Top White Sox Prospects - 2014 Pre-Season

[NorthSideSox72]

FutureSox has released their 2014 Pre-season Top 25 Prospects list. Article includes capsules for the Top 10, lists the 11-25 names, and a handful of guys who just missed the cut.

 

We published the 11-25 capsules earlier this week, in case you want more detail on those 15 names.

 

Normally we do prospect talk in the FutureSox area of the site, but for the twice-annual rankings, we put it in PHT for broader discussion.

 

Let us know what you think.

 

[Buehrle>Wood]

Random musings:

 

 

-I think I would have a hard time ranking Ravelo and definitely Montas in out system's top 25. I certainly wouldn't consider either to be the prospect tgat Engel is, who is behind them. No way am I buying into Montas at 20.

 

 

-I would have a tough time ranking Zapata too but that has less to do with his ability and more of where's he's at.

 

- 1 through 16 I could see all those guys become good major league contributors and most of them soon. Our system has come a ways in a year.

 

- top 10 looks good but personally I'd have Johnson at 6 and probably switched with Hawkins. Really like Micah and am surprised not to see him get more love.

 

-the top 4 should be set in stone.

[NorthSideSox72]

Random musings:

 

 

-I think I would have a hard time ranking Ravelo and definitely Montas in out system's top 25. I certainly wouldn't consider either to be the prospect tgat Engel is, who is behind them. No way am I buying into Montas at 20.

 

 

-I would have a tough time ranking Zapata too but that has less to do with his ability and more of where's he's at.

 

- 1 through 16 I could see all those guys become good major league contributors and most of them soon. Our system has come a ways in a year.

 

- top 10 looks good but personally I'd have Johnson at 6 and probably switched with Hawkins. Really like Micah and am surprised not to see him get more love.

 

-the top 4 should be set in stone.

Ravelo is a hard one to evaluate. His hit tool and batter's eye, especially for his age and level, are truly special. And the doubles indicate there is gap power there. Being a former 3B, his defense will probably be at least decent at 1B. The question is entirely about power - can he hit more home runs? That is the big question.

 

Montas' fastball isn't just good. He's one of only a few guys in the minors who is consistently upper 90's, and it has movement too. In addition to a BP writer salivating over it (and putting him among their Top 10 in the system), I talked with a scout in Kanny who called it filthy. And his breaking pitches, while inconsistent, do move around a lot. There is a lot of potential there, even if the numbers don't show it.

 

Micah Johnson is a very nice prospect, but he did struggle a bit going to A+, at an age-appropriate time, so there is reason to not put him quite that high yet.

 

[southsider2k5]

Random musings:

 

 

-I think I would have a hard time ranking Ravelo and definitely Montas in out system's top 25. I certainly wouldn't consider either to be the prospect tgat Engel is, who is behind them. No way am I buying into Montas at 20.

 

 

-I would have a tough time ranking Zapata too but that has less to do with his ability and more of where's he's at.

 

- 1 through 16 I could see all those guys become good major league contributors and most of them soon. Our system has come a ways in a year.

 

- top 10 looks good but personally I'd have Johnson at 6 and probably switched with Hawkins. Really like Micah and am surprised not to see him get more love.

 

-the top 4 should be set in stone.

 

Micker involved a lot of discussions before the rankings even got announced. He was a really tough one to decide how to handle. From a pure ceiling standpoint, I think only Courtney Hawkins is in his area code. How realistic is it that he will get there? The kid is 17. He could take 6 years to get to Chicago, and he wouldn't be "behind" from an age stand point. That is hard to rank.

 

[witesoxfan]

Any of the Future Sox guys have anything to say about Scott Snodgress's struggles last year? In January of '13 he was a guy a lot of Sox fans were excited about but statistically just put forth a terrible season.

 

I think he's a reliever at the MLB level.

[Dunt]

I dont think Trayce Thompson should even be sniffinf the top 10 at this point, otherwise I think this is a great list.

[Princess Dye]

I dont think Trayce Thompson should even be sniffinf the top 10 at this point

 

His 2012 is probably a better offensive year than any sox farm hand has had in this system. Or one of the top few at least. And he's still a young guy (and could potentially play CF so positional value as well).

 

Last year KW alluded to him being purposely steered toward a lowered K rate. as an intentioned thing. Unfortunately cost him power but perhaps for a greater good. With some players you have to take routes like this

Edited January 23, 2014 by Jose Paniagua

[NorthSideSox72]

His 2012 is probably a better offensive year than any sox farm hand has had in this system. Or one of the top few at least. And he's still a young guy (and could potentially play CF so positional value as well).

