SB Nation - Gordon Beckham

Chicago WhiteSox Top 20 Prospects for 2010

John Sickels — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:15:07 -0000

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

4 months ago: Chicago White Sox' Gordon Beckham dashes down the first base line on his two run home run in the third inning against the Boston Red Sox during their baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston, Monday Aug. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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Chicago White Sox Top 20 Prospects for 2010.

All grades are EXTREMELY PRELIMINARY and subject to change. Don't get too worried about exact rankings at this point, especially once you get beyond the Top 10. Grade C+/C guys are pretty interchangeable depending on what you want to emphasize. Complete reports on these and over 1,000 other players will be in the2010 Baseball Prospect Book, now available for pre-order, shipping on February 2^nd!

1) Dan Hudson, RHP, Grade B+: A personal favorite, since I rated him as a big sleeper pre-season and he really broke through.

2) Jared Mitchell, OF, Grade B: Grade A tools, refinement is a Grade C/C+ right now.

3) Tyler Flowers, C, Grade B: Power and patience are plusses, defense has improved a great deal according to all reports.

4) Brent Morel, 3B, Grade B-: I think he's underrated. Only questions about power at higher levels keep him from a Grade B. Now blocked behind Mark Teahen, a long-term signing I don't understand.

5) Jordan Danks, OF, Grade C+: Borderline Grade B-, as I like the tools and think the bat may still come around.

6) Dayan Viciedo, 3B, Grade C+: Cutting him some slack since he was young for Double-A and was pushed fast, but this is a good example of why we need performance data rather than just hype and team propaganda/scouting reports when evaluating players.

7) David Holmberg, LHP, Grade C+: Will the fastball get faster? If it does his stock could go up quickly.

8) C.J. Retherford, 2B, Grade C+: He can hit despite unimpressive tools. Not sure how he fits into long-term plans.

9) Christian Marrero, 1B-OF, Grade C+: Looks underrated to me. Could be a good platoon player.

10) Santos Rodriguez, LHP, Grade C+: Gotta love the strikeouts, but a long way from being ready to help. High ceiling though.

11) Miguel Gonzalez, C, Grade C+: Interesting catcher with good hitting in the Appy League and good glove rep, could rise quickly up the list in '10.

12) Jhonny Nunez, RHP, Grade C+: Power relief arm could help sometime soon.

13) Josh Phegley, C, Grade C+: Borderline Grade C; defensive questions still present and he had trouble transitioning from metal to wood, but can't ignore Indiana numbers completely yet.

14) John Ely, RHP, Grade C: I know scouts hate him but he just keeps getting people out. Passed Double-A Finesse Pitcher Test with flying colors.

15) John Shelby, OF, Grade C: Good speed, good glove, some power, on-base skills still sketchy despite increase in walk rate.

16) Tracye Thompson, OF, Grade C: Great tools, horrible hitting skills at this point. High risk of bust, but physical potential is impressive.

17) Clevelan Santeliz, RHP, Grade C: I know he throws hard and has the pretty ERA in Double-A, but his walk rate remains too high for me to trust him at this point.

18) Lucas Harrell, RHP, Grade C: Another guy with a decent arm but unattractive component ratios.

19) Brandon Hynick, RHP, Grade C: Nice pickup from the Rockies, possible inning-eater type though stuff is marginal.

20) Carlos Torres, RHP, Grade C: Old for a prospect at 27, but pitched well in Triple-A and could be a useful staff asset.

Others of Note (all grade C): Kyle Bellamy, RHP; Ryan Buch, RHP; Nick Ciolli, OF; Justin Collop, RHP; Tyson Corley, RHP; Eduardo Escobar, SS; Stefan Gartrell, OF; Jon Gilmore, 3B; Nevin Griffith, RHP; Gregory Infante, RHP; Nathan Jones, RHP; Jon Link, RHP; Charlie Leesman, LHP; Dan Remenowsky, RHP; Sergio Santos, RHP; Joe Serafin, LHP; Brady Shoemaker, OF; Taylor Thompson, RHP.

