We’ve gathered six White Sox top 10s from Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, Fan Graphs, John Sickels’ Minor League Ball, Diamond Futures and our own postseason rankings. Fan Graphs does things a little differently, they don’t include 2009 rookies in their rankings due to a lack of sample size, so you have to take that into account.

For starters, Baseball America gave us a minor surprise by making Jared Mitchell number 1. Phil Rogers, who has a big hand in the White Sox rankings, said he thinks Dan Hudson will be as good as Jered Weaver. Hudson was only third, the lowest of any of the lists, so that really shows how much they love Mitchell at BA. When Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus talked with us, he gushed about Mitchell so it’s no surprise they also had him up there at two. A few of our voters tend to be conservative with players in the lower levels of the system so Mitchell coming in lowest here isn’t a major shock. A solid start to his 2010 will certainly have him in the top three of our 2010 midseason rankings (not to mention the possible graduations of Hudson and Tyler Flowers).

As for Hudson and Flowers, there’s a near consensus to have them in the top three as there should be. We picked Flowers over Hudson (barely) and my personal rationale for that pick was because of the positional value of a catcher. Half of the rankings had Hudson higher, half had Flowers higher and I don’t think you can go wrong either way.

Brent Morel is interesting to me because he was seventh on our list and I felt that was too high. None of our voters had Morel in the top five, yet four of these publications had Morel fourth. Us and Diamond Futures are the only to have Dayan Viciedo above Morel and Diamond Futures makes the best pro-Viciedo argument you will find:

Viciedo played the entire season as a 20yo in AA, and posted, park-adjusted, League average numbers across the board. That was good enough to finish #13 in the League among hitters in our 2009 Performance rankings—despite it being his U.S. debut. But that only tells part of the story, as Viciedo posted a park-neutral OPS of .853 after mid-July. For a frame of reference, that was the same as Josh Bell’s SOL numbers in what was considered a breakout season, and Josh Bell is two and one-half years older…What we are saying is that we expect him to perform similar in 2010 to the second-half of 2009, and when you give him that half-year adjustment, his numbers put him in the Top 100 prospect range—which is a heckuva a lot better than his detractors would like you to believe.

Simply put, Viciedo has more upside than Morel and the lofty expectations compared to his results and reality may have too many people unfairly down on him.

Santos Rodriguez and David Holmberg appeared on multiple top tens and didn’t even crack our top 25. Granted, Holmberg was #26 and appeared on everyone’s ballot except one, but that is a drastic difference in opinion. Again, our voters tend to stay conservative on rookies, but another factor is that Holmberg throws below 90 giving him two factors going against him. He has a strong curve and changeup, but he is going to have to add some velocity on his fastball to be a top 10 prospect in my mind.

It’s good to have different perspectives, especially when a few of these publications have different ways of evaluating prospects. All together there were 17 different prospects in these top ten lists. If nothing else that should show that beyond the top tier or two it’s all about what type of player you prefer. Tell us which rankings you like best in the comments!

The previous rank is in reference to our Midseason Top 25. Player profiles are linked in the player’s name if the player has one. Tell us what you love and hate about the rankings in the comments section or join the discussion at Soxtalk!

