The White Sox announced that they’ll promote top pitching prospect Dylan Cease to start Game 1 of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Tigers. The right-hander is already on Chicago’s 40-man roster, so it won’t need to make a corresponding move in that regard.
Cease joined the White Sox in July 2017 in a trade that could make a huge long-term impact for the Pale Hose. They acquired Cease and outfield prospect Eloy Jimenez from the crosstown rival Cubs for left-hander Jose Quintana. Jimenez is already a mainstay in the White Sox’s lineup as a 22-year-old rookie, and Cease could soon join him as a staple on their roster for the foreseeable future. Indeed, manager Rick Renteria told reporters the plan is for Cease to stay in the fold going forward.
The 23-year-old Cease is widely regarded as an elite pitching prospect, with MLB.com rating him the 18th-best farmhand in the game. Cease possesses a dominant fastball/curveball combination, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com write in their free scouting report.
For the most part, Cease has been a force in the minor leagues, though his numbers have taken some steps back this season in his first Triple-A experience. In 68 1/3 innings and 15 starts with Charlotte, Cease has pitched to a 4.48 ERA/3.77 FIP with 9.61 K/9, 4.21 BB/9 and a 54.9 percent groundball rate.
Should Cease offer similar production in his first taste of the majors, it would be welcome for Chicago, whose rotation has been atrocious this season. The club looks to have found an ace in breakout righty Lucas Giolito, but he has been the lone bright spot among its starters. Carlos Rodon struggled earlier this year before undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery in May. Likewise, Reynaldo Lopez, Ivan Nova, Manny Banuelos and Dylan Covey have fallen flat in an extensive number of starts, and no one else the Sox have plugged in has helped their cause either.
With Cease, Giolito and prized young righty Michael Kopech, who’s recovering from September 2018 TJ surgery, the club may be laying the foundation for an enviable rotation. Those three could occupy 60 percent of Chicago’s starting staff in a year. For now, though, Cease will try to earn a spot on a team that’s 6 1/2 games back of a playoff spot and still has a glimmer of a chance to make things interesting this season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Congrats! Have a great career.
Please don’t get hurt!
Congratulations on 1st of many wins!
Things got a little scary in the first inning, but you pulled it together!
Fulmer or Ruiz send down?
Cease will be the 26th man for the doubleheader. With Covey also coming back soon, there are a lot of ways they could go on the demotion front after the game. Detwiler? One of the guys you mention? Send Cease back down?
I think Detwiler should be given a couple more starts after his initial start for the White Sox. I still don’t understand why Nova continues to start. Shields pitched better than Nova and wouldn’t have cost as much. Not that Shields is a star, just saying dump Nova.
The Shields should have been signed vs Nova thing is the most annoying and revisionist argument I’ve seen this year. Nova far outpitched Shields in the 3 years Shields was with the Sox. He was intended to be an upgrade. He hasn’t been. But to say the Sox should have signed Shields over Nova, which has been argued ad nauseam, is a patently stupid argument.
And with half the Sox rotation injured for the year, I wouldn’t expect him to go anywhere this year.
Nova was actually a steady and fairly good pitcher with the Pirates.They really could have used that depth this year but NH out thought himself.Nova was traded to save money.
It is amazing that the geniuses come out of the woodwork after the fact when hindsight is always twenty twenty.
Per White Sox manager Rick Renteria (mlb.com/whitesox/news/dylan-cease-to-debut-for-whi…): “You can safely say that we anticipate him being around,” said a noticeably excited Renteria when talking about Cease’s permanent spot in the rotation. “Everybody is looking for him to be challenged now. Everybody feels this is the right time.”
Finally!
Wonders never Cease.
Badda Bing!
Although I would prefer he were still pitching for the Northsiders, good luck to Cease.
“…whose rotation has been atrocious this season”. Understatement of the year.
All these flavors and you choose to be salty
Outstanding comment
Cease is the real deal.
4.48 era I don’t think so
ERA is always an awesome stat to use.
1.56 WHIP as well.. Not all perfect statistics, but he hasn’t been as effective this year. I loved following him when he was with the Cubs and, despite disliking the White Sox, hope that he turns out to be a solid pitcher.
Trevor Rosenthal is that you?
Ok bruh, his high walks per 9, and his whip of 1.56 for others. You’re welcome
Charlotte is the 4th most hitter friendly park in MiLB. It’s even worse than Lancaster. Look at his Home/Road splits.
Hitter friendly parks only inflate hr numbers and era. Walks and hits surrendered, effectively WHIP, is on the pitcher
Not sure how era isn’t a valid stat. It’s literally based on the number of runs you give up. Wins yes that’s a deceiving stat because you can give up 7 and win but hard to have a high era and be an stud
How does his high walk rate have anything to do with “hitter friendly”?
Lucas Giolito had comparable numbers at AAA Charlotte in 2017 to what Dylan Cease put up this season before his promotion to the White Sox. Michael Kopech also struggled mightily at AAA last season until his final month when he suddenly turned into a Noah Syndergaard clone just ahead of his own MLB debut.
Pretty simple. More hitter friendly = a greater need to hit the corners = more balls = more walks. Or how bout hitter friendly = more runners on base = less focus on hitter = more balls = more walks.
