Meet the Sox

John Danks

ESSENTIALS

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2006 OVERVIEW

PITCHING

John Danks continued his steady rise through the Texas Rangers system in 2006, advancing through Double-A on the way to Triple-A with results positive enough for Danks to be considered Texas' top pitching prospect by some.

There were a couple knocks on Danks -- one was that he took a handful of starts before he showed positive signs at each level, and his home run rate was somewhat scary for the parks in which he pitched.  Then again, considering he was only 21, he has his reasons for rough patches.

In his first month at Double-A Frisco, Danks posted a 7.15 ERA; in his next eight, he went 4-0 with a 2.70 ERA.  It was the same story with Oklahoma -- 5.90 ERA in his first eight starts, 2.32 ERA in his final six.  The gopher ball stats correlate:  He gave up eight homers in those first eight Triple-A starts, then only one the rest of the way.  At each stop, his strikeout rates were more than adequate (10.12 K/9 overall).

From what I've seen and read, Danks' repertoire is a lot like Mark Buehrle's, though with a fastball that rests around 91.  On the flipside, he still needs to improve with when and where he throws it.  As long as he doesn't leave it up, it sets up a good curve and an above-average change nicely.  Baseball America says that he could gain some velocity, because he's still filling out his frame.

2007 OUTLOOK

The trade that brought Danks to Chicago surprised Sox fans enough.  It's even more startling that he's starting the season as the White Sox's fifth starter, and I don't have my hopes up.

It's not that Danks doesn't have the ability to eventually stand out, but given that he struggles at the start of each new level and his command came and went in Tucson, he could get roughed up and sent down as easily as he could post an ERA below 5.00.

While I'd be more comfortable with Danks starting the year in Charlotte, there is one area in which this will benefit Danks -- the possibility of some tutelage from Buehrle.  As mentioned before, Buehrle learned a little from David Wells during his rookie year, so perhaps some osmosis will take place.

Since the Bill James Handbook doesn't have projections for Danks, I'm using Chone Smith's instead.

PROJECTIONS

John Danks	G	W-L	IP	H	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2007 ZiPS	31	7-15	176	205	43	68	127	6.29	1.55
2007 Chone	--	--	138	157	27	67	108	5.85	1.62
2007 JCM	20	5-8	125	140	23	52	89	5.68	1.54