BA League-Specific Top 20 reports

[NorthSideSox72]

Appy League is the first one to show up that the Sox have an affiliate for. They placed 3 of the Top 20:

 

6. David Holmberg, lhp, Bristol (White Sox)

11. Trayce Thompson, of, Bristol (White Sox)

15. Santos Rodriguez, lhp, Bristol (White Sox)

 

Here are the detailed reports on each:

 

6. David Holmberg, lhp, Bristol (White Sox)

B-T: R-L Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 220 Age: 18 Drafted: White Sox '09 (2)

 

The sixth prep lefty taken in the 2009 draft, Holmberg went to the White Sox in the second round. Brought along slowly as a pro, he won his final two starts for Bristol because they were the first two in which he completed five innings.

 

Six-foot-4 and a bit soft-bodied, Holmberg has room to grow stronger and improve upon his present high-80s velocity. He sits at 86-88 mph and touches 90 from a straight overhand delivery, which aids him in getting good plane to the plate.

 

Quick hand speed enables Holmberg to spin quality 12-to-6 curveballs with above-average break and depth. He mixes in a plus changeup and throws an occasional slider. His secondary stuff and precocious feel for locating his pitches and for changing speeds marks him as a future mid-rotation candidate, particularly if he adds a few ticks to his fastball.

 

 

11. Trayce Thompson, of, Bristol (White Sox)

B-T: R-R Ht.: 6-3 Wt.: 195 Age: 18 Drafted: White Sox '09 (2)

 

Though his average plummeted to .188 after he finished the season in an 0-for-18 skid, Thompson's athletic bloodlines were obvious. His father Mychal, a 6-foot-10 center, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft and spent 12 years in the league. The younger Thompson, a second-round pick in June, excited Appy League observers with raw physicality (he's 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds), tremendous bat speed and big-time power potential.

 

As evidenced by Thompson's zero home runs, four walks and 33 strikeouts, those tools didn't translate into immediate results. Scouts questioned his baseball instincts as an amateur, and he struggled to identify and hit breaking balls with his long swing.

 

Thompson did earn high marks for his intensity level, plus arm strength and above-average speed. In time, he could become an asset in center field.

 

 

15. Santos Rodriguez, lhp, Bristol (White Sox)

B-T: L-L Ht.: 6-5 Wt.: 185 Age: 21 Signed: Dominican Republic '06 (Braves)

 

The White Sox acquired Rodriguez and three other prospects when they traded Javier Vazquez to the Braves in December 2008. Though Chicago intended to try Rodriguez in the rotation, they instead assigned the 21-year-old to Bristol and kept him in a relief role, marking the third straight season in which he worked in a Rookie ball bullpen. He worked four scoreless innings with eight strikeouts at low Class A Kannapolis after the Appy season ended.

 

Rodriguez features a plus-plus fastball during most outings, topping out at 97 mph and sitting at 95 with late movement. The pitch features incredible plane by virtue of his 6-foot-5 height, and Appy Leaguers struggled to lift the pitch, going homerless during his 27 innings. He throws a changeup with above-average arm speed that neutralizes righthanders.

 

Despite his arm strength, Rodriguez still walks too many batters to rank as a surefire relief prospect, though his control improved as the season progressed. He also doesn't have a usable breaking ball at this point, as his slider doesn't consistently show enough tilt to be graded even as fringe-average.

[NorthSideSox72]

No Brady Shoemaker.

 

[Ozzie Ball]

A decent amount of Sox related questions in the chat:

 

Joe LeCates (Easton, MD): Matt, I saw a report the other day identifying some similarities at the plate between Thompson and Mike Stanton. While that is intriguing to say the least, Thompson is obviously much more raw. That being said, how much of a project is he going to be in terms of learning to hit advanced pitching - what is a realistic expectation for his career path?

 

 

Matthew Eddy: Trayce Thompson is that rare player who won over league managers despite not really hitting a lick. You can see the potential in his frame and with his bat speed and his grace in the outfield. But in reality, he could be facing another assignment with Bristol next year to iron out his pitch recognition.

 

Ben (Leland Grove): Which of the names on this list do you see rising through the minors the quickest, and why?

 

 

Matthew Eddy: Have to give the nod to older players and relievers, so how about SS Mycal Jones (he'll be 23 next season) and LH reliever Santos Rodriguez (assuming his control gains are for real).

 

Jeff (England): Did Miguel Gonzalez get any consideration for this list? His numbers were very impressive especially for an 18 year old.