Remember, most stats, especially old school stats like ERA, RBI, K/9, BB/9, etc, were created to isolate a specific part of one’s game. Yet, they’re often connected in unusual ways. I think its why makes statistics fun. No single stat is completely representative of a player.
I don’t think anyone doubts that Cease could be a good pitcher, it’s just that his performance this year hasn’t really been stellar. I wish he was making his debut against the Cubs so I could watch him.
I did not know that Charlotte was a very hitter friendly park. Can someone tell me where Guaranteed Seat field is ranked in MLB?
K/9 and bb/9 are as valid as they ever were because they’re wholly the responsibility of the pitcher
We get you wanna be optimistic, but just say you’re optimistic, don’t twist facts to suit beliefs
Yes it is. The higher it is the more runs a pitcher typicallyo allows
Part of it being hitter friendly is the batter’s eye in center field, which as clear as they come in the MiLB
ERA will always be a valid stat. Anyone who says otherwise knows nothing about baseball. If you have to explain or defend ERA, you’re not the problem.
@PopeMarley
68 innings is certainly a huge sample size to base that off of. That’s about a third of a MLB season (if healthy all year).
Good pitchers never go into a rut at any time in their professional careers, right? I guess we’ll see what happens over the next 6 1/2 seasons.
Cease’s slump corresponded with team promoting inferior pitcher instead of him. I think he was pressing last few starts. Not worried at all.
Hope he can go 5 innings.
Excellent. Bring up Kubat soon. Banuelos/Covey/Detwiler can be kept in Charlotte until or unless they somehow can trade Nova for cash considerations.
would vastly prefer detwiler and covey to lopez and nova.
The Jose Quintana for Eloy Jimenez/Dylan Cease/Matt Rose/Bryant Flete will go down as one of the top 5 most lopsided trades in baseball history. Rick Hahn absolutely took THEO to the cleaners on this one. Can’t wait to see this stud in the rotation for the next 10 years!
It’s pretty sad that it will always rank behind the Shields swap as well though.
Tatis was not ranked and was just signed before that trade. There was no evidence at the time that he would become a highly touted prospect when the trade occurred. Get over it.
As much as these guys keep harping about the Tatis Jr trade, maybe they don’t remember Roberto Clemente was in the same situation with the Dodgers. There are many others. Get over it Cubs fans, don’t you remember Lou Brock?
Its called failure on your scouting dept. not to recognize potential.
Yep. Lou Brock had also logged some time in the Cubs outfield before that infamous trade went down with the Cardinals in June of 1964. He goes to the Cubs bitter rival and wins two World Series rings on his way to the HOF.
So did much needed CF and leadoff hitter Bill North in 1971 and 1072 before he was dealt to the A’s following that second season with the Cubs. He goes to Oakland where he also garnered a World Series ring in 1974.
Another ill-conceived trade had the Cubs trading Bill Madlock to the Giants just ahead of the 1977 season. Madlock was coming off of two consecutive NL batting titles with the Cubs at the young age of 24 and 25. Madlock was outspoken and the Cubs just couldn’t wait to launch him for fading “good old boy” Bobby Murcer. Like the other two young players, Madlock ultimately wound up with a World Series ring with the Pirates in 1979, along with winning two more batting championships.
Then you should probably blame every other scouting department in the MLB too because the White Sox were the only ones that signed him as an international free agent and it was for under $1M. Seems like they saw more in him than everyone at the time.
You could create a list of HOFers the cubs traded away for a bag of balls throughout it’s lackluster history. Pot, meet Kettle.
The White Sox signed Fernando Tatis Jr. on July 2nd, 2015 for $700,000 as an international amateur free agent. At the time he was ranked 30th on MLBPipeline.com’s Top 30 prospects list for the 2015-16 international signing period. Tatis Jr. never played in an official game in the White Sox system, not even in the DSL before being dealt to the Padres on June 4th, 2016 along with SP Erik Johnson for James Shields and cash.
Btw: The White Sox have reportedly signed Tatis Jr.’s younger brother Elijah to a $500,000 bonus which will become official when the next international signing period begins this coming Tuesday, July 2nd (calltothepen.com/2019/04/11/chicago-white-sox-agre…). Scouts peg Elijah as more comparable to his father Fernando than his older brother, with a stronger throwing arm and more power.
Apparently, the White Sox like keeping things in the family. They had recently inked Eloy Jimenez’ brother Enoy to an international bonus in the just concluded signing period.
In addition to the Tatis signing, the White Sox are the reported favorites to land top Cuban SS Yolbert Sanchez on July 2nd. Sanchez was the #4 ranked international FA during the last international period and the only member of the top-30 to not ink a deal by the June 15th deadline. Reports had him agreeing to a $2M dollar deal with a club still in the $300k “penalty box” during the last signing period. That team is expected to be the White Sox.
The Dodgers tried to hide Clemente in Montreal and the Pirates were smart enough to find him and drafted him.
Ernie Broglio had actually been a fine pitcher before the trade for Lou Brock but hindsight is always twenty twenty.
