What member of the Sox organization has been the biggest key to your success to this point?

I don’t know if I could point out one person… All the different rovers and coaches have helped me with different parts of my game. I feel like I have improved in every facet of the game since signing with the White Sox.

Have you had any interaction with Buddy Bell?
Yes, I’ve been pretty fortunate to have Buddy Bell as my minor league coordinator. Not only is he a nice, well-respected guy, he was a great third baseman. He’s helped me out a lot with different things at third base.

I read some of your pre-draft scouting reports the last few days. Some mentioned you being able to possibly play catcher at some point? I know you are considered a plus defensive 3B, but would a switch even be realistic?

Before I was drafted, I heard some people talking about maybe switching; but the White Sox were never a team that wanted to make me a catcher and I haven’t heard anything from them about switching positions.

That leads me to my next question. Have the White Sox given you any indication on where they want to play you long term? Have they sat you down and sort of drawn out a plan?

As far as I know, the Sox want me to stay at third. Every conversation I have had with the rovers and coordinators is trying to improve at 3rd.

How much improvement do you think you need? I know you were voted best defensive 3B in the Carolina League this last year, which had to be a nice honor.

Yes it was nice being honored that from the coaches in the league, but I don’t think there is ever a time to stop improving. I’ll have this off-season to help improve my speed and quickness, and on the field you can never get too many reps to read hops.

Lets talk a little about the AFL. You replaced Dayan Viciedo, who went down with an injury. What were you doing before then? Just normal off-season stuff?

Ya I played in the Instructional League for about a month then I drove back home and was relaxing and letting my body recover a little bit. I was only home for a little over a week when Buddy Bell called me and told me that I had a chance to come play in the AFL. It was nice relaxing but I was really excited for the opportunity to come out here and play.

How has the experience been?

I’ve really enjoyed myself out here. We have a real good group of guys on our team that are fun to be around. It’s been nice getting to play with some of the elite players in the minor leagues.

Anyone really stick out to you? Maybe one guy on your squad, and one guy you have played against that you just say “Damn, this guy is going to be a Major League All Star.”

There are a ton of guys in the fall league that will be future All Stars but the guy probably having the best season is Grant Desme. I’ve played against him in high school and with him at college so its been nice seeing him do so well out here.

Any idea where you may be starting the year? Back in A ball, or do you think you will be starting for the Barons in AA?

My goal is to start in AA but its really out of my control. I’m just going to try and get in the best shape for spring training and go from there

Being as “fair” as possible, what is an optimistic projection for yourself in the majors? What kind of hitter do you see yourself as?

That is tough to answer. I still know there are some things that I need to improve on in my swing before I will be able to contribute to the major league club.

Anything in particular?
Well my whole life I’ve been a guy who hits for a pretty good average and can drive in some runs so hopefully that’s the hitter I’ll be in the major leagues too

You’re from Bakersfield, correct? Who did you grow up rooting for? Still a fan of that team?

Ya, I grew up liking Cal Ripken Jr. so i followed the Orioles till he retired. Since then I haven’t really had a favorite team.

Alright, now for the fun stuff. Top 3 favorite movies?
Shawshank, The Rock, and pretty much any comedy. It’s so hard to pick just one.

Do you have a specific walk up music?

Not really.. I change it a lot. This year I had “Bring Sally Up” by Moby from Gone In 60 Seconds and “8 second ride” by Jake Owen… I pretty much only listen to country music so anything country would work for a walk up song.

I’ve heard you’re a big “Office” fan. Favorite character?

Ya my favorite TV show has to be Seinfeld but The Office is up there. Dwight has to be my favorite from The Office for many reasons but I don’t think there’s a better character on TV than Kramer.

That should just about do it Brent. Myself and everyone at FutureSox would just like to thank you for your time, and look forward to seeing you up with the big club soon.

Thanks, anytime guys.

FutureSox.com would like to again thank Brent for his time.

