Post-draft top 5 prospects

[Jake]

Anderson was listed on Bristol's roster last time I checked, guess that changed.

 

I relayed the Anderson, Barnum to Kanny info to Twitter and it got favorited/retweeted by Tim. Probably means baseballnick was correct

Edited June 18, 2013 by Jake

[NorthSideSox72]

According to Tim Hayes, a sports reporter in the Bristol area, Tim Anderson is indeed playing at Bristol, but not for long. Apparently a planned, short time there.

 

Barnum I didn't know about, that's interesting.

 

[BaseballNick]

Why are they sending Barnum just now?

 

Barnum had a fractured wrist and had been dealing with a strained knee according to Mark Gonzales.

[harfman77]

My list:

 

1. Courtney Hawkins - Huge power, tremendous athlete, refined approach after injury has him headed the right direction

2. Trayce Thompson - Great athlete, good power, still has a pretty high ceiling

3. Erik Johnson - Strike thrower, 4 major league pitches, ceiling is probably middle of the rotation, but has a high floor

4. Josh Phlegley - Major league backup as a floor, scouts have always liked his bat but have had questions if he can stay behind the plate

5. Carlos Sanchez - Solid track record playing above his level, could be a solid #2 hitter

6. Tim Anderson - Good athlete, tremendous speed, hit tool is a question mark

7. Keon Barnum - Good power potential, injury issues may stunt his development

8. Chris Beck - Major league floor, middle of the rotation ceiling, needs to refine control

9. Tyler Danish - Great stuff, ceiling is a top of the rotation type

10. Trey Michalczewski - Troy Glaus comp with power from both sides and a strong enough arm to stick at third

[Y2Jimmy0]

According to Tim Hayes, a sports reporter in the Bristol area, Tim Anderson is indeed playing at Bristol, but not for long. Apparently a planned, short time there.

 

Barnum I didn't know about, that's interesting.

 

 

Tim Anderson confirmed to FutureSox on twitter that he is indeed starting in Kannapolis.

[Chicago White Sox]

I've noticed people are really down on Keenyn Walker.

 

I know he sucked in his first two months in AA, which shouldn't be too surprising given that he only got 143 ABs in A+ last year, but he's starting to play very well in June. So far he's got a .300 AVG & .407 OBP on the month. The power is pretty much non-existant, but he does make up for some of that with stolen bases. He turns 23 in August, so he could start next year in AA and still be age appropriate. I definitely wouldn't write him off yet.

[Balta1701]

I've noticed people are really down on Keenyn Walker.

 

I know he sucked in his first two months in AA, which shouldn't be too surprising given that he only got 143 ABs in A+ last year, but he's starting to play very well in June. So far he's got a .300 AVG & .407 OBP on the month. The power is pretty much non-existant, but he does make up for some of that with stolen bases. He turns 23 in August, so he could start next year in AA and still be age appropriate. I definitely wouldn't write him off yet.

Who has written him off/been down on him? He's not a top 10 prospect right now but everything you've said is true. He's somewhere in the 10-20 range probably.

[Chicago White Sox]

Who has written him off/been down on him? He's not a top 10 prospect right now but everything you've said is true. He's somewhere in the 10-20 range probably.

Maybe writing him off wasn't the right choice of words, but I believe people are undervaluing him. IMO, he is still a top 10 prospect. I'm not going to let an aggressive assignment this year and injuries last year affect my perception of him. He has all the tools and skills needed to become a solid leadoff hitter at the major league level. Whether or not he can keep his K rate low enough in the future like he has been able to in June will ultimately determine his fate. I do think his ceiling is high enough to warrannt a top 10 spot in our system though.

[Jake]

Maybe writing him off wasn't the right choice of words, but I believe people are undervaluing him. IMO, he is still a top 10 prospect. I'm not going to let an aggressive assignment this year and injuries last year affect my perception of him. He has all the tools and skills needed to become a solid leadoff hitter at the major league level. Whether or not he can keep his K rate low enough in the future like he has been able to in June will ultimately determine his fate. I do think his ceiling is high enough to warrannt a top 10 spot in our system though.

 

I disagree that his ceiling is especially high. Low power, high strikeouts means he has to be an elite defender and basestealer which will be hard to quantify and still not be exceptionally valuable. He will be hard pressed to be as valuable as Alejandro De Aza.

 

I still like him, but he is not really a high ceiling player IMO.

[Soxfest]

I've noticed people are really down on Keenyn Walker.

 

I know he sucked in his first two months in AA, which shouldn't be too surprising given that he only got 143 ABs in A+ last year, but he's starting to play very well in June. So far he's got a .300 AVG & .407 OBP on the month. The power is pretty much non-existant, but he does make up for some of that with stolen bases. He turns 23 in August, so he could start next year in AA and still be age appropriate. I definitely wouldn't write him off yet.

