Sox Minor League wrap up

[cws05champ]

I thought I'd post on how all the Sox minors have finished up...although some are in the playoffs coming up.

DSL (Dominican Summer League) White Sox finished the year 42-28.
> Headlined by Juan Silverio, an 18yr old that hit .321/.547/.913 with 8 HR's, 10 3B, 16 BB, 47K's in 243 AB's.

Bristol Sox (Rookie league) finished 27-39, 4th place in the APP west division
> Headlined by Brady Shoemaker, a 22 yr old LF who hit .351/.585/1.011 with 9HR's in 205 AB's. A bit old for rookie league but one to watch as he moves up.
> Some other notables: Matthew Heidenreich (4.50ERA in 22IP), Santos Rodriguez(1.33ERA, 27IP), David Holmberg(4.73ERA, 40IP), Steven Upchurch(6.95ERA, 66IP)

Great Falls Voyagers, was the 1st half division winner at 21-17, and leading the 2nd half in their division with a 19-16 record, with 3 games remaining.
> Jose Vargas (.338), Jordan Cheatham (.338) and Nick Ciolli (.313) all hit over .300. Trayce Thompson hit .250 in only 16 AB's. Justin Collop has a 2.63 ERA in 38 IP.

Kannapolis Intimidators finished the 2nd half at 45-24, 1st in the SAL overall, with an overall record of 82-57 (10th in all of minor league ball).
> Some nice players to watch here: 2009 1st rounder Jared Mitchell(.297,.414 OBP), Justin Greene(.303), Tyler Kuhn(moved up to W/S), Jon Gilmore, Josh Phegley(a disappointing .224)
> On the pitching side, the whole rotation had ERA's under 4. Greg Infante (3.26), Charlie Leesman(3.08), Stephen Sauer (3.36), Nevin Griffith (3.86) and the since departed Dexter Carter (3.13). Also Dan Hudson stopped in for 4 starts with a 1.23 ERA.

Wiston-Salem Dash finished 73-65 winning the 1st and 2nd half division titles.
> Brent Morel (.281, 16HR's), Christian Marrero (now in AA)(.314), Tyler Kuhn, Jordan Danks cut his teeth here hitting .322 with a .934OPS.
> Charlie Shirek 8-1, 3.88(moved to AA) and Anthony Carter (11-7, 4.36,119K's) were the notable pitchers.

Birmingham Barons finished with a AA best (and 3rd in minors overall) record of 92-47. The best winning % in team history. Interestingly, they are starting the playoffs this week and are having a black out night for the playoff games.
> Lots of bright spots here littered with top prospects: Tyler Flowers(.302,.993 OPS), Gordon Beckham, Brandon Allen, C.J. Retherford(.297), Dayan Viciedo, Stefan Gartrell (.285, 19HR), David Cook (.264, 25HR, 84RBI, 64/84 BB/K ratio!). Jordan Danks started hot but fell off after his wrist injury, and John Shelby disappointed with a .243 AVG.
> Again, lots of bright spots on the pitching side: Since departed Aaron Poreda, Dan Hudson (again, 7-0 1.60ERA), Brian Omogrosso (7-2 4.19), John Ely (14-2, 2.82), Lucas Harrell (8-3 3.25). Relievers Jhonny Nunez(2.14 ERA, 46IP), Fernando Hernandez (1.71, 52IP), Clevelan Santeliz (4-0, 0.96 ERA in 56IP)

Charlotte Knights: You know things aren't good when the main headlines are: "Getz/Wise join Knights for rehab" and "Peavy photo gallery".
Charlotte finished 67-76, last place in the Int'l South.
> Career MiL players Josh Kroeger(.267, 17HR),Michael Restovich(.290, 21HR) and Brian Myrow headlined. Not much to see here.
> Carlos Torres(10-4 2.39 ERA) and Jon Link (3.99ERA, 66K in 56IP) are the bright spots here.

I know there are a lot more players that people may have interest in, but these are the highlights and notables for me. Between the young guys up and some of the minor league talent, I think we are in good shape moving forward.

[DirtySox]

Miguel Gonzalez a Catcher in Bristol is another name to follow.

He was mentioned in a BA Chat a bit ago.

Joe LeCates (Easton, MD): Hey, Matt, I was curious who has really caught your eye/ear so far in the Appy this year?

Matthew Eddy: Joe, Wilking Rodriguez, our Helium cat this time, is probably the biggest riser. I touched on Princeton righty reliever Scott Shuman in the Tuesday Dish this week. He could move quickly as a power reliever with two plus pitches. Also, The White Sox have an 18-year-old Venezuelan catcher named Miguel Gonzalez with Bristol. He’s got a bit of a thick body but he impressed observers by hitting .300 and by driving the ball consistently (15 doubles). If he can stay at catcher, he’s got a shot. Keep an eye out for the Appy League Top 20 prospects list, which will be published online in a few weeks. (Don’t have a date yet.)

[DirtySox]

BA posted their year end Top 20 Prospect Hot Sheet.

Hudson at 13, and Flowers at 20.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today...09/268861.html

[35th and Shields]

Originally Posted by DirtySox

BA posted their year end Top 20 Prospect Hot Sheet.

