Baseball America will have the Chicago White Sox's top 10 prospects up in a couple of days, they just did the Royals'. I'd thought it'd be cool to start a thread predicting what the top 10 prospects will be, I thought I'll kick it off. And there'll be a chat on BA too so lets get some SoxTalk Q's in.

 

1 - Brian Anderson

2 - Brandon McCarthy

3 - Ryan Sweeney

4 - Josh Fields

5 - Giovani Gonzalez

6 - Wes Whisler

7 - Tyler Lumsden

8 - Sean Tracey

9 - Kris Honel

10 - Francisco Hernandez

Casey Rogowski and Mike Spidale should be in there.

im not a minor league expert but i doubt spidale makes the top 10

What is the official definition of "Top 10"?

I know what it means but what is "official" the criteria to be in the top 10?

Spidale and Rogowski may not make the BA top 10 but that doesn't mean they may not have a shot of getting to the bigs "soon". The BA list is always pretty predictable.....they never really go out on a limb and include someone that isn't a high round pick. I'm not an expert either but i have followed enough to know those two can play.

What is the official definition of "Top 10"?

I know what it means but what is "official" the criteria to be in the top 10?

Baseball America looks at age and potential impact along with performance. In a situation where performance doesn't match up, long term impact is often given more weight.

 

They also look at what tools give a player a chance for greater impact as well as the lack of tools they may have that could limit them (see Spidale's arm).

 

In my opinion, Rogowski could make the top 10, but Spidale's chances are much smaller. My best guess is Michael will end up around 18th-20th in their top 30 in the Prospect Handbook.

My guess.

 

1 - Brandon McCarthy

2 - Ryan Sweeney

3 - Brian Anderson

4 - Josh Fields

5 - Giovani Gonzalez

6 - Tyler Lumsden

7 - Chris Young

8 - Wes Whisler

9 - Ryan Wing lol sorry still angry at the Rangers( I really picked Ray Liotta)

10 - Fransisco Hernandez

Damn, DBAH0, you beat me to it! This was a really long thread last year, so I figured we had to have it this year.

 

1. Brian Anderson

BA likes to stick with guys who have been prospects for longer so he gets the nod over BMac.

2. Brandon McCarthy

As of July he wasn't mentioned as a top 5 Sox prospect in a Ask BA section. Of course he dominated the Carolina League to make his stock skyrocket. They will want to see more from him this year, so I even hesitated to put him this high.

3. Ryan Sweeney

Could be as high as 2, but a mediocre year (regardless of age, league, etc.) will make it easier for BA to place him below BMac.

4. Chris Young

BA has quietly gushed over this kid. He was rated by one BA writer ahead of Fields in July.

5. Josh Fields

1st round pick with a solid year for a rookie. The only other spot he could be is 4, but even that is a stretch since BA loves Young.

6. Gio Gonzalez

Loads of potential, decent start. He should be a guy that will easily jump up the list because of the supposed upside.

7. Francisco Hernandez

This is tough because I think he could easily be higher than Gio. He was rated higher in the Appy League prospect rankings, but that was voted by managers. It could be a flip flop between 6 and 7.

8. Kris Honel

BA loves sticking with prospects longer than most. Honel isn't old, but his injury obviously raises question marks. I wouldn't be overly surprised if they stick him higher on the list, but he will almost definitely be on the list somewhere. It doesn't hurt that there seems to be a dropoff after the top 7.

9. Arnie Munoz

No matter what he does he seems to find himself in this area of the rankings. I would've thought him to be higher after his great start to the season, but he sucked with the Sox and in AAA. He might not even make the list, but again, BA sticks with prospects longer. I could be way off on this one.

10. Ray Liotta/Tyler Lumsden/I have no idea

I guess that speaks for itself.

how do you gush quietly?

