Sox Minor League Update: Hibernation Edition with Prospects Lists from John Sickels, Baseball Prospectus, and Deric McKamey

Now back to sleep…

thanks lare

ordering his book this week.

Guillen hinted that 2008 No. 1 pick Gordon Beckham might be destined for a position change.

"Alexei Ramirez is going to be my shortstop for a while," Guillen said.

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports_hardball/2009/02/sundays-session-has-guillen-on-his-toes.html

Guillen loves Poreda’s eagerness and described an exhibition game where Poreda told his manager he was glad for merely having the opportunity to sit on the bench.

“Pretty soon, he’ll be in the big leagues and you will enjoy the way this kid pitches,” Guillen said.

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports_hardball/soxfest-2009/

Five-Star Prospects
1. Gordon Beckham, SS
Four-Star Prospects
2. Aaron Poreda, LHP
3. Brandon Allen, 1B
Three-Star Prospects
4. Dayan Viciedo, 3B
5. Tyler Flowers, C
6. John Shelby, CF
7. Jordan Danks, CF
8. Chris Getz, 2B
Two-Star Prospects
9. Clayton Richard, LHP
10. Brent Morel, 3B
11. Jose Martinez, RF

Just Missed: Dexter Carter, RHP; Jeff Marquez, RHP; Juan Silverio, SS

Ranking Challenges: Beckham is a first-rank talent who is head and shoulders above the others, and while Poreda has tons of potential, he also comes with a fair share of uncertainty. Allen received outstanding reviews from scouts, especially those who saw him as he was finishing up last season at Double-A Birmingham, and that gives him the edge over Viciedo, who brings both significant positives and negatives to the table. Flowers rates as an easy fifth-best, and slots six through 11 are more or less a toss-up of a half-dozen players of similar promise.

…

The Sleeper: Brent Lillibridge, also acquired in the Javier Vazquez trade, has seen his prospect star droop considerably over the past two years, but he’s still a speedster with some on-base skills who can play nearly anywhere on the diamond.

Top 10 Talents 25 and Under (as of Opening Day 2009)

1. Gordon Beckham, SS
2. John Danks, LHP
3. Aaron Poreda, LHP
4. Brandon Allen, 1B
5. Dayan Viciedo, 3B
6. Tyler Flowers, C
7. John Shelby, CF
8. Jordan Danks, CF
9. Chris Getz, 2B
10. Clayton Richard, LHP


I must admit that I went back and forth with Beckham and Danks at number one here. I wouldn’t put up a huge argument if someone wanted me to reverse this order; it just seems that Beckham doesn’t come with much risk, and as an offensive talent he has more impact potential. Needless to say, the White Sox are not a young team.

Summary: Once among the worst systems in the game, the additions of Beckham, Viciedo, and Flowers raise the organization’s spread of talent substantially, but it remains well below average due to a severe lack of depth. With an older roster that could run into issues with injuries and performance drop-offs, that could be a problem.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=8459

i got mckamey’s book on friday but have been quite busy and haven’t had time to post his stuff – will do that later today, hopefully, so you can look forward to that.

keep in mind that goldstein spends a great deal of time talking to scouts and front office types for their opinions on players (both from those people’s own organization and others).

Scouts have issues with where Beckham will ultimately fit defensively. He’s an average-at-best runner who falls just short of big-league range, and he’ll likely need to move to second base by the time he’s ready, although that opinion is hardly universally held.

Poreda will be given a serious look in spring training, but current plans are for him to begin the year at Triple-A Charlotte. He should make his big-league debut at some point during the ’09 season.

Viciedo was often out of shape while playing in Cuba, and he had ballooned to somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 pounds at the time of his signing. He’s on a conditioning program this winter, and it will likely be something that requires constant attention; it could eventually move him off of third base. Scouts who saw him in Cuba noted that beyond the weight issues, he had a fondness for his cruise-control setting.

The Good: Danks certainly passes all of the scouting sniff tests as a tall, rangy athlete who oozes with projection. He works the count well and shows occasional pull power. Defensively, he’s nearly big-league ready in center field right now, with plus instincts, outstanding range, and an above-average arm.
The Bad: Danks’ longish, line-drive swing does not produce much power, prompting an interesting comment from one Arizona Fall League observer: “Didn’t the White Sox already have the big-time athlete who can’t hit for power? I already saw the Ryan Sweeney show, and I’m not really up for an encore.”

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/radio/

i think it’s free for all but not sure.

1. beckham
2. poreda
3. flowers
4. viciedo
5. danks
6. j. martinez
7. lillibridge
8. getz
9. richard
10. allen
11. ely
12. shelby
13. griffith
14. miranda
15. broadway

overall for baseball, beckham ranked 31, poreda 53, flowers 80, viciedo 86, and danks 88. overall, white sox system ranked 23 with a high ranking for hitting prospects but dead last in pitching.

i’ll post some of his commentary later.

