2008 Chicago White Sox Organizational Depth Report

rank...name...position...ETA
fautino de los santos, RHSP - september 2010
gavin floyd, RHSP
john danks, LHSP
clayton richard, LHSP - may 2009 *SLEEPER*
gio gonzalez, LHSP - april 2009
jack egbert, RHSP - september 2008
aaron poreda, LHSP - september 2009
kyle mcculloch, RHSP - mid 2009
charlie haeger, RHRP
carlos vasquez, LHRP - mid 2008


fautino de los santos looks like the next big pitching prospect. he has a tremendous fastball, which has drawn rave reviews from scouts, while his statistical profile substantiates the scouting reports, and at the same time shows no glaring weaknesses to be watched going forward. fautino has tremendous upside, and he could reach the majors in 2008 if pushed, but personally, i expect at least 1 year of injury/ineffectiveness from any 20 year old pitcher in A ball between his breakout and his debut, and de los santos is no exception. oftentimes, reigning in a young pitcher's innings, and letting him pull back from baseball can provide a tremendously important perspective on life, especially for a foreigner about to make it big. but then again, according to my philosophy, all that matters is winning at the major league level, and since i don't expect anything from 21 year old pitchers, i'm much more willing to slow down his ascension through the minors, in the hopes of keeping him fully healthy for his age 22-26 seasons, which is the butter zone, as far as i'm concerned.

clayton richard, carlos vasquez, and kyle mcculloch are favorites of mine because of their ability to record the most favorable outcome. i don't anticipate any of them becoming the next brandon webb, but i think a jon lieber type ceiling is within reach for the two starters, with a JC romero like ceiling being within reach of vasquez.

i've always liked gavin floyd. his curve still looks awesome, while his fastball is average, but one dimensional. floyd has added a cut fastball, but unless this pitch, or his changeup take a step forward, his ceiling is going to be a 4th starter. he'll continue to give up tons of homeruns, as an effect of both his straight fastball, and his pitching half his games in a bandbox known as new comiskey.

i still don't have a good feel for gio gonzalez. i can't see him as a power pitcher in the rotation, and i think his effectiveness would diminish greatly if his K rate fell to the 6-7 range, which is where i see it at the major league level. i don't want to pigeonhole him as a reliever, but i think if he gets called up in 2008, that's the role he should fill, with a possible rotation spot in 2009 if he is successful. a pitcher that i've looked at already, wandy rodriguez, has the same profile as gonzalez, a plus curve bordering on plus-plus, with a slightly above average fastball, and a workable changeup, coming from a frame under 6'. rodriguez's K rate spiked in 2007 at about 8 per 9 IP, and i see that as being the peak for gonzalez, which is why i have a hard time seeing him as a successful power pitcher.



Spotlight: John Danks

danks' days as a power pitcher are over. his fastball and slurve are both average pitches, coming in at 89-92 and 75-78 respectively, while his inconsistency with both pitches is going to drag down his peripherals. his changeup is a quality pitch that averages around 5-8 MPH less than his fastball, and mimics it's break and drop effectively.

danks has a lot of trouble locating his fastball, and doesn't seem to throw it with any discernible underlying purpose. he throws it all over the strikezone with little regard to placing it high/low/inside/outside.

i don't view danks so much as a pitcher, but more as a guy who makes a living hurling a ball in the general vicinity of an imaginary square 60'6" away from his left arm.