FutureSox looks at the White Sox infield prospects

The IF prospects were Eduardo Escobar, Brent Morel, Dayan Viciedo, Andy Wilkins, Jon Gilmore, and Tyler Saladino:

Wilkins is a definite sleeper candidate this year. Any early draft pick hitter coming from an advanced college program (Arkansas) that has a strong rookie debut is expected to continue that success. Wilkins showed power, plate discipline and contact. As a corner infielder, he sits behind Morel, Viciedo, Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko. Sounds like a possible trade piece to me.

Did White Sox prospect 2B/SS Tyler Saladino broke his hand?

Charlotte Baseball Examiner tweets:

Hearing Tyler Saladino broke his hand and will have surgery on Monday. Same hand Trayce Thompson broke last year. @Intimidators @FutureSox

White Sox prospects on John Sickels’ ‘Sleeper! Alert!’ list

John Sickels lists his sleeper picks:

Michael Blanke, C, Chicago White Sox …
Andre Rienzo, RHP, Chicago White Sox …
Tyler Saladino, SS, Chicago White Sox

Rienzo is an SBT favorite. Here are some recent updates on him:

Baseball-Intellect, 1/30/11:

Intriguing sleeper…report contains a breakdown of his mechanics, which are pretty Tim Lincecum-esque

Diamond Futures, 12/21/10:

Rienzo uses a low-mid 90s fastball to key a relatively well-developed three-pitch repertoire. He carries his velocity deep into games, and looks like a potential back of the rotation starter.

Futuresox, 12/20/10:

Rienzo flashes pretty decent stuff, featuring a mid 90s fastball and developing offspeed stuff. Along with this, Rienzo has displayed pretty decent control.

SS Tyler Saladino scouting report by FutureSox

FutureSox has a new scouting report on SS Tyler Saladino:

… Tools wise scouts don’t seem to love him offensively, but those numbers made him an interesting prospect in the seventh round. As expected that power hasn’t translated as a pro (3 HR in 213 AB in 2010), but he still has solid doubles power. He has decent speed and walks a lot, making him a potentially solid No. 2 type hitter. …

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.

Kevin Goldstein’s 2011 Top 11 White Sox prospects [UPDATE]

Goldstein @ BP:

Five-Star Prospects
1. Chris Sale, LHP
Four-Star Prospects
2. Eduardo Escobar, SS
3. Brent Morel, 3B
Three-Star Prospects
4. Dayan Viciedo, 1B/3B
5. Jared Mitchell, CF
6. Jacob Petricka, RHP
7. Greg Infante, RHP
8. Trayce Thompson, OF
Two-Star Prospects
9. Addison Reed, RHP
10. Thomas Royse, RHP
11. Andre Rienzo, RHP

9 more and Goldstein’s scouting report on Chris Sale at the link.

UPDATE: Goldstein discusses the White Sox Top 11/20 on Episode 25 of his podcast (mp3). The White Sox discussion is at the 72:30 mark and runs for about 12 minutes.

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.

Fangraphs’ “must watch” and more 2011 White Sox prospects

Both articles are from Bryan Smith. First the “must watch” prospects:

In 56 plate appearances (so, sample size alert), Sale held right-handers to a .120/.214/.240 batting line. He did it while throwing them six change-ups in 220 pitches (2.7%), which accounted for 3 balls, 2 called strikes and 1 swinging strike. It was a non-factor. as he went with a two-pitch approach: 66.8% four seamers, 26.4% sliders. And, to my surprise, looking at his Texas Leaguers chart, he wasn’t just back-dooring the slider everytime. It’s a pitch he trusts, and a pitch that works, against right-handers. …

and those prospects outside the ‘Top 10′:

I credit Baseball America and Matt Eddy being the first to make me aware of Mike Blanke, the team’s 13th-round pick from the Division II University of Tampa. Blanke hit .329/.400/.508 in the Pioneer League, where Eddy ranked him as the number seven prospect. He wrote, “…he would have gone much earlier had clubs had any inkling that he would show plus power, arm strength and receiving skills in his pro debut.” …

