The White Sox will promote right-hander Jonathan Cannon from Triple-A Charlotte to start Tuesday’s game, tweets Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. He’s not on the 40-man roster, so they’ll need to formally select his contract and make a corresponding transaction to open a 40-man spot. It’ll be the big league debut for the 2022 third-rounder.
Listed at 6’6″ and 225 pounds, Cannon has been a fast riser through the South Siders’ system. The former Georgia Bulldog split the 2023 season between High-A and Double-A, and he was also on the roster for the 2023 Futures Game during last year’s All-Star festivities. He’s opened the 2024 campaign with 9 2/3 decent frames at the Triple-A level (three earned runs on ten hits and five walks with 11 punchouts). Baseball America ranks Cannon eighth among White Sox farmhands, while FanGraphs tabs him tenth in the system and MLB.com lists him 11th.
Cannon, 23, pitched 121 innings last season, working to a 4.46 ERA with a 20.5% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate and an impressive 53% ground-ball rate. Baseball America tabs him as a potential fourth/fifth starter, barring improvement to his command, which could further boost his ceiling. Their report on Cannon praises a deep arsenal (four-seamer, two-seamer, cutter, slider, curveball, changeup) that generates grounders and weak contact. Cannon sits 93-97 mph with his fastball, and scouting reports from BA, FanGraphs and MLB.com all call him a high-floor, high-probability fourth starter who can eat plenty of innings for the White Sox in the years to come.
It’s not clear yet how long Cannon or tonight’s starter, Nick Nastrini (another rookie who’s making his MLB debut) will stick in the rotation. Sox Machine’s James Fegan tweets that manager Pedro Grifol alluded to a potential bullpen move for struggling veteran Chris Flexen, but Grifol also didn’t commit to Nastrini or Cannon remaining in the mix beyond their debut efforts this week. Certainly, given the dismal results from the rotation thus far — Sox starters rank 26th in the big leagues with 72 1/3 innings pitched, 28th with a 5.60 ERA and dead last with a 5.20 FIP — an impressive debut for either pitcher could earn him another opportunity in the next trip through the rotation.
Beyond Garrett Crochet — who’s likely to be on an innings limit this season — there’s virtually no certainty in the Chicago rotation. Flexen, Erick Fedde and Michael Soroka opened the year in starting roles, but Flexen and Soroka are on cheap one-year deals and will be free agents at season’s end. Fedde’s two-year, $15MM contract after his KBO breakout gives him a longer leash, but he’s also not a long-term piece of the puzzle at Guaranteed Rate Field. The Sox will hope that between Cannon, Nastrini and other prospects like Jairo Iriarte, Jake Eder and Noah Schultz, the Sox have at least a few long-term rotation pieces who can help to quickly usher them out of the team’s latest rebuilding phase.
Warden of the North(acoss13)
Does he have a cannon for an arm? It doesn’t matter, it’s tryouts season for the White Sox so why not.
Aiden Awe
That’s kinda what they are saying.
Hotdog 2
I think the A’s will win 20 more games than the ws
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Good luck, Sacramento A’s!
vtadave
How many games is the WS going to win?
Warden of the North(acoss13)
vtadave
Prior to all the injuries, I was optimistic about a 100 loss season, now, I’m pretty sure 55-60 wins is the expectation for the White Sox.
Aiden Awe
You’re not wrong. I also predicted 55-65 wins. A range between them.
CluHaywood
This team is worse in every conceivable way to last year when they lost 100 games, WITH Robert Eloy and Moncada. There is zero chance they win more than 45 games this year, and honestly, they will absolutely compete for worst record in the history of baseball.
DeepDownSouth
As many as they score more than other team. Most Sox fans are hoping for the worst for these kids & frankly that’s alarming, but what good can be said of those fans? Lemme see they live in Chitcago? I wouldn’t brag about that. I’d love to see them move to get out if Illinois as a whole. Sure Dominican would be safer & better
Warden of the North(acoss13)
DeepDownSouth
Don’t confuse my pessimism for the White Sox for actively wanting the young prospects to fail. The expectation that they’ll lose over 100 games is based on the team’s injuries and the front office willingly doing a rebuild, yet again.
Aiden Awe
I only put 65 wins if they stay healthy most of the season. I said to myself that avoiding 100+ losses isn’t guranteed.
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
Great name for a pitcher, at 6’6’’ 225 does he throw 100 mph by any chance?
Bucket Number Six
A Davis Martin Production
Jacksson13
Also set to join the club,
in the position of backstop.
FRANK CANNON !!
DeepDownSouth
Love seeing these youngsters of Nastrini & Cannon getting call ups. Flexon should be flexed out
tjg25
Build Jerry his free stadium so he sells and goes away.
hyraxwithaflamethrower
Don’t even think about rushing Schultz. He’s a great prospect, but he has yet to pitch a single inning in AA. Let him develop and ramp up this year. He can debut next year. We’ll wait.
Aiden Awe
Is ETA is 2027 I think.
dano62
This team is a sad mess; Clevinger must have many regrets
DeepDownSouth
Boy if these 3 youngsters of Crochet, Nastrini & Cannon (impressing today) are the real deals Sox gonna have an impressive rotation, but offensive is very offensively bad.
Aiden Awe
Yeah. I have higher expectations in 2025 than in 2024.