2014 Draft class

[Jake]

Hard for me to pass on Rodon, but people are not giving Kolek nearly enough credit. You're not just drafting a 102 mph fastball - we've done that before, it was in the late rounds, his name was Jeff Soptic.

 

Kolek has good command, a very good breaking ball, and overall solid pitchability. He's very refined for an 18 year old. There's still plenty of work to do, but he'd be a first rounder if he could only hit 96.

 

Yeah he was a really young pitcher that relied on sliders and horrible mechanics.

 

His slider was very much a tertiary pitch in college. He was a plus changeup guy all the way and didn't mess with slider much until we put him in relief as a pro.

[Feeky Magee]

Hard for me to pass on Rodon, but people are not giving Kolek nearly enough credit. You're not just drafting a 102 mph fastball - we've done that before, it was in the late rounds, his name was Jeff Soptic.

And we turned that into the greatest hitter of all-time

[witesoxfan]

And we turned that into the second greatest hitter of all-time

 

1. Timo Perez

2. Conor Gillaspie

3. Willie Bloomquist

4. who cares

[The Ultimate Champion]

Mechanics is only one of the factors related to the injury. I wouldn't rule anyone out based on mechanics alone. Workload and economy of effort are important factors as well.

 

As for the the second part, that isn't one of my areas of research as I don't have that problem.

Thank you.

 

So ptatc is an arm Steverson, a mechanics Steverson, an overall health Steverson AND he's a LOVE Steverson too. Not surprised by any of this.

[oneofthemikes]

I am sure they will be trying to cut deals up until the day. Was it leaked in previous years? I remember the year they took Correa I thought it was surprise.

 

It was. I remember watching that draft and even the in house announcers were caught off guard.

[DirtySox]

While I'd prefer Aiken, I'm okay with Kolek too. I think some around here are a bit too down on him. If the Sox think highly of him I'm sure they've done there due diligence and don't think he's at immediate risk of blowing his elbow out, or are confident in being able to smooth out anything that concerns them. It also sounds like they might be able to garner a bit of financial flexibility with the pick as well.

[witesoxfan]

While I'd prefer Aiken, I'm okay with Kolek too. I think some around here are a bit too down on him. If the Sox think highly of him I'm sure they've done there due diligence and don't think he's at immediate risk of blowing his elbow out, or are confident in being able to smooth out anything that concerns them. It also sounds like they might be able to garner a bit of financial flexibility with the pick as well.

 

I think regardless of the name, I'm ok with who they pick because of the due diligence. I'm not married to any one of these names and it seems there's a 99.9% chance they're taking a pitcher, so there's always going to be a chance it blows up in their face either by not meeting expectations or merely getting hurt.

[fathom]

From a BP draft chat:

 

Nick (Chicago): What would factor in the White Sox NOT taking Rodon if available? Is it just the potential price tag, or do they actually think Kolek is better?

 

Pre-Draft Chat with Nick J. Faleris: Asking price, workload, inconsistent performance, less than surgical command, could all factor into not selecting Rodon. As for whether or not Kolek is better, that comes down to preference. To me he's a big power arm with a good body, relatively low mileage, and the chance to develop a plus breaking ball. There's not great present command and he doesn't yet consistently execute, so I'm struggling to see more than $3.5 MM price tag.

 

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/chat/cha...=1401470336#new

[DirtySox]

Mayo's new mock has the Sox taking Rodon.

[harfman77]

From a BP draft chat:

 

Nick (Chicago): What would factor in the White Sox NOT taking Rodon if available? Is it just the potential price tag, or do they actually think Kolek is better?

 

Pre-Draft Chat with Nick J. Faleris: Asking price, workload, inconsistent performance, less than surgical command, could all factor into not selecting Rodon. As for whether or not Kolek is better, that comes down to preference. To me he's a big power arm with a good body, relatively low mileage, and the chance to develop a plus breaking ball. There's not great present command and he doesn't yet consistently execute, so I'm struggling to see more than $3.5 MM price tag.

 

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/chat/cha...=1401470336#new

 

Wonder if the Sox are leaking the Kolek stuff to get other targets to lower their demands in effort to work out a pre-draft deal. Hahn has seemed to use mis-information much more than ninja KW ever did. We will find out soon enough.

 

A $3.5M deal would free up $2.2M to spread throughout the draft and is nearly equal to the sixth overall slot.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/2014-...-top-10-rounds/

[Eminor3rd]

Wonder if the Sox are leaking the Kolek stuff to get other targets to lower their demands in effort to work out a pre-draft deal. Hahn has seemed to use mis-information much more than ninja KW ever did. We will find out soon enough.

 

A $3.5M deal would free up $2.2M to spread throughout the draft and is nearly equal to the sixth overall slot.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/2014-...-top-10-rounds/

 

I don't think there's any chance he signs that low. He knows he's projected to go around #3, so he's going to want #3 money or else he can go to college.

[Eminor3rd]

Ok guys this is "must read." Doug Thorburn is basically worth subscribing to Baseball prospectus all on his own.

 

Mechanical breakdown of Rodon/Aiken/Kolek/Hoffman: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article....articleid=23731

 

It is SUCH a shame that the TINSTAAP podcast he's on includes Paul Sporer. That dude is SO OBNOXIOUS and all he does is talk over Thorburn. Ruins what could be a flat-out amazing podcast.

 

Anyway, this is a very rosy look at Kolek, IMO, who grades out better than all of the others mechanically.

[Buehrlesque]

Ok guys this is "must read." Doug Thorburn is basically worth subscribing to Baseball prospectus all on his own.

