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Chicago White Sox Spring Training 2006 Report
What could the Chicago White Sox possibly do better than win the 2005 World Series? Keep the ball rolling.
The Chi Sox have a growing armada of talent on the farm that can stoke the fire of the major league club and continue to make it a contender for the near future.
Arms
Most White Sox pitching is so good that you have to pick and choose the highlight players with a bit more difficulty.
Bobby Jenks split time last year with Birmingham and the Sox. He should remain with the big league club in 2006.
Jeff Bajenaru smoked through Charlotte last season with a 1.41 ERA, 19 saves and 83 strikeouts on 70 innings of work. He was jumped to the White Sox for a taste of the big leagues, where he met major league hitting. He'll probably start in Birmingham at AAA, but, if he can develop the same command that he showed last year, he'll be a fast-track candidate for injuries and openings in Chicago.
The Centuryians, Arnie Munoz and Sean Tracey, delivered 109 strikeouts (Charlotte) and 106 (Birmingham) respectively. Tracey pitched 163.2 innings with a 14-6 record. If the roster weakens or injures for the Chi Sox, he would be the most likely immediate pitcher to call-up if he can keep his performance up to 2005 levels.
Plate
If catcher Chris Stewart doesn't get an opportunity with the White Sox, he'd be a prime trade candidate. With 11 home runs and 51 RBI and a .286 average, both on O and D he's the guy you want to groom for better things.
Base Path
Lefty Casey Rogowski, who batted .293 at Birmingham last season with 9 dingers and 78 RBI has to work on his 111 strikeouts. Picking and choosing still seems to be a Spring issue. We'll look for him to start at Birmingham.
Deep Grass
The farm is deep with deep grass talent, particularly Mr. Anderson. Brian Anderson (MLN FAB50 Baseball 2005 No. 26 ) may be, like Neo in The Matrix, the key to the puzzle of continued success for the major league club. His .295 in Charlotte with 16 home runs and 57 RBIs got him a brief taste of the big leagues. Strikeouts are this Achilles' heel, though, and he'll need to get his plate discipline up to major league speed before he's ready to lay the American League's pitching staffs low.
Joe Borchard cost the White Sox $5.5 million and change to sign. His nickname may soon become "the faucet" because he's run hot and cold since we started tracking his career in the minors. Granted he was rushed a bit, to his detriment, at the beginning of his pro run. He batted .263, largely on the back of 143 strikeouts, but he powered out 29 home runs and 67 RBIs in the process at Charlotte last season. His short stint with Chicago in 2005 generated a .417 average on 12 at-bats. He needs to catch on fire in Birmingham and drop his strikeout count under the century mark, which means yet another lecture on plate discipline.
Not to be forgotten, Jerry Owens belted .331 for the Barons last year, with 52 RBI. More notably, he stole 38 bases in the Eastern League. That Jedi-like lost art may prove useful in a Sox playoff run, particularly if he can be paired up with a power hitter who can provide him enough cover to run.
