The White Sox grabbed another strong prospect in exchange for international bonus-pool money. Thyago Vieira is the Seattle Mariners No. 8 prospect and tossed one inning in Seattle last season.
The #WhiteSox have acquired minor-league pitcher Thyago Vieira from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for international signing bonus pool money. pic.twitter.com/ZMxIHPEJcM
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) November 16, 2017
Vieira is a six-foot, two-inch right-handed flamethrower that will immediately compete for the closing role with the White Sox. His heater sits 97-100 and has topped out at 102. Vieira features a low 80’s hook that will complement his fastball out of the pen.
Vieira, who currently is rated by @MLBPipeline as the No. 8 Prospect in the Mariners organization, pitched for Team Brazil at the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) November 16, 2017
The Mariners could be eyeing a run at signing Shohei Otani in gather bonus-pool money from the White Sox. The South Siders will send $500,000 to the Mariners to finalize the deal.
The @Mariners are getting $500K from @whitesox in Vieira deal. Prepping for an Ohtani bid? Now have $1.5575 mil to offer (M's have spent $3.9425 mil of $5.5 mil total pool)
— Jonathan Mayo (@JonathanMayo) November 16, 2017
Early experiments as a starter didn’t pan out. Vieira still struggles with control. His efficiency leaves much to be desired and one scouting report identifies his inability to get ahead of hitters as a glaring problem.
From the video, it’s obvious to see his fastball has life and depth while his curveball has the ability to freeze hitters.
Between Double-A and Triple-A in 2017, Vieira only saw 54 innings and posted an even four earned run average. Meanwhile, his WHIP was a concerning 1.296, an easy product of his 3.7 walks-per-nine-innings. At 24 years old, Vieira is still a project but there is undeniable promise. Perhaps Don Cooper can whisper some of that sage wisdom he has bottled up in the clubhouse into Vieira’s ear to re-center his chi.
Vieira played in the futures game in July and faced a lethal stretch of hitters including the White Sox own, Zack Collins. He made short order of Collins blowing his fastball right by Collins late bat.
But…Vieira is also capable of this…
The South Siders’ stable of hurlers with 100-plus mile per hour stuff ticks up by one and if you didn’t know any better, you’d think Rick Hahn was on a quest to collect every prospect that can touch 100 on the gun. But the main takeaway is that Vieira is just another bullet in the bullpen.