 

Mechanical breakdown of Rodon/Aiken/Kolek/Hoffman: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article....articleid=23731

 

It is SUCH a shame that the TINSTAAP podcast he's on includes Paul Sporer. That dude is SO OBNOXIOUS and all he does is talk over Thorburn. Ruins what could be a flat-out amazing podcast.

 

Anyway, this is a very rosy look at Kolek, IMO, who grades out better than all of the others mechanically.

That's a great article. At the end of the day, all three of Aiken, Rodon and Kolek are "A" quality prospects. Pundits can try to nit pick and over-analyze little things here and there, and as time drags before the draft everyone tries to find some new angle to "rank" these guys. But they all have a great chance of minor- and major-league success. What happens in their career after the draft? Who knows. History shows that at least one of them is likely to bust. But good luck predicting/guessing which one. For now they are all elite prospects.

[Donny Lucy's Avocado Farm]

I would avoid drafting Rodon simply because his uniform is way the f*** too tight.

[Al Lopez's Ghost]

Merkin tweeted KW said a draftee's advisor will not prevent the Sox from selecting the best player available at 3.

[Lillian]

It would really be nice to have a hard throwing rhp in the rotation to compliment Sale's lefty slider. Rodon is too similar.

So, how soon could an 18 year old Kolek be expected to make it to the Majors? Is it completely unrealistic to think 2016, at 20?

[DirtySox]

Is it completely unrealistic to think 2016, at 20?

 

Yes.

[DirtySox]

Pick 3: Chicago White Sox RHP Tyler Kolek Shepherd HS (TX)

ANALYSIS: There are also a number of rumors flying about this pick. Nola is an underslot candidate while I've heard the White Sox both hate and love Kolek from various sources. Jeff Hoffman was the guy they wanted and the heavy hitters were at most of Tyler Beede's starts down the stretch, but neither makes sense this high. Again, the industry still strongly believes the three pitchers go 1-2-3 and I haven't heard enough to peg a potential underslot candidate here to break that up.

 

Kiley's latest mock.

 

http://sbb.scout.com/story/1407185-2014-ml...mock-v2-0?s=381

[Ozzie Ball]

It would really be nice to have a hard throwing rhp in the rotation to compliment Sale's lefty slider. Rodon is too similar.

So, how soon could an 18 year old Kolek be expected to make it to the Majors? Is it completely unrealistic to think 2016, at 20?

Aiken is the one who could possibly move through the system that quickly due to how polished his arsenal/command is. But even for him it's probably very unlikely. Kolek needs a lot more work on his change/command, even the breaking ball(s), so he would ceratinly need more time than that.

 

Also I'd be thrilled to have 2 Chris Sale's atop the Sox rotation. Handedness be damned.

[DirtySox]

Also I'd be thrilled to have 2 Chris Sale's atop the Sox rotation. Handedness be damned.

 

Word.

 

Most sane people would.

[ptatc]

I'll put out the PTATC signal...

 

ATTENTION PTATC PLEASE RESPOND IN THIS THREAD WE NEED YOU AGAIN

 

Okay I couldn't find an approprate image in google (actually I did find the perfect one but I'll link it rather than post: http://maneggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2011...nal_vandals.jpg )

 

So here's this instead:

I've always been a Batman fan, now moreso.

[Lillian]

Aiken is the one who could possibly move through the system that quickly due to how polished his arsenal/command is. But even for him it's probably very unlikely. Kolek needs a lot more work on his change/command, even the breaking ball(s), so he would ceratinly need more time than that.

 

Also I'd be thrilled to have 2 Chris Sale's atop the Sox rotation. Handedness be damned.

 

Do you think that Rodon could really be as good as Sale? If so, I agree with you. I'll take two.

 

[beautox]

I'm still not a fan of the way he throws. I don't like the stand up follow through without the trunk flexion. He finishes like Peavy does.

 

It wouldn't prevent me from drafting him but it would make me look at the others more closely.

I agree with you, and I trust the sox will do their due diligence.

[Chicago White Sox]

It would really be nice to have a hard throwing rhp in the rotation to compliment Sale's lefty slider. Rodon is too similar.

So, how soon could an 18 year old Kolek be expected to make it to the Majors? Is it completely unrealistic to think 2016, at 20?

Dude, I'd love to have a nice right-handed starter to compliment Sale & Quintana, but you are being ridiculous by suggesting passing on Rodon because he's too similar to Sale. Chris could get injured at any point and then this "they're too similar" doesn't even matter. You never pass on the best player available in the MLB draft, especially when you're picking 1-3.

[Lillian]

<!--quoteo(post=2988034:date=May 30, 2014 -> 05:42 PM:name=Lillian)-->

<!--quotec-->It would really be nice to have a hard throwing rhp in the rotation to compliment Sale's lefty slider. Rodon is too similar.

So, how soon could an 18 year old Kolek be expected to make it to the Majors? Is it completely unrealistic to think 2016, at 20?

Dude, I'd love to have a nice right-handed starter to compliment Sale & Quintana, but you are being ridiculous by suggesting passing on Rodon because he's too similar to Sale. Chris could get injured at any point and then this "they're too similar" doesn't even matter. You never pass on the best player available in the MLB draft, especially when you're picking 1-3.

 

If he were clearly the best player in the draft, I would agree. However, that does not appear to be the case, by all of the various mock draft projections. If only it were that simple.

I just happen to prefer Kolek, and a little better balance, in respect to "handedness", is something about which I have often expressed my wishes. The only major draw back is that he is just 18, and therefore so far away from being able to contribute.

And please, it's not "Dude". it's Lillian, or Ma'am. Thank you.