Ozzie Guillen doesn’t like the chances the White Sox start a long winning streak

Schouwen @ CST:

So when manager Ozzie Guillen was asked if his team should shoot for something like a 14-5 record in the current 19-game stretch against the Central, Guillen spoke the truth.

“We’re not that good,’’ Guillen said. “I wish I could say, ‘Well, we’re going to win 15 and lose two.’ We can do that, but we’re not doing it.’’

Mostly true but doesn’t it feel weird to hear it from the manager of the team?

Other White Sox links: James looks on the Brandon Beachy-Carlos Quentin trade rumor and on Adam Dunn and his game yesterday, FutureSox looks at Tyler Kuhn’s promotion to AAA and Jose Martinez’s promotion to AA, and Brett Ballantini posts his mid-season report for the Sox.

Jose Martinez hitting .400/.446/.553/.999

Those two hits bring Jose Martinez's average to .400. He's struck out just eight times in 85 at-bats. #timeforapromotion—
FutureSox.com (@FutureSox) April 30, 2011

Stats. BABIP: .431.

Kevin Goldstein on Jose Martinez and Dayan Viciedo

Goldstein @ BP:

• Jose Martinez, OF, White Sox (High-A Winston-Salem): 2-for-4, HR (1), R, RBI. Former highly-ranked prospect is now interesting sleeper; finally goes deep, but three straight multi-hit games have him back over .400 at .403/.452/.571 in 19 overall.
• Dayan Viciedo, OF, White Sox (Triple-A Charlotte): 2-for-5, 2B, HR (3), 2 R, 2 RBI, K. Home runs in back-to-back games but still at just .243/.278/.419 in 19 games; playing exclusively in right field.

Martinez has a .453 BABIP. Last time (4/22) it was .479. Progress!

Kevin Goldstein on Jose Martinez and Josh Phegley

Goldstein @BP:

• Jose Martinez, OF, White Sox (High-A Winston-Salem): 3-for-5, 2B, 3 R. He doesn’t have the wheels anymore, but other tools are in place; 22-year-old is up to .434/.492/.604 in 13 games.
• Josh Phegley, C, White Sox (Double-A Birmingham): 2-for-5, 2 HR (3), 2 R, 4 RBI. Few doubted he could hit coming out of college, but questions about receiving skills remain unanswered as he’s committed 12 errors and been charged with 23 passed balls in just 91 career games behind the plate.

Small problem: Martinez’ BABIP is an astronomical .479.

Baseball America on Nevin Griffith, Drew Lee, Christian Marrero, Jose Martinez

After finishing the Top 10 prospect lists for each team Baseball America’s Jim Callis looks on the best of the rest:

Drew Lee, 2b/ss, White Sox

Born: March 22, 1988. B-T: B-R. Ht.: 5-11. Wt.: 185. Drafted.: Morehead State, 2010 (12th round). Signed by: Phil Gulley.

Many scouts considered Lee a metal-bat creation—until he got a wood bat in his hands. The all-time leader in hits and RBIs at Morehead State, he hit .413 as a junior and .412 as a senior before the White Sox drafted him in the 12th round last June and signed him for $5,000. He batted .324 in his first month in pro ball before tiring late and finishing at .282. He earned all-star honors in the Rookie-level Appalachian League and topped the circuit with 24 doubles, showing enough at the plate to suggest Chicago may have found a bargain. Lee is still growing into his body and wouldn’t stand out at a showcase, but he knows how to hit and play the game. A switch-hitter, he has a compact swing that looks similar from both sides of the plate. He’s a smart hitter with surprising pop for his size. Most of his power comes from the left side of the plate. Lee played mostly shortstop in college but has a second baseman’s arm and spent most of his time as a pro at the keystone. He has the tools to be a solid defender there, with the ability to fill in at short. He’s a good baserunner, though he has just average speed. Whether Lee becomes a regular or utility infielder will depend on how much he hits. He’ll be tested with a full-season assignment in 2011, likely at high Class A Winston-Salem because he’s already 23.

Hit the link for reports on Nevin Griffith, Christian Marrero, and Jose Martinez.

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.

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.

SoxMachine’s midseason prospect progress report

Jim @ SM:

Jose Martinez

.333/.392/.486 in 72 ABs; 2 2B, 3 HR, 7 BB, 10 K.

It feels like he’s pushing 30, but Martinez will turn only 22 later this month.  He’s been out of baseball for two full years, but the Sox aren’t shying away from testing him.  He played just 39 games at Kannapolis before his knee injury, but he’s succeeding in Winston-Salem.

That could be a factor of the apparently friendly hitting environment at BB&T Ballpark, but if Martinez can finish the year healthy and hitting like this, the Sox have a genuine outfield prospect in the fold.

Martinez’ stats @ FI.

More prospects reports at the link.

January 8 links

- Sox Minor Leaguer suspended 50 games

- Jim has some minor-league notes from Phil Rogers’ Baseball America chat (Trayce Thompson, Daniel Hudson, Clevelan Santeliz, John Ely, Dan Remenowsky, Josh Phegley, Santos Rodriguez, Charles Leesman, Sergio Santos, Jose Martinez, Ryan Buch).

- Fangraphs adds CHONE projections.

- Jonah Keri on Tim Raines.

- Dan Shaughnessy get the FJM treatment from Patrick Sullivan.

- Graph of starts/innings in 2009. And broken down by league.