Postponement comes at good time for White Sox; road trip ends with 3-2 record

The game between the White Sox and the Cleveland Indians was postponed Wednesday night because of snow. 

The inclement weather showed up at just the right time for the Sox, who would have been underdogs in this Wednesday matchup. The Indians were planning to start Aaron Civale, who is 3-0 with a 2.18 ERA. The Cleveland right-hander just shut down the Sox in his last outing a week ago.

The Sox, meanwhile, were short on pitching and planned to have a bullpen day. The South Siders had a successful road trip overall. They split four games in Boston and won Tuesday's game in Cleveland, and thus they will conclude the trip with a 3-2 record.

But Sunday's doubleheader sweep in Boston, Lucas Giolito's short start Monday, and Lance Lynn's trip to the 10-day injured list left the Sox without a starting pitcher available to work on regular rest for Wednesday.

Manager Tony La Russa said after Tuesday's game that the Sox would likely recall Jonathan Stiever from the alternate site to help them get through Wednesday's game. Other candidates to pitch included journeyman Alex McRae, who is currently in the roster spot vacated by Lynn, and Matt Foster.

Not the best setup for a game against a division rival. But thanks to the snow, the Sox avoid playing a game that they were likely to lose, and they never added Stiever, so the roster remains the same as it was Tuesday.

Now, they get a day off Thursday, and that pretty much allows the pitching staff to reset. The Sox host the Texas Rangers in a three-game series starting Friday, and every pitcher on the roster should be available -- except for Carlos Rodon, who started and won Tuesday's ballgame.

When the Sox get back on the field Friday, there will be two story lines. First, former Sox right-hander Dane Dunning, who was traded for Lynn, is the scheduled starter for Texas. Second, the Sox will attempt to get over the .500 mark for the first time in eight tries.

So far this season, the Sox have been 0-0, 1-1, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 8-8 and now 9-9. Each time they've reached breakeven, they've lost their next game.

On one hand, the Sox haven't been able to get anything going with any consistency so far this season. But on the other hand, they've managed to tread water while they've struggled.

As frustrating as the team has been to watch, it's not as if they are 6-12 or something. They haven't dug a hole that will take them two weeks of good play to recover from or anything like that.

The next nine games are at home. If they can put together a halfway decent homestand against Texas, Detroit and Cleveland, they can push to the top of the AL Central.

White Sox trade for pitcher Lance Lynn (OK), sign outfielder Adam Eaton (huh?)

Lance Lynn

We asked for some offseason moves, and now we have two. The White Sox on Tuesday acquired veteran right-handed pitcher Lance Lynn from the Texas Rangers in exchange for right-hander Dane Dunning. 

They also agreed to terms with right fielder Adam Eaton on a one-year, $7 million contract.

Let's start with the Lynn move. The 33-year-old had two good seasons in Texas back-to-back. In 2019, he went 16-11 with a 3.67 ERA and finished fifth in the American League Cy Young Award voting. 

He followed that up in the shortened season of 2020 by going 6-3 with a 3.32 ERA, good enough to finish sixth in the Cy Young voting.

Over those two seasons, Lynn has missed plenty of bats with his fastball-cutter-heavy approach. He struck out 246 batters in 208.1 innings in 2019, and 89 batters in 84 innings this past season. 

Lynn joins Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel at the top of the Sox's starting rotation. In 2020, Keuchel finished fifth in the Cy Young voting, while Giolito was seventh. This means the Sox have three of the top seven American League pitchers in 2020 on their roster for 2021.

And even with the departure of Dunning, there is some depth. Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech and Reynaldo Lopez will be expected to vie for the remaining two rotation spots. Don't be surprised if the Sox add another veteran starter to provide additional competition. (Jose Quintana? Adam Wainwright? James Paxton?)

I like Dunning and thought he showed promised during his seven starts with the Sox in 2020, during which he went 2-0 with a 3.97 ERA. However, he projects as a back-of-the-rotation pitcher over the long haul. Your farm system should be able to churn out pitchers like Dunning regularly, so there shouldn't be a lot of harm in using him as a trade piece for a more established pitcher.

One drawback to this deal: Lynn only has one year left on his contract. He'll make $8 million in 2021, a bargain if he continues to produce in the same manner we saw in Texas. That adds urgency for the Sox next season. If Lynn is your "finishing piece" for the rotation, then you have to do everything possible to win right now.

And since Lynn doesn't make a ton of money, you figured there would be room left in the payroll to sign a high-end right fielder, right?

Well, too bad, we'll get Eaton whether we like it or not. The 32-year-old is coming off a rough, injury-plagued season with the Washington Nationals, in which he batted .226/.285/.384 with four home runs and 17 RBIs in 41 games.

His career slash line is .282/.360/.416, so I'm sure the Sox are hoping he'll bounce back to something resembling that. However, "hope for the best" is not a great strategy in a win-now season. And I'm not really convinced the Sox needed to pony up $7 million to sign this player.

For me, Eaton isn't a guy you sign on Dec. 8. He's the guy you sign when you've whiffed on all your other targets. In short, he's a fallback option. 

Even if the Sox aren't in the bidding for George Springer, I'd still have Michael Brantley, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Eddie Rosario ahead of Eaton on my board -- and maybe the Sox will still sign one of those guys. 

