Baseball America Top Ten Prospects

[Springfield Soxfan]

Just something to look forward to on Monday as it releases the White Sox top ten prospects.....

Edited January 4, 2010 by Springfield SoxFan

[winninguglyin83]

What will it be?

 

1. Hudson.

 

2. Flowers

 

3. Danks

 

4. Viciedo

 

 

5. Mitchell

 

6. Morel

 

7. Santeliz

 

8. Escobar

 

9. Phegley

 

10. Retherford

[caulfield12]

 

 

I think that Mitchell should be higher, based purely on potential. Plus Danks really struggled the second half of the season, I would agree if that #3 rating was based on April-June.

 

Santeliz? He has a great arm, but middle relievers are also rarely on Top 10 lists.

 

I would pick someone like Trayce Thompson over the likes of Retherford or maybe even Morel. In the end, BA usually doesn't pick "utility" types as top prospects, and because of his size, lack of "plus" defensive ability and lack of home run power to play the corners and range/athletic ability to play up the middle, Retherford might become a starter for the Pirates or Royals, but never in Chicago.

 

I know Retherford and Morel both have a lot of backers, we'll just have to wait and see...I was a huge Viciedo fan coming into last season and I'm going to stick with him for at LEAST one more year before I draw any conclusions about where he ends up defensively and whether he can hit 25-35 homers in the majors.

 

 

[Ozzie Ball]

What will it be?

 

1. Hudson.

 

2. Flowers

 

3. Danks

 

4. Viciedo

 

 

5. Mitchell

 

6. Morel

 

7. Santeliz

 

8. Escobar

 

9. Phegley

 

10. Retherford

Given some of the things that Rogers has written I would expect Morel to be ahead of Viciedo. I expect Miguel Gonzalez to be in the top 10. Mitchell will probably be higher also, maybe 3rd.

This would be my guess:

Hudson

Flowers

Mitchell

Morel

Danks

Viciedo

Santeliz

M. Gonzalez

Retherford

Santos Rodriguez

 

Not sure about that last spot. John Ely was probably a lock before he was traded.

[Ozzie Ball]

Well here's the list:

1. Jared Mitchell, of

2. Tyler Flowers, c

3. Dan Hudson, rhp

4. Brent Morel, 3b

5. Jordan Danks, of

6. Trayce Thompson, of

7. Dayan Viciedo, 3b

8. David Holmberg, lhp

9. Clevelan Santeliz, rhp

10. Miguel Gonzalez, c

[CWSOX45]

I've seen Holmberg pitch. I think the kid has a ton of upside. When I saw him he could effectively locate all three of his pitches. He knows how to pitch, and he's extremely aggressive and goes right at guys. Granted his fastball didn't crack above 89 when I saw him, but he did a great job mixing his pitches and keeping guys off balance. All the positive signs you want to see with a young pitcher. As long as he can continue to throw his curve and change for strikes I really think this kid will be higher up on our top prospect list in the future.

[Ozzie Ball]

I've seen Holmberg pitch. I think the kid has a ton of upside. When I saw him he could effectively locate all three of his pitches. He knows how to pitch, and he's extremely aggressive and goes right at guys. Granted his fastball didn't crack above 89 when I saw him, but he did a great job mixing his pitches and keeping guys off balance. All the positive signs you want to see with a young pitcher. As long as he can continue to throw his curve and change for strikes I really think this kid will be higher up on our top prospect list in the future.

I liked the pick a lot. While he may not have the upside of some other high school pitcher from the '09 draft like a Madison Younginer, Keyvius Sampson or a Bryan Mitchell, he does have a great feel for pitching and is probably a much better bet than those guys of becoming a Major League contributor. The lack of velocity is a big concern however, off the top of my head I can't think of too many pitcher who broke into the Majors with a sub-90 mph fastball.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

Well here's the list:

1. Jared Mitchell, of

2. Tyler Flowers, c

3. Dan Hudson, rhp

4. Brent Morel, 3b

5. Jordan Danks, of

6. Trayce Thompson, of

7. Dayan Viciedo, 3b

8. David Holmberg, lhp

9. Clevelan Santeliz, rhp

10. Miguel Gonzalez, c

Viciedo continues to be underrated.

