Top prospect Micah Johnson (hamstring) out for season

Even though he reported to spring training with little or no chance to make the 25-man roster, second baseman Micah Johnson made a major impression, and he stuck with the White Sox until the final round of cuts.

With superior athletic skills and blazing speed to match, Johnson has emerged as a can't-miss prospect.

A strained left hamstring, however, is going to delay Johnson's Sox debut until next season.

A likely September call-up, Johnson has been shut down at Class AAA Charlotte.

"He's been dealing with a lingering hamstring issue," general manager Rick Hahn said. "The other day during an at-bat, he actually felt something in the front by the knee, which led to him being pulled out of the game and being brought to Chicago for evaluation.

"It turned out that even though the pain was from the front of the leg, it was actually related to the same hamstring strain, so we've elected to shut him down.

"He's done for the season. We're going to give the strain 4-6 weeks to heal, and we expect he should be 100 percent and go into next season without restriction."

Johnson, 25, is best known for stealing a combined 84 bases with Class A Kannapolis, A Winston-Salem and AA Birmingham last year.

This season, he batted .275 and stole 12 bases with Charlotte.

Johnson is expected to eventually replace Gordon Beckham as the Sox' starting second baseman.

Rodon review:

GM Rick Hahn was very pleased with the way top draft pick (No. 3 overall) Carlos Rodon performed in his first start with AAA Charlotte Tuesday night.

The 21-year-old lefty pitched 3 innings and allowed 1 run on 1 hit while striking out 3 and walking 3.

"He's coming along quick, and he's coming along real well," Hahn said. "Last night was a good outing. We again saw the plus slider, which everyone has seen going back to the college days, as well as the very impressive changeup. I saw from his own comments after the game, he had a good feel for where he was in terms of his fastball command not quite being where he needs it to be. But it was his first outing at a high level, and he certainly responded to the challenge."

Rodon is expected to join the White Sox in September, either as a reliever or a starter, but Hahn said it's too early to speculate.

"There is nothing set in stone in terms of him coming here or not coming here," Hahn said. "The decision is going to be made strictly based upon his development and his long-term fit for us. If we feel that he has the ability to come up here and compete, excel and learn from the experience, then it's something we need to talk about internally and make a decision.

"If we feel that he's had a good season and he's accomplished what he needs to accomplish in his first year as a pro, then he likely doesn't come up."