White Sox prospect Sanchez continues success

Carlos Sanchez was promoted aggressively this year, and at each level, he appeared to adjust with little difficulty. His time in the Arizona Fall League hasn't played out any differently.

The 20-year-old infielder plated four runs for the second time this fall on a 2-for-4 afternoon Monday, raising his AFL average to .312 as he paced first-place Salt River to an 8-4 win over Mesa.

The White Sox's No. 7 prospect is batting .312/386/.390 with 10 stolen bases and 16 RBIs in 20 games for the Rafters. Those numbers track well with his output this season as Sanchez advanced from Class A Advanced Winston-Salem to Triple-A Charlotte, with a cameo in the Futures Game in the middle.

With the Dash in the Carolina League, Sanchez began his season by hitting .315 with a .374 OBP, swiping 19 bags and getting caught 10 times, in 92 games. It was a marked improvement on the .288 batting average he posted in 63 games for Class A Kannapolis in 2011.

Sanchez earned a promotion to Double-A Birmingham in late July on the strength of that production, and he fared even better in the Southern League. The Venezuela native hit .370/.424/.462 with nine doubles and a triple in 30 games for the Barons.

He was called up once more to Charlotte to end the season. In 11 games with the Knights, he hit .256, including a 3-for-3 performance with a double and an RBI on the final day of the year.

"All I was trying to do was work hard and the situation [where I kept being promoted] just presented itself. I tried to do my best at every level," Sanchez said through translator Bobby Magallanes, who managed him at Birmingham this season. "It wasn't easy, but I worked hard with the coaches and managers to do a good job."

Sanchez has played second base, shortstop and third at various times this season while showcasing a quick bat and a generally measured approach. He finished with a .323/.378/.403 line with 41 walks, 92 strikeouts and a 26 stolen bases in 133 games overall this year -- just his second season of professional ball in the United States.

"I'm absolutely very happy with the way [the season] has gone, and I want to continue to work hard," he noted. "Every day [in Arizona] I come out here and I feel I'm getting better, improving my offense and defense."

On Monday, top Nationals prospect Anthony Rendon doubled and scored twice, while No. 12 Washington prospect Matt Skole finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two runs and a walk.

The Solar Sox were led by Astros prospect Jiovanni Mier, who went 3-for-5 with a double and a run. Fellow Houston prospect George Springer added his fourth homer of the AFL slate in the fourth and top Tigers prospect Nick Castellanos hit a bases-clearing double to bring in three runs in the seventh.