Lol NO ONE recognized his potential. In less than a year after he was ranked the 30TH international prospect, he became a breakout star prospect. He was a toss away piece in the trade.
Which just goes to prove for any team that you should keep players until you get some sort of inkling whether or not they have potential.
It probably could have happened to any team.This guy did have a ML veteran for a father though so he had the pedigree.
JD goat right on. Chitown311 doesn’t have an original thought in his brain and can’t even comment on being happy for Cease coming up without bringing up his same Hahn fleecing comment every time. Don’t forget Q won the Cubs a playoff game after he got to the northside. Yeah Sox got the better end but but Cubs got a decent pitcher with a killer contract.
And dear lord oh no please no don’t do it please you’re not allowed! Every Sox fans’ response when someone brings up the FAR WORSE trade where they sent Tatis out west for Shields. Why on God’s green earth do you all think that trade can’t be brought up? Because it is so painful? Eloy looks like a solid to very good player. Tatis Jr is a generational talent the Sox gave up for James freakin Shields.
Sorry y’all you lost the Tatis trade more than you won the Eloy trade.
Just try and be happy for a guy getting called up and not have to be so dependent on your insecurity of being a white Sox fan.
Oh and what do you not remember Sosa for George Bell? Talk about a fleece job. Sure he used steroids but he could have been doing it for your team. That’s an epic all time loss of a trade.
I like the Sox but god they have too many annoying trolls on here. Inferiority complex at its finest it seems.
Cubs fans; you know one probably has a few screws loose when they’re bringing Sammy Sosa into the argument lol. I loved Quintana; he’s a solid and affordable pitcher, but nobody thought he was amazing. I was honestly shocked by what we got for him and literally all of the Cubs fans I know were calling for Theo’s head.
The big reason Tatis for Shields was irritating at the time was because Shields was mediocre and we had to take on his salary. Sucks to see Tatis look so promising early in his career, but I like TA.
@ncaachampillini
Wow, you are really butthurt over the Eloy/Cease deal. As for me, I only publicly call this a fleecing to dig in to you Cub trolls for coming on here. It’s sad because scrolling down on this message board, half the posts (if not more) are Cub fans trolling. That’s some serious butthurt there.
As I said in another post way down below, Hahn got fleeced on the Tatis deal, and Theo got fleeced on the Eloy/Cease deal. Unfortunately it happens. Deal with it. You guys look pathetic coming on here trolling en masse, it makes the Cubs Troll Entourage look very desperate.
Remember, you Cub Trolls made the choice to come on this message board. It would be different if I came the message board of a Cubs article and railed into you about the Eloy/Cease deal, but again, it was your choice to come on here and troll.
This isn’t for all Cub fans, just the trolls. I know several classy Cub fans, and even on here there were some very classy posts by Cub fans. I thank you for those classy posts. My responses are for the trolls.
The White Sox took on about half of James Shields remaining contract obligations when that trade went down. The cash considerations going back to the White Sox from the Padres amounted to the other half.
It’s two specific Sox fans. I’m a Sox fan and I actually watch them. Something actually tells me these two Sox fans are the same guy.
We traded you Matt Karchner for Jon Garland and Garland helped us win a WS. Steroid Sammy didn’t win squat with you losers, so go find your white hood for White sheet Wednesday when the Ricketts’ buddy David Duke sings the 7th inning stretch with all the KKKub fans.
@JDGoat
I suppose you can hang that over our heads, which otherwise doesn’t benefit your team (except for 4 games a year). Whereas we can hang the Eloy/Cease deal over your heads, which directly benefits the Sox all season every season they are with the team and directly hinders your team throughout their careers. Oh, what could’ve been if you had Eloy and Cease, right?
Let’s do the math.
1 stud for 1 below average pitcher
OR
2 studs for 1 average pitcher
I like the 2 studs choice better. So it looks like the Eloy/Cease deal ranks ahead of the Shields swap.
They have to actually become studs first. Don’t put the cart before the horse
83 sox boy ever read Keith Law? If so you’d know how he talks about a player being a “guy” vs a “GUY”. You don’t get to arbitrarily put your Eloy trade ahead of the Shields trade just because uh, I guess you just say so? Eloy if he cleans up his defense, cuts down his strikeouts and absolutely most importantly stays healthy which he has a terrible track record of- if all that happens he has a chance down the road to become a GUY. Cease could be good but just a guy. A Sox fan would be thrilled if he became as good as peak Q was on the Sox.
But Tatis Jr who’s barely finished his first cup of coffee is already a GUY. He’s instantly a top 10 player in MLB.
I don’t care how few weeks or months he was in the Sox system – they threw him into the Shields trade. All time epic fail. Just like George Bell for Sammy Sosa. Just like Brock for Brolio.
Losing Tatis is worse then gaining Cease/Eloy.
Plus the Cubs were in the middle of the start of this run of NLCS’s and World Series title run. When you’re the reigning champ like they were you’re playing a bit with house money so getting a solid starter with years of control is a gamble you take. Hurts a bit now just like losing Gleybar. Though that one helped win a championship. You’ll take that outcome every time.
Remember when the Cubs let Tommy LaStella go in favor of Daniel Descalso? Sound decision making.
