Let's take a look back over the progress -- and regression -- in the White Sox farm system this past month.
CHARLOTTE KNIGHTSSpotlight on... Josh Fields.
Last year, Fields followed up a good spring with an awful April, hitting .209/.343/.360 to start his season. With that in mind, a .256/.320/.430 start isn't awful -- especially since he started his season 0-for-8 with six strikeouts. The home-road splits aren't noteworthy, and he's on the same pace errors-wise (three in 20 games), but here are some changes:
No. 1: He's seeing the ball better against righties:- vs. LHP: .261/.292/.478, 1 BB, 10 K in 23 ABs
- vs. RHP: .254/.338/.413, 7 BB, 20 K in 63 ABs.
For purposes of contrast, it's an interesting contrast to last year, where he was 51 points better in OBP against lefties despite being two points worse average-wise.
No. 2: He's 3-for-3 stealing bases.Fields went from stealing 28 bases in 33 attempts in 2006 to stealing eight in 13 attempts in 2007. He definitely didn't run well during his time in the majors, which was credited to a nagging hamstring injury.
There's not a lot to say about Fields right now. He's not doing enough to make him seemed wronged by the demotion -- Carlos Quentin mashed every time he was sent down to Triple-A -- but he's started out worse. As for now, Fields is fine, and the next month will say a lot about his development.
Big names:Lance Broadway: The former first-round pick is the star of the staff right now, as he's 3-1 with a 1.25 ERA in 36 innings. Above all else, he needed to cut his walk rate this year. He's achieved that so far, going from 4.5 walks per nine innings to 2.00.
The biggest improvement has been in the hits column, where he's only allowed 23 in 36 innings (he was good for one an inning last year). He isn't seeing an increase in strikeouts, which is worrisome, but on the other hand, he's gone from 1.20 groundouts per flyout to 2.37. That seems to indicate improved control of his two-seamer, and maybe another big step down the Jon Garland route.
Jerry Owens: Owens is doing all he can so far with the bat, hitting .306/.403/.419 over 62 at-bats, with 10 walks to 11 strikeouts. There's still a massive lefty-righty split, with an OBP divide of more than 100 points (.316/.434), which probably won't go away anytime soon. He's 5-for-8 in stolen base attempts, which makes me wonder if the groin is still an issue.
Charlie Haeger: The knuckleballer is off to another slow start -- a 1.83 WHIP and a 7.34 ERA. He's allowed 36 hits and 20 walks over 30 2/3 innings, and obviously one of those categories will need to fall. It'll probably be the hits. Damage control seems to be an issue: He's had two outings where he allowed one and two runs over seven innings; in the other three, he's allowed six, seven and nine earned runs.
Jason Bourgeois: Probably the biggest disappointment of the farm system so far, Bourgeois is hitting .180/.232/.247, the worst on the Knights aside from Jeff DaVanon, who has played in half as many games.
Three big surprises:1. Dewayne Wise: .373/.448/.663, leading the team with seven doubles and five homers.
2. Wes Whisler: Four earned runs over five starts (28 2/3 innings), with more walks (12) than strikeouts (10).
3. Dewon Day: 11 2/3 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 K. That seems... normal.
CeilingWatch:Oneli Perez. He's given up 16 hits (three homers) over 9 2/3 innings, along with five walks. He has struck out 14, but the jump from big park to small park has not been kind.
BIRMINGHAM BARONSSpotlight on... Groundballapalooza.
With
Lucas Harrell,
Clayton Richard,
Brian Omogrosso,
Kyle McCulloch and
Justin Cassell, the Barons have an entire rotation that uses the sinker.
Before he went on the DL, Harrell was off to the hottest start -- eight hits and one walk over 13 innings. Since then, the side-arming Omogrosso (1.59) and former Anteater Cassell (1.75) have joined him in the Sub-2.00 ERA Club, and Richard, the sole lefty of the group, is catching up. He also boasts the best strikeout rate (29 in 34 innings) of the bunch.
That leaves the 2006 first-round pick McCulloch, who is scuffling at 1-3 and a 5.19 ERA. His walk rate (11 in 26 innings) needs improvement, and the two homers allowed is what separates him from Cassell in the runs allowed department. Still, he strung together quality starts, so I imagine we'll have five pitchers who will be hard to distinguish by the end of next month.
Big(ish) names:Cole Armstrong: Much like last year's spring surprise, Adam Russell, Armstrong has fallen on hard times in April after turning some heads in Tucson. He's hitting .159 with a .194 OBP thanks to two walks. The good news is that seven of his 10 hits have gone for extra bases (six doubles, one homer).
Jon Link: Acquired from San Diego for Rob Mackowiak at the deadline last year, the 24-year-old Link has settled into the closer role for the Barons, leading the Southern League with seven saves. He has 13 strikeouts over 10 2/3 innings, but also five walks.
Fernando Hernandez: He picked up where he left off, allowing one earned run over his first seven innings. He's allowed more walks (4) than hits (3), but has more strikeouts (9) than innings pitched.
CeilingWatch:Micah Schnurstein: He couldn't cut it in Double-A two years ago, and he's not faring much better in April (.238/.326/.325).
Robert Valido: He's not even worth mentioning anymore, but his fall is still shocking -- .131/.189/.131 in 84 at-bats.
