Minor Leagues thread VI "The Winter of no Hibernation"

[A. Cavatica]

Originally Posted by Hitmen77

It'll be interesting to see the write-ups for outfielders and pitchers.

Bear in mind that the outfielders and pitchers are the strengths of the system, and they've been under the microscope already.

Narrowing to 5 outfielders will be hard. Jimenez, Robert, Rutherford are top 100 prospects. Then you've got Basabe, Gonzalez, Adolfo in the next tier. Where does Walker fit in?

Injuries will scramble the pitching list. The top three should still be Kopech, Cease, and Dunning in some order. Hansen's dropped, but out of the top five? Do they fill out the five with relievers (Hamilton, Burdi, Johnson, Medeiros) or are they high on Stephens, Lambert, Flores, Henzman, Battenfield, Stiever, or Pilkington?

[Hitmen77]

Originally Posted by A. Cavatica

Bear in mind that the outfielders and pitchers are the strengths of the system, and they've been under the microscope already.

Narrowing to 5 outfielders will be hard. Jimenez, Robert, Rutherford are top 100 prospects. Then you've got Basabe, Gonzalez, Adolfo in the next tier. Where does Walker fit in?

Injuries will scramble the pitching list. The top three should still be Kopech, Cease, and Dunning in some order. Hansen's dropped, but out of the top five? Do they fill out the five with relievers (Hamilton, Burdi, Johnson, Medeiros) or are they high on Stephens, Lambert, Flores, Henzman, Battenfield, Stiever, or Pilkington?

I'm guessing they'll list more than 5 OFs since there are three positions to fill. Yeah, that's seven legit prospects you mention right there. Not just guys like Call and Booker who had decent seasons, but are not likely to ever be MLB starters.

[A. Cavatica]

Originally Posted by Hitmen77

I'm guessing they'll list more than 5 OFs since there are three positions to fill. Yeah, that's seven legit prospects you mention right there. Not just guys like Call and Booker who had decent seasons, but are not likely to ever be MLB starters.

And guys like Tyler Frost or Logan Sowers who would have made Sox top 20 lists in the pre-rebuild era.

[Hitmen77]

Originally Posted by blurry

If you're looking to kill some time, FutureSox has been running a series going over the top prospects by position: http://www.chicagonow.com/future-sox

Future Sox has added their write up about top left-handed relief prospects in the system. Some intriguing names on the list. Will Frare and Schryver end up being good deadline pick ups? It'll also be interesting to see if we got anything of value in Perez and Sousa (both 2018 draft picks).

http://www.chicagonow.com/future-sox...elief-pitcher/

[Hitmen77]

...by the way, here are direct links to their write ups about the IF positions and catcher:
http://www.chicagonow.com/future-sox...tion-catchers/
http://www.chicagonow.com/future-sox...on-third-base/
http://www.chicagonow.com/future-sox...on-shortstops/
http://www.chicagonow.com/future-sox...econd-basemen/
http://www.chicagonow.com/future-sox...first-basemen/

[Hitmen77]

Here's the Future Sox list of top 5 RHP relief prospects. Burdi, Hamilton, and Johnson could be key pieces to a successful Sox bullpen in a couple of years.

http://www.chicagonow.com/future-sox...lief-pitchers/

[Hitmen77]

Here's the Future Sox list of top 10 starting pitching prospects:
http://www.chicagonow.com/future-sox...ting-pitchers/

In addition to the 10 prospects listed, they also note that Jonathan Stiever as getting some votes for their list.

[blurry]

Even with Kopech's injury and Hansen's struggles, that starting pitching list looks fantastic. Most (if not all) other teams would love to have this sort of depth.

[Hitmen77]

Originally Posted by blurry

Even with Kopech's injury and Hansen's struggles, that starting pitching list looks fantastic. Most (if not all) other teams would love to have this sort of depth.

I agree. That's a good amount of depth to have. Even with TJS, Kopech still promises to be a top of the rotation guy for us in the future. If he and Cease continue dealing, that could be a great top of the rotation in a few years. Of the top guys, the one I'm probably most pessimistic about is Hansen.

The problem, of course, is that pitchers are so prone to injuries that can derail their career that it's impossible to every have "enough" starting pitching depth. But, I think any fans who think our starting pitching depth as a weakness are being overly pessimistic and must be expecting to see Glavine, Smoltz, and Maddux on the list.

[Frater Perdurabo]

FutureSox's Top 10 OF list is now published. No huge surprises, but they are ranking the power and speed tools and ceiling of Adolfo and Basabe over the higher floor and hit tool of Rutherford. I don't disagree; it's just a difference of how you value floors and ceilings.


