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: Middle Infield

Top middle infield prospect Carlos Sanchez (Dashboard.mlblogs.com)

Continuing the spring training previews with the middle infield.  Shortstop and second base are set for Opening Day, but there will be some interesting story lines this spring with the two positions.  Below are links to the other spring training previews.

• Corner Infield
• The Outfield
• Catchers

40-man roster:

Gordon Beckham (2B) - Look, Gordon Beckham won't have any competition in spring training and his job is secure for the beginning of the season.  But, there will be some pressure on Beckham to perform this year and if not, he'll feel Angel Sanchez and Carlos Sanchez on his heels for the spot.

Alexei Rameriz (SS) - Hopefully this spring can set the stage for a solid year for Alexei.  Alexei is a good player, but has room to improve, especially with his bat.

Angel Sanchez (3B/SS/2B) - The White Sox used the Rule 5 draft for the first time in several years to draft Angel Sanchez.  Sanchez will likely be the White Sox utility infielder this year.  Sanchez has had a cup of tea with the Royals, Red Sox, and Astros.  Last year with in the 'Stros organization, he batted .320/.390/.407 with 5 HRs in AAA last year.  Before that in 2011, Sanchez spent 110 games with the Astros.

Non-roster invites:

Carlos Sanchez (2B, SS, 3B) - There was some talk before the Jeff Keppinger signing that Sanchez would compete for the starting position at third in Arizona.  Now Keppinger is signed and Sanchez will start the year in the minors.  However, as a top prospect in the Sox organization, Sanchez can make a big impersonation in his first spring training.  If Beckham is injured or doesn't perform well this season, Sanchez will be in the mix for the spot.

Tyler Saladino (SS) - This will be a very important spring for Saladino who has to prove himself again. Saladino started his White Sox career with two great years, but struggled last year with a promotion to Birmingham.  Because of it, Saladino has fallen to fourth in my middle infield prospect rankings. Like I've said, it will be an important camp for Saladino

Marcus Semien (SS) - Semien batted 273/.362/.471, with 14  HRs and 11 SB last year.  Semien can improve his status as a top infield prospect with the Sox, but besides that, not much is expected of Semien in his first spring.

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Analyzing MLB.com's Top 20 White Sox Prospect List

MLB.com released their prospect rankings for teams in the AL Central today and you can find the White Sox rankings here.  Although I haven't released my rankings, below are my thoughts on this list.

- MLB.com continues the trend for the most part of putting Courtney Hawkins (#1), Trayce Thompson (#2), Erik Johnson (#3), and Carlos Sanchez (#4) as the top four.  This seems to be (except for a few) the consensus in the industry.

- The first think that pops out to me is OF Jared Mitchell coming in at #5.  You should know by now that I'm not as high on Jared Mitchell as others including this list.  I mean at #5, really?  He hasn't been the same since his injury.  He batted .237 last year while having a K% of over 30%.  He's got some upside to him; 11 HRs, 21 SBs, and had a decent OPS considering his AVG last year.  Also, he isn't too far away from the majors.  However, no way does Jared Mitchell belong in the top 5.

- Next up is Nestor Molina at #10.  Molina entered 2012 as probably the top prospect in the system, but had a miserable year compared to 2011.  He had a losing record, a 4.55 ERA, and a WHIP north of 1.5.  For me, if Molina is even going to be considered a top 10 prospect, he is going to have to show me that he can get remotely close to what he once was (2011) in 2013.

- Jhan Marinez at #13 might be a little bit of a stretch.  Still will should be a nice reliever who can see more time in Chicago this year.

- The same can be said for Brandon Brennan.

- Simon Castro probably should be bumped up a few spots.  In my pitcher rankings, I had Simon Castro 4th.  So Leesman, Marinez, Brennan, Beck, and Molina should be behind Castro in my opinion.

- I would put both Joey DeMichele and Marcus Semien above some of those pitchers that I just listed above.

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Scouting Report: Marcus Semien

Position:  SS

Height/Weight:  6'1/190

Bats/Throws:  Right/Right

Birthday:  September 17th, 1990

Hometown/School:  El Cerrito, California - California

STATS

Semien was drafted by the White Sox twice, once back in 2008 in the 34th round and then in 2011 during the 6th round.  Semien played his college ball at Cal where he was teammates with top White Sox pitching prospect Erik Johnson.

In 2011, Semien appeared in 60 games with Kannapolis in 2011 where he batted .253/.320/.376 while adding 3 HRs.  In 2012, Semien was promoted to Winston-Salem where he improved on his numbers and showed some pop.  Semien's numbers from last year include a .273/.362/.471 line, 14  HRs, 11 SB (5 CS), and a .137 improvement in OPS.

By reports, Semien's glove and range is solid for him to stay at shortstop.  Below is about the only excerpt about Semien I could find after his 2012 season.

John Sickels:

Another solid infielder, showed surprising pop in High-A and was very hot in the second half. Steady glove.

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Top 5 White Sox Middle Infield Prospects

1. Carlos Sanchez (2B) - Sanchez is the obvious choice for the top spot on this list.  Sanchez exploded up the White Sox prospect rankings after a great 2012.  He started with Winston-Salem and ended the season in Charlotte.  Sanchez had his best year in 2012, batting .323/.403/.781 while swiping 26 bases.

If you follow the White Sox system, I'm sure you are familiar with Sanchez.  Therefore I'm not going to spend more time talking about him.

2. Joey DeMichele (2B) - As John Sickels put it, DeMichele "seems oddly overlooked."  DeMichele was drafted out of Arizona State in the 3rd round in 2012.  After a leading ASU in batting average (won Pac-10 hitting title his sophomore year), steals, and triples, DeMichele batted .275/.334/.479 with 7 homers last year in the minors.

According to reports, DeMichele has a high floor and a ceiling of being a solid everyday starter.

3. Marcus Semien (SS) - Semien was drafted in the 6th round by the Sox in the 2011 draft.  From reading pre-draft reviews of Semien, scouts were not in love with his bat.  Before 2012, he homered 13 times in his career with Cal and his first year in the minors.  Last year, he showed a lot of surprising pop, hitting 14 with Winston-Salem.  He also hit 5 triples and 31 doubles last year in the Carolina League.

The power outburst from Semien last year makes Semien one of the more intriguing prospects to watch in 2013.

4. Tyler Saladino (SS) - After a solid first two years in the White Sox organization, Saladino struggled mightily in 2012.  In his first two years in the minors, Saladino batted .305/.390/.437 (2010 with Bristol and Kannapolis) and .270/.363/.501 (2011 with Winston-Salem).  Last year, the 23-year old struggled with his promotion to Birmingham (and a little time with Charlotte) as he hit .236/.353/.315.  Saladino, despite gaining more plate discipline last year, had an OPS of .668 after having an OPS of .826 and .864 the years prior.  He lost almost all of his power (4 HRs in 2012 compared to 16 in 2011).

Hopefully 2012 was just a fluke for Saladino.  With his improved plate discipline and 2010 and 2011 years, Saladino stays on this list.

5. Micah Johnson (2B) - Johnson was taken by the Pale Hose last year in the 9th round.  Johnson played his college ball at Indiana where he was second team All-Big Ten in 2011.  The 22-year old hit .273/.375/.391 while stealing 19 bases in 69 games with Great Falls last year.

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