 

Last year KW alluded to him being purposely steered toward a lowered K rate. as an intentioned thing. Unfortunately cost him power but perhaps for a greater good. With some players you have to take routes like this

Also, Thompson's ceiling is akin to Hawkins, there is a lot of potential there. He dropped quite a bit on our list, but you can't dismiss him yet with those tools.

 

[The Ginger Kid]

always a pleasure reading these, thanks

[Butter Parque]

Does anyone know anything about the development of guys like Antonio Rodriguez, Victor Done, Luis Castillo, Johan Cruz, Hanleth Otano, etc. Are they coming to the States this season?

[Jose Abreu]

Dan Hayes ‏@DanHayesCSN 7m

#WhiteSox finish w/ 2 prospects in MLB's Top 100 list: Erik Johnson (70) and Matt Davidson (80). Int FA's Jose Abreu & Tanaka don't count.

---

Nice try, Hahn, but Tanaka is not on the White Sox.

[Chicago White Sox]

I think this is a really good list. Just looking at the honorable mention section shows you how much deeper our system has gotten. I will say that Keenyn Walker & Braulio Ortiz are the biggest position player and pitching omissions IMO.

[NorthSideSox72]

Does anyone know anything about the development of guys like Antonio Rodriguez, Victor Done, Luis Castillo, Johan Cruz, Hanleth Otano, etc. Are they coming to the States this season?

 

Most have played some DSL ball, none have put up numbers that stand out, except maybe Rodriguez. Rodriguez also played briefly at Bristol, didn't do so well. They are all still very young and raw, and it is too early to say how they are doing. There may be a better read in some scouting reports, but those reports from the DSL are hard to come by.

 

 

I think this is a really good list. Just looking at the honorable mention section shows you how much deeper our system has gotten. I will say that Keenyn Walker & Braulio Ortiz are the biggest position player and pitching omissions IMO.

 

A couple of us ranked Ortiz in the T25, some did not. Walker is an impressive athlete with serious speed, but there's no power there, and he couldn't hit for average either last year. He strikes out a ton. There is potential there, but he needs to hit for a high average to be successful. Hopefully he does in 2014 - he is still somewhat raw and fought through some injuries last year.

 

[Butter Parque]

Most have played some DSL ball, none have put up numbers that stand out, except maybe Rodriguez. Rodriguez also played briefly at Bristol, didn't do so well. They are all still very young and raw, and it is too early to say how they are doing. There may be a better read in some scouting reports, but those reports from the DSL are hard to come by.

 

 

 

 

A couple of us ranked Ortiz in the T25, some did not. Walker is an impressive athlete with serious speed, but there's no power there, and he couldn't hit for average either last year. He strikes out a ton. There is potential there, but he needs to hit for a high average to be successful. Hopefully he does in 2014 - he is still somewhat raw and fought through some injuries last year.

 

Were you surprised at all that Castillo did not play in the DSL last season? it seemed he was their biggest signing in 2012.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Were you surprised at all that Castillo did not play in the DSL last season? it seemed he was their biggest signing in 2012.

Sometimes they don't start playing right away, he was barely 16 when signed, which means he turned 17 during the 2013 season. 16 year olds rarely play DSL, they are more typically put in "camp". I'd be surprised if he failed to play in 2014 though, in his 17/18 season.

 

[Butter Parque]

Sometimes they don't start playing right away, he was barely 16 when signed, which means he turned 17 during the 2013 season. 16 year olds rarely play DSL, they are more typically put in "camp". I'd be surprised if he failed to play in 2014 though, in his 17/18 season.

 

I think this is something being undervalued by the fans about our farm system. At this point next year, we have the opportunity to take major steps forward in how our system is evaluated. Having the 3rd pick in the draft, Adolfo's professional career beginning, another summer of increased Latin America spending, where we should conceivably be able to sign 2 highly ranked kids, plus another year of pro ball for the guys we signed when Paddy was hired. There is a burgeoning possibility that our system could be considered middle of the pack by this point next season. We're starting to throw a lot of stuff at the wall, increasing our chances that we'll be able to get some of it to stick.

