White Sox minor league review

[BigEdWalsh]

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/ar...b&fext=.jsp

 

Pretty good overall review and a nice photo gallery, too.

[southsider2k5]

There is some good stuff in there... They really look at a lot of players.

[NorthSideSox72]

It really looks like the system is finally on the upswing, with some pretty talented guys, particularly at the lower levels. Hopefully they can keep that up the next couple years and make the system more loaded from top to bottom.

 

[Baines3]

There is some good info in there. It has me optimistic for next season. Thanks for posting.

[WHITESOXRANDY]

Did I read the wrong link ? What's the cause for optimism ? The Sox might have 3 or 4 minor leaguers that might develop into decent big leaguers in a few years ?

 

Take a look at some other organizations and the Sox will look baren by comparison. Sorry to bring realism into the discussion.

[fathom]

Thanks Randy, as I was wondering the same thing. Gio and Sweeney were supposed to be our two best prospects (if not top 3) coming into the year, and the reviews for them weren't exactly promising.

[Rowand44]

Thanks Randy, as I was wondering the same thing. Gio and Sweeney were supposed to be our two best prospects (if not top 3) coming into the year, and the reviews for them weren't exactly promising.

Gio was fantastic this year, Sweeney not so much. We don't have much reason for optimism in the upper majors, especially position player wise. There's some talent in the lower minors but obviously those guys are much more likely to bust and they still have a long way to go.

[fathom]

Gio was fantastic this year, Sweeney not so much. We don't have much reason for optimism in the upper majors, especially position player wise. There's some talent in the lower minors but obviously those guys are much more likely to bust and they still have a long way to go.

 

I'm just saying that the review on this site, which was a good read, wasn't very high on Gio. I'm still not sure what to think of him....I've never projected him as more than a #5.

[fathom]

Which team are you working for? You never told me you were a scout?

 

I am also not as high on Gio as some are. I still believe the Sox know something about Gio, what makes him succeed in the minors, and re-acquired him as a sexy trade piece. I will not be surprised in the least to see Gio get dealt.

 

I think we'll keep Gio, and trade Danks. There's not a doubt in my mind that the organization was extremely disappointed with Danks' development over the course of this season.

[NorthSideSox72]

Thanks Randy, as I was wondering the same thing. Gio and Sweeney were supposed to be our two best prospects (if not top 3) coming into the year, and the reviews for them weren't exactly promising.

Small moves, fathom. Small moves. The Sox are a little better off than a year or two ago in the minors, mostly at the lower/younger end - so they are making progress. That is possible, you know.

 

[fathom]

Small moves, fathom. Small moves. The Sox are a little better off than a year or two ago in the minors, mostly at the lower/younger end - so they are making progress. That is possible, you know.

 

I don't think they are making progress. A few years ago, we had a plethora of guys who were projected to be major league outfielders. I've never cared much about minor league depth....it's all about having impact players. DLS is the closest we have to an impact prospect.

[29andPoplar]

I don't think they are making progress. A few years ago, we had a plethora of guys who were projected to be major league outfielders. I've never cared much about minor league depth....it's all about having impact players. DLS is the closest we have to an impact prospect.

 

It's not surprising that you don't think they are making progress, I wonder why that is. Is it because you're conditioned to think negatively, quite possibly yes. You might want to stop listening to Baseball America and your brother who works there and dig a little deeper.

 

Minor league depth lets you do a lot of things. It lets you trade prospects for major league players. I know that concept is a dirty word to many on this site but it can be an effective strategy.

 

This is a system thats been in the dregs the last couple of years and is turning it around. They have a good group of true baseball players at the low levels and that's how you strengthen a farm system. You also bring in new player development people, put more money and effort into international operations, bring in different scouts and more scouts, among other things. Those are all the things that don't show up in Baseball America. Unfortunately they take a while to show up to the average fan who cares about results, and not progress.

 

Small incremental progressive steps (progress) lead to results, I wish things moved faster but it is the reality of development and strengthening a farm system. Williams wanted to get rid of Shafer a few years ago but couldn't present a prevailing case to get the ok. Finally it got done. Note that Shafer wasn't snapped up as a director of scouting ... he got a job as a scout, that's it. That was progress in and of itself. There is so much more to making progress than you realize, things that Baseball America won't tell you.

[fathom]

It's not surprising that you don't think they are making progress, I wonder why that is. Is it because you're conditioned to think negatively, quite possibly yes. You might want to stop listening to Baseball America and your brother who works there and dig a little deeper.

