from BA:

 

April 19

The White Sox depleted their lefthanded pitching depth in the Jim Thome trade, sending Gio Gonzalez and Daniel Haigwood to the Phillies in the deal along with big league center fielder Aaron Rowand. While Gonzalez tossed his second scoreless start of the young season last week for Double-A Reading, Sox lefty Tyler Lumsden, whom the club drafted four spots before it took Gonzalez in 2004, has been just as good.

 

Lumsden gave up his first runs of the season last night for Double-A Birmingham, giving up two runs in five innings during a 4-3, 10-inning victory against Tennessee. The 22-year-old Clemson alumnus, the 34th overall pick in '04, had started the season with 14 scoreless innings before giving up his first run in the fourth inning Tuesday night. It's his first action at Double-A after he pitched 39 innings after signing in 2004 with high Class A Winston-Salem.

 

Lumsden missed all of 2005 with shoulder surgery on his labrum. He was throwing on the side at Winston-Salem while rehabbing. Barons manager Chris Cron piloted the Warthogs last season and thought Lumsden could have helped then, but understood why the organization wanted to be careful with him. Now he finally has Lumsden in his rotation, along with prospects Lance Broadway, Ray Liotta, Corwin Malone and Ryan Rodriguez.

 

"He's sitting at 90-92 mph right now with his fastball, and that's hard," Cron said after Lumsden's second start, a 2-0 victory against Huntsville. "Then he's got this sneaky smooth, slow delivery, and his fastball just gets on you quick. His curveball is a power curveball and he's throwing it for strikes; it's a good pitch.

 

"The kid has a great demeanor; he doesn't force anything and he has no fear. He just goes out and competes. We wouldn't have put him (in Double-A) if we didn't think he could handle it."

 

So far, Lumsden's handling it just fine.

 

 

--JOHN MANUEL

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prosp...ews/261062.html

Hopefully, Lumsden can ease the pain of losing Gio. I still wish that we could have kept him somehow.

I really think Lumsden is the better pitcher. Gio, being so small, is gonna have some injury problems. Lumsden's stuff is right there with Gio, maybe a little lower. He's got the low-to-mid 90's fastball, a power curve that isn't as tight as Gio's, but pretty good and a solid change. Plus, Lumsden is 6-4 with a good build. The one thing that works in Gio's favor is his age and his deception with his delivery.

I really think Lumsden is the better pitcher.  Gio, being so small, is gonna have some injury problems.  Lumsden's stuff is right there with Gio, maybe a little lower.  He's got the low-to-mid 90's fastball, a power curve that isn't as tight as Gio's, but pretty good and a solid change.  Plus, Lumsden is 6-4 with a good build.  The one thing that works in Gio's favor is his age and his deception with his delivery.

 

Yeah, everything I've read points to Lumsden having more upside. I'd still like to have both, though.