@ncaachampillini
How about we do this? Let’s wait about 3 to 5 years and see which deal ends up being better. If the Tatis deal ends up far better, then fine, I’ll take my medicine like a man.
But you Cub fans are the ones coming on here trolling about both deals. I know we Sox fans didn’t ask you to come on here and troll, but you did anyway. And it’s a free country, I’m not about to stop you from coming on here and trolling. Just don’t get butthurt when we respond to your trolling in a manner you don’t like.
Lol how are you ripping on Eloy for not staying healthy when your hero Tatis has already spent more than a month on the DL? Talk about arbitrary.
Just saw a highlight of Tatis scoring from 1st on a single to right wow. And he scored from 3rd the other day on a sac fly to 2nd base. The guy’s legit wow.
I actually just had a post to you that I thought was nice and even gave you credit for being a poster with actual knowledge that for some reason they wouldn’t allow. Oh well. Bottom line is Tatis Jr I truly feel will be the biggest star of all these guys we discuss in these trades.
Sox traded Tatis before his eligibility for a Driver’s License.
Sorry, but Cub fans are right.
Tatis trade would have been bad even if he didn’t develop. Shields was clearly on decline, was terrible fit for the Cell, and Sox were saddled with terrible contract for three years. It was an unnecessary move that gave team player who offered nothing.
Even if Cease and Eloy are superstars, they gave up value to get him. Shields was great teammate, but trash pitcher first two seasons.
“Tatis trade would have been bad even if he didn’t develop.”
That may be the worst take on here, including the obvious trolls.
The sac fly was against the Pirates and the ball was only four feet into the outfield grass.
Newman thought of lobbing to the shortstop at second base but that was enough for Tatis to take off for home.The throw was high but otherwise right to the catcher.The slide was perfect as he slid away from the plate and touched it with his hand so Díaz could not get him in time.
The umpire called him out but was overturned as Tatis told his manager to protest the call.
He is lightning fast as I could really not fault either the second baseman nor the catcher.
That is the shortest sac fly that Renfroe will ever get.
How so?
The White Sox took on about 30 million to get Shields, who already had declining peripherals and led the NL in allowed the previous year despite pitching in Petco.
Even before people knew who Tatis was, the trade was panned at the end of the season as a waste of money. Tatis developing made it horrific, but it was already a bad deal.
Because they got a professional pitcher who, at the very least, was capable of eating innings. It may not seem important to some people, but when a team is trying to work multiple young players into a rotation (leading to a lot of bullpen work), having someone that can throw 200 innings of OK ball isn’t the worst thing in the world.
The Sox didn’t expect him to be an ace, and they didn’t give up a package that looked like anything special at the time. They expected him to be better than he was, obviously, but all they gave up was a young pitcher that wasn’t particularly good and a lottery ticket. The Padres appear to have hit it big on the lottery ticket. Congratulations. Again, keep in mind that no team was willing to pay Tatis more than the whopping $700,000 the Sox signed him for that summer. NOBODY saw this coming.
If Tatis didn’t develop, they gave up literally nothing except money (while the Padres still paid half his deal). If Tatis didn’t develop, nobody would even come close to caring about this deal. And spare me on the money wasted. It’d be no different than any free agent signing. The Sox were paying Shields less per year than Tyler Chatwalk is getting.
Shields was acquired to be a mid-rotation guy for a team that was in first place at the time, in a deal that was well before the trade deadline, as a replacement for Mat Latos. He ended up being one of the worst pitchers in the AL that year, and contributed to the team collapse. And the trade was panned immediately, because most scouts recognized that he was in decline, and was an awful fit for that ballpark, who had literally just given up a homerun to a 40-year-old pitcher who couldn’t hit before the deal was made. It was a bad trade that should have never been made. That is what ultimately makes the trade so horrible when Tatis is factored into it.
Look up historical anachronism.
Shields wanted out of Petco, and many believed a well a respected AL pitcher who needs to come back. White Sox accepted with some hope, but not unless San Diego paid somewhere around $30M for us to take him. What did we give? AT THE TIME – a kid and a minor league pitcher.
The truth is nobody cares about Fernando Tatis Jr except to wish him well, and remark on the good fortune for San Diego. Some make it seem like he was some part of the White Sox plan. I think he was always considered little more than a young flyer, dime a dozen at the time, even by San Diego.
My point is that it was a bad trade regardless of what happened with Tatis. They didn’t need to make the deal. Or, they could have targeted someone else who was not on the downside of their career.
Frankly, this is a disturbing trend with Hahn, in that he consistently makes deals for players who clearly have passed their prime, with little upside, guys who scouts are typically down on at the time of the deal (Keppinger, LaRoche, Shields, Nova, Alonso, Santana, even Melky and Frazier, although they largely worked out). In some cases, they are giving up prospects to go after such suspect players.
Winning teams don’t do this. They develop the talent they have, acquire guys who are still in their prime, or they find guys other teams have given up on in less costly deals).
While there is a lot to like about some of Hahn’s deals, the one involving Tatis was typical of his biggest flaw – a failure to effectively locate and acquire veterans from other teams who can contribute. He is going to need to do this if they have any hope of finishing the rebuild, because they don’t have enough prospects to fill the voids. McCann was a start, but that has largely been an exception for Hahn.
