He was always drafted as a project. Sometimes it takes those giant MFers a while to get all the levers in order.
Yeah, Pena and Alvarez were both last second face saving adds. In the college recruiting world there is a tool called the "crystal ball" that is used to judge the accuracy of different 9.95's predictions as to where a given recruit will eventually sign their LOI. This tool addresses this problem by weighting the points you get for a correct prediction by the amount of time that occurred between the prediction and the signing...or something like that. Would be fun if there was an equivalent for prospect analysts. Could probably find out some interesting behavioral patterns within the industry.
Yordan was top 100 by BA after his first season state-side. BP had Pena on their top 100 list for 3 years. I wouldn't call those last second. Outside of 1st rounders, it is rare to appear on top 100 lists immediately after being drafted/signed.
Luis Rodriguez allowed three hits and struck out three over four scoreless innings in today's FCL game.
Massive upside - very high bust factor. He is a rare pitcher that doesn’t need high velocity for swing and misses and can get on top of hitters, resulting in a lot of mediocre ground balls when on. I was fine with the pick. At times he has looked good and other times he hasn’t. He also is working on changing his arm angle as well. Right now he is about what I expected. Brown is very different than Click and a little different than Luhnow - he attacks high talent athletes and upside guys. He is willing to draft 75% high volatility guys.
When you consider the upside of his “stuff”, you are probably right. There is no question his raw stuff will translate to the big leagues. The question is whether he will have the control, poise and command - and he is starting to show that.
Honestly I know the White Sox organization very well and through the Joliet Slammers club - I see people in the White Sox organization often. They may be the least progressive team in professional sports. They have some decent scouts and hard workers - but they literally don’t consider advanced stats or advanced scouting or player development…. Almost all jobs filled in the organization are internally. So the “new guys” only learn from the old guys, zero innovation at all as a result. They literally said they are aggressive in the Cuban market because 60 years ago they were and it’s how they do things. They don’t care about on base percentage and basically want either raw mph heat pitchers with size or they want junk ballers.
