Sox top 5 'spects

[southsider2k5]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/87858-c...spects-for-2009

 

Chicago White Sox 2009 Top-Five Prospects

 

1. Gordon Beckham, 2B/SS, 9/16/1986

 

A poor 2007 season left the White Sox with the seventh pick in the 2008 draft and they used it to select Beckham, an offensive-minded middle infielder out of the University of Georgia.

 

Beckham had a fine professional debut. For Low-A Kannapolis, he hit .310/.365/.500 in 58 at bats and followed that up with a .394/.468/.652 line in 66 AB while playing in the Arizona Fall League.

 

Beckham is expected to be a quick mover. The most optimistic estimates have him appearing in Chicago in mid-2009. The more cautious pundits expect Beckham to debut in 2010.

 

Beckham was drafted as a shortstop, but it's debatable if he stays there long term. Others see him eventually moving to second base—with Alexei Ramirez, Chicago's second baseman last season, playing shortstop.

 

Beckham has the potential to be an impact player in the majors and is seen as a relatively low-risk prospect, but one with a relatively high ceiling.

 

2. Aaron Poreda, LHP, 10/1/1986

 

Lefthanders who can consistently reach the mid-to-upper 90's usually don't fall to the 25th pick in the draft, but that's what happened to Poreda in 2007.

 

Poreda, who was raw for a college product, has a great fastball, but lacks secondary stuff and some believe his ultimate role will be out of the bullpen.

 

The 6'6" lefty split last season between High-A Winston-Salem and AA-Birmingham. He made 27 starts and threw 161 innings, allowing 148 hits and 40 walks. He struck out 118.

 

Poreda spent time in the Arizona Fall League and appeared in 10 games—all out of the bullpen. He didn't allow a run in eight of those games, but coughed up eight runs in the other two games.

 

The bullpen stint in the AFL could suggest the White Sox are rethinking Poreda's role and a move to the pen would get him to the majors faster.

 

Incumbent big-league closer Bobby Jenks is reportedly on the trade block, so this is a situation worth watching in the coming months.

 

Regardless of his role, Poreda should be in the majors by the middle of the 2010 season. If he's coming out of the bullpen, he could appear in 2009.

 

3. Dayan Viciedo, 3B, 3/10/1989

 

Viciedo defected from Cuba earlier this year and has agreed to a five-year major league deal with Chicago. The deal is believed to be worth $11 million.

 

Viciedo's presence gives Chicago three Cuban born players—the other two being Jose Contreras and Ramirez.

 

Viciedo is regarded as one of the top prospects in Cuba and hit .337 with 14 homers as a 16-year-old playing at the top level in the country.

 

There's a belief that he could begin next season at the hot corner for Chicago.

 

Last year's starter, Joe Crede, won't be back. Josh Fields, formerly one of the better prospects in the organization, has seemingly fallen out of favor. Wilson Betemit, acquired in the trade that sent Nick Swisher to the Yankees, could be an option at third as well.

 

Viciedo could also end up in right field. His body has gotten bigger over the years and a move to the outfield might be necessary.

 

Jermaine Dye has been Chicago's right fielder for the last several seasons and his name has been thrown around in trade talks this winter.

 

Viciedo's agent Jaime Torres said in a recent Chicago Sun-Times article that "scouts have told me that there's no reason that he shouldn't be hitting 35-40 home runs a year."

 

4. Brandon Allen, 1B, 2/12/1986

 

Allen has been slow to develop since being drafted out of high school in 2004, but he's come on in the last couple years.

 

A hulking presence at 6'2" and 235 pounds, Allen had a breakout season in 2008, spending time with Winston-Salem and Birmingham.

 

In 472 at bats, he ripped 32 doubles and clubbed 29 homers while hitting a combined .278 with 60 walks and 124 K.

 

For a big man, he showed surprising speed, legging out six triples and going 17-for-21 in stolen base attempts.

 

He's shown an improving eye at the plate—in 44 fewer AB in 2008, he drew 21 more walks than he did in 2007 and he played in higher levels last year.

 

Allen will likely spend 2009 with AAA-Charlotte and could be an option at 1B/DH in 2010.

 

Paul Konerko and Jim Thome currently man those spots—the former being signed through 2010 and the latter through 2009.

 

5. Chris Getz, 2B, 8/30/1983

 

Getz was drafted in the fifth round in the 2005 draft and has little left to prove in the minors.

