This move will create active roster space for the previously reported arrival of Zack Collins, who’ll receive his first taste of the majors. The South Siders also reinstated lefty Jace Fry from the injured list. He’ll take the place of the previously optioned Thyago Vieira.
Castillo, 32, has long been a solid offensive performer. But he’s slashing a meager .196/.289/.364 over 121 plate appearances this year. Unsurprisingly, he has ceded more and more time to James McCann, who has continued his scorching start at the plate.
It’ll be interesting to see how this backstop situation plays out over the course of the season. In addition to the introduction of Collins, there are some reasons to expect both veterans to move back towards their career norms. Castillo has only a .232 batting average on balls in play, while Statcast credits him with a .340 xwOBA that dwarfs his actual .290 wOBA. It’s just the opposite for McCann, who has enjoyed a .400 BABIP and .378 wOBA but carries a xwOBA just scarcely north of Castillo’s at .348.
]]>Collins, a 24-year-old catcher from the University of Miami, was a first-round pick (tenth overall) by the White Sox in 2016. MLB Pipeline regards Collins as the 11th-best prospect in the Chicago farm system, lauding his combination of power and on-base skills. Collins’s patience at the plate is perhaps his best trait, as he drew 101 bases on balls in 122 Double-A games last season, good for a 19% walk rate. MLB Pipeline also touts his “prodigious power to all fields,” with Collins hitting nine home runs in 48 games this season.
On the flip side, Collins’s patience in working counts has also translated to high strikeout totals in his professional career: in 1365 minor league plate appearances, Collins has produced a 29% strikeout rate. His struggles making contact have also produced low batting averages, though Collins’s skillset is such that he can be productive without hitting for a high average. Scouts are also skeptical his defense behind the plate, with MLB Pipeline suggesting that Collins “lacks soft hands and is a shaky receiver.”
This season, the White Sox have turned to James McCann and Welington Castillo to handle the catching duties. While McCann has been one of the most productive White Sox this season, the results have not been so promising for Castillo, who has produced a paltry .642 OPS this year and looks to be a candidate to be designated for assignment. It’s also notable that Yonder Alonso, who has been the team’s primary DH this year, has been largely unproductive for the South Siders, as he has mustered just a .591 OPS in 60 games.
Considering the concerns about Collins’s defensive ability behind the plate, there may be an opening for regular ABs as a designated hitter. However, if the White Sox are primarily concerned with Collins’s development, it may be most beneficial to give him every opportunity to prove his worth as a catcher before relegating him to DH. It remains to be seen just how often Collins will get reps at catcher, but the youth movement in Chicago is firmly underway, with Collins the latest prospect to join the MLB club.
]]>Stephens has worked mostly as a starter to this point in his career, though FanGraphs’ Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen point to his “premium raw spin” on a 60-grade curveball as justification for a move to a bullpen, perhaps in a “multi-inning” relief role. Stephens’ fastball grades out as below big-league average, with most reports touting his solid command of a big-league-caliber cutter.
By latest count, Cleveland stands at a man over the maximum 40 on their extended roster, so a corresponding move would figure to come in short order. The club also must make room for righty Mike Clevinger, who’ll return from the 60-day IL to start Monday’s game at Texas.
]]>Now 23 years old, Cease joined the White Sox in July 2017 in what they hope will go down as one of the most beneficial trades in franchise history. The club sent quality lefty Jose Quintana to the crosstown rival Cubs for four players, including Cease and outfielder Eloy Jimenez. Those two no doubt have the potential to wind up as long-term cornerstones for the White Sox.
Cease was a top 100 prospect when the teams swung the deal, but his stock has soared even higher since he changed Chicago organizations. Cease now ranks as MLB.com’s 19th-best prospect, with Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo crediting the former Tommy John surgery patient’s fastball- and curveball-led repertoire and projecting he’ll become an “impact” major leaguer.
