Community Prospect List: Results
I think it's safe to say that the community prospect list was a success. I tabulated the results just like they do for the AP polls in college sports, with 11 points being given to the top spot, 10 for second, and so on. -- Let's get to the results.
I didn't include my top 11 in the results, but if you want to see them, along with a brief word on why I ranked them where I did, click read more.

None of these prospects are without flaws.
- Anderson -- He gets the top spot almost by default. He's the closest to the majors. He does everything well, but nothing exceptional. Good, but not great player.
- Young -- The highest ceiling of anyone in the organization. He's probably listed a little high here too. Needs to improve his contact skills, or maintain his current K/BB ratio against a higher level of competition.
- Gio -- The best pitching prospect in the Sox system. Has injury concerns. Hasn't reached AA yet.
- Valido -- I thought he was severely underrated by a majority of you in the community projection. Shortstop with excellent defense and speed. Plays the game the right way. There are some durability issues, as he seems to wear down at the end of each season. I put him higher than Sweeney because of the position he plays.
- Sweeney -- Disturbing lack of power. Also lacks speed. He's only this high because of his draft position, and everything I've heard from people who've watched him play day-in-day-out. Classic Scouts vs. Stats guy.
- Broadway -- Probably the safest bet of any Sox pitching prospect to make the show. I'm not concerned about his relatively unimpressive pro debut. He's a groundball pitcher (1.68 GB/FB ratio in '05) and may have been hurt by poor infield defense. He had a high BABIP average that suggested he was a little unlucky. The He doesn't have dominating stuff, but he knows how to get guys out. Projects as a #3-4 innings eater.
- Haigwood -- I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Haigwood was to crack the White Sox 25 man roster at some point next season. He's got to cut down on his walk rate some, but his k/9 rate is excellent. -- Sort of reminds me of a combination between Mark Buehrle(who you often hear him compared to) and Neal Cotts, both of whom made the jump from AA Birmingham to the show.
- Liotta -- It's hard to argue with his ERA, (2.16 on his career) but he's allowed an inordinate amount of unearned runs. I would attribute part of that to his being a groundball pitcher (1.68 GB/FB ratio in '05) and the poor infield conditions at single-A ballparks. -- It's really hard to separate Liotta and Haigwood. I gave Haigwood the nod because he's a year younger, succeeded despite missing a year due to a knee injury, and has a better K rate. Haigwood has allowed more HR/9 and has a more neutral GB/FB rate, so I would be more inclined to include him over Liotta in a trade since Liotta appears more likely to succeed at USCF.
- Fields -- I'm not a big fan of Fields, but he has good power, and a decent OBP. I think he's more likely to fall on his face than Young is though, simply because of his age and K/BB ratio.
- Tracey -- Tracey had a dominating '04 season, but regressed severely at AA Birmingham as a 24 year old. Scouts seems to love his power sinker, but aside from last season, I've never seen it show up in the numbers. -- I think he projects as a bullpen arm.
- Owens -- He makes the list because of his limited experience. I think his ceiling is Scott Podsednik, with him more than likely becoming a 4th outfielder. He could tear up AAA next season though and prove me wrong.
Players at the lower levels who should be on the radar: Aaron Cunningham, Brandon Allen, Clayton Richard.
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Comments
rebuilding a champion - I'd love to c dtails
by zokmaad on Nov 4, 2005 9:25 PM CST 0 recs
Sweeney = ?
by rbenchley on Nov 5, 2005 4:29 AM CST 0 recs
Reasons to like Sweeney...
-For the most part, he held his own. .298/.357/.371 -- the SLG% isn't very encouraging, but...
-He played the year with two injured wrists. Because of this, people who watched him this year have said he had a very difficult time of turning on those inside pitches.
-Probably the best reason to stay 'high' on Ryan Sweeney is his extremely good K/BB ratio (53/35). He struck out only 53 times in about 425 ABs. He sat out the final month, IIRC, so that number probably would have ended up closer to 60, but that's still impressive, and it shows that he's holding his own.
The most important thing, IMO, with Sweeney, is that he shouldn't be rushed. Start him at Birmingham again, let him dominate the AA level, and then at midseason (or perhaps a little sooner), give him a shot at Charlotte.
by CWSKeith on Nov 5, 2005 1:24 PM CST 0 recs
and as I mentioned before
by shaftr on
Nov 5, 2005 1:44 PM CST
up
0 recs
speaking of plate discipline...
never noticed that before.
by 3E8 on
Nov 6, 2005 12:08 AM CST
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Plate discipline
I know that plate discipline is more important, and that power can develop with time, but that slugging percentage is awful, and the OBP is good, but not great. That being said, if he was playing with two bum wrists all year, I'm less concerned. That would explain a lot.
by rbenchley on Nov 7, 2005 9:57 AM CST 0 recs




