 

 

Matthew Eddy: Formally the domain of Puerto Rico, catchers from Venezuela now seem to be on the upsurge. (A Venezuelan vanguard?) Gonzalez, who signed in '08, is only one recent example. Others include the Yankees' Jesus Montero (a catcher for now), the Royals' Salvador Perez, the Blue Jays' Carlos Perez and two others who ranked in yesterday's AZL list. As to Gonzalez, he sowed an ability to drive the ball to all fields with average power potential. That's all you can ask for from an offensive standpoint. He's got a thick lower half already, so staying behind the plate will be his ticket to promotion.

 

Fred (Ohio): What do scouts think of outfielder Brady Shoemaker. He certainly had a great start to his career.

 

 

Matthew Eddy: Shoemaker has good hitter's hands and an idea of the strike zone, but as a righthanded-hitting left fielder who was old for the league, he's going to have to prove himself at every stop. For more on Shoemaker (and two Danville Braves who missed the cut), follow the link posted in Scott Shumaker question.

 

Paul (Chicago): I noticed Brady Shoemaker jumped from rookie to AAA...how often does this happen..will he be back down in High A or AA next year..numbers in AAA werent that good?

 

 

Matthew Eddy: This happened with a few Rookie-ball players, especially if their club was a short-ish drive to the Triple-A affiliate. The reason: the World Cup teams ransacked Triple-A rosters for players to fill out their rosters.

PJ (Waukeegan, IL): Is Santos Rodriguez going to be a future Lefty force out of bullpen? Is he an inning guy or situational type?

 

 

Matthew Eddy: In a perfect world, his changeup would be enough to let him stay in versus righthanded batters.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Encouraging stuff from Rodriguez. Definitely a promising return we got for Vazquez

[NorthSideSox72]

So we have 3 of the Top 20 in that league, plus a guy who just missed the cut (Shoemaker), and another guy who sounds like he has good potential (M Gonzalez). Pretty nice to see.

 

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

I'm so happy to read that about Santos Rodriguez. When we got him I could have sworn I read that he could touch 100, but then I saw someone else in another thread say he's only low-90's. Then I did another search and found nothing saying he threw above low-90's. I'm very glad BA has cleared this all up and I would have ranked him higher if I'd known for sure he had that kind of arm.

[False Alarm]

yeah, the velocity issue's all cleared up. BA's velocity reports have always been really trustworthy.

[NorthSideSox72]

Pioneer League is in - No Sox.

 

I thought Ciolli had a shot at it, maybe Colligan too, but I guess not. Wickswat is interesting on that team, so is Buch but his control hot him.

 

Next league up with Sox players in it would be the SAL, for Kannapolis, and I'd think we'll see some names pop up there... Jared Mitchell for one, and then a bunch of pitchers maybe.

 

[danman31]

Someone asked about there being no Voyagers on the list and the response was that Colligan was discussed, but Collop was the closest. It's not a big surprise because GF has the older draft talent and this year the top picks went to Bristol or Kanny.

[NorthSideSox72]

Someone asked about there being no Voyagers on the list and the response was that Colligan was discussed, but Collop was the closest. It's not a big surprise because GF has the older draft talent and this year the top picks went to Bristol or Kanny.

Ciolli not discussed? That kind of surprises me. But yeah, didn't figure GF to make a big dent.

 

[knightni]

With his size and pitch speed, would the Sox consider trying to make Rodriguez a starter?

[NorthSideSox72]

Someone asked about there being no Voyagers on the list and the response was that Colligan was discussed, but Collop was the closest. It's not a big surprise because GF has the older draft talent and this year the top picks went to Bristol or Kanny.

Any other GF quips in the chat?

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Also, here are the dates they will release the lists for other leagues we have teams in...

 

South Atlantic League October 2

Carolina League October 6

Southern League October 8

International League October 13

 

And might have some names worth watching, since we have gotten some players from them recently...

 

Independent Leagues October 15

 

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

Also, here are the dates they will release the lists for other leagues we have teams in...

 

South Atlantic League October 2

Carolina League October 6

Southern League October 8

International League October 13

 

And might have some names worth watching, since we have gotten some players from them recently...

 

Independent Leagues October 15

It would be funny if Hudson ranked in all of those.

[danman31]

Any other GF quips in the chat?

No. That was it.

[ThunderBolt]

I predict a nice season for Holmberg next year. If he really does refine his approach he'll be a staple in the White Sox top ten prospects lists for a couple years to come

[maggsmaggs]

Sally League Top 20 is out now. Mitchell ranks 8th and Dex Carter ranks 15th. I don't have a BA subscription anymore, but anyone care to post just the Mitchell blurb. Really looking forward to seeing the AA list.

