Chicago White Sox REVISED Top 10 Prospects For 2017
The Chicago White Sox traded ace Chris Sale and now outfielder Adam Eaton. How did the returns impact their minor league system?
An Introduction
Our minor league top 10 series is coordinated by Benjamin Chase, one of our contributors at Call To The Pen.
He has poured over thousands of minor league games over the course of the year via milb.tv along with speaking with a number of team and independent scouts. These lists are based out of those conversations.
Each system will have prospects from 10 to 1, and then finish with one newcomer to the system that is worth keeping an eye on that is not in the top 10 at this time.
Conversations are certainly encouraged in the comments section on each system as we go along!
After taking big swing and misses on high athleticism in guys like Courtney Hawkins, the system is missing truly elite talent
White Sox System Review
One of the major reasons you’re hearing rumors about Jose Quintana, Todd Frazier, and many more being on the market this offseason has to do with the barren state that the team found their farm system coming into the offseason.
After taking big swing and misses on high athleticism in guys like Courtney Hawkins, the home-grown system is missing truly elite talent. Those types of players can turn into a solid player with extra development time, as seen with Trayce Thompson, but more frequently, they’re susceptible to an extremely high bust rate.
When it’s come to arms, the team has hit big with guys like Sale and Carlos Rodon, who both moved quickly through their system, but outside of that, the picks have been rough, to say the least. Their pursuit of high-velocity, big breaking ball college arms has produced those two, but it’s also led to some big fallout picks, which is tough to do when it’s a top 10 overall selection.
The White Sox will be intriguing to watch this offseason, and I would wager that they would be wise to pursue a trade of more quantity than quality in any further trades this offseason, and I’m sure their front office knows this. Teams like the Braves, Brewers, Padres, and Yankees have quickly jumped their systems to elite level by going for a wide swath of talent rather than one or two elite guys in a trade.
Let’s take a look at the top 10!
Next: #10
8. Carson Fulmer, RHP
Birthdate: 12/13/93 (22 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: AA, AAA, MLB
Stats in 2016: 103 IP, 4.63 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 12.23 BB%, 22.71 K% (minor league stats only)
Seeing a guy drafted #8 overall just a summer ago already down to #4 in his own system (a system likely to only produce one top 100 player, if that) really puts the exclamation point on the state of the system.
Fulmer was a very volatile selection when the White Sox plucked him at #8 last summer out of Vanderbilt after he had moved from the bullpen the year before. He had plenty of red flags from scouts ahead of the draft due to his high-energy delivery that can quickly get off base.
Fulmer at his best works with a fastball that runs to 97 and a power curve
In his first season, he breezed through the year, and the White Sox were looking quite wise for their selection. In 2016, however, those mechanical concerns surfaced, and Fulmer struggled to maintain his delivery, struggling with his command, though his control stayed better than one would think.
Fulmer at his best works with a fastball that runs to 97 and a power curve that runs hard and with sharp break. The change is still a work in progress if he wants to remain a starter.
The White Sox brought Fulmer up as a reliever this season, and many feel that will be his future big league role, but he will need to find consistency in his mechanics before he can even be successful out of the bullpen.
Next: #7
5. Zack Collins, C
Birthdate: 2/6/95 (21 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: rookie, high A
Stats in 2016: .244/.396/.435, 6 HR
With big worries about his ability to stay behind the plate, Collins was a volatile prospect for much of the draft season. As the draft got closer and teams were able to do individual workouts, it began to leak out from multiple clubs how impressive Collins was in his individual workouts with the tools of ignorance on.
He did hit like a mad man in college, whether or not he was having success behind the dish. He was originally drafted as a 27th-rounder by the Reds, but chose to attend Miami, and became arguably the best hitter in the nation last season, so the decision was a wise one.
Collins made significant strides in his lateral movement behind the plate, and some in the AFL have labeled Collins as the best framer in the Arizona Fall League
The White Sox grabbed Collins at #10 after he had scared off some teams with high contract demands, but he quickly got into camp, and he was able to really show his bat in his short time before going to the Arizona Fall League.
The big thing for Collins was his ability behind the plate. He’ll likely never be a Gold Glove catcher, and his arm will always be fringe average, but Collins made significant strides in his lateral movement behind the plate, and some in the AFL have labeled Collins as the best framer in the Arizona Fall League. That’s pretty big praise.
He’ll probably get a shot at AA to start in 2017, and his progress there will determine his timeline to the big leagues.
Next: #4
4. Michael Kopech, RHP
Birthdate: 4/30/96 (20 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: short-season A, high-A
Stats in 2016: 56 1/3 IP, 2.08 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 14.67 BB%, 38.22 K%
Here’s what you need to know about Kopech: 105.
This summer, one of Kopech’s Salem teammates was charting one of his starts with the radar gun. He wrote down that number. 105 would be a modern record velocity, and it set baseball Twitter ablaze for a number of days and still gets talked about.
I don’t believe Kopech actually did throw 105. He’s never had a single 104 charted in his career, though he has had a couple of 103s and often throws 101 in a start. The thing that is most impressive is that a teammate that sees Kopech day-in and day-out saw 105 on the gun and didn’t think “that’s a tad high”. He simply logged it as the actual velocity!
the thing that is most impressive is that a teammate that sees Kopech day-in and day-out saw 105 on the gun and didn’t think “that’s a tad high”
Kopech isn’t just a fastball, either. He has a slider that flashes plus and routinely works as an above-average pitch, and his change up is a consistent, if mostly average, offering.
