By Phil Rogers
November 20, 2006

Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel. All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched (without regard to service time) are eligible. Ages are as of April 1, 2007.

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TOP TEN PROSPECTS

1. Ryan Sweeney, of 2. Josh Fields, 3b 3. Lance Broadway, rhp 4. Kyle McCulloch, rhp 5. Charlie Haeger, rhp 6. Aaron Cunningham, of 7. Adam Russell, rhp 8. Lucas Harrell, rhp 9. Matt Long, rhp 10. Chris Carter, 1b

BEST TOOLS

Best Hitter for Average Ryan Sweeney Best Power Hitter Josh Fields Best Strike-Zone Discipline Ricardo Nanita Fastest Baserunner Paulo Orlando Best Athlete Jerry Owens Best Fastball Adam Russell Best Curveball Lance Broadway Best Slider Kanekoa Texeira Best Changeup Kyle McCullough Best Control Heath Phillips Best Defensive Catcher Chris Stewart Best Defensive Infielder Robert Valido Best Infield Arm Angel Gonzalez Best Defensive Outfielder Ryan Sweeney Best Outfield Arm Christian Marrero

PROJECTED 2010 LINEUP

Catcher A.J. Pierzynski First Base Josh Fields Second Base Tadahito Iguchi Third Base Joe Crede Shortstop Juan Uribe Left Field Jermaine Dye Center Field Brian Anderson Right Field Ryan Sweeney Designated Hitter Paul Konerko No. 1 Starter Mark Buehrle No. 2 Starter Brandon McCarthy No. 3 Starter Freddy Garcia No. 4 Starter Jon Garland No. 5 Starter Lance Broadway Closer Bobby Jenks

TOP PROSPECTS OF THE DECADE

Year Player, Position 2006 1997 Mike Cameron, of Mets 1998 Mike Caruso, ss Out of baseball 1999 Carlos Lee, 3b Rangers 2000 Kip Wells, rhp Rangers 2001 Jon Rauch, rhp Nationals 2002 Joe Borchard, of Marlins 2003 Joe Borchard, of Marlins 2004 Joe Borchard, of Marlins 2005 Brian Anderson, of White Sox 2006 Bobby Jenks, rhp White Sox

TOP DRAFT PICKS OF THE DECADE

Year Player, Position 2006 1997 Jason Dellaero, ss Out of baseball 1998 Kip Wells, rhp Rangers 1999 Jason Sturmm, rhp Out of baseball 2000 Joe Borchard, of Marlins 2001 Kris Honel, rhp White Sox 2002 Royce Ring, lhp Mets 2003 Brian Anderson, of White Sox 2004 Josh Fields, 3b White Sox 2005 Lance Broadway, rhp White Sox 2006 Kyle McCulloch, rhp White Sox

LARGEST BONUSES IN CLUB HISTORY

Joe Borchard, 2000 $5,300,000 Jason Stumm, 1999 $1,750,000 Royce Ring, 2002 $1,600,000 Brian Anderson, 2003 $1,600,000 Lance Broadway, 2005 $1,570,000

WHITE SOX LINKS

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General manager Ken Williams, the architect of the White Sox' World Series championship in 2005, likes to say he enjoyed that success for about 24 hours before getting to work on a repeat. He appeared to strengthen the roster with a series of offseason moves funded by a significant increase in payroll, including the additions of Jim Thome and Javier Vazquez, but Chicago ultimately fell short of returning to the playoffs.

A pitching staff built around a veteran rotation couldn't duplicate its 2005 performance, with the staff ERA climbing from 3.61 to 4.61. The lineup picked up the pace early, helping the White Sox to a 56-29 start, but wore down late in the season. A 33-36 second half caused Chicago to slide into third place in the deep American League Central, missing the postseason despite delivering back-to-back 90-win seasons for the first time since the Sox had three straight from 1963-65.

While going backward in the standings, the White Sox flexed some new muscle in the Chicago market. They filled U.S. Cellular Field with regularity, drawing a record 2.96 million fans, nearly as many as the crosstown rival Cubs. Ratings showed that more people followed the Sox on television than the Cubs. Both of those developments were amazing considering the perception of the two franchises and their home ballparks over the last two decades.

Williams has helped change the outlook of his franchise with his aggressive approach, almost always joining the pursuit of high-profile players on the market. He doesn't mind trading prospects for proven talent and hasn't seen many of his deals come back to bite him. The Vazquez trade could be an exception, as he sent promising center fielder Chris Young to the Diamondbacks. Trying to improve a thin bullpen, Williams sent two other promising pitching prospects, lefthander Tyler Lumsden and righthander Daniel Cortes, to the Royals for Mike MacDougal in July.

The White Sox eventually may suffer for draining so much talent away from the farm system. Their big league club was older than all of its AL Central rivals except for the Tigers in 2006, and its window for contending may not remain open for too much longer.

Chicago did break in some young players last season, with Brian Anderson taking over in center field, Bobby Jenks saving 41 games in his first full year in the majors and Brandon McCarthy serving in middle relief while awaiting an opening in the rotation. Most of the system's top prospects are at the upper levels, led by outfielder Ryan Sweeney and third baseman Josh Fields, who starred in Triple-A and are ready for jobs with the Sox.

But at the lower levels, there's an alarming lack of talent. The bottom three clubs in Chicago's system combined for a .333 winning percentage. The White Sox have leaned toward safer, more easily projected prospects in recent drafts, leading to a shortage of high-ceiling talent. They also haven't been productive at mining international talent, prompting manager Ozzie Guillen to prod Williams for an increased effort at finding and developing players from Latin America, particularly Guillen's native Venezuela.

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