Which is so different from the other major sports, right?Originally Posted by Tedballgame
More evidence that baseball is a tough and tricky game, I guess.
Which is so different from the other major sports, right?
More evidence that baseball is a tough and tricky game, I guess.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
A lot of players don’t play the same position in MLB that they played in high school. For all we know, this kid could wind up at catcher....
@alexspeier
An industry source confirms what Nick Yorke alluded to in his conference call: He is expected to sign with the Sox for less than the recommended No 17 slot of $3.61M.
@SPChrisHatfield :
From the call with Chaim Bloom and Paul Toboni, they did earnestly think that if the spring had played out, Yorke would've worked his way up to about this point on industry draft boards.
They love Yorke's makeup and bat. Clear they have a lot of familiarity with him and a strong relationship with the family. They think he is going to move off short to second base, but love his hit tool and think he's growing into some power.
Of the 7 games he played this spring, Toboni said Sox scouts were at 4 or 5 of them. Toboni also mentioned working him out in December.
Toboni speculated that with the shortened spring, there may be greater variance between teams' draft boards given less objective data (Trackman, etc.), small Spring sample sizes. Teams will take those data points into account differently.
Per Pete Abraham, he expects that the Sox went this way so they could go over slot later in the draft. Harder to go over if you sign at full 1st round value and don't have a 2nd round pick you can save on.
@PeteAbe
Wholeheartedly agree with that assessment. Suspect they'll go with HS kids with big upside/major college commitments with at least two of their remaining picks.
One of my best friends at school played little league with Torkelson
I like the idea that the Sox took Yorke after taking the time to really get to know him as an all-in baseball guy -- and that in Bloom's regime, personality often compares with, and complements talent.
As a fan, I never liked draft decisions made by just choosing "the next best available player"; future club needs, franchise needs and the entertainment product are always factors with us...
If it's truly a crapshoot, go with the guy that just fits your org philosophy.
Initially, I didn't really understand the reasoning either. If there was a player that they valued higher than Yorke, then they should have gone with the other player.
That said, as with most things, it comes down to money. I guess the Sox feel like they have a very good chance of signing Yorke below slot money, thereby freeing up some extra money for their 3rd rounder. Are the Sox better off being able to sign what would typically be a 2nd rounder and their 3rd rounder, or would they be better off signing a 1st rounder but not a 3rd rounder?
I guess with the uncertainty of prospects, the more you are able to sign, the better off you are. We do still need to replenish the farm.
I actually agree with choosing the next available best player rather than drafting according to need. Granted there are several other factors to consider besides just who the best available player is, but I don't think it makes much sense to draft down 30 slots just because you have a particular need. Draft the best players, then trade from areas of strength if necessary.
The evaluators were really at a disadvantage for this draft. In senior year of High School and during college these players can make huge developmental jumps. Missing a full season was just huge in being able to make the evaluations. I think that down the road we will see an unusually large number of undrafted kids from this class making it to the majors.
The King of TalkSox has Spoken.
I read that had the players been allowed to play this year, Yorke's rankings would have improved to possibly first round status. Maybe that's just the Sox blowing smoke, but it's a valid point about the players missing this season.
At least it shows that what the Sox projected him to be. If they really thought he was the guy, then they needed to grab him.
I remember the fallout from the 2017 NBA draft when the C's had the first pick. They traded down two spots to get an additional 1st round pick and ended up getting the best guy in the draft at #3. Fans were upset because they wanted Fultz and Tatum was just a "safe" pick. Well, let's just say it worked out in the C's favor.
The Pats have also made a few curious draft selections that caused fans to scratch their heads. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don't.
It's hard for me to get too worked up over it.
When I said "future" needs, I wasn't talking about now -- like Pedroia's done and we need a second baseman. As we all know, many good prospects are shifted to other positions in the pros (growing up, they all seem to play shortstop when they aren't pitching).
I was thinking more about projections that Yorke could become a star hitter; we can always use one of those, especially after losing Mookie and soon, JD. Betts is a one-of-a-kind, but one report compares Yorke to Youk... for a #17 slot, I'll take a three-time MLB All-Star with a career .861 OPS.
If Downs and Yorke both become impact MLBers, it seems that's a great problem to have. I can think of a few 2B's that have successfully transitioned elsewhere (Soriano, Biggio).
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