So far in Charlotte this year, Cease has pitched to a 4.10 ERA/3.65 FIP with 10.08 K/9, 3.76 BB/9 and an excellent 57.7 percent groundball rate in 11 starts and 52 2/3 innings. Although that’s not a lights-out ERA, much of the damage came Sunday during a start in which Cease yielded four earned runs on two hits and three walks in two-thirds of an inning. Hahn called that ugly outing “a really good developmental day for” Cease, whom he expects to learn from it.
Depending on when Cease comes up (assuming he does debut this year), he could potentially have some say in a playoff race. Chicago’s certainly a long shot for the postseason, but at 3 1/2 games out of wild-card position, its hopes aren’t dead at this point. The White Sox would likely have a much better shot if they could’ve found superior complements for budding ace Lucas Giolito in their rotation.
Despite Giolito’s spectacular efforts, the team’s starters rank a lowly 25th in the majors in ERA and 26th in FIP. Reynaldo Lopez, Ivan Nova, Carlos Rodon, Dylan Covey and Manny Banuelos have each posted horrid run prevention numbers across at least seven starts apiece. Worsening matters, Rodon had season-ending Tommy John surgery a month ago and Covey went to the injured list Sunday with shoulder inflammation.
Of course, the White Sox have had to make do all season without one of Cease’s fellow standout pitching prospects, Michael Kopech, who underwent TJ surgery last September. The hope is Cease and Kopech will eventually provide two more superb options alongside Giolito. Cease just may get his first opportunity to emerge as a legit major leaguer sometime this summer.
]]>The 26-year-old Delmonico recently underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. Injured players can’t be run through outright waivers, so Chicago opted to simply release Delmonico to open the necessary 40-man roster spot. As noted at the time of his surgery, it’s commonplace to see teams release and then re-sign 40-man players who incur a season-ending injury while in the minors. That could well be the case here. Delmonico certainly has the right to explore other options, but as a player who’s fresh off surgery and won’t be ready to play until 2020, his appeal to a new organization will be fairly limited.
Back in 2017, Delmonico looked like a nice find for the White Sox when he hit .262/.373/.482 with nine homers and four doubles in a 43-game audition down the stretch (166 plate appearances). The former Orioles and Brewers prospect made the team’s Opening Day roster the next year but hasn’t produced in the Majors since that rookie season. Over his past 386 plate appearances at the MLB level, he’s slashed an anemic .213/.290/.357 with a 27.2 percent strikeout rate.
]]>Despaigne is lined up to start Chicago’s game against Washington on Monday, as the 32-year-old is set to get his first taste of Major League action in the 2019 season. Despaigne joined the White Sox in mid-May on a minor league contract, just days after opting out of another minors deal with the Reds signed last winter. Over 59 1/3 combined inning for both clubs’ Triple-A affiliates, Despaigne has produced some pretty solid numbers — a 3.34 ERA, 8.5 K/9, and 2.8 K/BB rate.
The White Sox were already thin on MLB-caliber pitching talent to begin the season, and they’ve seen that depth further stretched due to injuries; Carlos Rodon was lost to season-ending Tommy John surgery and Dylan Covey hit the 10-day injured list just earlier today with shoulder inflammation. Despite a breakout performance from Lucas Giolito, the Sox rotation as a whole still ranks at or near the bottom in most cumulative starting pitching categories.
With this in mind, there’s plenty of opportunity for Despaigne to win himself some regular work, and try to firmly establish himself as a starter in his sixth big league season. Despaigne has a career 4.94 ERA, 5.6 K/9, and 1.76 K/BB rate over 349 2/3 career frames in the majors, spending time with the Angels, Marlins, Orioles, and Padres since 2014.
]]>Covey has a 4.58 ERA over 37 1/3 innings this season, starting seven out of his nine appearances for Chicago. The 27-year-old hasn’t missed many bats (5.3 K/9) while also posting a 4.82 BB/9, so between those numbers and a generous .239 BABIP, ERA predictors paint a significantly downcast view of Covey’s performance — 5.66 FIP, 5.84 xFIP, 6.12 SIERA.
