While most of the college hitters from the 2024 draft class have already made their professional debuts, it can take pitchers a bit longer to make the transition to the minor leagues. It wasn’t until Saturday that top pick Hagen Smith had a fantastic debut.
According to Elijah Evans and the minor league transaction page for the Cannon Ballers, four pitchers have been promoted to Low-A Kannapolis. As of today, all four pitchers listed have pitched multiple innings and the results have been very positive.
Pierce George
George has gotten into two games so far and he was perfect in his first outing, as he had a 1,2,3 inning.
In his second outing, he gave up a hit, a walk, and a HBP, so two runs were able to score. However, he did collect his first professional strikeout, as you can see above. George has future closer written all over him, he just needs to work on his command.
If Brian Bannister can work with him on some things, this may have been a steal for the White Sox, as he has a 100+ MPH fastball.
Aaron Combs
Combs, the White Sox 8th round pick out of Tennessee has been off to a fantastic start for the Cannon Ballers, as he has a 0 ERA in 3.2 innings pitched.
Combs has exclusively come out of the bullpen, striking out four batters in those 3.2 innings. He does have three walks so far, but that hasn’t been an issue for him, as he has been able to get out of all of his innings without giving up a run.
Combs is an interesting prospect and could be another arm in the already deep White Sox pitching prospect pool.
Clete Hartzog
Hartzog, an undrafted free agent, has been stellar in his 3.1 innings of work for the Cannon Ballers.
In two appearances, Hartzog has thrown 3.1 innings, striking out six batters, while walking just one. Despite being the only undrafted pitcher on this list, Hartzog has arguably looked the most impressive so far. The White Sox have a bunch of arms in the system, but Hartzog has the chance to stick around if he continues to pitch like this.
Justin Sinibaldi
Sinibaldi, the 14th round pick in this year’s draft, has also looked very solid.
In his one start, he went three innings, striking out three batters. He only gave up two hits and one walk, so the damage came with some clutch hitting, as spread out over three innings, that line isn’t too bad, as it would equate to a 1.000 WHIP.
Sinibaldi has some good stuff and is a lefty so that helps his case. He will continue to try and impress, as there is a ton of arms in the White Sox farm system that are fighting for innings.
As these players have now finally made their debuts, there are only a few players from the draft class that have yet to make their debut.
