This week:
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Dayan Viciedo is not doing very well since his demotion, going 5-31 with 10 K and no XBH. Amusingly, he hasn't taken a walk at either level since June 9. I think he's doing it on purpose now.
- Viciedo is playing third base for the Knights, which has pushed Brent Morel to shortstop. As one would expect, his defensive reviews at shortstop haven't been stellar due to him not quite having the range for the position. The White Sox are obviously not going to demote Morel simply so he can play third and the position change keeps him in the lineup. Having him play shortstop until Viciedo's likely promotion on September 1 also serves to see whether Morel can increase his positional flexibility, which is useful for just about any player looking to break into the majors. More importantly, though, he continues to hit well: .321/.359/.464.
- Trayce Thompson returned to action on Thursday for Kannapolis after missing almost three months due to surgery on his broken right thumb.
- Speaking of Kannapolis, Scouting the Sally posted his impressions of the Intimidators' "top" prospects. As the quotation marks indicate, the team isn't exactly teeming with talent and he wasn't overly impressed with what he saw. In summary, Miguel Gonzalez is "an average catching prospect", Jacob Petricka has "has quite a bit of work ahead of him", Juan Silverio is "so far away that it’s difficult to see any path to Chicago whatsoever" and Thompson's "power is real, but he’s not a centerfielder and is going to post gaudy strikeout totals until he shortens his swing." Like me, he's a fan of Tyler Saladino: "while the tools may only be average across-the-board, very few players even have that to offer." Well worth a full read.
- Alejandro De Aza: .294/.359/.419 and 16 for 19 in SB. Still can't hit lefties to save his life, though.
- Tyler Flowers is watching another offensive-minded catcher approach in his rearview mirror. Josh Phegley, despite playing in only 25 games for the Dash due to a blood disorder, was promoted to the Barons. His line for the Dash was .292/.337/.427.
- Wrapping up the 2010 draft, the White Sox did not reach agreements with either of their remaining unsigned top picks, 4th rounder Matthew Grimes and 8th rounder Josef Terry. The team spent a total of $3,930,200 on bonuses, the fourth lowest in baseball. In the past three drafts, the White Sox have spent $12,772,300, which is the lowest in baseball over that stretch.
- If you ever plan to visit Birmingham to see the Barons play - I'd wait until they get some actual players - check out this review of Regions Park so you'll know what to expect.
- Sox Machine took a look at the relief options in the minors. Not surprisingly, there isn't much there. Come September, we can probably expect to see many of the inhabitants of the 40 man roster called up but I doubt Carlos Torres, Lucas Harrell, Jeffrey Marquez, Erick Threets, Clevelan Santeliz or Jhonny Nunez provide much solace to those concerned about the bullpen.
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Eduardo Escobar: .271/.306/.357 with the Barons.