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.

Justin Edwards and Terry Doyle promoted

22-year old LHP Justin Edwards to AA and 24-year old RHP Terry Doyle to A+.

UPDATE: FutureSox breaks-down all the moves. Ryan Buch, and Juan Silverio were demoted to extended spring training.

John Sickels on Brent Morel

Sickels:

White Sox third base prospect Brett Morel is having a good transition to Double-A, hitting .308/.350/.444 in 34 games, including .351/.385/.514 in his last ten contests. Plate discipline is an issue: he’s drawn just eight walks against 24 strikeouts in 133 at-bats. The strikeouts aren’t bad but I would like to see a few more walks, granted his overall production has been just fine. He’s a solid defensive third baseman, and if his offensive development continues at the current pace he should be ready for a major league trial next year, although I’d like him to get some Triple-A time in first. If I were running things, he would remain in Double-A until August, then move up to Triple-A at that point assuming his numbers remain where they are now.

White Sox trade for OF Buck Coats

KC 610 Sports Radio (twitter) (via MLBTR):

Royals trade AAA Omaha OF Buck Coats to the White Sox for cash considerations.

Stats: FI, B-R

Last year (Age 28) @ AAA: .302/.360/.416/.776 with 47 BB / 64 K in 527 PAs. .338 wOBA. .337 BABIP.

UPDATE: Merkin (WhiteSox.com beat writer) says Coats will play for Birmingham.

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:

April 9 links

- Aaron Gleeman says Ozzie Guillen is very worked up about the White Sox’s strikeouts.

- SoxMachine: Charlotte Knights and Birmingham Barons and Winston-Salem Dash and Kannapolis Intimidators previews.

- FutureSox: Charlotte Knights and Birmingham Barons previews.

- Sergio Santos was willing to learn.

- Roland Hemond: “We just traded for a jockey.”

- John Sickels: Prospect Retro: Nick Swisher.

April 5 links

- Happy Opening Day!

- Uncle Phil says Jake Peavy better show better stuff than 91-92 mph fastballs. Ehh, Peavy always was a 91-92 mph fastball pitcher.

- Erik looks at various 2010 AL Central forecasts.

- The White Sox hired Jerry Krause as a minor league scout. Krause has extensive baseball scouting experience. He was a scout for the Sox in the 70s and 80s.

- White Sox Opening Day payroll: $105,530,000 million. All MLB player salaries.

- Jim looks where recent ex-Sox players are.

- FutureSox: Kannapolis Intimidators season preview. Futuresox: Winston-Salem Dash season preview. al.com: Birmingham Barons season preview.

- Joe Cowley says the Sox need as fast start to put some quarters in Kenny’s pocket.

Sox Minor-league team’s rosters

Kannapolis Intimidators’ (Class A) roster. Winston-Salem Dash’s (A+) roster. Birmingham Barons’ (AA) roster. Charlotte Knights’ (AAA) roster.

Sox extend Birmingham Barons affiliation through 2014

Crawford:

The Chicago White Sox are scheduled to announce their relationship with the Birmingham Barons will extend through the 2014 season at a Tuesday press conference.

The Barons’ player development contract with the White Sox was set to expire at the end of 2010. An 11:30 a.m. press conference at Regions Park is scheduled to announce the extension. …

February 10 links

- Jermaine Dye is open to playing 1B or LF. Jon Heyman says “he might be the most under-rated player in this market.” If he’s willing to play DH, Kenny should pick him up.

- SABR is offering a free PDF download of its Emerald Guide 2010 (2007-2009 editions too). You don’t need to be a member.

- BDD’s Top Prospects Compilation: Update #15:

Spreadsheet: 2009-2010-Top-Prospect-Lists.xls [202 KB]

- Opening Day (1985 and on) and Year-end (1999 and on) payroll information for all MLB teams from Biz of Baseball. Also some, not all, player salaries for years before 1985.

- BDD on the “dying DH.”

- tRA is tERA now.

- Evaluating the 2009 forecasts.

- Rickwood Field, the Birmingham Barons, and the Black Barons.

- Who needs Orlando Hudson?

- The piranhas are turning into sharks.

Buddy Bell loves Dayan Viciedo

Buddy thinks Viciedo had a great year in Birmingham:

“One of our biggest concerns with him was the culture,” Bell said. “The kid turned out to be maybe the best teammate we had at Birmingham … He’s a great kid.”

Bell compares the 20-year-old Viciedo to the Angels’ Kendry Morales, a more experienced Cuban who needed 309 games in the minor leagues before establishing himself as a big-leaguer. “He’ll figure it out,” Bell said of Viciedo. “He’s so strong. He’s going to be a good big-league hitter.” …

Baseball America’s Southern League Top 20 Prospects

Ben Bradler:

2. Gordon Beckham, ss, Birmingham (White Sox)

6. Tyler Flowers, c, Birmingham (White Sox)

15. Dan Hudson, rhp, Birmingham (White Sox)

16. Jordan Danks, of, Birmingham (White Sox)

Baseball America on John Ely

Jim Callis:

Q: I never see White Sox righthander John Ely mentioned in prospect rankings. He went 14-2, 2.82 in Double-A this year, but Chicago has four set starters in the major leagues and prospect Daniel Hudson ahead of him. What do you see for Ely?

A: Don’t say never— Ely came in at No. 9 and No. 11 in our White Sox rankings lists in the last two Prospect Handbooks. A third-round pick out of Miami (Ohio) in 2007, he led the Southern League in victories and strikeouts (125 in 156 innings) and finished second in ERA. Not that wins are the most telling stat for a pitcher, but Ely consistently racks them up and has posted an 83-27 record going back to his days as a high school star in suburban Chicago. Ely can’t overpower hitters with his fringe-average fastball and his curveball is inconsistent, but he does have a nifty changeup. That repertoire doesn’t give him a huge ceiling, but he does locate his pitches down in the zone and rarely beats himself by surrendering walks or home runs. He’s a favorite sleeper of mine and I wouldn’t rule out Ely carving a niche for himself in the back of someone’s rotation. White Sox GM Kenny Williams isn’t afraid to trade prospects, and Ely could find a better opportunity elsewhere. He’ll probably open 2010 in Triple-A.

FutureSox on 1B/OF Christian Marrero

Norris:

The Miami native is listed as 6′1″ and 185, but I’d say he’s about 15 pounds heavier than that. His lower body is where he generates most of his torque as he has big, strong legs. He has time to fill out his upper body as he’s just barely 23. He hits the ball hard to all fields, which is what has lead to his .308 average this year. …

Watch out for Stefan Gartrell says Phil Rogers

Rogers:

Gartrell, 25, might be the White Sox’s biggest sleeper since Magglio Ordonez. A 31st-round pick in the 2006 draft, he has hit .280 with 21 home runs and 85 RBIs in 127 games between Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte. He looks a little like Jermaine Dye on the field and will make the Sox think hard about exercising Dye’s $12 million option for 2010.  “He really has improved his hitting,” Birmingham hitting coach Andy Tomberlin. “He has a chance to hit for serious power.”