I think the obsession with old players was the KW influence. The rebuild is Hahn wanting to try something new, and he’s pointed to the Tatis trade as influencing his desire to rebuild.
Dumb GM’s think they can’t make a mistake, and thus they don’t learn from their mistakes. Smart once acknowledge their mistakes and grow. Hahn is the latter.
Hey, welcome to the south side. Shields was not an unnecessary signing, he was a good deal for a needed stop gap. Management here does not have the luxury to flush the team and start completely from scratch because they respect the fan base.
So the argument I’m hearing is White Sox should’ve known Shields would be terrible. Tell ya what, there’s a tent over at the local carnival with a gal in there who charges ten bucks to tell you the future. Maybe we should’ve done that?
Tim Anderson was blocking Tatis to be the White Sox current short stop so that trade made sense at the time.
You used the money saved by acquiring Quintana on signing a pitcher with a long history of severe arm injuries and a starting pitcher that can’t consistently throw strikes. Congrats. Almost everybody traded away would be huge improvements over anybody the Cubs have at the same position. Schwarber, Russell and Almirola have little value right now. And people think that Theo knows what he’s doing.
I think the Sox most definitely got the better end of that deal but it seems like that always happens when you trade top prospects for pitching. Let’s just hope these two help get a championship or else it will go down as another meh.
If either Jimenez or Cease reach their ceilings… which hasn’t exactly happened yet
Funny thing about ‘all time’ lists… they tend to be based on facts, not projections
unfortunately the James Shields trade will hold that position for the foreseeable future. To give up a generational talent for a lowly pitcher in Shields, that’s gotta sting. Must nary be a day go by when you dont think about what could have been.
Rick Hahn has yet to build a playoff roster. Epstein has won three world series..Hahn can have this one.
Rick Hahn received a World Series ring in 2005 as Kenny Williams assistant GM. Before joining the White Sox Hahn was a player agent associate. He became the White Sox chief contract negotiator and was responsible for the team-friendly deals to Chris Sale, Adam Eaton and Jose Quintana that jump-started their rebuild which netted them many of the top young players and prospects in the organization today.
As the current GM, Hahn is most responsible for player acquisitions. His input before that promotion was also vital in the White Sox quest to build a perennial playoff roster going forward.
There can a be a solid argument that Theo’s first World Series in Boston was not completely orchestrated by him since many players were there before he took as the GM while PED use did take place within the Red Sox organization.
Didn’t he also try to trade Manny multiple times? I actually like Theo because I think he is better than most at not letting his emotions run things, but he’s not infallible. I definitely like his strategy of making Maddon sweat this year.
Can’t argue with that. Even though Cease has yet to really do anything in the majors, even if he comes close to his ceiling, the White Sox definitely won that trade. Eloy looks like a star player who will terrorize MLB pitching for the next 10 plus seasons.
Go get ’em, Dylan.
Over-Under on days till TJ.
How many days until Wednesday? Add 2 more…
@Bocephus
What a knee-slapper that was. Your wit is legendary. In fact, it’s so legendary, you just won the Idiotic Comment of the Day. This is quite impressive today due to the number of idiotic comments on this message board by the Cub trolls. But you pulled through. Congrats!
@louwhitakerisahofer
Silly boy, Sweet Lou is not a HOFer, but I’ll tell you who is. Harold Baines. Yes, Baines is a HOFer. For those who say he isn’t, I suggest you go to Cooperstown on July 21 and witness his induction into the HOF. What a great day that will be.
Cease has been there (TJ) and done that. It was on the table for him when he was drafted.
What happened to Carlos rondon?
Tommy John earlier this season. Sad to see because he looks good when he is on, but may end up being at best the Sox 4th or 5th starter because of these injuries. At worst his career will be short lived.
Rodon
Rodon as a 4th or 5th starter means it’s a playoff caliber starting rotation.
How so? Rodon’s career to this point is definitely 4th/5th starter territory
Debatable. His numbers have been skewed from missing significant time and/or pitching through injuries (pretty much constantly). When he actually stays healthy and gets a chance to get in a groove (rarely), he has shown what he’s capable of, and that includes shutting down some great lineups. If he can get/stay healthy and be the team’s number 4 or 5, which is a HUGE if, their rotation is going to look very good.
FALSE. Any pitcher can have a good game or two vs great lineups. the majority of rodamns success has been either predicated upon luck, or pitching in August/September games where a lot of lineups faced have at least a couple minor league type players in them.
That’s just flat out wrong, but you’re entitled to your own opinion, however wrong it may be.
Not sure how you figure Giolito/?/?/?/Rodon equates to playoff caliber…
Do some research on the White Sox and catch up. Well, don’t bother. You’ll be seeing how talented and deep the Sox are with pitching soon enough. Giolito/Kopech/Cease/Rodon are all studs when healthy. They’ll still have loads of cash/trade assets for a controllable veteran TOR pitcher once the rebuild is over.
@petrie000
The first 2 question marks would be reserved for Kopech and Cease. The other question mark, it’s anyone’s guess.