This is a very thin farm system, thanks in part to frequent trades and major league graduations like Gordon Beckham. I like the four guys at the top: Hudson and Mitchell are both personal favorites, though both still have enough questions to keep them from getting B+ ratings. Flowers seems to have come around defensively and has a good bat. Morel is another guy I like quite a bit and he has breakout potential in '10.

After that things thin out fast. Danks, Viciedo, and Holmberg all have good potential but even bigger questionmarks than the top guys. Marrero strikes me as an underrated player. Rodriguez and Gonzalez are intriguing but we need to see them at higher levels. After that we have a bunch of potential role players, possible bullpen arms, or guys with big ceilings but gigantic holes in their game (Trayce Thompson).

If Mitchell begins to fulfill his potential he'll be the clear number one next year.

White Sox Sign Teahen to 3-Year Extension

The Cheat — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:53:21 -0000

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

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It looks like the White Sox weren't involved in the Winter Meeting's first big blockbuster, but that doesn't mean they weren't making suprising moves, signing Mark Teahen to a 3-year extension. The Sox lone position of depth appears to be third base, the position that Mark Teahen was supposedly brought in to play. They moved Gordon Beckham off third to bring in Teahen, and have both Dayan Viciedo and Brent Morel at the hot corner in the upper minors next year.

When Teahen was brought over from the Royals, the thought was that he was a passable stop-gap, that he could give the Sox a year of average-bat, below-average defense at the hot corner and not cost too much in terms of talent or actual money. But by signing him to a 3-year, $14M extension, the Sox are committing themselves to a player who, with the exception of a breakout 2006 campaign, has proven to be moderately above replacement level everywhere he's played.

I wouldn't go so far as to call Brent Morel trade bait, but this deal makes his name sure to be brought up by any team seeking to make a deal with the Sox.

Hanson Named Topps Rookie All-Star

cbwilk — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:55:26 -0000

More photos » by John Bazemore - AP

Tommy Hanson was 11-4 with a 2.89 ERA after joining Atlanta in June.

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Braves rookie Tommy Hanson, who finished third in the voting for the National League Rookie of the Year Award, was named to Topps' 51st Rookie All-Star team, along with the two players who finished ahead of him in the award voting, Florida outfielder Chris Coghlan and Philadelphia pitcher JA Happ.

The rest of the player selected include Mets' catcher Omir Santos, Giants first baseman Travis Ishikawa, White Sox second baseman Chris Getz and third baseman Gordon Beckham, Rangers shortstop (and former Braves prospect) Elvis Andrus, Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen and Orioles outfielder Nolan Reimold.

The accolade is just another sign of how good Hanson was this year for Atlanta. I've personally had the pleasure of seeing all of the players on this All-Star team at one point or another in their Minor League career, with the exception of Beckham, and I think that Hanson has by far the best chance to be a long-term star player in the Major League, with McCutchen as a solid second.

Omar Vizquel is Official

The Cheat — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:23:29 -0000

I held off on commenting on the long-rumored Omar Vizquel signing for two reasons; one, it's pretty tough to get excited about the signing of a back-up shortstop, even if he happens to be one of the best defenders in the history of the game; and two, I wasn't going to waste the energy on a deal that wasn't official. Well now the deal is official.

It seems the only hangup was getting Omar hooked up with some Sox gear, rounding up Luis Aparicio, and putting together a press conference focusing on the White Sox Venezuelan tradition.

So what's left to say? The Sox picked up a veteran who took to the role of part-time backup and full-time mentor to Elvis Andrus, and he'll presumably fall into that same role here with a pair of green middle infielders in Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham. Though Ozzie Guillen is never content to let our assumptions go uncontradicted, saying that Vizquel isn't here as a coach and will get lots of time thanks to Alexei's annual pre-Memorial Day siesta at the plate.

"I don't want him to be a coach,'' manager Ozzie Guillen said of the signing. "That's the last thing I want. Omar is so professional handling something he had to do for the first time in his life. I think the job he did with the kids in Texas [last season] was outstanding.

"His presence with the team is very important. He's a guy that knows how to play the game, he's a Hall of Famer. The kids can take advantage, especially Gordon [Beckham] and [Alexei] Ramirez. We will try and find him a lot of playing time, especially early in the year because everyone knows Ramirez struggles early either because of the weather or over-training."

