Colorado Rockies trade rumors: Breaking down the White Sox's best prospects

With four starting outfielders now in the Rockies' fold, logic says that one of them needs to be traded, and preferably sooner rather than later. The White Sox appear to agree with that logic and have been reported to be in current trade talks with the Rockies in regards to one of their outfielders.

Recent news has suggested that Carlos Gonzalez will not be traded this offseason, which leaves Charlie Blackmon and Corey Dickerson as the primary pieces that could be moved before the season starts. The return for one of those two will probably not be quite as much as was possible with CarGo, but both have a good combination of production and affordable team control that should net the Rockies some intriguing, and valuable, players.

The White Sox farm system doesn’t look much like it did at the start of the last offseason. Since then, the White Sox have sent three different packages of prospects for Jeff Samardzija, Brett Lawrie, and, most recently, Todd Frazier. However, there are still some solid pieces remaining, and if the White Sox are inclined to deal some of them, there should be enough to facilitate a trade for either Blackmon or Dickerson.

★ ★ ★

Carson Fulmer

Carson Fulmer, a right-handed pitcher, was the White Sox first overall pick (8^th overall) in the 2015 draft. Originally a reliever in college, Fulmer switched to starting partway through his sophomore year at Vanderbilt and dominated immediately. As a junior, Fulmer was widely considered among the best college pitchers, striking out 167 batters in 127⅔ innings.

Like many top draft picks these days, Fulmer received an abbreviated professional debut, but still lived up to his billing. After a single start, and inning, at Rookie level, Fulmer was moved up to High-A Winston-Salem and made eight starts. In 22 innings there, Fulmer face 90 batters, striking out 25 of them while only allowing 16 hits and nine walks.

Fulmer’s mid to high 90s fastball and power curve are his best pitches and combine for the majority of his strikeouts. He also has a changeup that projects as above average that rounds out a repertoire that should allow him to stay as a starter.

Mechanically, Fulmer has a fairly violent delivery and also lacks the size that scouts prefer starters to have. The results have been hard to argue with, though both of those things could increase the chance that Fulmer eventually ends up in the bullpen or possibly experiences arm related injuries.

As a final note of interest, some of Purple Row's writers traded CarGo for Fulmer in a mock offseason with other SB Nation blogs. So take that as you will.

Tim Anderson

Tim Anderson, a right-handed shortstop, was a Division II Junior College star at East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi before being drafted in the first round of the 2013 draft by the White Sox. Since being drafted, Anderson has moved quickly through the minors and is expected to debut at the MLB level sometime this year after spending a full year at Double-A in 2015.

Anderson has maintained a career minor league batting average over .300, including hitting .312 in his full season of Double-A. However, despite the high average, his career on base percentage of .343 has left something to be desired, especially since the rest of his tools makes him profile as a possible leadoff hitter.

The best tool in Anderson’s skill-set is his speed, though the rest of the traditional tools are all at least average. The two big question marks for him is his eye at the plate, as he has struggled to draw walks, and his strikeout totals have increased at each level of competition.

Defensively, Anderson has the athleticism to play SS but has struggled making plays due to poor footwork as well as stiff hands. Because of his speed and arm ,there is a chance that he could successfully transition to center field if he’s unable to stick at shortstop.

Spencer Adams

Spencer Adams, a right-handed pitcher, was originally projected to be drafted in the first round of the 2014 draft before dropping to the White Sox in the second round. Since then, he’s done a good job of proving that everyone who let him drop probably made a mistake.

In two seasons and across three levels, Adams has struck out 155 batters while walking only 22, giving him an otherworldly SO/W ratio of 7.05. Combined with a 3.16 ERA, Adams has dominated lower level hitters quite well.

Still only 19 years of age, Adams repeats his delivery well and does so smoothly and with little effort. At 6’3, Adams could still grow a few inches as well as fill out those inches, which would benefit his low 90s fastball; though the sink on it already makes it his best pitch. Adams has three other potentially above average pitches: slider, curve, and changeup.

Jacob May

Jacob May, a switch-hitting outfielder, comes from a family that has a rich history of baseball players, including his dad, grandfather, and also one of his great-uncles. May was drafted in the third round of the 2013 draft by the White Sox out of Coastal Carolina University.

One of the fastest guys in the minors, May hasn’t fully translated that potential into prolific stolen base totals, though he does seem comfortable using his speed to help him reach base using a bunt. Developing as a base-stealing threat and unleashing more of that speed will be a big hurdle that May is going to need to cross to become a full-time MLB player.

May has a solid approach at the plate and seems comfortable hitting from both sides. Though he has maintained relatively low strikeout totals, May could benefit from taking more walks as he develops into a lead-off style hitter. Defensively, May’s blazing speed makes him a good fit for center field, and though his arm isn’t the strongest, he’d be far from the first weak armed center fielder.

★ ★ ★

The White Sox do have some other intriguing prospects, namely Trey Michalczewski and Tyler Danish, but both have had some of their shine wear off with recent campaigns against higher competition.

May and Anderson’s speed make them intriguing, but speed is really dependent on one getting on base to make the most of it, and both of them have shown signs that that may not be part of their game, which should cause the Rockies to probably avoid them as a centerpiece in any trade. Not only that, but as the number one prospect in a relatively shallow system, the White Sox might be unlikely to let go of Anderson.

I think a trade for either Dickerson or Blackmon could be worked out either if the White Sox are willing to build a package around Fulmer or a bigger package around Adams, as the Rockies seem intent on getting a pitcher in return for one of their outfielders.