 

I understand ranking Mitchell so high off upside and specifically walks + power from a premium position, but which numbers are more impressive, a line of .280/.317/.391/.708 from a 20-year-old in AA, or a line of .296/.417/.435/.852 from a 20-year-old in A-? I'm sure Viciedo could have torn up Kannapolis too. And again, because of upside I have no problem with Mitchell being #1 because he does have the higher ceiling, but if ceiling is the most important part, then why in the hell is Brent Morel ranked ahead of Viciedo AGAIN??? Hell, why is Morel even ahead of Miguel Gonzalez who put up an .888 OPS as an 18-year-old C in Bristol? And, most importantly, why the f*** is Morel just one notch below Dan Hudson?

 

We need to trade this guy. Morel is a nice prospect, but he put up a .281/.335/.453/.788 line as a 22-year-old in Winston-Salem, which is very good but certainly not great, plus he's not exactly a toolbox, and on top of that, he plays a power position where the offensive standards in the Major Leagues basically start with his W-S production. I get that because of his defense he is one of the safer bets we have to make the majors, but if you're making a top-10 list of "safe bets" then Jared Mitchell isn't even on there and Hudson is #1. If ceiling is the main issue I have no idea how Morel outranks all these other guys, and if it's production + ceiling + age for level then I still have no idea how Morel outranks these other guys.

[NorthSideSox72]

Well here's the list:

1. Jared Mitchell, of

2. Tyler Flowers, c

3. Dan Hudson, rhp

4. Brent Morel, 3b

5. Jordan Danks, of

6. Trayce Thompson, of

7. Dayan Viciedo, 3b

8. David Holmberg, lhp

9. Clevelan Santeliz, rhp

10. Miguel Gonzalez, c

Mitchell has great tools, and has advanced some of them to actual skills, but he's still got a ways to go to prove he's a ballplayer. He's got to be after the 2 through 5 on that list, IMO.

 

And while I like Gonzalez, I think putting him in the top 10 might be a stretch at this point.

 

[Ozzie Ball]

Mitchell has great tools, and has advanced some of them to actual skills, but he's still got a ways to go to prove he's a ballplayer. He's got to be after the 2 through 5 on that list, IMO.

 

And while I like Gonzalez, I think putting him in the top 10 might be a stretch at this point.

I don't think Mitchell should be ranked ahead of Hudson/Flowers but I have no problems with him at 3rd. Morel's upside is questionable and Danks still has a long way to go himself.

 

The Gonzalez writeup was very promising. Basically Rogers says that they have him on the fast track (whether righty or wrongly), he's good both offensively and defensively, with a plus arm and he should add more power as he fills out.

[NorthSideSox72]

I don't think Mitchell should be ranked ahead of Hudson/Flowers but I have no problems with him at 3rd. Morel's upside is questionable and Danks still has a long way to go himself.

 

The Gonzalez writeup was very promising. Basically Rogers says that they have him on the fast track (whether righty or wrongly), he's good both offensively and defensively, with a plus arm and he should add more power as he fills out.

That's great to hear on Gonzalez. Is the actual article linked somewhere, or is it behind a subscription wall?

 

[NorthSideSox72]

NVM, I found the free article. Linky.

 

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Looks like Rogers is taking questions in Chat right now.

 

[bmags]

I don't really get this, with the way rogers writes, I feel like this is them just trying to guess the white sox "board", not going off their own preferences.

[Ozzie Ball]

Not a lot to note from the chat except from this:

Big Dave (AR): Can you give an update on Jose Martinez? He sounded pretty exciting, but then got injured and I haven't heard much of anything about him lately.

 

 

Phil Rogers: Good question. He's still a Top 30 based on his all-around ceiling as a center fielder -- and he's still young -- but a bad knee injury cost him about a year and a half. He is supposed to be ready to go in spring training. He probably needs to start back at Kannapolis, so he's got a long, long way to go. This will be a big season. But guys I respect say not to forget about him.

[ThunderBolt]

Pretty solid list. I see the argument on tools alone for Mitchell being #1 and i always love to see my boy Holmberg getting some love.

[danman31]

The lack of velocity is a big concern however, off the top of my head I can't think of too many pitcher who broke into the Majors with a sub-90 mph fastball.

Yeah, that's currently what is keeping me (and probably others) from having Holmberg up higher, but a lot of publications have him in the top 10. Still, that's probably more a function of our system not being deep than Holmberg being a great prospect.

 

Viciedo continues to be underrated.

 

I understand ranking Mitchell so high off upside and specifically walks + power from a premium position, but which numbers are more impressive, a line of .280/.317/.391/.708 from a 20-year-old in AA, or a line of .296/.417/.435/.852 from a 20-year-old in A-? I'm sure Viciedo could have torn up Kannapolis too. And again, because of upside I have no problem with Mitchell being #1 because he does have the higher ceiling, but if ceiling is the most important part, then why in the hell is Brent Morel ranked ahead of Viciedo AGAIN??? Hell, why is Morel even ahead of Miguel Gonzalez who put up an .888 OPS as an 18-year-old C in Bristol? And, most importantly, why the f*** is Morel just one notch below Dan Hudson?

