Minor League Notes, July 20, 2010
Here is a look at how 2010 draft picks who have signed are performing so far. Sample size considerations should keep both ecstasy and despair to a minimum, but I thought an update seemed like a good idea.
Christian Colon, SS, Royals: Assigned to the Carolina League, he's hitting .238/.314/.365 with four walks and 11 strikeouts in 63 at-bats for Wilmington. Defense has been so-so so far, with a .930 fielding percentage and a mediocre range factor, again keep in mind that sample size and minor league conditions prevent that from really meaning anything yet. I'd like to see the hitting pick up a bit, and I think it will. I'm not one to cut the Royals much slack, but I still think this was a good draft pick.
Chris Sale, LHP, White Sox: Sale started off with Winston-Salem in the Carolina League, pitching four relief innings with a 4/2 K/BB, three hits, and two runs allowed. He was promoted to Triple-A Charlotte a few days ago and has pitched 1.2 innings so far, fanning four with one walk. I don't think most non-White Sox fans realize he's in Triple-A already, and buzz from Chicago is that he could see the majors later this year.
Jake Skole, OF, Rangers: Skole started off in the Arizona Rookie League, where he went 8-for-28 (.286) with two doubles, five walks, five strikeouts, and three steals. This was enough for the Rangers to move him up to short-season A-ball with Spokane, where he has struggled against older competition, hitting .228/.308/.281 in 15 games, with 19 strikeouts in 57 at-bats. Given his age at just 18, it is not a surprise that he's having some trouble at this level, playing a lot of guys coming out of college programs.
Hayden Simpson, RHP, Cubs: He's signed but hasn't pitched yet, reportedly ill with some sort of virus and on the AZL Cubs disabled list.
Mike Foltynewicz, RHP, Astros: On a strict pitch count for the Greenville Astros in the Appalachian League, has made four starts but with just 8.2 innings pitched, eight strikeouts, five walks, six runs. I report I have indicates his stuff has looked quite impressive but his command has been inconsistent, which is exactly what the numbers indicate and what you'd expect from a cold-weather high school guy.
Kolbrin Vitek, 3B, Red Sox: .287/.397.417 in 30 games for Lowell in the New York-Penn League, 18 walks, 33 strikeouts in 108 at-bats, eight steals in nine attempts. Main worry here is the high strikeout rate so far, but he's also drawing some walks and scouting comment has been pretty positive. He's split his 30 games evenly between third base and DH. At the hot corner he's been very error-prone, with a horrid .826 fielding percentage to this point.
Kellin Deglan, C, Rangers: .286/.355/.357 so far in 10 games for the AZL Rangers, two walks, seven strikeouts. Not much power yet. Has performed well defensively so far, just one passed ball thus far, no errors, has thrown out 50% of runners trying to steal.
Jesse Biddle, LHP, Phillies: Local lefty has been hit pretty hard so far in rookie ball, 13 innings, 17 hits, 15 runs, six walks...but he's fanned 13, which is good. Sample size precludes any panic at this point and the Ks are good to see, but he doesn't look to be on the fast track at this stage, hardly unexpected given cold-weather background.
Cam Bedrosian, RHP, Angels: Has pitched just one inning in the Arizona Rookie League so far, giving up four hits and four runs.
Chevez Clarke, OF, Angels: Hitting .238/.304/.381 in nine games in the Arizona Rookie League, with two walks and 15 strikeouts in 42 at-bats. Numbers match scouting reports very closely: he has significant problems with command of the strike zone and contact. The physical tools are here but he needs a lot of polish and has a high risk of failure.
Justin O'Conner, C, Rays: Struggling so far, .155/.261/.259 with 18 strikeouts in 58 at-bats for the GCL Rays. One positive is that he's drawn nine walks. His defense has been rough, too: in 10 games he's made three errors, coughed up five passed balls, and has caught just one runner while allowing 14 steals. As with everyone else on this list, the sample is tiny and there is no reason for panic yet, but his skills look rougher than expected.
Cito Culver, SS, Yankees: .250/.325/.319 in 20 games for the GCL Yankees, nine walks, 14 strikeouts in 72 at-bats. Nothing spectacular yet but at least he's drawn some walks. Five errors in 17 games at shortstop so far, .940 fielding percentage, range looks OK statistically so far, granted minor league statistical limitations.
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Sandwich Picks?