It's just a weird business strategy to make a secondary free agent signing your first offseason move. It's early in the offseason at this point, so maybe as time goes along, we'll see how Eaton fits into the big picture.

I'm OK with the Lynn move, but not overly impressed with settling for Eaton right now.

Latest White Sox list of top 30 prospects

Andrew Vaughn

With no games to watch, it's always fun to entertain ourselves by talking about lists, right? I visited whitesox.com Monday night and noticed that Jim Callis has his latest list of top 30 White Sox prospects available. 

You can peruse the whole thing by following the link, but the top 10 are usually the most notable, and here they are:

1. Andrew Vaughn, 1B
2. Michael Kopech, RHP
3. Nick Madrigal, 2B
4. Garrett Crochet, LHP
5. Dane Dunning, RHP
6. Jared Kelley, RHP
7. Jonathan Stiever, RHP
8. Matthew Thompson, RHP
9. Micker Adolfo, OF
10. Gavin Sheets, 1B

We've already seen four of those first five players in the majors. Madrigal, Crochet and Dunning were all useful-to-good during 2020, and we saw Kopech make his debut in 2018. He missed 2019 because of Tommy John surgery, and opted out of the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

All four of those guys figure to be on the roster when 2021 opens, and we'll almost certainly see Vaughn -- who is easily the top hitting prospect in the organization -- sometime next summer.

After Dunning, the depth thins out, but I do find the No. 6 player on the list of interest. Kelley, the 19-year-old pitcher the Sox drafted in the second round of the 2020 draft, stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 215 pounds. Like a lot of kids from Texas, he's got the big fastball, and he was good enough to get invited to the team's alternate training site in Schaumburg this summer. 

Kelley was featured in the organizational reports section of Baseball America's October edition. Here are some of the quotes from farm director Chris Getz, as told to beat reporter Scot Gregor:

"[Kelley's] looked very good. Jared's work ethic has jumped out to everyone observing. His attention to detail and willingness to learn are other factors that have quickly shown, the attributes we had seen and heard about prior to selecting him."

"We will be focusing on his four-seam fastball, breaking ball and changeup. All his pitches flash major league potential, so we're aiming for consistency within his delivery and arm action to fully allow him to be efficient with all his pitches."

"He is a strong, powerful kid who knows how to generate power. He knows how to use his size and strength as a weapon."

It's something new for the Sox to have three pitchers who were drafted out of high school in the top 11 on their prospects list.

Thompson, a 6-foot-3, 20-year-old right-hander, is No. 8 on the list and was drafted in the second round in 2019. Andrew Dalquist, a 6-foot-1, 20-year-old right-hander is just outside the top 10 at No. 11. He was drafted in the third round in 2019.

It will be a good test for the Sox's player development staff to see if they can get at least one of these three guys to become useful members of a big-league rotation in the years ahead.

Ethan Katz expected to be named White Sox pitching coach

The White Sox are expected to announce new manager Tony La Russa's full coaching staff sometime this week, but sources are saying Ethan Katz will be the new pitching coach.

Katz, who will replace Don Cooper, was most recently the assistant pitching coach for the San Francisco Giants. However, most Sox fans will recognize the 37-year-old as Lucas Giolito's high school coach.

Three major leaguers -- Giolito, Max Fried and Jack Flaherty -- played for Katz at Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles. 

That said, Katz has a lot more experience than just coaching star high school pitchers. The Los Angeles Angels hired him in 2013 to coach pitchers in rookie ball, and Katz was moved up to be the pitching coach at the Angels' Midwest League affiliate in Low-A the next season. 

Later, Katz worked in the Seattle Mariners organization, where he won 2016 Coach of the Year in the California League. He made the jump to coaching big leaguers last year, when the Giants promoted him to the aforementioned position of assistant pitching coach.

When Giolito struggled in 2018 -- going 10-13 with a 6.13 ERA -- he turned to Katz in the offseason to help him refine his mechanics. We're all familiar with the story from there. Giolito is now the undisputed ace of the Sox's pitching staff. He's finished in the top 10 of the Cy Young voting in the American League in each of the past two seasons. He was a 2019 American League All-Star, and assuredly would have been an All-Star in 2020, as well, had an All-Star Game been played.

But this is more than just a hire to cater to Giolito. Katz obviously has a track record of success. He keeps getting promoted everywhere he coaches. And as a 37-year-old, the hope is he will be a better communicator when working with young pitchers than Cooper, whose best success stories are now several years in the past. 

Can Katz unlock the talent of Dylan Cease, Reynaldo Lopez, Dane Dunning, Michael Kopech and Jonathan Stiever? That's what he's being brought in to do.

Both Cease and Lopez have regressed over the past year, much to the frustration of everyone associated with the Sox, and that regression is one reason the Sox are in the market for more starting pitching this offseason.

If the Sox can do a better job of developing their own pitchers, owner Jerry Reinsdorf's unwillingness to spend and cries of poverty become less of an issue. 

Katz obviously helped Giolito secure his spot in the Sox's rotation for both the short and long term. Now we'll find out whether he can do the same for some of the other young pitchers listed above.

Catching up on White Sox roster moves: Encarnacion, Garcia, Gonzalez, etc.

