Chicago White Sox Organization Discussion

Just going off stats, adjusted for age relative to level, these are the hitting performances that stood out:

Brent Morel AAA
Dayan Viciedo AAA
Brandon Short A+
Tyler Saladino A
Trayce Thompson A

Three of those guys were obviously already top prospects, but Short and Saladino were mid-round draft picks, with nice numbers there, and maybe just enough tools to be interesting.

Obviously if you are still counting Chris Sale as a prospect, he is tops on their list. Lefty, good velocity, deceptive motion, solid but not great (yet) off-speed stuff. Has the potential to be a front of the rotation type of starter or (as he showed last year) a dominant reliever.

After that, the water gets very murky. Viciedo’s power looks to be legit, but there is almost no plate discipline to speak of (which like John, really bothers me). Morel’s glove looks to be legit, but will he hit enough to justify holding down a traditionally offensive position (I hear a ton of Joe Randa comparisons thrown around). Morel will probably start on the major league roster as the starting third baseman. Viciedo probably heads back to AAA to work on his pitch recognition.

If Jared Mitchell hadn’t gotten hurt last year, I’m confident his name would have been 1B right behind Sale. He has all the tools, and for a guy who was a two sport athlete in college, took a lot of pitches and showed patience in his limited AB’s in 2009. Does he stick in CF? Do all of his pre-injury tools come back the same? I’m told he has some pretty big holes in his swing (a product of never really playing full-season ball). Ended 2009 at Low-A and didn’t play in 2010. Probably starts at High-A, but the Sox need to be careful with him as he is very raw.

Two guys that were big-time prospects heading into last year and fell of the map: Tyler Flowers and Jordan Danks. Both have shown they will take their share of walks (unlike Viciedo) but have big time strikeout problems. Flowers has good power, but by all accounts struggles defensively behind the plate. Danks plays excellent defense in center, but obviously his bat hasn’t come around as the Sox hoped. Both will need to start at Triple-A and hope for a JP Arencibia type season to bounce back.

Trayce Thompson is a young high-upside guy who is a few years away. He probably needs a fully year at Low-A after spending half the year there last year. He has good power and good athleticism, but he has holes in his swing and he will probably have to move to a corner as he grows into his body.

Eduardo Escobar showed some progress offensively this year to go with his allegedly sterling defense at short. He blew up offensively in the AFL and if that offensive progress is for real, he could be a legit starting SS. Should start out at AA with a promotion to AAA if he plays well.

Miguel Gonzalez is a catcher I still really like. He struggled at low-A last year, but he was very young. Excellent arm and has shown good plate discipline for his age and level. I still think he could be a very good catcher down the line.

A couple of last year’s draftees to watch:

Jacob Petricka: Excellent fastball velocity in the mid to high 90s. Curveball flashes potential. Lacks a third pitch. If he can develop a change he could be a good starter, but if he can’t he profiles as a late inning reliever. Should start at low-A working on his change as a starter.

Addison Reed: Closer at SD State when Strasburg was there, moved to rotation year after. Profiles more as a back end starter, but could be a dominant reliever. Depending on which role they choose for him, he could move quickly.

Michael Blanke: Tore up short-season in his AB’s last year. Should start at Low-A. I’ve heard whispers about his defense behind the plate being questioned.

Andy Wilkins: Also tore up short-season. Questions about whether he’s at third or first. Should also start at Low-A.

Tyler Saladino: No outstanding tools, but solid across the board. Big question is does he remain at short or more to 2nd. Could move quickly.

Bottom line: past Sale everyone has serious flaws. Can’t wait to read John’s writeup. As you can tell I’m a big Sox fan. Be gentle John.

I’m curious what you make of Andre Rienzo, I believe from Brazil…

Love Sale, hate most of the rest of the system. A couple of toolsy MIs and hard-throwing RPs in there, but nothing that looks like an impact bat unless Jared Mitchell can really get things figured out.