Omar Vizquel to the ChiSox

Adam J. Morris — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:58:12 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

4 months ago: Texas Rangers' Omar Vizquel celebrates his solo home against the Los Angeles Angels during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., Friday, Aug. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

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Omar Vizquel has signed a one year deal for $1.375 million with the Chicago White Sox.

Officially, Vizquel is going to be a backup infielder, but I suspect that part of the appeal of signing with Chicago is that there is a pretty decent chance he'll end up starting for them at some point.

Right now, the ChiSox are talking about Gordon Beckham at second base, Alexei Ramirez at shortstop, and Mark Teahen at third base. Teahen, though, at third base is shaky for a contender, and I imagine Vizquel probably views this situation as one where he's more likely to get regular playing time than he would if he'd come back to Texas.

White Sox close in on shortstop Omar Vizquel

Eli Greenspan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:21:41 -0000

More photos » by Paul Battaglia - AP

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The White Sox are closing in on a deal with free agent shortstop Omar Vizquel, FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal is reporting. Vizquel gives the White Sox a solid back up at second, short, and third, where the White Sox are expected to have Gordon Beckham, Alexei Ramirez, and Mark Teahen start.

Despite hitting .266 this past season, Vizquel is still one of the top fielders in the league and the White Sox will certainly benefit from his presence.

Chicago writer angry Beckham was snubbed

Adam J. Morris — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:46:48 -0000

There's a writer in Chicago who is throwing a tantrum over Gordon Beckham not getting more support for the Rookie of the Year Award. Some key excerpts:

Granted, the writers got it right by electing Oakland Athletics closer Andrew Bailey the 2009 AL Rookie of the Year. Bailey had a phenomenal year, start to finish and deserved the honor.
But they flubbed by giving Beckham zero first-place votes and two second-place votes.

Red flags should be raised when the Sporting News - in a players' poll - voted Beckham the AL Rookie of the Year last month. Around that same time, Beckham's peers in the players' association also selected him as the top AL rookie.

Players, what do they know?

All they do is study the competition from top to bottom, face these guys on the same field and gossip like a bunch of retirees in Florida.

Given a choice between trusting the opinion of a major league player or that of a ''baseball writer'' - and that term includes sports editors, columnists, general-assignment reporters and retired journalists who rarely, if ever, get to a major league ballpark but still get BBWAA ballots - well, the players win in a landslide.

* * *

Two ''writers'' in each AL city get a vote. And it's hard to see how they could believe Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus had such a vastly superior rookie season to Beckham.

* * *

Beckham had his struggles in the field, committing 14 errors for a .952 fielding percentage, but Andrus led all regular AL shortstops with 22 errors and had a .968 fielding percentage.

This wasn't about defense.

Beckham impressed most at the plate. Behind the numbers, he proved to be a clutch performer - a tall task for any rookie. With runners on base, Beckham hit .307. With runners in scoring position, he hit .323. And with two outs and runners in scoring position - ask any manager the importance of this stat - he hit .348.

Andrus, with two outs and runners in scoring position, hit .217. That's about what you would expect from a rookie.

Everyone, grab your torches and pitchforks and head for Chicago!!!

Andrew Bailey And Chris Coghlan Named BBWAA's Rookies Of The Year

Al — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:45:48 -0000

More photos » by Lynne Sladky - AP

NL Rookie of the Year 2009, Chris Coghlan of the Marlins.

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When I posted the results of the SBNation voting for various awards last week, I also posted the BCB ballots and the results of the voting. I thought that was a courtesy to you, the reader, and also informative.

The BBWAA, apparently, feels differently, or maybe it's MLB's fault -- it took me half an hour of searching, after the results came out, to find this single article which tells us that Randy Wells got a second-place vote and finished fifth.

I haven't yet been able to find any online source that has the table of voting. Seriously, how difficult is this? If I can do it, why can't MLB?

Regarding Andrew Bailey, he had a fine year but might not even have been the best rookie on his own team (Brett Anderson also had a good year, but finished fifth). I'd have voted for Gordon Beckham in the AL, myself.

