John Sickels talks about Chris Sale, Zach Stewart, and Brent Morel

John Sickels reviews his pre-season prospect lists (the bold part of the quote is from the pre-season list):

6) Chris Sale, LHP, Chicago White Sox, Grade A: 2.79 ERA with 79/27 K/BB in 71 major league innings, just 52 hits, eight saves. Another successful debut, and I think he will do well as a starter.

2011 Stats:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB	Awards
2011	22	CHW	AL	2	2	.500	2.79	58	0	17	0	0	8	71.0	52	22	22	6	27	3	79	2	0	2	288	152	1.113	6.6	0.8	3.4	10.0	2.93

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/5/2011.

and

33) Zach Stewart, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays, Grade B+:  4.20 ERA with 79/27 K/BB in 101 innings in Double-A/Triple-A. Traded to White Sox, went 2-6, 5.88 with 45/18 K/BB in 67 major league innings, 90 hits. Capable of better, but not going to be an ace or rotation anchor.

2011 Stats:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB	Awards
2011	24	TOT	AL	2	6	.250	5.88	13	11	1	1	1	0	67.1	90	44	44	11	18	2	45	2	1	2	297	72	1.604	12.0	1.5	2.4	6.0	2.50
2011	24	TOR	AL	0	1	.000	4.86	3	3	0	0	0	0	16.2	26	9	9	2	5	1	10	1	1	1	75	89	1.860	14.0	1.1	2.7	5.4	2.00
2011	24	CHW	AL	2	5	.286	6.22	10	8	1	1	1	0	50.2	64	35	35	9	13	1	35	1	0	1	222	68	1.520	11.4	1.6	2.3	6.2	2.69

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/5/2011.

and from the review of the hitting prospects (the bold part of the quote is from the pre-season list):

33) Brent Morel, 3B, Chicago White Sox, Grade B: Hit .245/.287/.366 with 10 homers, 22 walks, 57 strikeouts in 413 major league at-bats. Capable of better, could sneak up on us in a year or two.

2011 Stats:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	Pos	Awards
2011	24	CHW	AL	126	444	413	44	101	18	1	10	41	5	4	22	57	.245	.287	.366	.653	76	151	8	3	5	1	0	*5

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/5/2011.

Surprise candidate!

Gordon Wittenmyer:

Depending on the day, the source or the direction the wind blows, Martinez or Cleveland Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. is the favorite to land Guillen’s old job. Terry Francona’s sudden availability adds a high-profile wrinkle to the mix, and there’s some talk of a surprise off-the-radar candidate.

Jim Thome is coming back!

Other White Sox links:

• James posted his playoff primer. And it took him 2 posts.
• The Sox minor league teams went 351-354 in 2011.
• John Sickels on Brent Morel: “Capable of better, could sneak up on us in a year or two.” More .271/.400/.671 please!
• Coop is pushing Terry Francona for manager and says the ‘Chris Sale to the rotation move’ hasn’t been decided yet.