Carlos Rodon leads White Sox prospects into 2015

It only took a few phone calls for the Chicago White Sox to turn into serious contenders to win the AL Central in 2015. In an offseason that saw the Chicago Cubs grab the biggest headlines and the San Diego Padres undergo the largest overhaul, it can be argued the South-Siders are the most improved team in baseball.

Before the whirlwind that was December and January, the Sox had a legitimate ace in Chris Sale and No. 2 in Jose Quintana. Their first baseman, Jose Abreu, had earned AL Rookie-of-the-Year honors, received MVP votes and is now staking a claim as the best first baseman in a division that is terrorized by Miguel Cabrera. The team also had solid role pieces in outfielder Adam Eaton and shortstop Alexei Ramirez.

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Now, the team has a 2A pitcher in Jeff Samardzija, an All-Star outfielder in Melky Cabrera, another power threat and defensive upgrade over Abreu in Adam LaRoche, a dominant closer in David Robertson and an underrated lefty reliever in Zach Duke.

The much improved team also has a farm system that is ready to infuse the veteran core with youthful energy. As MLB.com’s Bernie Pleskoff writes, there are several prospects with potential to see significant playing time in the majors this season.

The most significant and promising player in this Carlos Rodon, the pitcher the Sox drafted in the First Round of 2014’s Amateur Draft out of North Carolina State. While the Kansas City Royals’ Brandon Finnegan was the first pitcher from the 2014 draft class to make an impact on a playoff run, Rodon is in line to make the first impact as a starter. Finnegan will most likely start the season in the minors as the Royals hope to turn him back into a starter after coming out of the bullpen during the Royals’ playoff run. Rodon will also start the season in the minors, but he may not be there for long.

One of the worries surrounding Rodon around draft time was that his 2014 season wasn’t as stellar as his 2013 campaign where he almost single-handedly pitched the Wolfpack to the College World Series. The trepidation was unwarranted. In ’13, Rodon had a 2.99 ERA and struck out 12.5 batters per nine innings. The uncertainty with Rodon’s stock arose when—gasp—he only struck out a pedestrian 10.7 batters per nine innings! Sarcasm aside, Rodon pitched well in 2014: his ERA dropped to 2.01 and he walked fewer batters (3.06 per 9IP in ’13, 2.83 in ’14). He also pitched well in the minors, posting a 2.96 ERA, although he did walk more batters as a pro then he did at NC State (4.8 per 9). Regardless, Rodon’s mid-to-high 90s fastball and devastating slider are big-league ready. As he gets used to the professional strike zone, his tools will allow him to be successful.

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Another option the White Sox could employ is to treat Rodon the same way the Royals did Finnegan and use Rodon out of the bullpen. It’s worked for them before. Sale spent all of 2010 and 2011 in the bullpen, posting ERAs of 1.93 and 2.79, respectively, before becoming a starter in 2012. A bullpen featuring Robertson, Duke and Rodon could challenge Kansas City’s three-headed monster of Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland as the best bullpen in the division.

After Rodon, there are two second baseman who are vying for playing time. Micah Johnson is the more highly-touted prospect, but Carlos Sanchez in more big-league ready.

Johnson could be the Sox’s leadoff hitter of the future with his plus speed (84 stolen bases in 2013) and quality bat. If he wants to take the second base job from Sanchez, he will need to improve defensively. Offensively, he resembles the Indians’ Jason Kipnis. Both players saw their on base percentage drop more than 20 points and their Batting Average on Balls In Play drop more than 40 points the season they jumped from Double-A to Triple-A.

Sanchez should be the starting second baseman on Opening Day. He is only 22 years old and has already played two full seasons at Triple-A. His second season was much better than his first, and now he is ready to make the jump to the majors:

Sanchez ’13 – .241 AVG/ .293 OBP/ .296 SLG/ .290 BABIP
Sanchez ’14 – .293 AVG/ .349 OBP/ .412 SLG/ .344 BABIP

This is very similar to what Indians shortstop Mike Aviles experienced in 2006 and 2007 before he made his jump to the majors:

Aviles ’06 – .264/.307/.373/.279
Aviles ’07 – .296/.332/.463/.303

The beauty is the White Sox have two talented suitors for the job and ultra-utility man Gordon Beckham, so platoon options abound for Manager Robin Ventura.

Two more prospects that could contribute are pitcher Onelki Garcia and third baseman Matt Davidson. The Sox picked Garcia off the waiver wire in November, and he could be another lefty in the bullpen if he has fully recovered from an injury-riddled 2014. Davidson is a power threat at third base who hit 20 home runs at Triple-A in 2014, but also became a one-dimensional hitter: his BABIP dropped from .359 in 2013 to .253 in 2014 and his OBP fell from .350 to .283. It was either home run or bust for Davidson. He will need to reverse that trend to contribute in 2015.

No matter which of these prospects contribute, the 2015 White Sox are one of the most intriguing teams heading into this season.

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