Arizona Fall League

[Quin]

I feel bad for Phegley.

 

Mitchell is doing fine considering the rust.

[Balta1701]

I think, if anything, this just goes to show how raw Mitchell is. He's probably a top 3 talent in the system, but he spent a lot of time on football in college and is incredibly underdeveloped as a baseball player. You have to assume he starts next year in A-ball, probably in W-S, and if he shows enough there, then you can promote him to BHam midseason, and it honestly might not be a bad idea to put him back in Kanny.

I'll put a real strong bet that they start him in B-Ham next year. It's totally their M.O. the last few years. Extremely aggressive with promotions.

[maggsmaggs]

As long as he's getting healthy, I really don't give a crap what he does in the AFL.

Definitely agree. As long as he is on the field and doing OK that's all we need.

[witesoxfan]

I'll put a real strong bet that they start him in B-Ham next year. It's totally their M.O. the last few years. Extremely aggressive with promotions.

 

I have no doubt they will either, and look at how well that's worked out in the past.

 

They need to take it slow with Mitchell. There's no rush for him to get to the majors. The Sox have Rios for another 3-4 years, Quentin for another 2-3 years, Teahen for another 2-3 years, and stopgap outfielders can be found pretty readily. Let him get the proper development. Tentatively plan for a September call-up in 2012, and for him to come up midseason 2013 if needed. If he proves that he's ready to be a Curtis Granderson clone before then, then he should be welcomed aboard, but he absolutely has to cut back on his strikeouts.

 

 

[Balta1701]

I have no doubt they will either, and look at how well that's worked out in the past.

 

They need to take it slow with Mitchell. There's no rush for him to get to the majors. The Sox have Rios for another 3-4 years, Quentin for another 2-3 years, Teahen for another 2-3 years, and stopgap outfielders can be found pretty readily. Let him get the proper development. Tentatively plan for a September call-up in 2012, and for him to come up midseason 2013 if needed. If he proves that he's ready to be a Curtis Granderson clone before then, then he should be welcomed aboard, but he absolutely has to cut back on his strikeouts.

You failed to note one key point...the Sox have a scheduled 2012 opening in LF for an OF, assuming no one is signed this offseason. Not to mention the obvious need to move Quentin to DH if he's even still there (if he performs below this level at all next year he becomes a non-tender candidate). There's still a 5% chance that D2 could step up and grab that, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if they were thinking of a Mitchell CF, Rios RF, someone else OF for 2012.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

You failed to note one key point...the Sox have a scheduled 2012 opening in LF for an OF, assuming no one is signed this offseason. Not to mention the obvious need to move Quentin to DH if he's even still there (if he performs below this level at all next year he becomes a non-tender candidate). There's still a 5% chance that D2 could step up and grab that, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if they were thinking of a Mitchell CF, Rios RF, someone else OF for 2012.

 

Where did Juan Pierre run off to?

[witesoxfan]

You failed to note one key point...the Sox have a scheduled 2012 opening in LF for an OF, assuming no one is signed this offseason. Not to mention the obvious need to move Quentin to DH if he's even still there (if he performs below this level at all next year he becomes a non-tender candidate). There's still a 5% chance that D2 could step up and grab that, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if they were thinking of a Mitchell CF, Rios RF, someone else OF for 2012.

 

I knew about the opening in LF, which is why I mentioned that stopgap outfielders are readily available. It's also entirely possible that Mitchell will struggle this coming year, especially if they throw him right into Birmingham's lineup...would you want a player up put up a .700 OPS in AA starting in LF on Opening Day in 2012? His numbers in low-A look awfully similar to Jordan Danks' numbers in high-A, and Jordan has been a complete flop up to this point. I'm not sure you can even use the wrist injury as a reason/excuse, considering he's over a year removed from it and Mitchell had an injury of his own too which could easily affect his speed, which was one of his biggest tools.

 

To count on anything from Mitchell before 2013 is far fetched in my mind.

 

Where did Juan Pierre run off to?

 

Free agency.

[scenario]

Ugh. That poor kid, that just really sucks.

 

I have a good friend with ITP. She really struggled to get it under control during the first year. In fact, it was life threatening. Then it seemed to go into 'remission'. There have been years since she was diagnosed where it had zero impact on her... just like it had gone away. But then out of nowhere it reappears and requires treatment again. This cycle has repeated itself a couple of times. Doctors told her it's likely to be a life-long issue she will have to monitor.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Free agency.

 

Oh, just realized it says 2012, my bad.

[southsider2k5]

As long as he's getting healthy, I really don't give a crap what he does in the AFL.

 

No joke. Way too much time is wasted micro-observing prospects. It isn't about what they do on an individual game basis most of the time, especially in the case of Mitchell. All that kid needs to do is run around, swing a bat, and get some feeling and confidence back for next year.

[flavum]

Mitchell 0-4. Had an assist.

 

Anthony Carter doing well. 3 appearances. 3 innings. No hits. No walks. 7 K's.

[WHITESOXRANDY]

I have no doubt they will either, and look at how well that's worked out in the past.

