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Favorite Prospects


Chisoxfn

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Now that its the offseason I was thinking it would be cool if everyone gave their favorite prospects at each position. I think we'll start with starting pitching and go with your favorite 5.

 

My List:

1. Neal Cotts

We got a little preview of Neal this season. We know he has a sneaky fastball and a good changeup. He also has a curveball. The big thing for Cotts is to harness all of his pitches. He's still got a ways to go but he has a very good understanding for pitching. He does a great job changing speeds and location. The big thing for Neal is like I said...control as well as improving his curveball and adding the cutter to his arsenal. Once he gets himself to a spot where hitters can't just sit on the fastball then he'll be ready.

 

2. Kris Honel

Honel has a whicked fastball and knuckle curve. He still has to improve his control but their is no doubt he has two plus major league pitches. It would be nice to see him develop some secondary pitches though. Still has a long ways to go, but the kid has #1 potential.

 

3. Ryan Wing

This guy really impresses me. He's a very similar style pitcher to Cotts. Has a great slider and a sinking fastball. Also throws a cutter and is developing a changeup. From what I saw he moves the ball around very well and changes speeds but the control needs to improve. He's put up the best numbers in the organization over the past two years, imo and is still relatively unknown.

 

4. Emencio Pacheco

Pacheco came out of nowhere this year to put himself on my radar and many other Sox fans radars. He has the best fastball of any Sox starter as well as a good slider. The velocity stays their throughotu the game and he is turning into a workhorse. Still has a ways to go but could make an impact this year.

 

5. Brandon McCarthy

Put up amazing strikeout numbers in Great Falls. Has good stuff but a long ways to go considering he's never had a full season. He'll likely play half a season in Kann and then move to Winston Salem for the 2nd half. Should know more about McCarthy then, once you see his how he handles his first full season. Great upside though.

 

Honorable Mention: Jon Rauch, Todd Deininger, and Corwin Malone.

 

We all know about Rauch and Malone, but Deininger really impressed me the one time I saw him pitch. Showed good command and had nice velocity. Looks like a guy that has potential...will be interesting to see how he develops.

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my FAVORITE prospects not the ones I think are the BEST.

 

1. Todd Deininger - Saw him pitch in ho-bunk Kannapolis... liked him alot... liked him more when I found out he hails not to far from where I live.

 

2/3. Neal Cotts - Posts here, stud on the mound, stud w/ the broads... whats not to like

 

2/3. James Bullard - Posts here, awesome person, looks good outta the pen

 

4. Arnie Munoz - Killer curve, should be a fixture in our pen for years to come.

 

5. Ryan Wing - Lefty, killer numbers and nice to the fans in Winston-Salem

 

HM: Emencio Pacheco, Felix Diaz, Baj, and Gary Majewski

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Ok here's my top 5 even though I don't know too much bout our Prospect System except for da big guys.

1) Kris Honel - Be in our Rotation by 2005, No. 2 or 3 starter for many years

2) Neal Cotts - If he works out his control issues and develops that cutter, he'll be sumthin special.

3) Arnie Munoz - Heard too damn much bout his curveball not to like him. Plus he's already in AAA ball.

4) Jon Rauch - Seriously unlucky not to be given another chance at the end of the season, if he pitches well in Spring Training I think he'll be our No. 5.

5) Corwin Malone - Please get back to ur 2001 form pronto.

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Does anybody think that Honel and Wing will move up to the Barons together? Or would they give Wing another year at W-S to work on his control a bit?

Wing looked like he was pretty ready to me, IMO i'd say he's in AA to start next year.

 

Im sure jason would agree with me on this one... HE tried to sleep with Wing on out prospect road trip.

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One of my favorite minor league pitchers is Byeong Hak An, but I haven't heard too much about him since he was promoted to Birmingham. I saw him pitch this year for Winston-Salem, and he looked like he had a real good idea of how to pitch, and his stuff looked pretty good, too. Seems to me like his approach was somewhere between crafty(soft tossing) lefty, and here it comes, hit it if you can (threw pretty hard), and his off-speed pitches looked like they fooled a lot of batters. Can I get an opinion from our Baron fans about how he looked when he got there?

Also, I sure am pulling for Jason Stumm to make it, because from all reports I've read about him, he sure has worked hard to regain prospect status.

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You're kidding, Cotts posts on this board? So do some of the other guys? Heh, that's pretty cool. Who else posts on this board that is "connected" with the team? I think this is the board that I heard about when mentioned as to what site Dave Wills reads.

 

As for prospects, I really have no idea. I felt horrible for Cotts on that Yankee start, as you could see the guy will be a really good pitcher, but that was just a REALLY bad situation for any prospect. Ya just wanted to give him a "noogie" after they pulled him and tell him to hang in there.

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You're kidding, Cotts posts on this board? So do some of the other guys? Heh, that's pretty cool. Who else posts on this board that is "connected" with the team? I think this is the board that I heard about when mentioned as to what site Dave Wills reads.

 

As for prospects, I really have no idea. I felt horrible for Cotts on that Yankee start, as you could see the guy will be a really good pitcher, but that was just a REALLY bad situation for any prospect. Ya just wanted to give him a "noogie" after they pulled him and tell him to hang in there.

Cotts, Jim Bullard, and Bajero(sp) post here for sure, there might be others we don't know about.

