The White Sox have a B game and their Cactus League opener in the books. On Tuesday, the Sox lost 4-2 to the Dodgers in a B game at Camelback Ranch and yesterday they tied (yes, tied, welcome to spring training) the Angels 4-4 in Tempe. Let’s take a look at the early buzz surrounding White Sox prospects in camp.
Dan Hudson threw two scoreless innings in the B game, giving him the early head start for the last bullpen spot. That, of course, assumes the White Sox will even make him a reliever:
“It depends what we want, what we’re looking for, what’s best for the club,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “… But I don’t think we should sit him on the bench and all of a sudden wait to see what happens. That’s (general manager) Ken Williams’ call.”
Juan Pierre is “mentoring” Jared Mitchell and apparently Pierre realizes his own shortcomings:
“I take a lot of stuff from a lot of people, but I love watching Juan play,” said Mitchell, who starred in baseball and football at LSU. “He plays the game hard, he plays it well and he’s really good at what he does. You can’t have anything but respect for him. I’m picking his brain and trying to learn as much as I can from him.”
Pierre, acquired in a Dec. 15 trade from the Dodgers, said there is only so much he can teach the Sox’ top prospect.
“He’s a speed and power guy,” Pierre said. “He’s a five-tool kind of guy. I think I can help him with two, two and a half. I tell him just to relax and just have fun, that’s the most important thing.”
Dayan Viciedo’s move to first base may end up being more than a trial and he looked pretty good there (and that link is a really good profile of him too):
Viciedo started Tuesday’s “B” game against the Dodgers at first base, and with Paul Konerko getting the day off for Thursday’s Cactus League opener at Tempe Diablo Stadium, there was Viciedo adeptly picking low throws at first base against the Angels.
Sergio Santos wowed people yesterday by striking out the side, proving he’s come a long way. For more on Santos, be sure to read Jeff Buchanan’s breakdown of Santos using Pitch f/x from the Arizona Fall League.