1. Tyler Flowers, C, White Sox
Previous: 1st

2. Dan Hudson, RH SP, White Sox
Previous: 4th

3. Dayan Viciedo, 3B, AA Birmingham
Previous: 2nd

4. Jordan Danks, CF, AA Birmingham
Previous: 3rd

5. C.J. Retherford, 2B/3B, AA Birmingham
Previous: 11th

6. Jared Mitchell, OF, Low-A Kannapolis
Previous: 5th

7. Brent Morel, 3B, High-A Winston-Salem
Previous: 17th

8. Charlie Shirek, RH SP, AA Birmingham
Previous: 10th

9. Trayce Thompson, OF, Rookie Great Falls
Previous: Not yet signed (He would have been 13th if he had)

10. Josh Phegley, C, Low-A Kannapolis
Previous: 8th

11. Carlos Torres, RH SP, White Sox
Previous: 14th

12. Jhonny Nunez, RH RP, White Sox
Previous: 25th

13. John Ely, RH SP, AA Birmingham
Previous: 19th

14. Christian Marrero, OF/1B, AA Birmingham
Previous: UR

15. John Shelby III, OF, AA Birmingham
Previous: 7th

16. Stefan Gartrell, OF, AAA Charlotte
Previous: 23rd

17. Nathan Jones, RH RP, High-A Winston-Salem
Previous: 12th

18. Charlie Leesman, LH SP, Low-A Kannapolis
Previous: 20th

19. Kyle Bellamy, RH RP, Low-A Kannapolis
Previous: UR

20. Lucas Harrell, RH SP, AAA Charlotte
Previous: 15th

21. Stephen Sauer, RH SP, Low-A Kannapolis
Previous: 23rd

22. Jon Link, RH RP, AAA Charlotte
Previous: 13th

23. Steven Upchurch, RH SP, Rookie Bristol
Previous: 16th

24. Brandon Hynick, RH SP, AAA Charlotte
Previous: Not yet in system

25. Clevelan Santeliz, RH RP, AA Birmingham
Previous: UR

Others receiving votes, in order of points/votes received: David Holmberg, Jon Gilmore, Miguel Gonzalez, Dan Remenowsky, Santos Rodriguez, Nevin Griffith, Eduardo Escobar, Brady Shoemaker, Nick Ciolli, Joe Serafin, Ryan Buch, Matt Heidenreich, Kyle Colligan, Gregory Infante, Jim Gallagher, Fernando Hernandez, Brandon Short, Seth Loman

Prospects previously ranked, still in the system from but received no votes this time: Brian Omogrosso (formerly #9, torn labrum), Justin Greene (#19)

Prospects previously ranked, no longer in the system: Dexter Carter (#7, traded to SD), Jack Egbert (#25, now with NYM)

But in the last two years or so, the White Sox have made big strides in getting their system restocked with legitimate talent. Three improved drafts combined with some shrewd dealings from “The Gambler” Kenny Williams, have put the Sox system back into the middle of the pack, or even better than that, if you look at the talent that has already ascended to the major league team in that period. The system is producing prospects with real chances at major league success at a much higher rate nowadays.

In order to best illustrate this ascension, some might point to the meteoric rise of Gordon Beckham, the team’s first round pick in 2009 and current Rookie of the Year candidate. Or Dan Hudson’s march from Low-A all the way to the big club in one season. Surely no one would deny these shining examples, but they are single players in a huge organization, and one might be tempted to call them flukes, or simply very good luck combined with 2008’s high draft position. Show me something more, you say? Show me the depth of talent required for a minor league system to truly stand out?

I give you, the pitching staff of the 2009 Kannapolis Intimidators.

Kannapolis, the Sox Low-A affiliate, put up a chubby 5.12 ERA in 2007. In 2008, it dropped more than a full point to 4.08. And here in 2009, it dropped 80 more points to 3.24, 2nd best in the South Atlantic League by just .01. They were also 2nd in strikeouts, 2nd in WHIP, and led the league with 15 shutouts. Not surprisingly they finished the season at 82-57, best record in the 16-team league, despite being below the median in most offensive categories. And the pitching staff that achieved this was filled mostly with players drafted or signed since the 2008 June draft, not much more than a year ago.

