White Sox minor league report

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The White Sox are looking forward to adding some young talent in the draft this June. Big league potential is spread pretty thin in the Sox farm system, but a number of minor league prospects are starting to raise some eyebrows. Here is your White Sox minor league update for the first week of May.

AAA Charlotte Knights

Sox prospect Nestor Molina was called up to Charlotte from Double A Birmingham this past week. While with the Barons, Molina accumulated an impressive 3-1 record in six starts. He helped his cause with 25 strikeouts and only five base-on-balls in 36 13 pitched. His solid performances warranted a call from Triple A Charlotte. Molina saw his first action with the new club on Monday, but things did not exactly go as planned. He surrendered six runs (all earned) on nine hits in only four innings pitched. Molina was having trouble locating his pitches and this was evident in the box score. He was credited with the loss but I dont think there is any need for panic. Molina has shown that he is capable of some great things in the first weeks of the season, he now needs to translate them to the next level.

Top 20 prospect Josh Phegley has accounted for a large portion of the runs scored by the Knights this season. The 24-year-old catcher got off to a blisteringly hot start early this summer, but has since cooled off. In the first week of May, Phegley is 4-for-23 (.173) with just 3 RBIs. One positive that can be taken away from a generally poor week is that Phegley only Ked 3 times, which means he is still making contact with the ball. Despite his recent slide, Phegley still leads the Knights in batting average (.333). Another small issue is he has only walked four times in 99 at bats this season. If Phegley wants to have consistent success at the dish, he must be more patient.

AA Birmingham Barons

As we already know, the 2009 first round pick Jared Mitchells early career has been a roller coaster of athleticism, potential, and injury. Mitchell has shown some reassuring signs for Sox fans early in the 2012 season. This past week Mitchell was 3-for-22 (.136), but still had 8 RBIs. Back-to-back 0-4 nights on Monday and Tuesday did not help his average, but timely hitting has kept Mitchell afloat. He is currently batting .394 with runners in scoring position.

Hard-throwing right-hander Simon Castro only saw one start this past week, but it was by far his most productive of the season. He hurled seven quality innings, surrendering only two runs on six hits, and struck out five. Despite a slow start to the season, Castros last outing was a confidence booster for himself and scouts alike.

A Winston-Salem Dash

Dash shortstop Marcus Semien has been one of the pleasant surprises early for the White Sox organization. During the first week of May he went 8-for-24 (.333) with two home runs, two doubles, four RBIs and a 1.016 OPS. The UC Berkley product will only continue to climb the ranks if he continues to produce runs at a high level.

Starting pitcher Andre Rienzo has been by far the most dominant hurler for the Dash thus far. Manager Tommy Thompson gave Rienzo some well-deserved rest this week, but his four April performances were outstanding to say the least. He is 3-0 with 31 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched. His impressive 1.08 ERA is currently the lowest on the team and he has only surrendered 3 runs all season.

Joe Musso contributed to this article.

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