WINSTON-SALEM WARTHOGSSpotlight on... Aaron Poreda.Poreda's underwhelming numbers -- 25 hits, 14 strikeouts over 21 2/3 innings -- benefit from an early beating that was wiped off the books thanks to rain. He hasn't been beaten up in any official start in terms of runs, but he hasn't dominated in an outing, either. One big point in his favor is control -- he only has four walks, and none over his last two starts (11 1/3 innings).
Overall, it's not a bad start in High-A ball, but it's a little bit disappointing of a follow-up to
his excellent rookie ball performance last year.
Big names:John Ely: The Sox's third-round pick in the 2007 draft is outperforming the first-round pick. In 31 innings, he has a 2.61 ERA and has as many strikeouts (28) as hits allowed, with only five walks. He's gone at least six innings in all five starts so far.
John Shelby: The breakout performer in Kannapolis last season is off to a slow start (.222/.323/.222), and hasn't played since April 16 due to a pulled hamstring.
Sergio Miranda: Also off to a slow start, hitting only .157 over 51 at-bats. Still, that's not as bad as...
Francisco Hernandez: ...who is only 4-for-30. At least he's still drawing walks (6).
Michael Dubee: The return for Tadahito Iguchi, Dubee has improved upon each start after an inauspicious debut, and owns a 3.23 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. He went 7 2/3 innings in his last start, the longest of any Warthog pitcher to my knowledge this season.
Jacob Rasner: The interesting arm acquired for Chris Stewart was pummelled mercilessly in Kannapolis last year. One level up, he owns the lowest ERA in the Winston-Salem rotation (1.71), with only 16 hits allowed over 21 innings.
CeilingWatch:Matt Long: The second-round pick in the 2006 draft hasn't distinguished himself in his first year at High-A ball -- 12 hits and five walks over his first 12 innings, with only seven strikeouts. His 4.38 ERA is 10th on a 13-man staff.
KANNAPOLIS INTIMIDATORSSpotlight on... Charlie Shirek.Shirek showed what he could do when healthy, dominating in his first four starts. He allowed one earned run over 23 2/3 innings, with 16 hits and 16 strikeouts to two walks. Then he was tagged for seven hits and four runs in 4 1/3 innings on April 24 before
leaving with an injury. He hasn't pitched since, but Kannapolis has had a rainout in the middle of things, so it's hard to gauge it.
That's pretty much the story on Shirek, who could be a great late-round value as a 23rd pick. He's an accomplished college pitcher, but
also is prone to miss time with injuries, so pay close attention to when he makes his next start. If he can stay healthy, he could be one of the faster climbers this season.
Big names:Jose Martinez: The 19-year-old Venezuelan hasn't shown any extra-base power -- 24 singles and one double to his credit thus far -- but the good news is his average is climbing after a slow start. He's hit .375 over his last 10 games to raise his line to .266/.310/.277. He's drawn six walks to 20 strikeouts, but the whiffs have decreased as well after a rough first two weeks.
Christian Marrero: Eli Marrero's younger brother has been pretty steady in his first month above rookie ball with few fluctuations to his .244/.316/.350 line.
Jim Gallagher: After tearing up the Pioneer League to the tune of .332/.418/.534, the Duke outfielder has stumbled out of the gate: .195/.217/.253. He does have five doubles, for what it's worth.
Leroy Hunt: The fourth-round pick from 2007 -- who is white -- is off to a solid start, with one run allowed over seven innings. He's 4-4-4 with hits, walks and strikeouts.
Anthony Carter: The 26th-round pick from the 2005 draft is having the best start of any Kanny pitcher after Shirek's stumble. He has a 1.61 ERA and has struck out 29 over 28 innings, only allowing 16 hits and five walks. He's 22 years old and
has spent the last two years in rookie ball.
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Minor league roundup:- Charlotte 5, Norfolk 2
- Wes Whisler improved to 5-0 with seven innings of two-run ball. He scattered five hits, walked three and struck out one; both runs scored on a homer by Luis Terrero.
- Dewon Day and Mike MacDougal threw a scoreless inning apiece; MacDougal struck out two, but committed a throwing error.
- Jerry Owens hit a two-run homer and added a double.
- Donny Lucy went 3-for-3 with a homer, and Chris Getz had a solo shot as well.
- Mobile 4, Birmingham 2
- Clayton Richard allowed four runs (two earned) over seven innings. He allowed eight hits, one walk and struck otu four.
- John Lujan pitched two hitless innings in relief.
- Thomas Collaro doubled and had the Barons' lone RBI; Maurice Gartrell had two hits.
- Potomac 1, Winston-Salem 0
- John Ely struck out six over eight innings, but was tagged with the loss, allowing one run on six hits and a walk.
- Ryan Rote pitched two scoreless innings in relief.
- The Warthogs managed four hits; Javier Colina had the lone extra-base hit, a double.
- Lakewood 10, Kannapolis 1
- Nathan Jones, Hector Santiago and Daniel Arbritton were all hit hard.
- Luis Sierra, Dale Mollenhauer and Jose Martinez each had two hits, with Mollenhauer driving in the lone run.
- The rest of the lineup went 0-for-20 with a walk.