Brock Beauchamp

Front-page traffic is playing the long game. To be honest, I don't pay a lot of attention to front page traffic right now, as we're still in our first year (barely). Around the 18 month mark, it will start to become more of a thing to watch and focus on. When we launched the Brewers site in 2022, we drew about 500 users a day, mostly to the forums. Now we draw about 4,000 users a day, mostly to the front page. Since 2022, forum traffic is stable, maybe a few ticks of growth. All the rest is front page, prospects, blogs, etc. When we relaunched Talk Sox, we drew about 250 users a day. Right now, we're sitting at about 600 users a day, with most of that growth from the front page (though, as I said, the exact distribution isn't something I'm super-interested in right now).

Yeah, I can see your point if you're looking at it from the forum side of things. That's a byproduct of the front page, and covering the draft thoroughly. Perhaps we can consider stashing more of those articles in the news forum next year, and focusing more on the conversation threads in the forums.

Well, that's annoying. I removed him (along with a few others) and now the bastard is back on the list!

Unlike other publications, Talk Sox enables all users to contribute to our top prospect rankings. Anyone with a Talk Sox account can participate and give their input on who they think should be in the Red Sox's top prospects list. Before you vote, you can hit our top prospects page for the latest stats and news on Red Sox prospects, while on the voting page, every name is a clickable link that brings up their current stat card. Voting is simple, just follow the instructions below! Here's the rundown on how to participate: 1. You must have an account and be logged in to vote. If you don't have an account, click here. It literally requires 60 seconds to create an account. 2. Review our current top 20 prospect list, catch up on stats, rankings, etc. (you can do so from the voting page link below) 3. Have your prospect list in your filthy little paws? Then flip on over to the new prospect voting page (after reading the rest of this, please). https://talksox.com/prospect-voting 4. Voting is super simple; you drag and drop players in the order you wish them to be. After you move a prospect, the list automatically renumbers so you don't lose track of the order. This works on mobile devices, but it's a *vastly* better experience on desktop. Sorry, that's just how this kind of thing works. There's no excellent way to make something like this as awesome on a phone screen. 5. Each prospect has a comment section where you can add any commentary you have on that player. At the bottom of the list, there is a general comment section to explain over-arching things you'd like to mention. 6. Don't see a prospect you want to put on the list? Just pop back here and give me a mention (in a comment, start typing @Brock Beauchamp and select my name after it appears). Please mention the prospect you would like added, and I will do so as soon as possible. 7. Once you're done with all of it, click Save. You've now voted! 8. When the voting closes, a new thread will automatically generate in this forum with all of your rankings and comments for everyone to read and talk about. 9. You can only vote once. If you have voted in error, pop back here and tag Brock, asking to have your vote deleted. It will be removed, and you can vote again. Voting closes Tuesday, July 22nd. View full article

As a draftee signs, drop a link to the news here!

Whew, that was... a lot. Last year, we had only three sites, and this year it has jumped to six. It was chaotic behind the scenes. But how did you feel about our draft coverage? One thing we really try to focus on (because nobody else does it in a lot of cases) is minor league baseball and the draft. So if you have commentary, good or bad, please share it here!

Welcome to Talk Sox!

Now only 2.5 back of you-know-who...

The Sox are heading into the ASB on a roll.

Welcome to Talk Sox!

To get into a playoff spot, first you gotta get into third place. Seems like a good time to do that.

No one really knows what the Twins are going to do, probably especially the Twins. They're a middling contender, just far enough out of the WC race to consider selling, but close enough to still be in it. They're a pretty good team when things are clicking. But they're also on the verge of being sold - maybe...? - and no one knows what they're thinking. Ryan has quietly become one of the best pitchers in baseball and still has 2.5 years of control. He hasn't really been a workhorse but none of his injuries have been concerning, either. He had a weird shoulder/back thing last year that knocked him out, but had no lingering effects and did not involve his elbow or the important part of the shoulder. The year before, the injury was a hamstring, or groin, or something else equally benign. Could the Twins Trade Joe Ryan? 6 Suitors to Watch if Minnesota Sells High on Their Ace - Twins - Twins Daily TWINSDAILY.COM He’s been the team’s best pitcher and one of the most reliable arms in the AL. But with contenders circling, could Joe Ryan net the Twins a franchise-altering return?

The ABS challenge system will get in front of the most fans in the game that matters the least. It's a pretty good combo to demonstrate this technology. What do you think of the challenge system? https://brewerfanatic.com/news-rumors/milwaukee-brewers/the-abs-challenge-system-is-the-newest-addition-to-this-years-mlb-all-star-roster-r3574/

I'm f***ing frustrated. I'm constantly scouring YouTube for good team-specific coverage but 95% of it is utter crap. Just terrible stuff. So I'm farming for suggestions! I'm pivoting my approach now. Do any of you follow general MLB content? I'm looking for something that has the following qualifications: Covers lots of teams Is good, analytically-based content that really dives into a topic Not hyperbolic nonsense that is all-too-typical of YouTube (eg. "You won't BELIEVE what the Padres did!") Posts regularly Has a relatively low subscriber count, let's say under 6,000 Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. The process of finding videographers is absolutely effing agonizing.

Over time, what was once a platform that contained three elements (news, forums, blogs) has slowly grown to have a dozen or more aspects to it. I've never really sat down to better lay out the site options in menus and navigation. Last week, I completely restructured the hamburger menu (top right, three horizontal bars). In it, I've split the resources into four major groups: team, minor leagues, draft, and history. From each of those options, there is a submenu that will take you to various aspects of the site that might be buried. Additionally, I reworked the forum index navigation (main forum page, near the top) and also split it into four distinct groups: team, minor leagues, draft, and interactive. If you have ways to improve the navigation of the site, please share it here! This is just a starting point, I'm very open to changing things around.