Covey moved into the rotation when Carlos Rodon was lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery, and Covey’s absence further thins out Chicago’s pitching mix. Depending on how long Covey is out, the White Sox may be able to get by without a fifth starter altogether, as the club only plays eight times over the next 11 days. Beyond that, Odrisamer Despaigne is the only experienced option available at Triple-A, and he would need to be added to the 40-man roster. Of course, the White Sox also have one of baseball’s top pitching prospects in Dylan Cease, though it remains to seen if the Sox will promote Cease (and burn valuable service time) this season or wait until 2020.
]]>Cordero has now moved three times already this season. He started out with the Nationals, who had employed him for a few years after claiming him from the Phillies a few years back, before brief stints with the Blue Jays and M’s.
Though he didn’t manage to take advantage of a 22-appearance MLB showcase last year in D.C., Cordero has obviously shown enough to pique the interest of multiple organizations. He carries a 5.40 ERA in 16 2/3 Triple-A innings this season, with twenty strikeouts but also 13 walks.
]]>Delmonico, 26, looked to be a terrific bargain find for the White Sox in 2017. The former Orioles and Brewers prospect made his big league debut with the South Siders that season and impressed with a .262/.373/.482 batting line, nine homers and four doubles in a 43-game audition down the stretch (166 plate appearances). That strong showing put him on the team’s Opening Day roster in 2018, but Delmonico’s bat has eroded over the past year-plus.
In 386 trips to the plate since that rookie campaign, Delmonico has mustered a timid .213/.290/.357 slash. And while he walked at a 14 percent clip with just an 18.7 percent strikeout rate as a rookie, those rates have gone in the wrong direction since that time (8.0 percent walk rate; 27.2 percent strikeout rate). Delmonico hit well in 17 Triple-A contests this year, but he’ll now sit out the remainder of the year. He’s on the 40-man roster but on the minor league injured list; if the Sox need Delmonico’s roster spot, they could bring him up to the big leagues and place him on the Major League 60-day injured list or release him and attempt to re-sign him to a minor league pact.
]]>Two scouts on rival teams have told Mayo that the Orioles won’t select Rutschman, though Mayo notes, this could also be some of the gamesmanship every team deploys to create uncertainty about their selections. Still, Baltimore’s front office hasn’t given any indication about their plans in Mike Elias’ first draft as the team’s GM, and the linking of Rutschman to the O’s was more based on Rutschman’s high profile than it was on any reports coming out of Camden Yards.
A wealth of factors go into any draft pick, of course, especially one as important and potentially franchise-altering as a 1-1 selection. It’s worth remember that Elias was the Astros’ director of amateur scouting when the team made the then-surprising move to select Carlos Correa with the first overall pick of the 2012 draft. Mark Appel was widely tabbed as the top prospect of the 2012 class, though since Correa was willing to sign for a lesser bonus than the recommended slot price attached to the first overall pick, Correa ended up being the choice, giving the Astros more space in their draft pool to sign Lance McCullers Jr. for a larger bonus in the supplemental first round (41st overall).
We haven’t heard much about what Rutschman or some of this year’s top prospects are seeking in their first contracts, though if Vaughn or Bleday are willing to sign for less than the first overall pick’s recommended $8,415,300 slot price, that certainly be a point in their favor should Elias again look to spread his bonus pool money around on several top prospects.
Beyond just finances, of course, the O’s could also simply prefer Vaughn, Bleday, Witt, or another player to Rutschman for pure baseball reasons. The Astros received some criticism for being cheap when they took Correa over Appel, though time has clearly vindicated Houston’s strategy in that draft.
If Rutschman isn’t the top pick, it could greatly shake up the remainder of the first round. As a matter of due diligence, teams scout virtually all of the top prospects to prepare for just such an unexpected scenario, plus other teams could also be preparing to make outside-the-box situations. Callis and Mayo cite a number of interesting prospects within their piece, including an item on how high school third baseman Brett Baty’s stock could be on the rise, potentially to the Rangers (who have the #8 pick) or even the White Sox with the third overall choice. Vaughn, Baty, Bleday, and high schooler CJ Abrams have all been mentioned as being on Chicago’s radar, though these plans could again change should Rutschman or Witt be available when the White Sox are on the clock.
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