Kanny’s starting rotation featured a number of very talented arms, led by Hudson, drafted in the 5th round in 2008. Hudson appeared in just 4 games, but dominated, posting a scant 1.23 ERA to go along with 30 strikeouts against just 2 walks in 22 innings. No wonder he was quickly promoted to Winston-Salem, then Birmingham, then Charlotte, and ended his improbable season with the big club. Lefty Charlie Leesman (11th round in ‘08) opened some eyes by finishing at 13-5 with a solid 3.05 ERA, while increasing his velocity. Stephen Sauer started in the bullpen, but was quickly moved into the starting rotation, where he displayed plus control (just 19 walks in 142 IP), posted a nice 3.38 ERA and struck out nearly a batter an inning to give him a stellar 6.47 K/BB ratio. Dexter Carter (13th round, ‘08) staked a 3.13 ERA and struck out 143 batters in 118 innings, which helped out the big club as he was traded to San Diego as part of the Jake Peavy package. Gregory Infante (free agent foreign signee, 2006) posted a 3.26 ERA and a skill for inducing ground balls, before being promoted to Winston-Salem.

Replacing some of the departed starters were Nevin Griffith (2nd round, 2007) and bolt-from-the-blue 2009 37th round pick Joe Serafin. Griffin had a 3.86 ERA while coming back from major injury. Serafin, a lefty out of Vermont, was promoted after dominating in rookie ball and contributed a 3-1 record, 2.98 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 42 innings for the Intimidators. A soft-tossing, control-focused lefty picked in the late rounds inexplicably succeeding in A ball in his draft year? I could swear I’ve heard this story before.

But the talent didn’t end with the rotation; the Kanny bullpen was rock steady, and propelled some new names onto the prospect radar. The pen was anchored by closer Dan Remenowsky, who posted numbers that were nothing short of eye-popping: In 63.1 innings he posted a 1.99 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, just 16 walks (2.27 BB/9) and a staggering 109 strikeouts (15.49 K/9). All this plus 25 saves and 7 wins from a guy who went undrafted, and was signed in 2008 as a free agent out of an independent league.

Setting up Remenowsky in the pen were a number of prospects worth keeping an eye on. The best prospect of the bunch is hard-throwing right-hander Nathan Jones (5th round 2007), who posted a 2.41 ERA, a miniscule .129 average against and 25 strikeouts in just 18.1 innings, before being promoted to Winston-Salem. Eventually replacing Jones in the setup role was 2009 5th round pick Kyle Bellamy. The right-hander pitched a brief 3 games in Bristol (Rookie) before being promoted to Kanny, where he was nothing short of dominant: 1.42 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and 30 strikeouts against just 2 walks in 19 innings. 2008 4th round pick Drew O’Neill contributed a solid 2.54 ERA to the bullpen as well, and while his K and BB numbers weren’t great, he displayed an ability to induce ground balls, posting a 3.41 GO/AO. Other solid contributors who were all promoted in-season to Winston-Salem included Charlis Burdie (1.76 ERA, .122 BAA, 60 K in 56.1 IP), Tyson Corley (0.95 ERA, 5.55 GO/AO, 38 K in 38 IP), Daniel Albritton (1.76 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 18 K in 15.1 IP) and Kevin Asselin (2.74 ERA, 49 K in 49.1 IP). Keep an eye on 21 year-old Santos Rodriguez, acquired from Atlanta in the Vazquez/Flowers trade. He only pitched 4 innings at the end of the season, but made an impression by striking out 8 in 4 innings of work against just 1 walk, allowing no runs. Rodriguez can really dial it up with the fastball and is worth following.

What does all this mean for the organization? The Kanny pitching staff represents a wave of pitching talent moving through a Sox system that hasn’t seen a deep group like this in some time. As they start 2010 in Winston-Salem (High-A), or in some cases Birmingham (AA), they will reach a make-or-break point, and we’ll get a better idea of who among them has the right stuff. Odds are against any given prospect, but that’s why it is far better to have a depth of talented prospects to begin with, then to have only a few and hope for the best. So keep an eye on the Barons and Dash’s box scores next year, and you just might see some future major leaguers separating from the pack.

