October 9, 201411 yr Last offseason, we experimented with having White Sox minor leaguers write guest articles for FutureSox. We had pitchers Scott Carroll and Chris Bassitt write for us (and both made the majors). People seemed to like the pieces. So we're back again this offseason. First up is RHP Mike Recchia, a Crestwood native and former Comiskey Park Italian Sausage vendor who is now a prospect in the White Sox system. We hope to do at least a couple more of these this offseason.
October 9, 201411 yr Nice article. I hadn't known anything about him. Gotta love his attitude and determination! Easy guy to root for.
October 9, 201411 yr Great piece. I also want to point out that Recchia did more than hold his own at AA too - 19 GS, 107.1 IP, 96 H, 10 HR, 35 BB, 87 K. He allows quite a few fly balls, but he's definitely got a shot and frankly anyone who keeps producing will get a shot eventually.
October 9, 201411 yr Author I'm a bigger fan of Recchia than most of the FS crowd. The bad news is he's 25, slipped through the draft and two other orgs, isn't real tall (listed at 6') and has a somewhat high effort delivery. The good news is his fastball (90-93, T94) has a nice late tail, his slider was already above average in 2013 (per two scouts I spoke with) and is now a couple ticks faster (now runs 85-88), he's got a curve that gets good swing and miss, he's a bulldog and can handle the innings with a solid build. He had a very nice year in AA, in fact statistically, he was one of the strongest pitcher the Sox had in the minors. I think he's got a shot at being a 4/5 starter, but more likely he's got a good shot at being successful in a bullpen role where his velocity can play up a bit and he can lean on the slider more. He shouldn't be mistaken as being in the ranks of guys like Danish or Montas (who are T10 prospects in this system), but I'd put him around 20-25 in this system today and he's a guy to keep an eye on. The fact that he's a Chicago area guy who sold Italian sausages at the park as a youngster just adds to the fun. I didn't even know any of that when I first noticed him down in Winston-Salem and took video.
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