The Chicago White Sox have agreed to a minor league contract with outfielder Corey Smith, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus. Smith, the 26th overall pick in the 2000 draft by the Cleveland Indians, is a career-long minor leaguer.
Once considered a pretty good prospect, Smith was never able to get over his plate discipline issues as a hitter. Before the 2002 season, he was rated as the No. 72 prospect in the entire sport by Baseball America, but over the next few seasons his development would totally stall.
Most recently, Smith spent the 2011 season in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. Splitting time between Double-A and Triple-A, he hit a combined .261/.305/.386 with 10 homers in 120 games. He was much better in 2010, though, hitting .275/.343/.467 in 115 games in Double-A. Overall, he's spent 947 games in Double-A, posting a total line of .259/.329/.427 in 3923 plate appearances.
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