Comments on: 2013 Minor League Preview: Chicago White Sox

By: Scott Evans

Scott Evans — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:11:26 +0000

@Seth, Had he stayed on the field & produced, I’d rank him right behind Walker… maybe one slot better if the Sox could’ve pushed him past the Appy League. Love the tools, but tough guy to gauge because of inexperience, injury. He’s certainly a breakout candidate for 2013… wouldn’t be surprised if he leaped over everyone on this list by year’s end. For fantasy purposes, though, too far off & too risky.

Re: Thompson — not yet convinced he won’t cut it as a regular RF… the whiffs will always be a problem, but his approach has improved every year & his power will play big at US Cellular. Potential mini-mini donkey.

By: Seth

Seth — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 15:48:11 +0000

Where would Keon Barnum be? I’d have him #2 behind Hawkins in this super weak system. Trayce Thompson is facing long odds of being a MLB regular with his severe contact problems.

By: jdbus

jdbus — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 19:47:19 +0000

Agreed, I don’t think the best way to run your organization is to focus on big-paydays for more high profile guys. I would much rather put my money into 6-7 developing minor league prospects than paying for one overpaid veteran (Youkilis, Rios). I don’t know how much of their contracts they are actually paying but i think is a substantial amount. I guess it works for them though, so you can’t really fault them.

By: Scott Evans

Scott Evans — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:25:13 +0000

@Luis, I like Davis more than Cahill for the long term. I’d hold Davis & try to find pitching elsewhere.

By: Scott Evans

Scott Evans — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:23:34 +0000

@jdbus, It’s mostly to do with their overall baseball ops budget. The Sox are comfortable working with an imbalanced budget that favors big-league personnel over player development. As you point out, they have drafted & paid some high-profile prospects with their top picks in recent years… they’re not gonna shy away from spending on quick-to-the-bigs guys like Sale & Reed. But while other clubs are spending big time dough in rounds 2-10, the Sox are a bit more frugal. I’m with ya, though — sure seems like a recipe for inconsistency at the big league level.

By: jdbus

jdbus — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:27:38 +0000

When it comes to the draft, is it the fact that they don’t want to spend money or the fact that they don’t see much value in developing young guys? Because they have a few guys (Sale, Reed) that they seemed to hit on, but not much else. I just find it weird that they pretty much ignore the draft besides for the top rounds. It doesn’t seem like a winning formula

By: Luis

Luis — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:16:14 +0000

Sorry if this isnt the place to write it, but figured you guys are experts at young players. Im in a 20 team Dynasty league and you get to keep 20 players. I was just offered T. Cahill for Chris Davis. I have Moustakas and Matt Davidson coming up soon. My team needs pitching, especially young pitching. Do you guys like this trade? Would this be considered selling high on Davis?

By: Scott Evans

Scott Evans — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 16:26:53 +0000

@Dunn-Zo, Oh definitely. The Sox love those type of refurbishment projects. They see it as a cheap way to acquire that first-round caliber talent without actually spending the first-round cash on the bonuses. In some cases it works great, but clearly not always. Say what you will about the Sox crappy farm system, but it’s not as if Kenny is working without a plan.

By: Dunn-Zo

Dunn-Zo — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 16:08:29 +0000

It seems to me Kenny likes to go after former first round draft picks and try to fix them. I am sure other teams do this as well but it just seems more apparent in the recent years this is been a strategy the White Sox like to implement.

Phil Humber
Gavin Floyd
Matt Thornton
Jeff Marquez
Lastings Milledge
Alejandro De Aza (rule 5 draft, but signed in 2001 as a 19 year old)