White Sox Press release on further draft signings

[Randar68]

Below is the official White Sox Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, June 22, 2004

WHITE SOX ANNOUNCE ADDITIONAL DRAFT SIGNINGS

CHICAGO –The Chicago White Sox have agreed to terms with 19 of their first 20 selections from the 2004 First-Year Player Draft, including first-rounder Josh Fields, a third baseman out of Oklahoma St. University.

Among those recently signed by the White Sox are second-round picks Wes Whisler and Donny Lucy. Whisler is a 6-foot-5, 240 pound left-handed pitcher/first baseman who has been assigned to Class A Kannapolis in the South Atlantic League. Lucy, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound catcher out of Stanford, begins his professional career at Advanced Rookie Great Falls in the Pioneer League.

Among the Sox first 20 draft picks, the lone unsigned player is 10th-rounder Adam Ricks, a senior second baseman from Miami, Fla., who is currently playing in the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

The White Sox agreed to terms with Fields on June 16. He is currently playing at Class A Winston-Salem. Following is a complete list of Sox 2004 draft selections who have agreed to terms, along with their minor-league playing affiliate:

Rnd. Name Pos. Age Ht. Wt. School (Hometown) Affiliate

1 Josh Fields 3B 21 6-2 215 Oklahoma St. (Stillwater, Okla.) Winston-Salem

SA Tyler Lumsden LHP 21 6-4 215 Clemson (Roanoke, Va.) Winston-Salem

SB Giovanny Gonzalez LHP 18 5-11 185 Monsignor Pace H.S. (Hialeah, Fla.) Bristol

2A Wes Whisler LHP/1B 21 6-5 240 UCLA (Noblesville, Ind.) Kannapolis

2B Donny Lucy C 21 6-3 210 Stanford (Fallbrook, Calif.) Great Falls

2C Ray Liotta LHP 21 6-3 220 Gulf Coast CC (Kenner, La.) Great Falls

3 Matt Hansen RHP 21 6-6 225 Oklahoma City (Edmond, Okla.) Bristol

4 Lucas Harrell RHP 19 6-2 200 Ozark H.S. (Ozark, Mo.) Bristol

5 Brandon Allen OF 18 6-2 235 Montgomery H.S. (Montgomery, Texas) Great Falls

6 Adam Russell RHP 21 6-8 250 Ohio (North Olmstead, Ohio) Great Falls

7 Tim Murphey LHP 19 6-3 170 Glascock County H.S. (Norwood, Ga.) Bristol

8 Nickolas Lemon RHP 22 6-3 195 BYU (Elk Grove, Calif.) Bristol

9 Ryan McCarthy INF 21 6-3 200 UCLA (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) Great Falls

11 Garry Bakker RHP 21 6-2 210 North Carolina (Sloatsburg, N.Y.) Great Falls

12 Daron Roberts OF 21 6-0 215 Cal State San Bernadino (Riverside, Calif.) Great Falls

13 John Egbert RHP 21 6-3 200 Rutgers (Rutherford, N.J.) Great Falls

14 Michael Swain 3B 20 6-0 190 Wabash Valley CC (Evansville, Ind.) Bristol

15 Carlos Torres RHP 21 6-1 185 Kansas State (Manhattan, Kan.) Bristol

16 Fernando Alvarez OF 23 6-1 200 Florida International (Miami, Fla.) Great Falls

19 Caleb Cooper 3B 21 6-0 210 Cal State Hayward (Hayward, Calif.) Great Falls

23 Derek McNeil SS/2B 22 5-11 185 St. Leo (Lutz, Fla.) Great Falls

24 Joshua Hansen C/OF 21 6-0 215 San Diego (Irvine, Calif.) Great Falls

30 Matthew Zaleski RHP 22 6-1 205 Indiana State (North Aurora, Ill.) Great Falls

34 Mario Suarez 3B/OF 21 6-1 205 Florida International (Miami, Fla.) Great Falls

35 Evan Tartaglia CF 24 5-11 165 Elon (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) Bristol

40 Justin Roelle LHP 23 6-4 180 Iowa Western CC (North Platte, Neb.) Bristol

48 Peter Vukovich, Jr. C 23 5-11 205 Clarion (Johnstown, Pa.) Bristol

49 Garrett Guest 2B/SS 21 5-11 170 St. Joseph College (Homer Glen, Ill.) Bristol

-30-

© 2004 Chicago White Sox

[Mohoney]

Will Fields and Lumsden end up at Birmingham sometime this summer?

