Chicago White Sox Top 20 PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review
by John Sickels on Sep 5, 2009 8:00 AM EDT
36 comments
Chicago White Sox Top 20 PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review
This list was originally published December 22, 2008. This is a review of the PRE-SEASON list for 2009, not a revision of that list. This is a REVIEW of the old list. I'm not doing new grades or lists until I start working on the 2010 book.
1) Gordon Beckham, SS, Grade B+: Hitting .272/.350/.455 for the White Sox. He got promoted faster than anticipated and has been everything the White Sox could possibly expect.
2) Aaron Poreda, LHP, Grade B+: Traded to the Padres. 3.90 ERA with 100/67 K/BB in 102 innings combined between Double-A Birmingham, Triple-A Charlotte, and Triple-A Portland. 2.45 ERA with 12/8 K/BB in 11 major league innings. He needs some command refinement and is probably better-suited for relief work.
3) Tyler Flowers, C, Grade B: Hitting .297/.423/.516 combined between Birmingham and Charlotte. Solid overall.
4) Brandon Allen, 1B, Grade C+: Traded to Arizona. Hitting combined .298/.373/.503 between Birmingham, Charlotte, and Triple-A Reno, has hit .243/.300/.486 in 11 games for the D-backs. Has come a long way this year.
5) Clayton Richard, LHP, Grade C+: Traded to the Padres. 4.61 ERA with 94/59 K/BB in 125 innings combined. An average pitcher pretty much but that has value.
6) Jordan Danks, OF, Grade C+: Hit .322/.409/.525 for Class A Winston-Salem, then .250/.343/.357 for Double-A Birmingham. Production hasn't carried to higher level, though he's still drawing walks at least.
7) Chris Getz, 2B, Grade C+: Hitting .266/.323/.364 with 18 steals in 20 attempts for the White Sox. Would like to see higher OBP and/or more pop, but this is in line with expectations overall.
8) John Shelby, OF, Grade C+: Hitting .246/.323/.394 with 29 steals in 38 attempts for Double-A Birmingham. Not great production, but has improved plate discipline compared to last year and still has a chance to be interesting.
9) Jose Martinez, OF, Grade C+: Missed entire year with injuries.
10) Dayan Viciedo, 3B, Grade C+: Hitting .279/.316/.388 for Birmingham. Not living up to pre-season expectations. Again, beware of players who are nothing but glowing scouting reports with no numbers to back them up.
11) Brent Morel, 3B, Grade C+: Hitting .278/.335/.447 for Winson-Salem with 23 steals in 31 attempts. Has some pop to go with the speed.
12) Dan Hudson, RHP, Grade C+: Amazing season, 14-5, 2.32 with a 166/34 K/BB in 147 innings combined between Class A Kannapolis, Winston-Salem, Birmingham, and Charlotte, with little deterioration in components between levels. I called him as a big sleeper pre-season and that's one that really panned out.
13) Dexter Carter, RHP, Grade C: 3.13 ERA with 143/32 K/BB in 118 innings for Kannapolis. Traded to Padres, 12.86 ERA with 23/15 K/BB in 21 innings for Class A Fort Wayne. Command really fell apart after the trade.
14) Jeff Marquez, RHP, Grade C: 9.85 ERA with 27/22 K/BB in 46 innings for Charlotte, 72 hits allowed. Ugly numbers all-around.
15) Jon Link, RHP, Grade C: 4.14 ERA with 64/25 K/BB in 54 innings for Charlotte, 54 hits, 11 saves. Good strikeout rate. Might be a decent reliever.
16) Cole Armstrong, C, Grade C: Hitting .252/.287/.427 for Charlotte. I don't think he'll hit enough to be useful.
17) Justin Cassel, RHP, Grade C: 5.78 ERA with 51/38 K/BB in 90 innings, 109 hits allowed for Triple-A Columbus. Not a prospect at this point.