Leury Garcia

The White Sox made several roster moves over the weekend. Let's get caught up:

• Designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion's $12 million club option was declined.
• Utility player Leury Garcia's $3.5 million club option was picked up.
• Left-handed pitcher Gio Gonzalez had his $7 million club option declined.
• Infielder Yolmer Sanchez was placed on waivers and claimed by the Baltimore Orioles.
• Right-handed pitcher Michael Kopech was reinstated from the restricted list.
• Right-handed pitcher Jimmy Lambert was reinstated from the 60-day disabled list.

The series of moves leaves the Sox's 40-man roster at 36 players.

There aren't many surprises on this list. The 37-year-old Encarnacion might retire after a struggling year -- if he wants to play in 2021, he might need to sign a minor-league deal and try to make a roster out of spring training.

Gonzalez was a combination of hurt and bad in 2020, and with Kopech and Lambert returning to the active roster, they join a back-of-the-rotation logjam that includes Dylan Cease and Dane Dunning -- and possibly Reynaldo Lopez, if he's tendered a contract. That makes Gonzalez expendable. 

Garcia's option being picked up is the only move here that some may disagree with. We discussed it earlier on this blog: We cited Garcia's option and Alex Colome's impending free agency as being among the tougher roster calls the Sox had/have on their plate this offseason.

Turns out, Sox brass feels Garcia's ability to play multiple positions -- in both the infield and the outfield -- switch-hit and pinch-run makes him worth the $3.5 million.

Garcia has shown he can play that role, but the question mark with him is not his performance. It is his health. Garcia was limited to 16 games and 59 at-bats in 2020 because he tore ligaments in his left thumb with an ill-advised slide into first base. This is a player who is good for at least one trip to the injured list every year.

Because of that, you could make the case (and I have) that the Sox would have been better off buying out Garcia for $250,000, saving that money and allowing Adam Engel and Danny Mendick to be the key bench players at a cheaper price. I would not have objected at all had the Sox gone that route, provided that $3.5 million was invested wisely in roster improvements elsewhere.

However, here's the argument for keeping Garcia: Shortstop Tim Anderson also is good for one trip to the injured list pretty much every year. It's not uncommon to see Anderson miss a couple of weeks here and there for a strained groin or a turned ankle, and when that happens, Garcia is a guy you want around to play shortstop.

I like Mendick's defense at second base and third base. His hands are good, and he turns the double play acceptably well when he's at second base. However, he doesn't have the athleticism Garcia has, which limits his range at shortstop, and Garcia also possesses a stronger arm.

If and when Anderson needs to sit out, Garcia is a better choice at shortstop than Mendick. Garcia costs more, sure, but the Sox have apparently decided that price is worth it.

Cleveland's offense is considered bad, but the White Sox couldn't stop them

Jose Ramirez

There's been a lot of discussion this season about how bad the Cleveland Indians' batting order is. And it's true that they've been held to three runs or less in 25 of their 54 games.

However, the White Sox couldn't slow them down Monday in a 7-4 loss. My take on Cleveland's lineup? They've got three guys who are dangerous, and those three guys combined to hurt the Sox in this game.

Jose Ramirez is one of those three guys, and he hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning on a 3-1 fastball from Dane Dunning to give the Indians a 3-0 lead. Earlier in the inning, Francisco Lindor (another one of the three guys you worry about) and Cesar Hernandez had singled.

Hernandez added an RBI single in the second to make it 4-0.

The Sox fought back to tie it at 4 with four two-out runs in the top of the fifth. Jose Abreu's two-run single made it 4-2. Abreu now has 55 RBIs in 54 games. Eloy Jimenez followed with a two-run homer to even the score.

Jace Fry relieved Dunning in the bottom of the inning, but he could not provide the shutdown inning the Sox were looking for. He walked Ramirez with one out, then gave up a two-run homer to Carlos Santana -- the third dangerous guy in the Cleveland order.

Santana is only batting .194 this year, but he's hit some big home runs against the Sox in the past, and I've learned to never sleep on him. On Monday, he gave the Indians a 6-4 lead, and that advantage stuck for the rest of the game. The Indians tacked on a run in the seventh to go up three.

The Sox got two runners on in the top of the ninth, so they got the tying run to the plate. And they didn't have bad hitters up there with a chance to tie. However, both James McCann and Abreu struck out looking to end the game against Cleveland closer Brad Hand.

The good vibes from last Thursday when the Sox clinched a postseason bid have faded a bit, as the club has lost three out of four and looked bad doing it. Their three-game lead in the division has been reduced to 1.5 games over the Minnesota Twins, who were idle Monday. Third-place Cleveland trails by four games.

Destiny remains in the Sox's hands. There are six games left, and a 4-2 record would win the division. It's very doable, but you gotta win one before you can win four.

Dane Dunning should be No. 3 starter for White Sox in playoffs

Dane Dunning

With a 32-16 record with only 12 games left to play, we know the White Sox will make the American League playoffs in 2020. And we know that, ideally, Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel will start Games 1 and 2 of the postseason.