I hate to be greedy, but do you have any thoughts on the sandwich picks who have signed and are playing thus far?
Lipka and Olt appear to be getting off to very good starts as pros.
by robertgold on Jul 20, 2025 12:08 PM EDT reply actions
Taijuan Walker has less than 5 innings pitched so far. So probably not worth a look yet.
Fans are typically idiots.
by The Typical Idiot Fan on Jul 20, 2025 8:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Sale
I saw 3 of Sale’s 4 innings pitched in Winston. He looked really good. Fastball consistently in the mid 90s - I believe I saw 97 once - good movement. I saw the one hiccup against Lynchburg, but he still didn’t look that bad. He seemed to be placing his pitches well - they were just hitting them. Looks like he’s doing well in Charlotte, too. I don’t see any reason why he couldn’t help the White Sox out of the pen before the end of the year.
by KSM on Jul 20, 2025 12:12 PM EDT reply actions
Folty
His first three games were unimpressive, but his last (longest) start was quite nice. 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K. He’s also been getting a lot of groundouts in his last two starts.
Sample size makes statistical analysis of trivial importance at this point, I guess.
by OremLK on Jul 20, 2025 12:28 PM EDT reply actions
Vitek vs Gyorko
John, Everyone seemed really sold on Vitek as a mid-first round guy going into the draft. The skill sets for him and Gyorko seem pretty comparable, with Gyorko probably a slight favorite with the bat. Given how atrocious Vitek’s defense has been so far, and recognizing that the concerns on Gyorko are about his ability to have any range or footwork, would love your thoughts on who you like better at this point.
by realitypolice on Jul 20, 2025 12:36 PM EDT reply actions
vitek
is bigger and has much more athleticism. Gyorko might not even have the range for second.
by another know it all on Jul 20, 2025 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I’m not going to disagree because I too have concerns about Gyorko sticking at 2B. That said, people consistently underrate this kid and I think he can be a very good player. I said a while back I thought he could be a Matt Diaz type of player with perhaps a little less average but more OBP. A guy like that at 2B (he will be able to make all of the routine plays in my opinion and has a shot to stay with some conditioning) could be pretty valuable in my opinion.
by jfish26101 on Jul 20, 2025 7:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Hayden Simpson
He’s got mono.
I wouldn’t be surprise if he doesn’t make his professional debut until next season. That disease can wreak havoc.
by Outshined_One on Jul 20, 2025 12:50 PM EDT reply actions
Speak of the Devil
by Outshined_One on Jul 20, 2025 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Sale
WOW…I didn’t notice he got thrown into AAA ball already! There is no doubt that if he succeeds for a month or so the ChiSox will bring him up to help in the bully for the stretch run. You just hope your not going to kill him by the extremely aggressive promotion rate.
by JDizzidy on Jul 20, 2025 1:00 PM EDT reply actions
That was the plan
When he signed the plan was for him to get some time in the MLB bullpen this year and then have a shot at the rotation going into spring training.
by jar75 on Jul 20, 2025 1:02 PM EDT up reply actions
Ahh
Guess I didn’t realize that at the time. Be curious to see him a few times with his delivery and release point.
by JDizzidy on Jul 20, 2025 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Such a brilliant move by his agent.
He essentially got a Major League contract for more than slot and got to get in a half season of development time. Brilliant.
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by Andy Seiler on Jul 20, 2025 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions
wouldn't be surprised
if he started a few games. Peavy’s out, and Hudson will be gone if the Sox trade for Dunn.
by another know it all on Jul 20, 2025 1:02 PM EDT up reply actions
Because that's not the plan they've outlined
They have Sale working in relief now in the hopes of having him up in the MLB bullpen in a few weeks, but they’ll stretch him back out over the offseason in order to give him a shot to win a rotation spot out of Spring Training in 2011.
If they ever thought that Sale could be in their rotation at some point this season, they wouldn’t have him pitching out of the bullpen in Triple-A.
I like baseball.
I write for Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times Fantasy
by Satchel Price on Jul 20, 2025 4:20 PM EDT up reply actions
i know all that...
still wouldn’t be surprised. It’s Kenny and Ozzie. A few spot starts aren’t out of the realm of possibility.
by another know it all on Jul 20, 2025 4:25 PM EDT up reply actions
I just think that bouncing him back and forth between different roles so much
would probably end up hurting his long-term development.
