White Sox Prospects: Who's Hot, Who's Not

Jared Mitchell (dashboard.mlblogs.com)

With the White Sox already with several games under their belt, I decided to take a look at what prospects are doing well and who are not in the first couple of games.  Remember, it has only been nine games so far, so take this with a grain of salt.

Who's Hot:

Jared Mitchell:  I haven't been as high on Mitchell as some others in the past, but he is off to a great start in Arizona.  So far in 6 games, Mitchell's stats are 5-12, HR, 3B, 2B, 4 RBI, 1 BB, and 3 SO.  Mitchell has proven me wrong so far this spring.

Marcus Semien:  Semien's stats from the first couple of games: 4-8, HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, and 1 SO.

Nestor Molina and Simon Castro:  The two have combined to pitch 14 scoreless innings while only giving up 5 hits and a single walk.  This is including today's game where Castro pitched a pair of innings while striking out 5.

Who's Not:

Trayce Thompson:  Maybe the second-best Sox prospect is hitless so far in 8 ABs.

Keenyn Walker:  The speedy Walker is 4 for 15, which is average.  The more troubling stat is his 7 SOs; which is just under a 50% k-rate.

Erik Johnson:  The top White Sox pitching prospect according to most hasn't been so hot in limited time.  In 4.1 IP, Johnson has given up 6 ER on 9 H.

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2013 White Sox Spring Training Preview: The Outfield

It's a great feeling that spring training is only a month away.  To get ready for spring training, I'm starting previews by position.  Leading off is the outfield.  The players are broken down into two categories; players on the 40-man roster and players that have received non-roster invitations.

40-man roster:

Jordan Danks, Alejandro De Aza, Alex Rios, Dayan Viciedo, and DeWayne Wise - I'm not going to spend time talking about these guys.  We all know who they are and what they bring to the team.  All of these players are going to be in the White Sox uniform at one time or another.  De Aza, Rios, and Viciedo will be the starters on Opening Day and Wise has the slight edge to be the 4th OFer.

Jared Mitchell - If you've read this blog, you'll know that I'm not as high on Mitchell as some others are.  He's got plus athleticism, nice speed (it isn't what it was pre-injury), and does have a higher ceiling.  However, his stats haven't been much in recent years and Mitchell has really struggled to make contact, striking out over 30% of the time in the past two years.  He's behind Wise, Tekotte, and Danks on the depth chart for me.

Blake Tekotte - In one of Rick Hahn's first moves, the Sox traded RHP Brandon Kloess for OF Blake Tekotte from the Padres.  Tekotte was a top 20 prospect in San Diego's organization last year according to some.  Injuries have slowed Tekotte down and he had an average year in 2012 in the minors, batting .243 in AAA.  However, he does bring some value to the Sox.  First, he is left-handed which the Sox could use.  Also, in 2011, Tekotte stole 36 bases.  Tekotte can challenge Danks for his 4th OF spot in camp or be called up later in the year from Charlotte in case of injuries. 

Non-roster invites:

Trayce Thompson - This is Thompson's first spring training.  Thompson is undoubtedly a top prospect in the White Sox system heading into 2013.  Thompson has great power (25 homers in 2012) and is also a threat on the base paths (21 SBs in 2012).  Hopefully he continues to improve his plate discipline like he did in the Arizona Fall Leauge.  Thompson isn't going to crack the Opening Day roster or move past Tekotte, Danks, Mitchell, and Wise, but he can further solidify himself as a top prospect in the organization.

Stefan Gartrell - Gartrell is back again with the club that drafted him in the 31st round in 2006.  Last year, with the Braves organization, he hit .251/.335/.452 in AAA.  He's got some pop and has hit 20+ HRs in each season in the minors since 2009.  At 29-years old, Gartell has never made it to the majors and barring a string of injuries, probably won't leave Charlotte this year.  However, Gartrell is a nice AAA player and Charlotte will benefit with him.

