8/21 Gameday Thread: Can Fitts Shove His Way To Boston?

I could see it, but it would be a very tought decision to roster him all winter. You would have to feel it was the difference not just in making the playoffs, but to winning in the playoffs. Every roster spot counts a lot in the offseason when the IL60 dumps everyone back into counting. Not impossible to see a debut, but still I think unlikely for any of the big 4 because none need to be protected this offseason.

Campbell is also the oldest of the non catchers.

Head on a swivel on the basepaths with Roman up, he nearly killed Eddy Alvarez!

"The big 3" end their Portland tenure 2nd, 3rd & 5th in OPS behind a 25 year old first baseman... because Kristian Campbell and his OPS .200 higher doesn't qualify. (Nor did Matthew Lugo who was just as hot.) I know Portland has had some great collections of talent and they weren't exactly there together for the whole season but that's gotta be in the top 3 with 2005 (Lester, Papelbon, Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez) and maybe the 1995 Marlins team.

I'll guess Mayer debuts first, maybe some point in June an injury will get him up to Boston. I'm guessing the Sox hang on to Abreu this offseason and they go a bit slower with Anthony because he is younger, but just a guess.

As I posted in the Campbell thread, Refsnyder is considering retiring after the season to spend more time with his family. If that happens, I should think Campbell has the edge here because he bats from the right side.

I think Campbell's edge is even more so positional flexibility and that he hits no matter where he plays. RHH helps too of course.

He is the only one of the 3 where bringing the guys up comes with an ability to rotate him through positions as needed, serve as DH or pitch hit late. So I think it's a combo with him.

I am not sure they will select him ahead of the others, but there may be more paths to selection for him.

Yeah, I'm very excited about this crop of prospects they have coming up.

I've been a fan a long time, but I didnt see the 60s or 70s core come up. But that 80s core was good. I remember the excitement of Greenwell, Burks, Benzinget, Horn, and Brady Anderson even though surprisingly I was ok with them dealing him and that promising Schilling guy for Mike Boddicker, whom I liked, and of course they had Bagwell, Vaughn, and Valentin on the way.

Then last decade they had Bogaerts, Betts, JBJ, Benintendi, Devers, and Moncada on the way and that was an extremely impressive group.

Dont know where this group will rate, but it could be up there. The chilled out outlook would be that they get an all star, and perhaps 3 solid regulars, but the ceiling is higher for sure.

I just have good feelings about those 4 and although I don't know where Grissom quite fits, but I believe there is a solid regular there, too. Arias is looking like a bust out candidate and drafting Montgomery was a coup.

It's the lack of pitching that is the concern although its obvious they're trying to address it, but then again it's not like they had it coming up last decade either and they still put together great teams. Really they havent had a pitching pipeline since the mid 70s to mid 80s when over that decade they developed Hurst, Tudor, Ojeda, Boyd, and Clemens, and Schilling was also in that system. I think Aaron Sele was it for awhile in the 90s. So the pitching development issues are nothing new or anything that cant be overcome.