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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

BPro: White Sox Top 11 Prospects

Four-Star Prospects
1. Daniel Hudson, RHP
2. Jared Mitchell, OF
3. Tyler Flowers, C
Three-Star Prospects
4. Jordan Danks, CF
5. Dayan Viciedo, 3B
6. Brent Morel, 3B
7. Clevelan Santeliz, RHP
8. Trayce Thompson, OF
Two-Star Prospects
9. Santos Rodriguez, LHP
10. David Holmberg, LHP
11. C.J. Retherford, 2B

Four More:
12. Jhonny Nunez, RHP: Nunez has a 93-95 mph fastball and a very good slider, both of which should fit in a big-league bullpen, though he falls short of being the late-inning type.
13. Josh Phegley, C: The 2009 draftee is the rare college catcher with power and patience, but there are way too many questions about his defensive prowess.
14. John Ely, RHP: Ely has consistently gotten minor league hitters out, but on a pure scouting level, he has merely average stuff and command.
15. Nathan Jones, RHP: Standing 6-foot-5, he’s projectable as all get out and dialed up heat clocked up to 97 mph this year; he’ll also be 24 in January while having yet to get out of A-ball.

Tripon Posted: November 18, 2009 at 09:51 AM | 24 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: minor leagues, prospect reports, scouting, white sox

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1. Dewey, Steven Wright Wannabe and Soupuss Posted: November 18, 2009 at 03:33 PM (#3390292)

Most interesting list in recent memory. Hudson's got a lot of polish and belongs in the majors, but the real name to watch is Mitchell. The sky is the limit with him.

2. Dewey, Steven Wright Wannabe and Soupuss Posted: November 18, 2009 at 04:32 PM (#3390331)

Oh, and Nate Jones is someone I think we'll see in the majors before too long - Don Cooper mentions him every time someone asks him about guys in the minors he likes.

Yes, he was old for his league in 2009, but supposedly he has major-league stuff.

3. YR Denies Jesus Montero Posted: November 18, 2009 at 04:54 PM (#3390348)

Jeff Marquez didn't make the cut? That Nick Swisher trade is starting to look a little one-sided.

4. Dewey, Steven Wright Wannabe and Soupuss Posted: November 18, 2009 at 05:03 PM (#3390352)

Jeff Marquez didn't make the cut?

Jeff Marquez was on the DL almost all year, and that Swisher trade was one-sided from the moment it happened.

5. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader

Posted: November 18, 2009 at 05:05 PM (#3390353)

That Nick Swisher trade is starting to look a little one-sided.

Especially since they used Sweeney, DLS and Gio to get him. Williams and Guillen seemed to take an instant dislike to Swisher, too, which was weird because it was reported the Sox initiated the talks with the A's about him. Very weird.

6. Mike Emeigh

Posted: November 18, 2009 at 05:07 PM (#3390355)

Jeff Marquez was on the DL almost all year

and was horrible when he did pitch.

-- MWE

7. Dewey, Steven Wright Wannabe and Soupuss Posted: November 18, 2009 at 05:10 PM (#3390360)

Williams and Guillen seemed to take an instant dislike to Swisher, too, which was weird because it was reported the Sox initiated the talks with the A's about him.

I think Williams liked him, but Guillen did not. And Swisher reportedly didn't get along with Konerko, Pierzynski, or Dye, either, and those guys have (or had, in Dye's case,) a ton of pull. It seems like they basically told Williams to get rid of Swisher, at any cost.

8. Mike Emeigh

Posted: November 18, 2009 at 05:10 PM (#3390361)

The sky is the limit with him.

Contact, contact, contact. 40 Ks in ~140 PAs is way too many.

-- MWE

9. Dewey, Steven Wright Wannabe and Soupuss Posted: November 18, 2009 at 05:11 PM (#3390362)

and was horrible when he did pitch.

Yes. I'm not sure what the White Sox saw in him, but whatever it was, it's not there any more.

10. Lassus Posted: November 18, 2009 at 05:11 PM (#3390364)

Williams and Guillen seemed to take an instant dislike to Swisher, too, which was weird because it was reported the Sox initiated the talks with the A's about him. Very weird.

I suppose, but don't Williams and Guillen seem to be the personification of a front office run by emotional, shallow, and gossipy junior high schoolers?

Or maybe that's everyone.

11. YR Denies Jesus Montero Posted: November 18, 2009 at 05:18 PM (#3390368)

Yes. I'm not sure what the White Sox saw in him, but whatever it was, it's not there any more.

In 2007 AA ball, Marquez was throwing a mid-90s sinker and was compared to Chien Ming Wang. That's all I can think of.

Hey, Jhonny Nunez made the list, it wasn't a compete robbery!

12. Dewey, Steven Wright Wannabe and Soupuss Posted: November 18, 2009 at 05:26 PM (#3390379)

don't Williams and Guillen seem to be the personification of a front office run by emotional, shallow, and gossipy junior high schoolers?

If so, they've been astoundingly successful for junior high schoolers.

