White Sox minor league review

[whitesox61382]

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.

 

Let me start by saying that Carter has a long way to go, but it is interesting that you brought up the names of Lee and Ordonez because they were at the exact same level as Carter at this point in their careers.

 

Lee age 20 at low A ball: .313/8/70 .772

Ordonez age 20 at low A ball: .294/11/69 .784

Carter age 20 at low A ball: .291/25/93 .905

 

It is worth noting that Ordonez struggled after this season hitting .238 in high A ball and .263 in AA the following year before having a breakout year in AAA(.329/14/90 .840 OPS) - most people didn't get excited about Maggs until his season at AAA. Lee was very consistent and hit at each level through the minors - scouts/Sox thought pretty highly of his bat from day 1.

 

I am not suggesting that Carter will develop into an Ordonez or Lee, but at this stage he is probably ahead of them in development. From an average standpoint he is comparable to Ordonez and only slightly worse than Lee. From a power standpoint he is significantly better at this stage(which is the reason why scouts and people who follow the minors are excited about Carter). He also drew quite a few more walks than Lee and Ordonez at this point in their careers. He did strikeout more as well(one of the few concerns). Point being, Carter is certainly a guy to watch and someone to get excited about. He still has a long way to go and consistency through the minors is very important, but the early results from Carter are extremely promising. If Carter produces another year like this past season, than he will almost certainly be a top 100 prospect.

 

I also think DLS is a guy to get excited about as well. He has the combination of ace type stuff with production to match his skill. Like Carter, if he has another dominating season next year he will also find himself of the top 100 prospects list.

 

I also mentioned a handful of other sleepers to keep an eye on as they progress. Most of them were a little old for the level that they were at so you need to be careful comparing their stats, but they are certainly worth watching closely.

 

Overall, I would rank the system around 20th overall(give or take 1-2 spots).

 

 

[RockRaines]

our best prospect is battling leadoff for Arizona.

178 games .237 .295 .467 .763 32 hr 68 rbi 85 runs 29 2B

100 games .244 .308 .480 .788 23 hr 67 RBI 54 runs 17 2B

 

One of them is batting lead off for AZ. The other played 3B and LF for us this year

[Gregory Pratt]

178 games .237 .295 .467 .763 32 hr 68 rbi 85 runs 29 2B

100 games .244 .308 .480 .788 23 hr 67 RBI 54 runs 17 2B

 

One of them is batting lead off for AZ. The other played 3B and LF for us this year

 

It's a good point, and well-made. I don't know who I like better going into the future. Probably Young, since he can play D and I don't have doubts about him + inside fastballs, but I like Fields a lot, too.

[SoxAce]

178 games .237 .295 .467 .763 32 hr 68 rbi 85 runs 29 2B

100 games .244 .308 .480 .788 23 hr 67 RBI 54 runs 17 2B

 

One of them is batting lead off for AZ. The other played 3B and LF for us this year

 

I've said this over and over again. Of all the sox prospects that have come to the show, Josh Fields is the most excited I've ever been for a prospect comming out of our minor league organization. IMO, he has potential star in this league when he gets more experience up in the show and just get better every year (hopefully he doesn't let down next season) I've always liked his potential.

[witesoxfan]

I'd take Chris Young over Fields, simply because I think he'll be the better all-around player while having similar power. I invision Young being about a .900 OPS guy with the speed to steal 30 or more bases while playing pretty rangy defense in CF, which is far harder to fill than LF or 3B. On the other hand, I could easily see Fields turning into a 40 homer guy (on the extreme, somewhere between Adam Dunn and Ryan Howard, likely with fewer walks; it's also unrealistic to expect that type of production out of a second year player, so it may take some time).

 

All in all, those are probably the shining stars of the past 3-5 years, which sucks when Young is in a different uniform.

[DBAHO]

I've said this over and over again. Of all the sox prospects that have come to the show, Josh Fields is the most excited I've ever been for a prospect comming out of our minor league organization. IMO, he has potential star in this league when he gets more experience up in the show and just get better every year (hopefully he doesn't let down next season) I've always liked his potential.

Yeah he's pretty much been the "main" position player prospect who's come up and made an impact for the Sox over the past 5 seasons.

 

And that's probably my main "beef" with how our minor league system / drafting / talent evaluation etc. is run by the Sox hierachy.

 

It's all well and good to try and lood up on good young pitching, because yeah, it's very valuable. I mean just look at the contracts the likes of Gil Meche, Ted Lilly got in the off-season.

 

But in the past draft, we took 7 pitchers in a row IIRC. And at least those guys had better stuff, more power arsenals than your McCullough's and your Broadway's (the Duane Shaffer prototype prospect). But in my mind, with an aging roster of position players, the Sox need to either trade for some young hitters such as a Chin - Lung Hu who can contribute, or at least draft some earlier on in the next draft.

 

Chris Carter looks like he could become a very good player 1 day based on his progress this season and his overall tools. I think Shelby could become a major league regular possibly, while the likes of Miranda and Getz could be future bench players. But other than that, the cupboard looks pretty bare. It's an area that REALLY needs addressing.

 

And for the Sox to do this, and it is fixable, get those damn good prospects from the Dominican Republic. We need to find ways to get good young players from other avenues than the draft. Get every single possible advantage you can get to bring the best players you can into the system. Problem is, all of the other teams have basically picked up on this as well.

[RockRaines]

I'd take Chris Young over Fields, simply because I think he'll be the better all-around player while having similar power. I invision Young being about a .900 OPS guy with the speed to steal 30 or more bases while playing pretty rangy defense in CF, which is far harder to fill than LF or 3B. On the other hand, I could easily see Fields turning into a 40 homer guy (on the extreme, somewhere between Adam Dunn and Ryan Howard, likely with fewer walks; it's also unrealistic to expect that type of production out of a second year player, so it may take some time).

 

All in all, those are probably the shining stars of the past 3-5 years, which sucks when Young is in a different uniform.

I honestly think that all around Young may only be better because he is superior in the field, although Josh has the potential to be a VERY good LF'er once he learns it. He has a great arm and is very athletic. Offensively I think Josh will continue to be superior to Young.

[CWSGuy406]

I honestly think that all around Young may only be better because he is superior in the field, although Josh has the potential to be a VERY good LF'er once he learns it. He has a great arm and is very athletic. Offensively I think Josh will continue to be superior to Young.

 

Not to nitpick, but being a very good LFer isn't even close to comparable to being a very good CFer. Being very good in LF is like being the world's tallest midget. UZR isn't a perfect defensive stat but it had the BEST defensive LFer in all of baseball as a below average (minus) defender (if that makes any sense). The average OPS for a LFer is about .800 while for a CFer it's ~.750. So if Young and Fields put up equal OPS' -- which seems pretty reasonable, give or take -- Young's OPS is more valuable. Taking into account baserunning -- not just stolen bases but ability to go from first to third, first to home, second to home etc -- Young becomes much more valuable.

[gosox41]

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.

 

 

There's pretty muc no where to go but up.

 

 

 

Bob