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Ventura Likes Davidson's Progress, Says Johnson Has Inside Track For No. 5 Starter's Job

(CBS) White Sox manager Robin Ventura told the McNeil and Spiegel Show on Wednesday morning that third base prospect Matt Davidson will get every chance to win the starting job out of camp and make the Opening Day roster.

"I can understand why our scouts liked him and why (general manager) Rick (Hahn) went out of his way to get him," Ventura said. "That stuff's obvious. He is young, and you're going to have to see how it goes from here, of just the progression for him. So far we like everything we see from him, he's a great kid, hard worker.

"He's definitely going to get some chances this spring to play and improve.

"For right now, he's continuing to improve. I think he has a lot of potential. Whether he breaks with us or not, I'm sure right now he's putting a lot of pressure on himself to get the hit right away and do those things. He's improving every day."

Ventura also said righty Erik Johnson has the inside track to win the No. 5 starter's job over righty Andre Rienzo, but nothing's set in stone.

 

"They're both in the mix," Ventura said. "I would say Erik's probably got a lead on that just because of what he did last year. But Rienzo's in there. He just needs to be able to throw some more strikes. I think he gets himself in trouble when he starts becoming erratic."

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