White Sox Pre-Season Top 20 in Review

Top 20 White Sox PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review

1) Brandon McCarthy, RHP
    Erratic in the first half, but pitched better as the season progressed. Finished 3-2, 4.03 in 10 major league starts, 48/17 K/BB in 67 innings. Should be in the rotation next year and I expect him to pitch well, unless his home run tendencies get out of control.

2) Gio Gonzalez, LHP
    Went 5-3, 1.87 in 10 starts for Kannapolis, 84/22 K/BB in 58 innings, then 8-3, 3.56 in 13 starts for Winston-Salem, 79/25 K/BB in 73 innings. An excellent prospect who deserves more attention.

3) Brian Anderson, OF
    Hit .295/.360/.469 with 16 homers for Triple-A Charlotte. Plate discipline needs some work, but he should be ready sometime in 2006.

4) Ryan Sweeney, OF
     Hit .298/.357/.371 in 113 games for Double-A Birmingham at age 20. No power as yet, but he makes contact and is very young for his level. He needs power development to avoid becoming an outfield version of Sean Burroughs.

5) Josh D. Fields, 3B
    Hit .252/.341/.409 with 16 homers for Birmingham. Good raw power, but struck out 142 times in 134 games. Contact is a major issue, and will have to be improved for him to hit for average and get on base at a decent clip.

6) Francisco Hernandez, C
    Hit .349/.405/.524 in 58 games for short-season Great Falls, but just .222/.292/.314 in 44 games for Kannapolis. Just 19 years old, promising, but obviously unproven at the full-season level.

7) Tyler Lumsden, LHP
    Missed entire season due to injury. Expected to return healthy for 2006.

8) Chris Young, OF
    Toolsy outfielder, hit .277/.377/.545 with 26 homers, 32 steals, 70 walks for Birmingham. Impressive power/speed/patience player. Strikeout rate is high and he may not hit for average. Similar to Mike Cameron perhaps?

9) Ray Liotta, LHP
    Combined for 14-5 record, 2.00 ERA between Kannapolis and Winston-Salem, 144/51 K/BB. Very impressive southpaw, will make Double-A transition in 2006 and I expect him to do well.

10) Sean Tracey, RHP
     14-6, 4.07 in 28 starts for Birmingham, 106/76 K/BB in 164 innings. ERA rose some 70 points in his last 11 starts. Good stuff, but has to develop better control.

11) Jerry Owens, OF
      Hit .331/.393/.406 with 38 steals for Birmingham. Good speed, not much power, has more upside than most 24 year olds in Double-A due to football background.

12) Casey Rogowski, 1B
     Hit .293/.374/.444 for Birmingham, 37 doubles but just nine homers. Has a decent bat overall but power is insufficient for a corner player.

13) Kris Honel, RHP
     5-7, 5.88 in 18 starts for Birmingham. Stick a fork in his prospect status. He has lost both velocity and command, which doesn't leave him with much left.

14) Wes Whisler, LHP
     4-9, 6.73 in 112 innings for Winston-Salem, 79/42 K/BB in 112 innings, allowed 153 hits. Has a good arm but has no idea how to pitch. If he doesn't come around soon, they should consider moving him to the outfield. He was a good hitter in college.

15) Mike Spidale, OF
     Hit .230/.287/.273 in 46 games for Triple-A Charlotte. Let's see. No power, no batting average, no OBP. Far cry from his .304/.391/.432 season for Double-A in 2004.

16) Pedro Lopez, SS
     Hit .238/.287/.314 for Birmingham in 68 games, then .202/.236/.282 in 55 games for Charlotte. Still very young at age 21, but obviously has to hit better than this to retain prospect status.

17) Adam Ricks, 2B
      Hit .260/.399/.323 in 87 games for Kannapolis. Good on-base skills, but no power, no speed.

18) Paulino Reynoso, LHP
     4-4, 3.92 in 54 games for Birmingham, 46/41 K/BB in 57 innings, 8 saves. Poor K/BB ratio is a red flag. Will have to improve his command if he wants to be a LOOGY.

19) Dennis Ulacia, LHP
     Horrible season for Charlotte, 407, 6.54 in 96 innings, 58/40 K/BB ratio, 116 hits and 21 homers allowed. Status has slipped.

20) Antoin Gray, 2B
    Hit .239/.327/.400 in 76 games for Birmingham. Power and OBP skilled slipped against better pitching.

A mixed bag, some good performance but several disappointments as well.
Remember, that is the pre-season list. A year ago at this time, Bobby Jenks was an injury-plagued thrower with bad control and spotty makeup. Things can change quickly in the prospect world.