If you haven’t heard of Eloy Jimenez and Michael Kopech by now, shame on you. The White Sox gathered two of the most promising prospects in baseball this past season and the duo is poised to reach the big leagues in 2018. But don’t sleep on the rest of the sprouting crop of talent.
While every media outlet heaped praise on Jimenez and Kopech over the past few weeks Baseball America doesn’t want anyone to forget about Micker Adolfo. In their final report on the White Sox farm system, Scot Gregor named Adolfo as someone to watch.
The heralded Dominican outfielder was signed in 2013 and spent three seasons in the developmental Arizona Rookie League. He played sparingly in both 2014 and 2015 while posting pedestrian figures that raised questions about his elite status. Adolfo slipped down the organizational rankings from No. 6 in 2014 to No. 24 in 2016.
After repeating a season in Kannapolis this year, Adolfo reclaimed his status among a pile of elite talent. He now sits at No. 14 in the latest MLBPipeline organizational rankings after a season in which he batted .264/.331/.453 with 16 home runs. His power surge is attributed to a revised approach and physical maturity.
Scouting reports have always lauded Adolfo’s physical makeup and while he faltered in his late teens, at 21 years old scouts have remarked on his transition to manhood. The slugger agreed to a hefty bonus ($1.6 million) in 2013 with the White Sox and Rick Hahn was pleased with Adolfo’s rapid development as a 17-year-old the following season.
“Find me some more 17-year-olds that can do what he’s done in the past year and we are going to be all right,” Hahn said in 2014. “We were obviously very high on his future when we were able to sign him a year ago. This has been a great first year for him in terms of being able to convert on that upside.”
A whopping .218 batting average and 85 strikeouts in 198 plate appearances isn’t the glittery debut that most fans expect from such an expensive product, but Hahn advised patience from all sides considering the totality of what Adolfo faced.
“…there’s a lot that goes into this transition. It’s not just how’s he performing between the lines,” Hahn said. “It’s how he’s acclimating to our nutritional program, our strength and conditioning, physically playing when he’s maybe not 100 percent and playing every day. Many of those factors are even more important to us in terms of how a player is developing at this level than his raw numbers on the field. …”
Patience is always prudent and it’s paying off for the young prospect. The biggest question is whether he will remain with the organization. Adolfo has double-plus arm strength and average speed, enough to profile as a right-fielder. But Jimenez appears to have that position sewn up for the foreseeable future.
The White Sox latest international splash was the signing of Cuban phenom Luis Robert, and after swiping Blake Rutherford from the Yankees and Luis Alexander Basabe from the Red Sox, the outfield is shrinking.
The White Sox might be partial to Adolfo, laying claim to his entire development, but with Adam Engel playing as well as he is, trade value will play a tremendous role in shaking out the future on the south side of Chicago.