 

We need to trade this guy. Morel is a nice prospect, but he put up a .281/.335/.453/.788 line as a 22-year-old in Winston-Salem, which is very good but certainly not great, plus he's not exactly a toolbox, and on top of that, he plays a power position where the offensive standards in the Major Leagues basically start with his W-S production. I get that because of his defense he is one of the safer bets we have to make the majors, but if you're making a top-10 list of "safe bets" then Jared Mitchell isn't even on there and Hudson is #1. If ceiling is the main issue I have no idea how Morel outranks all these other guys, and if it's production + ceiling + age for level then I still have no idea how Morel outranks these other guys.

This is a rarity, but I agree with everything you said. BA's rankings surprised me a bit, but I guess that shouldn't surprise me. Morel is getting way too much love across the board, but solid defense at 3rd is probably making scouts love him.

 

Also, I really liked that 2013 projected roster for once. It assumes no trades as they all do, but there's a lot of prospects I like there. Flowers needs to pan out, one of Morel/Viciedo needs to pan out and at least one of Mitchell/Danks needs to pan out. It's not earth shattering, but it's the best BA projection that has me excited about the future.

[Jordan4life_2007]

I hope we hang on to Mitchell. I've learned over the years never to get too attached to a prospect with KW as GM. But Mitchell's upside is tantalizing. I also liked the read on Miguel Gonzalez. He should be a fun player to track this year.

[Princess Dye]

I feel like people who have long wanted KW to hang onto the top prospects are going to get their wish this year.

 

Reason being the lack of backup plans for Freddy....the finishing up of AJP's contract.... and also I personally dont see Andruw Jones having been brought here to not play.

 

Plus beyond that, DH is a hole that can be filled cheaply and creatively.

 

 

 

At the very least I think we'll hold onto our guys til the trade deadline.

Edited January 5, 2010 by Princess Dye

[Springfield Soxfan]

I hope we hang on to Mitchell. I've learned over the years never to get too attached to a prospect with KW as GM. But Mitchell's upside is tantalizing. I also liked the read on Miguel Gonzalez. He should be a fun player to track this year.

I agree, we need to keep Mitchell for the long term, a guy with this much upside and speed, I hope KW does not get tempted for someone. How long has it been since we have had two catchers in our top 10. Always fun and a lot of debate.

[Quin]

We need to trade this guy. Morel is a nice prospect, but he put up a .281/.335/.453/.788 line as a 22-year-old in Winston-Salem, which is very good but certainly not great, plus he's not exactly a toolbox, and on top of that, he plays a power position where the offensive standards in the Major Leagues basically start with his W-S production. I get that because of his defense he is one of the safer bets we have to make the majors, but if you're making a top-10 list of "safe bets" then Jared Mitchell isn't even on there and Hudson is #1. If ceiling is the main issue I have no idea how Morel outranks all these other guys, and if it's production + ceiling + age for level then I still have no idea how Morel outranks these other guys.

 

I'd agree with , as I also think Morel is a good prospect, but no where near as good as Viciedo.

 

At least the future is looking bright, because we either keep these players and see how they pan out, or we trade them for some MLB level players.

[Balta1701]

I agree, we need to keep Mitchell for the long term, a guy with this much upside and speed, I hope KW does not get tempted for someone. How long has it been since we have had two catchers in our top 10. Always fun and a lot of debate.

IMO, if Mitchell stays this highly ranked next year, the odds are he's going to be gone. Yes, he has really great potential, but there's also a high enough bust potential on him (at least for now since he's still quite raw) that if KW sees he has a top 20 prospect that can be the centerpiece of a deal, he'll use it that way.

[harfman77]

IMO, if Mitchell stays this highly ranked next year, the odds are he's going to be gone. Yes, he has really great potential, but there's also a high enough bust potential on him (at least for now since he's still quite raw) that if KW sees he has a top 20 prospect that can be the centerpiece of a deal, he'll use it that way.

 

I would normally agree, but as much trouble as KW has had trying to acquire someone in the mold of Mitchell that he is not going to part ways with him and start over again.

 

I agree with the list, I think that Morels floor is high enough that it moves him up on the list, Viciendo has yet to show that he can put up the offensive numbers to warrant a CI position. Once he does that consistently he will skyrocket up the list.