White Sox Prospect Battle: Johnson and Sanchez at 2B

The White Sox have two of the brightest young prospects in baseball and only one position available in their Opening Day lineup. After Marcus Semien was traded to Oakland and Gordon Beckham was sent to Anaheim, the opportunity opened up for Micah Johnson and Carlos Sanchez to become the future at second base in Chicago.

Johnson, a 2012 ninth round draft pick, may have the edge on Sanchez going into Spring Training. Johnson’s speed is his calling card and put him on the map as one of the top second base prospects in minor league baseball after he stole 61 bases in 80 attempts in the first half of 2013 in Low-A. That speed would form a solid 1, 2-punch with center fielder Adam Eaton at the top and bottom of Chicago’s lineup. He also batted .342 with a .419 on-base percentage with an equally impressive 76 runs scored in 77 games. Johnson then proceeded to dominate in Double-A, leading the league through 37 games with a .329 average before he was promoted to Triple-A Charlotte.

More from MLB Prospects

It was there where his season ended abruptly after he injured his hamstring. Johnson wasn’t happy with the White Sox’ decision, but understood, telling CSN Chicago, “It’s kind of frustrating because I wanted to keep working every, but obviously the White Sox know what they’re doing. They understand I’m going to be upset, that’s the type of person I am, that I love to play.” Chicago’s decision halted his chances of being promoted to the majors in 2014, but also kept Johnson from doing more damage.

Despite his injury, however, he still batted .275 at Charlotte and stole 12 bases. Those numbers, albeit solid for some players, weren’t in line with what was expected from Johnson based on his previous production. The injury clearly limited his range and speed on the base baths. “Balls would come through that were mind-blowing to me,” Johnson said to the Chicago Tribune. After stealing 84 bases in 110 attempts in 2013 in comparison to 22 this past season, it was clear that he wasn’t able to maximize his full level of talent.

That injury also limited the White Sox opportunity to observe Johnson’s defensive potential. Even with his potential offensive output, Johnson’s defense has been below average throughout his minor league career, including a .969 fielding percentage in 2014. Johnson’s defensive limitations may not be as appealing to White Sox pitchers who rely on groundballs to manufacture outs. Now, Johnson is finally 100 percent healthy with no restrictions and the White Sox will get the chance to judge his development on that side of the field and he’ll need to prove capable of handling the position to seal his spot.

As a result of Johnson’s season-ending injury, Sanchez was given the first crack at second base and played well in limited time. After signing as an international free agent in 2009, he wasn’t seen as a top prospect in the system and projected as a utility infielder. In 2011, he began to prove those projections wrong batting .288 with a .341 on-base percentage at only 19 years old. In 2012, he exceeded expectations exponentially. He began the season in High-A Salem by batting .315 with a .374 on-base percentage in 90 games before being promoted to Double-A where he hit for a highly-impressive .370 average with a .424 on-base percentage in 30 games leading to late season promotion to Triple-A.

He showed an innate ability to make contact while being an above average defender with excellent lateral movement.

In 2013, Sanchez came back to earth and had his worst season in the minors. In 112 games at Charlotte, he failed to reach a .300 on-base percentage and his batting average on balls in play was lower than any of his previous stints. Yet that lack of production didn’t hinder his growth during the following season. In 2014, he returned to form, batting .293 with a .349 on-base percentage, and .344 batting average on balls in play, leading to a late season promotion to the majors.

In 28 games, he hit .250 with five RBIs. It gave manager Robin Ventura a taste of how the second baseman could perform if given the starting position. “Sanchez is kind of cagey at understanding where to be and how to play,” Ventura said. “He’s just an interesting player to watch…Being a switch hitter, he seems to find a way to put a barrel on it”, he stated to the Chicago Tribune. That switch-hitting capability is something that Johnson does not have and could help Sanchez to become an everyday player in the majors.

Sanchez’s defense may give him the upper hand on Johnson if he can come close to matching the latter’s offensive productivity. After playing third base, shortstop, and second base in the minors, Sanchez has the versatility that teams crave. Although he has the defensive capability to play shortstop, Sanchez knows he’ll need to be open-minded to stay on the 25-man roster. “The team makes that decision on whether I am ready or not. I am not focused on where I[‘m going to be playing, just that I need to work hard and I need to stay focused on proving myself”, he told Milb.com.

Being ranked as the White Sox’s Best Defensive Infielder and Best Hitter for Average by Baseball America in 2013 doesn’t hurt his cause either.

Even with their differences, both players are similar in multiple regards. Both have limited power potential as neither has hit more than seven home runs in a season and both have shown the ability to get on-base at a high rate. Both project to strikeout at a rate hovering around 18 percent in the majors and both have had their struggles getting on base at one point (Johnson in High-A & Sanchez in Triple-A).

Offensive potential versus defensive production may be the determining factor for the White Sox as they look to compete for a playoff spot in 2015. With Beckham returning in the offseason, but locked into a backup role, Sanchez and Johnson will have every opportunity available to them to secure the starting second baseman position. If they both do not show they are ready to handle the pressure of the big leagues, Chicago could deem utility man Emilio Bonifacio the best option by default. Whether Johnson or Sanchez steps up should be a hot topic in training camp and Chicago could only hope that they play so well, the decision becomes a difficult one.

More from Call to the Pen