But what about that No. 3 starter? It has to be either Dylan Cease or Dane Dunning, and I looked at these first two games against the Minnesota Twins this week as a huge test for these two young starters. Here's how they fared:

Cease on Monday: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 Ks, 5 BBs, 99 pitches, 58 strikes

Dunning on Tuesday: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 7 Ks, 2 BBs, 102 pitches, 62 strikes -- WIN

Dunning improved to 2-0 as the Sox beat the Twins, 6-2, and I think he clearly showed he is the young pitcher most prepared to start a playoff game at this time.

It wasn't that Cease was terrible. He pitched into and out of trouble. He didn't get blown up, and he kept the Sox close in a game the team ultimately won. But his inefficiency created a situation where the bullpen needed to cover 13 outs.

Dunning, in contrast, did not walk people. He used an economy of pitches, and he left the bullpen with only six outs to cover. His slider is getting swings and misses, his fastball command is good, and I'm not seeing any signs that this is a fluke.

Maybe we shouldn't be surprised. Dunning had made four previous starts -- all Sox wins -- and he had a 2.70 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP and 31 strikeouts against only three walks in 20 innings. However, those games were against the Detroit Tigers, the Kansas City Royals (twice) and the Pittsburgh Pirates -- all bad teams.

The Twins were Dunning's first big test, and he passed it with flying colors.

The Sox now possess a three-game lead over the Twins in the American League Central entering Wednesday's play. The Cleveland Indians have fallen six games behind. They dropped their seventh straight game Tuesday night, losing 6-5 to the Cubs.

The White Sox are 4-0 when Dane Dunning starts

Dane Dunning

The White Sox have won all four games Dane Dunning has started this season, and the rookie right-hander got his first major league win Wednesday, as the Sox bounced back from Tuesday's debacle with an 8-1 win over the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates.

Dunning had an efficient outing. He needed only 76 pitches to get through six innings. He gave up a leadoff double two pitches into the seventh, and that ended his night. Gio Gonzalez stranded the inherited runner to keep Dunning's outing scoreless. 

His final line: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 Ks, 1 BB and 51 strikes on 78 pitches. 

Anytime a pitcher throws 65% of his pitches for strikes, we'll take it. And Dunning's outing saved the bullpen, too. Gonzalez allowed one run over two innings, and Steve Cishek mopped up in the ninth.

It was nice to see the Sox win a game without having to use Jimmy Cordero, Evan Marshall or Alex Colome.

James McCann had his first career multihomer game and totaled four RBIs. Yoan Moncada also had two hits for the second straight game. Nick Madrigal's two-out, two-run single with the bases loaded in the top of the fourth was the key hit, taking a 3-0 Sox lead to 5-0.

The Sox stand at 27-16, one game ahead of both the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins heading into Thursday's off day.

I'm not sold on this Sox team as a legitimate contender, because I don't think their run prevention is good enough. But here's where the clear progress has occurred: They continue to kick the crap out of bad teams. 

The Sox are a combined 18-3 against the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates. There are still three more games with the Tigers; those will be this weekend at Guaranteed Rate Field.

After that, the Twins come to Chicago, and we'll see if the Sox are able to win a series against one of their chief division rivals for the first time this year.

Going back to Dunning, his next start figures to be against Minnesota. I'm interested to see how he fares. He's proven he can slay the bums, just like the team as a whole. The biggest tests are still ahead.

White Sox extend winning streak to 5, but lose Carlos Rodon to injury

Carlos Rodon

Good news: The White Sox won their fifth consecutive game with a 6-4 victory over Milwaukee on Monday night.

The South Siders were trailing 4-2 after six innings, but they tied it when Jose Abreu hit a two-run homer on a 3-0 pitch from Corbin Burnes in the top of the seventh inning. The Sox went ahead 5-4 in the eighth when Leury Garcia scored on a wild pitch by David Phelps. Yoan Moncada homered in the ninth off Corey Knebel to make it 6-4, and Alex Colome got three outs in the ninth for his second save of the season.

Ross Detwiler went 1.1 innings with three strikeouts to earn the victory, and the veteran lefty has now worked 8.1 scoreless innings to start the season.

Sounds good, right?

Too bad Sox starter Carlos Rodon got hurt to dampen the mood. The lefty lasted only two innings because of a shoulder problem. His velocity was noticeably down in the second inning, topping out at only 88-89 mph. We know that when Rodon is right, he can fire it up there in the mid-90s. That hasn't been happening, and now he's on the 10-day injured list with left shoulder soreness.

This will further test the Sox's starting pitching depth. With Rodon, Reynaldo Lopez and Jimmy Lambert all injured and unlikely to return anytime soon -- and with Michael Kopech opted out of the 2020 season -- options are diminishing.

Maybe Detwiler will be taking Rodon's place in the rotation. Or maybe Dane Dunning will be recalled. And, hey, the Sox signed veteran lefty Clayton Richard to a minor league deal the other day.

That's where the team is at right now with the starting pitching, and it isn't pretty.

With Rodon headed to the injured list, the team purchased the contract of right-hander Brady Lail from the Schaumburg training facility. Lail, 26, has pitched one game in the major leagues in his life, last season with the New York Yankees. He gave up three earned runs in 2.2 innings before being designated for assignment.

In other words, don't expect much.

