WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF JANUARY 23, 2017 “Dominican Republic academy re-opens with upgrades” … Scott Merkin, MLB.com “Moncada tops list again with Albies, Happ right behind” … Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com “As White Sox begin to rebuild, few of the faces have changed” …Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune “White Sox announce SoxFest program” … Daryl Van Schouwen, CSN Chicago “White Sox Boast Three of MLB’s Top 10 RHP Prospects” … Matt Manetti, Fansided “Zack Collins Rated Fourth-Best Catching Prospect”…Matt Manetti, FanSided Dominican Republic academy re-opens with upgrades White Sox add second building, more classrooms By Scott Merkin / MLB.com | January 20th, 2017 CHICAGO -- The White Sox re-opened their Dominican Republic academy this past Tuesday with great excitement concerning the upgrades made to the complex in Boca Chica. Buddy Bell, the organization's assistant general manager, spoke of a second building being added to go along with the two baseball fields already in place, along with additional classrooms, lounges and computers. It now becomes somewhat of a selling point as the White Sox continue to establish themselves in the international market, but all of the changes are directed toward helping the kids. "We just made some changes to kind of give it a new feel," Bell said. "First of all, the kids stay there every day. They eat there, they sleep there. Parents come in, and they see where their kid is staying and what kind of food they eat and things like that. It has just become more important. "A lot of these kids don't ever get to get over here, so it's really important to us to give them an education regardless if they get over here or not. A lot of these kids just don't have the resources." Ever Magallanes takes over as the supervisor of the academy, with Manuel Santana serving as the complex operations coordinator, Guillermo Reyes as the field coordinator and Julio Valdez as the manager of the Dominican Summer League team. Magallanes has viewed the changes in person and applauds the White Sox making things better for the players to truly focus on their talents once they get into baseball action. "They can sleep better, and all the tension is on the field," Magallanes said. "Not that it was bad in the past. But we just want to upgrade a little bit more. "I've been down there a lot, so I've seen the change and what it was before and now. We still have a ways to go, but it's awesome, and I'm happy for the kids. I'm happy that they are experiencing it and get to have a place, a complex that it's nice to go to. It's nice to go to work." English classes become the most important thing for these players, and that education has always been solidly provided by the White Sox in Bell's estimation. But the changes also have the White Sox hiring a sport psychologist for the Academy, as well as a focus placed on nutrition and doing more work on computers. "An unfortunate thing, and I hate this, is that some of these kids are judged that they aren't smart," Bell said of players who stop going to school when they focus on baseball. "But they've never been given an opportunity. How would you know if a guy is smart or not when they don't have the proper education? We are not going to do it just because everybody else is doing it. We feel it's the right thing. "But it's a big part of our organization now. It needs to be. We need that to supplement our domestic Draft. We can't be more happy with what we've done here in the last three or four months." Moncada tops list again with Albies, Happ right behind By Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com For the second year in a row, Yoan Moncada is in that No. 1 slot. And why not? His impressive tools haven't changed just because he was sent from the Red Sox to the White Sox in the blockbuster Chris Sale deal. Beyond the stability at the top, however, is a lot of change. Only two second basemen -- Ian Happ of the Cubs and the Phllies' Scott Kingery -- are holdovers from a year ago. There were three graduations to the big leagues and four dropped off because of performance and/or others passing them on this hypothetical depth chart. • Scouting reports, grades, stats and video on Prospect Watch 1. Yoan Moncada, White Sox After the Red Sox broke the bank to sign Moncada -- a total of $63 million -- he made it to the big leagues in just two years, where he struggled, albeit in just 19 at-bats. He was at the top of the four prospects the White Sox got in that Sale deal and he should see time at second in Chicago at some point in 2017. 2. Ozzie Albies, Braves Albies could very easily sit near the top of a shortstop list, but he moved over to second so he could play alongside Dansby Swanson. Braves fans should get used to that dynamic duo as Albies should arrive in Atlanta in the very near future, at age 20. 3. Ian Happ, Cubs He hasn't moved quite as quickly as Kris Bryant (Triple-A his first full year) or Kyle Schwarber (Chicago in his), but Happ did make it to Double-A as yet another Cubs college position player who can flat-out hit. He has 20-20 potential if it all clicks. 4. Willie Calhoun, Dodgers In a word, Calhoun can hit. He hit 31 homers in junior college his Draft year in 2015, then showed that was no fluke by going straight to Double-A for his first full season and hitting 27 more long balls, all while not swinging and missing all that much. His defensive home might be in question, but that bat is going to play. 5. Travis Demeritte, Braves Demeritte hit 25 homers in High Desert, an extreme hitter's park, before getting dealt from the Rangers to the Braves. He needs to cut down his strikeouts some -- though he does draw walks -- something he improved in the Arizona Fall League. He looked strong at second in the AFL as well, but with Albies there, he might be looking at a move to third. 6. Andy Ibanez, Rangers The Cuban defector had a long layoff, yet managed to play his way from the Class A South Atlantic League up to Double-A, jumping over the California League. He makes hard, consistent contact with extra-base ability, doesn't strike out a ton and draws some walks. There's a lot of talent ahead of him, but he should hit his way to Texas. 7. Scott Kingery, Phillies The 2015 second-rounder made it to Double-A in his first full season, though he struggled some once he got there. The main culprit for Kingery was getting away from his typically advanced approach at the plate. He'll get back to making hard contact, drawing walks and using his speed to be a threat on the bases. 8. Luis Urias, Padres All Urias has done since signing with the Padres is hit to the tune of a .317 career batting average. He's also got on-base skills, to the tune of a .395 on-base percentage, having drawn more walks in his career than strikeouts. He won't turn 20 until June and he's ready to bring his strong offensive skillset to the upper levels of the system. 9. Carlos Asuaje, Padres Speaking of Padres second basemen who can hit, Asauje brushed aside a disappointing 2015 to have a strong first year in his new organization after coming over in the Craig Kimbrel trade. He hit .321 in his first taste of Triple-A with solid extra-base pop. He could be an everyday second baseman or a very valuable offensive-minded utility man starting in 2017. 10. Eliezer Alvarez, Cardinals Of all the players on this list, Alvarez has jumped on prospect radars the most. In his full-season debut, he hit .323 to lead the organization and also topped all Cardinals farmhands with 36 stolen bases. The Cards often skip talented offensive players over Palm Beach and up to Double-A, which could put Alvarez on a faster track to St. Louis. Next up Max Schrock experienced many things in his first full season of pro ball. He got promoted after 67 games in the South Atlantic League up to the Carolina League, then he got traded and ended up getting time in Double-A after joining the A's from the Nationals. He hit a combined .341 along the way with 22 steals, then showed well in the Arizona Fall League. With one of the best bat and speed combinations in the 2014 Draft, Forrest Wall has held his own, but hasn't taken off, in his two-plus years as a pro. He'll be just 21 for all of 2017 and should be in Double-A. He still has every chance to be a left-handed hitter who hits for average with a bit of pop and steals bases at, or near, the top of a big league lineup. As White Sox begin to rebuild, few of the faces have changed Paul Sullivan/Chicago Tribune| Jan. 20th, 2017 As the White Sox prepare for their annual SoxFest fan convention, beginning Friday at the Hilton Chicago, it's a good time to check in on the rebuild, reboot or re-whatever they prefer to call it.