Oh, for sure. And that's not even factoring in how a team like the Brewers would be happy to pluck an off-the-radar pitcher out of most systems and turn him into something good. So much depends on what the team is scouting, why they're scouting it, and how good they are at maximizing talent.

BTV does a pretty bad job of valuing minor-league players, but my view is that BTV is often better than nothing. My biggest beef is that it "rejects" trade proposals, knowing that it's not a great valuator in the first place.

Honestly, I don't know how I feel about this. Joe Ryan is immensely valuable, and comes with two years of control. However, he's a pitcher, whereas Duran is a position player whose performance is somewhat more predictable. It's the prospects that make this feel unbalanced to me. If you were to propose Ryan-for-Duran, that's a heist for the Sox. Add in this prospect mix, and it feels unbalanced in the other direction. Twins Trade Fiction: Imagining a Ryan-for-Duran Swap - Twins - Twins Daily TWINSDAILY.COM This isn’t a rumor, report, or insider leak—just a thought experiment. But if the Twins decided to pivot toward 2026, here’s a trade idea that could make sense for two "bubble" teams. It’s...

Welcome to Talk Sox!

Every offseason, we offer our You’re The GM! tool (formerly the Payroll Blueprint) to build your ideal Red Sox roster. This year, we’ve updated the tool to include the trade deadline! The idea behind this feature is to give fans a chance to play the role of General Manager (or CBO or PoBO… you get the idea) for their favorite team, the Red Sox. It’s meant to allow fans to discuss (and, let’s be honest, argue) how they would approach the MLB trade deadline on July 31st. This tool is intended to be informal and fun, so we’ve left it as open as possible. There is a payroll “budget” that loosely resembles the Red Sox 2025 payroll, but there is no penalty for going over that number. It’s a guideline, nothing more. Second, you can submit as many blueprints as you like up through the deadline. As the deadline landscape changes, users can return and create a new blueprint. Before we delve into the breakdown of the tool, you can save your blueprint and return to it at any time. The only restriction is that you must register an account on the site to create a blueprint (so we can save a draft for you and also post the blueprint for others to discuss). Let’s get into the tool itself. It has four quadrants that work best if addressed in a counter-clockwise order (this tool works much better on desktops and large tablets due to its complexity, but will work on phones if need be). Top Left: The 26-Man Roster We have created a rough guideline for what the Red Sox 26-man roster will look like in late July, assuming no trades are made. The roster is flexible; any player can be added or removed as needed. We’ve also included player salaries. This section is where you build your roster and make changes based on the following two sections. As you make changes to players and salaries, the total payroll number (right side of the screen) will change, allowing you to track your budget on the fly. The bottom field in both columns is for any dead money you assume during the course of wheeling and dealing. Acquiring dead money should be rather uncommon, but we want to present users with the opportunity to take on dead salary if it suits their purposes. Bottom Left: Top Prospects & Internal Options If you decide to be a buyer, we’ve listed the team’s top 20 prospects you can use in trade. We’ve also included some internal options that could be traded or fill in your 26-man roster; most of these players are on the 40-man roster but are no longer considered prospects due to performance or losing prospect status. We’ve also included links in this section: one to our top prospects list, another for building trades on Baseball Trade Values. While BTV is far from a perfect solution for building trades, it can guide you in properly valuing a prospect within an organization. Bottom Right: Trade Deadline Options The Athletic has released their big board of trade candidates; it’s a top-30 list of MLB players who have a decent chance of being traded this July. We’ve listed them in order of position, along with their contract earnings in 2025. If you’re looking to research prospects in another team’s system, we’ve also included a link to an article that contains links to MLB Pipeline’s top-30 prospect rankings for all 30 MLB teams. Top Right: Dead Money, Your Total Payroll, & Commentary The only unalterable field on the page is Dead Money; it is players to whom the team has committed money but has no reasonable way to get out of the contract. Below that, you will see the recommended budget, your current total, and the percentage you are over or under that budget. Again, keep in mind that the budget is only a guideline, and you can exceed it as much as you like… But defend your choices, coward! The following field is 'Title', which gives other users an idea of what to expect from your blueprint (e.g., ‘Trade For Alex Bregman, Damn the Consequences'). When your blueprint posts for other users, it will read, “Your Username’s 2025 Trade Deadline Blueprint: Trade For Alex Bregman, Damn the Consequences.” The following field is Your Comments & Explanation, a long-form field meant to type out the rationale behind your decisions. Here is the place to fully explain your trades (including which players are leaving the team to bring in new players), why you traded for specific players, and any promotions from the minors you advocate. This is often multiple paragraphs; you can write up as much detail as you desire. That’s it, you’re done! At this point, you can either publish your blueprint to the forums or save it for later if you feel it’s incomplete. Thank you for joining us at Talk Sox. I hope you enjoy playing the role of general manager, at least for a moment! Start Your Trade Deadline Blueprint View full article

Personal insults are not allowed on this forum. If you see a personal insult, there is a Report option in the ellipses (...) in the top right of every post. Use it and a moderator will see the report and address it.

I chose the top position players by fWAR, then the top starting pitchers also by fWAR. If there was an outstanding reliever in WPA, I also included them. Relievers don't get enough love, particularly non-closers. With that said, who is your 2025 first-half MVP?

While I have no strong opinions on Cora in either direction, that's definitely not all on the manager.