Giolito/Kopech/Cease/Rodon/? Yeah, I can see how that equates to playoff caliber.
What about Kopech and Cease isn’t currently a complete unknown?
Neither exactly have a history of success you can cite as grounds for that statement
Even with those 2 it’s still Giolito/?/?/?/Rodon
@petrie000
And I’m sure you said the same thing just before Kerry Wood and Mark Prior (and Greg Maddux, if you’re old enough).
Yes, it’s purely potential right now, and outside of a few games by Kopech before his TJ surgery, there’s no MLB history to draw from. Fair enough.
I look at it this way, we Sox fans are excited to have Cease and Kopech as part of our future rotation, whereas you Cub trolls such as yourself come on here trolling away at how Cease isn’t that good, neither are proven.
It’s very sad for half of this message board to be Cub trolling. It actually makes me laugh how pathetic that is. Your focus is on an (at best) mediocre team that was a laughing stock several previous seasons, when your focus should be more on the Brewers and Cardinals. You trolls are so focused on us, wouldn’t it be something if both the Cards and Brewers (and Phillies) passed you and you missed the playoffs altogether?
It’s a free country, I’m not stopping you guys from trolling. It’s just funny from our end that you have to come on here and troll repeatedly. LOL
They’re top 20-50 prospects who throw harder than anyone in a cubs uniform. Time will tell how they perform at the big league level, but your constant pessimism about the White Sox’s farm system and rebuild is laughable. Like I said, do some research.
I didn’t, actually, say it. Because I know better than to put myself in Position to look like an utter fool if the likely happens and a top prospect winds up pretty average.
Of your entire starting rotation, you have about three months of above average play from 1 of them. And that’s being extrapolated into playoff caliber simply because the last highly touted pitching prospect you had is likely relegated to the back end of it
It’s a free country, and you can indeed say anything you like. You just may want to think it through before saying it in public. The first amendment protects the right to ridicule as well.
Chisox, can we just cut to the point where I expose you as a raging moron and let the adults talk for a while?
You’re repetive schtick has lost what little charm it may have had
It’s good to see another future core player on the White Sox active roster, especially after losing SS Tim Anderson for at least a month. Perhaps CF Luis Robert and 2B Nick Madrigal will be next up in 2019 sometime after their appearance in next Sunday’s Future’s All-Star Game in Cleveland.
Unlike defensively challenged Eloy Jimenez, Robert and Madrigal each provide quality gloves and plus speed that is MLB ready, to say nothing of their offensive skills. If any prospects in the White Sox system can make the jump from AA to the Chicago it would be these two talented players.
I know for years I’ve ripped on the the White Sox farm system a lot, borderline overboard, but this guy I’m rooting for. He could be a really good pitcher for a while.
Thanks??
Anyone know how Kopech is progressing? If at all?
Michael Kopech has been throwing a baseball for some time now following his TJ surgery last September. He had his first throwing session at the onset of spring training on February 5th and has been progressing with no problems since. The White Sox are wisely being overly cautious with his rehab and expect to him be ready with zero restrictions when spring camp opens next season in Arizona.
Yes, he is engaged to a hot actress!
The Chisox batter logo is still stellar.
All signs point to a future in the bullpen but I think he’ll be an effective starter for the time being.
@Blah blah blah
You Cub trolls crack me up. I guarantee you if Cease hadn’t been traded, you guys would be touting him as a perennial Cy Young candidate. But since the fleecing, he will be just another guy in the bullpen, just like Eloy will be another average hitter at best, right? LOL
It’s OK to admit Theo got fleeced. I admit Hahn got fleeced with the Tatis deal. Unfortunately it happens. The Cubs got fleeced. Deal with it.
This is the headline we Sox fans have been waiting for all season long. I’m sure he’ll have his good and bad starts this season, and it’s important for him to have some bad starts. Get it out of his system and learn from his mistakes.
I’m excited. I’ll be even more excited at the start of next season when we see both Cease and Kopech in the starting rotation, along with Giolito, of course (who so far has had another nice outing through 5). If Lopez can figure it out this year, which I still think he’s not that far off, despite the bad numbers to this point, that will make for a nice young rotation.
I’d love to see the Sox throw money at a Max Scherzer or Zak Greinke in a few years to solidify their rotation and cap off the rebuild.
Either of them are free agents. Either of them woild accept a trade to a team guaranteed to lose for the next 4 years. It might be 6 years before they are over .500
Whew, done responding to the trolling. Wow, was there some trolling! I feel so dirty with all my trolling in response LOL. And I thought I got all that trolling out of my system when I did this last week LOL.
All kidding and trolling aside, I am very excited about watching Cease pitch the rest of the season. I am fully anticipating him laying some turds out there, but hopefully there won’t be too many of those. He, along with Eloy, Moncada, TA (whenever he returns), Giolito, maybe even Collins (emphasis on maybe) will make the rest of the season worth watching, even if the Sox fade badly in the 2nd half. I am excited about the future.
Disagreement based on past trends and factual evidence doesn’t magically become trolling if you say the word often enough
83sox…, Most Cubs fans are here not to troll, but to learn.
