CSF Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 Sweeney moving to top of Sox's prospect list Sweeney moving to top of Sox's prospect list March 16, 2004 TEMPE, Ariz. -- Ryan Sweeney dug into the batter's box, his 6 feet 4 inches in a powerful, upright stance. The first fastball he saw from Bartolo Colon was a good one, barely missing the strike zone. Sweeney took it for ball one. The next one came in on the inside part of the plate, seemingly destined to break Sweeney's bat if he swung. He not only made good contact but also somehow pulled the ball toward the right-field corner. It one-hopped the Tempe Diablo Stadium, allowing him to cruise into second base with a double. Two pitches, two bases. Pretty impressive for any major leaguer facing an intimidator like Colon for the first time. But this wasn't any hitter. It was a 19-year-old who at this time a year ago was attending Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This was no fluke either. "I'd just as soon see him come up against a right-handed pitcher as anybody we have," White Sox hitting coach Greg Walker said before Tuesday's 9-7 loss to Anaheim. Sweeney, who was the 52nd pick overall in last year's draft, is baseball's newest phenom. Roland Hemond, the Sox's resident sage, practically gets misty-eyed talking about Sweeney's sweet swing from the left side of the plate. He laments that if his sister had not passed away in December then he could show off Sweeney for her like he once did another young Sox slugger. That would be Harold Baines, he of 2,866 career hits. "I probably shouldn't put that on the kid but it's true," Hemond said. "I'm getting goose bumps just talking about him. It was the same way with Harold." Because the Sox brought only seven outfielders to camp, then lost Joe Borchard to a strained quadriceps and released Marvin Benard, Sweeney is getting an unexpected opportunity. He has responded in a way rarely seen by someone with so little experience, hitting .333 with three doubles in 21 at-bats. It's almost as if no one told him these are big leaguers pitching. In Sweeney's first game, he had a single, stole a base and from right field threw out a runner who was trying to go first to third. His confidence has seemed to grow. Against Kansas City, he worked left-hander Jeremy Affeldt for a walk, fouling off several two-strike pitches, and then got a hit. He looked so good at the plate in a game against San Diego that Bruce Bochy pulled Brian Lawrence and brought in a lefty reliever to face him. Playing the Cubs last Saturday, and knowing full well that friends and family would be watching the telecast on WGN, he collected hits off Carlos Zambrano and LaTroy Hawkins. "My parents were watching on TV and they said it was wild," Sweeney said. "The phone was ringing off the hook. Guys I played with in high school were calling and saying they couldn't believe it." Even though he has seen Sweeney for a few weeks, Walker sounds as if he's having a hard time believing it. "Where do you want me to start?" he said. "He's a physically talented guy, a mechanically sound guy and he has ice water in his veins." Jeremy Reed came to Arizona as the White Sox's outfield prospect on the fast track. He is 22, had been a star player at Long Beach State and hit .373 in his first full season as a pro. Some expected him to challenge for a job this spring, which would be his first in a big-league camp. But Sweeney has outplayed Reed, who is hitting .130, as well as Brian Anderson, the power-hitting University of Arizona center fielder who was the Sox's first-round pick last June. Walker says Reed isn't quite 100 percent physically (he hurt his wrist playing for Team USA in December) and may have put too much pressure on himself. He says Anderson has been impressive, as was Borchard before trainers decided to be careful with his minor injury. But it's Sweeney who is stealing the show. A two-way star in Iowa—his left-handed fastball clocked around 90 m.p.h.—he was disappointed to slide into the second round in the draft. He had committed to play for Tony Gwynn at San Diego State but took $785,000 to sign with the Sox. Sweeney knows his days with the varsity are numbered. He's going to head to the minor-league camp soon. He's on the roster with low-A Kannapolis but some in the organization fear he'll be pitched around too much there. They believe he could hold his own, even at Double-A Birmingham. So, it seems, does this kid, only one year removed from his prom. "I don't think I've surprised myself," Sweeney said. "I worked hard in the off-season. I wanted to come here ready." Mission accomplished. Email: PRogers@tribune.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 What a great column on Sweeney. The kid's only 19. Let him beef up a bit, and all those two-baggers will be dingers. I usually don't get real excited about prospects, but this kid is an exception. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 I've got no doubts, if he doesn't have any injuries he'll be in Birmingham by the end of the season, and I think he'll be playin with the White Sox by 2006. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan4life_2007 Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 This is just amazing to me...All these quality OF prospects we have right now...Reed, Sweeney, Anderson, and Borchard. We have got to have the most top flight OF prospects in the minor leagues right now. Hell, if just 2 of them become productive major league players i'll be happy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 This is just amazing to me...All these quality OF prospects we have right now...Reed, Sweeney, Anderson, and Borchard. We have got to have the most top flight OF prospects in the minor leagues right now. Hell, if just 2 of them become productive major league players i'll be happy... Gives us sumthin we can deal from as well. We can easily trade a Borchard say for a Hanarran type of pitching prospect, or as part of a bigger deal. The Sox will go afta a lot of pitching in this year's draft, and prob draft sum infielders, and mayb even a catcher in the early rounds. Don't forget Clint King too, he was our 3rd round pick in last year's draft. And imagine if we still had Anthony Webster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan4life_2007 Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 Gives us sumthin we can deal from as well. We can easily trade a Borchard say for a Hanarran type of pitching prospect, or as part of a bigger deal. The Sox will go afta a lot of pitching in this year's draft, and prob draft sum infielders, and mayb even a catcher in the early