i am really not that crazy about this ranking but i thought it would be interesting for you guys.
#22 - Chicago White Sox
Another organization moving the wrong direction on this list, the White Sox have been the victims, two years in a row, of injuries to their top pitching prospects, and have really “graduated” quite a few players to the majors over the last three seasons-leaving the cupboard rather bare. While there are still a number of talented players in the system, nearly all of them come with question marks. The White Sox tried to bolster their system’s depth with some deadline deals last summer, trading major league talent for prospects (Ray Durham, Bobby Howry, etc), the net result was little in the way of mid-tier/top-tier talent. June’s draft helped little as a college RP was their first choice and perhaps their best pick was in the 7th round. While it would not surprise me to see everyone one of these 10 players appear in a big league uniform at some point, I would be shocked to see more than a couple actually make an impact and outside of Borchard I would be hard-pressed to pinpoint which one(s) that will be.
1) Joe Borchard, OF, 24yo (OBA:0.39, LWP:1.60, EYE:-0.58)
Ever since he was taken in the 1st round in the 2000 draft, Borchard has worn the “can’t miss” label around his neck. Nearly three years later we are still waiting. Make no mistake Borchard has about as much power potential as anyone in the minors. His speed, given his 6’5, 225 lb frame is amazing. He makes good contact and has a strong arm. Yet he still has struggled enough offensively to raise questions about how high his ceiling really is. If you believe the premise that he is a major league center fielder, and combine that with his likely 30+ home run potential at some point down the road, it is easy to see why many believe he is a top 10 prospect. Unfortunately, the reality is that he is best suited for an outfield corner position and is actually a defensive liability if you are counting on him to solidify an already poor defensive outfield (see Carlos Lee). He still looks lost at the plate at times and is a virtual certainty to lead the league in strike outs at some point in his career. He doesn’t walk nearly enough to make up for his strikeouts and given the fact that he will already turn 25 in the fall, I wouldn’t find it surprising at all if his career turned out to be along the lines of a Geoff Jenkins. Make no mistake, he will contribute at the next level as a starting OF, it just isn’t likely to be at a level as high as some might have once hoped.
2) Miguel Olivio, C, 24yo (OBA:1.53, LWP:1.41, EYE:0.01)
Always regarded more for his defense than for his bat, Olivio is poised to assume the White Sox starting catching duties this spring. Evidenced by his 29 SBs and 10 triples, Olivio runs as well as any catching prospect in the minors. While not tremendously powerful, he has adequate power, makes good contact, and has surprising good plate discipline. The only real questions are around his offense as his solid season last year was as a 23yo in AA for the second time. Look for Olivio to break camp sharing the catching duties with Sandy Alomar, and an upside potential of being one of the league’s better defensive backstops and about average offensively for the position.
3) Kris Honel, RHP, 20yo (MOB:0.77, K/IP:0.80, K/BB:0.30)
The White Sox 2001 1st round pick, Honel continues to do all the things he needs to make himself into a big league pitcher. Coming out of high school he threw in the low-mid 90’s. Last season he backed off on his fastball (usually sitting around 90mph), but showed great strides in becoming more pitcher than thrower, yet still fanning better than a batter per IP. His true out pitch is a devastating knuckle-curve, and his change is major league caliber. At 6’5, 190, he has plenty of room to add another 20 lbs and regain the couple mph on his fastball. If that happens he has all of the rest of the game to succeed as a mid-rotation starter. Look for him to spend 2003 at Hi-A and for the Sox to take their time with him.
4) Jon Rauch, RHP, 24yo (MOB:0.73, K/IP:1.17, K/AB:-0.09)
Two years ago the 1999 3rd round pick was considered one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. 2001 shoulder surgery changed all of that. While he is one of the taller pitchers (6’11) in the game, he only gets his fastball into the low 90’s. More importantly, coming off of surgery there was very little movement on it and he became very hittable. He does have major league caliber secondary pitches, although appears reluctant to use them at times. At the moment I will chalk up his mediocre 2002 performance to his return from surgery. It isn’t the drop in velocity (his pre surgery fastball was a couple mph faster) that concerns me nearly as the lack of life his fastball showed. I still believe he has the upside of a front of the rotation major league starter, but at the moment I need to see more. While he will be in the competition for the White Sox #5 starter slot this spring, I expect he will return to AAA for at least the first half.