To make room for Lail on the 40-man roster. the Sox designated outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe for assignment. This will not be a popular move with the prospect-loving wing of the Sox fan base.

Basabe is the much ballyhooed "third piece" of the Chris Sale trade (behind Moncada and Kopech), and at one point in time, he looked like he could be a contributor for the Sox -- at least as an extra outfielder.

The reality is Basabe is soon to be 24 years old, he's never played above Double-A ball, and he's a career .248 hitter in the minors with only 44 home runs in nearly 600 games. I have no idea whether he'll be claimed on waivers -- I'm guessing yes -- but if he is, I don't envision losing a lot of sleep over it.

I do think there are other guys I would have parted with first, but if we're being honest, Basabe has never been healthy or particularly good since joining the Sox organization.

White Sox make first roster moves of spring training

The White Sox on Friday made their first round of roster cuts. Most notably, No. 5-ranked prospect Jonathan Stiever was reassigned to minor league camp without getting an opportunity to pitch in a Cactus League game.

Stiever, 22, was bothered by soreness during a sideline session, and he was diagnosed with a muscle strain in his right forearm. An MRI showed no problems, and Stiever was shut down for three weeks. He currently is about halfway through that three-week period.

When I made my list of top 10 White Sox prospects, I was a little reluctant to put Stiever up real high on the basis of 10 or 12 good minor league starts at the end of last season. Last year's breakout story can quickly become this year's downer, and we know young pitchers often get their careers derailed by injury.

Here's to hoping this is just a minor blip for Stiever.

The Sox also optioned right-handed reliever Matt Foster to Triple-A Charlotte. Pitchers Dane Dunning and Jimmy Lambert were optioned to Double-A Birmingham. Both Dunning and Lambert are rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

Right-hander Ryan Burr, left-hander Hunter Schryver and first baseman Matt Skole also were reassigned to minor league camp.

Burr spent time in the majors last season, but he also is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Schryver recently underwent Tommy John surgery and is done for this season. Skole, a left-handed hitter who has spent some time in the majors in each of the past two years, is an organizational player who will no doubt begin the season in Triple-A Charlotte.

The Sox now have 60 players in camp.

Everyone else has a top 10 White Sox prospects list -- why shouldn't I?

Luis Robert

This is the time of year when we see a lot of publications updating their prospects lists, both for individual teams and the league in general.

The White Sox have a top-heavy farm system, and the higher-end guys figure to graduate to the majors sometime in 2020. No. 1 to No. 4 on their prospect list seems obvious to most people. It's those spots from No. 5 to No. 10 that are the subject of debate.

Since everyone else seems to be taking a kick at the can at how these guys should rate, why shouldn't I throw my two cents in? Here are my top 10 Sox prospects going into the 2020 season:

1. Luis Robert, CF. Duh, right? Robert will not be on these lists much longer. He will start the season as the Opening Day center fielder in Chicago. He's the consensus top prospect in the organization, and he ranks anywhere from No. 2 to No. 6 when you see rankings of the top prospects in all of baseball.

I wish Robert would have been called to the majors last season. His tools are insane -- power, speed, defense, throwing arm -- there's nothing to complain about in any of those areas. The main problem for Robert is he remains a bit of a wild swinger, and I expect MLB pitchers to exploit that early in his career. Eventually, he'll make the adjustment, but I wanted that learning curve to start in 2019, during games that were inconsequential in the standings.

Now, Robert will have to learn in the 2020 season, during which the Sox have expectations of being much more competitive. We'll see how he holds up. Certainly, there's nothing left to prove in minor-league levels. Robert hit .328/.376/.624 with 32 home runs and 36 steals across three levels last year. Yep, he's ready for his shot.

2. Michael Kopech, RHP. Kopech is a year and a half removed from elbow surgery. His fastball is back where it should be, sitting between 95 and 100 mph. Will the command be there after such a long layoff from competitive ball? Maybe not, but given Kopech's big fastball and his quality secondary pitches -- including a slider and a change -- I don't have any doubt he's one of the five best starting pitchers the Sox have.

But, the Sox will show "an abundance of caution" with Kopech. He's going to start the year in Triple-A Charlotte, but I don't expect him to be there for long. I'd be stunned if he isn't in Chicago by June 1, assuming good health. Even though the Sox insist that Kopech isn't on an innings limit this season, we know they aren't going to overtax him, so I just assume he throw his innings with the Sox later in the season, as opposed to early in the cold, rainy weather in April.

3. Andrew Vaughn, 1B. The third overall pick in the 2019 draft hit his first spring training home run on Friday, and he appears slated to start the season in Double-A Birmingham. Vaughn put up monstrous numbers over three collegiate seasons at California; his career slash line there was .374/.495/.688.

Unlike some other Sox prospects, Vaughn seems willing to take a walk. He had a .384 OBP in 55 games in the Sox's minor-league system in 2019. He has a simple swing and a disciplined approach that will make pitchers work. Obviously, as someone who is limited to first base as a defender, he'll have to hit to stick in the majors. But there's no reason to believe he won't. Maybe we'll see him at the end of 2020, or in 2021.