He’ll last 3.1 innings. 7ERs 3 home runs. 10 total runs. 2 errors in one inning by James McCann. Tigers sweep the double header.
Wrong!!!!
And wrong again for game 2!
You got the sweep part right.
Wrong team!
white Sox won the quintana deal
And let’s not forget the Jon Garland deal!!!
Yeah, if acquiring a player that helps win a title is even more important, that fits right in. Can the Cub fans even remember Karchner?
Cubs performance is atrocious!
Lose to Cincy again with Lester on the mound.
Cubs on their way to 5th place!!! Preseason predictions spot on!
Uh see what I mean? 6th grader intellect. Try going to any Cubs post on this site’s history. If you can find one, just one, without this dude puffing out his chest saying his dad could beat up your dad I’ll give you $50.00.
Cubs have lost 5 consecutive road series!
No way they finish better than 5th place!
Exclamation points are so fun!
Losing month of June for the Cubbies!!!
Ncaachimp!!
Must be 6 lost road series now.
You gotta love the scathing back and forth commentary between Cubs and White Sox fans every time an article is posted regarding any of their players. When the article actually involves a player like Dylan Cease who was a member of each team’s organization the debate becomes even more vitriolic and increasingly entertaining.
As a lifelong fan of both teams since the early 1960’s I like to chime in as well. Mostly, I just enjoy taking in the heated rhetoric. It reminds me of the family get-togethers at holidays, especially once the alcohol starts flowing.
I am a Pirates fan but enjoy from afar the heated rhetoric.
I usually do not follow these posts as the Pirates are not involved.
I think that in this case the ChiSox fans are breeding with energy as their team is on the upswing,but I do note some jealousy for the Cubs and their recent success.The young players for the ChiSox seem good but they will have to prove it on the field.
For the most part there was surprising civility.
I also must note that I enjoy your posts as you clearly make them before imbibing since they are intelligent and well written.
While this arguement was basically a fair one,try looking from afar at the Cubs and Cardinals fans arguements,as I am sure that you are aware of them,as they rarely are civil.Sometimes downright nasty!
Pittsburgh likely to pass the Cubs by mid July!
Thank you,and I wish it were true,but I hate to tell you that I think that the Cubs still have a little too much for the rest of the division.
The Pirates bullpen,other than Vasquez,has really let them down this year.
More exclamation points yay!!!
Pitt maybe passes Cubbies by Saturday!!!
Your Pirates are kicking Cubby butt!
Thank you.
Cubbies headed to 5th place!
Thank you.
One more game left but Cubs are mad.
Pirates got between Mama Bear and her Cubs.
Quintana is still a good pitcher.
White Sox would be in the hunt in the NL Central.Come join the party.
@AaronSapoznik
@Mendoza Line 215
That was crazy yesterday. I haven’t been in one of those in a long time. There were a lot of things written in the heat of the moment (definitely for me). I blame it on the rain delay (just kidding).
Funny thing is I really don’t hate the Cubs anymore. After the Sox won the WS and the Cubs got the 100 year drought, there wasn’t anything to root against them. In fact, I actually rooted for the Cubs in the ’16 WS (it helped they faced Cleveland). If the Cubs make it to the WS again this year, and depending on who they face, I might actually root for them again.
BTW, I’ve always liked the Pirates. One of my first memories of baseball is the ’79 WS (We are family). That and Disco Demolition, but we won’t go into that. Dave Parker was one of my favorite players. I actually liked Bonds when he was with the Pirates. Enough reminiscing, I’m starting to sound like Hawk Harrelson in the booth.
This whole freakin comment section is making fans of both Chicago teams look horrible. Who’s d!!k is bigger? Guess what both teams and their franchises blow!!!
Historically they both do. They each have 3 World Series titles in the last 119 years. It ain’t pretty.
Have you ever seen the repartee between Mets and Yankees fans?
They are even worse than the Cardinals and the Cubs.
But at least in the Yankees and cardinals case they actually have something to brag about. Mets maybe not so much but I can see how it must be tough being a met fan in New York with the stories history of the Yankees
@chicagofan1978
Easy there. A lot of what was said was in the heat of the moment (definitely was for me), and when you get something like this story which affects both fan bases, the blood will get boiling. Not a big deal.
I understand that but I’m constantly seeing all over this board people hating on both teams, it makes my team look bad and it makes their team look bad. This is a national forum and bothe Chicago teams are bragging like there is anything to brag about. Together we don’t have anywhere near as many championships as St. Louis. And I’m 108 years the same as Kansas City and Miami.
You’re right, maybe we should just all hold hands and sing songs together.
@chicagofan1978
Normally it doesn’t get this heated on here. But this wasn’t about Detwiler or Despiange getting promoted, this is about one of the top MLB prospects getting promoted. And even more than that, a former Cub. So you can see how this could potentially get out of hand, at least by MLBTR standards.
This is a pretty tame site. I’ve been on sports sites in the past that made this message board look like a friendly conversation. Most of what was said on both sides has merit. You’re going to get your trolls that stir the pot on every sports site. In this case, Bocephus, Steven Chitwood, and Dogbone are the usual trolls, though they’re pretty harmless 15-year-olds just trying to get a rise to make their high school buddies laugh.