Mitchell and Walker neither one top 10 prospects at this point just more in the long line of wasted first round picks.

Edited June 18, 2013 by Soxfest

[Balta1701]

Mitchell and Walker neither one top 10 prospects at this point just more in the long line of wasted first round picks.

Walker was not a first round pick, he was a sandwich pick. He's not top 10 right now because other people have hit well and the draft just happened...he could well finish this season as a borderline top 10 guy if he has a couple good months.

[Chicago White Sox]

I disagree that his ceiling is especially high. Low power, high strikeouts means he has to be an elite defender and basestealer which will be hard to quantify and still not be exceptionally valuable. He will be hard pressed to be as valuable as Alejandro De Aza.

 

I still like him, but he is not really a high ceiling player IMO.

What do you think his ceiling is? 4th OF? If so, he shouldn't even be considered a top 20 prospect.

[NorthSideSox72]

Tim Anderson confirmed to FutureSox on twitter that he is indeed starting in Kannapolis.

 

Yes I know. I'm the one that asked him.

 

[caulfield12]

Any hitter who has the projected ability to hit 20+ homers has to be the priority right now.

 

Hawkins, Thompson, Barnum, you simply can't win with a "small ball" approach at USCF.

 

The likes of Walker and Sanchez are complementary players, although Sanchez has a decent shot to be a starter in the middle infield.

[balfanman]

Any hitter who has the projected ability to hit 20+ homers has to be the priority right now.

 

Hawkins, Thompson, Barnum, you simply can't win with a "small ball" approach at USCF.

The likes of Walker and Sanchez are complementary players, although Sanchez has a decent shot to be a starter in the middle infield.

 

I disagree with this statement. Example 1, 2005 - While that was still a power laden team with home runs responsible for most of that offense, small ball had a large part in building leads. That team had a long streak (30 something I think) of having the lead in games to start the season. I would say that small ball kind of "jump started" that offense and won several games late. While I agree that you don't want a team that can only play small ball, small ball plays a large part in having a good offense, IMHO.

 

That being said, you need good small ball players, not the collection of garbage that the Sox have now.

 

Podsednik, Igutchi, Harris, Ozuna, etc. >>>> DeAza, Ramirez, Beckham, Keppinger, etc.

[caulfield12]

I disagree with this statement. Example 1, 2005 - While that was still a power laden team with home runs responsible for most of that offense, small ball had a large part in building leads. That team had a long streak (30 something I think) of having the lead in games to start the season. I would say that small ball kind of "jump started" that offense and won several games late. While I agree that you don't want a team that can only play small ball, small ball plays a large part in having a good offense, IMHO.

 

That being said, you need good small ball players, not the collection of garbage that the Sox have now.

 

Podsednik, Igutchi, Harris, Ozuna, etc. >>>> DeAza, Ramirez, Beckham, Keppinger, etc.

 

Sometimes I feel the Pods/Iguchi angle gets played up TOO MUCH to correct the notion that we still weren't a homer-oriented team. (And that's true, compared to the 2004 or even 2000-2004 offenses in general).

 

AJ 18

Paulie 40

Iguchi 15

Uribe 16

Crede 22

Rowand 13

Dye 31

Everett 23

Thomas 12

 

We're not even going to come close to those numbers this year. That wasn't a particularly good offense, and we might be at 60-65% of those homer totals at the end of this season.

 

Obviously, Viciedo and Konerko were expected to produce a lot more. We've lost homers from AJ's spot, 3B (although, as noted, the overall OPS was 600 despite the one hot stretch from Youk in June), Beckham being out, then Ramirez just fell off a cliff with the power numbers, etc.

 

Theoretically, Gillaspie in the end should have 12-15 (he's second in AL homers for rookies with 5 to Aaron Hicks' 6)....

Edited June 19, 2013 by caulfield12

[balfanman]

I think that we kind of agree Caulfield. That 2005 team had great balance. I agree you need power at USCF, but don't discount the role that small ball played on that team, even throughout the playoffs.

[harfman77]

Any hitter who has the projected ability to hit 20+ homers has to be the priority right now.

 

Hawkins, Thompson, Barnum, you simply can't win with a "small ball" approach at USCF.

 

The likes of Walker and Sanchez are complementary players, although Sanchez has a decent shot to be a starter in the middle infield.

 

 

Totally disagree, we have a lot of power in the system, what we dont have is guys that make consistent enough contact. We need table setters for the power guys that you mentioned. Sanchez has a good shot at being a #2, but we don't really have a true lead off prospect. Anderson could be that, but he is another guy who has questions around his hit tool. A lot of teams are successful building with guys that get on base and then acquiring power to go with that. You have to be able to win games in more than one way.

[witesoxfan]

Mitchell and Walker neither one top 10 prospects at this point just more in the long line of wasted first round picks.