It's ROY Day! - And Beckham Gets 5th Place.

The Cheat — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:51:07 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

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The Rookie of the Year Awards are announced today, so use this thread to celebrate, or, alternately, plot your murders of those other undeserving rookies and the BWAA members who voted for them. Edit: Gordon Beckham gets 5th place. Andrew Bailey wins.
Kenny Williams thinks the National League sucks.

"A guy going from the American League to the National League, no disrespect, but. ... "

"There are guys in the American League who go to the National League and don’t do well," Williams conceded, "but there are not too many of them that I can think of."
And Phil Rogers declares Brent Morel the White Sox third baseman of the future. I can't say I agree, but 18 months ago when he was drafted, I did like his swing better than Beckham's from their scouting videos. I still like Morel, probably more than most prospect experts, yet I wouldn't go so far as to call him the future of anything. He was blocked this year, when he probably should have received a mid-season promotion. He's still on the utility player track, though his ceiling seems like a Mark Teahen type, albeit with better defense.

A boatload of postseason awards

KLSnow — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:41:50 -0000

Because I've been away for a few days I've fallen behind on a couple of things, including the unveiling of the SBN and IBWAA postseason awards. My apologies. Let's start with the SBN Awards:

If you read any of the other SBN baseball sites, you may have seen some of these, but if you don't, they're new to you. Two BCB writers contributed to each of the NL awards: I had one vote, and TheJay had the other. I'll publish my ballot below the results, and leave it up to TheJay to decide if he wants to post his.

SBN NL Manager of the Year:

Rk	Manager	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Jim Tracy	Colorado Rockies	24	1	2	125
2	Tony LaRussa	St. Louis Cardinals	3	7	10	46
3	Fredi Gonzalez	Florida Marlins	2	6	5	33
4	Joe Torre	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	9	2	29
5	Charlie Manuel	Philadelphia Phillies	-	3	5	14
6	Bruce Bochy	San Francisco Giants	1	1	1	9
7	Bobby Cox	Atlanta Braves	-	1	4	7
8	Bud Black	San Diego Padres	-	1	1	4
9	John Russell	Pittsburgh Pirates	-	1	-	3

My ballot:
1. Jim Tracy
2. Fredi Gonzalez
3. Joe Torre

I have no other comment on this award, except this side note: Nine of sixteen NL Managers received at least one vote, meaning more NL managers were acknowledged than not, and yet Ken Macha didn't appear on a single ballot.

SBN NL Rookie of the Year:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tommy Hanson	Atlanta Braves	9	9	6	78
2	J.A. Happ	Philadelphia Phillies	6	9	7	64
3	Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh Pirates	8	3	5	54
4	Chris Coghlan	Florida Marlins	7	5	4	54
5	Dexter Fowler	Colorado Rockies	-	3	1	10
6	Randy Wells	Chicago Cubs	-	-	6	6
7	Garrett Jones	Pittsburgh Pirates	1	-	-	5
8	Casey McGehee	Milwaukee Brewers	-	1	2	5
9	Seth Smith	Colorado Rockies	-	1	-	3

My ballot:
1. Tommy Hanson
2. J.A. Happ
3. Casey McGehee

It was a tough year to be an NL Rookie - McGehee's performance might have rated higher in other years, but this season he was overshadowed by a bunch of high-impact players.

SBN NL Cy Young:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tim Lincecum	San Francisco Giants	18	13	-	129
2	Chris Carpenter	St. Louis Cardinals	9	4	7	64
3	Adam Wainwright	St. Louis Cardinals	4	4	10	42
4	Javier Vazquez	Atlanta Braves	-	5	7	22
5	Dan Haren	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	3	4	13
6	Ubaldo Jimenez	Colorado Rockies	-	1	1	4
7	Cliff Lee	Philadephia Phillies	-	-	1	1
8	Jair Jurrjens	Atlanta Braves	-	-	1	1

My ballot:
1. Tim Lincecum
2. Javier Vazquez
3. Adam Wainwright
4. Chris Carpenter
5. Dan Haren

The SBN ballot only asked for three pitchers, but I also voted in the IBWAA awards, which required five. The IBWAA completed their slate of awards today, naming their MVP and Cy Young Award winners for both leagues. Here are their results:

