And that is where you make it clear you don't get how this part of baseball works. Excluding maybe a half dozen guys among ALL teams who are nearly sure things at any given time... and excluding the minor league bench filler guys who are 100% sure not to make the majors... everyone else in between, by nature, is a percentage game. There is no "take a stand".

 

And you guys who keep saying, well, Thompson is a failure because previous players have been failures... on what planet does that logic make any sense? The development guys under KW have pretty much entirely turned over in the past few years. Drawing any conclusions at all from anything pre-2009 to today, in terms of how players will develop, is groundless.

 

Based on this, I take the stand that Marty is wrong on Thompson, because he was wrong on Kenny Williams this year.

The most likely outcome for ANY prospect is to fail. I don't understand the optimism for Thompson given his K rate and the Sox track record for developing hitters. If that's negative so be it.

It isn't about being negative - it is that your reasoning is illogical. Sox development staff has had nearly 100% turnover in the past few years. So equating now to then makes zero sense. It is different staff, different leaders (except the very, very top, who don't actually do any development work anyway), different approach.

 

 

Based on this, I take the stand that Marty is wrong on Thompson, because he was wrong on Kenny Williams this year.

 

I've been wrong on a lot of things.

It isn't about being negative - it is that your reasoning is illogical. Sox development staff has had nearly 100% turnover in the past few years. So equating now to then makes zero sense. It is different staff, different leaders (except the very, very top, who don't actually do any development work anyway), different approach.

 

How many hitters have they developed since 2009?

How many hitters have they developed since 2009?

Since the 2009 draft? Who became major leaguers? About as many as other teams, which is to say very few. We're only just now getting to the point of being the typical 3-5 years out from draft to see results changing along with methods. I'd say in about two years, you will have a much better idea ithe new people and new methods are actally successful or not.

 

It isn't about being negative - it is that your reasoning is illogical. Sox development staff has had nearly 100% turnover in the past few years. So equating now to then makes zero sense. It is different staff, different leaders (except the very, very top, who don't actually do any development work anyway), different approach.

 

And different results. How many rookies have contributed to the team this year?

How many hitters have they developed since 2009?

 

How many hitters from the 2009 and later drafts are currently contributing in the majors? I'd be the average is something like one per team, or less.

How many hitters from the 2009 and later drafts are currently contributing in the majors? I'd be the average is something like one per team, or less.

Didn't you post somewhere a few months ago a stat that the Sox were leading MLB in major league WAR from their 2009 draft on?

Didn't you post somewhere a few months ago a stat that the Sox were leading MLB in major league WAR from their 2009 draft on?

Someone else did, I do recall that.

 

Didn't you post somewhere a few months ago a stat that the Sox were leading MLB in major league WAR from their 2009 draft on?

 

It seems like it must have been since 08, because I want to say it included Gordo.

It seems like it must have been since 08, because I want to say it included Gordo.

You're right, here's one version of it.

That's not a counter-argument, son. Dayan Viciedo will never put up a good enough OBP to justify having a starting gig on a major league roster.

 

Viciedo doubled his walk rate as a 22 y/o in Charlotte from his first two years of pro ball and there is no reason he can't do the same at the major league level. While admittedly it is a small improvement, in his first 170 PAs this year he walked 4 times; in his last 248 he walked 15 times. One only has to look at a very similar hitter in Carlos Lee--who walked at about the same rate as Viciedo at the same age, but in AA--as an example of how a player can mature and get a better handle on the strike zone. Same for Magglio Ordonez, who had only 28 walks in 579 PAs his first full year in the bigs after a minor league career where he never walked more than 45 times (which is also Viciedo's high, and that in less PAs and at a higher level).

 

Now, will Viciedo learn to walk more? I have no idea, and niether do you. But to pass judgement after such a small sample size is foolish and flies in the face of logic. Personally, I see him being in the .280/.340/.500 range, and that translates into a solid regular with some upside b/c of his plus bat speed.

 

Minor League system pays dividends for White Sox.

Really enjoyed reading through this thread. Very helpful to reacquaint myself with the state of the farm system. Things don't seem as bad as they once were.

Things don't seem as bad as they once were.

 

You are correct.

 

It only takes a couple of good drafts to turn around a system.

 

It takes longer to turn around a reputation though.

 

 

So taking a threadjacking opportunity... Where would people now rate the Sox system vs the rest of baseball? Still at the bottom?

So taking a threadjacking opportunity... Where would people now rate the Sox system vs the rest of baseball? Still at the bottom?

The depth might be a bit better, but I'm not so sure. I think it's still in the bottom tier because of the lack of a true top prospect. No one will be in the top 100 unless scouts liked what they saw from Hawkins this summer.