Potential White Sox September callups: The position players

It's simple to sum up the problem with the White Sox's farm system: interesting pitchers, but little in the position-player ranks.

That imbalance extends to September callup territory. The Sox can promote Erik Johnson, Daniel Webb and Charlie Leesman with designs on evaluating them for 2014, and maybe beyond. When it comes to the rest of the roster, the reinforcements only serve practical purposes. An extra catcher, outfielder and infielder allows Robin Ventura to pinch-run for a player when he normally wouldn't. Woooooooooooo.

Probables

Bryan Anderson: The White Sox don't have a third catcher on the 40-man roster, mainly because their preseason third catcher is now the starter in Chicago. The Sox reduced their ranks when Josh Phegley's play at Charlotte led to the Sox designating Hector Gimenez for assignment, so it seems likely that they'll temporarily restock the position by adding Anderson to the mix for a month.

If he does get the call, it'll be by default -- think Paul Phillips in 2008. He's hitting just .224/.302/.400, but the only competition is Miguel Gonzalez, who is Anderson's backup at Triple-A. He's hitting an empty .289/.333/.333 over 51 plate appearances, but he has age on his side (22 to Anderson's 26), if the Sox thought the learning experience might be on his value. I'd assume they roll with Anderson, who will be seldom seen either way.

Blake Tekotte: We already know what he's about -- true fifth outfielder and a pinch-running option in the event that Leury Garcia and Jordan Danks are unavailable.

Brent Morel: Morel's production has tailed off at Charlotte (.264/.348/.399), which is well below his previous bests at Charlotte. Those numbers might be the best Morel can do in a post-back-injury reality, or he just might need a change of scenery, but he'll be another third base option behind Jeff Keppinger and Conor Gillaspie, both of whom have battled aches and pains over the last couple weeks.

Andy Wilkins: Here's one case where a promotion could turn into a progress check. Wilkins has developed nicely in his third full season in the pros. The 24-year-old hit .286/.386/.477 over 67 games in Birmingham before the Sox promoted him to Charlotte. Triple-A caught up to him in August (.213/.262/.298) after a hot start (.264/.313/.423 overall), but since he's at an appropriate age for the level (24), none of this is particularly concerning. He's not somebody to bank on as a Paul Konerko/Adam Dunn replacement, but there's some talent there. Wilkins is not on the 40-man roster, but just pretend he's Mike McDade, and those two sets of footprints will become one.

Wild card

Marcus Semien: No White Sox prospect has improved his stock this season more than Semien, who hit .290/.420/.483 and Birmingham and reached base more than half the time in July. He earned a promotion to Charlotte for August, and like Wilkins, Triple-A has challenged him over 29 games (.246/.318/.447), but he's showing some pop and not swinging at everything, so everything's still gravy.

If he played a different position, or were on a different timetable, he'd be an easy call for a September audition. However, the Sox acquired Leury Garcia, who will need plenty of playing time at Semien's positions (shortstop, second, some third) to see what he can do. On top of that, the Sox added Semien to the Arizona Fall League roster, so that signals other plans. Unlike Wilkins, his addition to the 40-man roster isn't imminent, so there are fewer incentives to rush despite the legitimate excitement.

Outside looking in

The strong preseason possibilities: Carlos Sanchez, Jared Mitchell, Trayce Thompson. The less said about this, the better.