As I’m sure you’ve noticed (or haven’t at all and just realized) we haven’t been very active for the past month. That’s going to change in the coming weeks as we will have updates on the Winter Leagues (including the Arizona Fall League) and have some season in review coverage. Our Twitter is still being updated with daily stats from the AFL and other news and tidbits we see on the web relevant to White Sox prospects. For now, let’s take a quick look at what’s happened while we’ve been gone and preview the Winter Leagues for Sox prospects.
- The first order of business at the moment is the AFL. Entering Friday night’s action here are the stats for the White Sox prospects in the desert:
Eduardo Escobar: .321/.379/.547 with 5 BB and 4 K in 53 AB.
Jared Mitchell: .200/.280/.267 with 5 BB and 13 K in 45 AB.
Jason Bour: 333/.333/.500 with 1 K in 6 AB.
Anthony Carter: 0 ERA, 8 K, 0 BB, 0 H in 4 IP.
Johnnie Lowe: 14.04 ERA, 5 K, 3 BB, 20 H in 8.1 IP.
Henry Mabee: 13.50 ERA, 2 K, 5 BB, 12 H in 5.1 IP.
Charlie Leesman: 8.31 ERA, K, 3 BB, 9 H in 4.1 IP.
It’s tough to take a look at AFL stats, especially before the league is even complete, and make an evaluation. The league obviously trends towards hitters so Escobar’s early success should be taken with a grain of salt, but positive reports are coming in. The rest of the baseball world is discovering my minor man crush. It’s good to see him walking a bit and showing some power. Of course, with a slew of good, young infielders (Brent Morel, Gordon Beckham, Alexei Ramirez, Dayan Viciedo) at the big league level Escobar becomes a bit of a surplus to requirements. He could become trade bait.
For Mitchell, it’s all about getting in shape and staying healthy so for now the results are less important. Mark Gonzales has an update on the speedy outfielder. Bour replaced Josh Phegley, who is still coping with ITP.
On the pitching side of things, Anthony Carter is following up a strong campaign with a hot start to the fall league. Considering it’s a hitters’ league, his numbers are that much more impressive even if it’s just four innings. A full fall of similar dominance could put him on the radar in spring training.
- We’ve had a couple questions regarding winter leagues on our twitter so here’s a list of guys playing in the Caribbean:
Dominican
Juan Silverio – Aguilas Cibaenas
Freddy Dolsi – Tigres del Licey
Jhonny Nunez – Tigres del Licey
Alejandro De Aza – Toros del Este
Puerto Rico
Ramon Castro – Criollos de Caguas
Alex Rios – Criollos de Caguas
Hector Santiago – Gigantes de Carolina
Angel Garcia – Indios de Mayaguez
Fernando Cortez – Leones de Ponce
Venezuela
Wilce Nieves – Caribes de Anzoategui
Jean Duque – Leones del Caracas
Miguel Socolovich – Leones del Caracas
Josh Kroeger – Leones del Caracas
Clevelan Santeliz – Navegantes del Magallanes
Matt Zaleski – Tiburones de La Guaira
Luis Rodriguez – Tiburones de La Guaira
Jose Martinez – Tiburones de La Guaira
Martinez and Silverio are the most intriguing prospects on the list. Martinez needs to get playing time after battling injuries in the past and Silverio needs to show he is actually a talent worth considering a prospect.
- As a final note, South Side Sox posted the top eleven prospects of the season. Larry does a nice job covering the prospects on a periodic basis. Check it out. We’re working on our postseason list at the moment so keep an eye out for that in the next couple weeks.