Hey, Jhonny Nunez made the list, it wasn't a compete robbery!

Nunez will probably end up being a decent middle reliever (he actually pitched a bit in the majors in '09), but if they wanted just him, they probably could have gotten him for Kanekoa Texeira, the arm they sent to New York along with Swisher.

13. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader

Posted: November 18, 2009 at 05:31 PM (#3390383)

If so, they've been astoundingly successful for junior high schoolers.

I'm generally impressed with KW's work. The Swisher trade was just odd.

14. jwb Posted: November 18, 2009 at 05:32 PM (#3390384)

Williams gets rid of players whom Guillen doesn't like no matter what the return is. Sometimes he gets something decent (Flowers+ for Vazquez+), sometimes he doesn't (Betemit+ for Swisher). Teams which are dealing with the ChiSox should understand this and know that they might get away with offering dimes on the dollar in trade value.

15. Lassus Posted: November 18, 2009 at 05:32 PM (#3390385)

If so, they've been astoundingly successful for junior high schoolers.

Yeah, I guess was sort of realizing/getting at that in the second half of my comment. I just don't like Guillen.

16. Dewey, Steven Wright Wannabe and Soupuss Posted: November 18, 2009 at 05:44 PM (#3390400)

I just don't like Guillen.

I'm not a huge fan either, but I like Ken Williams. I honestly think Williams's biggest shortcoming is his willingness to indulge Guillen's idiosyncracies.

17. Dewey, Steven Wright Wannabe and Soupuss Posted: November 18, 2009 at 07:00 PM (#3390458)

Contact, contact, contact. 40 Ks in ~140 PAs is way too many.

Yes, that needs to be fixed, but he's got a ton of talent, and he's not a free swinger.

One name that's sort of a head-scratcher is Trayce Thompson. I don't know much about him, other than the fact that he had 41 Ks (and 7 BBs) in 118 rookie league PAs, and a .198/.265/.245 batting line. I don't have a BP subscription, so I can't read their logic, but he hasn't done much to impress.

18. Mike Emeigh

Posted: November 18, 2009 at 07:18 PM (#3390472)

One name that's sort of a head-scratcher is Trayce Thompson. I don't know much about him, other than the fact that he had 41 Ks (and 7 BBs) in 118 rookie league PAs, and a .198/.265/.245 batting line.

19. Mike Emeigh

Posted: November 18, 2009 at 07:22 PM (#3390479)

Yes, that needs to be fixed, but he's got a ton of talent, and he's not a free swinger.

If Mitchell were 18 or 19, I'd be more optimistic. But he's already 21.

-- MWE

20. Dewey, Steven Wright Wannabe and Soupuss Posted: November 18, 2009 at 07:27 PM (#3390490)

Raw talent, hasn't been focused on baseball all that long. Second-rounder, signed to a mildly over-slot deal. Probably needs another year of short-season ball. Has been compared to Florida's Mike Stanton, but he's got a ways to go to get there.

Thanks. It'll be interesting to see how he pans out.

As for Mitchell, time will tell. Next year will be his age-21 season, and he'll probably start the year in high-A Winston-Salem. We'll see pretty quickly whether he deserves the hype.

21. MM1f Posted: November 18, 2009 at 08:26 PM (#3390555)

I love seeing CJ Retherford make a list over high draft picks. Talk about a GREAT free talent pickup.
Going into the 2007 postseason he was just another cog in the Pat Murphy machine. A useful JUCO transfer utility man. He had done well as a junior but really hadn't played much as a senior until the postseason. I thought he was a nice little player but so are 100 other guys. Somehow he forced his way into the Arizona State lineup for the postseason and just went nuts. Absolutely nuts. I think every single one of his HRs in 2007 came in the postseason, and most of those in Omaha. I've seen some crazy things in baseball but I've never seen something that epic. He basically made an entire seasons worth of good ABs in about two weeks and most of those against College World Series pitching. It was fantastic and fun to watch.

22. CWS Keith plans to boo your show at the Apollo Posted: November 19, 2009 at 02:01 AM (#3390806)

MM1f:

Any ideas on how Retherford rates defensively? I've gotten the sense that because of his athletic limits, he's likely to be (at best) average defensively at second. If he turns out to be a utility player, can he handle any other positions (I'm mainly asking about 3B).

Then again, who knows... all he's done is rake since joining the White Sox (.850 OPS in some not-so-great hitting environments). If he continues to hit the Sox will have a very nice bench bat.

23. Der Komminsk-sar Posted: November 19, 2009 at 02:27 AM (#3390824)

retherford played 3rd as a pro 'til this year and was solid at it (concern there is that he lacks the bat for the position + his profile is more of a 2b anyway).
he is (and has been since the day he signed) my favorite white sox prospect (<> best)

24. Der_K is feeling better now. Posted: November 22, 2009 at 10:37 PM (#3394068)

almost on cue... retherford hit a go-ahead homer in the 8th to lead his club to the afl championship.

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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

BPro: White Sox Top 11 Prospects

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