Mine:

 

B. McCarthy

B. Anderson

R. Sweeney

J. Fields

G. Gonzalez

C. Young

F. Hernandez

S. Tracey

K. Honel

R. Liotta/A. Ricks

Mine:

 

B. McCarthy

B. Anderson

R. Sweeney

J. Fields

G. Gonzalez

C. Young

F. Hernandez

S. Tracey

K. Honel

R. Liotta/A. Ricks

Here is my guess as to BA's list. BA has been big fans of Sweeney and a few others and to someone above who listed Ryan Wing... HE GONE. Note: This is not "My" list, rather my prediction of BA's list...

 

1) BMac

2) Sweeney

3) Anderson

4) Fields

5) Gonzalez

6) Young

7) Lumsden

8) Honel

9) Whisler

10) Tracey or Munoz or Rogowski

 

BA rarely ranks guys in the rookie short-season levels in their top ten unless they are obvious guys like HS 1st rounders and such. I would guess they'd probably rate Hernandez somewhere in the 11-15 due to that. Rogowski was old for his league and that usually is a big strike in the BA rankings, even though he basically missed 2 years to injury. About 8-15 this year are all going to be about equivalent for the Sox. When looking at some of these other teams' lists so far, the Sox are going to be middle-of-the pack in organizational rankings, IMO, somewhere in the 12-17 range, IMO. Not many teams have talent like Gonzalez/Young/Lumsden at 5-7...

I'll give it a go.

 

1. Brian Anderson

2. Brandon McCarthy

3. Ryan Sweeney

4. Josh Fields

5. Chris Young

6. Kris Honel

7. Francisco Hernandez

8. Wes Whisler

9. Tyler Lumsden

10. Casey Rogowski

Spidale and Rogowski may not make the BA top 10 but that doesn't mean they may not have a shot of getting to the bigs "soon". The BA list is always pretty predictable.....they never really go out on a limb and include someone that isn't a high round pick. I'm not an expert either but i have followed enough to know those two can play.

BA always looks at "ceiling" instead of whose actually the best prospect. Its why they hype and fail with so many guys. Its ridiculous how whne a guy throws one 98 MPH that they then report that he "regulary" throws 98.

 

They still are the best their is at covering minors as a whole though, but I think they could be a hell of a lot better. And your right, they definately grade down long time minor league guys even though someone like Rogo, to me, is considered a prospect.

 

I wouldn't rank him top 10 though.

Damn, DBAH0, you beat me to it! This was a really long thread last year, so I figured we had to have it this year.

 

1. Brian Anderson

BA likes to stick with guys who have been prospects for longer so he gets the nod over BMac.

2. Brandon McCarthy

As of July he wasn't mentioned as a top 5 Sox prospect in a Ask BA section. Of course he dominated the Carolina League to make his stock skyrocket. They will want to see more from him this year, so I even hesitated to put him this high.

3. Ryan Sweeney

Could be as high as 2, but a mediocre year (regardless of age, league, etc.) will make it easier for BA to place him below BMac.

4. Chris Young

BA has quietly gushed over this kid. He was rated by one BA writer ahead of Fields in July.

5. Josh Fields

1st round pick with a solid year for a rookie. The only other spot he could be is 4, but even that is a stretch since BA loves Young.

6. Gio Gonzalez

Loads of potential, decent start. He should be a guy that will easily jump up the list because of the supposed upside.

7. Francisco Hernandez

This is tough because I think he could easily be higher than Gio. He was rated higher in the Appy League prospect rankings, but that was voted by managers. It could be a flip flop between 6 and 7.

8. Kris Honel

BA loves sticking with prospects longer than most. Honel isn't old, but his injury obviously raises question marks. I wouldn't be overly surprised if they stick him higher on the list, but he will almost definitely be on the list somewhere. It doesn't hurt that there seems to be a dropoff after the top 7.

9. Arnie Munoz

No matter what he does he seems to find himself in this area of the rankings. I would've thought him to be higher after his great start to the season, but he sucked with the Sox and in AAA. He might not even make the list, but again, BA sticks with prospects longer. I could be way off on this one.

10. Ray Liotta/Tyler Lumsden/I have no idea

I guess that speaks for itself.