Edited January 24, 2014 by Butter Parque

[southsider2k5]

Does anyone know anything about the development of guys like Antonio Rodriguez, Victor Done, Luis Castillo, Johan Cruz, Hanleth Otano, etc. Are they coming to the States this season?

 

Hopefully they do a blogger call with Buddy Bell again. I am curious where that group is at.

[Balta1701]

I think this is something being undervalued by the fans about our farm system. At this point next year, we have the opportunity to take major steps forward in how our system is evaluated. Having the 3rd pick in the draft, Adolfo's professional career beginning, another summer of increased Latin America spending, where we should conceivably be able to sign 2 highly ranked kids, plus another year of pro ball for the guys we signed when Paddy was hired. There is a burgeoning possibility that our system could be considered middle of the pack by this point next season. We're starting to throw a lot of stuff at the wall, increasing our chances that we'll be able to get some of it to stick.

Keep in mind that in terms of how the system is ranked...the latin american spending, Adolfo, and so on, won't really have a chance to make much of a positive impact for probably 3-4 years. Those guys are being signed at 16 and 17, they're years away from making a dent in the national level lists.

[witesoxfan]

I dont think Trayce Thompson should even be sniffinf the top 10 at this point, otherwise I think this is a great list.

 

He took some very important strides last year, even if the overall numbers don't show it. His BB% was good, his K% improved, and he still showed power and speed. Most likely, he's going to be a 4th outfielder for the team for 3-5 years, but with players like Trayce, it can sometimes just be a light switch sort of thing where he makes one adjustment and he's suddenly a .250/.350/.450/.800 25/25 kind of player with very good defense in CF. That's a 4+ WAR player and one of the better CFers in the league. That's why he's still top 10.

[Butter Parque]

Keep in mind that in terms of how the system is ranked...the latin american spending, Adolfo, and so on, won't really have a chance to make much of a positive impact for probably 3-4 years. Those guys are being signed at 16 and 17, they're years away from making a dent in the national level lists.

 

No, I understand that, my point is basically that they are starting to throw more darts at the board and as each passing year goes by, the odds of hitting on a couple of them increase. I'm not speaking about their actual chances for ML success, instead I am speaking about their perception in the scouting world. If your system looks good, it gives you the opportunity to close the deal on a trade when someone like Miggy is available.

 

It seems likely that they will keep Adolfo in the US, considering his ability to speak English helping to ease the cultural shock. Him being in the US should enable him to be considered among our prospects, especially if he plays in rookie ball at some point.

 

By next season, guys like E. Johnson and Abreu will be off the list (and possibly Davidson), but at the same time we will be bringing in the #3 and #43 picks in the draft, not to mention we now have the opportunity to see guys like Danish, Hawkins, Semien, Bassitt, Olacio, Engel, Michalczewski, Adolfo, Ravelo, Barnum, Sanchez, Montas, May, Micah, Beck, etc. have good years in the minors and improve their stock within the system. The difference in the up-side of our prospects now, from a year ago is night and day. We didn;t even mention guys like Trayce and a healthy Keenyn, who still have a shot to turn it around.

 

[ptatc]

And his terrific start was in a league he was too old for. At 22 he would have to be one of the oldest guys on Kanny's team who is/was still considered a prospect. I am definitely not as bullish on Johnson as everyone else around here. I like him a lot though funny kid with some nice tools. Should be interesting to see where he starts the season. I don't think he's earned a spot at Birmingham but considering the Sox track record he probably does start there.

In the review, it said he was shut down to have a nerve removed in his arm. Does anyone have more information on that? It sound very peculiar.

[witesoxfan]

In the review, it said he was shut down to have a nerve removed in his arm. Does anyone have more information on that? It sound very peculiar.

 

A re-positioning of the nerve. I don't recall the exact circumstances, but he's become a bit of an injury risk.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/cws/prospe...ent_id=63264152

[NorthSideSox72]

In the review, it said he was shut down to have a nerve removed in his arm. Does anyone have more information on that? It sound very peculiar.

It is actually moving a nerve, not REmoving it.

 

He talked a bit about it in his interview with FS here.

 

Then there is the link wite put out too.

 

It sure does sound odd.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Also, this has happened twice with him, first time was in college.

 

Supposedly it is a low risk thing, and there should be no residual impact after healing up. The question is, will it be recurring?

 

[ScottyDo]

Was it the other arm in college? If so, that wouldn't be too concerning (i.e. not a re-emergence of the exact same injury, just a symmetrical process). Otherwise, possibly yikes.