 

Minor league depth lets you do a lot of things. It lets you trade prospects for major league players. I know that concept is a dirty word to many on this site but it can be an effective strategy.

 

This is a system thats been in the dregs the last couple of years and is turning it around. They have a good group of true baseball players at the low levels and that's how you strengthen a farm system. You also bring in new player development people, put more money and effort into international operations, bring in different scouts and more scouts, among other things. Those are all the things that don't show up in Baseball America. Unfortunately they take a while to show up to the average fan who cares about results, and not progress.

 

Small incremental progressive steps (progress) lead to results, I wish things moved faster but it is the reality of development and strengthening a farm system. Williams wanted to get rid of Shafer a few years ago but couldn't present a prevailing case to get the ok. Finally it got done. Note that Shafer wasn't snapped up as a director of scouting ... he got a job as a scout, that's it. That was progress in and of itself. There is so much more to making progress than you realize, things that Baseball America won't tell you.

 

I like DLS more than most on this site, as he has a different skill set than our typical prospect. I still don't think Poreda will be much more than a power lefty reliever. I just have a hard time getting really excited about our minor league system with the horrible development of Ryan Sweeney this year. It's funny, but I was probably the most optimistic person about Josh Fields' ability on this site, even though I heard terrible things about how he looked in the minors earlier this year. I've always liked how the ball jumped off of his bat. This organization needs to start putting a lot more money into it's player development. No more going cheap in the draft and not even thinking about bidding for players from the Dominican, etc.

Edited October 4, 2007 by fathom

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

Sorry to rain on everyone's parade, but they are always gonna find positive things to say. Every system has a few good prospects. That being said, ours is still one of the worst in baseball.

[WHITESOXRANDY]

I'm just wondering what you guys think of this. How many of the other 29 teams would you esimate would be willing to trade their minor league system for the Sox ?

 

 

I'm guessing maybe 1 or 2.

[Balta1701]

I'm just wondering what you guys think of this. How many of the other 29 teams would you esimate would be willing to trade their minor league system for the Sox ?

I'm guessing maybe 1 or 2.

And yet, how many teams out there would trade a bunch to get a performance out of their rookies like what we got from Fields this year, Owens during his 2nd callup, Richar in September, Floyd in September, and so on?

 

Sometimes you don't have to be the best prospect in baseball history to wind up being a useful piece.

[Calderon]

Considering Kyle Kendrick's age and where he started this year, is it crazy to think that if not for the trade, Gio could be starting Game 2 of the NLDS today against the Rockies?

 

[Gene Honda Civic]

Considering Kyle Kendrick's age and where he started this year, is it crazy to think that if not for the trade, Gio could be starting Game 2 of the NLDS today against the Rockies?

His pitching doppleganger (stuff-wise) is starting game 2 for the Rockies.

[Gene Honda Civic]

His pitching doppleganger (stuff-wise) is starting game 2 for the Rockies.

after I type that, he goes and demonstrates their difference... Morales can touch 97, whereas Gio might rarely hit 94.

 

Gio's got a better change though.

[witesoxfan]

after I type that, he goes and demonstrates their difference... Morales can touch 97, whereas Gio might rarely hit 94.

 

Gio's got a better change though.

 

Morales is filthy.

[whitesox61382]

I'm just wondering what you guys think of this. How many of the other 29 teams would you esimate would be willing to trade their minor league system for the Sox ?

I'm guessing maybe 1 or 2.

 

I don't think anyone is claiming that the Sox have one of the top 5 minor league systems in baseball. With that said, the Sox system is certainly heading in the right direction(really only one way to head from the bottom). Last year the Sox minor league systems was one of the 5 worst in baseball(could make an argument that it was the worst). Thanks to some offseason traded(see Gonzalez), breakout years(see Carter, DLS, etc), and what appears to be a very good draft(see Poreda, etc) the Sox minor league system has taken a pretty big step forward and might even be in the 15-20 range overall. So I guess the answer to your question is about 10 teams would probably be willing to trade their minor league system for the Sox.

 

The Sox upper minor league system isn't that strong, but it did produce some positive contributions from prospects like Fields, Owens, and Richar. Furthermore, the Sox have 3 solid looking pitching prospects who appear to be ready to contribute next year(Broadway, Gonzalez, and Egbert) and while none of those guys have ace stuff they have the potential to be solid middle of the rotation starters(Gonzalez having a little higher upside).

