JJ predicts who will be the 7th and last bullpen pitcher

JJ looks into his crystal ball and predicts the last pitcher in the Sox bullpen:

After struggling as a starter for the first four years of his professional career, Carter saw success after being moved to double-A Birmingham’s bullpen in 2010. The 24-year-old right-hander posted a 3.91 FIP and struck out about a batter per inning with the Barons before striking out 16 and walking none in 10 Arizona Fall League innings. He features a typical power arm repertoire, throwing a mid-90′s fastball, a good slider, and a good changeup. …

Good stuff!

John Sickels on RHP Anthony Carter

John Sickels on White Sox prospect Anthony Carter:

Carter was drafted in the 26^th round by the White Sox in 2005, from Georgia Perimeter Junior College. He has one of the best fastballs in the White Sox system, hitting 95-98 MPH on his best days. His slider and changeup have their moments but are inconsistent. A starter in the lower minors, he converted to relief last year in Double-A with solid results; his K/IP and H/IP marks were very good, reflecting his above average stuff, and his control wasn’t terrible. Indeed, he showed excellent command in the Arizona Fall League, posting a 16/0 K/BB in 10 innings of work. Carter has the stuff to be a solid middle reliever, with some chance he can close if his control remains as sharp as it was in Arizona. Grade C, but raise that a notch if he keeps throwing strikes like he did in the fall.

BTW, here are Sickels’ 2011 Top 20 White Sox Prospects.

Baseball-Intellect’s 2011 Top 15 White Sox prospects (6-15)

Eisenberg @ BI:

6. Addison Reed | RHP | Age – 23 | Grade – C+
7. Eduardo Escobar | SS | Age – 22 | Grade – C+
8. Tyler Flowers | C/1b | Age – 25 | Grade – C+
9. Greg Infante | RHP | Age – 23 | Grade – C+
10. Thomas Royse | RHP | Age – 22 | Grade – C+
11. Andre Rienzo | RHP | Age – 22 | Grade – C+
12. Tyler Saladino | SS | Age – 21 | Grade – C+
13. Brandon Short | OF | Age – 22 | Grade – C+
14. Anthony Carter | RHP | Age – 25 | Grade – C
15. Matt Heidenreich | RHP | Age – 20 | Grade – C 

The following was the comment for Andre Rienzo: “Intriguing sleeper…report contains a breakdown of his mechanics, which are pretty Tim Lincecum-esque.” That’s a hell of a teaser!

For comments on all 10 prospects as well as a scouting report on Addison Reed hit the link. Here are Prospects 1-5.

John Sickels’ White Sox Top 20 Prospects for 2011

Sickels:

1) Chris Sale, LHP, Grade A: I don’t see how I can give him anything but a Grade A considering how his debut went. Starter or closer, either way he looks great to me.

2) Brent Morel, 3B, Grade B: Should be a solid regular, very good glove, bat will be enough, Joe Randa comps are common and accurate, in my view.

… 9) Andre Rienzo, RHP, Grade C+: This guy is a huge sleeper. You won’t see him on many other lists, but he has good stuff and good numbers. From Brazil.

The rest at the link.

FutureSox’ White Sox Top 25 post-season prospects list [UPDATE]

FutureSox:

1. Chris Sale
2. Dayan Viciedo
3. Brent Morel
4. Jared Mitchell
5. Tyler Flowers
6. Trayce Thompson
7. Eduardo Escobar
8. Jacob Petricka
9. Jordan Danks
10. Addison Reed
…

UPDATE: Jim covers the White Sox Top 10 prospect list by Phil Rogers for Baseball America.

Three White Sox prospecs named to AFL’s Rising Stars All-Star Game [UPDATE]

Reifert:

Farmhands Anthony Carter (RHP), Eduardo Escobar (INF) and Jared Mitchell (OF) named to AFL Rising Stars All-Star Game roster.