Keenyn Walker - Like Thompson, this will be Walker's first spring training too.  What Walker brings to the table is his speed.  He has plus-plus speed which helped him steal 56 bases last year and also has potential for some power.  Nobody is going to actually give Walker any chance of making the White Sox lineup this year, but like Thompson, he can show his value as a top prospect especially coming off an offseason surgery.

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Composite 2013 White Sox Top 10 Prospects

Keenyn Walker ranks 6th.

With many of the national scouting/prospect/minor-league sites releasing their top prospect lists including the Pale Hose's.  Below is a composite ranking of these four lists (will update with Baseball Prospectus' list).  Below the player's name is the rankings from each of the four lists and the total of these rankings (lower numbers are better).  The four lists are from Baseball America, John Sickels, FanGraphs, and Baseball Prospect Nation.  To nobody's surprise, Courtney Hawkins is the unanimous top prospect in the White Sox system.

1. Courtney Hawkins
Baseball America - 1
John Sickels - 1
FanGraphs - 1
Baseball Prospect Nation - 1
Total:4

2. Trayce Thompson
BA - 2
JS - 3
FG - 4
BPN - 2
Total: 11

2. Carlos Sanchez
BA - 3
JS - 2
FG - 2
BPN - 4

Total: 11

4. Erik Johnson

BA - 4
JS - 4
FG - 3
BPN - 3
Total: 14

5. Scott Snodgress

BA - 6
JS - 5
FG - 6
BPN - 6

Total: 23

6. Keenyn Walker
BA - 5
JS - 6
FG - 5
BPN - 11
Total: 27

7. Andre Rienzo

BA - 7
JS - 8
FG - 7
BPN - 5
Total: 27

8. Chris Beck
BA - 10
JS - 10
FG - 8
BPN - 8
Total: 36

9. Keon Barnum

BA - 8
JS - 9
FG - 9
BPN - 12
Total: 38

10. Jared Mitchell

BA - 9
JS - 14
FG - 11
BPN - 7
Total: 41

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Top 5 White Sox Outfield Propsects

Courtney Hawkins (MiLB.com)

1. Courtney Hawkins - Considered by most to be the top prospect in the entire organization (working on my list), Hawkins tops the list in a position where some of the top White Sox prospects play.  Drafted 13th overall last year, Hawkins batted .284/.324/.480 combined with Bristol, Kannapolis, and Winston-Salem last year.  Also, Hawkins had 8 HRs, 33 RBIs, and 11 SBs.  Hawkins rapidly moved through the ranks last year, spending time with three different teams in his first year.  Hawkins finished the year with a .983 OPS in Kanny and then a .882 OPS in a brief stint with Winston-Salem before the season ended.

The 18-year old is very athletic and raw.  Hawkins possesses a MLB body right now, excellent speed for a big guy, plus power, and a great arm.  Hawkins also pitched in high school where he had a low-90s fastball and an ERA below 1.  His arm will definitely be a great asset in the outfield where he can either play right or center (scouts are divided whether he can play CF).

2. Trayce Thompson - Thompson is another prospect with immense power.  Last year, he smashed 25 homers and drove in 96.  He, like Hawkins, is also athletic enough to be a threat on the bases as he successfully stole 21 bases last year (only thrown out 3 times).  Overall, Thompson batted .253/.328/.482 and had an OPS north of .800.

Thompson and Hawkins are similar players.  Both players are athletic, raw, and have a very high ceiling.  For Thompson, like many other prospects like him, he needs to improve his plate discipline.  In the Arizona Fall League this past month, Thompson drew just as many walks as strikeouts which is encouraging.

3. Keenyn Walker - Walker's greatest asset is his elite speed (some scouts give him an 80 on the 20-80 scale).  Last year, with Kanny and Winston-Salem, Walker swiped 56 bases and was named the fastest baserunner in the organization for the second consecutive year by Baseball America.  According to scouts, Walker has some untapped power which should lead to many doubles and triples in the future.  Walker batted .267/.378/.379 last year and can better that line with improved plate discipline.  He had a K% of around 29% last year and had a high BABIP.

