Tyler Saladino, SS, White Sox (High-A Winston-Salem)
A seventh-round pick last year out of Oral Roberts, Saladino opened plenty of eyes after signing by hitting an impressive .309/.397/.442 in 47 Low-A games. A broken hand delayed his 2011 season, and there were worries that last summer was a fluke when he hit .182 in his first 20 Carolina League games. Since then, he’s back to being the player we saw last summer; with two home runs over the weekend, he’s hitting .329 in his last 18 games to up his season averages to .252/.333/.476. Beyond having well above-average power for a middle infielder, he’s also a legitimate shortstop who makes up for average range with instincts and fundamentals. He entered the year as my 12th-best prospect in a weak White Sox system, and he’ll surely get a full write-up this offseason.
And he’s doing this having a normal .294 BABIP. Last year his BABIP was an astronomical .412.