Anthony Mazzuca: Name 1 sleeper in the Sox’s system that isn’t a top 5/10 prospect.
Kevin Goldstein: Just talked to a scout today who saw Dexter Carter over the weekend and really liked what he saw — big, very athletic, low 90s with a very good breaking ball, and I still like John Shelby.
AM: Seems like Shelby has sort of taken a step back after a nice 2008…
KG: Yeah, Double-A has proven to be a bit much, but he can still play all three outfields, has a good approach, a bit of speed and pop. I wish he was LH, he’d have a surefire future as a 4th OF.
AM: Did you expect more out of Jon Gilmore (.600 OPS at Kanny) this season?
KG: I did, but I really don’t anymore. That Kannapolis lineup is really ugly, not much to talk about there.

AM: Let’s jump to the draft, then come back to some individuals. How did you rank the Sox’s draft? Best pick and the worst pick?
KG: I didn’t do a ranking of the drafts specifically, but in general, I was a big fan of their selections, especially Mitchell and Thompson. I thought they took Phegley too high, but if they believe he really can catch, it’s understandable. I think what you saw was the continuing shift to tools and upside, a philosophy that Sox officials confirmed to me before the draft.
AM: How far away is Jared Mitchell? For a polished college player, there seems to be talk of a rather large learning curve.
KG: He’s a raw, toolsy college player with a ton of upside, but it will require patience. He’s certainly not going to move like Beckham, for example.
AM: Incredibly early, but what is the most realistic ETA you could put on it, if everything went right?
KG: Late ‘11? Something around there. He’s a tools guy, and those guys sometimes just click, and when the explode, they move very, very quickly, or it just never happens.There are certainly aspects of his game that need to improve.
AM: Anything in particular?
KG: Well, there’s a lot of swing and miss in him. You’re never going to turn him into Ichiro, but they do need to be curbed, and that’s going to come with a better plan, and better pitch recognition.
AM: Staying with the overall system, What effect has Buddy Bell had?
KG: It’s really hard to give credit (or blame) to any one guy. Success and failure in scouting and player development is really an organizational thing, and you are literally talking about hundreds of people. That said, Bell is very well respected.
AM: It just seems like the organization, after the 2006 draft, which was a disaster, have really taken a new approach to things, as you touched on earlier.
KG: Yeah, and that’s system wide. There’s been changes in personnel and philosophy, and both have been good things.
AM: Staying with the system as a whole, If you were doing a mid-season rank of where the minor league systems are, where would the Sox rank? Just for an idea of where they are, give me a number with and w/o Beckham and Poreda, two guys up with the team right now.
KG: Well, I had them 24th entering the year. Clearly, they’re up from there. If you include Beckham, Poreda, they’re definitely in the upper half, a top 15 system, but without them, and now with Allen gone, they more somewhere in the middle, but that’s for all of the right reasons.

AM: What is your view on the Brandon Allen trade? Too much for Pena, or have Sox fans maybe overrated what Allen really is?
KG: It’s funny, when the trade happened, I went through my notes and found three different scouts who had seen him this year. One thought he was an above-average every day big league first baseman. One thought he was more of a second division player. One thought he was a platoon player at best. So the reviews were really varied.
AM: Could it be a move to open up a spot for Viciedo at 1B?
KG: It was a move to get a dependable power righty in the pen, I don’t think they thought much about how it effected other prospects, and Viciedo at first would be pretty troubling, as he’s not even hitting enough for a third baseman right now.
AM: Any views on Pena himself?
KG: I do wonder if he’s really the answer. On a pure scouting level, he’s always shined, but the results have always been inconsistent. I saw it as only a minor upgrade, but you take what you can get.
AM: I just brought him up, so will stick with him. What kind of future in baseball do you project for Dayan Viciedo?
KG: Honestly, reviews have been very disappointing. Still a bit out of shape, swing at anything approach, not much power. Because of his age and where he’s coming from, you have to give him more time than others to make adjustments. If anything, I think it’s possible that they just started him at too high a level.
AM: Has there been any talk of the culture change playing a role, or just totally overmatched at the plate?
KG: Specifically on Viciedo, I haven’t heard that, but with the Cubans, it really is a different kind of culture shock than you get with most international players, and it really does need to be taken into account. It’s a massive, massive change in everything about Viciedo’s world. But as far as pure baseball goes, the approach is the biggest thing — he’s chasing everything.