Edited October 2, 2009 by maggsmaggs

[NorthSideSox72]

Sally League Top 20 is out now. Mitchell ranks 9th and Dex Carter ranks 15th. I don't have a BA subscription anymore, but anyone care to post just the Mitchell blurb. Really looking forward to seeing the AA list.

Dex Carter?

 

I thought Bellamy would make it, possibly Nathan Jones (may be considered High A though). And I thought Remenowsky SHOULD make it, but wouldn't.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Also, if anyone has a subscription and might be in chat, I'd love to hear about their reaction on the people I listed above.

 

Maybe I should just subscribe. How much is it?

 

[SoxAce]

And I thought Remenowsky SHOULD make it, but wouldn't.

 

Age might have hurt him.

[NorthSideSox72]

Age might have hurt him.

Yeah, he's older, and you are probably right. I personally don't agree though - I am a big believer in what I'd call playing age, not calendar age, especially when you get down to talking about a guy being 21 versus 22 versus 23. Remenowsky played briefly in 2008 after signing, this was his first pro season, and he turned 23 during it so he's not exactly old for A-ball, just a little older than what you'd consider ideal (maybe a year at most).

 

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Also, if anyone has a subscription and might be in chat, I'd love to hear about their reaction on the people I listed above.

 

Maybe I should just subscribe. How much is it?

 

It's not cheap. It's like 60-70 bucks I think. I almost registered once but figured I could fidn enough of what I wanted for free.

 

I wonder where Hudson will be mentioned? He made most of his appearances at W-S right? Cuz he ought to be mentioned somewhere.

[NorthSideSox72]

It's not cheap. It's like 60-70 bucks I think. I almost registered once but figured I could fidn enough of what I wanted for free.

 

I wonder where Hudson will be mentioned? He made most of his appearances at W-S right? Cuz he ought to be mentioned somewhere.

I was wondering too, but since he's on the major league club, they may not mention him at all.

 

[daa84]

8. Jared Mitchell, of, Kannapolis (White Sox)

Age: 20. B-T: L-L. Ht.: 6-0. Wt.: 195. Drafted: Louisiana State, 2009 (1st round).

There aren't any Sally League players who are more accustomed to playing in front of a big crowd with lots of noise than Mitchell. The 2009 College World Series MVP, he also was a backup wide receiver on Louisiana State's football team. Used to being under the spotlight, he doesn't get rattled by much of anything, and certainly didn't during his stay with Kannapolis.

 

The best college athlete in the 2009 draft, Mitchell is an exciting player with incredible raw speed. He has been clocked from home plate to third base in 10.3 seconds. His lone below-average tool is his arm. As a former football player who hadn't focused exclusively on baseball, he has surprisingly good baseball instincts, especially in the outfield.

 

"It looks like he's covering ground in milliseconds," Kannapolis manager Ernie Young said. "He takes control in center field like he's been playing professionally for a while."

 

At the plate, Mitchell has gap-to-gap power and could develop into a home run threat as he grows into his solid frame. He also can hit for average and has good patience.

 

AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG

115 13

34 12 2 0 10 23 40

5

3 .296

.417 .435

15. Dexter Carter, rhp, Kannapolis (White Sox)

Age: 22 B-T: R-R Ht.: 6-6 Wt.: 195 Drafted: White Sox '08 (13)

Carter didn't have much success at Old Dominion because of control problems, but he led the Rookie-level Pioneer League in ERA (2.23) in his pro debut and ranked first in the SAL in strikeouts (143 in 118 innings) before the White Sox included him in the Jake Peavy trade with the Padres.

 

Carter sits at 90-92 mph with his fastball and can touch the mid-90s, putting a little something extra on his heater when he needs to. Managers rated his sharp 76-80 mph curveball as the best breaking ball in the league, and he's willing to throw it in any count. He also mixes in a 78-80 mph changeup, mostly against lefthanders, and he has experimented with different grips and velocities on the pitch.

 

Because he's 6-foot-6, Carter looks like he's on top of hitters when he releases the ball. He pitches on a straight line to the plate with little wasted motion.

 

G GS W L SV ERA IP H R ER HR BB SO AVG

19

19 6 2 0 3.13

118

103 44

41 9 32 143

.236

[ChiSox_Sonix]

I was wondering too, but since he's on the major league club, they may not mention him at all.

 

Nah, I'd highly doubt they pass over the guys just b/c they got a September call up. Esp since Dex Carter gets mentioned in the Sally League write up despite getting traded