 

The Sox lower minor league system is where the strength lies. In fact, I bet only a handful of teams would NOT trade their low A ball AND advanced rookie ball rosters for the Sox. They had a handful of all star potential players have breakout years(Carter, DSL, Shelby) and had a handful of sleepers to keep an eye on(Allen, Sanchez, Marrero, Moreno, Martinez). Plus this years draft was a big success based on early indications. Poreda put up impressive numbers(has no control what level he starts at). Miranda instantly became the Sox best SS prospect(not necessarily saying much). Ely was very impressive(although I am not a huge fan of his). Gallagher, my sleeper for the 2007 draft, put up some guady numbers. Mabee might be a closer of the future with his dominating numbers. Plus you have a handful of talented high school players who just got their feet wet(Griffith and Gilbert).

 

Point being, while the Sox minor league system is average at best right now it is certainly heading in the right direction. If some of these lower minor league players can continue to produce as they progress up the system, than the Sox might be in the top 5 before too long.

[fathom]

I don't think anyone is claiming that the Sox have one of the top 5 minor league systems in baseball. With that said, the Sox system is certainly heading in the right direction(really only one way to head from the bottom). Last year the Sox minor league systems was one of the 5 worst in baseball(could make an argument that it was the worst). Thanks to some offseason traded(see Gonzalez), breakout years(see Carter, DLS, etc), and what appears to be a very good draft(see Poreda, etc) the Sox minor league system has taken a pretty big step forward and might even be in the 15-20 range overall. So I guess the answer to your question is about 10 teams would probably be willing to trade their minor league system for the Sox.

 

The Sox upper minor league system isn't that strong, but it did produce some positive contributions from prospects like Fields, Owens, and Richar. Furthermore, the Sox have 3 solid looking pitching prospects who appear to be ready to contribute next year(Broadway, Gonzalez, and Egbert) and while none of those guys have ace stuff they have the potential to be solid middle of the rotation starters(Gonzalez having a little higher upside).

 

The Sox lower minor league system is where the strength lies. In fact, I bet only a handful of teams would NOT trade their low A ball AND advanced rookie ball rosters for the Sox. They had a handful of all star potential players have breakout years(Carter, DSL, Shelby) and had a handful of sleepers to keep an eye on(Allen, Sanchez, Marrero, Moreno, Martinez). Plus this years draft was a big success based on early indications. Poreda put up impressive numbers(has no control what level he starts at). Miranda instantly became the Sox best SS prospect(not necessarily saying much). Ely was very impressive(although I am not a huge fan of his). Gallagher, my sleeper for the 2007 draft, put up some guady numbers. Mabee might be a closer of the future with his dominating numbers. Plus you have a handful of talented high school players who just got their feet wet(Griffith and Gilbert).

 

Point being, while the Sox minor league system is average at best right now it is certainly heading in the right direction. If some of these lower minor league players can continue to produce as they progress up the system, than the Sox might be in the top 5 before too long.

 

I think people are going to be disappointed then to see where the Sox minor league system is ranked this offseason (and no, that information is not just coming from BA).

[NorthSideSox72]

I think people are going to be disappointed then to see where the Sox minor league system is ranked this offseason (and no, that information is not just coming from BA).

The Sox were what, 27th according to BA last year or something like that? Similar in other lists too - among the bottom 5 or bottom 10. I don't think they'll suddenly jump to 15th, but I'd bet that they'll be more like 20th, instead of 25th. A small step forward.

 

[29andPoplar]

It doesn't matter where these publications rank the farm systems. All those rankings do is give people something to talk about, be optimistic about, complain about, etc.

 

Too many things can happen to these prospects on the way up the ladder, both good and bad.

 

The poster above who said the Sox have a below average system but improving is correct in my opinion, plus it seems by his post he knows a bit about the system judging from his comments.

[winninguglyin83]

our best prospect is battling leadoff for Arizona.

 

I begin with that.

 

i'd rank our system below average, worse than that at the top three levels.

 

I have hopes for Shelby.

 

but let's compare it to a decade ago, when we were producing Carlos Lee and Maggio, a few years after Mike Cameron arrived.

 

Don't see any hitters/outfielders like those guys anywhere in sight.

 

guys like Stumm, Borchard, Hummel, Ring and others have simply been atrocious.