AM: Overall, should White Sox fans be generally excited for what is in store for the future, or should we temper our excitement? With the way the farm system has produced in the last 5 years, this looks to be the best crop of prospects the Sox have had in quite some time…
KG: Sure, but it was kind of nowhere to go but up, no?
AM: Very true. I feel like there are a good amount of Sox fans maybe overrating the system because they aren’t used to having some high end prospects in the system.
KG: Look, I think they should be excited for Beckham alone — how often to teams develop true stars? It’s really pretty rare, but yes, I’d be much happier than I was. It’s not an elite system, but there’s some good stuff here.
AM: Tyler Flowers. Should he be close to untouchable? Is he going to stay behind the plate?
KG: You know, I’ve never been a fan of the term untouchable. Is anyone REALLY untouchable? If the Jays wanted him in Halladay deal, wouldn’t you want the Sox to do that?
AM: That’s why I wont say totally untouchable. If Pujols was offered for Beckham, he isn’t untouchable anymore.
KG: I think the catching future is still debatable, he’s just so huge a sluggish back there. That said, there has been some progress — they’ve shortened his release a bit, and the results are encouraging.
AM: Would his bat alone still project him to be a plus major league hitter?(if he had to move out of catcher)
KG: Yes, the bat is going to play.

AM: Whats your take overall on the Halladay news over the last 48 hours?
KG: Well, it makes sense for the Jays certainly, with this year AND 2010 under contract, his value is about as high as it can be, and he’s going to leave Toronto, so I do think there’s a good chance he’ll get moved.
AM: Will the Sox be in it, even with Williams comments yesterday about lacking attendance?
KG: I would saw they’re in the race, but not a favorite.
AM: What type of package would it have to be?
KG: It would be a ton. I think they’d ask for Beckham for sure, but if that was off the table, they would probably need at least two, maybe three of Poreda/Flowers/Danks.
AM: If you are the Sox, do you pull the trigger on a deal with those 3?
KG: Would I? Probably.
AM: Take on Jordan Danks?
KG: What’s not to like? Big, athletic, good approach, gap power, good runner, plays a nice CF. I don’t think he’ll ever be a true power guy, but I think he’ll be a solid every day center fielder, which is pretty good for an organization that has been absolutely desperate for one for a long time now.
AM: Top of the order guy?
KG: Yeah, could be an ideal No. 2 hitter type.

AM: Changing the topic a bit, How do professional organizations view your publication? What feedback have you received?
KG: They all read us, and like anything else, some like us, some don’t. We’re certainly a highly respected name in the industry, I think our work speaks for itself, and teams take my calls, so there’s that. I talk to tons of scouts on an anonymous level (pretty much every day) about what they’re seeing and what they think.
AM: What is your relationship with the Sox in general?
KG: Solid. I talk to White Sox scouts and front office people on a regular basis.
AM: That actually should just about do it from my end. Can’t thank you enough for taking out the time.
KG: More than happy to help.

We again would like to thank Kevin Goldstein for providing us with some great information on the entire White Sox organization.

My defensive abilities are pretty good across the board. I think I have decent range and enough arm to make the deep throw from shortstop. I’m going to make the routine plays and make a great play every once in awhile. I think every player is inherently different so I don’t think there is a need to compare myself to anyone. I play the game my way, that’s all I know.

Your draft stock went through the roof after a strong performance at the prestigious Cape Cod league. In fact, it was reported that your power performance was the best in the Cape Cod since Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay). Tell us a bit about your experience in the league and how you believe it helped you better prepare for your junior season as well as life in professional baseball (ie, getting to adjust to wood bats, etc).

The cape really helped me understand what I needed to do to be successful. I did not try to do too much up there and by taking the pressure off, I actually did more than I thought I would. Wood bats magnify every mistake you make with your swing, so it is important to do less with your body.

Who was your favorite team growing up. And how much do you know about the White Sox organization?

