Baseball Beginnings Scouting report, video, Q & A and more on Chris Sale

Links to all things BB has on Chris Sale

Chris Sale scouting report:

STRENGTHS: Hard, sinking FB primary weapon, 91-93. Hard SL, 87-88, good CH, 81-84, weapon pitch. Balanced and coordinated, good arm action, lands well, command average with room for development.

Video:

When you break down Sale’s delivery, you find very solid points. He comes across the rubber in coordination, he aims at the plate, he lands fairly well, he is aware of getting on top of the ball and creating extension and downhill plane, and he has natural life on the fastball.

Q & A:

Sale: “I refuse to look at my stats. I look at them at the end of the season. I don’t want to know what I’m doing. I just want to know I’m pitching well. I don’t want to mess with the Baseball Gods. If you have a low ERA, you go out, it gets in your head because you say you have to keep it low. If you have a high ERA then you have to press and tell yourself you have to get it down.”

FutureSox and CSN on Chris Sale

From FutureSox’ College pitches preview:

Chris Sale, LHP, Florida Gulf Coast

Sale pitches from a low three quarter arm slot with great command of three pitches; a lively low 90’s fastball that can touch 94 mph, a very good change that eats up right handed batters and an effective curve. His fastball gets good sinking action and could be a ground ball machine. Sale was the Cape Cod League’s pitcher of the year and he’s sure to be selected early in the draft. He’s a hard competitor with great poise and mound presence. He has drawn comparisons to Andrew Miller but with better command. Where other college pitchers have faltered down the stretch, Sale has remained strong and is pitching himself into a top 5-10 pick. Projected draft position: Top 10 Pick.

And from Chris Sale’s profile:

Sale has a low 90′s fastball that has good movement and should be able to get a lot of groundballs against professional hitters. His fastball has been considered a plus pitch. The key to Sale’s success is his plus change up. His change will allow him to get right-handers out and remain a starting pitcher. His third pitch is a slider which is average, but effective against lefties. Sale’s control is very good. …

And from CSN:

While Laumann says that Sale is polished, any thinking that the youngster can get to the big leagues on an accelerated schedule, particularly coming from a smaller D-I school, is simply wishful. That said, the thought of watching Sale develop is an intriguing one.

“I think we get a little bit of everything with this guy,” Laumann said. “I saw him at least three times and the last time he was throwing between 88 and 92 in the first part of the game. Later in the game, he had a no-hitter going and he stepped it up a little to 92-96.

“He does have power; he throws a slider and he has a strikeout changeup. I would say he’s a power pitcher even though when you look at his body type [6-foot-6, 180 pounds], you might question that a little.”

MLBBB’s and THT’s Chris Sale scouting report

MLBBB:

Chris Sale is a tall, lanky left-handed pitcher from Florida Gulf Coast University. Sale came to Florida Gulf Coast from Lakeland High School in Lakeland, Florida, the school that fellow Draft Notebook prospects Yordy Cabrera and Eric Arce attend as high school players this year. Sale was a solid prospect with big projectability in high school, but his current stuff was rather short, and the Rockies justifiably took him in the twenty-first round of the 2007 draft. He didn’t sign, and he headed to a small school that has since transitioned to Division 1 status. After pitching fairly well in the bullpen as a freshman, he graduated to the rotation as a sophomore, having gained a few ticks on his fastball between the two years. The success he had as a sophomore was carried over on to the Cape, where he was the best pitching prospect in the league, vaulting him to likely first round status. With a second dominating year in the rotation, he’s cemented himself as one of the top pitchers available, and he has upside as a number two starter. His fastball is a plus pitch that generally sits 91-94, touching 96, and he commands it with plus precision. He gets a lot of life on it due to his three-quarters release point, and it’s one of the best left-handed fastballs in this class. His best secondary pitch is a plus changeup with excellent depth and fade, and it’s a Major League-ready pitch. His third pitch is an average slider that isn’t commanded nearly as well, and there are concerns about his inability to spin a breaking ball. However, with his track record of success and the attrition of other pitchers in this class, he is a likely top ten pick, where he should sign in the neighborhood of slot money

explanation of MLBBB’s rating system, 1B2 for Sale, inside

THT:

13. Chris Sale – White Sox. Another talent that arguably should’ve gone in the top ten. He’s the owner of a couple of my favorite draft-day stats: Only one walk against a lefty all year, and an identical 31/5 groundball/flyball out ratio against lefties in both 2009 and 2010. You have to make some allowances for his level of competition at FGCU, but after his performance in the Cape last summer, there’s no doubt he’s an elite guy.