Mayo @ MLB:

This year’s version of the Rising Stars Game, edition No. 5, will take place this Saturday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m. Arizona time (6:06 first pitch) at Surprise Stadium. And if last year’s game is any indication, any baseball fan worth his or her salt will either head to Arizona or tune in to find out what the big leagues will look like in 2011.

For the second straight year, the game will be streamed on MLB.com and shown on MLB Network. Anyone watching will see at least one Major League prospect and many former first-round picks — from all 30 big league organizations. The teams will be split into the two AFL divisions — East and West. Tickets for the game are just $6 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and youth (17 and under). They will be available at the Surprise Stadium box office beginning at 5 p.m. It’s open seating, so it’s first-come, first-served in terms of where a fan catches all of the action.

UPDATE: The broadcast will be free:

Some of Major League Baseball’s top prospects will be featured in Arizona Fall League matchups on MLB Network and MLB.com. MLB Network’s Dave Valle and Daron Sutton, who calls play-by-play for the Arizona Diamondbacks, will call the fifth annual Rising Stars Game on Saturday, November 6 at 9:00 p.m. ET at Surprise Stadium. Valle will be joined by MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger in the broadcast both for the 19th annual AFL Championship game on Saturday, November 20 at 3:00 p.m. ET live from Scottsdale Stadium. MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, will co-produce and provide free live and on-demand video streams of the two games.

AFL Game #1: Peoria Saguaros @ Scottsdale Scorpions [UPDATE]

Boxscore. Gameday. Weather: 75 degrees, clear. Jared Mitchell starts at CF and Eduardo Escobar at 2B for the Saguaros.

UPDATE: Jared went 3-4 with a double and a K:

Peoria Saguaros
Player	Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
Mitchell	CF	4	2	3	1	0	0	0	0	1	.750
Escobar	2B	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.500

BASERUNNING
CS: Escobar (1, 2nd base by Verdugo, R/Norris, D), Mitchell (1, 2nd base by Stange/Norris, D).
PO: Escobar (1st base by Verdugo, R).

Peoria Saguaros
Leesman (L, 0-1)	1.0	2	1	1	1	0	0	9.00

Pitches-strikes: Leesman 22-9.
Groundouts-flyouts: Leesman 0-1.
Batters faced: Leesman 5.

---

Here’s a quick look on the White Sox prospects:

Mark Gonzales tweets that the White Sox prospects in the 2010 AFL will be Anthony Carter, Charlie Leesman, Henry Mabee, Jonnie Lowe, Josh Phegley, Eduardo Escobar and Jared Mitchell. They will play for the Peoria Saguaros.

Anthony Carter (24, RHP, AA): 56.1 IP, 46 H, 56 K, 22 BB, 3.99 ERA, 3.99 FIP, 1.20 WHIP
Charlie Leesman (23, LHP, AA): 50.2 IP, 41 H, 40 K, 18 BB, 3.20 ERA, 3.29 FIP, 1.16 WHIP
Henry Mabee (25, RHP, AA): 81.2 IP, 72 H, 60 K, 42 BB, 3.86 ERA, 4.45 FIP, 1.39 WHIP
Jonnie Lowe (25, RHP, AA): 119.1 IP, 122 H, 73 K, 48 BB, 4.00 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 1.42 WHIP
Josh Phegley (22, C, A+): 89 ABs, .292/.333/.427/.760, 22 K, 7 BB, .329 wOBA
Eduardo Escobar (21, SS, A+): 367 ABs, .281/.315/.398/.713, 75 K, 23 BB, .303 wOBA
Jared Mitchell (22, OF, A): 115 ABs, .296/.417/.435/.852, 40 K, 23 BB, .384 wOBA in 2009

Here’s the entire Saguaros 2010 roster. And FutureSox’ post.

FutureSox reviews the 2010 Birmingham Barons

Norris:

Jim Gallagher ended up being named the Barons team MVP for 2010.  Deservedly so, as he led the team in most offensive categories.  I’ve already stated before that I see him as a Ross Gload type if he were to make it to the majors.  He certainly is passionate enough to put forth the effort to get there.  I expect him to be in Charlotte for 2011.