rounds. Don't forget Clint King too, he was our 3rd round pick in last year's draft. And imagine if we still had Anthony Webster. OMG...I totally forgot about Webster. We gave him up in the Everett deal, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 OMG...I totally forgot about Webster. We gave him up in the Everett deal, right? Yeah along with Josh Rupe who I remember Jason said we would really regret in giving up. Also there was 1 other minor - league pitcher included in the deal too I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan4life_2007 Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 Yeah along with Josh Rupe who I remember Jason said we would really regret in giving up. Also there was 1 other minor - league pitcher included in the deal too I think. Yeah..But i'm cool with it..We tried to make a run at a division title and we had to give up something. I love what we have now though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 LET THE HYPE BEGIN!!!! (who gets to be first to say that Sweeney will never amount to anything?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elrockinMT Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 LET THE HYPE BEGIN!!!! (who gets to be first to say that Sweeney will never amount to anything?) He won't amount to anything in a Sox uniform if we trade him. How's that? I hope we don't go out there on some panic mode shopping spree and end up losing top prospects to get a pitcher, that we might not need. I don't care who the prospects are either. We have traded several of them in the last couple of seasons and have little to show for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafacosta Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 He won't amount to anything in a Sox uniform if we trade him. How's that? I hope we don't go out there on some panic mode shopping spree and end up losing top prospects to get a pitcher, that we might not need. I don't care who the prospects are either. We have traded several of them in the last couple of seasons and have little to show for it. We have a lot of OFs(Sweeney, Reed, Borchard, Anderson, Gload). IMO, i would offer to the Dodgers, PK and Borchard (i think he wont get in the standard we put him), for Odalis Perez. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxAce Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 What a great column on Sweeney. The kid's only 19. Let him beef up a bit, and all those two-baggers will be dingers. I usually don't get real excited about prospects, but this kid is an exception. He is going to be a real stud for us. I think he can be the Miguel Cabrera for us as far as reaching the majors at a very young age. He has proved that he can handle major league pitching and I'm sure he can perform at an exceeded level as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 He is going to be a real stud for us. I think he can be the Miguel Cabrera for us as far as reaching the majors at a very young age. He has proved that he can handle major league pitching and I'm sure he can perform at an exceeded level as well. The thing is, we don't know yet. I think Sweeney will be damn good, but then, I've bought into the hype on other prospects over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillieHarris2 Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 He is going to be a real stud for us. I think he can be the Miguel Cabrera for us as far as reaching the majors at a very young age. He has proved that he can handle major league pitching and I'm sure he can perform at an exceeded level as well. Hope fully this guy can be the next cabrera. he seemed to show signs of not fearing major league pitchers like colon who are pretty indimitating. cabrera last year in the world series stepped up and jacked a bomb opposite field off of clemens in right field. pretty good comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxAce Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 The thing is, we don't know yet. I think Sweeney will be damn good, but then, I've bought into the hype on other prospects over the years. True. I'm saying at the rate he's hitting now, he will be good in the majors. Not too many hyped prospects can hit major league pitching like he did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 True. I'm saying at the rate he's hitting now, he will be good in the majors. Not too many hyped prospects can hit major league pitching like he did. You know, it looks very promising. But then, Colon and the others are in spring training. Some guys are working on pitches, some guys still haven't found their groove yet. Plus, they are hitting in Arizona and we all know how that can skew results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxAce Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 Hopefully that will boost his confidence more and more. Colon can be intimidating to a young hitter. But Sweeney was very calm at the plate. I think that can be very good for this organization if he becomes a star. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elrockinMT Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 We have a lot of OFs(Sweeney, Reed, Borchard, Anderson, Gload). IMO, i would offer to the Dodgers, PK and Borchard (i think he wont get in the standard we put him), for Odalis Perez. Rafacosta, old buddy, it's going to be a great season. Glad that we are all back for '04. However, I think you are giving up way to much in the way of PK and Borchard for Perez who only has one less than mediocre season behind him. In fact I think PK for Perez is too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 Yeah along with Josh Rupe who I remember Jason said we would really regret in giving up. Also there was 1 other minor - league pitcher included in the deal too I think. I think Frank Francisco was the other player we gave up. Not sure how Webster is doing, but Rupe put up good numbers with the Rangers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafacosta Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 Rafacosta, old buddy, it's going to be a great season. Glad that we are all back for '04. However, I think you are giving up way to much in the way of PK and Borchard for Perez who only has one less than mediocre season behind him. In fact I think PK for Perez is too much. Yeah, i have realized it. If the Angels wants Borchard for Washburn...it would be dumb to give Bo and PK for Perez. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 Eastern Iowa...represent! : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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