Chris Sale was #4 in BA’s, #5 in MLBBB’s and #6 in Sickel’s draft talent rankings

Baseball America’s Top 50:

Here is a final update on our Top 50 overall prospects before the draft. This isn’t a ranking of where we think players will go, but how they line up based on talent. The First round is picks 1-32 and the supplemental first is 33-50. …

1. Bryce Harper, c, JC of Southern Nevada
2. Jameson Taillon, rhp, The Woodlands (Texas) HS
3. Manny Machado, ss, Brito Miami Private HS
4. Chris Sale, lhp, Florida Gulf Coast

John Sickels:

Here is what my draft board currently looks like. This is not a draft prediction; this is a ranking of how I like guys. It changes every few days and is a work in progress.

Draft Board, May 24, 2010

1) Bryce Harper, C, College of Southern Nevada
2) Jameson Taillon, RHP, The Woodlands, Texas, HS
3) Manny Machado, SS, Brito Private HS, Hialeah, Florida
4) Drew Pomeranz, LHP, University of Mississippi
5) Yasmani Grandal, C, University of Miami-Florida
6) Chris Sale, LHP, Florida Gulf Coast University

Sale gets an 1B2 rating from MLBBB:

My Seiler Rating system is designed to give a quick snapshot about a player without knowing a lot about them. It’s broken down into three sections, and it goes like this:

The first digit is a snapshot of the round range I expect a player to go in. A 1 is a player expected to go in rounds 1-3, 2 is rounds 4-6, 3 is rounds 7-10, 4 is rounds 11-15, and 5 is rounds 16-25.

The second piece is a letter that gives a player’s ceiling. An A is a superstar position player or true number one starter/elite closer. A B is an occasional all star/above-average position player or number two starter/above-average closer. A C is a solid-average starting position player or a number three/four starter/setup man. A D is a potential bench player or fifth starter/swing man/middle reliever.

The third piece is a digit that tells you the likelihood of a player reaching their ceiling. A 10% chance is just changed to a 1, 20% to a 2, etc. I’m very conservative with this part of the grade, because there are a ton of variables that go into reaching a ceiling, and it’s harder to reach a ceiling the higher you go up in your ceiling. …

My Seiler Rating system is designed to give a quick snapshot about a player without knowing a lot about them. It’s broken down into three sections, and it goes like this:

The first digit is a snapshot of the round range I expect a player to go in. A 1 is a player expected to go in rounds 1-3, 2 is rounds 4-6, 3 is rounds 7-10, 4 is rounds 11-15, and 5 is rounds 16-25.

The second piece is a letter that gives a player’s ceiling. An A is a superstar position player or true number one starter/elite closer. A B is an occasional all star/above-average position player or number two starter/above-average closer. A C is a solid-average starting position player or a number three/four starter/setup man. A D is a potential bench player or fifth starter/swing man/middle reliever.

The third piece is a digit that tells you the likelihood of a player reaching their ceiling. A 10% chance is just changed to a 1, 20% to a 2, etc. I’m very conservative with this part of the grade, because there are a ton of variables that go into reaching a ceiling, and it’s harder to reach a ceiling the higher you go up in your ceiling. …

1. Bryce Harper, C, CC of Southern Nevada – 1A2

2. Jameson Taillon, RHP, The Woodlands HS (TX) – 1A1

3. Manny Machado, SS, Brito Private HS (FL) – 1B3

4. Drew Pomeranz, LHP, Ole Miss – 1B3

5. Chris Sale, LHP, Florida Gulf Coast – 1B2

Chris Sale Cape Cod league stats

Gonzales:

The 6-foot-6, 180-pound Sale struck out 146 while walking only 14 in 103 innings. He posted an 11-0 record with a 2.01 ERA. Sale’s fastball has been clocked in the 93 mph range, and he was ranked as the fourth overall top prospect in the draft by Baseball America.

Sale also saved two games and limited opponents to a .218 batting average. He posted a 4-2 record and 1.47 ERA with 57 strikeouts and nine walks in 55 innings for Yarmouth-Dennis of the Cape Cod League last summer and was ranked as the league’s top prospect.

