Today the White Sox made a handful of moves that involved sending some players to minor league camp. Two of those names were reliever Thyago Vieira, and outfleider Charlie Tilson.
Thyago Vieira was obtained last season from the Seattle Mariners for international bonus pool money. A flamethrower by nature, Vieira sits in the upper 90’s with his fastball, and can reach back for triple digits consistently. His biggest issue is his control, or lack thereof. With the White Sox bullpen rather sparse at the moment, I was a little surprised to see Vieira assigned to the minors. He reached the big leagues last year and threw 1 perfect inning for Seattle.
Once Vieira can show that he can command his fastball more consistently, he should receive a call up to join the White Sox in Chicago. If he hits his ceiling, he can one day be an elite closer. If not, he still should have valuable upside as someone who can be brought into a game to get out of late inning jams.
People remember Tilson as the promising center field prospect who can never seem to stay healthy. During his MLB debut against Detroit in August of 2016, he singled in his first at-bat, but then tore his hamstring later in the game, effectively ending his season. Then in 2017, he suffered a stress fracture in his ankle just as Spring Training was beginning, causing him to miss yet another year of development.
Now fully healthy, the Winnetka, Illinois native will look to prove himself down in the minor leagues. This makes it look like either Adam Engel or Leury Garcia will be the Opening Day center fielder for the White Sox.
