Chicago White Sox

By Phil Rogers
January 13, 2008

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, 2008.

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TOP TEN PROSPECTS

1. Aaron Poreda, lhp 2. Lance Broadway, rhp 3. Jack Egbert, rhp 4. Jose Martinez, of 5. Chris Getz, 2b 6. John Ely, rhp 7. Juan Silverio, ss 8. John Shelby Jr., of 9. Adam Russell, rhp 10. Kyle McCulloch, rhp

BEST TOOLS

Best Hitter for Average Chris Getz Best Power Hitter Brandon Allen Best Strike-Zone Discipline Chris Getz Fastest Baserunner Paulo Orlando Best Athlete Lyndon Estill Best Fastball Aaron Poreda Best Curveball Lance Broadway Best Slider Kanekoa Texeira Best Changeup Lance Broadway Best Control Jack Egbert Best Defensive Catcher Donny Lucy Best Defensive Infielder Robert Valido Best Infield Arm Juan Silverio Best Defensive Outfielder Paulo Orlando Best Outfield Arm Jose Martinez

PROJECTED 2011 LINEUP

Catcher A.J. Pierzynski First Base Paul Konerko Second Base Chris Getz Third Base Joe Crede Shortstop Orlando Cabrera Left Field Josh Fields Center Field Nick Swisher Right Field Carlos Quentin Designated Hitter Jermaine Dye No. 1 Starter Mark Buehrle No. 2 Starter Javier Vazquez No. 3 Starter Aaron Poreda No. 4 Starter John Danks No. 5 Starter Lance Broadway Closer Bobby Jenks

TOP PROSPECTS OF THE DECADE

Year Player, Position 2007 1998 Mike Caruso, ss South Coast League 1999 Carlos Lee, 3b Astros 2000 Kip Wells, rhp Cardinals 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 2007 Ryan Sweeney, of White Sox

TOP DRAFT PICKS OF THE DECADE

Year Player, Position 2007 1998 Kip Wells, rhp Cardinals 1999 Jason Stumm, rhp Out of baseball 2000 Joe Borchard, of Marlins 2001 Kris Honel, rhp White Sox 2002 Royce Ring, lhp Braves 2003 Brian Anderson, of White Sox 2004 Josh Fields, 3b White Sox 2005 Lance Broadway, rhp White Sox 2006 Kyle McCulloch, rhp White Sox 2007 Aaron Poreda, lhp 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 Lance Broadway, 2005 $1,570,000 Brian Anderson, 2003 $1,500,000

WHITE SOX LINKS

White Sox' Team Page White Sox Top 10 Scouting Reports  Last Year's White Sox Top 10 Prospects 2007 Draft: White Sox (Basic Database) 2007 Draft: White Sox  (Advanced Database) 2007 Draft Report Cards: American League  Complete Index of Top 10 Prospects Pre-Order the 2008 Prospect Handbook

Few owners in baseball are more loyal than Jerry Reinsdorf. Few general managers are more aggressive than Ken Williams. Those two personalities came to a crossroads in 2007—making it impossible to overlook the deterioration of the White Sox since their World Series victory two years earlier.

After 35 years with the organization, including 14 as scouting director, Duane Shaffer was fired by Williams after he oversaw the draft in June. It was a painful move for Reinsdorf to sign off on, but one that Williams convinced him was necessary after a painfully unproductive period for the farm system, especially in terms of producing position players.

Had Shaffer wanted to engage in public mudslinging, he could have pointed out how it was the work of White Sox scouts that was primarily responsible for a 17-year stretch in which the big league club never performed poorly enough to earn a top-10 pick in the draft. That streak will end in 2008, when the Sox will pick eighth after a late surge that took them to a 72-90 finish and past the Royals for fourth place in the American League Central. Or Shaffer could have pointed out how it was the work of scouts that gave Williams a chance to pull off so many of the high-profile trades he has made.

In seven years since replacing the scout-friendly Ron Schueler as general manager, Williams has often dealt tomorrow for today with his trades. For Roberto Alomar, Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Mike MacDougal, Todd Ritchie, Jim Thome, Javier Vazquez, David Wells and others, Williams repeatedly has undercut the depth of his farm system.

Williams always knew he was taking a risk that a young player would come back to bite him in a big way, and one did in 2007. Chris Young, part of the package for Vazquez, hit 32 homers and stole 27 bases as a rookie to help the Diamondbacks reach the playoffs. Meanwhile center field was a revolving door on the South Side.

But it wasn't just losing a player here or a player there that put the Sox at risk. Chicago has had a run of conservative and unproductive drafts, and the last impact pick they made was Young, a 16th-rounder in 2001. The White Sox also have done little in Latin America.

Williams was at it again in January, sending the top two prospects in the system (lefthander Gio Gonzalez and righthander Fautino de los Santos) and the top position prospect (outfielder Ryan Sweeney) to the Athletics for Nick Swisher. While the move upgraded Chicago's offense, the team's chances of contending in the rugged AL Central still look like a longshot, and the White Sox now have arguably the thinnest farm system in baseball.

Williams wanted multi-tooled position players in the draft, but those athletes didn't fall as the White Sox hoped, and they wound up taking pitchers with their first six picks. First-rounder Aaron Poreda, a southpaw, used his 95-97 mph fastball to put up a 0.93 ERA (counting two playoff starts) in the Rookie-level Pioneer League.

Chicago did find an athlete in the offseason, agreeing to terms on a four-year, $4.75 million contract with Cuban outfielder/infielder Alexei Ramirez. If red tape hadn't delayed the official signing of Ramirez, he would have ranked No. 2 on our White Sox prospect list.

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