[2014 Minor League catch all thread]

This all went down months ago. He apparently was upset after a game early this season (he wasn't pitching well), and he just kinda Stormed off the premises saying he was done. Never came back. They kept him on the Restricted List for a while, but they may have eventually just released him.

 

So what you are saying is that Storm has Throne his last pitch with the Sox?

 

 

[A thought on Jared Mitchell]

I'm not sure the Sox really helped his development, but I don't think you can entirely blame them either. A couple of points to remember:

 

-Contrary to popular belief, Mitchell did start for 3 seasons at LSU. Yes, I know he was playing football as well for the the first couple of years, but the fact remains that he did get three full college seasons under his belt. When he joined the organization he wasn't necessarily as raw as advertised, which is important because:

 

-He had significant contact issues in college:

 

 

09 Jared Mitchell... .327 67-66 226 64 74 14 5 11 50 131 .580 57 4 64 0 .470 0 3 36-45 108 3 4 .965

08 Jared Mitchell... .297 52-42 175 44 52 10 1 6 29 82 .469 15 3 49 0 .363 0 5 16-18 80 3 3 .965

07 Jared Mitchell... .258 55-55 209 41 54 8 1 3 21 73 .349 17 9 49 5 .340 0 0 18-20 123 3 10 .926

 

His 1st 2 season he whiffed about 1 in 4 PAs, and while he improved his Jr. season that rate is still pretty high. Keep in mind that .327 average, while impressive, was just a shade higher than LSU's team BA of .315. This was the era of more lax restrictions on aluminum/composite bats. I would be very interested to know how many college players with similar K rates excel in the pros, especially those lacking plus-power. My guess is that it is a very small fraction.

 

I think a much more likely scenario is that he was playing somewhat over his head in Kanny in 2009, and then missing a year of development at a proper level (low A) due to injury coupled with an organization that can't seem to be bothered with stressing plate discipline torpedoed any slim chance he may have had to blossom into a ML-quality player.

[7/2 Games]

Mitchell with another homer, that demotion must've really rustled his jimmies.

He also threw out a runner at 3rd for the assist. This has to be his best single day as a pro, by far.

[6/19 Games]

Justin Jirschele struck out twice on June 7th. Big deal, right? Only 2 K's counts as a good night for most of our prospects--Barnum, Mitchell, Davidson, Thompson, et al. Well, throw out that game and he has exactly zero strikeouts the rest of the season, covering 70+ PAs. Jirschele doesn't have squat for power and isn't really a prospect but still...pretty impressive. I hope they make Hawkins sit next to him on the team bus.

[6/19 Games]

Omar Narvaez had 2 homers lifetime entering tonight. He now has 4.

 

2 HRs in exactly 1000 PAs prior to this evening, and then 2 in his 1st 3 ABs. Omar, whatever you did before the game today...do it again tomorrow.

[5 prospects to keep an eye on]

— 2013 first-round pick Tim Anderson is hitting .298/.328/.469 with Winston-Salem, but only has seven walks against 59 strikeouts in 259 plate appearances. The White Sox think Anderson's plate discipline will develop as he gets more plate appearances, and won't try to force a patient approach on an aggressive young hitter.

 

http://www.csnchicago.com/white-sox/five-w...keep-eye-summer

 

Because that approach has worked so well with other aggressive young hitters like Thompson, Mitchell, Hawkins, Barnum, etc.

[5/20 games]

Jared Mitchell is a 2 outcome hitter.

 

Outcome #1: Strikeout looking

Outcome #2: Strikeout swinging

[White Sox sign Belisario, 1-year, $3 mill]

Pitching half his games in Dodger Stadium has really helped Belisario. His career home/road splits:

 

Home: 2.28 ERA, 1.139 WHIP, .567 OBA

Away: 4.34 ERA, 1.339 WHIP, .707 OBA

 

 

[8.12]

Hawkins left the game after a force out at 2nd base. Hopefully it's nothing serious!

 

Maybe the shock of walking twice in one game was too much for him to handle.

[Why not tank?]

 

How could anyone tell the difference?

[Marcus Semien]

Not in the lineup at B-Ham this evening...promoted to Charlotte perhaps?

[FS Midseason Top 25 Prospects]

I disagree with keeping Micah Johnson out of the top 10 but OK, I get the concerns about his D and age. Ranking Sanchez (presumably) above him...you lost me there. Sanchez hit for a nice average last year and he is a solid fielder, but I just don't see the upside. He has no pop (2 HRs in over 1000 pro ABs), he isn't particularly speedy on the bases (CS rate of around 40%), he doesn't walk all that much and he has done exactly squat in Charlotte so far this season, with little to no signs of progress. At this point you have to say his profile tops out as a utility middle infielder, or at best a light-hitting, barely marginal nine hole SS. Not terrible necessarily, but certainly not the kind of player you'd expect to see starting on a playoff-caliber team. Everything falls into place and you've got a, what--.700, .725 OPS 2B/SS who doesn't kill you with the glove.