4. Nick Madrigal, 2B. He won't hit for power, no, but I'm not sure why I should be concerned about that. In a projected lineup that includes Jose Abreu, Eloy Jimenez, Robert, Edwin Encarnacion, Yoan Moncada and Yasmani Grandal, do the Sox need Madrigal to hit balls off the wall and over it? Not in my world.

I'd make Madrigal the starting second baseman from Opening Day on this season. He can field the position at an elite level, and he almost never strikes out -- you may have heard he only struck out 16 times in 532 plate appearances in 2019. He hit .311/.377/.414 across three levels last season, so I don't think there's a whole heckuva lot for him to prove in the minors. I hope the Sox don't send him back to the minors for service time reasons. We should be past that point in the rebuild.

5. Jonathan Stiever, RHP. I'm always wary of hyping guys over 10 or 12 good starts, but I ended up putting Stiever at No. 5 on this list mostly because his good health (knock on wood) separates him from other Sox prospects. Stiever had a rough start to 2019 at Class-A Kannapolis, where he went 4-6 with a 4.74 ERA in 14 starts.

But something clicked when Stiever got promoted to High-A Winston-Salem, where he went 6-4 with a 2.15 ERA across 12 starts. Stiever's fastball sits in the low 90s, and he's got a good curve. His slider and change are just average, so can he develop a third pitch? And are the gains he made last season sustainable? Stiever figures to start the season in Double-A Birmingham.

6. Dane Dunning, RHP. I had thoughts of putting Dunning at No. 5 on this list, because I'm reasonable certain he'll contribute at the MLB level once he gets healthy. I don't think he has the upside Stiever has, however, and these lists often are about upside. Dunning is recovering from Tommy John surgery and hopes to return to affiliated ball by about June 1.

We could see Dunning in Chicago by the second half of this season. While he's not going to overpower anybody, he has three pitches he can throw for strikes, and well, that's something. A lot of times, guys can stick at the back of the rotation if they can consistently pound the zone with multiple pitches.

7. Luis Alexander Basabe, OF. Basabe's breakout 2018 that saw him hit 15 home runs and earn a spot in the Futures Game has not been forgotten, despite an injury-plagued 2019 season. A broken hamate bone robbed him of his power last season, when he hit only three home runs.

Basabe's slash line last year was .246/.324/.336, and certainly, Birmingham is not a good place for hitters. But, other Sox prospects have produced for the Barons on their way to the majors, and Basabe needs to do the same. The key is lowering his strikeout rate, which was hovering about 30 percent throughout much of last season. Basabe has speed and good defensive tools, so the question is whether the bat comes around.

8. Zack Collins, C. Collins has to get some points because he made it to the majors last season, although his questionable defensive skills behind the plate are likely to send him back to Triple-A to start 2020. Collins received two opportunities in Chicago in 2019, and the first was a disaster. He went 2 for 26 in nine games and got sent back down.

When he came back in September, he had made some adjustments, and it looked better. He slashed .233/.343/.417 with two homers, three doubles, a triple, nine RBIs and nine walks in 71 plate appearances. He also struck out 25 times, which remains a concern, but you figure the Sox will be slow to give up on a left-handed bat and a former first-round draft pick.

9. Blake Rutherford, OF. Hey, let's go wishcasting here. I asked about Rutherford at SoxFest, and director of player development Chris Getz expressed optimism that Rutherford started to turn a corner the second half of last season at Double-A Birmingham. He hit .307/.364/.404 over the last three months of 2019.

That wasn't enough to erase the hideous .185/.226/.291 line he had going into June. We'll keep an eye on Rutherford early in the season to see if he can hold onto his second-half gains. One big problem: He lacks the defensive skill set to play anything other than a corner outfield spot, and he has little power -- only seven home runs last season. He's added 10 to 12 pounds over the offseason, and we'll see if that makes a difference.

10. Matt Thompson, RHP. Just for grins, let's throw a high school pitcher in here, if for no other reason that I'm not high on anybody else. Thompson was the Sox's second-round pick in 2019, and some struggles during his senior season allegedly caused him to take a tumble out of the first round. He's an athletic pitcher with a mid-90s fastball, so we'll see where that goes in the coming years. Realistically, a guy drafted out of high school needs at least four years to make the majors.

White Sox part ways with Omar Vizquel, add 7 to 40-man roster

Omar Vizquel

The White Sox on Wednesday announced that Omar Vizquel will not be returning as a manager in their minor league system for the 2020 season.

Vizquel enjoyed his best success as a manager during the 2018 season, when he led High-A Winston-Salem to an 84-54 record and a first-half division championship. He was named Carolina League Manager of the Year.

In 2019, Vizquel was promoted to manage Double-A Birmingham, but he was unable to duplicate that same success. The Barons finished 64-72.

"We felt that it was best for both sides to make a change," Chris Getz, White Sox director of player development, told MLB.com. "Listen, Omar, ultra-talented player, very good instructor, created a good environment for our players. We just felt with where things are at, our player development system, that it was time to go separate ways. But not only for himself, but for the organization as well and we wish Omar well. He was a positive influence while he was here."

The Sox fan reaction to this news has been overwhelmingly negative, and frankly, I'm a little surprised. Vizquel's team had a subpar year, and several outfield prospects of note -- Blake Rutherford, Luis Gonzalez, Luis Alexander Basabe and Micker Adolfo -- stalled this season. To be fair, Adolfo got hurt again, and what's a manager to do? But expectations were higher for this Birmingham group in 2019.

