Rick Hahn has reportedly broken the emergency glass and called up Lenyn Sosa from Double-A. Sosa has been raking for the Birmingham Barons this season. In 257 at-bats he is batting .331 with 14 home runs, 48 RBIs, and a .933 OPS.
The news came in response to Danny Mendick’s season-ending injury. On Wednesday Mendick collided with Adam Haseley while attempting to catch a foul off the bat of Santiago Espinal in the second inning. He needed help leaving the field after the collision. It was later revealed to be a torn ACL. With Mendick, and Moncada on the IL the White Sox turned to Sosa. Eloy Jimenez was placed on the 60-day IL to make room for Sosa on the 40-man roster.
The story was first broken on Twitter by Sosa’s host family in Birmingham. On Wednesday night they wrote:
“Lenyn Sosa is on the move to 35th and Shields. As his Kannapolis host family, we are extremely proud.”
Lenyn Sosa approves this message @dailywhitesox https://t.co/fFomVjsG8J pic.twitter.com/xHvTCrRC3V
— Daniel Victor (@slydanno70) June 23, 2022
Sosa hasn’t generated the same buzz as other prospects in the White Sox farm system. Many fans have been calling for the promotion of Yolbert Sanchez from Triple-A. Sanchez and Sosa are both hitting for a high average this season. What sets Sosa apart is his power. He is slugging .549 while Sanchez is slugging just .351 with one home run. Birmingham is not a hitter-friendly park either and Double-A historically has the most talented pitchers in the minor leagues.
Sosa has the ability to get hot in a hurry. In May, he hit .457 with six home runs and 20 RBIs during a 16-game stretch. He also has a knack for situational hitting. With two outs and runners in scoring positions, he is batting .378 with 17 RBIs.
The White Sox signed Sosa in back 2016 for $325,000 after discovering him in Venezuela. He made his professional debut the next summer. He quickly rose through the ranks and by the age of 21 he was promoted to Double-A, making him one of the youngest players in the league. In 33 games last season he posted a .522 OPS. Sosa was undeterred by his early struggles. He put together a solid showing in Spring Training but was left off the 40-man roster at the start of the season. Since then he has quietly flown under the radar.
MLB.com has Sosa ranked as the 22nd overall prospect in the White Sox farm system. Sosa has great hand-eye coordination. Since Nick Madrigal got traded he arguably owns the best bat-to-ball skills in the organization. His low walk rate seems to be his biggest issue offensively.
On the defensive side, he lacks speed, making his range a concern. He can play shortstop, second base, and third base. At the beginning of 2022, he bounced around all three positions. He committed 13 errors last season. However, only one of those came at second base. This season he has a .980 fielding percentage at second base and has only made one error while playing there. One thing he does have going for him is his arm strength. He received a 55 scouting grade for his arm, which is the highest out of all his tools.
His first game will likely be at home against the Baltimore Orioles. This should give Tony La Russa a good opportunity to ease him into the lineup
Unfortunately with Mendick going down… it will give the senile alcoholic more incentive to put Harrison and Garcia both in the starting lineup… since rather play veterans first.