IBWAA NL Manager of the Year:

1. Jim Tracy, Colorado Rockies
2. Joe Torre, Los Angeles Dodgers
3 (tie). Bruce Bochy, San Francisco Giants
3 (tie). Fredi Gonzalez, Florida Marlins

IBWAA NL Rookie of the Year:

1. Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves
2. Chris Coghlan, Florida Marlins
3. J.A. Happ, Philadelphia Phillies

IBWAA NL Comeback Player of the Year:

1. Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
2. Troy Tulowitzski, Colorado Rockies
3. Rafael Furcal, Los Angeles Dodgers

IBWAA NL Executive of the Year:

1. Dan O'Dowd, Colorado Rockies
2. John Mozeliak, St. Louis Cardinals
3. Ned Colletti, Los Angeles Dodgers

IBWAA NL Cy Young:

1. Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
2. Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
3. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
4. Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins
5. Javier Vazquez, Atlanta Braves

IBWAA NL Most Valuable Player:

1. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
2. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
3. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
4. (tie) Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers
4. (tie) Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
6. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
7. Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
8. Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers
9. Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
10. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

The SBN MVP award balloting will be unveiled tomorrow. Follow the jump for the AL awards for both SBN and the IBWAA.

IBWAA Cy Young and MVP Awards have yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, in the AL:

SBN AL Manager of the Year:

Rk	Manager	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Mike Scioscia	Los Angeles Angels	9	8	3	72
2	Ron Gardenhire	Minnesota Twins	9	5	1	61
3	Don Wakamatsu	Seattle Mariners	6	3	8	47
4	Joe Girardi	New York Yankees	2	4	2	24
5	Ron Washington	Texas Rangers	1	4	4	21
6	Terry Francona	Boston Red Sox	1	1	3	11
7	Jim Leyland	Detroit Tigers	-	2	4	10
8	Joe Maddon	Tampa Bay Rays	-	1	1	4
9	Ozzie Guillen	Chicago White Sox	-	-	1	1
10	Trey Hillman	Kansas City Royals	-	-	1	1

SBN AL Rookie of the Year:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Elvis Andrus	Texas Rangers	6	9	6	63
2	Andrew Bailey	Oakland Athletics	11	1	3	61
3	Jeff Niemann	Tampa Bay Rays	3	5	3	33
4	Rick Porcello	Detroit Tigers	2	7	2	33
5	Brett Anderson	Oakland Athletics	5	1	3	31
6	Gordon Beckham	Chicago White Sox	1	2	8	19
7	Nolan Reimold	Baltimore Orioles	1	-	1	6
8	Matt Wieters	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	3	6
9	Brad Bergesen	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	-	3
10	Ricky Romero	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3
11	Travis Snider	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3

SBN AL Cy Young:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Zack Greinke	Kansas City Royals	28	1	-	143
2	Felix Hernandez	Seattle Mariners	-	17	6	57
3	Justin Verlander	Detroit Tigers	-	8	9	33
4	Roy Halladay	Toronto Blue Jays	1	2	11	22
5	C.C. Sabathia	New York Yankees	-	1	2	5
6	Jon Lester	Boston Red Sox	-	-	1	1

IBWAA AL Manager of the Year:
1. Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins
2. Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
3. Joe Girardi (New York Yankees)

IBWAA AL Rookie of the Year:
1. Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers
2. Andrew Bailey, Oakland Athletics
3. Jeff Niemann, Tampa Bay Rays

IBWAA AL Comeback Player of the Year:
1. Aaron Hill, Toronto Blue Jays
2. Russell Branyan, Seattle Mariners
3. Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

IBWAA AL Executive of the Year:
1. Brian Cashman, New York Yankees
2. Tony Reagins, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
3. Jon Daniels, Texas Rangers

IBWAA AL Cy Young:
1. Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals
2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
3. CC Sabathia, New York Yankees
4. Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
5. Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays

IBWAA AL Most Valuable Player:
1. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
2. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
3. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
4. Kendry Morales, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
5. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
6. Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals
7. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
8. Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners
9. (tie) Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays
9. (tie) Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox