White Sox sign 38th round draft pick RHP Keegan Linza

Salisbury Post:

Chicago White Sox draft pick Keegan Linza (North Rowan) will be assigned to Bristol in the Appalachian League.

Here are his College Stats:

Year	ERA	W-L	APP	GS	CG	SHO/CBO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	2B	3B	HR	AB	B/Avg	WP	HBP	BK	SFA	SHA
2011	2.08	11-3	15	15	5	0/0	0	108.0	104	37	25	22	67	17	1	5	407	.256	6	7	0	1	14

and

Year	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	GF	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2010	8	0	5.29	14	12	1	0	0	0	64.2	67	41	38	4	34	44	16	1.56	9.3	0.6	4.7	6.1

He spent 2009 in Northwest Florida State Community College:

Year	GP	IP	R	ER	Hits	SO	BB	ERA	W	L	Save
2009	15	76.0	45	31	74	76	27	3.67	5	3	0

The Baseball Cube says he pitched 5 innings for South Carolina in 2008:

Year	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	GF	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2008	0	0	3.18	3	0	0	0	0	0	5.2	7	4	2	0	4	3	0	1.94	11.1	0.0	6.4	4.8

White Sox sign 32nd round draft pick C Brent Tanner

Stephenson @ GL:

Brent Tanner officially became a professional baseball player on Tuesday afternoon.

Tanner, the former George County High School and South Alabama catcher, went through his first practice with the Great Falls (Mont.) Voyagers of the Pioneer League Tuesday. The Voyagers are the Rookie League affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, who selected Tanner in the 32nd round of the major league draft last Wednesday.

… The 23-year-old Tanner has scarcely stopped moving since draft day. He signed with the White Sox on Friday, left for Great Falls on Sunday, arrived in town on Monday night and hit the practice field Tuesday afternoon

Here are his College Stats:

Year	AVG	GP-GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	SLG%	BB	HBP	SO	GDP	OBP	SF	SH	SB-ATT	PO	A	E	FLD%
2011	.342	58-58	228	44	78	15	0	10	55	123	.539	32	7	44	5	.432	4	0	7-9	340	33	8	.979
2010	.300	57-55	223	42	67	14	1	7	42	104	.466	23	2	48	4	.369	1	0	3-6

And from Meridian Community College:

Year	GP	AB	H	2B	3B	RBI	BA	HR	SB	SBA	SB%	BB	HBP	SF	OBP
2009	37	137	57	18	2	43	.416	8	5	6	.330	20	4	0	.503
2008	27	84	27	2	0	22	.321	3	1	1	.000

White Sox sign 26th round draft pick 3B Grant Buckner

Power @ WVMN:

Dream jobs are hard to come by, but one WVU baseball player has his and the opportunity of a lifetime. Grant Buckner was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 26th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft.

“I always said it’s what I wanted to do, it’s my biggest dream ever. I’ve always said I wanted my first real job to be a professional baseball player,” said Buckner. “That’s my job now so, no more school, just work on baseball all the time. That’s a pretty cool feeling.”

Buckner was the 801stpick in this year’s draft and the second Mountaineer shortstop in as many years to be drafted by a major league team.

“I’ll be heading to the Appalachian League in Bristol, Virginia,” Buckner said.  “That is the next step.” …

Here’s his scouting report from perfectgame.org via mack’s mets:

5-11 from: – link  - RF, Grant Buckner, W Virginia, 6’1 1/2 210, R/R, powerful built, solid RF arm, 40 plus runner and field, 60 power, could perhaps play 1b in pro ball, has good hands and moves well for a big man, swing a tad long with power to all fields. Someone will give him a 4-8 round look for sure and don’t be surprised if this kid gets to the show in 2-3 years with his makeup.