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090201&content_id=3790354&vkey=news_cws&fext=.jsp&c_id=cws

But I think I pointed this out earlier…because they’re doing mathematical projections and seeing a kid they think is 17 playing in rookie ball, their projections might be skewed a lot more because they’re projecting mathematically based on that number, while someone with actual scouts eyes on the kid might think something completely different. Therefore, they might be particularly vulnerable to the type of manipulation that has been suggested to have occurred with these kids.

http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=69695&view=findpost&p=1829597

jesus christ. and these are the people who are administrators?

Jon Link, rhp, White Sox: The Padres drafted Link in 2005 in the 26th round out of Bluefield (Va.) College, but Link left the organization in 2007 when the White Sox traded Rob Mackowiak to the Padres to acquire Link at the trading deadline. Link, 24, was excellent last season for Double-A Birmingham, finishing with a 3.02 ERA in 56 2/3 innings as the Barons’ closer. Link struck out 66 batters, averaging 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings. Link throws three pitches for strikes: a 90-92 mph fastball with some sink, a slider and a changeup. Link goes to his above-average slider for strikeouts, but his changeup is more than a show-me pitch and is an effective third weapon. There was some talk of moving Link to the starting rotation because of his three-pitch mix, but the White Sox will leave him in the bullpen. He still has to learn to harness his control, as he walked 27 batters (4.3 per nine) last year, though he was better in 2007 in high Class A when he walked just 15 batters in 58 2/3 innings (2.3 per nine).

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=2159

so we can feel better about posting copyrighted material, go buy his book: http://www.baseballhq.com/books/mlba.shtml

marquez, potential is #4 starter; athletic pitcher with quick arm action that elicits movement to sinker and ability to change speeds. throws strikes but doesn’t miss many bats and was victimized by home runs. averaged slightly more than five innings per start, so needs to build stamina.

allen, potential is starting 1b; muscular hitter with good bat speed and power to all fields. BA could suffer due to poor pitch recognition, propensity to strike out, and his struggles against LH pitching. runs bases well despite below average speed and is a solid defender with arm strength and soft hands.

armstrong, potential is platoon catcher; strong/muscular catcher with solid bat speed and moderate power. tends to get pull-conscious and lacks plate discipline, so BA/OBP may always be on low side. below average speed/agility are problems, but has average catch-and-throw skills in halting running game (36% CS%).

lillibridge, potential is starting SS; wiry athlete with ability to put the bat on the ball, but lacks the bat speed to hit for power. will need to exercise more patience at the plate to improve OBP. has speed to produce steals and is an above average defender with arm strength and range, but lacks instincts.

nunez, potential is setup reliever/closer; tall/athletic pitcher moved to relief and improved base skills in nearly every category. quick arm action from a low 3/4 slot gives movement and velocity to FB and SL, which allows him to miss bats and generate ground balls. CU used infrequently and needs to build stamina.

Starting in 2003, it has been an annual tradition here at BaseballAmerica.com to present what we like to call The 31st Team, a collection of all the scouting reports that are written for but don’t quite make it into the Prospect Handbook. Trades can cause reshuffling, and sometimes we just change our minds and revise our lists.

This year, as a premium for those who buy the Handbook directly from us, we included a No. 31 prospect to accompany the Top 30 lists we put together for every team. Eighteen of those 30 players were pulled off the cutting-room floor, and we created 12 new reports to complete that project.

So that’s what has become of The 31st Team, which no longer will exist as an BA.com feature. But don’t despair! We still have more bonus material to offer. There are still 17 extra reports that didn’t make it into the Handbook or the premium, so we present the first edition of . . . The 32nd Team.

Nine of the 17 members are White Sox farmhands. Phil Rogers, who wrote the White Sox Top 30, provided us with a few extra reports in case GM Kenny Williams had his typical offseason of trading prospects for veterans. Williams instead went in the other direction, dealing Nick Swisher and Javier Vazquez for six youngsters who pushed players off the original Top 30.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/column/2009/267491.html

Clayton Richard, lhp, White Sox: If you throw enough strikes and keep hitters off balance with your pitch sequencing, you can have success at the minor league level. Whether Richard can replicate his minor league success into steady big league production remains to be seen. An eighth-round pick out of Michigan in 2005 who turned 25 in September, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound Richard is a physical pitcher without power stuff. His fastball velocity is average, though the sink on the pitch helps keep the ball on the ground. His changeup is his go-to secondary pitch, but his offspeed stuff is generally fringy. There are a lot of fungible fifth-starter types around the league that Richard will try to differentiate himself from, but by already reaching the big leagues, he’s made it farther than most eighth-round picks

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=2256

both carter and hudson are listed as sleepers. he can’t figure out what the big deal with marquez could be either. called poreda one of the best lefty prospects in the game, noting that his command and control exceeded expectations last season. doesn’t think richard can make it as a starter but sees him as being more than a loogy. and for those who still follow the nevin griffith bandwagon, he says july is the projected return.

also, he discussed someone named “kenny williams jr.” – does anyone know if he’s related to the white sox general manager?