Chris Sale’s college stats

Merkin:

Chris Sale fits that description. The 6-foot-6 left-hander from Florida Gulf Coast University, projected in some mock drafts to have Top 5 talent, was chosen by the White Sox. Sale posted a sterling 11-0 record, 2.01 ERA and 146 strikeouts in 103 innings for Florida Gulf Coast this past season, while walking just 14.

A key for Sale is command of a good sinking fastball, something Williams looks for from his pitchers in hitter-friendly U.S. Cellular Field. Sale also throws a solid curve and changeup, although he has less than a prototypical arm slot for a starting pitcher.

Career College Stats:

Year	era	w-l	app	gs	cg	sho	sv	ip	h	r	er	bb	so	2b	3b	hr	bf	bavg	wp	hbp	bk	sfa	sha
2008….	3.47	2-0	21	1	0	0/1	2	36.1	36	15	14	10	43	4	1	2	157	.254	1	4	0	1	0
2009….	2.72	7-4	14	12	1	0/0	1	89.1	83	43	27	27	104	16	1	7	378	.246	4	5	0	3	6
TOTAL…	2.94	9-4	35	13	1	0/1	3	125.2	119	58	41	37	147	20	2	9	535	.248	5	9	0	4	6

Junior: Earned BFC Outstanding Pitcher Award for the 2009 Cape Cod Baseball League Season after leading the league in strikeouts and innings pitched… Named top prospect in Cape Cod League by Baseball America… Earned Louisville Slugger Preseason Second Team All-American honors selected by Collegiate Baseball newspaper…

Sophomore: Appeared in 14 games, making 12 starts… Went 7-4 with 104 strikeouts… Threw 89.1 innings with a 2.72 ERA… Recorded at least seven strike outs per start… Struck out 10 or more in three starts… Went six or more innings in all but one start… Had 12 strikeouts in eight innings and gave up only one earned run to earn his third win of the season against Belmont on Mar. 28… Threw a complete game, recording 12 strike outs against Stetson on May 15… Led the Eagles in ERA (2.72), opposing batting average (.246), innings pitched (89.1), and strike outs (104)… Second in the A-Sun in ERA and strike outs… Tied for second in the A-Sun in wins, and third in innings pitched… Earned A-Sun player of the week on Mar. 30 after a 12 strikeout performance against Belmont… Tied for 22^nd in the NCAA in strikeouts… 32^nd in the NCAA in strikeouts per nine innings… Earned All-Atlantic First Team honors.

Freshman: Second on the team with 21 appearances, all but one in relief… Finished the year with a 2-0 record with two saves… Threw 36.1 innings with 46 strikeouts and only nine walks… Had a 3.47 ERA and held opponents to a .250 batting average… Chosen to the Freshman All A-Sun team.

High School: 2007 graduate of Lakeland High School where he played under Coach Mike Campbell…21st round draft selection by the Colorado Rockies.

Personal: Criminal Justice major… Son of Marla and Allen Sale.

White Sox draft pick LHP Chris Sale Video and Scouting report

Video

Scouting Report

Chris Sale – P

Florida Gulf Coast University, Jr.

• Birthdate: 3/30/1989
• Height: 6’5″
• Weight: 175 lbs.
• Bats: Left
• Throws: Left
• Scout’s report filed: 3/19/10

Fastball: Sale throws his fastball up to 94, sitting comfortably at 90-92 mph.

Fastball movement: It’s got lots of sink, generating a ton of ground balls.

Curve: It’s got a sweepy slurve break, a potential wipeout pitch to left-handed hitters. It has some lateness to it.

Changeup: It’s a good pitch with a chance to be a plus offering. He uses it typically against right-handed hitters, and there’s some action and life to it.

Control: Sale is a strike-thrower who doesn’t hurt himself with walks.

Poise: It’s a plus, all business on the mound, with nothing rattling him. He’s got perhaps the best mound presence in the class.

Physical Description: Sale has a skinny, gangly, Andrew Miller-type body.

Medical Update: Healthy.

Strengths: Three above-average to plus pitches, outstanding mound presence and excellent command.

Weaknesses: His slot, low 3/4, isn’t typical for a starter. His frame will lead some to be concerned about durability.