If they absolutely tear it up for an extended stretch (I would say anything over three weeks is an extended stretch) in high A ball, it can do wonders for their mindsets, but is that really worth it if they're not being challenged enough?

I say that these two should make the jump to AA ball THIS SUMMER if they're white-hot down in A ball. In my opinion, these two have enough college experience to justify skipping A ball, and moving to AA, facing better competition, would definitely be a plus.

Then again, maybe I value college ball too highly as a training tool.

[Randar68]

Originally Posted by Mohoney

Will Fields and Lumsden end up at Birmingham sometime this summer?

If they absolutely tear it up for an extended stretch (I would say anything over three weeks is an extended stretch) in high A ball, it can do wonders for their mindsets, but is that really worth it if they're not being challenged enough?

I say that these two should make the jump to AA ball THIS SUMMER if they're white-hot down in A ball. In my opinion, these two have enough college experience to justify skipping A ball, and moving to AA, facing better competition, would definitely be a plus.

Then again, maybe I value college ball too highly as a training tool.

Well, they did both play 3 years of college ball, but, let's be realistic. Fields only has a hit or 2 in his first 3 or 4 games, and Lumsden has only made one appearance, IIRC.

During contract negotiations, I've heard (been reported for Fields) that they were told that signing early would give them a chance to reach Birmingham by season's end. Both Rogowski and Brian Anderson have been doing it consistently at Winston-Salem all year, so they are likely to be first in line for promotions. Some moves would have to be made to clear a roster space, but there isn't anyone ahead of Fields in AA or AAA, so it shouldn't be a problem.

If anything, they may get call-ups for the last 2-3 weeks of the AA season if they start performing now, JMO. Lumsden still hasn't made 1 start, so they should take their time with him. While having some good college experience, Lumsden isn't as polished as I think he should be to go to AA yet.

[mcfish]

Randar,
Are you surprised by the number of signings the Sox have been able to get and the quickness that they have been able to do it with? 19 of the first 20 and 28 out of 54 total picks have signed already. That seems pretty impressive to me.

[Daver]

Originally Posted by mcfish

Randar,
Are you surprised by the number of signings the Sox have been able to get and the quickness that they have been able to do it with? 19 of the first 20 and 28 out of 54 total picks have signed already. That seems pretty impressive to me.

Even more impressive than signing all ten of their top ten picks from last years draft.

[Randar68]

Originally Posted by mcfish

Randar,
Are you surprised by the number of signings the Sox have been able to get and the quickness that they have been able to do it with? 19 of the first 20 and 28 out of 54 total picks have signed already. That seems pretty impressive to me.

Considering the mix of HS/JuCo/NCAA Jr.'s in the top 20 picks, I find it absolutely remarkable.

I really can't remember ever seeing a team sign all of their top 20 picks. I haven't researched it, but I am just astounded. I will definitely be interested to see if anyone has ever done it...

[maurice]

Outstanding!

I wonder if Whisler --> Kanny = McCarthy --> W-S.

[HomeFish]

Oh for at least one of those 19 ever amounting to anything.

[Randar68]

Originally Posted by HomeFish

Oh for at least one of those 19 ever amounting to anything.

Good too see you're the same depressed a-hole at 3:00 pm as you are the rest of the time.

[HomeFish]

Originally Posted by Randar68

Good too see you're the same depressed a-hole at 3:00 pm as you are the rest of the time.

I don't know. At this point, if one of the 19 can catch a popup I'd be happy.

[maurice]

Originally Posted by maurice

I wonder if Whisler --> Kanny = McCarthy --> W-S.

I guess it does.

[whitesoxglenn]

has signed also. I forgot on what roster I had seen Ricks on, but at least Ricks is signed and playing minor league baseball in the White Sox organization somewhere. I think that Adam Ricks might be in Bristol, I think!!!