The White Sox announced today that they have outrighted catcher Alfredo Gonzalez. He originally had his contract selected in late May.
Gonzalez, 25, only made it into three contests but did manage to record his first MLB hit during his brief stay with the Sox. He is a nine-year minor-league veteran who had almost no prior experience at Triple-A entering the season. Through 105 plate appearances this year with Charlotte, he produced a .169/.279/.191 slash.
I assume this means Kevan Smith is healthy, because he’s just about the only remotely viable catcher left in the system.
Kevan Smith played in the White Sox double header yesterday.
Zack Collins is having a All Star year in the minors!
As a matter of fact, both White Sox catchers at their AA Birmingham affiliate made the Southern League All-Star team. Zack Collins and Seby Zavala have split time this season behind the plate and at DH. Each have solid power bats but are limited defensively. Collins strikes out a lot but also draws a ton of walks which helps account for an impressive .281/.451/.485 triple slash to go along with his 8 HR’s. Because of his high OBP, collins has been the primary #2 hitter for the Barons this season and is one reason why top prospect Eloy Jimenez has so many RBI’s hitting third. Savala leads the league with 11 HR’s.
The White Sox have 3 catchers in their top-30 list of prospects. Collins is ranked #9 and also is rated as the 6th best catching prospect according to mlb.com. Savala is listed at #21 among White Sox prospects with C Evan Skoug right behind him at #22. The latter was drafted just last June and is playing at A- Kannapolis.
Oddly enough, all 3 catchers have power as their top trait among the 5 tools. Collins grades out at 55 and has the strongest arm with a 50 score. The White Sox could definitely use a catcher in their system with more defensive acumen.
He sucked!!!!!!