As they lead up to their reveal of the top 100 prospects on January 28th, MLB Pipeline has been releasing their top ten prospects at each position.
Recently the site announced their top ten second base prospects. Coming in at number one was the White Sox Yoan Moncada. Moncada was acquired in the Chris Sale trade along with Michael Kopech and two others.
He was not only expected to be the best second baseman, but Moncada has a real chance of being named the best prospect in all of baseball. While Moncada may be the crown jewel of the South Side, he isn’t the only White Sox prospect getting love from MLB Pipeline.
Jonathon Mayo is a columnist for MLB Pipeline. In his latest mailbag, Mayo was asked this question from a fan:
Have you given any thought to doing a top 10 relievers category? It would be nice to see them get recognition too
— Tommy Hill (@Flamarlins93) January 18, 2017
Actually, we haven’t given it much thought. Perhaps it’s unfair, but Minor League relieves do tend to be under-appreciated. Some of that stems from the belief that many relievers began as starters and couldn’t stick in a rotation. I don’t think that’s as true as it used to be. Just look at the last four National League Rolaids Relief Award winners (now the Trevor Hoffman award). Kenley Jansen, Mark Melancon and Craig Kimbrel (won it two years in a row) never started a game.
Mayo wrote that relief pitching doesn’t get much credit amongst the prospect ranks. However he and other MLB Pipeline writers were able to compile a list of the top five relief pitching prospects in the major leagues.
That list read like this:
1. Joe Jimenez, Tigers
2. Zack Burdi, White Sox
3. J.T. Chargois, Twins
4. James Hoyt, Astros
5. Jimmie Sherfy, D-backs
MLB Pipeline ranked Zack Burdi as the second best relief pitching prospect in the major leagues. Burdi is currently the team’s seventh best prospect according to Fan Graphs.
Burdi has appeared in 26 minor league games and 38 innings. He holds a career 1-0 record with a 3.32 ERA and a 51/20 K/BB ratio. The former Louisville product was the White Sox first round pick of the 2016 MLB Draft.
Much has been made of White Sox prospect Michael Kopech throwing 110 MPH. However Kopech isn’t the only pitching prospect on the South Side who can break 100. Burdi has the ability to hit triple digits on any given pitch.
There’s a good chance that current White Sox closer David Robertson is traded before the end of the 2017 season. While it’s likely that Nate Jones would take over the closers role, it appears as if Burdi is the team’s closer of the future.
He is just 21, yet he has already reached AAA. There’s a chance he breaks camp with the team and an even better chance he ends the 2017 on the major league team. Burdi is the future of the White Sox bullpen.
Mayo is 100% correct in his assessment that relief pitching doesn’t get as much credit in the prospect ranks as starting pitchers do. A player like Lucas Giolito, who is coming off an injury riddled season, will be ranked much higher than Burdi, who is coming off an amazing first year in the pros.
However Burdi doesn’t need to be ranked in the top 100 to prove his worth. Whether he starts or ends the year with the club, the White Sox farmhand should continue the prove he is one of the best relief pitching prospects in the minor leagues.
When the Robertson trade saga eventually reaches its climax, Burdi should be on the shortlist of names to become the team’s closer. Regardless of a trade, Burdi is the team’s closer of the future and could end up being one of the best relief pitchers in the major leagues.
Zack Burdi isn’t Lucas Giolito, or even Reynaldo Lopez, but he is proving his worth as a relief pitching prospect. There is a good chance that the former Louisville Cardinal becomes a household name by the end of the 2017 season.
Feel free to continue the conversation on Twitter: @DFappiano14
