Williams, Hahn and the White Sox: A front office mid-term grade for 2023
By Bill Felber
Farm system
The White Sox are not perceived as a team that leans hard on its farm system. Since Hahn joined Williams as an administrative team prior to the 2013 season, the South Siders have not had a single season when their first-year crop produced a collective WAA in positive figures.
So far this year, Williams and Hahn promoted only five rookies who have seen major league action, and that trend of non-productive first year classes is holding. It is this area of front office performance that weakens the final rating.
Begin with Oscar Colas, a right fielder who appeared in only 25 games before being sent down, yet has already piled up a -1.2 WAA. Only Andrus (-1.5) plus veterans Tim Anderson (-2.0) and Lance Lynn (-1.6) have had worse starts to 2023.
Rookie infielder Lenyn Sosa batted .132 in 22 games before being sent down, costing Williams and Hahn another -1.0 WAA. Since his debut about two weeks ago, Zach Remillard is batting .300, but his utter lack of power still creates a modestly negative WAA.
The only two other rookies to have seen big league time are infielder Romy Gonzalez (.197 batting average in 94 plate appearances) and pitcher Sammy Peralta (one game, 0.2 innings pitched, two earned runs allowed).