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Jason, I agree with your top 5 or Cotts, Pacheco, Honel, Wing and McCarthy.

 

Rupe would have been considered had he still be here. I am just lukewarm on Rauch. Think he may have already had his moment in the sun. s

 

FWIW, I saw Munoz mentioned a lot along with several other relievers, but this was supposed to be starting pitchers. When all else fails, people, read the directions. ;-)

 

Honel and Wing should both be in Birmingham next year. I would think McCarthy would start in Kanny, but you never know. Kanny's staff wasn't strong this year, so there may be an opportunity to skip low A depending on how he does in Instructional League and ST. He also played short season ball for two years. My guess is he would have been in Kannapolis this year if Great Falls wasn't winning and Kanny didn't suck. There is no reason to throw a developing pitcher onto a team that is 30 games under .500 at the end of the year. McCarthy should be intersting to watch. His numbers were very impressive in what appeared to be a league deep with good hitters.

 

 

Either Cotts or Pacheco could break camp with the Sox, but AAA is likely.

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1) Honel - Selling point is how he limited left-handed batters to a sub .190 BAA. Knuckle-curve is supposedly borderline evil (I thought VanBenschoten's was better after looking at both. VanB has a hammer), and I keep hearing how his velo is back around the low 90's. Changeup is developing nicely.

 

2) Cotts - If he can even iron out his control problems, the Sox have found themselves a gem. I don't see why the Sox are teaching him a cutter when he can rarely find the strikezone. From limited action in the bigs, needs to develop his curve more. Changeup is plus.

 

3) Wing - First half was unbelievable, became only "mediocre" in the 2nd half. Misses bats, also has a very good sinking fastball.

 

4) Pacheco - Came out of nowhere a-la Corwin Malone in 2001. Might have some motivational issues, but supposedly has a great arm.

 

5) Diaz - I still like him, a lot. Diaz earns this spot over McCarthy because of age alone. Diaz is 22 and in AAA, McCarthy is 20 and in high rookie ball. Diaz still has an electric arm, but should be getting more K's. Solid year none the less, could be a contender for the #5 spot.

 

Just missed:

McCarthy, Rauch, Tisch.

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Im sure jason would agree with me on this one... HE tried to sleep with Wing on out prospect road trip.

 

Jason, please, no sleeping with the prospects. :nono

 

LOL

ROFL. Wing and Honel will definately be in Bham for the start of the season and for the duration of the season. No matter how good they do I don't see either moving up to AAA nor do I see either going up to the majors (Unless the Sox really really suck). Of course the exception to this is if god forbid one of them gets injured.

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5) Diaz - I still like him, a lot. Diaz earns this spot over McCarthy because of age alone. Diaz is 22 and in AAA, McCarthy is 20 and in high rookie ball. Diaz still has an electric arm, but should be getting more K's. Solid year none the less, could be a contender for the #5 spot.

 

Just missed:

McCarthy, Rauch, Tisch.

My big concern with Diaz is he has this "electric stuff" yet in his stats you don't really see him dominating in any particular area. With the stuff they talk about him having you expect to see him limiting hitters to nothing offensively. In his defense he's playing in a pitchers park and has had his roles flipped around quite a bit.

 

I am hoping to see a breakthrough out of him and I hope the Sox stick him in the rotation and leave him there cause when he was constantly starting in Charlotte he really seemed to get into a groove.

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5) Diaz - I still like him, a lot. Diaz earns this spot over McCarthy because of age alone. Diaz is 22 and in AAA, McCarthy is 20 and in high rookie ball. Diaz still has an electric arm, but should be getting more K's. Solid year none the less, could be a contender for the #5 spot.

 

Just missed:

McCarthy, Rauch, Tisch.

My big concern with Diaz is he has this "electric stuff" yet in his stats you don't really see him dominating in any particular area. With the stuff they talk about him having you expect to see him limiting hitters to nothing offensively. In his defense he's playing in a pitchers park and has had his roles flipped around quite a bit.

 

I am hoping to see a breakthrough out of him and I hope the Sox stick him in the rotation and leave him there cause when he was constantly starting in Charlotte he really seemed to get into a groove.

I will say this about that......

 

It does a guy no favors bouncing him back and forth between the rotation and the pen within a season. Some guys handle it better than others, but it is not easy.

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5) Diaz - I still like him, a lot. Diaz earns this spot over McCarthy because of age alone. Diaz is 22 and in AAA, McCarthy is 20 and in high rookie ball. Diaz still has an electric arm, but should be getting more K's. Solid year none the less, could be a contender for the #5 spot.

 

Just missed:

McCarthy, Rauch, Tisch.

My big concern with Diaz is he has this "electric stuff" yet in his stats you don't really see him dominating in any particular area. With the stuff they talk about him having you expect to see him limiting hitters to nothing offensively. In his defense he's playing in a pitchers park and has had his roles flipped around quite a bit.

 

I am hoping to see a breakthrough out of him and I hope the Sox stick him in the rotation and leave him there cause when he was constantly starting in Charlotte he really seemed to get into a groove.

I will say this about that......

 

It does a guy no favors bouncing him back and forth between the rotation and the pen within a season. Some guys handle it better than others, but it is not easy.

Jim Bullard seemed to handle it ok. Example given.

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