To start 2019, I'd like to see the OFs line up this way:


Chicago: Delmonico, Engel, A. Garcia
Charlotte: Eloy, Booker, Call, Cordell
Birmingham: Basabe, Rutherford, Gonzalez
Winston-Salem: Robert, Adolfo, Walker


As "repeaters," Eloy, Basabe, Adolfo, and Robert and prime candidates for promotion, whereas (in my opinion) Gonzalez, Rutherford, Call, and Walker would likely benefit from spending a full year at their new level. In the majors, I think Leury Garcia is superfluous and should be dealt, Avi Garcia ought to be retained in the hopes that he could get hot and be dealt to a contender, and Delmonico has options remaining and could go to Charlotte for depth once Eloy comes to Chicago. If so, by the end of the season (with some promotions happening much earlier) we could see:


Chicago: Eloy, Engel, Cordell, Booker (plus CF/RF defense helps pitchers)
Charlotte: Basabe, Call, Delmonico
Birmingham: Adolfo, Rutherford, Gonzalez, Robert
Winston-Salem: Walker, ...

[Hitmen77]

Originally Posted by Frater Perdurabo

FutureSox's Top 10 OF list is now published. No huge surprises, but they are ranking the power and speed tools and ceiling of Adolfo and Basabe over the higher floor and hit tool of Rutherford. I don't disagree; it's just a difference of how you value floors and ceilings.


To start 2019, I'd like to see the OFs line up this way:


Chicago: Delmonico, Engel, A. Garcia
Charlotte: Eloy, Booker, Call, Cordell
Birmingham: Basabe, Rutherford, Gonzalez
Winston-Salem: Robert, Adolfo, Walker


As "repeaters," Eloy, Basabe, Adolfo, and Robert and prime candidates for promotion, whereas (in my opinion) Gonzalez, Rutherford, Call, and Walker would likely benefit from spending a full year at their new level. In the majors, I think Leury Garcia is superfluous and should be dealt, Avi Garcia ought to be retained in the hopes that he could get hot and be dealt to a contender, and Delmonico has options remaining and could go to Charlotte for depth once Eloy comes to Chicago. If so, by the end of the season (with some promotions happening much earlier) we could see:


Chicago: Eloy, Engel, Cordell, Booker (plus CF/RF defense helps pitchers)
Charlotte: Basabe, Call, Delmonico
Birmingham: Adolfo, Rutherford, Gonzalez, Robert
Winston-Salem: Walker, ...

Here's a link to their OF list:
http://www.chicagonow.com/future-sox...n-outfielders/

Some of these players might end up being good trade pieces if enough of the OF talent pans out.

[Frater Perdurabo]

Originally Posted by Hitmen77

Some of these players might end up being good trade pieces if enough of the OF talent pans out.

I’ve been thinking about that, too. I’m looking through the top of every team’s
Top 30 on MLB Pipeline to see what other clubs might have a comparative lack of decent OF prospects, but might have a surplus of prospects in an area where we are comparatively weak, like third base or LH starting pitcher.

For instance, Colorado might be a match, with their surplus of third base prospects, and the Mets have three LHP in their Top 10. Both are a little light on OF prospects. The Padres also might be a match, as despite having an excellent system, their highest ranked OF prospect is only ranked 13 among their Top 30, but they have several LHP prospects.

[A. Cavatica]

Originally Posted by Frater Perdurabo

To start 2019, I'd like to see the OFs line up this way:


Chicago: Delmonico, Engel, A. Garcia
Charlotte: Eloy, Booker, Call, Cordell
Birmingham: Basabe, Rutherford, Gonzalez
Winston-Salem: Robert, Adolfo, Walker

You'd like to see that? I'd like to see Eloy, who was ready early last year, with Delmonico sent down.

Palka and Garcia should platoon in right with Palka getting most of the at-bats. Garcia is a serious non-tender candidate.

[Frater Perdurabo]

Originally Posted by A. Cavatica

You'd like to see that? I'd like to see Eloy, who was ready early last year, with Delmonico sent down.

Palka and Garcia should platoon in right with Palka getting most of the at-bats. Garcia is a serious non-tender candidate.

Of course I’d “like” to see Eloy last season. I’m just being realistic with how the Sox apparently are handling his service time.

[Mohoney]

Originally Posted by A. Cavatica

You'd like to see that? I'd like to see Eloy, who was ready early last year, with Delmonico sent down.

Palka and Garcia should platoon in right with Palka getting most of the at-bats. Garcia is a serious non-tender candidate.

Avi Garcia is a better baseball player than Dan Palka. He is not a non-tender candidate.