CHICAGO -- It took Ryan Sweeney almost the entirety of the Arizona Fall League to produce his first extra-base hit, eventually finishing with one home run and two doubles.

But the 22-year-old left-handed hitting top prospect in the White Sox system didn't seem bothered by this West Coast power outage, although it might be one of the traits he needs to exhibit to stick in the big leagues for the 2008 season and beyond.

"Right now, I'm trying to get the swing down where it feels comfortable to me," said Sweeney, during a recent interview with MLB.com. "I'm not worried about the other stuff.

"Obviously I want to do good down here, but I'm not really worried about what I'm hitting or what the numbers are saying. I'm trying to get something that feels good. Right now, my swing feels good and my approach feels good."

Sweeney enters this weekend's AFL championship contest between his Phoenix Desert Dogs and the Surprise Rafters featuring a .286 average and 13 RBIs over 84 at-bats. Sitting at .212 at the end of October, Sweeney has made a nice run offensively during the past few weeks.

Even with a solid showing in Arizona, Sweeney doesn't have a clear-cut idea as to where he fits amongst the White Sox outfield hierarchy at the Major League level. Sweeney batted .229 as part of an 18-game run during the end of the 2006 season, earning the praise of manager Ozzie Guillen and hope for a roster spot in 2007. But the second-round selection from the 2003 First-Year Player Draft hit just .200 in 15 games with the White Sox last season and did not earn a September callup.

Concern exists on Sweeney's part as to how he's viewed by the White Sox, especially with talk of the team's pursuit of Torii Hunter via free agency and potential interest in a trade with Florida for Miguel Cabrera. Yet, Sweeney won't let job uncertainty stand in the way of fixing his own game.

"You can't worry about whether they are going to re-sign other guys or anything like that," said Sweeney, who still figures into the White Sox plans, according to recent comments from general manager Ken Williams. "I just have to go out and pretty much have a good Spring Training.

"Who knows if they are going to sign a free agent center fielder? Obviously, Jermaine [Dye] is in right, so I think they said I'd probably be competing for left field. You just have to see what happens."

Following the AFL title game, Sweeney intends to take a break from baseball until December. Assuming he's still with the White Sox at that point, Sweeney will resume working on whatever the White Sox have in mind -- even if it's an increase in power for this natural talent.

"It's the end of a long season, so it's not an excuse, but hopefully the power comes. If not, I guess I'll just have to be a leadoff hitter or something," said Sweeney with a laugh. "[Last season], I just went into one of the biggest slumps I've had in my career.

"Hitting .270 [for Triple-A Charlotte] isn't bad, but I expect much more out of myself than that. Being in my second year in Triple-A and hitting pretty much .300 my first year [.296], I was pretty disappointed. There's nothing I can do about it because everybody has bad years. I just have to hopefully forget about this year and just worry about next year."

The waiting game: Don Cooper carries a very pragmatic approach as White Sox pitching coach.

He enjoys working with one of the deepest starting rotations in all of baseball. He takes just as much pleasure in watching these pitchers' individual accomplishments, such as Mark Buehrle's no-hitter or his move past 100 career victories in 2007. Cooper would like the pleasure of watching the same feat accomplished in 2008 by Garland, who sits eight wins short of 100.

Yet, Cooper hasn't pleaded with Williams to keep the starting five in tact. If Garland or Jose Contreras are moved during the offseason to improve the team as a whole, Cooper simply has to move on with the resources at hand.

"If we lose Garland or [Jose] Contreras and we don't pick up a veteran, that means to me, 'All right, Gavin [Floyd] and John [Danks] are in the starting rotation and more than likely we will take a closer look at Gio [Gonzalez] and [Jack] Egbert,'" Cooper said. "If we wind up getting someone proven at the Major League level, then he would take the place of one of those guys.

"Just like everyone else, I'm waiting to see what shakes out," Cooper added.

Cooper has been in contact with many of his pitchers over the past few weeks, including Garland, discussing preparation for the 2008 season. Garland understands being part of the Hot Stove rumor mill, getting mentioned during the past two or three offseasons. But Garland remains interested in his ultimate current fate.

"He doesn't seem bothered. He seems more curious as to what's going on," said Cooper of Garland. "He'll call me and ask what I've heard. He knows his name is out there every year.

"I do believe this, and I've been told this. They all want to stay here, but they know the logistics and the reality they could go."

In the meantime: With Garland still an integral part of the White Sox starting rotation, Cooper wants the right-hander to take whatever measures possible to alleviate shoulder issues that popped up the past two Spring Trainings. Garland has been plagued by deep knots in his right shoulder, which have been more a case of discomfort than pain.

"Jon feels better after someone digs in there, that deep massage, getting in there and working that knot out," Cooper said. "We have discussed how we can best be prepared to not deal with this and take care of the situation."

Despite this brief blip with Garland's shoulder, which popped up again later in the season, the steady hurler still finished with double-digit victories and at least 208 innings pitched for a fourth straight season.

AFL mound work: Adam Russell seems to have furthered his case for a 2008 bullpen slot with the White Sox, posting a 2.81 ERA in 11 games with the Desert Dogs. Russell has fanned 16 in 16 innings.

Fernando Hernandez Jr. has gone Russell one better, allowing just two unearned runs over 12 appearances out of the bullpen. Dewon Day bounced back from a rough 2007 finish with the White Sox, striking out 17 and walking four in 13 relief innings. Egbert produced a 3.26 ERA in six starts for Phoenix.