 

The last Yankee 1st rounder to pitch in the majors - Andrew Brackman, 2.1 IP, drafted in 2007. The last ones to do anything of note are Chamberlain and Kennedy, and Hughes has been valuable too. Before that? Eric Milton (1996; not with the Yankees), Brian Buchanan (1994; not with the Yankees), or Derek Jeter.

 

They've taken talented players - Gerrit Cole and Mark Prior - but they didn't sign.

 

So, in other words, quit f***ing b****ing about late first round and sandwich picks.

[Eminor3rd]

Any hitter who has the projected ability to hit 20+ homers has to be the priority right now.

 

Hawkins, Thompson, Barnum, you simply can't win with a "small ball" approach at USCF.

 

The likes of Walker and Sanchez are complementary players, although Sanchez has a decent shot to be a starter in the middle infield.

 

Where does this come from? You need good players, that's it. Players can contribute to run prevention and run production in a lot of ways. You need a team that can do it all. That doesn't mean you need every player to be the same

[caulfield12]

Where does this come from? You need good players, that's it. Players can contribute to run prevention and run production in a lot of ways. You need a team that can do it all. That doesn't mean you need every player to be the same

 

 

You need players, if they're not going to hit homers, who can either run, get on base at a 350+ clip, play stellar defense and play the game in a fundamentally sound fashion. You need both, but it SHOULD be easier to find the ones I just described to build around the core or foundation, rather than doing it the other way around.

 

Sanchez MIGHT be a player like that eventually, but there's just never going to be a White Sox team that does anywhere without consistent power at least 3-6 in the line-up. Hopefully Anderson fits in that mold, as well. Walker would be another one, although quite a few people are down on him and saying his ceiling is essentially close to what DeAza is producing right now.

 

We can't even project a line-up beyond this season, at this point.

 

We don't even know that there's more than a 50/50 chance both Beckham and Viciedo are around next year.

 

It's back to Moneyball. You can exploit niches with relievers, players who steal lots of bases and play great defense, high OBP guys at the corners (both infield and outfield), but it's very hard to go out and find impact bats for the 3-4-5-6 spots as well as front-line starting pitching. It's also next to impossible to find impact bats at the catching position that are no defensive zombies, or vice versa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jake]

What do you think his ceiling is? 4th OF? If so, he shouldn't even be considered a top 20 prospect.

 

No, his ceiling is certainly a starting outfielder but not exactly a franchise changing one. At his best you'd expect a fairly high average, but probably not .300. He should take walks, though, so an adequate OBP. I don't think anyone sees him even hitting 10 HRs, but that would probably be a max HR output. He should spray some doubles and triples and ideally swipe 40-50 bags with good defense. That's a not a value-less player by any stretch, but a secondary contributor on a good team. Alejandro is not the worst comparison, but ADA has more power and is not such a good base stealer.

[Chicago White Sox]

No, his ceiling is certainly a starting outfielder but not exactly a franchise changing one. At his best you'd expect a fairly high average, but probably not .300. He should take walks, though, so an adequate OBP. I don't think anyone sees him even hitting 10 HRs, but that would probably be a max HR output. He should spray some doubles and triples and ideally swipe 40-50 bags with good defense. That's a not a value-less player by any stretch, but a secondary contributor on a good team. Alejandro is not the worst comparison, but ADA has more power and is not such a good base stealer.

I said his ceiling was a "solid leadoff hitter" which is exactly what you described. I never called him a "franchise changing" anything. I'm not exactly sure what we're arguing here.

[Jake]

I said his ceiling was a "solid leadoff hitter" which is exactly what you described. I never called him a "franchise changing" anything. I'm not exactly sure what we're arguing here.

 

Sounds like we're debating what "high" means

[Chicago White Sox]

And to Jake's point, Walker no longer projects as a "high ceiling" type player. I think his ceiling would be mid-weak lead off hitter with a floor of never turning into anything. Given his speed and defensive skill he could be a 4th outfield that fits the mold of a DeWayne Wise type with less pop and more speed down the road.

And again, I didn't say his ceiling was "high", just that it's high enough to warrant a spot in our top 10 prospects list.

 

I do disagree with you on his ceiling though. A guy with his speed and ability to get on-base can be a solid leadoff hitter, especially if he develops a little more gap power as his body matures and he becomes a smarter hitter. Plus his range and arm strength could turn him into an above-average defensive CF down the road. I'm not saying any of this is likely to happen, but it would be foolish to deny his tools and say he definitely can't become that player.

 

People need to remember that Walker was incredibly raw when we drafted him and that this is only his second full season of development. Last year he had an injury that negatively skewed his numbers at Kannapolis. This year he was sent to Birmingham before he was ready for AA. I take his total numbers with a grain of salt because of these factors. I look at his June and see signs that he may be progressing. All things considered, I still think he's a better prospect than most of the hot garbage in our system.