Here’s what they have to say on Jordan Danks:
What he needs to improve: Assuming Jordan is healthy, his priority will be cutting down on his strikeouts. Considering the former Longhorn isn’t a big power threat his K rate (23% in ’09) is dreadful. He simply can’t strikeout that much and succeed as a #2 type hitter in the Majors. You can’t blame the strikeouts on the injuries either. His monthly splits were consistent before and after the injuries.
Cowley says trade Flowers and re-sign AJ. Joe says trade Marquez too. Who will take him?
FutureSox notes from Buddy Bell’s conference call:
- On Dayan Viciedo: “He has such great hands. He can sit back and drive the ball the other way.” However, he said Dayan gets opposite field happy and gets anxious. They are trying to get him to stay behind the ball more because he is so quick.
- David Holmberg looks real good. He has great instincts for his age, but they will be slower with him this year because there are older guys they need to see at a higher level. He has big upside. The coaches don’t have to tell him twice what to do.
Buddy Bell mentions correcting Tyler Flowers’ swing like Kenny Williams.
He also touches on Gregory Infante, Dan Remenowsky, C.J. Retherford, Jordan Danks, John Shelby, Kyle Bellamy.
seven cuts announced prior to Tuesday’s game with the Giants.And the players surviving the moves stand as intriguing as the ones sent down or sent out.
Catcher Tyler Flowers and right-handed pitcher Carlos Torres were optioned to Triple-A Charlotte, while right-handed pitcher Ryan Braun, outfielders Jordan Danks and Josh Kroeger and infielders Brent Morel and C.J. Retherford were reassigned to Minor League camp.
… Tuesday’s moves give the White Sox 32 players in Major League camp and basically nine players fighting for two roster spots. The utility infielder battle, to complement Omar Vizquel, appears to come down to Jayson Nix and Brent Lillibridge, with Nix being out of options. …
He thinks Jayson Nix and Sergio Santos are the frontrunners for the utility man and 6th bullpen spot roster battles.
The battle between Jayson Nix and Brent Lillibridge for that final reserve spot is still a dead heat.
Unfortunately, both players fall under the category of “disappointing,” so manager Ozzie Guillen is hoping that it could only get better.
… Guillen was critical of both players last season, especially with the fact that he felt they focused to much on being power hitters rather than hitting the ball on the ground and using their legs.
With Nix and Lillibridge scuffling that has also opened the door for rookies Jordan Danks and C.J. Retherford. Guillen has been gushing over the younger Danks brother since the start of camp, but Retherford has played his way into Guillen’s sights. …
Today’s ‘B’ game lineup:
Mitchell lf; Danks cf; Flowers c; Viciedo 1b; Kroeger dh; Nix 2b; Lillibridge ss; Morel 3b; De Aza rf; Floyd p
Besides G. Floyd, D. Cabrera, C. Torres and D. Hudson are scheduled to pitch.
BTW, Jim says pay attention to the walk and strikeout numbers.
Gordon Beckham moves from third base to second base. Beckham, who arrived almost one week before position players report on Saturday, seems confident in his ability to handle the new position, while avoiding the sophomore jinx following an opening campaign earning him two top rookie honors.
“Hit .300, that’s all I really want to do,” said Beckham, who isn’t concerned as much with his home run power as he is with knocking out 40 or 50 doubles. “But it’s not an easy task.”
T-Flow gets a B and is on top of Alex Eisenberg’s Top-15:
Tyler Flowers has improved in each of the past three years at three different levels. From Single-A Rome to Double-A Birmingham, Flowers’ OPS has gone from .866 to .922 to 1.000. Only after a promotion to Triple-A did Flowers see his numbers drop off.
The increase has coincided with improved power numbers and an improved BB% though he’s also seen his K% rise as well.
*Credit to jpafan44Flowers is a big man with a ton of raw strength which is a big factor in his plus raw power. He complements his power with wonderful patience at the plate, which is helped by excellent pitch recognition. However, there are holes in Flowers’ swing and he struggles to catch up to good fastballs up in the zone and in on the hands. Flowers’ bat speed is more solid than great.
While Flowers is not going to hit for a high average, he’s going to get on base often and he’s going to hit for power. He will also be doing this at catcher, a premium defensive position where good bats are tough to find.
Flowers is actually a decent athlete though his size can make it difficult for him behind the plate. He communicates with his pitchers well and has improved the quickness of his release. His arm rates as average behind the plate as he threw out 29% of all base runners last year.
Jared Mitchell is #2 (scouting report available), Dan Hudson #3, Jordan Danks #4, and Brent Morel #5. Read more at the #1-5 prospects. #6-15 coming soon.
Kenny wonders who’s Johnny Damon’s agent. Marc Teahen might wear #23. Bobby Jenks was offered a multi-year deal before he signed his arbitration contract. Kenny on Jordan Danks and Jared Michell: “this is 2010 and we have to win … They got to wait.” Ozzie blamed Kenny for the 2008 team. Jeff Cox: “There’s no ‘i’ in team, but there are 2 in ‘idiot.’” Steve Stone to Greg Walker: “Can you make a guy who can’t hit, hit?” “Um, no.” Rick Hahn: [Gordon] Beckham has changed perception about length of development time. Doug Laumann: [Dayan] Viciedo “a man among boys,” probably will end up @ 1B. Rick Hahn: We’re re-investing in Latin American scouting infrastructure.
DH:
The Chicago White Sox have agreed to terms on minor-league contracts with right-handed pitchers Greg Aquino and Daniel Cabrera, left-handed pitcher Erick Threets, infielder Freddie Bynum and outfielder Jason Botts.
The Cabrera signing is new. Stats: Cabrera. Stats for others: Bynum, Botts, Aquino, Threets.
Those 5 were invited to Spring Training. Also, Jordan Danks, Jared Mitchell, Brent Morel, and C.J. Retherford highlight the 10 players within the Sox system that were invited to Spring Training. More organization invitees: Charlie Leesman, Josh Phegley.
UPDATE: The other 4 organization invitees are C Miguel Gonzalez, C Donny Lucy, OF Josh Kroegar, and RHP Ryan Braun. Pitchers and catchers report to camp on February 21, position players on February 26. Here’s FutureSox’ post.
Today, Baseball America released their top ten prospect rankings for the White Sox. This means all of the major prospect publications have released their White Sox rankings. Let’s take a look at the differences from each and try to figure out what it all means.
We’ve gathered six White Sox top 10s from Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, Fan Graphs, John Sickels’ Minor League Ball, Diamond Futures and our own postseason rankings. Fan Graphs does things a little differently, they don’t include 2009 rookies in their rankings due to a lack of sample size, so you have to take that into account. …
I’d go Hudson-Flowers-Mitchell for my Top 3.
1. Jared Mitchell, of
2. Tyler Flowers, c
3. Dan Hudson, rhp
4. Brent Morel, 3b
5. Jordan Danks, of
6. Trayce Thompson, of
7. Dayan Viciedo, 3b
8. David Holmberg, lhp
9. Clevelan Santeliz, rhp
10. Miguel Gonzalez, c
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