 

Getz spent all of last season with Charlotte and hit .306 with a line of .366/.448/.814. He collected 36 extra base hits and went 11-for-15 in stolen base attempts.

 

He made his big league debut in August and collected a pair of hits in seven at bats the rest of the way.

 

His best asset is his strike zone discipline. He struck out just 53 times last year and only 142 times in 1,428 career minor league AB. Last year was the first time he ended a season with more strikeouts (53) than walks (41).

 

With Ramirez moving to short, Getz might challenge Betemit and Jayson Nix for the second base job. He could end up being a stop gap until Beckham is ready.

 

Getz isn't a big upside guy, but should be at least a long term utility guy.

[ThunderBolt]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/87858-c...spects-for-2009

Hmmm.. i like Chris Getz a lot, but i'm not sure he's in the fave 5

[RockRaines]

Viciedo could also end up in right field. His body has gotten bigger over the years and a move to the outfield might be necessary.

 

 

Right....from all that Cuban league action that you have seen......

 

When will people stop saying this crap, when its simply not true. You mean he has grown from age 16 to 19? Holy s***!!! Put him in the OF before he fills up the infield!!!!

 

 

And I would rank Danks ahead of Getz

[Balta1701]

Hmmm.. i like Chris Getz a lot, but i'm not sure he's in the fave 5

Not with D2: the Mighty Danks in that system.

[Palehosefan]

That's the best top 4 prospects I can remember us having.

[Chisoxfn]

Flowers would immediately jump in as the #4 prospect for me with Danks being a close 5th (I'd flip them, but FLowers has proven more at this point). Lillbridge would top Getz by one spot (Getz being more of a sure thing, but Lillbridge having more upside). Our system is really improving quickly, imo, and we still are going to end up moving Dye.

[daa84]

Flowers would immediately jump in as the #4 prospect for me with Danks being a close 5th (I'd flip them, but FLowers has proven more at this point). Lillbridge would top Getz by one spot (Getz being more of a sure thing, but Lillbridge having more upside). Our system is really improving quickly, imo, and we still are going to end up moving Dye.

flowers is boderline top prospect for me...he's right there with beckham IMO....guys with his power and plate discipline like his are rare....

[DukeNukeEm]

1. Beckham

2. Viciedo

3. Lillibridge

4. Flowers

5. Poreda

 

is that where it is now?

[Balta1701]

1. Beckham

2. Viciedo

3. Lillibridge

4. Flowers

5. Poreda

 

is that where it is now?

After their respective seasons last year, I thinkyou have lillibridge way too high, and Poreda's probably still 2-3.

[BearSox]

In my opinion:

 

1. Beckham - He was the 8th overall pick in a draft of what, over 5,000 players? I think that says a lot.

2. Poreda - Hated this pick at first, but it's tough not to like lefties with high 90's velocity with sink!

3. Viciedo - For a guy I have never seen before, this is a bit of a reach. However, he's 19 and we gave him such a big contract because the talent must be there.

4. Flowers - Bit old for A Ball (will likely start in AA), but then again he raked in the AFL, which is loaded with talent.

5. Danks - Has the talent, now lets see him put it together.

6. Getz - Probably one of the best, if not the best, true ball player we have in the organization.

7. Allen - Ton of power potential and he has only been getting better.

8. Shelby - Very similar to Allen, except he's got speed and might turn out to be a solid defender in the OF.

9. Lillibridge - Has potential, but at the very least should be a solid utility/platoon player.

10. Hudson - I liked this guy since we drafted him, dominated at rookie ball, and by this time next year, I could see him being in our top 3 prospects.

[DukeNukeEm]

thats way too low for Lillibridge, coming into the year he was a borderline top 50 prospect and he got bounced around between AAA and MLB quite a bit.

[BearSox]

I have never really been a fan of Lillibridge's, and while he does have potential, I see him being a utility/platoon player.

[Jordan4life_2007]

It's so nice to want to follow the farm again. 2006/2007 was REALLY rough. We've got a chance to really stock the system come June.

[BearSox]

I guess Gilmore and Rodriguez, if the reports are indeed correct, could be possibilities for the top 10.

 

We gotta get futuresox back up to speed!

Edited December 3, 2008 by BearSox

[scenario]

If today's trade happens with the players suggested...

 

Our farm system is going to be looking pretty d*** good next season.

 

 

[BearSox]

Not to mention potentially 5 draft picks in the top 100.