Here are his College Stats:

Year	AVG	GP-GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	SLG%	BB	HBP	SO	GDP	OB%	SF	SH	SB-ATT	PO	A	E	FLD%
2011	.364	55-55	209	48	76	14	1	8	46	116	.555	20	10	25	2	.440	2	7	3-6	90	144	13	.947
2010	.363	53-53	201	37	73	17	0	8	50	114	.567	21	15	27	7	.452	4	5	5-6	53	75	10	.928
2009	.325	55-55	200	42	65	21	1	5	45	103	.515	23	11	19	0	.418	3	10	0-2	116	2	2	.983
2008	.290	24-15	62	12	18	6	0	0	8	24	.387	3	1	7	0	.328	1	3	0-0	26	1	0	1.000

And here’s a small video of Buckner:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my-LBiDA9kU

White Sox sign 17th round draft pick OF Collin Kuhn and 28th round pick OF Kyle Robinson

Crunk @ AR:

Collin Kuhn and Kyle Robinson are set to begin their professional baseball careers as the pair have signed professional contracts with the Chicago White Sox. Kuhn was the White Sox’s 17th round selection with the 531st overall pick, while Robinson was drafted in the 28th round with the 861st overall pick. The pair will begin their professional careers with the Bristol White Sox, Chicago’s rookie league team in Bristol, Va

First, here’s Collin Kuhn’s scouting report from Baseball America:

Fellow Razorback outfielder Collin Kuhn outhit Kyle Robinson against better league pitching and was the team’s leading home run hitter. Like Robinson, he can be too aggressive at the plate, but at least he has speed and can sub in as a center fielder. His below-average arm may limit him from being a fourth outfielder, however. He’s a fourth-year junior with present strength and no carrying tool.

and here are Kuhn’s College Stats:

Year	AVG	GP-GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	SLG%	BB	HBP	SO	GDP	OB%	SF	SH	SB-ATT	PO	A	E	FLD%
2011	.282	56-55	206	44	58	13	2	7	41	96	.466	16	16	55	2	.370	5	3	22-24	141	6	0	1.000
2010	.336	64-63	259	66	87	18	4	16	52	161	.622	22	25	50	3	.434	3	4	17-19	130	9	2	.986
2009	.256	59-48	172	39	44	7	2	3	19	64	.372	19	12	41	2	.369	0	8	11-13	94	5	3	.971

Second, here’s Kyle Robinson’s scouting report from Baseball America:

Arkansas has its own senior sign in outfielder Kyle Robinson, who has power and athleticism. He struggled in Southeastern Conference play, hitting just .175.

and here are Robinson’s College Stats:

Year	AVG	GP-GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	SLG%	BB	HBP	SO	GDP	OB%	SF	SH	SB-ATT	PO	A	E	FLD%
2011	.286	60-56	213	38	61	9	4	10	49	108	.507	22	4	47	5	.358	4	2	9-10	126	10	7	.951
2010	.353	6-4	17	9	6	2	0	0	5	8	.471	3	0	3	0	.450	0	0	0-0	3	0	1	.750

Robinson played 2 years in Indian River State (Community) College before enrolling in Arkansas:

Year	GP	AB	H	2B	3B	RBI	BA	HR	SB	SBA	SB%	BB	HBP	SF	OBP
2009	37	137	57	18	2	43	.416	8	5	6	.330	20	4	0	.503
2008	27	84	27	2	0	22	.321	3	1	1	.000

John Danks finds his cutter grip

Gonzales @ CT:

After rebounding from an eight-game losing streak with two consecutive victories, left-hander John Danks believes he also has regained the feel for his signature cut fastball after experimenting. “I play with grips a lot,” said Danks, who will make his next start Saturday night in Arizona against Zach Duke. “My last game (a 3-2 triumph over the A’s on Saturday), I finally had a good one and was encouraged. Whenever I’m throwing a good one, I’m throwing it out front. That makes sense. I tend to not get on top of it and get around it and it doesn’t do anything for me. My focus is throwing it out front.”

Danks said he continues to employ the grip batting practice pitcher Kevin Hickey taught him. When the pitch is effective, it breaks into right-handed hitters. “I will continue to work on other grips in case I lose it in a game so I have something to fall back on,” Danks said. During his losing streak, Danks said he experimented by trying Mark Buehrle’s grip and he also spoke with bullpen coach Juan Nieves. But with Hickey’s grip, “the way I throw it, it feels better in my hand,” Danks said. “I don’t know why.”

White Sox sign 4th round draft pick RHP Kyle McMillen

Baseball America’s draft database reports 4th round draft pick RHP Kyle McMillen has signed. Scouting reports say:

Sickels @ MLBall:

Kyle McMillen, RHP, Kent State: Another lively arm at 90-94 MPH, nasty slider, has a chance to be a closer.

Nathan Rode @ BA:

Kent State RHP Kyle McMillen. Teammate of Andrew Chafin, sits 91-94 mph. Refining a slider. Works out of the bullpen.

Baseball America:

Andrew Chafin isn’t the only Kent State arm attracting early-round attention. The Golden Flashes used McMillen as a two-way player in his first two seasons–he showed impressive raw power as a first baseman–but he has concentrated on pitching as a junior after breaking the hamate bone in his right hand last fall. He touched 94 mph in the Cape Cod League last summer and has done so repeatedly this spring, working at 91-94 mph. Kent State’s Mike Birkbeck, a former big leaguer who’s regarded as one of the top pitching coaches in the Midwest, has helped McMillen refine a slider that’s a wipeout pitch at times. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder is a good athlete but needs to do a more consistent job of throwing strikes. With the Flashes’ starters dominating Mid-American Conference opponents all season long, scouts have had a hard time getting to see McMillen in action. But they’ve seen him enough that he should go in the first three rounds of the draft, possibly as high as the sandwich round.

Here are his College Stats:

Year	ERA	W-L	APP-GS	CG	SHO/CBO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	2B	3B	HR	AB	B/Avg	WP	HBP	BK	SFA	SHA
2011	1.80	1-2	28-0	0	0/3	18	30.0	18	8	6	12	31	2	0	1	103	.175	1	4	0	1	1
2010	4.44	1-2	19-0	0	0/2	4	24.1	25	12	12	13	17	7	0	1	95	.263	2	1	0	1	2
2009	9.00	2-0	10-0	0	0/0	0	10.0	15	11	10	7	10	4	0	2	40	.375	4	5	0	2	1

He tried swinging the bat too:

Year	AVG	GP-GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	SLG%	BB	HBP	SO	GDP	OB%	SF	SH	SB-ATT	PO	A	E	FLD%
2011	.000	28-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0-0	2	2	1	.800
2010	.354	51-48	198	51	70	15	0	6	46	103	.520	17	8	27	3	.420	3	1	2-4	297	24	4	.988
2009	.125	12-2	16	2	2	1	0	0	0	3	.188	1	0	6	1	.176	0	0	0-0	2	1	0	1.000

White Sox sign Missouri State senior RHP J.C. Casey

Scranton @ N-L:

Missouri State senior pitcher J.C. Casey agreed to a free-agent contract with the Chicago White Sox tonight and will report to the team’s rookie league club in Great Falls, Mont., on Thursday.

Casey wasn’t drafted and was signed as a free-agent.

Here are his stats:

Year	ERA	W-L	APP-GS	CG	SHO/CBO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	2B	3B	HR	AB	B/Avg	WP	HBP	BK	SFA	SHA
2011	3.69	1-0	15-0	0	0/1	1	39.0	40	20	16	15	31	8	1	2	154	.260	3	3	0	0	0
2010	10.38	0-2	6-1	0	0/0	0	8.2	17	12	10	3	6	0	0	1	43	.395	3	0	0	0	0
2009	5.81	1-3	8-4	0	0/1	1	26.1	32	20	17	12	20	5	3	2	106	.302	4	3	0	1	2
2008	14.88	0-1	10-3	0	0/0	0	16.1	27	27	27	11	6	9	1	5	70	.386	4	3	0	1	2