Hudson at 13, and Flowers at 20.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today...09/268861.html

I didn't realize Chris Carter had done so well recently.

[DirtySox]

Carter has been a beast this year.

[Ditka v. God]

Great summation of the 2009 season, I'd also add a couple names to watch to the Bristol list:

Leighton Pangilinan - big frame, similar to Brandon Allen and Chris Carter, and solid contact skills for an 18 year old. Could be a sleeper if he can gain some plate discipline.

Joe Serafin - A little old for the lower levels but has put up very impressive numbers this year (7-2, 2.39, 4:1 K:BB), with his numbers and size reminds me a lot of Buehrle.

[Hitmen77]

Thanks guys for putting together this summary (and also thanks to those who provided the daily minor league updates throughout the season).

I realize that there's no guarantee that any of these guys will pan out for us, but it's good to hear that the Sox have some promising talent making their way through our system. It seems like it's been a long time since we've had our share of farm system products become successful major league players.

[Lip Man 1]

Four teams make the post season...that's good. Odd though that none are above Class A. When was the last time the Sox had four make it at any level? And how much of this is Buddy Bell turning around the God-awful system?

Lip

[DirtySox]

Originally Posted by Lip Man 1

Four teams make the post season...that's good. Odd though that none are above Class A. When was the last time the Sox had four make it at any level? And how much of this is Buddy Bell turning around the God-awful system?

Lip

None above class A? Huh?

Birmingham is in the playoffs. This year was one of the best they've ever had.

[delben91]

Originally Posted by Lip Man 1

Four teams make the post season...that's good. Odd though that none are above Class A. When was the last time the Sox had four make it at any level? And how much of this is Buddy Bell turning around the God-awful system?

Lip

Originally Posted by DirtySox

None above class A? Huh?

Birmingham is in the playoffs. This year was one of the best they've ever had.

The Birmingham correction aside, it stands to reason that any improvement in the talent within the minor league system would start at the lower levels. That's where newly drafted players would typically start out, and the talent would spread to the higher levels as they advanced in their careers.

[DSpivack]

Originally Posted by delben91

The Birmingham correction aside, it stands to reason that any improvement in the talent within the minor league system would start at the lower levels. That's where newly drafted players would typically start out, and the talent would spread to the higher levels as they advanced in their careers.

Well, this year we've seen rookies Gordon Beckham and Chris Getz play well, Clayton Richard and several others dealt for an ace, and Brandon Allen dealt for a middle reliever. So the top of our minors the last couple years has produced.

[Hitmen77]

Originally Posted by cws05champ

I thought I'd post on how all the Sox minors have finished up...although some are in the playoffs coming up.


Birmingham Barons finished with a AA best (and 3rd in minors overall) record of 92-47. The best winning % in team history. Interestingly, they are starting the playoffs this week and are having a black out night for the playoff games.
> Lots of bright spots here littered with top prospects: Tyler Flowers(.302,.993 OPS), Gordon Beckham, Brandon Allen, C.J. Retherford(.297), Dayan Viciedo, Stefan Gartrell (.285, 19HR), David Cook (.264, 25HR, 84RBI, 64/84 BB/K ratio!). Jordan Danks started hot but fell off after his wrist injury, and John Shelby disappointed with a .243 AVG.
> Again, lots of bright spots on the pitching side: Since departed Aaron Poreda, Dan Hudson (again, 7-0 1.60ERA), Brian Omogrosso (7-2 4.19), John Ely (14-2, 2.82), Lucas Harrell (8-3 3.25). Relievers Jhonny Nunez(2.14 ERA, 46IP), Fernando Hernandez (1.71, 52IP), Clevelan Santeliz (4-0, 0.96 ERA in 56IP)

What position has Viciedo been playing in the minors? Are the Sox planning to have him as a corner OF?

Also, I thought I heard somewhere that Flowers was named top defensive catcher in the Southern Leauge. Is this true? If yes, I thought he needed a lot of work as a catcher. So, how is this so?

[DirtySox]

Originally Posted by Hitmen77

What position has Viciedo been playing in the minors? Are the Sox planning to have him as a corner OF?

Also, I thought I heard somewhere that Flowers was named top defensive catcher in the Southern Leauge. Is this true? If yes, I thought he needed a lot of work as a catcher. So, how is this so?

Viciedo played 3rd most of the year and has been at 1st recently. There hasn't been any indication that he will be moved to the outfield.

Flowers was named top defensive catcher by Southern League managers. This probably isn't real indicative of how good his defense is, and he was most likely chosen because of him being a highly ranked prospect. I don't doubt that he has improved at the position, but he is by no means a defensive whiz.

[Hitmen77]

Originally Posted by DirtySox

Viciedo played 3rd most of the year and has been at 1st recently. There hasn't been any indication that he will be moved to the outfield.

What's the thinking on what position he might eventually play for the Sox? I suppose with Beckman's breakout year, we aren't looking for Viciedo to be the "3B of the future".

[whitesoxfan]

Originally Posted by Hitmen77

What's the thinking on what position he might eventually play for the Sox? I suppose with Beckman's breakout year, we aren't looking for Viciedo to be the "3B of the future".

I don't think he has the defense to be the 3B of the future. I think they're going to mold him into the replacement for Konerko over the course of the next few years.