4. Jared Mitchell - Mitchell was drafted in the 1st round in 2009 out of LSU.  He missed the entire 2010 season after an ankle injury.  Mitchell is a speedster, but lost some of it after the injury.  He started off hot, but ended the year with a line of .237/.358/.420 between Birmingham and Charlotte.  He also hit 11 HRs and stole 21 bases too.

I was very tempted to put Shoemaker ahead of Mitchell, but Mitchell's upside is much, much higher than Shoemaker's.  Mitchell needs to improve his horrendous K% (approaching Adam Dunn level) if he ever wants to make the big leagues.

5. Brady Shoemaker - Shoemaker batted .300/.416/.486 and had an OPS of .902 combined with Birmingham and Winston-Salem last year.  He also hit 17 HRs and had 85 RBI.  Shoemaker is old (25), but he did end the year in Birmingham.  You can knock the age, but he has been tearing up the minors throughout his career (above an .850 OPS in each of his four years in the minors).

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Keenyn Walker Scouting Report

Position:  OF

Height/Weight:  6'3/195  

Bats/Throws:  Both/Right

Birthday:  August 12th, 1990

Hometown/School:  Salt Lake City - Central Arizona CC

STATS

Walker was selected by the White Sox in the supplemental first round (47th overall) in 2011.  Keenyn Walker's biggest strength is speed.  Keith Law and others have given him an 80 on the 20-80 scouting scale.  Last year, Walker successfully stole 56 bases on 71 attempts.  Baseball America has named Walker as the White Sox's fastest baserunner in the past two years.

Walker is still very raw and has some untapped power that should give him many doubles and triples over the next seasons.  However, he still suffers from a large strikeout-rate which is the biggest reason for concern surrounding him.  As a projected leadoff hitter, this obviously needs to change.  Here are a couple opinions and reports on Walker:

ScoutingBook.com:

A young, tools-heavy outfielder picked up in the 2011's A-round, White Sox prospect Keenyn Walker broke out quickly at Rookie-level Great Falls, slashing .333/.441/.483 and looking like a loaded weapon with eleven steals in only fifteen games. He struggled hard when moved up to low-A ball, however, squeezing out only a .228/.296/.259 line while looking overmatched by even average breaking pitches. 

But, and you know how this part goes: he's young, and has a lot to learn and a lot of time to learn it. Still only 20 years old, his plus plus speed should manifest itself into better defense and better on-basery in the years to come, and some good guidance and coaching should help him get there. He won't ever develop massive power, but he should be capable enough of doubles and triples, once he learns to swing at the right pitches. He's several years away from MLB useful.

John Sickels:

Drafted in the supplemental first round last year out of Central Arizona Junior College, Walker is a switch-hitter with top shelf speed (at least 70 on the 20-80 scale), premium athleticism, and a strong throwing arm. He has some power potential as well, although he hasn't tapped into that yet. Main worry here is contact: he fans more than once per game, but he'll take a walk too.

Daily White Sox Farm Report - 11/12

Courtney Hawkins

Baseball America released their 2013 Top 10 White Sox prospects list today.  Here is the list:

1.  Courtney Hawkins

2.  Trayce Thompson

3.  Carlos Sanchez

4.  Erik Johnson

5.  Keenyn Walker

6.  Scott Snodgress

7.  Andre Rienzo

8.  Keon Barnum

9.  Jared Mitchell

10.  Chris Beck

Also, the Arizona Fall League continued as the Rafters, behind Carlos Sanchez, beat Mesa by a score of 8-4.

Carlos Sanchez, 2B, had a great day going 2 for 4 with 4 RBI.

Trayce Thompson, LF, went 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts and 2 walks.

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