There Must Be Something In The Water

Almost getting lost in the shuffle, was another pitching gem on Tuesday. Aaron Poreda took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before giving up a solo home run, which was the only hit in the game. The Winston-Salem Warthogs won the game 8-1 over the Lynchburg Hillcats in Class A Advanced ball.

What are the odds that two one hitters would be thrown in the same organization on the same day? Probably slightly higher than an organization throwing two no-hitters in the same day.

Aaron said, "I have real high expectations for myself, because the Chicago White Sox have high expectations of me. They're probably going to want me to pitch in the big leagues some day. I think I've surpassed a lot of their expectations. I don't think they saw me developing as fast as I am."

It seems like he has the confidence to be a big league pitcher. I detect a slight humbleness in that statement as well. Let's hope he keeps that attitude as he advances through the White Sox minor league system.

White Sox Prospects

The comments have been wonderful so far! The Wilbur Wood card in the wallet story was pretty cool. Some of the comments have inspired some postings that I wouldn't have thought of yet.

A comment today asked if their were any hot prospects in the organization. Well, there are to a degree. Nobody is a guaranteed lock, but there is a lot of potential. If they're moved too quickly or too slowly, the results can be disastrous. Take Brian Anderson as an example on both accounts.

Focus is high on knuckleballer Daniel Haigwood. Gio Gonzalez is supposed to be great when he's finally ready to pitch in the big leagues. Jack Egbert and Adam Russell have long shots to make the club this year on the pitching staff.

The ones that have been at the major league level for more than a few games include Ryan Sweeney, John Danks and Josh Fields. The latter two are almost guaranteed jobs on the Sox this year, unless they are used for trade bait.

Aaron Poreda and John Shelby Jr. both showed great abilities the last two months of the minor league season. They were named as co-winners of the Prospect of the Month award over at FutureSox.com. Poreda was the 25th overall pick in the 2007 draft. He may make the 2010 team as a starter or a power closer. Shelby is a 2006 pick and the son of former major leaguer John Shelby. He moved from second base to center field this year. Shelby may be the center field power hitter answer in a few years.

Anderson Gomes, a Brazilian native, is also a center fielder option for the future. He is a pitcher who blew out his arm and was converted into an outfielder. He has excellent range because he was a star sprinter in Brazil. His arm strength remains excellent for fielding work. He has been compared to Alfonso Soriano.

Juan Moreno had an excellent finish to 2007. In his last seven starts, he was 3-1 with a 1.05 ERA. Juan was named Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year. He's a quick worker like Buehrle and is considered a top competiter.

Casey Rogowski led the AAA team in homers and RBI. Jason Bourgeois has an outside chance to make the team in 2008. Fernando Hernandez might get a shot soon. Fautino De Los Santos seems like he may have the best shot to become something great. Then there's a 24 year old named Ray Liotta. He was on track to be something great, but I haven't heard much about him lately. On the Winston-Salem website he's listed as injured. And no, he's not the actor, but the actor is a distant cousin.