In general, I think the fan discontent stems from the long-held belief that Vizquel would eventually replace Rick Renteria as the manager in Chicago. I've never quite understood why that was the assumption, nor have I understood why it is just assumed that Vizquel would do a better job than Renteria has.

Clearly, Vizquel had a better playing career than Renteria, but that doesn't amount to a hill of beans when evaluating someone as a manager.

I'm left to conclude that some fans simply want Renteria gone. They believe anyone would be better, and they're just pissed off that Vizquel is no longer an option.

Sox add 7 players to 40-man roster

Rutherford, catcher Yermin Mercedes and pitchers Dane Dunning, Jimmy Lambert, Zack Burdi, Matt Foster and Bernardo Flores had their contracts purchased by the Sox on Wednesday. The seven players were added to the 40-man roster, bringing the roster to the maximum 40.

As a result, these men are not available to other clubs in the Rule 5 draft. Notable players who were not protected included pitchers Alec Hansen, Zach Thompson and Spencer Adams.

Mercedes was the big question mark. He batted .317/.388/.581 with 23 home runs and 80 RBIs in stops at Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte. He can hit, but he's poor defensively, and that seemed to be preventing him from getting a call to the majors.

If he had been exposed in the Rule 5 draft, it seems likely that a rebuilding team would have snagged him and given him a chance as a designated hitter. Now, he'll stay in the Sox organization, but the club has a logjam at catcher.

Even with Welington Castillo gone, there are four catchers on the 40-man -- James McCann, Zack Collins, Seby Zavala and Mercedes. It wouldn't be surprising to see a trade of one of these players who is not named McCann -- who is the presumed starter in 2020.

For me, Dunning, Lambert and Burdi are the no-brainers here. All three pitchers are coming off injuries, yes, but that would be all the more reason for a rival club to snag them in the Rule 5 draft and hide them on the injured list for half a season.

Dunning is the No. 5 prospect in the organization. Lambert ranks 18th and was thought to have a chance to make the majors in 2019 before he got hurt. Burdi is a former first-round draft pick.

Too much has been invested in these three players to risk losing them for nothing.

White Sox drop four players from 40-man roster

The offseason purge started for the White Sox on Monday. The team announced that pitcher Manny Banuelos, outfielder Ryan Cordell and infielders Ryan Goins and Matt Skole have been outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte.

The four players will become minor-league free agents after the World Series is over. The moves drop the Sox's 40-man roster to 35 players.

All four of these moves were no-brainers, as October "outrightings" tend to be. For me, the end of the Banuelos Era couldn't come soon enough. At SoxFest 2019, in response to my question about starting rotation depth, general manager Rick Hahn famously told fans that scouts had "pounded the table," urging him to trade for Banuelos. The argument was that the left-hander had reclaimed the health and form that once had him ranked among the top prospects in the game.

The reality said otherwise. Banuelos has been a combination of injured and bad his whole career, and he was injured and bad for the Sox. He went 3-4 with a 6.93 ERA in 16 games (8 starts), and he was plagued with shoulder trouble throughout much of the season.

Cordell batted .221/.290/.355 with seven home runs in 24 RBIs in 97 games. His defense was decent, but not spectacular, and there's nothing about his offensive profile that says, "Keep me."

Goins, a 31-year-old journeyman, batted .250/.333/.347 with two homers and 10 RBIs in 52 games. His playing time dried up in September, because there is a younger, cheaper option as a utility infielder on the roster -- Danny Mendick. And once Mendick joined the Sox late in the season, there were few at-bats for Goins.

Skole, a 30-year-old journeyman, batted .208/.275/.236 with no homers and six RBIs in 27 games. He only received an opportunity because numerous other left-handed bats failed the Sox. When all was said and done, Skole added his name to a list of failed left-handed hitters that included Yonder Alonso, Jon Jay, A.J. Reed and Daniel Palka.

The Sox soon will have to add pitchers Michael Kopech, Carlos Rodon and Ryan Burr back to the 40-man roster when they come off the 60-day disabled list. But Jose Abreu, Ross Detwiler, Ivan Nova and Hector Santiago are impending free agents, and Welington Castillo's contract option is almost certainly going to be declined.

There's a possibility Abreu will re-sign with the Sox quickly, but even if he does, that puts the Sox at 34 men on the roster.

That's comfortable for now, and it will allow them to add pitchers Dane Dunning, Jimmy Lambert and Zack Burdi, along with outfielder Blake Rutherford, to the 40-man roster. All those men must be added to protect them from Rule 5 draft status, and one would think the Sox will do that.

White Sox prospect Dane Dunning has 'successful' Tommy John surgery

In the history of baseball reporting, has any pitcher ever been described as having "unsuccessful" Tommy John surgery?

Not that I'm aware of. They always say it was "successful."

White Sox pitching prospect Dane Dunning is the latest player to "successfully" have the procedure. His visit with Dr. James Andrews was Monday.

Dunning is the No. 6 prospect in the Sox organization and the No. 80 prospect in baseball overall, according to MLB pipeline.

