Few pitching prospects in the White Sox organization have seen their stock rise like Jack Egbert. Selected in the 13th round of the 2004 draft, Egbert has done nothing but put up solid results. With the rare knack of keeping the ball in the park like few other pitchers, Egbert has thrived in Birmingham, putting up some of the best numbers in the Southern League.

What’s your plan on the mound? How do you go about attacking a hitter?
I try to be aggressive and get ahead of hitters, usually try to throw a good fastball down in the zone and try to get a ground ball.

What are some things you need to improve on to make it to the majors?
I think you always need to get better at every aspect of your game and that’s what I’m constantly trying to do. I guess my breaking ball is not as far along as my fastball and change-up so I try to focus on it a little more. 

What pitches do you throw, and how confident are you in each of them?
2-seam fastball, 4-seam fastball, change-up, curveball, in that order. 

Both you, Gio Gonzalez, and Adam Russell have been pitching extremely well so far this year. Do you guys have any friendly competition going?
We all get along well and it definitely gives you a little more incentive to pitch well following a strong start the night before. 

Recently a number of White Sox prospects have had trouble adapting and fitting in at the big-league level (Brandon McCarthy, Brian Anderson, Sean Tracey). Have you paid any attention to the situations involving these players? Has the organization said anything to you about them? Do you have any reaction to the way the organization has dealt with them?
I don’t really know any of those guys so I didn’t really follow them too much but some of the young guys up there this year are doing well so it shows guys can succeed here at a young age. 

If you weren’t a baseball player, what would you be doing?
I don’t really know. It scares me to think about it actually.

What baseball player did you idolize growing up?
I grew up in North Jersey as a Yankee fan and I always loved how Paul O’Neill, Bernie Williams, and those teams of the late-90’s played together before the Yankees started buying all their players.

What is your out pitch?
I don’t really have a true out pitch. It can be any one of them depending on the night. I have been getting more strikeouts looking on fastballs this year than in years past.

What has been the reason for your tremendous success in the minors without prototypical “great” stuff?
Just throw strikes and try to get a lot of groundballs. I try to work quickly and keep the team ready behind me and that also helps.

Have you been able to talk to Kenny or anyone in the organization about how they view you as a prospect?
No, I haven’t.

What enables you to get so many groundball outs? Does your fastball just have natural sink or two-seam action to it, or are you working with a splitter-type pitch?
It has a natural sink/run to it and it has always been like that since I can remember.

Do you model yourself after any specific pitcher?
Not really. There aren’t too many righties out there that pitch the way I do, throwing more changeups than curveballs or sliders.

What has it been like coming out as a mid-round pick to becoming a very promising prospect in the White Sox organization?
I never really worried too much about where I was drafted, I just tried to pitch well. It is nice to get some recognition though.

Since arriving in Birmingham, you’re averaging a strikeout per inning. What has contributed to the noticeable increase in your K-rate?
My curveball has improved so that has helped a little but I can’t really think of anything that is different otherwise. 

Do you pride yourself on the low home-run rate you’ve posted? Does pitching at Regions Park help that much more?
Yes, obviously nobody likes letting up home runs and if you can force a team to have to get three straight hits to score a run instead of letting up three-run homers you can be very successful.

Where do you see yourself in the next couple of years?
Hopefully in Chicago or in the big leagues with another team, but I would love to play in Chicago. It’s a great city, with great fans, and I think it would be the perfect place to break in. 

FutureSox.com would like to again thank Paul Kennedy for helping us out with this interview.