[SoxFan1]

If I were to guess, we'll have 4 prospects in the top 50. Beckham, Viciedo, Flowers, and Poreda. My top 10:

 

1.) Beckham

2.) Poreda

3.) Viciedo

4.) Flowers

5.) Danks

6.) Lillibridge

7.) Allen

8.) Getz

9.) Shelby

10.) Gilmore

[scenario]

If I were to guess, we'll have 4 prospects in the top 50. Beckham, Viciedo, Flowers, and Poreda. My top 10:

 

1.) Beckham

2.) Poreda

3.) Viciedo

4.) Flowers

5.) Danks

6.) Lillibridge

7.) Allen

8.) Getz

9.) Shelby

10.) Gilmore

 

The most impressive part of that... only 1 pitcher. And we have some pretty good pitching talent in the system.

 

When was the last time we had 9 position players good enough to qualify among our top 10 prospects.

 

 

[DukeNukeEm]

If I were to guess, we'll have 4 prospects in the top 50. Beckham, Viciedo, Flowers, and Poreda. My top 10:

 

1.) Beckham

2.) Poreda

3.) Viciedo

4.) Flowers

5.) Danks

6.) Lillibridge

7.) Allen

8.) Getz

9.) Shelby

10.) Gilmore

This seems about right minus the top 4. I just dont think Poreda is a top 50 prospect while Viciedo, Beckham and Flowers probably are.

[scenario]

This seems about right minus the top 4. I just dont think Poreda is a top 50 prospect while Viciedo, Beckham and Flowers probably are.

 

But... Poreda was picked as one of the top 20 players in the AFL... and one of the top 2 left-handed pitchers.

 

So... I think he'd have a decent shot at making a top 50 list.

[dasox24]

The most impressive part of that... only 1 pitcher. And we have some pretty good pitching talent in the system.

 

When was the last time we had 9 position players good enough to qualify among our top 10 prospects.

Hell, I've been seriously following the minor leagues for about 8 years now (I know that's not much, but I'm only 20, lol), and not in that time...

 

I'm so pumped about our re-vamped farm system. Can't wait to see this Vazquez deal become official tomorrow.

[caulfield12]

Even more impressive is the list of names fighting to get on the list.

 

Clayton Richard

Link, who some consider to be our future closer.

Russell, who was once a Top 10 Sox prospect, close to Top 5.

Nix (not sure if he'd qualify anyway)

Marquez

Broadway

McCulloch

Nunez

maybe Gilmore

Santos

Egbert

Hudson

Carter

Rodriguez

Cole Armstrong

M. Gartrell

 

Not sure if I agree about Shelby being close to the equivalent of Allen. I think Shelby's kind of like a "tweener" in basketball...good athlete, no one superior defensive position but good power and speed combo, maybe or may not be a starter but could make it as a utility guy for sure, like a more powerful Willie Harris that can play multiple infield and outfield positions in a pinch.

 

Seems we've gone from last in the majors to somewhere in the 12-18 category now in the big leagues....nice improvement. There is an obvious dearth of starting pitching prospects, kind of like the reverse of the late 90's depth charts with tons of young pitching and only Rowand and Crede in the pipeline.

 

 

Edited December 3, 2008 by caulfield12

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Even more impressive is the list of names fighting to get on the list.

 

Clayton Richard

Link, who some consider to be our future closer.

Russell, who was once a Top 10 Sox prospect, close to Top 5.

Nix (not sure if he'd qualify anyway)

Marquez

Broadway

McCulloch

Nunez

maybe Gilmore

Santos

Egbert

Hudson

Carter

Rodriguez

Cole Armstrong

M. Gartrell

 

And then there are guys who are coming back from injury or are still very young such as Harrell, Ely, Silverio, Jose Martinez, and Escobar

 

Our farm system all of a sudden seems to have players with potential all over the place now.

 

[daa84]

Karl (Chicago): If you were ranking the White Sox farm system today, would any of the new arrivals crack the top 10? If so, where would they fit?

 

SportsNation Jim Callis: (2:16 PM ET ) I think we're going to put Flowers at No. 4 behind Beckham, Viciedo and Poreda. Lillibridge may jump in ahead of Getz. Gilmore and Rodriguez will be in the 11-30 range.

[chunk23]

And then there are guys who are coming back from injury or are still very young such as Harrell, Ely, Silverio, Jose Martinez, and Escobar

 

Our farm system all of a sudden seems to have players with potential all over the place now.

 

You didn't get the memo. Silverio is a bum and a result of Wilder's corruption. He won't amount to anything.