Dan, we don't agree too often with both of us having our quirks, but I think you pretty much are dead on with this list. I could see Lumsden being up ahead of Munoz, but logically Munoz has better production to this point.

 

The Sox didnt' see the real Lumsden till the very end of the season when he got over a dead arm period. He's supposed to have electric stuff and is a gutsy pitcher. Nice guy too.

 

Although personally I would have Sean Tracey ranked right around 7th.

We should have a list of BA's past Sox top 10s that never made it to the big leagues or just had a cup of coffe........

It would be a very long list.

how do you gush quietly?

BA doesn't talk about Young much, but everytime they do it's always great stuff. Along the lines of guys like him don't come around often. I have been on record saying I'm not on the Young bandwagon, but I do see the potential everybody loves.

wouldnt pedro lopez be a top 10 that SS guy

Like DBAH0, this is my prediction of what BA will do, not my list.

 

1. Ryan Sweeney

They always talk about how high his ceiling is, and as someone mentioned earlier, BA loves to rate ceilings

2. Brian Anderson

They don't tal about his ceiling quite as much as they do with Sweeney, but whenever they talk about him, it's always solid stuff.

3. Brandon McCarthy

60:3 K:BB ratio in Carolina League + Breakout year + behind already highly regarded prospects = #3 rating.

4. Gio Gonzalez

Came in as a young guy, who's future was a bit cloudy after a rough spring, but he delivered beyond all expecations

5. Chris Young

I have a feeling they'll talk more about how Young will be a stud if he develops a high average, than that his power and speed are the only things that have kept him afloat. They're optimistic like that.

6. Josh Fields

Started a bit slow, no doubt because of having gone year round with playing both football and baseball at OSU, but he really picked it up at the end. I could also see him and Young interchanged.

7. Wes Whisler

Already jumped to High A.

8. Kris Honel

May have been injured, but he was a first round pick, and he had done well up to this season.

9. Sean Tracey

Did well, but he's 23 or 24 now, and BA pretty much frowns on the older guys...especially when they just finished up at only High A.

10. Pedro Lopez/ Antoin Gray/ Adam Ricks

All performed pretty well, Lopez probably has the most upside.

Casey Rogowski and Mike Spidale should be in there.

Hey, Bogie, don't say those guys should be in the top ten with out saying who should be replaced. Otherwise, your post is rather dry.

I didn't know there were rules to posting here and that the comments are critiqued by Old Socks. i'll try to do better next time and make sure they meet your satisfaction.

BMac and Rogowski are the players I think will have the most future value. Why wasn't Rogo on the list?

I didn't know there were rules to posting here and that the comments are critiqued by Old Socks. i'll try to do better next time and make sure they meet your satisfaction.

The old guy is just trying to get you to think a little, do some homework.... he expects big things from you, damnit. Let's work on this so you don't disappoint the Godfather!

Hey, Bogie, don't say those guys should be in the top ten with out saying who should be replaced.  Otherwise, your post is rather dry.

What do you care, remember they are just going to be traded anyway right :rolly

What do you care, remember they are just going to be traded anyway right :rolly

Any day now, unfortunately.

 

you know Kenny has pressure to do something, and you also know that anyone he talks to is going to ask for Sweeney, Anderson, etc.

I'll take my shot:

 

1. B Mac -- Baseball America loves pitchers and this kid had one of the best years in the minors, jumping two levels.

 

2. Sweeney -- they've loved him for a long time and he played in high A ball as a 19 year old.

 

3. Anderson -- wonder if they'll count his so-so play in the AFL against him.

 

4. Fields -- Joe Crede should be hearing footsteps real soon.

 

5. Gonzalez -- everybody loves a lefty with a plus plus curveball

 

6. Young -- Mike Cameron Jr.

 

7. Hernandez -- a catcher who can throw and hit. Bring him on.

 

8. Whisler -- pitcher, hitter? Hitter, pitcher. still figuring it out.

 

9. Honel -- hoping he gets healthy and stays healthy

 

10. Rogowski -- hard to argue with his OBP.