I’m just guessing, but I would think that they’re pretty committed to this plan in the short-term.
I like baseball.
I write for Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times Fantasy
by Satchel Price on Jul 20, 2025 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions
one inning outings aren't exactly conducive to spot starts.
he’s not going to start unless daniel hudson, carlos torres, jeff marquez, lucas harrell and tony pena all die. using “it’s kenny and ozzie” as justification is ridiculous. they don’t jerk around their pitchers, particularly young ones. which is the most obvious reason for the team’s success.
by larry on Jul 21, 2025 10:45 AM EDT up reply actions
really?
because they jerked Brandon McCarthy around in ’05 and Poreda last year. They seldom treat their pitching prospects the way they should.
by another know it all on Jul 21, 2025 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions
yes.
they jerked brandon mccarthy around to the tune of 10 of 12 appearances being starts and the other two being long relief outings of 59 and 89 pitches. just terrible. how could they treat a pitching prospect in such a manner?
by larry on Jul 21, 2025 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions
FWIW, I don't think the Nats will trade Dunn for Hudson
I’m certainly queasy about this because I’ve seen the Nats fail to sell high on Cordero, Guzman, Soriano, and Dmitri Young and be hurt salary wise with Guzman and Young.
I think the Maya signing by the Nats is part of what will leave them on the sidelines for Hudson and is what is making them get greedy with the ChiSox position players in deals. They seem to trust the strength in numbers of their current pitching options. Trading deadline is about one month too early for the ChiSox. If the Nats were to call up guys like Detwiler and Zimmermann and they got shelled, the Nats might be more inclined to move on Hudson and get an additional young 3 starter candidate. But they see Strasburg, Zimmermann, Maya/Detwiler at the front and the horde of Lannan, Olsen, Stammen, and Wang (to say nothing of JD Martin shocking the world as a back end option). Don’t forget that they may want to keep Livo as well as a 5th starter if they get Maya. I have to believe the presence of both Hernandez brothers (El Duque just signed a minor league deal) had to play a role in the Cuban being more comfortable with the quieter Nats than some of the other bigger named franchises being tossed around.
On a desperate search for Sunshine at Nats Park.
by souldrummer on Jul 21, 2025 11:18 AM EDT up reply actions
Wojciechowski
had three solid, if short, outings since signing but hasn’t pitched since July 2. Anyone know if he’s shut down?
by blackoutyears on Jul 20, 2025 2:05 PM EDT reply actions
Almost positive they shut him down to limit his innings.
"Hitting the ball was easy. Running around the bases was the tough part."- Micky Mantle
by TwoEyesForAnEye on Jul 20, 2025 3:42 PM EDT up reply actions
That's cool if so
He wasn’t going too deep into games as it was, but he’s had a long season and some fairly high pitch counts. It makes sense to be cautious.
by blackoutyears on Jul 20, 2025 4:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Thanks John
It’s great to get all of this info put together in 1 place!
It looks like one of the top high school performers, and definite surprises, so far has been the Giants’ 7th round pick from Missouri - Charles (Chuckie) Jones.
He won’t turn 18 for another week, but he’s taken the Arizona Rookie League by storm:
.308/.370/.615/.985 with 5 HRs (4 in his last 40 ABs) in 72 ABs playing a decent CF.
He does have an ugly 29.2% K-rate, but also a nice 9.7% BB-rate and 3 out of 3 in SB attempts.
He’s a true physical specimen at 6’3", 235 lb. so he’ll likely have to move to RF, but he has the arm and speed for it, and the power is already there.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
by Fla-Giant on Jul 20, 2025 6:22 PM EDT reply actions
Corey Dickerson has been off to a hot start. I know it is rookie ball but he is raking.
Daniel Tillman has been lights out. Again, it’s rookie ball but the 0 BB is awfully impressive I think.
Justin O’Connor started off horrible but has really began to bounce back. The defense is definitely troublesome but I think the bat is doing very well. He is hitting better than Bailey yet a year younger and just as raw (if not more raw) behind the plate.
There were some other guys I was keeping an eye on but they are escaping me at the moment.
by jfish26101 on Jul 20, 2025 7:46 PM EDT reply actions
quick help?
Mr. Sickels et al:
If you were drafting prospects for a fairly shallow 5×5 roto fantasy team, do you pick Pineda over Friedrich?
by BringBa on Jul 21, 2025 10:48 AM EDT reply actions
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