Some roster shuffling took place in the White Sox system today. 2006 3rd round LH SP Justin Edwards was promoted to AA Birmingham while the red hot Terry Doyle, a RH SP, was moved up to High-A Winston-Salem. On the downside, two noteworthy prospects were sent to extended spring training from Kannapolis.
Edwards had been somewhat of a disappointment before this season. The 22-year-old signed out of high school in ’06 and put up pedestrian at best numbers in his first two seasons of pro ball. Then in 2008, he had Tommy John surgery and missed the entire season. Last year he started the season in Kannapolis, like he did in ’07, and pitched well enough (3.80 ERA, 30 K, 7 BB in 45 IP) to earn a promotion to Winston-Salem. Low strikeout numbers (25 in 78.2 IP) led to a mediocre showing and he was an afterthought on the prospect radar.
This year Edwards (right) has been strong for the Dash. His strikeout numbers are still somewhat low (29 in 49 IP), but much improved from a year ago. He had a 2.20 ERA in eight starts and had a streak of 17 scoreless innings snapped in his last start. He will be at an age appropriate level in AA, but unless he strikes out a few more batters it is hard to see him as much of a prospect. He doesn’t throw hard (touches 90) and the injury on his record is still a concern going forward. However, if he is fully healthy he does have solid offspeed stuff (the reason why he was taken in the 3rd round) and could become a contender for Major League lefty reliever in the future. His spot in the Barons’ rotation was opened up by Johnnie Lowe going on the DL.
Edwards will be replaced in the Dash rotation by Doyle, who has been putting up video game numbers in Kannapolis. In seven starts with the Intimidators he had a 0.96 ERA with 58 strikeouts against 12 walks in 47 innings. Opponents were hitting just .187 off him. Doyle’s last three starts proved he was too good for the level: 22 IP, 2 R, 35 K, 1 BB, 10 H. The problem is, at 24, he is still old for the Carolina League. After four years of college (Boston College) and two years in rookie ball, Doyle would need to continue his success in Winston-Salem to garner attention as a prospect. That said, those numbers are so ridiculous that he could be good enough to do that right now.
In less encouraging news, top 25 prospect Ryan Buch and Juan Silverio were demoted from Kannapolis to extended spring training. When Buch was drafted, his problem had been consistency and control. It seems like that’s still true; he had 10 walks in 18.1 IP. Buch has a great fastball-curveball combination and we could be seeing a similar development plan to Nate Jones’. Jones was another college starter with a great FB-curve combo and control problems. Brazilian Andre Rienzo replaced him on the roster.
Silverio has been overmatched offensively. He was hitting just .128 with a .387 OPS in 78 at-bats.
In another move, infielder Zachary Kayne was also moved up to the Dash to replace the injured Drew Garcia (right leg injury). Kayne has been on and off the DL this year and has only limited playing time. Garcia was hitting .323 with a .904 OPS.