Chris Amador???

[doUrememberwhen]

Is this guy the real deal or do his high-A stats lie? 11sb 8hr and hes only 5'10" 170. When do u minorleagueniks see him being promoted?

[Heads22]

He's gone nuts. He's not really a big-time prospect but he's certainly helping himself.

[Palehosefan]

Hasn't he been in our system since he was 17 years old or so? He never had any power up until this year and honestly never put up good numbers. I had always heard he was a very good fielder, but couldn't produce enough at the plate to keep afloat. Nice to see him finally develop some power this year, somewhat reminds me of Morse's power surge after 4-5 years with us.

[danman31]

Amador was drafted out of HS in 2000, 8th round.

[Palehosefan]

Yep thanks, I was thinking he was from Puerto Rico, I just didn't realise we drafted him from a high school there. He was indeed 17 in his first stint with us. Here is a short blurb from BA about our guys from May 6th that I missed.

 

"

CHICAGO--A legend on the practice fields, where his towering home runs long have attracted attention, outfielder Thomas Collaro is making a name for himself when it counts.

 

Collaro, a 27th-round draft pick in 2001 from Palm Beach (Fla.) Community College, hammered Carolina League pitchers in April. He hit his way onto the high Class A Winston-Salem roster during spring training, skipping the low Class A South Atlantic League, which had appeared his likely destination after spending the last three seasons in Rookie ball.

 

"I'm just feeling comfortable at the plate," Collaro, 22, told the Winston-Salem Journal. "I started spring training feeling good, and I've just been carrying it over from spring training."

 

Farm director Dave Wilder raved about Collaro after instructional league last fall. He worked to shorten the long swing that led to 173 strikeouts in 541 professional at-bats, without sacrificing power in the process.

 

Collaro led the Carolina League with seven homers and 19 RBIs. He owned a .342 average with 23 strikeouts and one walk in 72 at-bats.

 

"Thomas has been swinging the bat real well all year," Warthogs manager Chris Cron said.

 

Collaro's improvement is most evident in his average. He entered the year with a .253 average as a pro but had raised that in each of the previous two seasons. He hit .287-18-66 last season in the Rookie-level Pioneer League.

 

"It's a big swing, and that's why you see strikeouts," Cron said. "That's something we've got to calm down. Believe it or not, it was bigger before. He's shortened it up a little bit and we'll keep working with it. He's off to a good start and instant gratification is good for anybody."

 

CHI-LITES

 

• Collaro wasn't the only fast starter at Winston-Salem. Shortstop Robert Valido, 20, was hitting .329 with two homers in 82 at-bats. Switch-hitting infielder Chris Amador, 22, was hitting .345-7-18 in 58 at-bats in his third year in the Carolina League.

 

• Low Class A Kannapolis lefthanders Ryan Rodriguez, Daniel Haigwood, Gio Gonzalez and Ray Liotta were a combined 9-2. None is older than 22. Gonzalez went 2-1, 1.23 in his first four starts. A supplemental-round pick last year out of high school in Florida, Gonzalez had 38 strikeouts in 22 innings along with a .151 opponent average.

"

[danman31]

• Low Class A Kannapolis lefthanders Ryan Rodriguez, Daniel Haigwood, Gio Gonzalez and Ray Liotta were a combined 9-2. None is older than 22. Gonzalez went 2-1, 1.23 in his first four starts. A supplemental-round pick last year out of high school in Florida, Gonzalez had 38 strikeouts in 22 innings along with a .151 opponent average."

Ryan Rodriguez and Daniel Haigwood back in Kanny? D'oh.

[BB2ZZ]

Amador was drafted out of HS in 2000, 8th round.

 

Collaro is still tearing up the league, three homers the last two nights. A grand slam two nights ago and a 500' shot into the wind last night !!!

The Orioles brought up a guy from high A a couple of weeks ago, has Chicago ever done it ???

[Gene Honda Civic]

Collaro is still tearing up the league, three homers the last two nights. A grand slam two nights ago and a 500' shot into the wind last night !!!

The Orioles brought up a guy from high A a couple of weeks ago, has Chicago ever done it ???

The Orioles brought up Fiorentino out of necessity... They lost their entire starting outfield. I can assure you that we would have to lose much more than our entire starting OF to see Collaro in a WS uni.

[Chisoxfn]

I'll say this, Collaro is making a believer out of me. But Amador would have to rake for a lot longer before I bought into him. Its just so unlike him.

 

Collaro can flat rake though. If we were to do the top 25 today, I assure you he'd be one of the newcomers.

[Palehosefan]

Was it Mike Caruso that we brought up from high A? I thought I remembered someone somewhat recently coming up from high A.

[Chisoxfn]

Was it Mike Caruso that we brought up from high A? I thought I remembered someone somewhat recently coming up from high A.

Ya

[MnSoxFan]

Ya

 

 

Used to do it often with pitchers. Forster, Gossage, Bart Johnson and Radinsky were all promoted very quickly. A reliever named Alvin Jones too I think.

[Chisoxfn]

Now it seems like AA is the place to get promoted from in most instances. Realistically AAA is only for those talented prospects that are being blocked by a quality major leaguer who plays the same position. And for mid-level prospects to show enough to get promoted or gain additional seasoning because while they have the talent they lack some of the necessary skills to have success at the major league level (strike zone judgement, a shorter swing, etc). Its also a way for to ease the transition.

[Randar68]

The Orioles brought up Fiorentino out of necessity... They lost their entire starting outfield.  I can assure you that we would have to lose much more than our entire starting OF to see Collaro in a WS uni.

 

Yep, the Sox have at least 5 guys in AA or higher who could substitute in an emergency. Sweeney, Anderson, Borch, Spidale, Young and Owens.

 

The amazing thing is, every one of those OF'ers could play CF if you needed them to. Owens and Young have done so, Sweeney has done so in the minors, especially the end of last season and looked comfortable, Anderson and Borch obviously, Spidale almost all last season...