With September here and minor league seasons over, we turn our prospect attention to breaking down the top talents in each division. We break down the top five prospects for each organization for 2009, taking into consideration: games, at-bats, innings and major-league service time. We expect these players to have rookie status remaining heading into next year.

According to MLB rules: "A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has (a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the major leagues; or (b) accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a major league club or clubs during the period of 25-player limit (excluding time in the military service and time on the disabled list)."

Note: Statistics are those at each stop in the minors this season and age represents how old they will be on opening day 2009.

Chicago White Sox

Win-now trades for Javier Vazquez, Nick Swisher and, oh lordy, Carlos Quentin have gutted their farm system the past few years. If not for the Quentin coup and the international signing and subsequent breakthrough of AL ROY candidate Alexei Ramirez, the organizational could have been critical of GM Kenny Williams.

The White Sox found a perennial MVP candidate in Quentin on the cheap, two breakout rotation standouts in Gavin Floyd and John Danks. They have young talent developing in quality in lieu of quantity. The top two here are future stars, but there are a lot of pitching prospects deeper in the system that have been real disappointing.

1. LHP Aaron Poreda, 22

He is a potential front-line starting pitcher who was going to be a factor down the stretch, but the White Sox felt going over 160 innings was enough in his first full pro season. He will compete for a rotation spot in spring training and should win one with his heat consistently in the mid-90s.

Level W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO GO/AO BAA
High A 5 5 3.31 12 12 1 0 0 73 1/3 67 31 27 1 18 46 1.52 .238
Double-A 3 4 2.98 15 15 1 0 0 87 2/3 81 34 29 5 22 72 1.28 .249
Totals 8 9 3.13 27 27 2 0 0 161 148 65 56 6 40 118 1.39 .244

2. SS Gordon Beckham, 22

Georgia product was arguably the No. 1 prospect in the draft but he fell to the White Sox, who might need to replace free-agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera next season. Beckham won't be ready by then, but could he possibly get himself ready by year's end? There is a lot of pop here, especially for the position.

Level AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS
Low A .310 14 58 11 18 2 0 3 8 29 5 7 0 1 .365 .500 .865

3. 1B Brandon Allen, 23

There is too much pop to ignore here, but like many young sluggers it comes with strikeouts and questions about whether it can be done against the world's elite pitching in the majors. He might be no better than a reserve DH, but the strength gives him a high ceiling.

Level AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS
High A .279 89 319 57 89 26 4 15 44 168 41 83 14 3 .372 .527 .898
Double-A .275 41 153 30 42 6 2 14 31 94 19 41 3 1 .358 .614 .973
Totals .278 130 472 87 131 32 6 29 75 262 60 124 17 4 .367 .555 .922

4. 2B Chris Getz, 25

Nothing really stands out with Getz, but if you take it all in one package, he is a solid future big league starter. It might even happen for him next spring, assuming Cabrera leaves and Ramirez is moved to shortstop as expected. Getz will open 2009 as an AL-only sleeper and might even prove valuable in mixed leagues by year's end.

Level AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS
Triple-A .302 111 404 60 122 24 1 11 52 181 41 53 11 4 .366 .448 .814

5. LHP Clayton Richard, 25

He was off the radar coming into the year, but it is hard to argue with the results. The Futures Game starter was headed for the Olympic team -- perhaps as the ace -- before the White Sox decided he was too important to their pennant race. They called him up to mixed results, but he likely will be slotted as a member of the rotation heading into next season. We don't see him being as good as he showed this season in the minors, but all of the White Sox starters will have Fantasy value next spring.

Level W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO GO/AO BAA
Double-A 6 6 2.47 13 13 1 1 0 83 2/3 66 29 23 2 16 53 1.40 .217
Triple-A 6 0 2.45 7 7 1 0 0 44 33 12 12 3 4 33 1.77 .204
Totals 12 6 2.47 20 20 2 1 0 127 2/3 99 41 35 5 20 86 1.51 .212

Best of the rest: SP John Ely, SP Jack Egbert, SP Lance Broadway, OF John Shelby Jr., SP Jeffrey Marquez, SP Gregory Infante, SP Justin Cassel, OF Jose Martinez, 1B Christian Marrero, C Donny Lucy, 2B Jason Bourgeois, SP Nevin Griffith, SP Dexter Carter, SP Dan Hudson, SP Aneuris Medina, SP Jacob Rasner, OF Thomas Collaro, OF David Cook, C Cole Armstrong, OF Jordan Danks, SS Tyler Kuhn, 3B Brent Morel, RP Drew O'Neil, OF Kenny Williams Jr., RP Clevelan Santeliz, RP Hector Santiago, RP Jon Link, RP Brian Omogrosso, C Francisco Hernandez, SS Juan Silverio and SS Sergio Miranda.

2008 rookies to exhaust eligibility (expected): 2B Alexei Ramirez and RP Adam Russell (service time).

Last year's top five here: Gio Gonzalez (traded to A's in Nick Swisher deal), Faustino De Los Santos (traded to A's in Swisher deal), (Chris) Vernon Carter (traded to D-Backs in Carlos Quentin deal, then to A's for Dan Haren), Poreda and Egbert. (Note: Ramirez didn't sign until after our early rankings were published).

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