The funny thing about this question is I never had a favorite team. People have asked me all my life who I liked and I never had a good answer. I guess I was a Braves fan, but only because they were the team in the city I lived in. I don’t know a ton about the White Sox yet. I do know that I want to be a white sox player from the moment I make the big leagues to the moment I finish my career. The white sox have placed a lot of stock in me and I want to return that commitment to them.

Your swing compares, especially with the kick, to that of Alex Rodriguez. Did you intentionally try to model your swing after his, or has it been the same all your life?

When I was little I would go into my backyard and try to hit tennis balls over my house. So what you see in my swing is what I’ve been doing my whole life. The leg kick just comes naturally. If I’m half the player A-Rod is then I would say I’ve had a good career ha ha. I just hope I don’t get booed when I make an out. I feel awful for that guy because he is so good and he gets booed when he doesn’t deliver. Baseball is a cruel game, once you think you have it figured out, it will humble you quickly.

Many guys struggle to hit in the cold, which is a big part of Chicago baseball, including April, May, some of September, and then October. Do you think it’ll be an issue, especially with wood?

Obviously I would rather not hit in the cold. But everybody has to deal with the conditions. I try to control the controllables. If you worry about anything else, you’re destined to fail. So I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

In the minors, a lot of times the game is more about individual numbers than playing for “the team”. Is that style of play going to change anything for you?

This is something that I have struggled with lately. I’m used to playing for my team, fighting for the guys around me as much as myself. But Minor league ball is different because it is highly individualized. I’m trying to get used to it. But until I’m up in Chicago playing for a pennant, its going to be tough to get into that mindset.

Why do you have Your Love by The Outfield play when you come to bat?

Great question. Your love by the Outfield is my favorite song. I like to have a song that lights me up inside. I like a song that gets me excited and ready, but keeps me relaxed at the same time. I chose that song when I was a freshman in college and used it for three years. That song has kind of attached itself to me and the University of Georgia. I get messages late at night from friends who hear it in the bar and call me just to tell me it’s on. I’ve walked into places in Athens where they would see me and then play the song. And the girls enjoyed it too. They would actually finish the verse when it would cut off when I stepped into the box. Best of both worlds I guess.

With you about to be a very rich man, what is the big thing you want to buy?
Being rich should not make you stupid. I am planning on putting all the money in the bank. I don’t have anything I really want to buy so I’ll put it in the bank and buy something big down the road. Maybe I could get some suggestions from people.

How has the adjustment been from playing in the College World Series on ESPN to Single A Ball? Any culture shock?

Serious culture shock. One day I’m in the White Sox clubhouse and the next day I show up to a low A clubhouse. Its very different from what I’m used to but that’s all part of what I’m doing now. I’m just getting my feet wet. I’m just trying to experience a little bit of pro ball now before I head to the fall league.

How closely have you followed the big club in recent weeks?

Well I have Oney Guillen on the team so I get updates everyday. I have been following them basically through Oney and Sportscenter. They are going to make the playoffs. I know that because they are such a great group of guys from what I know. They were just joking around the day I met them. Good guys that have fun don’t get denied.

Are you a stat nut?

I try not to be. But who are we kidding; this is baseball, its all about the stats.

How do you compare the SEC to the minor leagues? You have only seen A ball, but is SEC Ball better than Single A? Maybe High A?

The SEC is tough. So far I have not felt over-matched by anyone I’ve faced. I am going through a stretch right now where I’m getting myself out. I would say depending on who your playing, the SEC is in the middle of High A and Low A.

How stressful were negotiations.
I hated negotiations. That’s why I did not wait till 11:59 on the 15th. I could have done that and made everyone sweat a little and probably got more money, but it’s just not my personality. I’m big on relationships, and I wanted the relationship between the White Sox and me to get off to a good start.

Favorite Food: Dads steak and baked potatoes.
Hobby outside baseball: Hunting. My dad and I own 900 acres in Middle Georgia. Its honestly my favorite place in the world, especially in the fall.
Last thing you listened to on your Ipod: The Lost Trailers. They are a southern rock band that I really enjoy. They are not too well known but I would do anything the watch those guys in concert.