The Birmingham Barons were one of Minor League Baseball’s best teams this year and their 92-47 record was the best in the team’s history. Their roster at the start of the season was stacked with many of the organizations top prospects including Gordon Beckham, Tyler Flowers, Brandon Allen, Dayan Viciedo, Aaron Poreda and John Shelby, and as you would have expected, they made light work of opposing Southern League teams. Promotions, trades and call-ups removed many of their best players from the first couple of months of the season but they were replaced, and replaced well, by players such as Christian Marrero, Jordan Danks and Charlie Shirek, added to that, mainstays such as John Ely and C.J. Retherford ensured that the Barons didn’t skip a beat in the second half. Now ready to make a run for the Southern League crown, the Barons will start their best of 5 series with Jacksonville Suns on Thursday.

The Winston-Salem Dash make their way into the playoff largely thanks to playing in a very weak Carolina League South. You may think that’s a little unfair, saying they’re only in the playoff due to playing in a weak division, but when you have a 4.30 ERA (2nd worst in the CAR) and are just midpack in runs scored, it’s unlikely that you were a good team. The Dash actually allowed more runs (642) than they scored (626). Winston-Salem’s offense has been led by a personal favourite of mine, Seth Loman, and postseason All-Star at 3B, Brent Morel, they also have Carolina League manager of the year Joe McEwing in their corner as well as a rotation led by Justin Edwards and Dylan Axelrod. The Dash will play their first postseason game tomorrow night against the Salem Red Sox, who are expected to start Daisuke Matsuzaka, and while anything can and often does happen in the playoffs, don’t expect the Carolina League crown to be coming the Dash’s way.

The Kannapolis Intimidators’ season has been all about their fantastic second half, in which they have a 45-24 record and a .652 winning percentage. Pitching was this team’s M.O. as they led the whole of the South Atlantic League with 530 runs allowed thanks to a rotation fronted by two of this organizations more intriguing starters, Charlie Leesman and Stephen Sauer (having Dexter Carter and Dan Hudson for a time didn’t hurt either). Even with losing one of it’s better arms, Charlis Burdie to the Dash, the Intimidators have one of the most formidable bullpen’s in the Minors, backed by Dan Remonowsky, ’09 draftee Kyle Bellamy and late season promotion Santos Rodriguez. Other ’09 draftees have played large parts in this team’s second half run, most notably two early round picks Jared Mitchell and Josh Phegley but also one later round pick, Joe Serafin. The Intimidators will play their first postseason game tomorrow against the Lakewood BlueClaws, with Charlie Leesman getting the start.

The final Sox affiliate to make the playoffs are the defending Pioneer League champions Great Falls, who swept their way past the Orem Owlz in the 2008 championship series behind the arms of Dan Hudson and Dexter Carter. This years Voyagers have been led by a steady dose of pitching and offense where the rank 2nd and 3rd respectively in the Pioneer League. The Voyagers have an old team for a rookie ball affiliate and as it stands Trayce Thompson is the only teen on their roster, he’s also roughly 2 ½ years younger than anyone else on the team, and it is partly for this reason that they don’t appear to be brimmed with future Major Leaguers. The Great Falls Voyagers will call upon it’s offensive stars Jose Vargas, Nick Ciolli, Johny Celis and Kyle Colligan to lead the team to victory when they start their playoff run against the Missoula Osprey’s this Saturday the 12th.

After having an OPS below .600 all year long, Escobar swung a big stick in August. He also stole 9 bases in August, almost doubling the 11 he had entering the month. Escobar showed no signs of life until suddenly something seems to have clicked. On the season the 20 year-old Venezuelan is still only hitting .262, but he is a great defensive shortstop so his glove will probably be what carries him through the system. He’s still very young and an extended hot streak like this is obviously very encouraging for future success. The extremely unusual part is that Escobar’s August walk rate was nearly three times what it had been. It’s like he was a completely different player. We’ll have to wait and see which player shows up next season.

