahead of college teammate Josh Lueke, Jones is a long, tall righty with enough arm strength to get into the upper 90s. Jones’ development stalls every time the White Sox try him in the rotation, and it seems like the team has come to grips with his future as a reliever. Still, there are worse fates than having an electric righty with a power breaking ball coming out of the bullpen. Chicago could find itself with a tantalizing young relief trio if Jones, Addison Reed, and Hector Santiago develop into late-innings options.

 

Hector Santiago, LHP, White Sox

Fantasy baseball players probably know who Santiago is, or rather, what he is: the pitcher who recorded the White Sox’ first save. As if a southpaw tossing mid-90s heat isn’t intriguing enough, Santiago also employs a screwball—a tool acquired from the tutelage of former big leaguer Angel Miranda during winter ball in 2010. The combination looks good enough that rookie manager Robin Ventura is willing to put his neck out there by entrusting Santiago with closing duties—though Ventura talks as if he made the decision in order to preserve Jesse Crain and Matt Thornton’s roles.

Yeah BP, maybe it's time to slow down on constantly trashing the system, actually see these guys throw or get a new set of scouts.

Yeah BP, maybe it's time to slow down on constantly trashing the system, actually see these guys throw or get a new set of scouts.

 

Nope. The thrashing is well-deserved. Churning out relievers, while important, is not nearly as impressive as producing starting pitching and position players.

Nope. The thrashing is well-deserved. Churning out relievers, while important, is not nearly as impressive as producing starting pitching and position players.

 

Chris sale, Clayton Richard, gio Gonzalez, brandon mccarthy, and Daniel hudson... The whitesox can draft and develope pitching. It's hitting they have no idea what to do with.

Chris sale, Clayton Richard, gio Gonzalez, brandon mccarthy, and Daniel hudson... The whitesox can draft and develope pitching. It's hitting they have no idea what to do with.

 

And it doesn't mean as much when you're prematurely trading it away and getting nothing in return. Now I give the Sox credit for Danks/Floyd. But that was 6 years ago.

And it doesn't mean as much when you're prematurely trading it away and getting nothing in return. Now I give the Sox credit for Danks/Floyd. But that was 6 years ago.

 

The whitesox rotation is solid 1-5 so they seemingly know what they are doing, now personally I'd fire everyone involved with developing and scouting hitters.

Where did Chris Sale come from? Must have been some other system, my bad

pros·pect (prspkt)

n.

1. Something expected; a possibility.

2. A candidate deemed likely to succeed.

 

Don't see any guarantees in that definition. True, the White Sox seem woefully short of infield prospects, but their pitching continues to surprise...and remember how quickly a guy like Hudson rose through the ranks. It's hard to know when development will suddenly accelerate or level off.

Nope. The thrashing is well-deserved. Churning out relievers, while important, is not nearly as impressive as producing starting pitching and position players.

 

+1. Every reliever is a failed starter. Mostly because they fail learning command or a third pitch.

+1. Every reliever is a failed starter. Mostly because they fail learning command or a third pitch.

 

Well........

 

Addison Reed was a starter in college, to his credit. The White Sox just stuck him in the pen. Can't argue with their decision.

Hector Santiago does have three pitches. FB, Screwball and CH.

 

And speaking of Santiago... http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/index.php...-closing-games/

The new White Sox closer is a left-handed reliever who started 15 games at double-A last year with somehwat decent results, I suppose. He netted a 3.60 FIP and 3.56 ERA in his double-A tenure. The 24-year-old should see better results as a reliever, but I have mixed feelings in judging how effective he is going to be this year.

 

The screwball and changeup he possess should help him neutralize hitters of opposite handedness better than the average left-handed reliever, but I still expect Addison Reed to push for this job throughout the season. A series of slight hiccups will certailny force Santiago out of the job, and Reed is the better prospect with the better stuff. Even so, any closer is a must-own in roto. Santiago won the position due to a stellar spring, as he posted a 0.82 ERA. Maybe he does turn into a very effective late-inning reliever, ala Jonny Venters, who went through a similar transition two years ago. I am temporarily skeptical.

Well........

 

Addison Reed was a starter in college, to his credit. The White Sox just stuck him in the pen. Can't argue with their decision.

Hector Santiago does have three pitches. FB, Screwball and CH.

 

And speaking of Santiago... http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/index.php...-closing-games/

 

 

Why would a series of slight hiccups force Santiago out of a job? We're not in an ALL IN year, and he had two MLB appearances before this season, so of course there will be some growing pains.

 

I guess the presence of Reed/Thornton/Crain will push or incentize him, we'll see.

 

In the end, it's hard for baseball "experts" to expect the #11 prospect in the worst or second worst system in the minors to come out and be a dominant closer. If that happens, they have to acknowledge they're wrong just as often as not with ranking and projecting prospects.

I was under the impression that Addison Reed was a closer for Strasburg / San Diego State?

Yeah me too. All this is B.S, wasn't mark buehrle picked in the who knows round and nothing was really expected and we all know how that turned out....