South Side Sox Prospect Vote: Round 50

As we count down the SSS Prospect Vote, we’ll be counting up the overall list of Top 100 Prospects, with the SSS poll vote counting as a voice in the order of our official SSS Top 100.

We’ve shuffled around the master list of eligible players, as we hold the last few votes up to No. 50, so there are two new names on the ballot for this vote.

A final note: All copy below the poll, unless otherwise noted, comes from wsm’s Deep Dive series. Credit due. YOTH is just running the numbers.

Sound cool? Now, get voting!

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Voting results for Round 49

The second-to-last vote got a little crazy, with Luis Mieses falling from second place to last, and Camilo Quinteiro stepping to the fore with 17 of 61 (27.9%) votes. Quinteiro was unranked in last year’s poll.

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2019 South Side Sox Prospect Vote Winners

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2019 South Side Sox Prospect Vote Top Second Basemen

More information on our polling.

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Tyler Frost

Right Fielder
Age 23
2018 SSS poll ranking N/R
2018 High Level Kannapolis (A)
Overall 2018 stats 124 games ▪️ 18 HR ▪️ 65 RBI ▪️ .241/.324/.445 ▪️ 7-of-11 SB ▪️ 46 BB ▪️ 129 K

Frost hit fairly well, if unexceptionally, with the Gonzaga Bulldogs. His junior season largely paralleled his collegiate career, as he slashed .284/.372/.442 with five doubles, one triple, nine homers, 38 RBIs, two stolen bases, 25 walks (10.00%) and 39 strikeouts (15.60%) in 215 at-bats. While Frost was consistent at Gonzaga, he didn’t do anything especially well. As a result, he fell to the 15th round of the 2017 MLB draft. Frost reported to Great Falls after being drafted and slashed .261/.331/.465 in 142 at-bats, with seven doubles, five triples, four homers, 26 RBIs, 13 walks (8.13%) and 33 strikeouts (20.63%).

In 2018, Frost let things rip a bit with Kannapolis. In a tough place to hit, he provided decent power numbers by slashing .241/.324/.445 in 407 at-bats, with 21 doubles, four triples, 18 homers, 65 RBIs, seven stolen bases, 46 walks (9.91%) and 129 strikeouts (27.80%). It appears Frost sacrificed average and contact for power; that sacrifice may pay dividends in an hitting-friendly environment like Winston-Salem, but could come back to haunt him if he wins a promotion to Birmingham. Frost’s splits are fairly even (.244 vs. southpaws, .240 vs. righties), so a platoon doesn’t appear in his immediate future.

Frost has an above-average arm, as he threw out 13 baserunners this year. Expect a promotion to Winston-Salem for 2019.

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Codi Heuer

Right-handed starting pitcher
Age 22
2018 SSS poll ranking N/R
2018 High Level Great Falls (Rookie+)
Overall 2018 stats 6-6 ▪️ 30 games ▪️ 2 CG ▪️ 117 IP ▪️ 4.46 ERA ▪️ 117 K ▪️ 51 BB ▪️ 1.462 WHIP

Heuer, whose surname is pronounced like former Chicago Bears quarterback Brian Hoyer, spent his first two years with the Wichita Shockers as a reliever. In 2018, he moved to the rotation and the peripherals indicated that he was more comfortable in that role.

While his college numbers weren’t anything to write home about (5.17 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, .272 OBA, 4.48 BB/9, 9.08 K/9), Heuer posted a credible sophomore season in 79 innings with a 4.31 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, .238 OBA, 4.20 BB/9, and 9.30 K/9. The Sox saw enough of him as a starter to draft him in the sixth round, where he signed for an under-slot $260,000 bonus.

Heuer had far exceeded his career high in innings, so he was held to a tight pitch count in his short pro season. In 14 starts, Stiever posted a 4.74 ERA and 1.66 WHIP. In his 38 innings, he allowed 49 hits (.310 OBA) and 14 walks (3.32 BB/9) while fanning 35 (8.29 K/9). The numbers weren’t fantastic, but he was likely battling some fatigue while pitching in a friendly hitting environment.

Heuer actually improved in his last five starts, however, as he ceded only five earned runs and 16 hits in 15 innings while striking out 16. He’s got terrific size, a fastball that peaks at 96 mph, an average-but-improving slider, and a changeup that needs refinement. Heuer made a big jump for 2019, skipping Kannapolis and landing in the bullpen at Winston-Salem to start the season.

