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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Daily White Sox Farm Report - 2/27

Nestor Molina

I have't been very active lately, so sorry for that.  Below are a couple of White Sox tidbits over the past few days.

- So far, the White Sox are 2-0 3-0 and are winning late right now against beat the Dodgers today.

- Below are the batting stats for Sox prospects:

C Kevan Smith - 1 for 2
SS Marcus Semien - 2 for 3, RBI
C Byran Anderson - 2 for 4
C Hector Gimenez - 2 for 4, RBI, BB
C Josh Phegley - 3 for 6, HR, 2 RBI, 2B
OF Jared Mitchell - 3 for 7, 2 RBI, 3B
1B Andy Wilkins - 3 for 8, 3 RBI, BB
3B Conor Gillaspie - 2 for 6, 4 RBI, 3B, BB
2B Carlos Sanchez - 1 for 5
SS Angel Sanchez - 1 for 6, 1 RBI
SS Tyler Saladino - 1 for 2, BB
OF Keenyn Walker - 1 for 6, BB
OF Blake Tekotte - 0 for 4, BB
OF Trayce Thomspn - 0 for 3, 2 BB

- I can't find the pitching stats, but Simon Castro started and threw 3 scoreless innings today against the Dodgers.

- SSS had a fantastic breakdown of Erik Johnson and Scott Snodgress the other day.  Would definitely check it out.

- Courtney Hawkins wasn't listed in the the top 101 prospects by Baseball Prospectus.  However, they did have this little write up on why:

He’s a Texan with a ton of natural athleticism and power potential, but outside of my amateur sources, nobody wanted to turn up their microphones and be heard. Like the aforementioned 100 prospects that had a case to be on the back half of this list, Hawkins could just as easily be no. 60 as he could no. 101. If you believe in the bat, even from a corner spot, he belongs on the list. But if you have doubts about the overall promise of the stick and don’t like the direction the body is heading, even with the back-flipping athleticism that is currently present, the case for exclusion is just as strong and compelling. When I’m in the mood for ceiling, Hawkins belongs on the 101.

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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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Daily White Sox Farm Report - 2/14

Catchers and pitchers have reported to Arizona which means baseball is that much closer.  Below are links to stories regarding the Sox and their prospects.

AAA.  Jared Mitchell will start the season in Charlotte.

Pitching prospects.  Gonzo tweets that pitching coach Don Cooper likes what he sees from top pitching prospects Scott Snodgress and Erik Johnson.

Snodgress and johnson made favorable impressions on Cooper in first pens
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) February 12, 2013

Everything will be okay.  Chuck Garfien reports that Robin Ventura declined a one-year contract extension.  Some fans are really overreacting, but it isn't a big deal.  Venture stills has two years left on his current contract and isn't really worried about 2015 right now.  If he wants to keep managing he will, if he doesn't, he won't.

The Return.  John Danks had his first session today in Arizona as you can see with this picture.

Ramon Troncoso.  Doug Padilla discusses non-roster invite RHP Ramon Troncoso.  Padilla talks about Troncoso's journey with the Dodgers and a line drive that went off his face in the Dominican this past winter.

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2013 White Sox Spring Training: Catchers

Tyler Flowers gets his first opportunity to be an every day player. (ESPN.com)

I continue my spring training previews with the catcher position (check out the outfield preview here).  The White Sox will enter a season with a player not named A.J. Pierzynski starting at catcher for the first time since 2004.  Below are previews and profiles of all the catchers that will be with the White Sox in Arizona in a couple of weeks.

40-man roster:

Tyler Flowers - Well, Flowers got his wish as he'll be the everyday starter after A.J. Pierzynski signed with the Rangers.  We know who Flowers is, so no more time on him.

Hector Gimenez - Gimenez is the favorite entering spring training to win the backup job.  The 30-year old Venezuelan was signed by the White Sox last year and appeared in 5 games with the Sox where he totaled 5 hits and a RBI.  Besides those games, Gimenez spent his year with AAA Charlotte.  In 99 games, he batted .259/.324/.440/.764 with 14 HRs and 57 RBIs.  Having only 11 games in the majors since 2006, this will likely be Gimenez's first time that he will get some actual meaningful playing time.

Josh Phegley - Phegley enters the 2013 season as the top catcher prospect in the organization.  Phegley seems to be a low-ceiling, high floor type of prospect.  He had average numbers (.266/.306 /.373/.680) last year in his first full year with Charlotte.  He has a pretty good arm that threw out 46% of runners which helped him earn a MiLB Gold Glove award.

Non-roster invites:

Bryan Anderson - This will be Anderson's first year with the Sox after they signed him in November.  Anderson will provide the biggest competition for Gimenez for the backup catcher position. The 26-year old had a chance last year to win the backup catcher spot with the Cardinals, but ended up in AAA for most of the year (did have a few bats with St. Louis).  Anderson has been well-seasoned with 170+ PAs in AAA Memphis in every season since 2008.  2012 was a tough year for Anderson, batting .225/.302/.317 and posting a 22.7 K%.  But, he is left-handed which the White Sox value.

Michael Blanke - Blanke spent 2012 with Winston-Salem where he was average offensively (.240/.303/.399/.702).  However, he did show a little pop with 10 HRs.  His CS% was down a little from 2011 (37%) to 31% in 2012.  Baseball Prospect Nation did list him on their 2012 All-Prospect Team for the Carolina League.

Kevan Smith - In my top catcher prospects list, I ranked Smith second and I just did a scouting report/profile on him.  He threw out 33% runners last year and was also named a South Atlantic League All-Star.  I'm a little higher on Kevan Smith than most.  Yes, I do know that Smith is a older (24) for A+ ball and people have to remember that, but his past as a BCS-level QB (athleticism) and his production (1.073 and .772 OPS in his first two years) make him an interesting prospect to watch.

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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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White Sox Announce 20 Non-Roster Invites to Spring Training

Today, the White Sox came to terms with seven minor league contracts.  These players are as followed: RHP Jeff Gray, RHP Ramon Troncoso, LHP David Purcey, CBryan Anderson, INF Josh Bell, INF Steve Tolleson, and OF Stefan Gartrell.  Also, thirteen more White Sox prospects received non-roster invites to Camelback Ranch.  Those players are RHP Erik Johnson, RHP Jacob Petricka, LHP Daniel Moskos, LHP Scott Snodgress, CMichael Blanke, C Kevan Smith, 1B Seth Loman, SS Tyler Saladino, 2B Carlos Sanchez, SS Marcus Semien, 1B Andy Wilkins, OF Trayce Thompson, and OF Keenyn Walker.

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