I wouldn’t expect a repeat performance of this message board anytime soon. Yes, it’s possible, but doubtful.
As for your last sentence, I’m assuming there’s a typo somewhere in there.
I am looking forward to Cease finally pitching in the MLB level. Us Sox fans should not worry about Cease’s numbers in his last four starts in AAA. In all reality, Cease just needs to get his head straight and realize his time is now.
I’m still stoked about the Cease promotion. I think the only way he’s the 26th man is if he has a historically bad game (ex. 7 or 8 ER in 1/3 IP). Otherwise I think he’s up for the year.
He and Kopech will have to clean up the walks. You can excuse the ERA away, but you can’t with the walks. MLB lineups will make you pay dearly if you keep giving them free passes. Kopech did a good job of cleaning it up later in the year, but it’s still imperative for both to clean up the walks.
Look at Giolito. Without using the advanced stats, the #1 reason he’s improved is he’s cleaned up the walks. He (and Fulmer) wouldn’t give up a lot of hits, but you’re probably not going to give up too many hits when they won’t swing because you can’t throw strikes.
Speaking of Giolito, imagine saying in March that he was going to make the ASG this year. You would’ve been laughed off of any message board and won the Idiotic Comment of the Year. And the Minny game definitely got my attention. That’s a good lineup he shut down. To me, this season has already been a success because of the emergence of Giolito, TA, and Moncada.
Moncada was the big one. It was way too early too label him a bust, but he could’ve easily became one. He’s doing this year what we expected him to do last year. No harm with him struggling last year, it’s not like he was going to single-handedly turn a 100-loss team into a WC team. Anyway, all 3 guys are huge for the eventual transition from rebuild team to contender.
As for Fulmer, leave him up. He may have to stay up anyway if he is out of options (I have no idea if he is). Regardless, I’d basically say to him, “Figure it out or you’re gone.” (not exactly in those words LOL) Jerking him around by constantly bouncing him between AAA and Chicago will not help him. It will only make things worse. He has to think the Sox still believe in him is he still has any prayer of making it with the Sox, and bouncing him around will do the opposite.
Moncada is not and will not be a bust! Giolito is starting to realize what he needs and not need to do to be a solid number one to two pitcher in rotation. Lopez is showing signs of improvement with McCann catching for him in his two outings. Fulmer has potential as a set up man but he needs to find his head when his is out there.
@BeeVeeTee
I wan’t implying Moncada was a bust. I fully agree, it was way premature to label him a bust last year. I guess I should’ve phrased it different. If he hadn’t made the necessary adjustments needed to succeed and just rested on his potential, he could’ve ended up a bust like some highly touted prospects of the past who became busts.
Good point with Lopez with McCann. I’ve said on many posts on this site in the last couple weeks I don’t think Lopez is that far off despite his ugly numbers. If he can figure it out, that rotation is going to be fun to watch starting next year.
I was not shocked by Cease’s outing today. Let’s be honest, Cease has been dreaming for this day for awhile so his nerves got to him in the first inning. It was awesome to see get his head together after that first inning.
Yes, he wasn’t exactly dominant with the walks and having 101 pitches after 5, but he gets a free pass on any negatives only because it’s his first career MLB game. But as I said above yesterday, he needs to clean up those walks. He can get away with 4 walks and still have a pretty good game against a lackluster lineup like Detroit’s, but a good lineup will punish him severely for giving up so many walks. Needless to say, he still looked pretty good, and more importantly, he got his first career win.
I’m curious to see who gets sent down. I’d be shocked if it were him. I’d definitely keep him up, you have nothing to lose at this point. And if you’re one of those who thinks the Sox still have a prayer at the WC (I’m not one of those, though maybe I should be), Cease might actually help their extremely thin chances. He’s already better than most of the turds the Sox have rolled out to the mound this year.
I was telling my friend Cease can either be a part of the 2020 rotation or a trade piece in the offseason for a guy like Schrezer. It sounds crazy but the White Sox are setting themselves up for a run after this season. There are no doubts Hahn will resign Abreu to an extension to bringing up Robert. The White Sox are looking to win soon as possible.
The White Sox could have found their man with McCann as that catcher for the next four to five years where a package deal for Cease and Collins can get Schrezer. I am just analyzing on how Collins caught for Cease in AA and AAA to having McCann being a great presence with Giolito and Lopez (his last two outing McCann caught for him).
Scherzer too old to exchange for Cease.
Time to extend Cordell!!
Fulmer can go back down if he blows this game 2 of DH.
@ChiSox_Fan
Might as well keep Fulmer up, unless he’s keeping a more worthy RP down in the minors (which most of them are out for the year). Who would you replace him with? Another RP they keep bouncing between AAA and Chicago? If AAA hasn’t fixed him by now, it’s never going to.
What I would do is let him ride out the year and see if he’s worth keeping. If he looks like a legit MLB RP by the end of the year, keep him. If not, cut ties with him. No sense in continuously riding his potential if nothing’s there by now. But at least give him the rest of the season to let him try to figure it out. What’s it going to hurt?
I have very little faith in him, but then again I had very little faith in Giolito back in April, so what do I know.