 

They need to take it slow with Mitchell. There's no rush for him to get to the majors. The Sox have Rios for another 3-4 years, Quentin for another 2-3 years, Teahen for another 2-3 years, and stopgap outfielders can be found pretty readily. Let him get the proper development. Tentatively plan for a September call-up in 2012, and for him to come up midseason 2013 if needed. If he proves that he's ready to be a Curtis Granderson clone before then, then he should be welcomed aboard, but he absolutely has to cut back on his strikeouts.

 

Yeah, I'm sure they'll take it slow. It's almost a guarantee that he will be Pierre's replacement. He will see the first pitch of the Sox 2012 season.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Yeah, I'm sure they'll take it slow. It's almost a guarantee that he will be Pierre's replacement. He will see the first pitch of the Sox 2012 season.

 

That's not really taking it slow. 2011 will basically be his first year trying to work his way through our system.

[witesoxfan]

Yeah, I'm sure they'll take it slow. It's almost a guarantee that he will be Pierre's replacement. He will see the first pitch of the Sox 2012 season.

 

And he'd strike out too, the first of 100 before July.

[Jerksticks]

0 for his last 15 with a BB. I like it. Nothing like getting totally humbled to make a man work harder

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Escobar hit another HR yesterday and now leads the AFL with 3.

[DirtySox]

Phil Rogers is terrible but he mentioned Mitchell (and EE) in today's article:

 

 

3. Reports from the Arizona Fall League on rehabbing White Sox prospect Jared Mitchell are mixed, at best. He has been healthy enough to play, which is the best sign, but the torn tendon in his ankle does appear to be impacting his play. Through Tuesday he was batting .184 in 11 games, and had struck out in 11 of his 38 at-bats. Any impact on Mitchell's speed is a bad thing, as the ability to get on base and create havoc made him projectable as a leadoff man, but he has shown that speed only once so far, on a triple. He's 0-for-1 on stolen-base attempts. Shortstop Eduardo Escobar, on the other hand, is looking great in the AFL. He's a switch hitter with strong fielding skills and he's hitting .333 with three homers in 12 games.

 

 

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/...g-mitchell.html

[witesoxfan]

Phil Rogers is terrible but he mentioned Mitchell (and EE) in today's article:

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/...g-mitchell.html

 

So how does he figure that the injury is causing him to struggle as opposed to him simply being overmatched? The highest level Mitchell has played at is low-A ball, and even there he still struck out a ton.

 

I think people assuming Mitchell to be an advanced player because he was a 1st round pick a year and a half a go, but he is simply not that far along. Getting Mitchell into the AFL was a good thing because, first and foremost, he needed to get on the field again, but also because it allows him to face upper level prospects and begin to figure out his weaknesses. This is good, because he is a very talented player and doing anything you can to make him better is good. However, at the end of the day, I still don't think he is that far along, and that he should start in W-S next season.

[danman31]

He would have been fairly far along if he didn't miss 2010. You can call him raw now, but he went straight to Kannapolis and did decently right after the draft.

[Chisoxfn]

How about not playing in a whole s***load of time could be a reason why he is rusty? If you are telling me he isn't running fast, than say so, but that shouldn't be impacting his average for the most part (outside of legging out a couple infield singles).

 

The reason he isn't hitting for an average probably has a lot to do with rust and a bit to do with the fact that he's going up against more experienced competition at times.

[Harry Chappas]

He is facing guys that have for the most part just played a whole season and he would probably be a little over matched if he played the whole year as well.

 

 

[southsider2k5]

How about not playing in a whole s***load of time could be a reason why he is rusty? If you are telling me he isn't running fast, than say so, but that shouldn't be impacting his average for the most part (outside of legging out a couple infield singles).

 

The reason he isn't hitting for an average probably has a lot to do with rust and a bit to do with the fact that he's going up against more experienced competition at times.

 

That's what I would tend to believe.

[flavum]

http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?si...pddwin_peswin_1

 

Mercy rule in the AFL, I guess.

 

Escobar with a good game. Mitchell got a hit.

[Balta1701]

Lilnk

Jared Mitchell has a message for White Sox fans concerned whether he can rebound from a season-ending left ankle injury last March.

 

"I haven't lost any speed," Mitchell said Thursday from the Arizona Fall League. "Everything will be fine. Right now my focus is getting at-bats, getting a chance to play and getting acclimated to the game again."

 

With left fielder Juan Pierre under contract for one more season, there is no rush for Mitchell — yet. Because he lost all of 2010 to a tendon tear on the inside of his right ankle, Mitchell hopes that playing now for the Peoria Saguaros will allow him to catch up on his development. A strong 2011 in the minor leagues could put him in line to take over for Pierre as the Sox's leadoff batter.

 

Mitchell, however, admitted he probably won't be fully recovered from the injury until the start of spring training because of scar tissue.

 

"(Making) turns are pretty good," said Mitchell, who hit a soft single to left field and ran casually to third on a bad-hop single in the seventh inning of Peoria's 15-1 victory over Phoenix. "The only thing that bothers me a little bit is making a left-hand turn. I get a little bit of pain on the outside of my ankle. It's just working through that. It's getting better every day."

[Quin]

Lilnk

 

 

Also, Escobar developing int a nice chip right here (Let's face it, with Alexei/Gordon/Morel, there's little room for Escobar on the MLB roster in a few years barring a trade).