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Jacob Lindgren

Left-handed relief pitcher
Age 26
2018 SSS poll ranking N/R
2016 High Level Tampa (A+)
Overall 2016 stats 1-0 ▪️ 6 games ▪️ 1 save ▪️ 7 IP ▪️ 2.57 ERA ▪️ 8 K ▪️ 9 BB ▪️ 1.286 WHIP

After Lindgren was taken in the second round of the 2014 draft by the New York Yankees, he started his meteoric rise to the majors, making it all the way to AA in his draft year. In 2015, Lindgren started the year in AAA, and even made seven appearances in the majors. Unfortunately, his rise was cut short after his first Tommy John surgery in the 2016 season, and the southpaw missed all of 2017. Before the start of the 2018 season, Lindgren signed with the Braves, earning a spot on Atlanta’s 40-man roster. However, he got hurt again, and had his second Tommy John surgery, missing his second straight season.

According to FanGraphs, Lindgren has good 1-2 punch with his fastball and slider. He is supposed to have an above-average fastball (rated at 55) and what could be an elite slider, with a grade at 60. In his limited time in the majors with the Yankees in 2015, Lindgren’s fastball was in the low 90s, and the slider was in the mid-to-low 80s. In terms of value, for what the extremely small sample size was worth almost four years ago, Lindgren’s fastball was one of the worst pitches in MLB at -4.86, but his slider was all what it was supposed to be at 4.03 (per 100 pitches).

In all levels of professional baseball, Lindgren has pitched 61 innings and had 93 strikeouts, thanks to that slider. That type of success made Lindgren a calculated gamble by GM Rick Hahn this offseason, one with little risk and a lot of reward.

However, Lindgren does have a walk problem, free-passing 36 batters in those 61 innings. Again, these stats probably do not mean much because he’s essentially missed the past three seasons, but he’s just 26 — which leaves a lot of room for a breakout year.

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Yermin Mercedes

Cacher
Age 26
2018 SSS poll ranking 42
2018 High Level Winston-Salem (A+)
Overall 2018 stats 103 games ▪️ 14 HR ▪️ 64 RBI ▪️ .289/.362/.478 ▪️ 4-for-4 SB ▪️ 40 BB ▪️ 67 K ▪️ 40-of-97 CS (41.2%)

First off, looking at videos of Mercedes, he’s far closer to 215 than his listed 175 pounds. Mercedes had a very solid season with Winston-Salem in 2018, hitting .289/.362/.478 in 360 at-bats with 14 homers, 64 RBIs, 40 walks and 67 strikeouts. He isn’t noted for his defense, as he committed 11 passed balls in just 79 games behind the plate; with that said, Mercedes does have a solid arm, thwarting 41.2% of stolen base attempts (40 of 97).

Given questions about his defense, where will Mercedes play in the White Sox organization? Mercedes is age-appropriate for Charlotte, but to begin 2019 the White Sox have taken the conservative route, placing him to Birmingham.

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Luis Mieses

Center Fielder
Age 18
2018 SSS poll ranking N/R
2018 High Level Arizona (Rookie)
Overall 2018 stats 48 games ▪️ 2 HR ▪️ 26 RBI ▪️ .226/.236/.328 ▪️ 3-of-3 SB ▪️ 4 BB ▪️ 35 K

A native of Santiago, D.R., Mieses received a signing bonus of $428,000 and was part of a vast international contingent that signed with the White Sox on July 2, 2016 — including fellow outfielders Josue Guerrero and Anderson Comas. Marco Paddy said at the time of his signing, “Luis is a very good, very athletic power outfielder who can really swing the bat. He is a natural hitter with a plus arm.”

In 2017 with the DSL Sox, Mieses slashed .263/.302/.320 with eight doubles, three triples, no homers, 25 RBIs, three stolen bases, 10 walks (3.80%) and 42 strikeouts (15.97%) in 247 at-bats.

In 2018, Mieses spent the entire season with the AZL White Sox, and his numbers declined a bit. Mieses slashed just .226/.236/.328, with 10 doubles, two triples, two homers, 26 RBIs, three stolen bases, four walks (1.96%) and 35 strikeouts (17.16%) in 195 at-bats.

Mieses has the build to develop more power. He doesn’t have much speed, and his plate discipline isn’t advanced — walking less than 2% of the time just doesn’t get the job done. With that said, Mieses is still extremely young and will be given every opportunity to succeed. A return to the AZL Sox should be expected for 2019.