18) Jack Egbert, RHP, Grade C: 4.94 ERA with 77/30 K/BB in 106 innings, 127 hits for Charlotte. I've seen him as a sleeper but he's just not doing it in Triple-A.
19) John Ely, RHP, Grade C: 2.93 ERA with 118/48 K/BB in 150 innings for Birmingham, 137 hits. A solid season, will move to Triple-A in '10 and try to repeat.
20) Jon Gilmore, 3B, Grade C: .269/.315/.352 for Kannapolis. Lack of power looks like an issue.
The White Sox were thin to begin with, so the graduation of Beckham and trades of Poreda, Allen, and Richard thin things out even more. Hudson looks terrific and I'm very pleased that I had him on my sleeper lists pre-season. There are lots of slots available for 2009 draftees to move into. I particularly like first round pick Jared Mitchell and second round pick David Holmberg.
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Man, carter just fell apart
Hey guys, I have an Orioles blog so check it out. I write about news and the Oriole's farm teams and prospects.
www.snaorioles.com
by ravensfan3 on Sep 5, 2009 8:24 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Carter
I have to think its something to do with the way the Padres have handled him. He made some mechanical adjustments that helped him find his location after he signed with CHI, maybe the Padres had him get away from what made him so successful?
by jelder09 on Sep 5, 2009 10:03 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
so has Aaron Poreda
8 walks, 8 strikeouts last night in 5 1/3 innings last night. Only one hit allowed.
by richieabernathy on Sep 5, 2009 11:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Viciedo
I’m not huge on him, but to be fair, he had an excellent June/July before slumping in August (coinciding with a spike in the flyball rate).
by toonsterwu on Sep 5, 2009 9:13 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Upside Only
What’s north: Angel Villalona or Dayan Viciedo?
by byronlhsdrmr on Sep 5, 2009 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Me?
I’d go, upside only, Villalona.
by toonsterwu on Sep 5, 2009 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
That slump in August was discouraging
His numbers had shown a nice progression and improvement month to month:
April .221/.232/.286/.518
May .293/.314/.397/.711
June .276/.336/.410/.746
July .303/.354/.472/.826
August .278/.320/.356/.676
It looks like he just stopped driving the ball. His FB% reached its peak in August. It’s quite possible that he got tired toward the end of the season.
With his age and the upward trend of his hitting until August I’m still hopeful that he can turn into a useful player. Unfortunately this is all based on following boxscores and I haven’t been able to scout him in person.
-Jeeves Life in the Cell
by jeeves on Sep 5, 2009 4:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
What's the most amount of games he's played before this year?
While I’m not high on him at all, I think it’s possible his August is the result of simply wearing down.
by thejd44 on Sep 5, 2009 5:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
link below
Those are his last full season’s stats which were in 2006.
VICIEDO PEREZ, DAYAN 90 369 301 39 76 .252 14 3 8 120 .399 2 4 35 6 1 12 49 12 52 14 0
369, and 301 are listed below CB and VB which I take to mean PA’s and AB’s.
This year he has 490 AB’s plus there’s a lot more travel involved in the States than in Cuba.
-Jeeves Life in the Cell
by jeeves on Sep 5, 2009 7:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Danks, Morel, Hudson
Had the pleasure of seeing these 3 extensively this year. Hudson was one of the most exciting pitchers I’ve seen since Adam Waiwright and Dan Haren when I lived in Memphis. I’m not comparing him to the two though – different styles. Hudson just knows how to pitch – work a count and know when to throw what. He’s a very intelligent pitcher. He started the year in Kannapolis and I figure he’d end it in Birmingham…I was wrong, he ended in Chicago. Likely he’ll start in Charlotte next year, but he’s got to be one of the top pitching prospects in baseball.
Morel has been one of my favorites in Winston this year. He has a great glove and strong arm. I’ve seen him make very few mistakes. It’s clear he could have stayed at SS and done well, but he has the body of a 3B. His bat has been consistent. He seems to knock runs in when it counts although his average isn’t high, and he has pop. He did miss some time with a pulled hamstring that I think caused a bit of a slump when he returned. And yes, he’s got some speed on the paths – he’s also a very smart runner. Some of it is instinctual and some of it probably comes from playing for Joe McEwing.
