FutureSox has published our 2010 Postseason Top Prospects list! We publish the list three times a year – early April just as the minor league season begins, July after the draft picture gets solidified and the minor leaguers have part of a season under their belts, and then in the fall after the minor league and AFL seasons are completed. The list is created by a voting system, much like AP college sports rankings, with the votes coming from a number of our most knowledgeable prospect gurus.
Despite improved draft quality in the past three seasons, the White Sox system is still very thin on talent. To make things worse, the system was further thinned out this season by significant injuries (Jared Mitchell, Trayce Thompson, Charlie Shirek, Dan Remenowsky), illness (Josh Phegley), and trades (Dan Hudson, David Holmberg). So don’t expect to be blown away by the list this time around.
That said, there is talent in any system, the Sox included. The top six names on this list were all in the top seven last time around (Hudson being the other one), with Chris Sale taking the number one slot after bolting from the draft to the majors in a single season. After those six list gets a lot more murky. Shortstop Eduardo Escobar has been climbing quickly up the list and is now at number 7, after a solid season and a very nice Arizona Fall League campaign. Escobar’s glove has always been considered very plus, but now his bat seems to be coming around as well. Recently drafted pitchers Jacob Petricka and Addison Reed join the top ten this time around after solid 2010 campaigns, and Jordan Danks stays in that group as well, despite his problems with strikeouts.
New to the post-season list is Brazilian pitcher Andre Rienzo, who jumped all the way to 12th flashing plus stuff and very solid peripherals. Infielder Tyler Saladino (20th), pitcher Matt Heidenreich (23rd), and catcher Michael Blanke (25th) are all also new entries among the Top 25. Big upward movers since the mid-season list include 2010 draft pick Andy Wilkins (jumped from 33rd to 16th), pitcher Charlie Leesman (30th to 18th), and Escobar (16th to 7th). On the down side, Jhonny Nunez dropped from 23rd to 34th, and Kyle Colligan fell from 29th to 37th. CJ Retherford, Brady Shoemaker, Steven Upchurch, Jose Martinez and Darwin Matos fell off the list entirely.
Below is the list, showing their current and previous rank, and change from the mid-season list. The maximum number of points is 150…
| Rank | Player | Points | Previous | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Sale | 150 | 3 | +2 |
| 2 | Dayan Viciedo | 145 | 2 | none |
| 3 | Brent Morel | 137 | 6 | +3 |
| 4 | Jared Mitchell | 135 | 5 | +1 |
| 5 | Tyler Flowers | 127 | 4 | -1 |
| 6 | Trayce Thompson | 126 | 7 | +1 |
| 7 | Eduardo Escobar | 119 | 16 | +9 |
| 8 | Jacob Petricka | 113 | 10 | +2 |
| 9 | Jordan Danks | 108 | 8 | -1 |
| 10 | Addison Reed | 104 | 14 | +4 |
| 11t | Brandon Short | 86 | 15 | +4 |
| 11t | Andre Rienzo | 86 | n/a | NEW |
| 13 | Gregory Infante | 85 | 20 | +7 |
| 14 | Miguel Gonzalez | 82 | 11 | -3 |
| 15 | Kyle Bellamy | 77 | 12 | -3 |
| 16 | Andy Wilkins | 75 | 33 | +17 |
| 17 | Ryan Buch | 72 | 19 | +2 |
| 18 | Charlie Leesman | 69 | 30 | +12 |
| 19 | Jon Gilmore | 61 | 13 | -6 |
| 20 | Tyler Saladino | 52 | n/a | NEW |
| 21 | Nathan Jones | 50 | 18 | -3 |
| 22 | Charlie Shirek | 44 | 22 | none |
| 23 | Matt Heidenreich | 42 | n/a | NEW |
| 24 | Santos Rodriguez | 30 | 21 | -3 |
| 25 | Michael Blanke | 27 | n/a | NEW |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES (in order of points): Stefan Gartrell, Nevin Griffith, Josh Phegley, Justin Greene, Christian Marrero, Anthony Carter, Clevelan Santeliz, Terry Doyle, Jhonny Nunez, Dan Remenowsky, Dylan Axelrod, Kyle Colligan, Juan Silverio, Alejandro De Aza, Cameron Bayne
DROPPED OFF FROM LAST LIST TO NO VOTES: CJ Retherford (27), Brady Shoemaker (34), Steven Upchurch (37), Jose Martinez (38), Darwin Matos (39)
NO LONGER IN THE ORGANIZATION: Dan Hudson (1), Carlos Torres (9), David Holmberg (17)
Tell us what you think of our rankings! Are we out of our minds? How would you rank the prospects? Leave us a comment here or at our Twitter account (@FutureSox).