5) Anthony Webster, OF, 20yo (OBA:1.72, LWP:-1.17, EYE:1.28)
This 2001 15th round pick is one of the more exciting players in the minors. He is an excellent athlete, makes incredible contact, has tremendous plate strike zone management skills, and plus speed. But his greatest strength is the ability to just make things happen as he has scored nearly one run per game during his professional career. His only weaknesses are nearly no power and just a lack of baseball experience. He will take his package to Lo-A this year and has the upside of a very credible top of the order weapon…albeit probably at least 2005 or so before he gets to the majors.
6) Felix Diaz, RHP, 22yo (MOB:0.82, K/IP:0.70, K/BB:1.08)
Acquired from the Giants in the Kenny Lofton deal, Diaz is all about power as he throws a mid-90s fastball and a hard slider. His changeup is adequate enough to continue down the path as a starter, although durability issues have caused many to see him eventually in the bullpen. Look for him to begin the year in AAA. The White Sox staff appears to be deep at the moment, but if injuries should create an opening, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him in Chicago sometime this year.
7) Arnaldo Munoz, LHP, 21yo (MOB:0.18, K/IP:1.51, K/BB:0.62)
Little (5’9”) “Arnie” Munoz captured the hearts of everyone with his unbelievable Dominican Winter League performance. Up until then, his relief role had kept him in obscurity. He doesn’t overwhelm you with his fastball, although he can get it into the low-90s, but he has one of the most unbelievable curveballs that you will find. Additionally he will occasionally toss in a decent sinker and a developing change. He still walks too many batters for a successful “finesse” pitcher, but he was only a 20yo last year at AA, giving him plenty of time to improve his command. Look for the White Sox to move him to AAA to start 2003, and they could very easily use him to set up Billy Koch in the second half of the season. I don’t think he has the “stuff” to make it as a big time closer, but he could be devastating as a situational lefty out of the pen.
8) Micah Schnurstein, 1B, 18yo (OBA:0.79, LWP:2.02, EYE:-0.44)
The White Sox 5th round pick in June was easily their most productive player from last year’s class, going .332/.373/.512 in 50 AZL games. He has a smooth swing that takes the ball easily to all fields with good contact and gap power that could eventually turn into 25+ HR power. The down-side is that he tends to be a bit over aggressive at the plate and while he has an adequate glove at 3B, a general lack of athleticism makes me feel that he will eventually find his way to 1B. Expect him to spend 2003 in the SAL where if he begins to improve his plate discipline, he will begin to rocket up the prospect charts.
9) Corwin Malone, LHP, 22yo (MOB:-1.80, K/IP:-0.34, K/BB:-1.32)
The 1999 9th round pick was one of the hottest prospects around about this time last season. I wrote last year that while he made tremendous strides in 2001, a lack of a quality 3rd pitch was likely to catch up to him at AA. And that combined with extreme difficulty finding the strike zone (6.5 BB/9IP) led to a disastrous 2002 campaign that ended early with elbow problems. All of his faults were exposed in 2002 and while I am sure the White Sox will insert him into the AAA rotation in 2003, his lack of a major league quality change still makes me believe that he is ultimately destined for the bullpen.
10) Tim Hummell, UI, 24yo (OBA:-0.12, LWP:-0.91, EYE:0.04)
The White Sox 2nd round pick in 2002, still isn’t a “tools” favorite. He has little power, tends to be a step slow defensively and doesn’t have a canon for an arm. But he is the type of player that has the makeup to ensure success at the next level. He makes good contact and has a compact swing that will provide him gap power. He doesn’t have blazing speed, but his baseball instincts should allow him to steal 15 bases a year while hitting a ton of triples. Unfortunately what had been tremendous plate discipline seemed to abandon him at AAA in 2002 and he posted very ordinary numbers. Expect him to spend 2003 waiting for an opportunity in AAA. While he could be a major league adequate 2Bmen, his likely destination now appears to be as a utility infielder type.
Other Prospects: Guillermo Reyes, Royce Ring, Frank Francisco, Casey Rogowski, Edwin Yan, Danny Sandoval, Neal Cotts, Pedro Lopez, Andy Gonzalez, Jeremy Reed, Brandon Bounds, Thomas Collaro, Brandon McCarthy, Chris Young, Brian Miller, Josh Rupe.
