http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?c...mp;ymd=20140413

Hawkins K's twice and CJ Wittman is not a believer. Depressing.

 

CJ Wittmann ‏@CJWittJr 1m

#whitesox Hawkins tied up on inner half with 88 then expands zone with SL down for another K. Hasn't made any improvements from last year.

 

 

Wittman seems optimistic on Anderson but continues to think Hawkins looks dreadful. Doesn't see much different from last year other than stance.

Who the hell is CJ Wittman? Everyone is a scout these days.

Who the hell is CJ Wittman? Everyone is a scout these days.

 

Baseball Prospectus prospect writer.

Baseball Prospectus prospect writer.

 

Oh, well then he must know what he's talking about.

 

/eyeroll

Oh, well then he must know what he's talking about.

 

/eyeroll

 

Kay.

 

I'm not taking what he says as gospel but I'm not going to ignore it either. He's certainly seen much more of Hawkins then you or I.

Kay.

 

I'm not taking what he says as gospel but I'm not going to ignore it either. He's certainly seen much more of Hawkins then you or I.

 

That also doesn't mean he knows what he's looking at.

Beckham is Dhing for Birmngham today.

That also doesn't mean he knows what he's looking at.

 

If his reports were good on Hawkins, would he then be credible? Even the BA Hot Sheet has a caveat on it: " One scout we spoke with believed Hawkins’ bat was slow and noted that he swung through plenty of fastballs in the series he viewed."

 

I'm just taking his performance with a grain of salt. Especially after last year.

 

If his reports were good on Hawkins, would he then be credible? Even the BA Hot Sheet has a caveat on it: " One scout we spoke with believed Hawkins' bat was slow and noted that he swung through plenty of fastballs in the series he viewed."

 

I'm just taking his performance with a grain of salt. Especially after last year.

 

That's all very fair. Maybe it's the amount scouts and "experts" that bug me. Everyone has an opinion, and I really don't think it means much. I mean, if scouting were an exact science, then no first round pick would be a bust without an injury. That's why I'm not paying much attention to who the Sox are going to take at 3. It's such a crapshoot no matter how good the player looks in his uniform, or how hard he throws.

Edited April 13, 201411 yr by flavum

Hawkins having one of those types of days again. Can't have too many of these and still maintain confidence.

 

At least May has three knocks - need to get him back to last year's form soon.

Edited April 13, 201411 yr by Stan Bahnsen

That's all very fair. Maybe it's the amount scouts and "experts" that bug me. Everyone has an opinion, and I really don't think it means much. I mean, if scouting were an exact science, then no first round pick would be a bust without an injury. That's why I'm not paying much attention to who the Sox are going to take at 3. It's such a crapshoot no matter how good the player looks in his uniform, or how hard he throws.

 

Agreed. Wittmann also sounds especially negative/snarky on Hawkins which is unpalatable. He does like Anderson though. Both of these opinions are in line with Jason Parks at BP for what it's worth.

Edited April 13, 201411 yr by DirtySox

Bad day for Hawkins, but he did just miss one last night (so did Coats). Tough park to hit homers.

Agreed. Wittmann also sounds especially negative/snarky on Hawkins which is unpalatable. He does like Anderson though. Both of these opinions are in line with Jason Parks at BP for what it's worth.

 

 

The problem is that it's a biased look. Wittman has never liked Hawkins and is now seeing something that reaffirms his original belief. I was debating Wittman on twitter and now Stoltz got dragged in as well.

That's all very fair. Maybe it's the amount scouts and "experts" that bug me. Everyone has an opinion, and I really don't think it means much. I mean, if scouting were an exact science, then no first round pick would be a bust without an injury. That's why I'm not paying much attention to who the Sox are going to take at 3. It's such a crapshoot no matter how good the player looks in his uniform, or how hard he throws.

 

Scouting prior to the draft is mostly about analyzing a guy's physical abilities and tools, and projects the likelihood of the player reaching his potential, assuming that the player can go to a system improve on his techniques.

 

Scouting here at the game is more about what the player is doing right and what he isn't doing right, not much so on projections. I think we can agree that if a player isn't using the right techniques, he wouldn't have success in the long haul, even if he's hitting .350 right now.

 

I would trust this guy's take on what Hawkins's approach over whatever we can extrapolate from the box scores.

Scott Carroll 7 shutout innings. 3 hits, 1 walk, 2 k's

 

Javy Guerra, 2 shutout innings, 1 hit, 2 k's

 

Guerra will be in Chicago before too long.

The problem is that it's a biased look. Wittman has never liked Hawkins and is now seeing something that reaffirms his original belief. I was debating Wittman on twitter and now Stoltz got dragged in as well.

 

 

Here was Wittman's last tweet.

 

CJ Wittmann ‏@CJWittJr 8m

@stoltz_baseball @chrisrod13 @JamesFox917 MLB extra is the ceiling

Expand

 

He says that Hawkin's ceiling is MLB extra. I have some JR High players in Homer Glen that I'd like him to predict the futures on for me as well. I think that Hawkins floor is lower than MLB extra but the ceiling is still higher.

Here was Wittman's last tweet.

 

CJ Wittmann ‏@CJWittJr 8m

@stoltz_baseball @chrisrod13 @JamesFox917 MLB extra is the ceiling

Expand

 

He says that Hawkin's ceiling is MLB extra. I have some JR High players in Homer Glen that I'd like him to predict the futures on for me as well. I think that Hawkins floor is lower than MLB extra but the ceiling is still higher.

 

That was the tweet that got me. I understand not liking a prospect, but that's a conclusion that is far too early to make.

Not to derail your point but what age with the junior high kids? Travel ball?

 

 

Yeah. I'm not coaching baseball though. I teach junior high and coach HS football and JR high track. I was trying to make a joke sorry. But yeah, the kids i coach in other sports play for the Sparks and some other teams around here.

Thompson with a 2-run dinger. Putting together a nice week or so.

 

I've always liked the Trayce Thompson pick. Fingers still crossed.

The good news is the way Scott Carroll has pitched for three straight games.

 

the bad news is that he's been a pro since 2007 and never gotten a sniff of the big leagues.

 

Oh, well.

What is Wittman's playing background?

 

Is he more of a stats guy going out in the field (to back up his statistical/quant predictions)?

 

Just reading all his observations, it's more like what someone at SoxTalk would write it they went to a game. I'm not buying his commentary as being all that advanced, compared to the professional scouts that work for the teams would produce for internal consumption, say, if Hawkins were being looked at as a trade target for another team.

 

To say his ceiling is MLB extra at this point is asinine...and to base it on one season in A ball when he was pushed a level too high. Surely, he wouldn't have written the same ceiling at the end of the 2012 campaign.

Rondon 3-6, hitting .298.

 

 

Rondon 3-6, hitting .298.

I would slaughter a newborn fox to see his bat be good enough for him to make it