If you're looking for one area where the White Sox don't finish dead last in the league -- or even bottom half -- Baseball America's scout survey will lift your spirits, albeit briefly.
In response to the question "Which organizations are the most scout-friendly?", seven of 26 scouts said the White Sox. A .269 batting average might not sound all that impressive, but only eight teams were referenced more frequently:
- Dodgers — 81% (21)
- Padres — 73% (19)
- Royals — 58% (15)
- Rockies — 50% (13)
- Yankees — 46% (12)
- Phillies/Rangers — 38% (10)
- Rays — 35% (9)
- White Sox — 27% (7)
- Nationals/Reds/Tigers — 23% (6)
- Diamondbacks — 19% (5)
- Blue Jays/Giants — 12% (3)
- Athletics/Braves/Pirates — 8% (2)
- Angels/Astros/Brewers/Cardinals/Mariners/Marlins/Twins — 4% (1)
- Cubs/Guardians/Mets/Orioles/Red Sox — 0% (0)
Alas, there's a catch. In response to the question "Which organizations are the worst at identifying talent?", you'll probably guess which team was most front-of-mind:
- White Sox — 50% (12)
- Athletics — 46% (11)
- Angels/Marlins — 38% (9)
- Rockies — 33% (8)
- Blue Jays — 21% (5)
- Guardians — 17% (4)
- Cubs/Nationals/Reds/Red Sox — 13% (3)
- Astros/Braves/Brewers/Giants/Mets — 8% (2)
- Cardinals/Mariners/Orioles/Pirates/Rays/Royals/Twins/Yankees — 4% (1)
- Diamondbacks/Dodger/ Padres/Phillies/Rangers/Tigers — 0% (0)
Fortunately for the scouts involved, the eight teams ahead of the White Sox in the former question all fared pretty well in the talent-evaluation area. Otherwise, "team that listens to what we say is terrible at finding players" would be a rather devasting self-own.
In fairness, it's hard to draw too many rock-solid conclusions from a survey that has fewer participants than there are MLB teams, especially when the industry as a whole is in a sensitive place. There's a lot of talk about how their input mostly serves to feed models, leaving them to question how much their work is actually valued, and it's hard to know how many in the field are doing their best to modernize, versus wishing the job would stay the same forever.
A more general theory I drew is that scouting is a very inefficient activity, and thus just as vulnerable to being eliminated as every other inefficiency in Major League Baseball. Except not all inefficiencies are created equal. Some inefficiencies are great. I prefer a 40-round draft to a 20-round draft, and 180-player organization rosters to 165. Fewer rounds and affiliates will still produce the same amount of major-league players, simply because there are always 30 26-man rosters to fill, but underneath the MLB product, I'd rather have more players and more teams, which would require more employees to keep tabs on them.
Spare Parts
In happier news from Baseball America, Noah Schultz is rated the No. 1 left-handed pitching prospect in baseball, with Hagen Smith three spots behind.
We're likely still a few weeks away from the White Sox unveiling their complete list of non-roster spring training invitees, but we're at the slow part of the winter when Bobby Dalbec's minor-league contract merits a headline. Chris Cotillo says Dalbec will make $1.25 million if he makes the major-league roster, and he'll have the opportunity to opt out in June or July if he doesn't. His power makes him worth a shot, even if his contact issues seem too deep-seated for the White Sox to uproot.
Dan Hayes says that the Twins are "pleased with the level of interest" in prospective owners buying the club from the Pohlad family. Good for them. Must be nice.
Michael Lorenzen is staying with the Royals on a one-year, $7 million contract with incentives for more, which quashes the idea of the White Sox signing him with the crazy plan of giving him enough plate appearances to qualify as a two-way player.
- Rays now want Tropicana Field repairs in time for 2026 Opening Day -- Tampa Bay Times
- Rays to St. Pete: Just because we're threatening to leave town doesn't mean you don't have to fix our roof -- Field of Schemes
I've found the standoff between the Tampa Bay Rays and the St. Petersburg city council pretty confusing, which is why I'm glad that Field of Schemes is here to tell me that I should be confused. While it seems pretty clear that the Rays have some measure of obligation to repair Tropicana Field's roof, the Rays remain cagey about whether they still intend to see the construction of a new ballpark through.
Pnoles appeared on BeefLoaf's podcast to talk about how his appalling lack of respect for Gus Varland was thrown back in his face.
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