ANAHEIM, Calif. – It doesn’t matter if Josh Fields and Chris Getz are hitting well or in a slump, it’s obvious that neither can escape the ghost of Gordon Beckham that seems to be looming over their shoulders at every turn.

He looms even larger now, moving a step closer to possibly taking one of their starting jobs, with the Sox announcing prior to the series finale with the Angels on Wednesday that the 2008 first-round pick – and apparently the newest South Side cult hero – Gordon Beckham was promoted from Class AA Birmingham to Class AAA Charlotte, and will start for the Knights on Thursday.

In 38 games with the Barons, Beckham hit .299 with four home runs and 22 RBI, while scoring 23 runs. But the telltale sign that the Sox have at least been getting a bit disgruntled with the struggles Fields has had as the starting third baseman and Getz at second, was the merry-go-round of positions Beckham – a natural shortstop – has been jumping around to. He played a few games at second very early on, but lately was getting work at third.

If the news was supposed to make Fields flinch, however, it didn’t.

“We don’t have any control over it,’’ Fields said. “It happens with any player drafted in the first round, there is some kind of hype that comes out with it. I remember before I even played pro ball, Joe Crede was struggling at the time and the talk was when was I going to be ready to be up? It’s just a part of the game and you deal with it. You try and control what’s going on with yourself. I feel good about where I am and getting out of that little slump I was in. That’s all you can do.’’

As far as manager Ozzie Guillen was concerned, it was simply rewarding a player for good play at one level.

“This kid is a good ballplayer,’’ Guillen said. “A lot of people say the difference between Triple-A and the big leagues is a small step but I don’t know about that one. It’s the biggest step you are going to make.’’