The White Sox invited 15 non-roster players to Spring Training, and you can divide them into four groups:
Baby's first spring
- Jared Mitchell
- Jordan Danks
- Brent Morel
- C.J. Retherford
None of these four have any semblance of a shot at making the 25-man roster out of spring barring a major catastrophe. Still, there's nothing wrong with making a fine first impression under these circumstances. They won't get another look as quickly as Gordon Beckham did, but Ryan Sweeney is an example of a guy whose fine first spring was remembered down the road.
For future reference
- Miguel Gonzalez
- Charles Leesman
- Josh Phegley
They're too far away from the majors to be part of any big-league plans, but the Sox have high hopes for them. In particular, Leesman's size (6-foot-4) and throwing hand (lefty) give him a chance to turn a good spring training into a short stay at Winston-Salem.
Antique Road Show
- Daniel Cabrera
He's a mess in every way, but people still remember when he threw 98. Too bad he throws 91 now. He's the John Van Benschoten Memorial Futile Reclamation Project of 2010.
Warm bodies
- Greg Aquino
- Jason Botts
- The other Ryan Braun
- Freddy Bynum
- Josh Kroeger
- Donny Lucy
- Erick Threets
Keep Aquino and Threets in mind. There are no reasons why they should be in consideration at any point in 2010, but you could say the same thing about former NRIs D.J. Carrasco (2008) and Randy Williams (2009). Threets probably has a better shot since he's left-handed.
Speaking of Carrasco, he's a Pirate now.
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Two pitcher profiles:
*On one end, Joe Cowley catches up with Jake Peavy. In short, Kenny Williams fires Peavy up, Peavy fires Don Cooper up, and when you read it, you'll be fired up, too. Or your money back.
*On the other, Scott Merkin gets on the floor with Jeff Marquez to help him find all the pieces of his career. It's helpful in that it details the extent of his elbow problems, but I shook my head at a lot of it when you consider his groundball rates. Marquez's "power sinker" stands a good chance at entering the White Sox Mythical Pitch Hall of Fame next to Billy Koch's 100-m.p.h. high heat and Nick Masset's sinking 98.
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Christian Marrero Reading Room:
*Kenny Williams says he's probably done dealing. That doesn't mean much, but it's worth noting.
*That news will disappoint J.J. at White Sox Examiner and Andrew at The 35th Street Review, who are waiting for more.
*Scott Podsednik's baserunning is broken down in detail at Rany on the Royals.
*The Cubs are nearing a decision between Arizona and Florida. This only matters because it has a big impact on the Sox's spring training attendance.