 

Johnson on the other hand is having one of the most exciting seasons of any Sox minor league infielder in a long, long time. The pedigree is there--he was well regarded in college, slipping only due to injury. He hit .312 as a freshman with 11 HRs and then .335 as a sophomore--give him that same stat line as a junior and he's gone the first 5 rounds (ask yourself if your perception of his performance this year would be different if the Sox took him in the, say, 4th round). Despite missing most of his junior year he hit well after turning pro later that summer...IIRC he was over .300 most of the season at Great Falls until he ran out of gas the last few weeks (something we'll need to look out for as this season winds down incidentally). He has dominated the Sally league this year, improved each month, shown a good eye at the plate, displayed decent power, and he has been consistently over .300. Yes, his D has been shaky, but it is not uncommon for infielders to rack up the errors their first season or two in the lower minors. Examples abound: Derek Jeter had 56 in the same league, Juan Uribe 38, Joe Crede 33 and even Ozzie racked up 79 his first two years in full season leagues, and all went on to be considered plus fielders (though I admit Jeter's fielding has always been overrated.) That said, even if he can't stick at 2B he still would have value in CF--contrasted with Sanchez, who has zero value anywhere but as a middle infielder. The Reds moved Billy Hamilton from 2B to CF, and Micah hit just as well at Low A as he (yes, I understand Hamilton did it at 20 vs. Micah at 22. Still, the point is that he has shown the ability to hit for average, with speed, some power, etc. from either position) In fact, it is true Micah was slightly old for Low-A, but not excessively so, and through an admittedly small sample size at High A he is more than holding his own. Plus, chronologically he may be a bit old, but from an experience level he is right on track if you consider that he missed half a season of games last year due to his injury.

 

Put another way...most of the prospects we have are just that--prospects, meaning they have potential but haven't necessarily shown they can deliver yet. Micah is one of the few that has actually excelled in real live games. All else being equal, I'd much rather take my chances with a player who has shown the ability to dominate even if they have a few question marks (within reason--age, D, etc.) than one who could possibly dominate at some point in the future.

 

To recap...Sanchez's upside: singles hitting middle infielder who is solid if not spectacular with the glove. Worst case: utility infielder who lives around the Mendoza line. Johnson's upside: Top-of-the-order threat with decent power, an ability to get on base and score runs, average to slightly-below average glove at a premium position--think Ray Durham with more speed but less power. Worst case: fast CF/4th OF who can steal bases and is a lefty bat off the bench. Personally, I'd put Micah only behind Erik Johnson, Hawkins, T. Thompson, Anderson, Phegley and maybe, just maybe Barnum and/or Beck. If he does as well at W-S as he did Kanny I'd consider moving him to #3 or #4 on that list.

 

Micah has played basically the equivalent of a full season of ball. Check out his stat line over that period:

G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR BI SB CS BB K AVG OBP SLG OPS

152 695 600 129 187 28 17 10 70 82 27 83 145 .312 .398 .465 .863

 

Not too shabby. That paints the picture of an exciting player, the type of which we haven't had in our system in a long, long time...

 

Last quick comment: I'd probably try to sneak Kevan Smith in the Top 25 somewhere--possibly booting Rodriguez, his control is shaky, and lord knows we don't need another Donny Veal out of the pen.

 

[7/6 White Sox vs. Rays (Sale vs. Moore)]

118 pitches for Sale, the best and most valuable player on our team by a mile, after hitting the 120s his last start. Robin needs to cool it with him, immediately. It's not like we're going to win anything this year, and given all the concern about his propensity for arm troubles down the line due to his his pitching motion...Hahn need to pull RV aside and get him to cut that crap out. I know it's terrible but at this point I almost wish Sale would get some kind of a minor leg/groin strain that would keep him from throwing for a few weeks.

[7/4 Games]

No Trayce Thompson, who was pulled early from last night's game. Hopefully he's ok...

 

http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?c...mp;ymd=20130704

 

 

[White Sox Top Prospects by Position]

Micah Johnson is having one of the best offensive seasons in the entire minor leagues...I can't see how he doesn't rate ahead of Sanchez, and in fact I would put him behind only E. Johnson, Hawkins, Thompson, Anderson, and perhaps now Zapata.

[Rios, $1M traded to Rangers]

Love that Rangers and Arizona are involved. Love their farm systems. Been hearing they been throwing aroundTyler Skaggs name to headline a deal. Would love to get him.

Skaggs yes, owing s...not so much. Though he is raking at an age-appropriate level his bb/k rate is downright Hawkinsish. We have enough guys who don't know the strike zone.

[6/30 vs Indians]

123 pitches. WTF Robin?

[6/27 Games]

Add a walk for Hawkins. His best game as a pro without a homer.

Only 1 k in his last 3 games...a start of something, let's hope.

[6/26 Games]

why does it seem like Phegley never plays anymore

I noticed the same thing. He should get day games after nights off behind the plate, but why don't they DH him periodically? You'd think that would help him stay in a groove with his batting, and it certainly isn't doing the big league club any favors to have the collection of retreads they trot out as DH getting those AB's instead. This club mystifies me sometimes...

[Top 15 ChiSox Prospects]

You have to start asking yourself when can you remove Hawkins from #1 status. How many more months/years of futility do you need? I'm pulling for the kid as much as anyone, but to have him listed anywhere near the top of the heap sends all credibility out the window.

 

You are joking, right? He had a strong debut last year, has been struggling for all of two months, and yet still has the best hr/pa ratio in high a ball as a 19 year old. He has some big red flags for sure, but to NOT have him near the top of a thin system would strain all credibility.

 

[Game Thread 6/17]

I'm going! Despite everything that's happened this season there still is nothing better than getting to see the Sox in person. The last time I saw them in Minute Maid was game 4 in '05. Here's to a W tonight!

[You're Hahn, who are you looking to trade first?]

Everyone but Sale.

[Game Thread: White Sox vs. those pesky Astros]

A lead off triple, two singles and a walk and we score... One. Freaking.

Run. Against the Astros.

[Do you want Ventura back as manager next year?]

I voted 'No,' but I do not blame him for putting together this godawful baseball team.

Same here. I voted no because I like robin too much to wish upon him another year of this crap.

[Todays game blacked out in Vegas]

I'm in Austin, a 2.5 hr drive from Houston, and the game is blacked out here as well. We didn't get last night's game either.