Anthony Carter was named Barons pitcher of the year after having a fantastic run as a closer.  Hopefully he can build on that and put himself into consideration as a future big league reliever.  Deunte Heath pitched excellently for the Barons in relief, striking out 84 in 57.2 innings.  The White Sox made a good call giving him a second chance.  Both Carter and Heath should be in Charlotte in 2011.

Stats:

Gallagher (25 years old): .590 PA, 292/.390/.425/.815, 74 BB / 89 K, .339 BABIP, .361 wOBA
Carter (24): 57.1 IP, 22 BB / 58 K, 3.92 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 3.91 FIP, .282 BABIP
Heath (25): 57.2 IP, 32 BB / 84 K, 3.12 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 3.23 FIP, .369 BABIP

Stats for other Sox prospects.

White Sox prospects in the 2010 AFL

Mark Gonzales tweets that the White Sox prospects in the 2010 AFL will be Anthony Carter, Charlie Leesman, Henry Mabee, Jonnie Lowe, Josh Phegley, Eduardo Escobar and Jared Mitchell. They will play for the Peoria Saguaros.

Anthony Carter (24, RHP, AA): 56.1 IP, 46 H, 56 K, 22 BB, 3.99 ERA, 3.99 FIP, 1.20 WHIP
Charlie Leesman (23, LHP, AA): 50.2 IP, 41 H, 40 K, 18 BB, 3.20 ERA, 3.29 FIP, 1.16 WHIP
Henry Mabee (25, RHP, AA): 81.2 IP, 72 H, 60 K, 42 BB, 3.86 ERA, 4.45 FIP, 1.39 WHIP
Jonnie Lowe (25, RHP, AA): 119.1 IP, 122 H, 73 K, 48 BB, 4.00 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 1.42 WHIP
Josh Phegley (22, C, A+): 89 ABs, .292/.333/.427/.760, 22 K, 7 BB, .329 wOBA
Eduardo Escobar (21, SS, A+): 367 ABs, .281/.315/.398/.713, 75 K, 23 BB, .303 wOBA
Jared Mitchell (22, OF, A): 115 ABs, .296/.417/.435/.852, 40 K, 23 BB, .384 wOBA in 2009

Here’s the entire Saguaros 2010 roster.

UPDATE: FutureSox.

FutureSox’ Midseason Top 25 Prospects

Cassidy:

Rank	Player	Points	Previous	Change
1	Dan Hudson	179	1	unch
2	Dayan Viciedo	172	4	+2
3	Chris Sale	168	n/a	NEW
4	Tyler Flowers	161	2	-2
5	Jared Mitchell	156	5	unch

…

I’d rank them in this order: Hudson, Sale, Flowers, Mitchell, Viciedo.

Anthony Carter throwing 98 mph!

Norris @ FutureSox:

I witnessed a revelation this past Saturday night. [Anthony] Carter was sent into the game in the top of the 9th with a 7-4 lead. … Carter absolutlely wowed me by blowing away three batters all on strikeouts.  According to the scoreboard, he hit 98 on several of the pitches.  Could Carter land on the prospect radar as a reliever that throws gas?  He had a lot of life on his pitches even as a starter, so when he wasn’t holding back as a reliever, it was impressive.

Scouting the Birmingham Barons (Brent Morel and a lot more)

FutureSox has the scouting reports and videos.

Here’s a video clip (1:49) of Brent Morel:

FutureSox reviews Sox Right-Handed pitching prospects (high minors)

Here’s what they have to say on Dan Hudson:

What he needs to improve: His minor league numbers were sparkling, but in the Majors he had issues with consistency and control. Much of this can probably be attributed to nerves, but it’s still something to watch out for. Hudson has good stuff, but not good enough to be effectively wild.