Well, the White Sox have started off worse than most fans could have imagined, as they are currently 2-9 and the offense is stagnant. To make matters worse, three of the best White Sox hitters, Luis Robert Jr., Yoan Moncada, and Eloy Jimenez are all going to miss a good amount of time. But, despite all the negative buzz and results, there is a bright side within the White Sox organization.
Most of the White Sox top prospects have started off strong, specifically the prospects in the Dylan Cease haul. Here are some of the highlights in the minor leagues so far:
Drew Thorpe looked outstanding in his first start in AA for the Barons.
In five innings, he only gave up three baserunners, allowing two hits and walking just one. He also struck out eight batters, which is a fantastic sign. The main concern scouts/evaluators have with Thorpe seems to be his velocity, but according to Future Sox, he was sitting around 92 in his first start.
While that is not great, if he can still get significant swings and misses throwing that velocity, that is a great sign that he can miss bats at all levels, as he is not just simply overpowering people.
His teammate and fellow member of the Dylan Cease trade, Jairo Iriarte, was also impressive in his first Barons start.
Over four scoreless innings, he gave up four hits, two walks, and struck out four. While, not nearly as impressive as Thorpe’s start, this is a fantastic start for Iriarte, as he is showing that he can stick in the rotation long term. If he can continue to keep this up, he likely finds his way to AAA soon and maybe even to Chicago at some point this season.
Another pitcher that looked dominant is White Sox #2 prospect, Noah Schultz. The highest rated pitching prospect in the system, Schultz backed that up. Over four innings, he gave up just two hits, while striking out 10 batters and walking zero.
This is about as dominant of a start one could have, especially considering it was his high-A debut. If he stays heathy and continues to pitch like this, he could make his way to AA, setting himself up for a MLB debut in 2025.
An under the radar prospect that has been crushing the ball so far is Wilfred Veras. He is ranked pretty low on the top 30 list for the White Sox, but once they update the rankings at midseason, he is likely to skyrocket into the top half.
So far, he’s hitting .545 with two homers and three RBIs in just 11 at-bats. He is a tough out and off to a scorching start.
If he plays anywhere near this as the season progresses, he could find his way to AAA and maybe even be a late September call up.
In the pros, one of the most promising young players, Jordan Leasure is also off to a great start in first MLB season. So far, in 4.1 innings, he has struck out three batters and has yet to give up a run. This is a great start and he could easily find himself closing games by the middle of the summer. He also had a fantastic strikeout on one of the best players in the MLB in a clutch moment:
He looks fantastic to this point and he is turning out to be one of the better trade pieces the White Sox have acquired as of late.
While the major league team struggles, it is at least good to see some of the best players in the White Sox system have gotten off to a great start, as it is one of the few things the White Sox fans have to look forward to. We should see most of these guys in Chicago at some point very soon.
I enjoy the updates.