Where Kopech does struggle is in his delivery. In order to generate the velocity that he does, he has a significant amount of hard lean and movement in his delivery, and it can throw him off-balance if he gets too far, and that will throw off his control.
Kopech got headlines in the spring for getting in a fight with his teammate and breaking his pitching hand, but from all accounts, his teammates love him, and the incident this spring was an isolated issue.
Kopech has eased up some of the “violence” in his delivery present before this season, and with the level of athleticism he has, he should be able to maintain his delivery better going forward. His Arizona Fall League performance was one to watch for sure.
Kopech will be sent to the upper minors in 2017, most likely, and the White Sox absolutely got one of the most exciting arms in the game by pulling in Kopech.
Next: #3
3. Lucas Giolito, RHP
Birthdate: 7/14/94 (22 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: low A, AA, AAA, MLB
Stats in 2016: 115 1/3 IP, 2.97 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 9.01 BB%, 23.77 K% (minor league stats only)
This spot will likely surprise many as Giolito has been rated as high as #3 overall as a prospect in the entire game coming into this season, the #1 overall pitcher.
Drafted with Tommy John surgery on his arm out of high school, Giolito was a legit consideration for the first overall selection in the 2012 draft before his surgery. Instead, the Nationals grabbed Giolito at the 16th overall selection.
Giolito’s big fastball and curve have been his selling points from day one in pro ball
Giolito’s big fastball and curve have been his selling points from day one in pro ball. He can touch triple digits with his fastball, but it was tagged with good plane over his minor league career from his 6’6 frame.
Instead, the fastball was incredibly flat in 2016, and the fastball is a pure four-seam pitch, not a two-seamer, so it really does not spin hard either, which is why you saw his strikeout rate drop quite significantly this season.
The curve was also a pitch that has slowly lost bite over the years in the minor leagues, and this year, it was to the point where the pitch was best used as a ground ball inducing pitch rather than a strikeout pitch as it was the last few years.
The Nationals did make some mechanical tweaks to Giolito last season, attempting to allow him to get more movement on his pitches, but he went even further backward.
There is not a pitcher in the minors with a higher overall ceiling than Giolito, but the difference between present and future grades are more like a guy who is in A-ball, not someone who should open 2017 in the major leagues.
For many years, there have been questions about Giolito’s ability to handle failure, and he did not respond well at all in 2016. With a new organization in 2017, it will be interesting to see how he responds, but his stock in my eyes is down significantly.
Next: #2
2. Reynaldo Lopez, RHP
Birthdate: 1/4/94 (22 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: AA, AAA, MLB
Stats in 2016: 109 1/3 IP, 3.21 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 7.64 BB%, 27.51 K% (minor league stats only)
While teammate Giolito seemed to take a step back at the same levels, Lopez took major leaps forward, passing up Giolito in the eyes of many I talked to around the game.
Lopez was originally a low-bonus signee out of the Dominican in 2012 who didn’t really have a lot expected of him, but he showed quickly that his velocity and true “stuff” was much better than advertised, even though he never really grew all that much more.
one (scout) even stated that if he was building any trade package for a major piece…with the Nationals, he would start with Lopez
While others can touch 100, Lopez routinely surpasses it and still maintains his velocity deep into games along with solid late arm side run on his fastball.
His curve is his best off speed pitch, and it is a high velocity, hard snap curve that often looks like a slider due to the sharpness of its break, but he can also take a tick off and throw a more loopy curve once or twice a game to really make a hitter look silly.
In 2016, Lopez took major steps forward in his delivery and his feel for his change up, which allowed him to drastically improve his control and his ability to project as a starter.
I talked with multiple scouts who believed that the best pitcher in the Nationals system before their trade for Adam Eaton was Lopez, not Giolito, and one even stated that if he was building any trade package for a major piece (when the Nationals were rumored to be after Chris Sale, Andrew McCutchen, Chris Archer, and others) with the Nationals, he would start with Lopez.
That’s high praise for a guy who gets physical comparisons to Pedro Martinez in his stature, but does have the similar long arms and legs that Pedro had that allow him to extend to the plate better than an average 6′ tall pitcher.
Next: #1
1. Yoan Moncada, IF
Birthdate: 5/27/95 (21 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: high-A, AA, MLB
Stats in 2016: .294/.407/.511, 15 HR, 45 SB (minor leagues only)
Moncada came to the US from Cuba, and he’s hit the ground running since he got to the states. The Red Sox started him at high-A this year, but it quickly became clear that he was ready for a move up in league.
Moncada is built like an NFL safety, listed at 6’2 and 205 pounds, but probably more accurately about 215-220 with strong musculature.
His athleticism is obvious on the field. He has incredible bat control and his strength allows for the bat to launch off of his bat. He also has incredible speed. That combination is obvious in the combination of his 52 extra base hits and 45 stolen bases.
Moncada is a natural up the middle defender, and that could be a more natural fit for the White Sox than it was in Boston, where he was being shoe-horned into third base. He and Tim Anderson up the middle could be one of the more exciting young double play combinations in the league.
Moncada will likely be given every chance in spring to show that he deserves to open the season in the White Sox major league lineup, especially after headlining the trade for one of the more popular players in recent White Sox memory.
Next: Newcomer To Watch