Co-Pitchers of the Month: John Ely and Matt Long (AA Birmingham)
Ely: 5-0, 2.12 ERA, 34 IP, 25 K, 9 BB, 27 H
Long: 4-0, 1.76 ERA, 30.2 IP, 19 K, 8 BB, 23 H

Since the two were so close statistically and in our voting, we have given the award to both Ely and Long. The duo will have to anchor the Barons’ playoff run, though Long did just receive what we assume was a spot start with the Knights. Ely has been a rock for the Barons’ all season long, see his 13-2 record for proof, and is throwing his name into the hat for a future MLB look. He’s mostly been overlooked as a prospect, but this season will change that. Long was a 2nd round pick in 2006, but hasn’t been regarded well as a prospect because he has been mediocre or worse at every stop of his pro career. That is until he joined the Barons this season. In 48.2 innings in AA he has a 2.59 ERA between 6 starts and 13 relief appearances. His career ERA in the minors still sits above 5, so like Escobar, it’s hard to tell which player is the real Matt Long.

The best of the rest
Christian Marrero (AA Birmingham): .323 (31-96), 7 HR, 20 RBI, 15 R, 12 BB, 22 K, 1.040 OPS
Marrero has really set himself up to shoot up the prospect rankings. Marrero can be one of the last draft-and-follows to make the Majors.

David Cook (AA Birmingham): .292 (28/96), 6 HR, 18 RBI, 25 R, 15 BB, 20 K, .956 OPS
Cook keeps producing for the Barons, but it’s hard to call him a prospect anymore.

Jon Gilmore (Low-A Kannapolis): .355 (39/110), 2 HR, 24 RBI, 19 R, 9 BB, 15 K, .901 OPS
Finally Gilmore showed some of the talent that made the Braves draft him in the supplemental round in 2007.

Dan Remenowsky (Low-A Kannapolis): 2-0, 5 SV, 2.20 ERA, 16 IP, 29 K, 2 BB, 11 H
It’s hard not to love what Remenowsky has done this season. 107 strikeouts in 62.1 innings is indescribably good.

Miguel Gonzalez (Rookie Bristol): .410 (25/61), 1 HR, 8 RBI, 15 R, 13 BB, 14 K, 1.176 OPS
Gonzalez is a great looking prospect at catcher. He’s only 18 and hit .311 at Bristol, you have to like that.

Santos Rodriguez (Rookie Bristol): 1-0, 2 SV, 0.82 ERA, 11 IP, 18 K, 3 BB, 8 H
One of the pieces of the Javier Vazquez trade, Rodriguez is one of few relief prospects to be tracked from a young age.

The not as hot
Jack Egbert (AAA Charlotte): 0-3, 6.66 ERA, 25 IP, 20 K, 10 BB, 35 H
Egbert got his shot in the Majors this year, but it didn’t go well or last long. Needless to say, he won’t get another pitching like this.

Wes Whisler (AAA Charlotte): 3-3, 6.16 ERA, 30 IP, 14 K, 14 BB, 40 H
Everything I said about Egbert applies to Whisler.

Johnnie Lowe (AA Birmingham): 0-4, 10.07 ERA, 22 IP, 10 K, 5 BB, 41 H
Maybe Lowe shouldn’t have been moved up because his 5 starts with the Barons have produced nothing.

Jordan Danks (AA Birmingham): .178 (13-73), 4 RBI, 12 R, 10 BB, 17 K, .491 OPS
He’s been better since coming off the DL, hitting .257 and getting a hit in 7 of the 9 games he has been back. Still major concerns have come up that didn’t exist in early June.

Tyler Kuhn (High-A Winston-Salem): .229 (22-96), 6 RBI, 8 R, 5 BB, 14 K, .543 OPS
Kuhn has been very good this year, but his recent slump along with a severe lack of power this year makes Kuhn seem ordinary as a prospect.

Steven Upchurch (Rookie Bristol): 0-6, 9.11 ERA, 27 IP, 12 K, 12 BB, 45 H
Upchurch is a talented pitcher, but he hasn’t shown any of that talent this year. He’s probably surpassed Escobar as the most disappointing White Sox prospect of the year.

Cheers,
JPN