Summary: Sometimes good things come out of smaller schools. Sale took a strong Cape Cod League performance and carried it over into his junior season. With the chance to have three outstanding pitches, all of which he can throw for strikes, to go along with outstanding mound presence, Sale has developed into one of the better lefties in the Draft class. Teams will have to look past a less than prototypical arm slot for a starting pitcher, but with the way he’s pitched, it seems likely a team will do that at some point in the first round.

Sox will pick LHP Chris Sale says Jonathan Mayo

JonathanMayo: White sox will take [lhp] chris sale at 13 #mlbdraft

Live draft feed

Live Draft feed: http://whitesox.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2010/draftlive_app.jsp?c_id=cws

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DraftCaster: http://whitesox.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2010/draftcaster.jsp?c_id=cws

Last Mock Drafts

Pilliere:

13. White Sox | Bryce Brentz (OF) | Middle Tennessee State

The White Sox have been linked to a number of young bats and some college arms, but they may have their sights set on Brentz. Mike Kvasnicka is also on their short list as is just about every college arm out there. It’s difficult to see where they are leaning, but Brentz is a good fit here. Asher Wojciechowski has gotten heavy attention from them as well.

Callis:

13. White Sox. Asher Wojciechowski, rhp, The Citadel

BTW, here’s BA’s updated Top 50 ranking.

Mayo:

13    CWS – Brandon Workman

And here are Baseball-Intellect’s thoughts.

Kevin Goldstein’s Final Mock Draft

Goldstein:

13. Chicago White Sox: Same story here as well, as I’ve heard nothing but a slew of college arms. McGuire would be a bit of a surprise, as Chicago might opt for something cheaper like Asher Wojciechowski, Brandon Workman or Barrett Loux.

Pick: Deck McGuire, RHP, Georgia Tech

UPDATE: McGuire is MLBBB’s pick too:

13. White Sox – Deck McGuire, RHP, Georgia Tech (Asher Wojciechowski)

Overview of college pitchers that may be selected by the White Sox

Here’s a brief overview from the scouting reports of pitching prospects (all are right-handed) I’ve seen associated with the White Sox 13th pick:

Deck McGuire (6’6”, 218): 91-93 mph fastball without lots of movement (some sink on the arm side, power slider (86 mph), average changeup, excellent command.

Brandon Workman (6’5”, 220): 90-95 mph with plus movement on both 2-seamer and 4-seamer. plus cutter. average curveball. average changeup. good command.

Asher Wojciechowski (6’4”, 235): up to 94 mph fastball with below average movement. average slider (83 mph). below-average changeup. average command.

Brett Eibner (6’4”, 210): 92-93 mph fastball with late sink. solid slider (81-84 mph). ok changeup. average command.

Alex Wimmers (6’2”, 195): 88-91 mph fastball with good movement on his two-seamer,  average curveball (71-73 mph), solid-average changeup, solid-average command. not a high-ceiling kind of guy.

Barret Loux (6’5”, 220): 91-04 mph fastball with good plane (light sink), average curve, slurvy slider, plus changeup, plus command.

Jonathan Mayo’s final draft projection

Mayo:

13. Chicago White Sox: Asher Wojciechowski, RHP, The Citadel

Looking like a college pitcher. Could be Brandon Workman or even Barret Loux. Wojciechowski is definitely in the mix.

John Sickel’s revised Final Mock Draft

Sickels:

13) White Sox: Brandon Workman, RHP, University of Texas: I had Brett Eibner here last time and I still think that makes a lot of sense theoretically, but the White Sox are reportedly closer to wanting Wimmers, Workman, or Barret Loux.

Workman’s Video/Scouting report.

White Sox are open for business

Buster Olney via MLBTR:

Heard this from multiple executives: The White Sox have made it clear they are open for business, and ready to trade off parts … from what has been a very disappointing team. The perception of other teams is that Paul Konerko is available right now, and … as we know, Chicago GM Ken Williams is a deal-maker,someone who will move quickly — as he did with the Contreras and Thome deals last fall.

Other players mentioned by MLBTR: A.J. Pierzynski, Mark Buehrle, Bobby Jenks, J.J. Putz, Scott Linebrink, Tony Pena, Matt Thornton, Andruw Jones, Freddy Garcia, Mark Kotsay, Omar Vizquel, Ramon Castro.