ScoutingTheSally on Tyler Saladino

STS ranks the Top 5 Sally (South Atlantic League) second baseman for 2010:

1. Tyler Saladino, Chicago White Sox

In Saladino, I see a plus defensive second baseman with on base skills, gap power, and the ability to play a little shortstop in a pinch.  Of the players on this list, he may not have the highest ceiling, but his floor is the highest by a wide enough margin for him to earn the top spot without giving it a second thought.  The only real red flag in his current skill set is his ability to make contact as a 25% strikeout rate simply isn’t going to work at higher levels.  With his quiet approach and baseball IQ, I’m confident that will come down as he continues to work on breaking ball recognition.

Saladino @ Kannapolis: 198 PA, 165 AB, .309/.389./442/.831, 22 BB / 44 K, .412 BABIP, .365 wOBA.

Tyler Saladino scouting report by ScoutingTheSally

STS:

Offense: With a quiet load, and strong, athletic stance, Saladino makes an excellent first impression at the plate.  When swinging the bat well, Saladino keeps his hands inside the ball allowing him to scorch line drives to left field.  On occasion however, his load will become long forcing his pull arm to extend to a locked position.  While it didn’t happen often, Saladino had great difficulty adjusting to pitches above the letters when it did.

In game action, Saladino did not show much aptitude for taking pitches the other way, but consistently made solid contact and showed the potential for gap power.  His quick wrists and level swing plane are tailor-made for doubles into the left-center field gap.  I have some concern with his pitch recognition as he seemed to struggle picking up decent offspeed pitches and sat “dead red” for most of the series.  This led to his swinging and missing more than a hitter with his approach probably should which explains his K% of more than 22%.

Saladino: Stats, Splits.

Saladino @ Kannapolis: 198 PA, 165 AB, .309/.389./442/.831, 22 BB / 44 K, .412 BABIP, .365 wOBA.

ScoutingTheSally scouts the Kannapolis Intimidators

Newman @ STS:

Tyler Saladino, SS – A pleasant surprise, Saladino was the most complete prospect on the field in my eyes.  Having just turned 21, he’s not young for the level, but plays the game the right way and makes the most out of the tools he does have.  And while the tools may only be average across-the-board, very few players even have that to offer.  Call me a fan.

Saladino’s splits.

More reports at the link.

FutureSox looks at how the 2010 draft class is doing so far

FutureSox:

It’s been just over 2 months since the draft and most of the top picks have been signed, and signed for a while, so I thought it would be interesting to take a look at how they were performing. Now it should be noted that sample sizes of this size are relatively meaningless, but it’s interesting to look at nonetheless.

Top 10 rounds plus a selected other:

Kevin Goldstein on Tyler Saladino and Andy Wilkins

Goldstein:

• Tyler Saladino, SS, White Sox (Low-A Kannapolis): 3-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI.  Seventh-round pick isn’t loaded with tools, but he sure can play baseball; .327/.414/.469 in 13 Low-A games.
• Andy Wilkins, 1B, White Sox (Rookie-level Great Falls): 3-for-5, HR (2), R, 3 RBI, K.  Fifth-round pick is a bat-only first baseman, but hitting .333/.398/.514 so far as a pro.

MiLB: Saladino, Wilkins.

Minor League Splits: Saladino, Wilkins.

Juan Silverio promoted to Class A Kannapolis Intimidators and more

Mansch @ GF Tribune:

The Voyagers, who open a three-game series tonight in Casper, Wyo., against the Ghosts, will be without star third baseman Juan Silverio, who Tuesday was promoted to Single-A Kannapolis in the Sally League. Silverio was hitting .299 with team-high totals of 26 hits, nine doubles, three homers, 16 RBIs and 44 total bases.Cron said he is happy for Silverio, a 19-year-old from the Dominican Republic.

“That’s kind of what it’s all about,” he said of the promotion. “Juan came here with a nice positive attitude and worked his tail off to produce. He did a great job for us and he deserves a chance to move up. At the same time I feel real good about the guys who are going to step in there.”

Hopefully things go better this time.

UPDATE: FutureSox’ has more.