Jordan Danks played very well in Winston – very athletic OF and runner. Really didn’t get to see much of him – maybe a month. But his athleticism will serve him well. A little disappointed he didn’t do better in B’ham.
All in all Joe McEwing has been a heckuva coach in WS this year. He has parlayed his game to his players. I’ve watched them quite a bit in batting practice and they always run the bases and take fielding practice – both with instruction. Very few days off for that team.
by KSM on Sep 5, 2009 9:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
other guys to consider for this offseason's list
christian marrero and c.j. retherford. carlos torres, too, if he remains eligible. obviously there’s a pretty set top group for this system – flowers, hudson, danks, mitchell in some order and viciedo in there for those who still believe – but, after that, it’s pretty open. both marrero and retherford have had good seasons for birmingham and have made themselves prospects. retherford is the more interesting story considering he’s an undrafted free agent.
pitching is pretty thin, though.
by larry on Sep 5, 2009 2:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
i should add, since sleepers are always a part of this
miguel gonzalez should get some consideration. 18 year old catcher had a good season for Bristol in the Appy: 311/.385/.503. and i don’t know exactly how dan remenowsky does it – he’s another undrafted free agent – but he has 107 K in 62.1 IP against only 15 BB. obviously he’s old for the Sally at 23 but those numbers are interesting at least.
by larry on Sep 5, 2009 2:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
John or Community -
I have a question regarding Danks. He tore up Winston-Salem and at first in AA at Birmingham he continued his torrid pace. He then went down with a wrist injury which necessitated a trip to the DL. He started slumping soon after coming back. My question is for those who may have seen him before and after the injury. Does Danks dropoff in performance seem to be a lingering effect from his wrist injury or did his unsustainably high BABIP catch up to him?
-Jeeves Life in the Cell
by jeeves on Sep 5, 2009 4:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Any interesting players coming to Winston Salem next year?
President, Vice President and Secretary of the Casey Crosby Fanclub.
by demondeaconsbaseball on Sep 5, 2009 4:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
i'd imagine jared mitchell would be there. he'd be the biggest name (and the biggest upside).
there are some interesting pitchers at kannapolis – charlie leesman, stephen sauer, the aforementioned remenowsky – though none are at the level of being top prospects.
by larry on Sep 5, 2009 5:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Phegley should be there at some point
Possibly Eduardo Escobar also, he’s got one slick glove.
http://twitter.com/FutureSox
by The Big Hurt on Sep 5, 2009 7:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Kannapolis
Look at Kannapolis’ roster and you’ll get a good idea of who we’ll see next year. They had a good team this year, too. Most of those guys will be moved up, but it’ll be much like Winston’s team this year – no big names (other than Mitchell), but a lot of good ballplayers.
by KSM on Sep 5, 2009 9:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Jose Martinez
anyone know what is up with this guy?…he broke his leg in May of ‘08 and hasn’t played a game since…did he suffer a setback in his recovery from the broken leg, or did he suffer another injury? whats his future prognosis?…it’s a shame the guy has been out for so long — i always really liked his potential
by milkmanmax on Sep 5, 2009 4:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
He picked up another injury
I forget what it was and I couldn’t quite track it down. I’ll try again later, and I’ll post accordingly if I find something
-Jeeves Life in the Cell
by jeeves on Sep 5, 2009 7:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Wow, easily the worst system is baseball
by FanBall on Sep 6, 2009 12:58 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Id say they are in the 20s somewhere....
