I wouldn't rely on May taking over in center to start 2017. I'm not convinced at this point. Engel in the same boat. It's possible one is ready by then, but I'd go under 50/50 for that to be the case.

 

Anderson and Fulmer have risk too, as any prospect does, but I think there chances are good enough to consider them a Plan A for now. I wouldn't say that for May.

 

I agree with this.

 

It's OK for a competitive team to have one young, developing player in the lineup. If the Sox go into next season with more than that, they're asking for problems. Even the better young hitters need to face a couple seasons worth of ML pitching to reach their potential.

 

Also, the Sox are not a magnet for free agents right now, which makes things even more difficult.

 

Edited April 25, 20169 yr by Black_Jack29

If the Sox keep up these winning ways Anderson is going to be shipped at the deadline.

 

Nope.

If the Sox keep up these winning ways Anderson is going to be shipped at the deadline.

 

if they didn't trade him over the winter when all options were on the table, they aren't trading him at the deadline this year. The deadline markets tend to be limited in participants and potential return because certain teams aren't able to deal players because of being in contention.

Maybe I jumped the gun a little bit on Avi. Through his last 7 games, he's batting .280/.345/.440, his last 15 games went to the tune of .235/.322/.451. Still not convinced he will put it all together, but the last couple of weeks have been encouraging. He's currently has his highest BB% to date, second highest ISO, and a considerably low BABIP. A mid to high 700ish OPS out of the DH spot would do wonders for this team.

He is finally looking at more pitches and working deeper into counts. If that switch is really going on, it could change his career. The tools are there, he just needs to quit swinging at everything.

He is finally looking at more pitches and working deeper into counts. If that switch is really going on, it could change his career. The tools are there, he just needs to quit swinging at everything.

There's no denying that he's looked significantly more comfortable at the plate and is producing much better AB's of late. He's actually looked like he has a clue at the plate during this road trip, he's not guessing on every pitch right now and it's paying dividends.

I hope I'm wrong but I see this more as his stats evening out for the mean time. No matter what any of us think of him, he's not a .180 hitter. We'll see but I bet soon here we start to see him back to his old ways.

He doesn't need to be an 800+ OPS guy, although that would be great and what Dunn was producing even when we perceived him to be relatively terrible compared to expectations.

 

725-750 would probably get the job done. What won't work is a sub 700 number.

 

 

Just had an RBI triple. Batting average up to .224 with 3 homers and 9 RBI's. At any rate, we all know that Jose Abreu is the key batter that has to get going and put up his historical numbers (average of 2014/15)...around 900-925 OPS.

Avi's starting to produce a little bit.

On the other hand, Rollins needs to take a seat for a few days and certainly belongs nowhere near the 2 hole.

Avi has looked really good lately... seems like he is not swinging at every pitch.

We finally get Avi hot and he pulls a hami. Hopefully this doesn't screw him up longer term, and it is just a blip on the radar.