White Sox GM Rick Hahn is getting a lot of practice at this, which I guess you could see it as kind of a positive because it means the minor league system has several young players fans want to see. Fans heard it last year when the cries for Eloy Jimenez intensified, but he apparently didn’t check all the boxes to earn a call up.
Now, star prospect Luis Robert and Matt Zawaski’s favorite Nick Madrigal are the ones who White Sox fans want to see on the South Side in September, but no soup for you!
And fans aren’t dumb. Everyone knows why and Hahn isn’t the first GM to lie about it, but it’s because of the service time issue. Teams want that extra year of control before a player hits free agency. You lose that with an early call up.
But of course the question is going to be raised and of course Hahn lied about it.
Here’s what Hahn had to say about not calling up Robert.
So, Robert ends his 2019 season in the minors with a slash line of .326/.376/.624, 32 home runs, 92 RBIs and 36 stolen bases.
Meanwhile, Nick Madrigal also moved up to Triple-A in his first full minor league season a year after being drafted by the White Sox. The infielder did what he does best, make contact and a lot of it. Madrigal hit .311 across three levels in the minors in 2019, while striking out just 16 times in 527 plate appearances.
So, White Sox will have to wait until the second week of April in 2019 to finally see the next two top prospects play in the majors.