Teams for sure worse IMO… Detroit, Arizona, Anaheim. Others in the same neighborhood that I may think is worse as well, Minnesota, Cubs, Houston. and now probably St. Louis has to be close to the bottom
by Palmslice on Sep 6, 2009 1:36 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Houston is too cheap to have a good farm system, Detroit, LA Angels, Cubs, St Louis, Arizona and possibly Seattle and Florida are all worse.
by KSM on Sep 6, 2009 9:12 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
LOL
I know at least three of those systems are clearly superior to the Sox’s farm system. Good luck filling out a top 10 let alone a top 20 prospect list. After Flowers, Hudson and maybe Viciedo, the cupboard is bare. Florida has 3 top fifty prospects something only the WS can dream about. The Cubs have more premium prospects and an enormously deeper system. The same goes for Seattle though they’re not as good as the Cubs. Houston isn’t as bad as you think it is. Castro is a better prospect than Flowers and some of their lower level pitchers are excellent.
The White Sox might not be last but they’re in the discussion and probably bottom 3.
I reject your reality and substitute my own.
by WayneCampbell08 on Sep 6, 2009 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ha
Look in the mirror
I reject your reality and substitute my own.
by WayneCampbell08 on Sep 8, 2009 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Both you and Palmslice are living in a warped world
Just take the Cubs for example, do the White Sox have a single player with the upside of Vitters, Lee, Castro, or Cashner? Flowers looks like a lefty masher but that’s it. Hudson looks interesting but that’s still only one player to match.
by FanBall on Sep 6, 2009 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Mitchell, Viciedo, Danks
Hudson is a better pitching prospect than any the Cubs have, and are you forgetting Flowers had a .921 OPS against righties in Birmingham? Or are you looking at his 100 or so PAs in AAA to judge him? Besides, he was voted as the best defensive catcher in the league, so it’s looking like he’s a complete catcher, not some “lefty masher”… your argument reeks of no support and slant.
by Daniel Berlyn on Sep 6, 2009 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Fail
You’re guilty of the very things you’re accusing others of. Cashner is a better pitching prospect than any the Sox have. See, I can do the same thing you just did. It’s nowhere near as cut and dry as you pretend it is. Then you neglect to mention the fact that there’s nobody decent pitcher behind Hudson while the Cubs have Jay Jackson, Chris Carpenter, Casey Coleman, Ryan Searle, Dan McDaniel to back up Cashner. Who do the Sox have?
Nice job of cherry picking that particular Flowers stat. Here’s a few for you then. Flowers has the same number of strikeouts as hits. His BABIP of .390 is completely unsustainable with a LD% of only 21%. And he hits more GB than FB which will reduce his power potential.
Your system is in real trouble if you’re hyping Danks as a top 5 candidate. Let’s see, a no power, high strikeout and a barely adequate walk rate doesn’t make me want to run out buy his jersey. And all Viciedo has on Danks pretty much is that he might be 2 years younger.
The Cubs counter with Vitters, Rhee, Castro, Brett Jackson (if you can use your 2009 1st rounder so can we), Lee, Burke, Flaherty, Guyer, DJ LeMahieu and Wellington Castillo. The Cubs will have more top 100 prospects than the Sox and a much, much deeper system overall. It’s not even close. Vitters, Cashner and Castro are all mortal locks to make top 100 lists with the Sox’s only representatives being Hudson & Flowers.
You can’t even come up with a top 10 list. How sad is that?
I reject your reality and substitute my own.
by WayneCampbell08 on Sep 8, 2009 5:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
i highly enjoy pissing contests over farm system rankings.
please more.
by larry on Sep 8, 2009 6:41 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
"How sad is that"
Yeah the White Sox are in a terrible situation moving forward. Lol.
"Oh well back to work"
by Tdogg on Sep 9, 2009 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Cubs are in a great situation moving forward with Soriano and Bradley.
:)
The Boogeyman cometh
by omnipotent grab on Sep 13, 2009 12:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
2008 draft
if you could run the 2008 draft again, how much lower would you pick gordon beckham?
would you even take him in the first round like that loser kenny williams did?
by The Wizard on Sep 6, 2009 1:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Sarcasm.
The Boogeyman cometh
by omnipotent grab on Sep 13, 2009 12:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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