So, with Michael Kopech also recuperating from "successful" Tommy John surgery, that means two of the Sox's three best pitching prospects will miss the entire 2019 season.

Yep, that rebuild is right on schedule.

We're about to embark on Year 3 of this rebuild, and I'm not sure the Sox have *anything* in place for the long haul. Maybe Tim Anderson is a keeper? Does a shortstop who plays good defense and bats .240 with a .687 OPS qualify as a success story?

That's about all we have from these young players right now, Sox fans. It's already ugly, and some things need to start going right sometime in 2019.

Latest statistics for notable White Sox prospects

I haven't checked in on the farm lately, so with the calendar turning to May, perhaps the timing is right to see how some notable White Sox prospects have fared through the first month of the season.

There has been one notable promotion so far, with right-handed pitcher Dane Dunning moving up from High-A Winston-Salem to Double-AA Birmingham, where he won his first start.

Also of note, former first-round draft pick Zack Collins was just named the Southern League Player of the Week. Thank goodness, because Collins had been really struggling at Birmingham. He raised his overall batting average from .054 to .206 in week that saw him post a .438 average with a homer, a stolen base, six RBIs and six walks.

So, while we await Michael Kopech's call to the big leagues, here's a look at some numbers (through games of April 30):

Charlotte Knights (10-13, 3rd place in International League South)
Charlie Tilson, OF: .224/.283/.282, 0 HRs, 4 RBIs, 5 SBs, 14 Ks, 7 BBs, 85 ABs
Eddy Alvarez, SS: .353/.455/.697, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 0 SBs, 3 Ks, 4 BBs, 17 ABs
Kevan Smith, C: .229/.308/.371, 1 HR, 4 RBIs, 0 SBs, 5 Ks, 2 BBs, 35 ABs
Michael Kopech, RHP: 0-1, 2.14 ERA, 21 IP, 14 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 29 Ks, 7 BBs, 1.00 WHIP
Thyago Vieira, RHP: 0-0, 6.55 ERA, 11 IP, 13 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 20 Ks, 9 BBs, 2.00 WHIP
Jace Fry, LHP: 0-1, 1.59 ERA, 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 8 Ks, 0 BBs, 0.53 WHIP

Birmingham Barons (12-13, 4th place in Southern League North)
Eloy Jimenez, OF: .234/.269/.532, 4 HRs, 14 RBIs, 0 SBs, 7 Ks, 3 BBs, 47 ABs
Zack Collins, C: .206/.393/.365, 2 HRs, 9 RBIs, 1 SB, 25 Ks, 19 BBs, 63 ABs
Seby Zavala, C: .315/.411/.616, 6 HRs, 19 RBIs, 0 SB, 28 Ks, 13 BBs, 73 ABs
Tito Polo, OF: .237/.304/.344, 0 HRs, 3 RBIs, 8 SBs, 22 Ks, 7 BBs, 93 ABs
Dane Dunning, RHP: 1-0, 4.50 ERA, 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 Ks, 2 BBs, 1.17 WHIP
Jordan Stephens, RHP: 2-3, 3.67 ERA, 27 IP, 27 H, 15 R, 11 ER, 24 Ks, 8 BBs, 1.30 WHIP
Ian Hamilton, RHP: 0-0, 0.96 ERA, 9.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 12 Ks, 3 BBs, 4 saves, 0.75 WHIP

Winston-Salem Dash (12-12, 3rd place in Carolina League South)
Luis Alexander Basabe, OF: .313/.400/.614, 4 HRs, 17 RBIs, 3 SB, 20 Ks, 12 BBs, 83 ABs
Blake Rutherford, OF: .338/.372/.437, 0 HRs, 11 RBIs, 3 SBs, 16 Ks, 5 BBs, 71 ABs
Micker Adolfo, DH: .308/.369/.549, 5 HRs, 21 RBIs, 0 SBs, 31 Ks, 8 BBs, 91 ABs
Joel Booker, OF: .353/.421/.515, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 7 SBs, 17 Ks, 6 BBs, 68 ABs
Gavin Sheets, 1B: .290/.430/.377, 0 HRs, 8 RBIs, 0 SBs, 11 Ks, 15 BBs, 69 ABs
Dylan Cease, RHP: 2-1, 2.79 ERA, 19.1 IP, 13 H, 12 R, 6 ER, 24 Ks, 12 BBs, 1.29 WHIP
Bernardo Flores, LHP: 1-2, 3.41 ERA, 29 IP, 31 H, 15 R, 11 ER, 20 Ks, 7 BBs, 1.31 WHIP

Kannapolis Intimidators (14-10, 3rd in South Atlantic League North)
Luis Gonzalez, OF: .310/.386/.448, 3 HRs, 9 RBIs, 3 SBs, 25 Ks, 12 BBs, 87 ABs
Carlos Perez, C: .281/.294/.438, 0 HRs, 5 RBIs, 0 SBs, 4 Ks, 1 BB, 32 ABs
Lincoln Henzman, RHP: 1-2, 2.88 ERA, 25 IP, 26 H, 16 R, 8 ER, 20 Ks, 3 BBs, 1.16 WHIP
John Parke, LHP: 3-1, 1.86  ERA, 29 IP, 22 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 23 K, 5 BBs, 0.93 WHIP